WEAPON HEAD
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 2nd November 2010.
Australian rock act Weapon Head have a new album "Surgical Smile" out...and we rather enjoyed it...so we caught up with their singing drummer Boris Billing to find out what makes them tick.
Hi Boris, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
G'day Jon! No problem at all mate - thanks for you awesome album review - happy to oblige. I'm very well - cold beer in hand ;)
When did you first start playing the drums, and what was it that inspired you to take them up?
My first bash at the drum kit was when I was 8. My Uncle was (and still is) a great old school drummer - traditional grip - jazz style....we would have these family parties at his house - and he would start cranking out the Creedence Clearwater Revival, surf rock, and any rock and roll songs that he had on hand. I was totally mesmerised by his playing and his rhythm.
He wasn't by any means a technically trained player (neither am I!) but his sense of timing, groove and his animal instincts were second to none - I love the idea of playing the music by feel.
He is left handed - and I am right handed. So I would watch him play for a while - and then we would swap the whole bloody kit around - so I could play it - and vice versa...it worked a treat - and it was a great lesson for me for paying attention to what was going on around me.
Did the singing come before the playing, or the other way round?
The drumming came first by a long way. I didn't even consider singing until it was thrust upon me around 15 years ago when I was jamming with one of my best mates, who was a guitarist - and he blatantly refused to sing! We had all of these gigs lined up - and heaps of cool jams - but no vocals! So, initially, I had to do it by default...
Funny story though - after a while my mate decided that he might have a go at singing a few songs - the worst thing was - he was bloody terrible! I didn't have the heart to tell him how shite he was - so I would just sneakily turn off his microphone in the mix altogether - and to this day - I got away with it and I still haven't owned up to it!
Who have been your heroes over the years in both disciplines, and is there anyone you’d compare your style to?
I worship at the alter of Bonham!
Speaking of animal instinct.......John was such a dynamic and raw player - but he always had the perfect groove to pump the track along. His sense of timing, and his ability to give those Zeppelin songs so much punch - MAN! One of a kind.
I really respect the following dudes also in their own rights within the drumming world - Dave Grohl, Joey Castillo, Ginger Baker, Mike Portnoy, Brad Wilk, Lars Ulrich and Nicko McBrain.
My all time favourite lead man would have to be a hybrid of Bon Scott, Mike Patten, Ozzy Osbourne, Josh Homme, Robert Plant and Jimi Hendrix.
Did you find it hard work to combine the vocals and drumming, or has it always come naturally?
I love the hard work of it - when I say that - I mean that I love playing a show where I am sweating my arse off, screaming my tits off and smashing the crap out of the kit - all at the same time.....and seeing the looks of shock, joy, horror and confusion from the crowd while I am doing it! Absolutely priceless - nothing like a challenge!
It does come naturally to me because when I am up on stage - and I am in the zone - I don't think about it. I just let it happen. I am a strong believer of playing with your gut instinct and your natural groove - whatever that may be. As soon as I start to think about what lyric is coming up, or which fill is ahead - I lose my rhythm - and get out of "THAT" moment.
So the short answer is - I don't think about it.
How and when did Weapon Head get together?
After a few beers at the local of course!
We are all from a small rural town called Goondiwindi in Australia - population around 4000...the musos are easy to sniff out ;)
About 5 years ago - a heap of locals used to get together at the pub and have these big open jam sessions - sometimes there were 4 of us - sometimes there were 54. The four of us clicked straight away with our grooves. The riffs and the rhythms were really quite punchy even in those infant stages - we reckoned that we were on to something - so we stuck with it......glad we did.
Did you know what sort of music the band was going to play from the start, or has the Weapon Head sound developed a lot since the start?
We all knew that we wanted the band to sound tough but not stupid. We were so sick of hearing emo, plastic, idol shit over and again. There are not enough freekin rock n roll bands around man! So we knew from the start what we didn't want to sound like - which is a very big step. I listen back now to our early demos and they are pretty rough, raw, a little immature in places - but even back then - the music had balls!
