Tuesday 25 April 2017

An Interview with Aaron from RED BEARD WALL

Red Beard Wall have had quite a journey in releasing their excellent debut album. Due out on Argonauta Records from May 12th 2017. Starting as a one-man project with Aaron Wall – writing, recording and performing the instruments all by himself.

Roll onto 2017 and Red Beard Wall are a hard-hitting Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal duo with George Trujillo joining Aaron on drums. Red Beard Wall are now ready to face the world with their bombastic style of Sludge/Doom/Stoner riffs with a deadly appetite for Noise Rock sounds.

I've reviewed the album here and I wanted to find out more about Red Beard Wall. As they seriously impressed me with their debut album. I'm happy to say Aaron Wall (Guitars/Vocals) has kindly agreed to this interview.

Hi Aaron. How are things with you today.

Greetings Outlaws of the Sun! Really appreciate you having me. Everything is going really well. No complaints whatsoever. It's an exiting time for us.

Can you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is today.

I'll try to keep this a short version of a long story...

I had been out of music for 3 or 4 yrs, mainly because of life bullshit. So I was itching for a reason to get back into it. I had slowly started working on a demo in January 2016 just to appease myself really. I wrote 3 songs and I was so damn proud of them. I put the demo on BandCamp and got a great response. That got me back to being serious about it. After that man, the songs just spilled out of me and were getting better and better. In my humble opinion anyway. Ha ha.

So I decided to move forward. I set up a lil studio at my house, went on a crash course in recording, engineering, and mixing. I was a sponge, I just soaked up every bit of knowledge of could. Then I performed and recorded all the instruments and vocals Then mixed the record. Dan at Mammoth Sound handled mastering. I was just going to release it myself but I thought it was really good, so I took a shot and sent it out to 5 or 6 labels. Argonauta jumped on it. As far as where we are now...

George, the drummer in the band now heard the demo and dug the songs. As fate would have it we live 45 min apart so he offered to help me if I needed a drummer. I went and jammed with him and it just clicked. So we're now a 2 piece of destruction.

How would you describe your overall sound.

When people ask I always describe it as sludge rock. What I've heard from others is Helmet or Butthole Surfers mixed with Black Sabbath. It's interesting to hear the different things people get out of it. It's just an amalgamation of everything heavy that we like...

Which is a lot. Lol.


We are here to talk about your debut album. What can people expect from the album.

Briefly put, people can expect...

Simple and to the point songs. Massive, crushing guitar tones, and drums of thunder. Blistering screams of discontent, alongside vocals melodies that soar. And groove. Can't forget the groove.

What influenced you all when recording the album.

The main influence was to have a vessel for myself to purge the discontent I have with the world around us. Especially at this point in history. Also just to write songs that fucking jammed. Intelligent tunes that were also somewhat easy for people to wrap their heads around. Thoughtful, head bobbing music.

Will you be touring this record heavily in the United States.

That's most definitely the goal, and we're taking offers...any offer! Ha-ha!

Right now we have a bunch of dates lined up this summer all over the South-west US, and booking and trying to book more as we speak.

What is the song-writing dynamic in the band. Is it a group participation or down to one individual.

On this record specifically, I did it all. Wrote, performed, recorded and mixed the record. Now that George is in the band and our chemistry is off the charts, moving forward, the plan is collaboration.

What influences you when writing music.

It's really hard to explain. When I write or do anything musically, I basically immediately fall into a meditative (flow) state. A hyper focus I'd say, and the songs just spill out of my soul. Not to get to philosophical. Lol.

But honestly, there is never any premeditated thought or direction. It's just all of my knowledge and influences being regurgitated in, the form of sound.

Are you all involved with different musical projects or is Red Beard Wall your main band.

Red Beard Wall is what we're 100% focused on. Especially at the moment with the record coming out soon and all the shows lined up. George does play in band as well as Red Beard Wall called Bummified that's a straight doom band. Killer stuff.


What is your musical setup when performing or recording live. Is it a an advanced setup or a basic setup.

I like to plug and play. The tone that tickles my soul is Orange OR tone. I'm using an Orange OR100 and PPC412 with a octave pedal used subtlety for a little extra low end since we're a 2 piece. I'll keep adding as I go. Working towards Conan like setup. Volume!

You're from Texas which seems to have a great Doom/Stoner Metal scene thanks to bands such as Wo Fat, Mothership and Project Armageddon to name but a few. How is the local scene perceived in Texas. Is there a local scene for you to perform regularly.

The Texas scene is badass!! Those bands you mention are carrying the flag of stoner/doom high! Proud to be a part! We have a Our local scene is getting better. We're doing all we can to help it.

Do you perform many local gigs or do you have to travel further afield.

We play locally and we get out and play as well. We'll play anytime, anywhere.

Before you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.

We just wanna say thanks to everyone for the support, big and small. This is our dream so it means everything. GO GET THE RECORD MAY 12!


Well Aaron, thanks for doing this. All the best with the new album.

We can't thank Outlaws of the Sun enough for the support and opportunity. All Hail!!!

Words by Steve Howe and Aaron Wall

Thanks to Barbara at NeeCee Agency for arranging this interview. Thanks to Aaron for taking the time out to talking to us. Red Beard Wall S/T debut album will be available to buy on CD/DD via Argonauta Records from May 12th 2017.

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