Shroud Eater are now signed to STB
Records who will be releasing their album on vinyl later today. (So
folks get a move on if you want a copy of the vinyl as STB Records
vinyls always quickly sell out).
I recently caught up with Jeannie
Saiz (Vocals/Guitars) from Shroud Eater to discuss the new album
amongst other things. Enjoy....
Hi
Jeannie. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you
today. You excited for the release of your new album.
We
are incredibly excited for the new album. We’ve been waiting a long
time to release this beast and it’s a great feeling to get it
released in such beautiful vinyl options and across so many formats.
Can
you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is
today.
Janette
and I have been playing music together for a decade, and eight of
those years have been focusing on Shroud Eater. We began zeroing in
on this band back in 2009, and released a demo, full length
(ThunderNoise), EP (Dead Ends), as well as did several tours up and
down the east and west coast of America, until we had a line-up
change in 2013. It took a bit of time to regain our footing but we’ve
become a stronger band now with the addition of Davin Sosa on drums,
vocals, synths as well as our recording engineer for every release
post- “Dead Ends”.
What
can people expect with your new album – Strike The Sun.
More
focus on production quality, more experimentation with song writing,
some loud stuff, some quiet stuff, some trippy stuff… expect a
journey, if you’re willing to take the ride.
What
are the underlying themes of the album.
The
songs on “Strike the Sun” take inspiration from being in such a
headspace where you feel you are ready to submit to self-defeat, but
it takes the working of an iron will to arise out of such stasis.
Though we take inspiration from literary and pop cultural sources
like movies or shows, the theme beneath the words and music are about
fighting and conquering - whether it is fear, the unknown, or
yourself - regardless of consequence. Where some songs touch on
frailty and uncertainty, others revel with a delight in crushing.
What
influenced you when recording the album.
Definitely
a steady stream of whisky, coffee, and a highly potent moonshine.
I
know Shroud Eater have released EP's and singles since your last
album was released in 2011. Why the long delay with Strike The Sun.
Any specific reasons behind this.
Lineup
changes, busy schedules, new writing processes, the length of the
recording/mixing/mastering cycle, and then the wait for our record to
be in STB’s queue, as he has a solid release schedule, waiting on
the physical production of the music... All those are contributing
factors, some are out of our control, some are not. We’re just
stoked we’ve been on a steady groove right now and plan to continue
riding it and writing / recording as the opportunities arise.
There's
already a lot of buzz building with this album. A few cool reviews
are starting to appear. Have you noticed these yet and how do you
feel about the reviews for this album.
The
reviews have been positive, so that is always rewarding. We spent a
lot of time working on this record and folks are picking up on this
renewed vigor with our music.
What’s
the song-writing dynamic within the band. Is it down to one
individual or is it a group collective.
It
usually goes something like: I sit alone and play for hours, riffs
and ideas and loose structures develop, Janette records all of this
while I’m not listening, I get super critical and want to toss a
majority of what I write, Jan reassures me it’s cool, I take it to
band practice, and we take it from there.
STB
Records are releasing the album. And they always release legendary
vinyl editions. How did you hook-up with STB Records.
We
had been briefly courted by a representative of a bigger label,
thanks to a super good-band-samaritan that offered to extend our
“Face the Master” EP to folks he knew “in the biz”. We had a
contract in hand (like the type you have to take to a lawyer to tell
you what the hell it says), and after many, many months of back and
forth and finally silence on this particular label’s end, we said
‘FUCK THIS’. We went ahead and recorded our record on our own
dime, in our own way, and when we had the first mixes from Sanford
Parker in hand, I had a select list of labels I wanted to contact to
see if there was interest in releasing this record. STB was the top
of my list, and I am eternally grateful that the stars aligned and he
was into what we were doing. It’s the best possible scenario, as we
come from the same DIY ethos and mindset, and I really couldn’t
think of a more perfect fit with a label. Steve has been super
supportive of this endeavor and has really treated us like part of
the STB family.
Did
you have any say with the designs of the vinyl editions. Or did you
leave that upto Steve STB.
Color
scheme is very important to me; I come from a visual arts background,
I’m a graphic designer by day, so I was very stoked to be able to
have input on the vinyl color and such.
The
album cover for Strike The Sun is so bad-ass. Who designed the cover.
I
commissioned Grady Gordon (http://gradygordon.com/) to do the cover
art - his style is incredible and really fit the mood of the album.
He works in monotype print making, so each design he does is
one-of-a-kind, and there is only one copy. It’s a really
interesting method of working and the results he gets are surreal. It
was the first time I’ve not handled the album artwork from one of
our releases, so it was a real experience to hold this work of art
done specifically for the band and just admire it.
What
have your been high points and low points being with Shroud Eater or
your musical career in general.
High
points have been coming around steadily since after the “Face the
Master” EP was released - we played Psycho Las Vegas, Destroyer
Fest and Wvrm Fest all in that year, we recorded our record, got the
STB seal of approval… we’ve been riding high for a while and plan
on keeping it that way.
You're
based in Miami, Florida. Which has a very cool and respected
Sludge/Stoner Metal scene thanks to bands such as Cavity, Torche,
Floor, Holly Hunt and yourselves of course. What is the scene
currently like in Miami, Florida. Do you perform regular gigs in
Miami. Can anything be improved upon.
Miami
and its’ subsequent scene is great. There are always new bands
forming and playing shows - lots of experimentation in an inclusive
environment. The one thing that can be improved on in Miami in
regards to live music is MORE FUCKING VENUES. We seriously have like
maybe 2 venues to play in Miami, even the DIY house shows seems to
have simmered down.
Will
you be touring this record heavily within the next 6 months or so.
Any chance of European Dates. Or is that too soon to tell.
We’d
love to tour Europe, sooner than later! Right now the incredible lads
at Midnite Collective are hard at work booking a tour for us in early
September up the east coast and back. It’s the first time I’m
relinquishing all the booking responsibilities for our tour and
that’s nice.
Before
you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.
Thank
you and grab our new album from STB Records!
Words
by Steve Howe and Jeannie Saiz
Thanks to Jadd for arranging this
interview. Thanks to Jeannie for taking the time out to talking to
us. Strike The Sun is now available to buy now via STB Records.
