A VIRTUAL CONVERSATION WITH GUY, THE BASSIST FOR GOATSNAKE AND FORMERLY WITH THE OBSESSED.

WORDS: TOS NIEUWENHUIZEN

Goatsnake have been tipped by the (UK) music press as THE doomband that people will be screaming for , this year. Are you guys aware of this ? And ready for it ?

Guy: "We are aware that there is a good vibe out there about the band but we weren't aware that it was that over the top. It's very flattering, thanks. Are we ready? Are YOU ready? Seriously, we are really looking forward to the album coming out soon and heading your way if not later this year definitely by next year. The true meaning of carpet bombing... "

How come you release the record on Man's Ruin and Rise Above and not on your own label Southern Lord ?

Well... Before we decided to do release Goatsnake 1 with Man's Ruin and Rise Above, we had several other offers that we weren't satisfied with and we though about doing it with Southern Lord, but we realized that Southern Lord couldn't put the amount of work needed behind this record and we wanted to give it a fair chance. This doesn't mean that we won't do anything in the future with Southern Lord. We very definitely will! The Sign Of The Southern Lord!

Any crazy tour-stories ?

Tour????? What Tour????? Ask us when we're back from Europe. I can assure you that we will have quite a few!

How was playing with Fugazi? Were they still any good?

Guy: Fugazi will rock anybody's scrotum so loose you'll be having chocolate milkshakes for days! Fugazi is, I believe one the finest live bands around. Any band that can play without depending on any visual effect, lights, samples etc, for let's say 15 years and still rock that hard... Need I say more?

Can you enlighten us with some historical trivia about the 'snake. Where did you find Greg Anderson ?

Trivia... We found Greg Anderson at Matt Lukin's garage sale! Just kidding!!! Greg Anderson is a friend of Sam, Bluebird's vocalist. Sam knew that Greg Rogers and I were looking for somebody heavy to jam with. It was really impossible to find anybody in LA at that time. Everybody was busy playing Fenders Mustangs, wearing barrettes and looking at their shoes. Sad state for a city that spawned Frank Zappa, Van Halen, Gun's & Roses and Motley Crue. So Sam told us that Greg was getting tired from Seattle and was thinking of moving to LA. I gave him a call and told him that since he was moving down here we might as well give it a shot, jam, and see if things work out. Little did we know that we were to become the most anticipated doom release of the year. The Pete Stahl angle: Once we had about 30 minutes worth of music, five songs, we asked Pete to come and check it out. Honestly, we didn't think Pete would dig it, the rock being so large and heavy, but man, that boy sure can sing a rock song, don't you think?

What have you learned from playing with the Obsessed that you don't want to see repeated?

I haven't learned much, obviously! As the saying goes: If I knew then what I know now...

Do you get any fanmail? There doesn't seem to be a scene in LA where you guys fit in ( as we have over here ) , how do you relate with fans of your music.

We do get fan mail. People are just curious. They hear about the band via their friends and they want to know. Well... hold on to your depends 'cuz the shit is coming! You're right. There's really not many fans of this particular genre of music here. I guess you have to see it to believe it. The music scene in LA is pretty pathetic. Vanilla flavo red pop/rock/industrial without any balls. Not loud, not obnoxious, not dirty. Safe and sedate! I'm not saying that we are the answer to that but at least we are loud! But there are a few folks here and there who truly believe in this kind of rock and enjoy the shows. Very few and extremely cool folks!

What's the Black Lodge?

The Black Lodge is the original name of the subsidiary label of Southern Lord called Northern Lord. Northern Lord is dedicated to all music satanic and grim! Hail!

What's the difference between doing it with MCSchneeb or King Buzzo ? Tell the people about Tapeworm. Is that still happening?

Doing it with Schneebie was painful b/c he has a big one... Board that is! It's kind of a difficult question to answer since we have worked way more with Schneebie than with have with Buzz. Put it this way: We enjoy working with both those cats and we wil l again. Tapeworm was the Mahavisnu Orchestra of the mentally challenged! As long as we are alive the Worm will crawl!

Are you proud to have been part of the Obsessed?

Yes! Very! An incredible experience!

Back to 'the scene' , are there any contemporary bands you can relate to?

Gov't Mule! Those guy are out of this world! One of the best live bands around. I can't really relate to, but I like Spirit Caravan, Melvins, Acid King, Angel Rot, Altamont, Space Boy, Eartlings?, Beaver, Corrupted, Burning Witch, Thorr's Hammer, Church Of Misery, Stoners Of The Queenage. That's about all the new CD's that I dig at the moment. But to be quite honest I listen to older stuff mainly. Johnny Winter, Motorhead, Son House, Trouble Funk, Mahavisnu Orchestra, Captain Beyond, AC/DC...

What's your favorite drug these days? Explain.

Drugs. Speaking for myself: At this particular moment in my life I must say that bourbon does it for me. Why? Why not? Any other time Psychedelics and downers with the occasional hit off the crack pipe will do. I did see Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas completely fucked up on downers. It was fun. The movie and the drugs.

We saw a preview of your album cover , do you have any Scandinavian ancestry?

Yes! As a matter of the fact I have southern Scandinavian hog riding ancestry. Can't you tell by my pronounced chin, thick blond hair, statuesque nose and a body out of this world?

What's your tools of the trade?

Ampeg and Sunn Amps, Ampeg and Sunn Cabinets, Gibson basses and guitars, Smith bass strings (because they are good strings, cool folks and they give me good deals without asking any questions) Sans Amp Bass DI/Driver, Rat Pedals, Jazz Bass and P-90 pick ups, Ludwig drums, Zildjian cymbals, Geezer Butler, Toni Iommi and Bill Ward Riffs, my fingers live and in the studio it depends, Dunlop picks. Nothing unusual for a metal band really.

Guy, when are you coming home?

As Slade said: Darling I'll be home soon!