Sunday, November 20, 2011

[Interview with Weathers] Heavy-Truckers From The Swamp



Weathers are a Greek sludge band and from what I heard they're going to contribute with a song in an upcoming Russian sludge compilation. So I had a little talk with their drummer, Stavros in order to confirm these "rumors" and of course get you to know another band of the Greek heavy frontline...

Thanos: Hey Stavros! First of all introduce Weathers to the world by giving us a brief bio of the band.
Stavros: So hello dudes! We are Weathers from Korintho/Patra and we were formed before 2 years! These two years we have recorded a Promo in 2010 and our EP called "Heavy Truck" in 2011. After our last recording we organized a Greek Tour with Rejection a korinthian band (also Brothers)! Until now we have played more than 40 gigs all over Greece supporting bands like "Moho (Esp)" , "Khuda (Uk)" and "Talbot (Est)" ! That's all folks!

Thanos: This year’s March you released your first EP ("Heavy Truck"). Tell us a few things about it. You know about the recording / song-writing process, production, how much time took you to record it etc.
Stavros: Heavy Truck is our first serious "feat". Recordings took place at Patras and our producer George Leodis made a very good job ("almost perfect" as it was called at blogs from USA and EUROPE). Song-writing is the easy part because jamming always show us the way of a track! We start with the basic riff and then we are jamming in order to take more ideas to complete a song!

Thanos: What kind of feedback have you received for "Heavy Truck"? Are you satisfied with its route since now?
Stavros: We are very excited with the progress of our EP! If you check our myspace's blog (review session) you will notice that satisfaction is a word with less meaning! Just take a look!

Thanos: I have already checked it and I have to say that you're right! So how would you describe your music to a person who have never heard you before? Which bands will you use as references for your sound?
Stavros: This is a difficult one! Our music I guess it is called Sludge with psychedelic and blues riffs! Now our sound is similar with bands like Weedeater and Artimus Pyledriver!

Thanos: Speaking for yourself which bands motivated you into creating music?
Stavros: Watching 1000mods performing is a good inspiration for writing stuff!! And generally composing a song!

Thanos: A couple of weeks ago you had the chance to share the stage with Talbot. How was the experience?
Stavros: Supporting Talbot was an interesting experience for us! Only drums and bass with some synths and their music was tripping our heads! A lot of energy and perfect co-operation! Also Godsleep were very good and their sound was perfect for us! In a few words the live was FUCKING AMAZING! We want to thank CTS production (Kontan and Anna) for that live!

Thanos: Well from what I learned, you're in the middle of a track's recording process for a Russian sludge compilation. How did it come to participate in this comp?
Stavros: One morning I just received a mail from a russian guy! He was asking me about our band and he asked if we were interested to participate in this Sludge compilation! After a discussion we closed the "deal"!

Thanos: Can you give us some info about when it’s going to be released, comp’s title and under which label?
Stavros: The label is called Quagmire Label! We are informed that compilation's title is "Sludgesapiens #1" and it is going to be released at spring of 2012!

Thanos: Do you know any other bands that are going to take part in "Sludgesapiens #1"?
Stavros: I don't know exactly names but I can inform you that in this cassete compilation will participate bands from Japan, Finland, Russia and USA!

Thanos: And Greece of course... So did you wrote a totally new song for the compilation or it is something you had already working on it?
Stavros: Our "truck" is already composed!! It's a new track and I am sure that you will like it! It has Groove and it is Sludge n' Roll!!

Thanos: I think that you came across a great opportunity and that it's going to be a great work. Do you think that it will help you to be heard in a wider audience? Or even create you a chance for playing some gigs outside Greece?
Stavros: Obviously it is a good opportunity to be heard and known in other countries! Every release is good for a band. We have plans for Europe Tour but I will tell you more after full-length's recordings are finished!

Thanos: Since you're a relatively new band, tell us about the difficulties a new band confronts in their first steps in the Greek heavy scene. And since you're not from Athens, the difficulties must be more either we're talking about recordings and gigs or a chance to be heard.
Stavros: There are a lot of difficulties for a new band! Especially if you want to organize a gig with bands that have been established in the Greek scene! Also I think new bands have to make a big effort in order to be known because there are more than 100 bands in Athens (neither we are well known)! For us, recordings are not a difficulty because we have a studio (9800 studios) at aigaleo and we have plenty of time for rehearsing and composing new songs!

Thanos: We're in the middle of a very hard situation for Greece and from what I see things are not going to be any better. What's your point of view for what is happening? Is there any "space" left for music?
Stavros: Music has no limits and believe it or not, for me there is no meaning to sell a cd more that 8 euros! We have a philosophy as a band that every release must be free for downloading on internet! If someone likes the band and wants to support us, he will do it by purchasing a cd or a t-shirt! Just give the opportunity to the band to be heard generally! Ticket price also is a problem but there are a lot of places that you can give a performance for free like "Katarameno Syndromo" and "Steki Kallidromiou"!

Thanos: Any info about Weather's full album?
Stavros: We are performing like crazy now! We have new ideas and we try to compose them! I guess we will make it until the beginning of next year's  February!

Thanos: Have you any plans for lives in the near future?
Stavros: We have to finish the recordings for our full length! Then we'll organize a Mini tour (maybe 10-15 days) here in Peloponissos and Central Greece with Voodoo Healers, a band from Thessaloniki! After that we have some proposals for a Europe Tour! But it's quite early talking about that!

Thanos: Before we close our interview, can you tell us some of this year's releases that are going to be in your 2011's top list.
Stavros: For me the best albums of the year is "Super Van Vacation" by 1000mods and "Macho Libre" by Planet of Zeus! Also "Dead Roots Stirring" by Elder and "V" by Karma To Burn have a lot of ideas! Graveyard with "Hisingen Blues" and "Wight Weedy Wight" by Wight are well-known albums for their compositions, ideas and sound!! Have a listen...these albums are worthwhile! Aaa I forgot to mention two bands that have fucking great music, Bushfire and Omega Massif!

Thanos: I would like to thank you for the interview and wish you good luck with the compilation as well as your future plans. Keep us updated for anything new comes up. If you like to add something more the last words are yours.
Stavros: We want to thank you man!! Just keep supporting Greek Heavy Scene because there are a lot of bands that rock very hard and have fucking great music and ideas! See you around! Roll fast.. Play slow!

Find Weathers at: Myspace # Facebook
You can download for free their "Heavy Truck EP" from Downtuned Magazine's download archive.

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