Our sound has changed over the last 5 years - I think that we have learned to trust ourselves when we get a feeling about a song, or a musical idea. In the past we may have dismissed some of those things and not have given them a chance to breathe.
How would you actually describe your sound to someone who hadn’t heard you before?
As far as defining our sound goes?.... that is a tough one.
Our album "Surgical Smile" has a lot of crossover stuff in it - but it is all rock and roll. I guess that overall I like to think of it as Hard / Stoner Rock with massive nuts.
So even though there are different feels and rhythms within the songs - you still know that it is Weapon Head. The riffs play a big part in the music - the guitars keep the songs flowing and fuzzing and sometimes take you to those dark places - but equally the rhythm section just pumps so hard through all of these tracks - the drive that we have is a big part of momentum of the music.
How has the Australian music scene affected Weapon Head’s development? Has it helped or hindered the band?
Geographically - within Australia - I think we have been privileged to have distance. Our town is 400km from the nearest capitol city. This has meant that we haven't been swung toward any certain trend - or influence. We have stuck to our guns on our musical ides and I think that they have come off nicely.
As far as Australia - as a whole - goes, I would say that it has done both. It has hindered our opportunities within the country due to certain trends - there is more focus on the top 40, indie emo combover scene, the next trendy beatles crossed with David Bowie wannabes - wank, wank........ there isn't a lot of "hard/stoner" rock happening out here. Why isnt there more intelligent hard music?
Don't get me wrong - I love Australia and certain parts of the musical scene - but we have our sights firmly set on Europe - Rock / Metal Rules these parts YAAAARRR!!
This attitude has really helped our cause overseas - we have had awesome exposure and brilliant reviews from U.K, Europe and The US. It has driven us to target those markets and follow up on those opportunities. We were hand picked 3 years ago to travel to The U.S to support Sabbath and Dio as Heaven and Hell along with Mr. Alice Cooper - all because we put our music out there for the opportunity and said that we were mad enough to jump on a plane and go to the states for 2 weeks - ABSOLUTELY!
When did you start work on latest album “Surgical Smile”, and was the creation of the album pain, pleasure or both?
2 years ago. We all pooled our ideas together jam after jam after jam until we had an arsenal of tracks we felt confident in working with. We then rang our trusty Producer and fellow countrymen of yours Steve James (Sex Pistols, Airbourne, Thin Lizzy....) to organize pre production. This involved a solid week of picking out the winning tracks for the album.
We then organized to record those songs a month later - which gave us enough time to live and breathe the songs, make any changes etc. We then spent 3 weeks at Rocking Horse Studios at Byron Bay with Steve James our engineer Sam Hannan and our assistant engineer Anthony Laing.
Yes there are several painful moments doing all of this - from listening to snare hits all day, to tuning guitars all day, to living in each others pockets for weeks on end to agreeing on the artwork, the photos, every square inch of those songs got the treatment - and it tests you out - it tests your mettle.
But on the other side of the coin - there were some beautiful amazing moments as well. From getting down 8 full drum tracks in one marathon day - several takes each time - to hearing the evolving mixes as the songs come to life - to coming up with new melodies or new pedal ideas for a certain track - to having the final version of the album in your hand and being reviewed really positively - it is an amazing sense of accomplishment and pride.
How does the album compare in terms of sound and quality to your previous EP?
Our sound has become more mature I think in terms of musicianship. This album has more groove I think than the E.P The quality of both, I think, is very good. It's just that we have all grown a little within ourselves and expressed that through these new songs.
How do you typically create a song? What sort of processes do you go through?
The song always starts with a jam. It might be a drum groove - or a bass feel - or a guitar riff that just gets you by the short and curlies....ahem.
The song has to have feeling and it has to have power. We always will get the jam together as a band - and then I will take the track home and try and work out what the music is saying to me - what it could be about - is it a dark song - is it a cheeky song - is it a sexy song. Once I have a theme - the words generally come pretty quick. I find that when I have the theme sorted the song nearly writes itself, melodies and harmonies come - and all of the sudden - BANGO!
Where do you find your lyrical inspirations?
