Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
ED (guitar): I grew up listening to Marty Robbins and Elvis, but when I first heard Hotel California, I absolutely loved hearing each & every guitar part, especially the legendary outro.
PAUL (lead vocals): I just got into the Beatles and the Stones and took it from there.
BILL (bass): From where I’m from and stuff, my introduction to music was Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, that type of nature.
GEE (drums):Growing up, my parents listened to different music. So my Dad had like the doo-wop going and the Beach Boys and all that. And my Mom was into Sabbath and Zeppelin. And then my brother got me into Tom Petty and the Eagles. So I was around a lot. And I’m thankful for that, for sure.
MIKE (guitar):I definitely grew up in a musical household. My parents even had a classic rock cover band growing up, when I was a teenager. So my Dad had a huge impact on my musical tastes, all different kinds of rock. And then a few of my friends later with modern rock and just formed my own tastes from there.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Terror Garden”?
E: Personally I like to engage with a bunch of guitar communities online and discuss techniques with other guitar players. I love to create videos and share these all around to get the band attention.
P: I like to do, which is kind of ironic to advertise these days. advertise on the internet, which you need to do. Meanwhile, he internet is what killed the music industry. So it’s kind of a catch 22. That’s the only way. The internet is what killed the whole music scene from 2000 out. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich was saying that years ago. And, uh, I hate to say it, but he was right. You used to have bands you’d hear on the radio or artists , like Prince got signed for 50 million. Elton John got signed. You don’t hear that anymore because nobody really makes any money or CD/record sales. Back in the day, you used to make a little bit. We play live a lot and talk to people to interact.
B: I agree with the catch 22. The internet did kill it because the band I was in was doing great. And then people started figuring out, “I don’t need to buy it. I could download it.” And that kind of jacked it up. You don’t make anything these days because people are making CDs in their basements. Now the show is like a commercial to buy the album. We could be like a t-shirt company, with the show being a commercial for it.
M: We try to be a fan friendly band, getting ourselves on the right platforms and playlists for anyone about to discover us, I think if you’re a fan of like hard rock groove, metal, heavy metal, give us a listen. I think you’ll dig it.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
E: The guitar player I’ve been listening to an incredible amount recently is Tony McAlpine (of Steve Vai fame), who, to my surprise, is a virtuoso on more than one instrument. I was listening to a discussion between a couple of my favorite guitarists, Christian Muenzner and Justin Hombach. They had a discussion on their guitar heroes on a video and going over history and his songs in great detail detail. That’s when I started listening to his 80s stuff for the first time and couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard his earlier stuff. Mind blowing and great songwriting, incredible musicianship. The type of discovery that inspires me to try and play and create or learn by ear or tab.
P: Nobody right now inspires me as far as new music. But I have some CDs by older artists that just came out, like the new Glenn Hughes Black Country Communion that came out. It’s phenomenal. But as far as new artists, nobody’s really wowing me. Regarding inspiration for making music, it could be just sitting and looking around me. I write about things that are around me. I don’t do the whole stranger things fictional stuff.
M: There’s only a couple really newish bands that I dig. So I guess that’s a, that’s a hard question to ask, but I guess any musician that has pure talent and not faking it (is the real deal). Sometimes when we’re all just in a room and magic happens. We come up with an awesome rif. Or sometimes, just be alone doodling and something unexpected will come up. So, you never know.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the album?
E: I defer to Paul. His lyrics are always kept real.
M: We knew for a little while that we were going to self title it after our band. There’s no concept to the record. It’s just random songs. When we made the switch from Brian on our last album to Ed, I think we were all subconsciously thinking this record needed to be heavier and more aggressive. So yeah, it’s night and day.
P: The message is rock is still alive. We got a new guitar player on this CD and I think we finally came full circle to find our sound.
B: We knew and liked the fact that it was going in a heavier direction. We had an experimental type of the previous album.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
P: Heavy or groove. I hate it when the music sounds phenomenal, but the singer just ruins it all with the fucking “dick and throat” disease.
B: Authentic. I like it that we’re not “super” heavy. don’t say it’s like, “heavy, heavy”, like hard rock and heavy metal combo. And that’s why I like it. Like this album had to go in a heavy direction. And yes, after every song has gutturals, they’re a one trick pony.
G: Raw
M: I don’t know if “innovative” sounds too, uh, pompous. It sounds so cliche, but I really don’t think we sound like anybody. We might have a random riff here and there that kinda sounds like a band, but otherwise, that’s it.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Terror Garden Album”?
M: Definitely compared to other Terror Garden this was a very smooth process. The only roadblock we hit a couple of bumps on was the mixing process, where we were all starting to get a little worried. But Mix 3 to the final mix was like night and day.
P: Well, that’s the thing too. It’s really the first time recording in a different studio & engineer. The last three CDs were done in the same studio. I wasn’t worried about the sound because we had the songs fucking rocked before we went in there.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
P: I have no goals as an artist at this point in life. I’m not 20. Our message is, uh, rock and roll, baby.
B: I think just keeping it real authentic. We’re a family and we enjoy getting together. And we really liked the songs ourselves.
M: Every album cycle, I just want to hold no regrets and say, “hey, that was the best we did at that point in time”. Are there songs I look back on that we wrote where I’m like, “meh”. A couple, but that’s what felt right at that time. As far as a message, we just hope people really dig the material. My goal is to see how far we can realistically take this thing. We’re trying to push really hard out there.
E: Play what makes your ears and fingers happy. My goal as an artist is to inspire others to keep listening or to play an instrument.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with (dead or alive)?
E: Larry Foreman of Jackpipe (rest in peace), frontman from a local band in our scene.
M: As a Metallica guy, it’d be awesome just to collaborate with them on a song or even like James Hetfield. That would be pretty fucking bad-ass. There’s several artists I can pick, with I suppose Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains being my second.
B: Earl Scruggs, Chet Atkins and Hank Williams III
G: I would have to say Halestorm or Motley Crue, for sure.
P: I like to collaborate with Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains too. Also Doug Pinnick from King’s X and Richie Blackmore, but I don’t know how that would turn out. It would probably sound like Rainbow *laughs*.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
P: Go to college, become a lawyer or get into the medical field.
M: Quit…quit now *laughs*…definitely have a backup plan, learn as many different genres as you can on your instrument, practice as hard as you can at home, collaborate with a lot of different musicians. jam, play with people you genuinely like and enjoy and can be around. Also, be respectful and don’t burn bridges. We can go on forever with that one.
B: Become a studio musician and learn some music theory.
E: Stay true to yourself. Play what makes your ears and fingers happy.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
B: Wear a rubber and stay clean *laughs*
E: I wouldn’t do anything different. What you had to do was necessary and it turned out to make you a better musician because of it
M: Watch who you trust. Promoters, band members, venues. There’s a lot of people out there trying to fuck you and not have your back. Trust your instinct and know who you’re dealing with.
G: Know your worth musically, personally & emotionally, but musically for sure. Like I’m not talking financially. Yes, that’s part of it. Surround yourself with people who are better than you musically, so you can learn, for sure.
P: I wouldn’t have been in the music industry. I would have decided to go a different path. I didn’t realize that this path would have been so…life consuming and a challenge. It’s a gazillion on one shot that you make it back then. Nowadays, it’s a gazillion, gazillion, gazillion to one shot. Just try to keep your head above water and do it with a smile.
