Heavy
Stoner Rockers – The Electric Mud – made one hell of an
impression last year with their excellent debut album – Bull Gator.
It’s one of those albums that creeps up on you and stays long in
the memory and that’s down to their hypnotic style of Heavy Stoner
Rock with elements of Blues Rock and Souther Rock leading the way.
The
Electric Mud will be releasing their superb new album – BURN THE
SHIPS – on August 23rd 2019. We’ll be reviewing that
album real soon. Until then you can read this cool interview with the
band where we discussed the making of both albums and what people can
expect from BURN THE SHIPS.
Read on for more info….
Hi
guys. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today?
Things
are honestly pretty killer, got a rare day off and steaks on the
grill, it’s gonna be tough to screw today up.
Can
you give a brief history of how The Electric Mud came together and
where the band is today?
So
as myself (Constantine, I play guitar) and Tommy’s (bass guitar)
previous band split, Peter (sings, also plays guitar) was just
getting back home to Fort Myers after getting his education up in
Gainesville and doing some travelling. We had a couple jam sessions
and pretty immediately fell in love with what we were doing and have
been slugging it out since. Pierson (drums) was the missing piece to
really round our sound out so we’ve all been together two and a
half years now. We stay busy playing locally and regionally and tour
nationally a few times a year.
How
would you describe your own music in your own words?
Man
you can dress it up in so many different ways, but at the end of the
day it’s just rock and roll. We get stoner rock, southern rock,
heavy blues, all kinds of stuff and it’s a blend of all of those
things for sure but at the end of the day, we pride ourselves on
working relentlessly on being a great rock and roll band. That’s
the mission.
You
will be releasing your new album – Burn The Ships very soon. What
can people expect from the album?
Forward
thinking but deep rooted rock and roll music, in our humble opinion.
We want to take the music we grew up listening to, bands like Sabbath
and Floyd and the Allman Brothers and Skynyrd and such and add a
chapter to their book, as it were, instead of copying it verbatim or
throwing it out with the bath water.
Was
recording the new album a hard or easy experience for the band?
We
had an absolute blast cutting this record with Matt Washburn at
Ledbelly studios up in North Georgia. He’s one of the best in the
business, and really helped us put something together we’re gonna
be proud of for a long time.
The
album cover is great. Who designed the cover and how much input did
you have into the final design?
We
work with a Phillipino artist named Alfiandi our buds in Beerwolf
(check them out they’re on Ripple and from Tampa and they rip shit)
recommended to us actually, he did the cover for Planetfall, their
most recent record, and we’ve used him since our debut album. The
concept and design was all Pierson’s, he takes full credit there.
We were all sitting around overthinking the hell out of it and he was
kinda like “guys, stop, alligator wizard.” And we all kinda went
“ohhhhhh yeahhhhh.”
What
is the song writing dynamic in the band? Is it a group collective or
down to certain individuals?
Musically
we function best when we’re working really collaboratively. One guy
will bring a riff or two or a rhythmic idea and then it’ll get
passed around the room and anyone who has an idea can throw it in and
have the band look It over. Writing that way has its intense moments
and requires a lot of faith and a lot of trust in each other, but the
end product shows us time and time again it’s just what’s best
for us by a long shot.
What
comes first when writing and recording new music. Music or lyrics?
It’s
a mix of both. Peter is the kind of lyricist that works around the
clock and has notebooks and notebooks full of ideas, and sometimes
he’ll pull from those and sometimes a certain piece of music will
get him feeling a certain kind of way and something entirely new
emerges.
What
inspires you when writing music?
Me,
personally? An intense, deep, lasting fear of failure. Totally
kidding. Life, my home-town, my family, friends, the other guys in
the band, it’s a deep well.
You
released your debut album Bull Gator last year. Great album by the
way. Were you happy with the responses the album received from both
fans and reviewers alike?
Thanks
for checkin out Bull Gator! We could not have been more pleased with
the response, that album has carried us admirably through our touring
cycle for it and people have received it, and us, some unsigned
nobodies from a small isolated market way down on the gulf coast,
with open arms and we can’t be grateful enough.
Looking
back on the album, would you change anything about it?
Not
a damn thing, it’s an accurate picture of where the band was at the
time it was cut, and we firmly believe that’s what a record is
supposed to be.
Do
you have the opportunity to perform live on a regular basis in your
home town or do you have to travel further afield?
We
have a really supportive local community at home that it’s an
absolute pleasure to play for. Fort Myers has given us back
everything we’ve given it and so much more.
How
would you describe The Electric Mud LIVE experience?
Currently
it’s pretty no frills, stripped down and in your face. We’re
trying turn the amps up, come out of the chute with intensity,
precision and energy and just kinda box your eardrums like Evander
Holyfield for as long as we’re allowed to.
Thanks
for doing this interview. Before you go do you have any words of
wisdom to say to your fans?
Well,
we’d just have to say thank you, from the bottom of everything that
we are, and as far as advice, keep an eye out for us here in the
second half of the year we’re gonna be on the road and all over the
place! Thanks so much for taking the time guys we appreciate you
having us.
Words
by Steve Howe and The Electric Mud
Thanks
to Curtis at Dewar PR for arranging this interview. Thanks to the
guys for taking the time out to talking to us. Burn The Ships will be
out on August 23rd 2019.
You
can hear a few tracks from the upcoming new album below.
Links:
