Please explain how “The Mighty Nimbus” came to be?

Pete and Dinis were at a concert and a drunken Pete told Dinis he wanted to start a band so he could jam with me, his brother. He asked Dinis if he knew any bass players and Dinis, being a metal guitar player, said he would give it a whirl. So, Nimbus started jamming and writing songs as a power trio playing while I was back in Minnesota during college break and Pete wasn’t touring with SWS. During the “Reason to Live” tour with Sixty Watt Shaman and Alabama Thunderpussy, Pete showed Erik Larson the CD with some real rough tracks and asked if Erik would sing on it. Long story short, Dan got wind of the “project” and wanted in. After a few months of talks over the phone and swapping e-mails, Erik and Dan flew out to Minneapolis and in about 5 days, we showed them the 8-songs and recorded the shit. After we heard the shit with Erik and Dan we became THE MIGHTY NIMBUS because we kill everything we see.


Is this just a side project away from your original bands, or is this a full-time job?

Well, I can’t really speak for ATP or SWS but all cross-members are definitely putting time in on this thing. I know ATP is still working out singing duties and SWS is writing and letting everyone work on “side projects.” I just want to make it clear that THE MIGHTY NIMBUS isn’t a side project…we are a fuckin band that is going to record CD’s and tour the world.


To those that have not heard "The Mighty Nimbus", what can a rookie expect?

Bleeding ears and horrible nightmares for weeks…depending on exposure, of course!! The best description I’ve heard in a review was, “The Mighty Nimbus is like a sloth on Xanex.” It’s hard to classify us because we have so many influences but we are mostly mentioned in the same breath as Crowbar, DOWN, Sabbath, St. Vitas, and the Obsessed. If you like doomy, sludgy metal with psychedelic guitarmonies and angry, “Anselmo-like” vocals…you’ll love the shit. If you are tired of turning on mainstream “metal” radio and hearing Limp-shitdick, Linken-Log Park, and Godsuck, then log onto http://www.whitetrashdevil.com/nimbus for further details on how we can “save” your soul.


Dan has such a fascinating and unique style of vocals, how has it been to work together?

I love Dan, he is a great and dear friend to all of us and our families. When Pete said Dan was interested in doing this, everyone was down. What can I say, the guy is a talent. Not only is he underrated as a vocalist, the man writes some of the best lyrics in the biz. If you get a chance to read the lyrics, they are deep. We have a link on our web page for his lyrics. When I first read them, I was blown away…still am.


How is the songwriting processed approached?

You know, Pete wrote majority of the songs and Dinis also writes a lot of the riffs. It’s kind of fucked up because Pete, Dinis, and I will be sitting in the jam spot and we’ll just come up with riffs and they come together. Dan handles all of the lyrics. It’s tuff to write together because Erik lives in Virginia and Dan lives in Oklahoma. So, we will write and record some shit, send it out to those two and then they write their parts. It’s like a long distance relationship without the phone sex! I think once we get some time for everyone to get together for an extended period so we can all collaborate, shit will hit the fan because Erik and Dan are both great song writers in their own rights.


Is everyone involved with the band able to make it there full-time job? Or do you have to find other ways to make a living?

Because we are still labeling shopping and all that fun stuff, we don’t have the luxury to quit everything else and focus on the music. Although, I voted on stealing other peoples songs, re-doing them, and singing some bull-shit pussy “tough guy” hook on top of some open chords…errr wait, Fred Durst and Kid Rock beat us to it! Anyway, we all got our own shit we do…we are just like everyone else, struggling day in and day out. We are just tired of listening to the same song played by different “bands” and are looking for a few good people to support our cause…


Is North Dakota home base for you? What is that like?

Short answer no with a but, long answer yes with a maybe? I am a student at Valley City State University in ND but believe me, it’s not home base. If I had to locate an epicenter of the destructive path left by The Mighty Ones, it would be Minneapolis. Pete, Dinis, and I are all from Minnesota and our jam spot is in Minneapolis. We recorded our promo in Minneapolis and well shit, it’s a great fuckin city.


How does the band view internet file sharing?

