Progressive
Sludge/NOLA/Stoner Metallers – Electric Age have just released
their fantastic new album – Sleep of The Silent King. Electric Age
bring something different to the scene as they blend progressive
sludge/stoner riffs against a backdrop of legendary NOLA based
sounds.
Newly
signed to Argonauta Records, I wanted to find out more about the band
and I'm happy to say that Shawn Tucker (Lead Vocals, Bass, Guitar)
and Jason Ogle (Guitar, Bass, Vocals) have agreed to do this
interview.
Hi
guys. How are things with you today.
Jason
- Great!
Can
you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is
today.
Jason
- We started about 3 years ago with me and Kelly just jamming. We
tried out some singers and bass players but no one that stuck. On the
recommendation of a friend we called Shawn who I've been in several
bands with and known for 20+ years. He came and jammed and it
immediately worked out.
Shawn
- Yeah, I had been playing metal for years in other bands and was
getting away from it and getting into the whole acoustic
singer-songwriter thing when they called and asked me to come and
sing over some stuff they had been writing, my only request was that
I had to play guitar also, being that I had only been singing for a
couple of years and the whole idea of being the “singer” was
still foreign to me. Jason was playing guitar at the time, so we did
go through a couple of bass players, but even though creatively
things were happening, things didn’t really start cooking until
Jason took over the bass, that’s when it really clicked.
How
would you describe your overall sound.
Jason
- I like to say just Heavy Rock/Metal but we get lumped into other
genres. Some recent reviews compared us to COC and Thin Lizzy which
I’ll talk all day long!!
Shawn
- Heavy rock with elements of all the styles of music we love to
play and grew up listening to, it’s hard to get away from the
Sabbath thing because in a way it all evolved from there, but we all
have a wide range of influences that probably found it’s way onto
this album from blues to classic rock and all things stoner.
So
we are here to talk about your debut album – Sleep Of The Silent
King. What can people expect from the album.
Shawn
- We wanted to write an album that could be listened to all the way
through as almost one piece of music and also have each song stand on
its own, so I hope we succeeded in that, but really something you can
have playing in the background while you’re drinking a beer on one
listen, then completely dive into on the next.
What
influenced you all when recording the album.
Jason
- The usual Sabbath, The Sword, and I was listening to a lot of The
Winery Dogs/Richie Kotzen around that time
Shawn
– Beer
The
album has quite an epic and progressive feel to it. Even though you
include a wide range of different sounds. Was it a fulfilling or
frustrating experience recording the album.
Shawn
- This album was written mostly with a two guitar line-up, so the
overall sound, layering, and final production ended up being
something way more progressive and dynamic than we thought we would
end up with, and although we have a slightly different approach to
songwriting as a three-piece now, the epic feel just kind of happened
naturally and lent itself perfectly to the overall content. Much
appreciation to Zeuss, who mixed and mastered the album, he played a
huge role in creating a weight to the sound that we may not have
noticed before then.
Jason
- Both! it was fun to write and kinda tedious to record but the end
result is fulfilling because we accomplished what we set out to do.
What
is the overall theme of the album.
Shawn
- It’s about one person’s journey towards whatever it is that
that one aspires to find, in whatever lifetime they find themselves
in. This one person just happens to be a king and his particular
aspiration is the truth of existence, the meaning of life and death,
the reality of the divine or the lack of that reality, and whether
that ultimate enlightenment is attainable, played out in a kind of
mythological storyline. We decided to go with some light subject
matter for the first album and then go from there.
The
albums received some pretty good reviews so far. Has that surprised
you the way people are reacting to your album.
Jason
- Yes! I mean thought it was good and believed in it, We knew our
friends/people close to us said it was good but you never know until
you send “your baby” out how it's gonna be received.
Shawn
- Absolutely. I didn’t know if anyone beyond our friends would end
up hearing this album in the beginning, so everything’s a win at
this point.
Will
you be touring this record heavily in the United States.
Jason
- No we will just be doing regional stuff for now
The
album is being released on Argonauta Records How did that come about.
Jason
- We had talked to another label that was booked up for 2017 and they
recommended Argonauta. Gero and his staff have been great to us and
they are really on a roll at the moment.
Did you have any offers from other labels.
Jason
- Nothing that went into serious negotiations
You're
from Louisiana and that city is synonymous with the legendary NOLA
Sludge/Doom/Stoner Scene. Is being from NOLA a blessing or a curse.
Jason
- We live outside of NOLA but we have a lot of friends there and play
there regularly. NOLA’s been great to us! We had Mike Holderbeast
(Down,Crowbar, etc.) do our first video with Kyle Thomas (Trouble,
Exhorder, Floodgate) acting in it. Those guy’s are synonymous with
the NOLA scene so that really helped put us on the map. Crowbar gave
us a couple of show in big venues to help get us kicked off so
everyone has been great to us.
Do
you get the chance to perform gigs in your home-town on a regular
basis
Jason
- Oh yea we play around the state regularly.
What
are you favourite bands from the NOLA scene.
Jason
- As far as NOLA of course all the bands everybody knows about
Crowbar, Soilent Green, Down etc. but what's cool is there are some
bands technically outside of NOLA that are doing really good like Big
Frank, Forming The Void, Sideburner, Paramaya, White Light Cemetery,
Ambassador etc.. I could on forever there is so many good bands down
here and someone's gonna be mad because I left them out haha,
Are
you all involved with different musical projects or is Electric Age
your main band.
Jason
- I'm always messing around with something me and Shawn were about to
start up an old project we had recently but Louisiana was hit with a
major flood and 3 of the members houses were destroyed.
Before
you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.
Jason
- Thanks to everyone that's enjoyed the record. We have a good bit of
new tunes written and should have a new one out late this year!
Cheers
Shawn
- Thanks to everyone!
Words
by Steve Howe, Jason Ogle and Shawn Tucker.
Sleep Of The Silent King is available on CD/DD from Argonauta Records now.
Links:
Facebook | BandCamp
