| Interview with Deanna St. Croix, The Stoner Rock Chick 04/25/2003 |
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Interview Chris LaTray of Lazerwolfs
With: Deanna St.Croix - April 15th, 2003
D: Chris, in your time of playing in bands, how have you seen music change? What are the positives?
C: The positive is the birth of the underground scene; it certainly didn't extend to Missoula when we were getting started. With the internet we can now hook up with people all over the country, all over the world, and that is very cool. This has helped establish a community of those of us on the outside of the mainstream, and that is great.
D: I know you have an 80's rock background. Can you tell us about Stryker and how the band fit musically with the time period? And what was the line-up for the band?
C: Stryker was the band we had back in high school. It was myself, Bubba (drummer for Lazerwolfs) and a guy named Mike Latham. We split in 1990, then got together for the biggest reunion no one ever heard of in 2001 and recorded a CD. We picked 12 of the 60-odd songs we'd written back in the day, rehearsed for a day, then recorded them. We might do that again some time, as it was a blast . . . even if the songs kinda suck. We thought we were a metal band, and at times we sort of were, but we were more punk than we really realized.
D: The move to Seattle coincides with the Seattle scene. What were you guys hoping to accomplish with Reign?
C: Reign was mostly a cover band with myself, Mike, Bubba and a guy named Paul, who sang. He was okay with covers, but struggled with originals. Paul decided he wanted to take a month off, so Mike, Bubba and I entered this Battle of the Bands, calling ourselves 007, and came in third. So we decided to screw the cover thing altogether and focus entirely on originals. This is about '87 or '88, so it was before the whole Seattle thing really took off. First all the bands wanted to be like Guns & Roses at that time, then 2 years later the same bands that had been all glammed out were suddenly in flannel and ripped jeans!
D: What kind of music were you doing?
C: When we were a cover we were doing 80's rock. Our own stuff was more a punk-metal crossover. It wasn't grungy at all. We didn't really fit too well with what was happening then. It was cool though, because I got to see all those great bands before they were huge -- Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Mother Love Bone. I had a ticket to a Love Bone show that was supposed to happen on a Friday, and Andrew died the Sunday or something before. I exchanged the ticket for a refund, but now I really wished I would have kept that ticket! It was supposed to be at the Green River Community College in Auburn, WA, which was right by where I was living at the time.
D: What about the infamous photo of you guys circulating on the internet (Chris can you send me this pic?). You seem to have no problems with that, which I admire because those were the times.
C: *Laughs*. Well if you can't laugh at yourself, you're taking life too seriously. I scanned these old band photos and now it's all over the internet thanks to a friend of mine. *Laughs* I had no concept of what a mullet was back then, no one did! I don't mind. It was a Reign band promo picture.
D: You talked a bit about the whole Seattle movement but what did the whole scene do to you musically?
C: It made me give up music. I was burned out, sold all my CD's and stopped listening to rock. I didn't want to listen. The bands that started it were great, but then there was just this wave of bandwagon jumpers, and it really sickened me. Plus the guys I had been playing with were succumbing to drugs, flaking out, all that. I just needed to get away from it.
D: But what was it exactly about the scene that turned you off so much?
C: It was the music, it was the people. I loved Soundgarden but I thought Pearl Jam was cashing in on Mother Love Bone. Before Andrew Wood died, people were predicting they'd be the next big thing. Now it's different obviously. I like Pearl Jam now, they are one of my favorite bands. At the time though it was a sheep mentality. Once someone had an image, people would copy it. That's how it is with all music - metal, rap-metal. So many little scenes spend all their time bitching about the "other people" when in reality their little scene is just as dogmatic and close-minded as anything else. Look at punk rock for a perfect example! How punk are you? How metal are you? It's really pretty pathetic. It's sad, a lot of people talk of anti-corporate, anti-major label ideals, but realistically how many people would turn down an opportunity to sign a major label deal? Can you blame them if they did? I wouldn't mind an opportunity to find out how I would handle it!
D: I know you took time off to focus on writing. Did you end up writing and getting anything at all and is it something you still wish to do?
C: No I didn't get anything published. I didn't even try to. Writing is what I'll end up doing long-term. It's something I like to do. I feel like, even when I'm not writing I'm writing in my head. You and I have talked of certain issues and happenings, and those are kind of stories I want to write.
