Monday, August 8, 2016

Insect Warfare (09.08.16)

Hi, buddy! How're you doing? I guess you're in a pool right now, drinking mojito after the long trip?

Ha, far from it. Im just back to the daily grind of work and trying to pay off credit cards.
Well, Insect Warfare is back, for a short period of time, but still! Fans were really looking forward to see you again so you even performed in a small gig. How do you feel about this? Have you seen some familiar faces?)

Yeah, it was a great experience for sure. It was really awesome getting to see a lot of people I haven't seen in many years or maybe have only contacted through letters over the years. There were lots of people in Europe I had only corresponded with over the past decade but never actually met face to face. It was incredible to get to do this.


You finally made your dream come true and played at OEF, so I absolutely have to ask about it, hehe)) How was it? What was the fans' reaction? What was the most memorable thing there? 
I can honestly say that to this point, OEF is the most amazing thing I have done with my life. I honestly did not know so many people had connected with our music over the years. After IW broke up I kind of got off the internet for many years so I was really kind of out of touch with a lot of things. It was quite shocking when we got on stage and so many people knew our songs and also the people who came up to me afterwards and expressed how our music had effected their lives. This made me feel great because I have those same connections to certain music that I ilke and it makes me feel like I have done something with my life if someone else can relate to a feeling I was having while writing a piece of music. It was very touching.
Beau, I know that you're very open-minded person in terms of music and you're not stuck with only extreme music. What music are you listening to right now? Tell us a bit about your tastes. 
Ha, I just like sound. I listen to everything and I don't limit myself to extreme music because there are so many great things out there in the world to hear. Music is the only thing I care about and I just feel there is a lot of territory to discover and to limit yourself to one direction will really cut you off from experiencing some powerful things. As far as what I have been listening to lately: right now I have been listening to lots of Syrian traditional and electronic music.

Even though Insect Warfare isn't with us anymore, you guys didn't quit music. Tell us about the bands you're playing right now. And correct me if I'm wrong, but there's not a single grindcore band among them, right? 

Ah correct. Dobber and Rahi have a punishing death metal band called War Master. They fucking rule and have a new recording coming out soon. They were originally doing Bolt Thrower style metal but now have expanded with a lot of European/Swedish influences like Grave, Entombed, etc but also some awesome American style death metal. I absolutely love watching them live. Seeing them at OEF through a massive sound system was punishing. Dobber also has a band called Oceans of Slumber that I also play keyboards for. It is progressive metal with lots of variations and can shift from anything like a slamming death metal type feel to a Fairport Convention style softer feel. Its fun and challenging playing with them because Ive never really experienced music like this but I'm learning very much about the style along the way and thats great. I feel you should always challenge yourself and put yourself into situations where you are not comfortable to move forward as a person.

Considering some of your splits, I can see that you definitely like Japan and Japanese grindcore. What about the other crazy Japanese stuff? Maybe you like Godzilla, crazy over-the-top Japanese tv-shows and horror movies?) 

Ha. I have always been fascinated with Japanese stuff ever since I was a kid. I don't know why, Ive always just liked it. I am also obsessed with Japanese built electronics from the 70s through the 90s. I spend countless days in junk shops looking for these items.


Let's get back to the past and talk about the most memorable things that happened with you related to Insect Warfare? 

Hmmm, to be honest that was a very long time ago so remembering things might be hard but I think two things that always stood out were going to Australia and Japan. It was just incredible going to those places and seeing all the bands in those areas and being completely blown away to see and meet people I had only idolized on record sleeves for forever. I guess that rings true over all as well. This band has really given me the opportunity to meet a lot of people I looked up to as a younger person when getting into grindcore/metal and I feel very fortunate to have been granted these opportunities. 

Now I would like to ask you about live shows. What is your favorite format of a gig? What do you like more: open-airs or small gigs in the basements? 

The open air format was crazy. I had never done anything like that before and it was a killer experience. It was very awesome but I will always be a bigger fan of the small crowded basement type show. There is just a certain energy you feel from the crowd in these spaces and it just always feels more violent. It truly feels like an explosion of energy and i like being in the middle of that.

What do you think about the theory of "grindcore as utopia"? Grindcore as a world where you can run to and hide from all the problems of outside world, and grindcore underground is a huge family and so on. Personally, this is grindcore to me, and what about you? Do you share the same point of view about this? 

Oh, but of course. I mean, there was a decade in my life where all I did was eat, sleep, and breathe grind/IW. I mean, I was going through all these tough times trying to find out who I was as a human being and I used grindcore as a way to cope and deal with these problems. I got out my insecurities, frustrations, and fears through this music. I think maybe thats why playing in IW just felt very natural to me. The sounds this music produced were very congruent with the violent noise I was hearing in my head constantly so it just felt completely natural to express myself with this medium. 

Beau, as far as I know, you were also interviewed by Slave To The Grind. What can you say about it? How long were you tormented by Doug?) 

The interview with Doug was great. I feel honored, honestly, that someone thinks my opinion on this music is valid. Id also like to thank my dear friend Bryan Forrester for taking time out of his life to film the interview so that Doug and I could talk over Skype.

What was the most ridiculous thing you ever heard about Insect Warfare?) 

That we have made some fortune off this music. That always makes me laugh. If I went back and tallied up all the money I lost the years we were a active band against the few little payments we got over the past couple of years we would still be in a big negative black hole. People think that when you play a fest like OEF that you are making some big paycheck when in real actuality you have to leave your work and family for a week. This is not the kind of music you play if you want to make a living. To be honest, when I was working in a cover band as a bass player I was actually making money. In grind you just lose. This is ok though. I didn't set out to write grind songs to make money. I knew all along it was like throwing money into a burning trash can. I did it because it felt good and it was awesome meeting people around the world who felt the same way I did about the world around them. No amount of money can replace that.

Years later we become older and have a ton of different records, but the memories of your first record are always alive. Do you remember your first extreme music record, buddy? What was it?) 

Sure, Metallica. Im not going to pretend like I was some dude who knew about GISM when i was 9 years old. When I was 9 I had Master of Puppets. That record blew my mind. I had already heard things like Sabbath and Purple in my dad's collection but the speed of Metallica just killed me. Then I found Slayer. Then I found Napalm Death. 

And one stupid question for change. Continue the joke: a Saddam Hussein, Elvis Presley and Jesus walk into a bar, and the bartender says... 

Hey, pay your hanged tabs fuckfaces.

And that's it! Thank you so much for this interview! I'm really looking forward to your new stuff! 

Thanks a lot for the interview. Its always great to share my thoughts on such things. Take care and don't eat the yellow snow.