I recently caught up with Dana Ortt
(Lead Vocals/Guitars) from the band to discuss how the last couple of
years have been for the band and how they came through the other
side.
This is what Dana had to say....
Hi
Dana. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today.
I must say, it's good to have Beelzefuzz back in business.
Hey,
man! It's good to be doing interviews for the new album. It took
maybe a little bit longer than expected for us to finish the album,
but we are feeling good that it's finally released.
Before
we start discussing your new album, you've had quite a tough time
with Beelzefuzz over the last couple of years. Splitting up in 2014.
Starting a new band with The Righteous Bloom and then changing your
name back to Beelzefuzz. Plus you had a legal battle over the name.
Did you ever think – Fuck this. Too much hassle over a name. Or was
that pulled you through.
In
2014 there was a disagreement in the direction of the band, this lead
to one band member posting a "RIP Beelzefuzz" post from the
band's Facebook page followed by me being removed as an administrator
of the band page by that member. Darin, Greg and I proceeded to
continue tracking songs for what we originally intended on being the
2nd Beelzefuzz album.
We
talked with our artist friend Brian Tutlo and together we came up
with the band name Righteous Bloom. Upon moving forward with the new
band name however, we found that we were still being referred to as
the band Beelzefuzz by many, because, Darin, Greg and I are
Beelzefuzz and together we make the sounds associated with the band
name.
I'm
the primary songwriter and I'm going to play the guitar and sing in a
style that was first known to be coupled with the band name
Beelzefuzz. With the record label's approval we changed the name back
to Beelzefuzz. There was no legal battle, however I did have to file
and pay for trademarks on the name for tax purposes and to ensure our
ability to legally use it.
Looking
back over the last couple of years would you have done things
differently.
I'm
just trying to move myself and the music we play forward in a
positive direction. I've learned a lot in the last 2 years. I do look
back on some things in regret but I can only take that experience and
try to learn from it and not repeat it. To get to a positive place
requires taking action and sometimes those actions are limited to the
experience you have until that point in time.
My
intentions have always been to write the best songs I can and sing
and play them to the best of my abilities. The band does not offer
any financial profit . We try to break even in our ventures but that
is never a guarantee. Darin and I have spent a couple thousand
dollars each time with these 2 Beelzefuzz albums. We want make the
best album we can make and it's a challenge to put these albums
together, we do it for the challenge and the love of the music.
As
we proceeded with the Righteous Bloom name we discovered that we
would have to pay for expenses that we initially paid for with the
Beelzefuzz name. We were still being referred to by many as
Beelzefuzz and in general it was confusing for everyone. Oli from
Church Within recommended from the start that we keep the Beelzefuzz
name and I should have followed his recommendation. We changed the
name back after we had finished the tracking for the album.
You
have a new album out now. The Righteous Bloom. It has a different
sound to your debut album. Just like the classic Doom sounds of the
70s. Though I do hear shades of other genres within the album. Was
that your intention to release something different.
I
think we show our musically influences liberally on the 2 albums we
have. I'm influenced by Sabbath, Purple, Heep, Grand Funk, early
Genesis, Pentagram , Trouble, Fates Warning also Maryland bands like
Earthride, Internal Void, Revelation have had an equal impact on the
way I approach writing songs.
We
didn't intentionally try to recreate any approach from the first
album. We wanted to expand upon the range of sounds and emotion the
band puts out. The song structures and format became a bit more
adventurous on this album. We tracked the songs at Greg's studio at
his house this time around. Richard Whittaker mixed and mastered the
new album and also mixed and mastered the first album. Richard's
production techniques have a lot to do with the sound of the band as
he mixed both albums. We are very fortunate to have Richard as
essentially our producer.
Was
it an easy album to write and record for. Did you do anything
differently compared to your last album.
The
songs Peace Mind, Hardluck Melody, Eternal Waltz and Souless were
intended to be on the first album. Darin and I went beyond our budget
for the tracking on the first album and waited to track those songs
for this album. We tracked all the songs in Greg's studio at his
house for this album where as we tracked the first album at Chris
Koslowski's studio in Frederick and at Dirge Studios in Newark,
Delaware.
How
hard was it getting this line-up together. Kudos on getting Bert Hall
into the line-up. He's an awesome musician. What do the new band
members bring to this line-up of Beelzefuzz.
Darin
and I played on the first Beelzefuzz album. Greg joined us shortly
after the first album was released. We invited Bert to play on the
demos of the 2nd album which became the tracking for the 2nd album.
Greg brings cool harmony and solo ideas to the songs as well as
adding a bigger guitar sound for the live shows. Greg also recorded
the album at his studio in his house. Bert has a lot of experience
with the Doom genre and lends a distinct dynamic to the album with
his tone and timing.
Did
all the band members contribute to the song-writing process. Or was
this primarily yourself.
For
all the songs I'll come up with a chord progression with a basic
vocal melody beforehand and present it to Darin at practice, we'll
jam it out and make changes to the arrangement as we go along. Greg
will add some colorful guitar lines over top. Greg has presented some
song ideas that will be used for the 3rd album. We'll get together
with Bert and run through the song and finialize any adjustments.
You've
recently played at Psycho Las Vegas. How was that experience. How did
the crowd treat the new material and the old material. If you played
any.
Psycho
Las Vegas was awesome! So many great bands, very cool that we got the
opportunity to see the bands as well as play our own set. It's great
that a fest like Psycho Las Vegas happened in the US, usually only
see cool fests like that happening in Europe. We played songs off
both albums, everyone was very receptive it seemed.
Are
you more comfortable playing the small scale gigs or the bigger gigs
such as Psycho Las Vegas.
I'm
happy with any gig that has open minded people who will give our
music a chance. I don't expect our musical approach to go over with
grand acceptance when we play and I try to put out the best
performance of the songs I can every time we play no matter the size
of the gig.
I
think it turned out cool. Darin contacted David Paul Seymour with the
idea of re imagining art from a painting he found. We feel the art on
the cover should visually realize the vibe of the music within. The
art on the first album was done by Brian Tutlo. Brian also designed
the original black and white logo for the band and initiated the
visual aspect for the band.
I
think the artwork on the first album is amazing in that it conveys
effectively the emotion of the music, for me anyway. The detail Brian
went into was unique and captured the vibe of the music I felt. I'd
really like to have Brian do another cover for us.
What
does the album cover mean to you as a band and for the album in
general.
We
wanted the art to have a theme of redemption and awakening. We wanted
to expand upon the theme that Brian Tutlo established on the first
album cover. We've been discussing art and a theme for the 3rd album
and we have begun tracking with the goal of a summer 2017 release.
Do
you have plans to play more gigs over the next 6 months or so. Any
plans to play any European Dates. Or is that too soon.
We
would love to be able to play some dates in Europe. Upon our last
release, Oli from Church Within arranged for us to play the awesome
Hammer Of Doom fest in Germany. It would be fantastic to have an
opportunity like that again. We'd love to do a few weeks of touring
with a band here in the US.
Well
Dana, thanks for doing this interview. Much appreciated. Best of luck
with the album. It's a stunning album.
Thanks
for the interview and the interest in the music we are doing! Peace!
Words
by Steve Howe and Dana Ortt
Thanks to Jan at Sure Shot Worx for
arranging this interview. Thanks to Dana for taking the time out to
talking to me. The Righteous Bloom is available to buy from
Restricted Release and The Church Within on CD/DD now.
Links