D: So there is nothing published at all?
C: No. Just not looking for it. I want to say something that means something. And until I feel I have . . . I'll just keep plugging away at it. I have written two full novels. One perished in a computer crash (always, always back-up!). The other one is fantasy. I don't really worry about getting published until I feel I've done something I want to share. Art isn't supposed to be about the end result anyway. The magic is in the creation, not the completion.
D: Great quote Chris! What was the pivotal point in your decision to join up with Bubba and play again?
C: There was a guy I worked with who had a band, and their drummer bailed on them. He'd been begging me to jam with them. The idea is I would play bass, and the guy who had been playing bass would play drums. We got together and jammed, and it was pretty rough. So I tracked Bubba down at a bar in our hometown of Frenchtown, and the first thing I said to him after not seeing him for 6 or 7 years was, "I'm in a band, have a show in two weeks, and we need a drummer." He said, "I'll do it." And here we are.
D: How was the scene when you returned home? Where did you guys fit?
C: We came out of nowhere. Nobody's Heroes (named after a Stiff Little Fingers song) had played a few shows, but not with this line-up. Bubba is a crushing drummer, and that made a huge difference in the sound, plus the band now sported two guitars and two vocalists. I think we were pretty good. We were popular with the hipster crowds. I have a real fond feeling for that band.
D:What's up with the name Lazerwolfs? It is a joke about the suicide threat if the name wasn't used, right?
C: It was a joke but it seriously happened. Just a bunch of guys with no life cutting up on a message board. We used it as kind of a lark, but it has stuck with us. I don't know that the name fits what we do, but it seems to be treating us okay.
D: I have to ask. What exactly is a 'power-troika format'?
C: Troika is another word for 3. I think it's Russian.
D: You seem completely happy with your current line-up, especially the edition of Jimmy Rolle, whom you really seem to admire.
C: The guy . . . it's just weird how things click. We met recording and he and I became good friends. I mean, he has 4 kids, a studio, 2 bands. I don't know how he does it. Plus when we started he was working full time and going to school full time. I find his dedication to just being a good man inspiring. And Bubba . . . Bubba is family. We've been through a lot together. I'd go to hell and back for that fucker.
D: I love Jimmy's playing!!!
C: Me too. And Bubba amazes me too, the guy is always just so fucking solid. I feel like I'm the weak link in this band. *laughs*. Bubba and Jimmy are both much better players than I am, so I have to really push myself. But you live out on the edge like that and sometimes magic just happens, you know? One particular time I remember we were playing Jay's Upstairs in Missoula, jamming on Elemental, and the mood between the band being on fire and all these people swaying with what we were doing . . . it was one of those holy moments. I was practically bawling it was just perfect! It's never been like that before Lazerwolfs. Religion, baby. The Spirit of Rock!
D: Get Mad is getting some great feedback. You should be very proud of the album. You can just feel the looseness and jam vibe but you can also tell how incredibly tight you guys are. Are you getting any label interest?
C: Thanks! I haven't really looked at labels, and again, I haven't really tried. Looked into it a bit when we had some demos a couple years ago, but not too seriously. We have our little label called Fathead Records, and I do all of our promo stuff myself. There aren't too many labels in the indie world that I feel can do a better job of this than I can, so why hassle with it? But for the next album I might pursue it a bit more. I don't want someone to "take care" of us and do the work for us -- I want someone to partner with us to take this thing to the next level. If there isn't anyone as passionate about it as we are, then we would just be wasting our time. I have a mental list going, though. I see which indie labels have their promo stuff out in the places I dig into, so they are the ones I'd be interested in working with.
D: On the same note, how do you feel about being on a label and what type of label would be ideal?
C: Ideally, if they were cool people and easy to work with I don't care. But a label that would give us exposure in Europe or overseas anywhere would be great. We can go there, be big rock stars and come home!
D: I really love 'ORT'. It has to be about one of the best songs I have heard. I mean I get all excited about music again when I hear that song. What do you feel is the band's best song?
C: Thanks, Dee, those kinds of comments really mean a lot to us, especially a song like that which we weren't really sure how it would be accepted. As my favorite, though, I think I would pick 'Elemental' because that is a song where every component of the band works. And it was the first song we did with Jimmy in the band, brand new *as* as band. I like 'em all, though.
D: Did you write the lyrics?
