by Vpower
The Band: Blues Funeral
Country: USA
Answers by: Jan
Kimmel (guitar, vocals, organ)
Take good note of
this name: BLUES FUNERAL, because if there is a Metal God above us (apart of
Rob Halford among us) you will hear about these guys very often in the future,
at least in the underground scene, which is our basic goal in Metalbrothers.
These guys deliver a heavy metal approach with a classic core but seasoned with
several metal styles. They are hard workers and moreover they have a natural
leader in the figure of Jan Kimmel. They are the kind of band that love whta
they do, and you feel it. “The Search” is their brilliant debut and if you have
not listened to it yet this interview is a great first step to get into the
Blues Funeral’s world. Thanks to Jan for his kind attention to Metalbrothers.es’
call (what else!).
Hello Jan and
congratulations to the band for your fantactic debut album
Thank you! Hails to you as well!
For Metalbrothers.es
it was a huge surprise to listen to your first album “The Search”, so we wanted
no know more about your story, please enlighten us
Well firstly, we really appreciate you checking us out and
giving us an opportunity to spread the gospel about our first album. We want
the whole world to hear this thing!
In November 2014, the band that me, Maurice, and Cory were
in, Sanctus Bellum, went on a hiatus due to personal commitments. Almost
immediately, Maurice and I started talking about an idea we had kicked around
for some time: a project that was much more heavily influenced by the music we
loved from the 60's and 70's, with both of us singing, and with me adding some
Hammond organ into the mix.
We recruited Cory soon thereafter and he was in with no
questions, lucky for us. He then recruited Gabe, who studied with Cory at the
prestigious Carnegie Mellon University. So we got ourselves a classically-trained,
master's degree rhythm section and started working on songs and Deep Purple
covers.
We could say that
Blues Funeral is the direct heir of Sanctus Bellum project, as three of the
four members in the line up were in that band before?
We are eternally grateful for Sanctus Bellum founder Ben
Yaker, who brought me and Maurice together (Cory and I had played with Ben when
we were in college almost 15 years ago). Although we bring certain elements of
Bellum with us, such as the twin-guitar attack which is heavy on leads and
harmonies, this band is mine and Maurice's chance to show our own creative
visions. So, no, I would not say that we are an heir of Bellum, because the
whole idea behind this project is different.
Aha, right. The songs
in “The Search” are completely brand new or you have rescued some material from
your old band?
There were some licks and riffs, including most of Autumn
Dream, which Maurice or I had come up with in Sanctus Bellum but were never
able to use there. So, nothing was directly lifted from Bellum. I did lift a
few things from previous bands and projects of mine that were not nearly as
popular as Sanctus Bellum, but those are long defunct and I wrote the music.
Related to that, though...I should mention that Bellum is not
officially done with; that band plays the occasional show here and there. But
we are heavily prioritizing Blues Funeral.
And I understand why,
because if you visit Blues Funeral’s Facebook you will check that there is a
continuous flow of positive reviews from web sites all around the world. Did
you guys expect a so warm and positive welcome to your album?
Of course! We're the best! Haha. The philosophy of the band
was fairly simple, as I mentioned above. We wanted to, first and foremost, be
true to our ideas and concepts. This includes spending hours and hours refining
the songs, the harmonies, the melodies, the solos, and all the little details.
I think that the positive reaction and the commentary that I've heard comes
from an appreciation that we have spent so much time and energy crafting these
songs, and then finding the right instruments and amplifiers to channel them
through. You don't want to know how many "final" mixes we listened to
before we sent the damn thing off to get mastered!
A hard work that has
delivered its reward. So, how long did you work on “The Search”?
We wrote the songs from November 2014 to probably the
beginning of 2016. Then, in around February of 2016, after we opened for Marty
Friedman, we took a break from playing live and started recording home demos so
we wouldn't spend any more time than we needed to in the studio figuring out
effects, how many tracks to use, etc. We did 98% of the tracking in one
weekend, then did miscellaneous tracking and mixing during another one. We had
a few more sessions here and there and lots of discussion before we were happy
with it. All in, from demos to mastering, it took several months.
Well there are definitely some big riffs in there because
Maurice and I, who write most of the music, are huge fans of Cream, Judas
Priest, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, (the list goes on...) and of
course Black Sabbath, who were the originators of heavy music using "the
riff" as a songwriting device. You won't really find us doing too many
ballads haha.
But...if you were to ask me what my personal favorite thing
about The Search is, if I had to pick just one thing, it would be how much
musical ground we cover on this album. We've got prog rock, hard rock, blues,
and jazz going on, and some hints and echoes of folk and classical. Also, we
aren't shy about song length so we love developing these themes and sometimes
going from one to the other and back, like we do on the title track.