I guess for us, we are still trying to generate a name for our selves so file sharing is great exposure. I get a lot of music and movies from the internet. What gets my panties in a bunch is bands like Metallica nit picking about kids getting “free” songs and them not getting royalties. Wow, how fuckin greedy…the rich get richer. Here goes my short rant: Metallica should a) focus on writing better music then they have in the past decade and b) the industry should stop charging almost $20 for a goddamn CD. In the retail world, if I buy most anything and don’t like it, I can bring it back…right? Not fuckin CD’s, you, the consumer, is stuck with shit. Now, there are just some CD’s you buy and if they suck, you have to live with. But man, I know if Entombed or Grand Magus releases a CD, it’s going to kill everything. There are just bands that you like and you will buy what they put out, if it sucks, well that sucks! But, if I listen to a song on the radio and buy the CD, and the CD sucks, I should be able to bring it back due to some sort of suck-clause that should be lobbied in congress. If I like a song, fuck it…I’ll take it from the internet. Does that answer it? Oh yea, we encourage you to share our files from our MP3.com page linked from our web page; remember kids, first ones free, second one will cost ya!


What are some of your crucial influences?

Personally, I love Crowbar…anything they do fuckin slays! Because I am a beginning drummer, I am trying to find my style and do a lot of studying of modern drummers. My biggest influences of the modern era are Jimmy Bower of Crowbar/DOWN, Trinidad of Dixie Witch, and my bro, Minnesota Pete of Sixty Watt Shaman. Of course, Jon Bonham, Bill Ward, and Ginger Baker are some of the best of all time. I want to say that when I saw Dixie Witch in St. Paul, it changed my life. Trinidad is fuckin wow, changed my whole style and outlook on drumming, not to mention they are great guys! As a band, when we write songs in the jam spot, Pete has the gift of writing something to the style of shit he’s listening. For instance, we have songs that people will say…sounds like Sabbath, sounds like Crowbar, sounds like High on Fire, or sounds like Obituary or Kyuss. I like the fact that we can do that because each of those afore mentioned bands have their own sound and then we just add our little flavor to it!


Favorite things to do besides music?

Everybody is kind of into their own things. I am a retired Semi-Pro Football player, so I love the game. I am currently a high school football coach in ND while I go to school. I am a competitive power lifter and am training to start doing some strong man competitions in the very near future. Other than that man, we love to jam and we all have families that consume a vast majority of our time.


What is in your current playlist right now?

In my CD player now I have Dixie Witch, Grand Magus, Pentagram, BLS, Murder Squad, and Clutch. Everyone has such a broad spectrum of music that we listen to; it’s kind of cool. I guess we are kind of working on a cover of a Robin Trower tune right now, fuckin heavy! Dinis is more into the black/death metal. So, we get that influence from him and Pete is into the blues and doom/stoner rock scene. I just love fuckin Crowbar…Windstein is the man!


Is there an ultimate song or album out there?

I guess everyone has their own gig but, I like songs that give me fuckin goose bumps when I listen to it. There are so many good bands out there that no one (above ground) has heard of. I guess if I had to name one or two current albums to say are great right now it would be Grand Magus and Dixie Witch…coincidently, both bands are friends with The Mighty Nimbus and we all support each other. I recommend going out and buying those CD’s…or do some file sharing! Oh yea, can’t wrong with the new Murder Squad or Clutch either!


At what point in your life did you realize music is going to be the ultimate pleasure and must be pursued?

You can make a life in the music industry? Where? When?


Where do you plan to take this project that has been created? What does the future hold?

Again, this is more than just a project…we are a full-fledged band, no side-project label needs to be affixed to us. In reality, the sky’s the limit for us. Right now, we are just waiting for the industry to make decisions regarding our immediate future. Ultimately, we will have cleansed the world of gay-music and created our own sub-species of revolutionaries.


What can one expect to see live? Is there a tour in the works?

The music, when I listen to it or play it, is something I would like to see live; lots-o-raw power and energy. Without divulging too many secrets about a live show, there is blood involved and if you are anywhere near the front row, you’ll need a pretty good alibi if you get pulled over on the way home from the “show.” We are planning a tour of Europe in the Winter but all is up in the air as we await label news. But, tune into our website for all tour news!!


Care to share any thoughts on today's current events?

We want to thank the troops who are breaking their balls over seas so we can enjoy our freedoms over here, right fuckin on! Oh yea, attaboy Kobe!!!
 

Any words of encouragement to would-be rock and rollers out there?

I think John Denver said it best, “Holy fuck man, watch out for that….”


How does one go about getting a hold of some Nimbus?

Log on to the website, http://www.whitetrashdevil.com/nimbus for all mp3’s, news, or talk shit with a great group of assholes in our forum. We have a couple of split EP’s and some compilations that we are going to be on in the upcoming months, so be on the look out. Repent now…for musical genocide is upon you! Thanks guys, Big Andy.

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