C: Yes. 'Elemental' is a song for every woman I have ever loved in my life, kind of a prayer to Goddess, you know? We put the music on a tape and I just listened to it over and over and those words are what came out.
D: Are you working on a follow up now? New songs? Style?
C: We are definitely working on stuff. We did a demo with 3 brand new songs, plus a cover of Rush's 'Tom Sawyer' the last time we got together. The songs are titled 'Sugar', 'The Middle', and 'Pablo.' They are still pretty raw, but still sound pretty good. I don't think our style is changing, it is just more focused. We aren't veering away from the kind of "classic rock" sound that defines us. If anything, we are embracing it even more. It's three-piece guitar rock after all, we aren't bringing in a boys choir or something! But if there are songs on Get Mad that are harbingers of what we are doing now, they are definitely 'Elemental' and 'Dissent.'
D: I don't know much about equipment but I'd be interested to hear what you use and the tone the band is striving for.
C: We use Ampeg and Fender for my bass. Jimmy uses Fender and Gibson guitars. He uses like 4 different distortion pedals, a wah pedal and an analog delay pedal. He mixes and matches but his guitar sound is pretty much straight out of the amp, with different distortion stuff depending on the song. All the stuff is detailed on our website, actually. We are kinda geeks when it comes to that stuff! As for what we are after, we just want it to sound big and fat. We don't want to be overprocessed or do stuff we can't duplicate live, so we spend a lot of time making sure the instrumentation we rely on gets the job done.
D: Maybe we'll get lucky and you guys can play live here?
C: I would LOVE to come out East, and into Canada. This year we'll have a mini tour end of May - Salt Lake, Vegas, LA, to Mesa. I also want to get on the bill at SHoD; that would be really cool. There's a Hollywood Alley show coming up in Mesa with us, Solid Donkey, Graves at Sea and Volume June 1st.
D: Is it a mini SHoD?
C: I'm not sure if it is or not. We are just excited to get out and play places like Vegas and LA! That's the stuff I dreamed of sitting in my room as a kid.
D: How are you travelling?
C: I'll fly into Missoula late Tuesday night. We'll practice Wednesday, then see Pearl Jam in Missoula that night. Thursday we'll pile into the truck and trailer and we'll go until we get back the following Monday, then on Tuesday it's back to Ohio for me.
D: What are the band's main influences?
C: Bubba and I grew up with KISS, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest. Jimmy is into Hendrix, old Aerosmith, Pearl Jam. I think our main influences these days are each other, frankly.
D: What bands are you currently listening to?
C: I like the new Pearl Jam album a lot. I've been listening to the new Cave In quite a bit. I listen to a lot of different stuff, but there isn't anything that really blew me away in a while. A lot of really good stuff, but nothing I just couldn't live without.
D: If you could jam with anyone -person or group, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
C: I'm quite content playing with the other two guys in Lazerwolfs. Not because I think they are the best ever, or we are the best ever, or any of that. I've just gotten to a point in my life where I want to spend my time with people that I enjoy being around the most, and I can't imagine being in a room with other musicians any more enjoyable than those two guys.
D: I am going to ask this because people are interested. How do you feel about P2P apps and File Sharing in general? Do you think it could be a good promotional tool or do you view it as the demise of the industry?
C: I don't have a problem with it. I think it's good -- we are pretty free with throwing out MP3s and free copies of our album and stuff. But I have a problem with people who only get music for free. That is kind of lame, in my opinion. Unless they are giving something back for it. You, Dee, should never have to buy anything. But these fuckers that sit around and slam bands' efforts, whine until they get into shows for free, whine about wanting a free t-shirt, all that . . . they can go fuck themselves.
D: Speaking of promotion, how do you do your promotion? What avenues do you most rely on?
C: Internet and word of mouth, baby. There are a lot of really cool people out there, despite all the assholes. Folks like you and that bi-curious fellow at Hellride, Chris Barnes, have been very helpful. Us bands are all relying on the kindness and generosity of strangers, and we should be grateful every friggin' day for those that go the extra mile on our behalf!
D: Thanks Chris, I really appreciate it. You were great to talk to. I have the last few questions for you. Fill in what I missed out. (Sorry I amnot a very fast writer)
Dee
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Found out more about Chris LaTray of Lazerwolfs here!...
http://www.lazerwolfs.com
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