Interview

God Damn Duo Talks "Vultures," SXSW And Band History

God Damn is a hard band to describe by way of single genre terms. The band has elements of hard rock, hardcore, stoner, thrash, noise and alternative. They are heavy. They are light. What makes their diversity even more astonishing is that this is all created by two members. The duo recently made the trip from the UK over to America for the first time. Their tour led them to SXSW to play the widespread festival. After failing to connect with the group, they were cordial enough to answer a few of my questions via email. In the following interview, the band discusses their time in America and the SXSW experience as well as giving us details about the history of the band and what to expect from their forthcoming debut album “Vultures,” due to hit American stores on May 12th via One Little Indian Records.

Rex_84: This is God Damn’s first trip to America. How has the trip been?

Ash Weaver: America has been absolutely amazing. There have been so many moments where we have looked at each other and said, “We are in America, playing in our band, doing what we love”. It’s a bit surreal. The bands have been great throughout, and so have the people.

Rex_84: How is SXSW going? Has the crowd response been good?

Ash: It's going really well. We have been lucky enough to play in some busy venues, and hopefully we have gained some more fans in the U.S. The response has been brilliant, the people seem to dig what we do. It’s been fun hearing them say the band name properly too.

Rex_84: Have you gotten to see any other bands?

Ash: Yes. We have managed to catch quite a few bands throughout the festival. Some of our favorites being Thee Oh Sees, Single Mothers, Metz, and Dillinger Escape Plan. We also managed to catch or buddies Arrows of Love and Low Cut Connie (who have a Brummie in the band).

Rex_84: Does your set list consist entirely of songs from your upcoming, debut album Vultures or do you have other material such as covers?

Ash: It is all taken from “Vultures,” apart from an old track we still play called “Heavy Money”. Covers-wise, we don’t have any. Maybe we should learn one.

Rex_84: When did you start writing Vultures.

Ash: We started writing it a couple of months leading up to the recording. I think this is why it all fits together in the way it does. Some ideas we did already have in mind, but most were totally new.

Rex_84: Who produced the album?

Ash: It was produced by Xavier Stephenson, who actually recorded and mixed the album too, alongside Paul Norris and Ryan Pinson. Xav is probably the most hardworking person I’ve ever seen. He literally worked all the hours under the sun to ensure it was the best it could possibly be. He is also a real perfectionist like we are, so he really fitted the bill.

Rex_84: Where did you record the album?

Ash: We recorded at Metropolis studios in Chiswick, London. The place is absolutely massive. It was a totally mad experience to be able to record there. A lot of top artists have used the studio over the years, the room we recorded in was actually used by Queen to record the album “Innuendo.”

Rex_84: What can we expect to hear on Vultures?

Thom Edward: Light, shade, noise and melody a very bipolar album that we think flows quite nicely.

Rex_84: Going back into your history, how did the band form?

Thom: We originally formed as a side project to an indie band we were in many moons ago. To start with we just wanted to piss off as many people as possible. We’ve still got that fuck you mentality, but we do enjoy bringing people together most of all.

Rex_84: What bands were you in before God Damn?

Thom: It was an indie band called Your Biggest Fanclub. Like God Damn, it was musically hard to place. I can remember one week supporting LA Roux and the next Rolo Tomassi. We had this heaviness waiting to burst out and I guess that’s what God Damn is but we’ve earned our pop stripes in a previous life.

Rex_84: Video How did you make the video for “When the Wind Blows?

Thom: We actually made a whole different, very pro video which just wasn’t right. So we took it on ourselves to make our own. Just with GoPro and I-movie. Very arduous as my Mac is old and on its last legs.

Rex_84: The Guardian says you blend “the hard rock era of the early ‘70s, the U.S. hardcore bands of the early ‘80s, the early ‘90s grunge era and possibly more. When your band first started did you intend to mix styles in such a manner or did this just happen?

Thom: It was definitely a concerted effort initially to use some very prog and stoner influences, but we moved away from trying to be a certain band on our first record, just write what arrives in the ether and see where it takes you. We’re very proud of the purity in the process.

Rex_84: What are your influences

Thom: So many things. When you play quite heavy music, you tend to diverge to other forms of music to listen to in your spare time. I guess if you were going to do some pigeon holding as a group, we both agree on anything from Butthole Surfers to the Beatles, Slayer to Slade.

Rex_84: Where do you go after SXSW?

Thom: Doing a bit of NYC then it’s off to Europe with Therapy?, followed by our UK and Europe tour. We’ll also be smashing up festivals across the globe.

Rex_84: What’s next for the band?

Thom: Our album “Vultures” will be out on May 12th in the US. Yup, touring the hell out of that one.