From life. From life experience and life interpretation. This is a real band - these are stories of real life. Stories about returned Vietnam vets who are so disturbed from what they have experienced that they can't exist in society, stories of truth and lies, stories of being broke all of the time, stories of smart arse wannabe gangstas, stories of that poison that you can not resist - no matter how hard, and how often you try, stories of lifestyle and attitude to life, stories of loss and remorse to loved ones.....From life.
Is there a commonality behind the songs, or are they all standalone tracks?
This is certainly not a concept album.
Although you could say that the general themes here are about being true to yourself - fuck the norm or what you want me to be - this is who I am; who the fuck are you hiding behind? I'm gonna do this my way and you can like it - or not - either way. Don't try and tell me its the wrong way, because it's my way and I believe in it, and no-one is gonna stop me doing it because I live and breathe it.....and I love it.
There are also obviously issues here on addiction, depression, hope, disappointment, remorse and desperation.
What inspired you to cover the John Lennon song?
That song just was the perfect fit for this album.
The bass lines in that song are just amazingly cool - if that doesn't get you slinking and moving at the live show nothing will! We had been wanting to put a cover on the album, but wanted something that had not been done a million times; something obscure, and something that we could put our own stamp on. I feel that we have achieved that with Cold Turkey.
The subject matter is also so bloody harrowing. The heavenly highs and the absolute horrific pain and torturous lows of trying to go cold turkey from heroin; how much more of a human aspect could you want? It's pure emotion.
Are there any other tracks you’d really like to give the Weapon Head treatment?
Falsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
Do you have a favourite song on the album, and is it the sound or the memories behind it that really make it stick in the mind?
I am going to have to say the title track Surgical Smile - my reasoning being that it has my favourite lyric on the entire album - and it really sums up what Weapon Head is all about......
"Saddle your high horse and gloss up your face - We must be beneath you we're so out of place"
"There is your ego that goes with your smile - A couple of Vals and a Surgical Smile"
"We've taken onboard now all that you've said - We're still too outrageous so put it to bed"
"Put on your shoes now and be on your way - We wont be confronted with all this today."
Do you do anything special or unusual in the studio to get your sound?
Several things - different guitar pedals, octaves, wahs, different snares, different mic positioning - different mics, heaps of patience and perseverance - and heaps of cold beer!
Can't divulge everything Jon - we've only just met!
Do you enjoy the whole studio/creative experience, or do you prefer getting up on the live stage?
I really do love the recording experience. It has a special place in the process of it all. It is draining and repetitive at times, but to see a song come to life, evolve and change is an amazing thing.
I absolutely always prefer smashing it out live on stage. What more could you want to do than try and blow peoples minds by being better live than the album itself. These are two totally different things, but I always pride myself on being on top of my game and smashing it on stage. Live shows are what it is all about - that human connection - its sweaty, honest, real and you cant download it or fake it because your fans will crucify you. People respond to vulnerability, they love it when you hang your balls over the edge and give it your all. That is what people expect and that is also what people respect.
What is one of your live shows like? What should fans expect from one of your performances?
Well, you've got identical twin guitarists at either side of the stage rocking the proverbial out of every single note, then you've got a maniac bass player running around molesting his instrument like there is no tomorrow and somehow loses his spine on stage - he moves fluidly (has to be seen to be believed). And then you've got the long haired, heavily tattooed, singing, screaming drummer who presents a Bon Scott vs Animal from the Muppets kinda thing.........Fans should expect 100% passion, raw power, much moshing of heads, sweat, blood...........something like that anyway.
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Q. "What is your pornstar name?" (name of your first pet followed by the first street you lived in - everyone should play this at home!!)
A. MITCH WINTON
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Planning a monstrous tour of Australia
Anything else you would like to mention?
Weapon Head are also currently planning our assault on the awesome U.K / European Rock / Metal Festival Circuit for June 2011. Everything is falling into place nicely. We are hoping to be playing at a venue near you very soon. Keep one ear to the ground my friends from the north - we're coming your way soon!
PEACE \m/
Thanks again to Boris for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of Weapon Head's latest album "Surgical Smile" by clicking here.
Artist's website(s): Weapon Head | MySpace | Facebook