That’s true! The
album sounds very classical to me, a lesson in elegance and atmosphere, the
taste of the saventies, the touch of the 80s and a good portion of occult
metal, it’s like a mix of past and present...
I think you're on point there. We basically take the ethos
of the 60's and 70's and sprinkle in some guitar techniques from the 80's.
There really isn't much of anything trendy in our music.
What has more weight
in your approach: heavy, doom, rock...?
This is why I love the band so much - I really couldn't say
it's just one thing. I'm a sucker for big rock songs with hooks. Cory loves
groove (think bands like Clutch). Gabe comes from a more jam band background.
And Maurice gets down to all sorts of satanic black and death metal. So there's
your answer!
The song that gives
name to this great album is one of my favorite, 9 minutes of superb composition
that starts with a breathtaking solo...
Well, now you're making me blush. That was our first song
actually because the licks themselves aren't as complicated, so it was
something we could put together and then riff on. It was also called that because
it's about my personal search for a lot of things, but also the band's search
for a sound. Hell, that's why we called the album that too.
But yes that's probably my favorite track of the album too,
and it's gotten a lot of positive feedback. I get to go off and solo on the
keys, which I always enjoy. Somehow, miraculously, I was able to play the
keyboard parts in that song in one take. And it's got a big rock chorus and a
long intro and guitar and keyboard leads. It has a very special place for me.
Another trademark in
the album is Palmdale, with a collection of so dark riffs that you will believe
the judgment day is now...
I wrote Palmdale as an angry reaction to a very personal
situation, so I'm glad it got the point across haha. This was meant to be a
balls-out rocker and one of our heavier ones, but as you could probably tell,
it was done in a more NWOBHM / early 80's style. We usually end our shows with
it so we figured we'd do the same for the album.
How do you share out
the composition tasks inside the band?
So far it's been me or Maurice who figure out most of a song
on our own and then bring it to the band. From that point on, we put our touch
on it: orchestrations, harmonies, drum and bass parts, etc. Everyone's got
input and there's always some discussion.
Another strong point
are the lyrics, they do have a meaning, what do you talk about?
The lyrics usually relate to personal experiences that we've
had, with the exception of Autumn Dream, which was a story that Maurice put
together, and Planet Void, which is more of a statement on the state of society
and the world. They stem from personal experience or are in some ways dark
tales that veil other reflections we have about the way we view the world we
live in.
With this great work
is unbelievable that you still have not been signed by a label. I suppose you
are currently recieving tons of calls from labels around the world, right?
We've definitely had some interest but more couldn't hurt.
Let everyone know!
It’s all said, if you
have eyes, just read. When you put a work like this on the desk you make people
greedy and begging for more. What can we expect from Blues Funeral in the
future?
Our plans are to record around the same time again in 2017.
We already have material for at least half of an album and are working on more
as we speak!
Yeah! That was the
answer I wanted! Blues Funeral is a band from Houston (Texas), how do you live
Metal over there?
Houston has always been criticized for not having a good
scene and not really having much live music to speak of. It's a sprawling (40
mile) city with like 5 million inhabitants. But the scene has always been there
and especially in the last five years or so we've seen an explosion of new
clubs and venues and more small- to mid-size bands coming through. There's a
ton of death metal here and a very vibrant doom/stoner community that we're a
part of.
We're good friends with bands such as Doomstress, the Dirty
Seeds, Black Hole Caravan, and Funeral Horse, and we've played with those guys
a ton on bills with Mothership, Deguello, Las Cruces, Helstar, Deadhorse, etc.
Also, bands like Venomous Maximus and Oceans of Slumber are buddies of ours too
and they tour and open for awesome bands like Ghost and Enslaved
(respectively).
Finally, there are some badass online shows and podcasts
like The Texas Metal Show and MSRCast, who have helped us get the word out
about our scene to the rest of the world.
In short, we live it pretty big!
Sure, and to finish
up, we would like to know what touring plans you have and if you ever will jump
to Europe to burn up the continent?
We want to do a festival in Europe next year and attach a
few dates around wherever that will be. Last week we got Roadburn's Album of
the Day so that was pretty awesome because we would love to play that festival.
We're definitely working on that because we love the European scene (South
America has given us a lot of love too). Also, I'm from Poland and was born
there and studied there, so I'm all about going to Europe whenever I can!
Your a box of
surprises , Jan. Thank you very much for your dedication and this very
interesting interview!
Thank you again for your help in spreading the Blues Funeral
gospel! Tell your friends! And support your local scene - every band was at
some point a local band!
Much love!
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