Interview with
Place Of Skulls
questions answered by Tim, Victor, and Dennis
interview conducted by Darren
How did "Place of Skulls" come to be?
Victor: After some time off when I quit Pentagram, I moved back to Knoxville
and hooked up with my old friend and bassist, Lee Abney. We started piecing
together some new material and then placed an ad for a drummer. That’s how we
met Tim and Place of Skulls was formed. That was in the spring of 2000.
Who are
your influences? And why did the band choose to play the style of music
that you currently are?
Tim - John Bonham
Victor: The original Alice Cooper group, Steppenwolf, early Sabbath, & Blue
Cheer.
Dennis: Sabbath above all, Spirit Caravan, Brenner Revelation, Unorthodox, way
too many underground doom bands to list, Voivod, Queensryche, Iron Maiden,
Alice in Chains.
What was it like recording "With Vision" ?
Tim: The best part for me was, I learned some new
studio tricks from Travis Wyrick, our engineer & co-producer…and just being in
the studio with the guys is a great time in it’s self.
Victor: It was cool but I was a little stressed out during the recording. I
didn’t feel like we were prepared like we should’ve been due to the limited
rehearsals, but I’m very happy with the outcome. Then there was the situation
with Greg Turley on bass. I mean he did a great job…but he was leaving after
the record was done and I was pretty bummed about that. Of course none of us
knew what the long-term future was for Wino being in the band since we lived
so far apart. I don’t know man; the whole thing kinda took on a project feel
rather than a real band feel. I wasn’t diggin on that kinda vibe. Of course
hindsight’s twenty/twenty and I have no regrets. I think With Vision came out
great. But if I had the last year and a half to do over again…I’d do some
things differently so the heart of the band would’ve been more in tact. I’d
like to have felt something more along the lines of priority among the people
involved. But it is what it is and the distance between us couldn’t be
overcome. In the end, it’s all cool.
How does the band go about song structure?
Victor: Usually I’ll bring a song to the table and
we’ll run thru the parts a few times to see how it flows. I try to make sure
everything’s pretty much where it should be beforehand. But sometimes things
will need to be tweaked and rearranged a bit to get a fluent feel. Now that
Dennis is in the band, we’ll be doing more stuff from a collaborative
standpoint.
What time
or point in your life did you know you wanted to rock and roll?
Dennis: I guess I always kind of pretended I was
playing guitar (with like a tennis racket or whatever) and I always tried to
sing along to whatever I was listening to, which back then was mostly crap
pop. The moment I knew it was something I wanted to pursue was when this
friend of mine put a bass in my hands and said, "play". Right then. I was 16.
Tim: I’ve never taken lessons but all I’ve
ever really cared about is music and for the past few years, Place of Skulls.
Victor: I first got interested in playing when I was about 9 years old. A year
or two later when I first heard the Alice Cooper Group and Steppenwolf, rock
n’ roll really started to hit me.
Would you care to share any thoughts on the current state of the world we live
in?
Dennis: Does the fact that I
don't want to bring a child into this world hint at
my feelings about it?
Tim: Read Revelations… it’ll tell you everything you need to know about the
state this world is in.
Victor: I go thru phases where I’m heavily into the news and world events but
then it gets to be too much to deal with for a while. I’m very suspicious of
the media and politicians like most people I guess. But I’ve got a bad feeling
about the state of the U.S. especially. We’re hated by so much of the world
and can never seem to mind our own business…our leaders seem to think
everybody should be just like us and share our values. I got a feeling
something heavy’s gonna come down on our heads one of these days that’ll be
much worse than 9/11.
How does your audiences respond to you live, in turn, how does that reflect on
the band?
Victor: It all depends on the gig. If you got a good energetic crowd, then
usually nothing else matters and it’s great…even if you may not be playing
your best that night.
Dennis: I think the gigs I've done with them so far have been mostly cool. You
always have those normal kinds of stresses when playing a gig. Sometimes it’s
a stupid soundman or dumb ass promoter. But you try to rise above it otherwise
it'll eat you up. The true fans always help the vibe of the band. If you look
out and see people getting into it, you feed off of that.
Victor: With this genre of music, you can expect to play some shows with less
than ideal turnouts. On those nights it can be trying just to get through the
set. But we’ll always try to do a kick-ass show for the die-hards who show
their support.
I would like to comment you on not only great guitar work on the album, but
the tones that were generated. Do you have a formula or gear that you can't
live without?
Dennis: yeah, turn up...really loud!
Victor: Man, I go thru gear like water. I’ve been through something like 5
different amp rigs since Place of Skulls started, but with the same speaker
cabinets. I use four 4X12 cabs with Celestion 75 watt speakers for live shows.
In the studio for With Vision, I used a couple of different set-ups. For
rhythm tracks, a mid 70’s Sound City SMF head and a Voodoo Lab preamp thru a
Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 power amp. Both were run thru a single 4X12 straight
cab. Then for lead tracks, I used a Fender Presonus 60 watt combo, a ’79
Marshall JMP 50 watt head, and a Line 6 Pod Pro directly into the board…those
are great if you need to jump in somewhere quick with a fill and avoid a lot
of set-up time. For live shows, I’m using the 4X12 cabs with 3 Laney GH100TI
heads…one head for back-up. Then I run through a pedal board that consist of a
Line 6 Delay Modeler, a Carl Martin Boost Kick, a Dunlop Wah, Morley Volume
pedal, Danelectro EQ, and a Danelectro Sitar Swami. Hopefully I’ll be content
with this set-up for quite a while.
How do you feel about rock and roll nowadays?
Dennis: I like a lot of it. There's
so much variety in music these days you'd be hard pressed not to find
something to get into. I also try to keep an open mind. But for the most part
I like the stuff that has the minor progressions, to give it that sad sound.
Tim - Most of it I cant stand but
there are a few bands I like.
Victor: To each his own but personally, for the most part I’ll stick with the
shit I grew up with.
How is your free time spent?
Dennis: I could lie but I won't, I'm an internet junkie. Not much of
anything else.
Tim- With my family or fishing.
Victor: I’m usually so preoccupied with some aspect of Place of Skulls, it
doesn’t seem like I have much free time. But when I do, I try to spend it with
my wife Anne. She’s really the most important earthly love to me. We’ve been
together for 15 years and she’s put up with it all. Other than that, I try to
always have something to read and I enjoy working on and riding my bike.
What is in your CD player right now?? Any
recommendations?
Dennis: Pink Floyd – Pulse…and if you like Place of Skulls I'd
recommend you check out these bands: Penance, Orodruin, Reverend Bizarre,
While Heaven Wept
Victor: The past few days I’ve listened to Last Chapter, YOB, Bible Belt
Byproduct, and some Celtic stuff by Connemara & Emma Christian.
What does the upcoming year hold for "Place of Skulls"?
Victor: We’ve got tour plans through the early summer, which should
start to take shape within the next few weeks. After that we’ll begin to
concentrate more on the new material for the next album. I’d speculate a
studio date around October sometime.
Closing thoughts?
Dennis: Open your minds and hearts and receive Place of Skulls! I hope
to meet you on tour!
Tim- Thanks for your time and to all the fans out there. Can’t wait to see you
on the road. It’s been too long and I’m looking forward to getting on stage.
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