36 Crazyfists - Back in Holland with Brock
On the 12th of April, 36 Crazyfists played in the Melkweg in Amsterdam. Brock Lindow (vocalist) was kind enough to sit down with Metalrage and answer some questions while having some nice beers!
.jpg)
So how are things going?
So how are things going?
Awesome, every show was awesome, except last night, which was kind of weird. I remember that it was weird when we were there before..most kids are like "YEAH!" throughout the whole show but but these ones were more like "blah" during a song and went "Yeah!" when its done. We kinda got spoiled in the UK because the kids over there are just nuts, they know every damn word and they sing louder than me. Some times the crowd isnt that excited, but we toured in the UK for a week or so and it was just awesome. The next show was Paris, which was great as well, but Belgium was a bit "hmm". But the tour itself is going great.
Why did you guys toured the UK, like twice or more, before coming over to "mainland Europe" again? Late last year there was a tour announced, but somehow only the UK part of it got done.
Actually we found out about that on this tour. I never knew that we were supposed to tour the rest of Europe last year, until I read some e-mails from kids in Germany who went like "Hey how come I’ve got your ticket and now you aren’t coming anymore". And I thought: "Huh, we’re not supposed to go to Germany..". So I dont know why we never knew about it. I’ve been hearing this every show since the UK. Its like someone "kept" it from us. They pulled the plug on it and we just never got told.
Well over here in Holland, the day 36C was supposed to play, there was also a show in Rotterdam with the Slayer/Slipknot/Mastodon package, and someone said "Well thats a reason why the show is cancelled since no one would go"..
Ah well we’re not trying to compete with that! But I`m just very happy that we got a chance to come back, because this is the last tour on the Snowcapped record. We’ve been to the UK for like, 5 times on that record cycle, so its great to come over here finally. Better late than never!
You are busy with the new album, I believe you are actually playing one or two new songs live..
Yeah we have two but only play one..
But how is the progress of the new album?
Its slow as usual, but we’re very excited about the new songs. It will be done around the end of the year. We’re going to record in the fall and it will probably come out early next year.
Well, if it doesnt get delayed for lets say, 6 months..
Exactly! Well that might happen, it would be typical Roadrunner..
So as a band, how do you guys write your stuff?
We dont really write anything on the road. Usually in the States, we tour in a van, so we don’t even have enough room. And over here..well we’re just so excited to be on an actual bus so we’re more interested in making sure that its like a casino, bar, lounge or a club..so there isnt much for new work on the bus. So yeah, we just go home, rehearse and hash it up.
Will the new album be different, regarding lyrics? Because a choice got made to make Snowcapped a more positive record. Any change in that?
Well over here in Holland, the day 36C was supposed to play, there was also a show in Rotterdam with the Slayer/Slipknot/Mastodon package, and someone said "Well thats a reason why the show is cancelled since no one would go"..
Ah well we’re not trying to compete with that! But I`m just very happy that we got a chance to come back, because this is the last tour on the Snowcapped record. We’ve been to the UK for like, 5 times on that record cycle, so its great to come over here finally. Better late than never!
You are busy with the new album, I believe you are actually playing one or two new songs live..
Yeah we have two but only play one..
But how is the progress of the new album?
Its slow as usual, but we’re very excited about the new songs. It will be done around the end of the year. We’re going to record in the fall and it will probably come out early next year.
Well, if it doesnt get delayed for lets say, 6 months..
Exactly! Well that might happen, it would be typical Roadrunner..
So as a band, how do you guys write your stuff?
We dont really write anything on the road. Usually in the States, we tour in a van, so we don’t even have enough room. And over here..well we’re just so excited to be on an actual bus so we’re more interested in making sure that its like a casino, bar, lounge or a club..so there isnt much for new work on the bus. So yeah, we just go home, rehearse and hash it up.
Will the new album be different, regarding lyrics? Because a choice got made to make Snowcapped a more positive record. Any change in that?
Its definitly going to be on the hopeful side of things. I`m not trying to go back, I’m trying to go forward. I`m trying to get away from depressive things and just try to become a better human being, basically. So thats the path that I’m on. But also I`m not trying to alienate any of our fans. The musical path of this record isnt going to be a complete right turn, people won’t be going "What the hell is that?". It will be a mixture of things we have always done and hopefully something new gets born. I hope it has the same result as the Snowcapped record, but even better.
We’re going to play a new song tonight, and the heaviest things we have done musically, are in both of the new songs. But its not that it are "really heavy" songs, it has stuff like some doublebass, but on the other hand its melodic as well. We’ve always been trying to get "heavier". Its not like we are going to become like Slayer overnight, but we want to incorporate heavy parts. We want our shows to have bad ass moshpits. And being a band that sings about love and things like that, can make it tough. We’re not trying to wave the "flag of evil metal". We would love to see people make out during a show and see hot chicks, but at the same time have people to dance or mosh or whatever. We will definitly try to incorporate the live "essence" into the new record.
Recently the Destroy the Map single got released over here in Europe. It also has two cover songs, Sad Lisa and Workhorse. What is the story about those two?
Workhorse is from a band called Cast Iron Hike, which we loved when growing up. We used to play that song all the time, and when the new record came up, we needed it "b-side" for Japan. And we’re not a band that has alot of left-over songs, so we chose the easy way out. "Lets do covers", you know. I like to hear covers, especially from some obscure bands. Not like some Michael Jackson song or something. So we choose workhorse, and we did play it live for a long time.
We’re going to play a new song tonight, and the heaviest things we have done musically, are in both of the new songs. But its not that it are "really heavy" songs, it has stuff like some doublebass, but on the other hand its melodic as well. We’ve always been trying to get "heavier". Its not like we are going to become like Slayer overnight, but we want to incorporate heavy parts. We want our shows to have bad ass moshpits. And being a band that sings about love and things like that, can make it tough. We’re not trying to wave the "flag of evil metal". We would love to see people make out during a show and see hot chicks, but at the same time have people to dance or mosh or whatever. We will definitly try to incorporate the live "essence" into the new record.
Recently the Destroy the Map single got released over here in Europe. It also has two cover songs, Sad Lisa and Workhorse. What is the story about those two?
Workhorse is from a band called Cast Iron Hike, which we loved when growing up. We used to play that song all the time, and when the new record came up, we needed it "b-side" for Japan. And we’re not a band that has alot of left-over songs, so we chose the easy way out. "Lets do covers", you know. I like to hear covers, especially from some obscure bands. Not like some Michael Jackson song or something. So we choose workhorse, and we did play it live for a long time.
Cat Stevens was a huge influence on me when growing up. My parents played him alot and I’ve always heard it around the house. I always liked Sad Lisa, because it was such a depressing song. Me and Steve (Holt, guitar) just recorded it one day but we never played it since, so thats the story about that one.
I remember from the Roadrage tour 2 years ago that you played Digging the Grave from Faith No More. I also remember that those shows were recorded, what ever happend to that?
I got one videotape of a show in Dublin, and thats pretty much it. Well I got tons of pictures. I actually got a videocamera for this trip..man I got some weird shit. Most of it is just partying on the bus, but I had to do an interview in the UK. It was with three guys who have like a cable acces show called "urangatang TV" (ed: or something like that. And they do a thing called celibrity slap. And you have to play a game like rock-paper-scissors, and I lost both times. So the little guy slapped me kind of soft, but the second time he nails me! So we were all kind of laughing about it. But he went like, "well its okay if you hit me". So I said "ahh no man.." and then WHAM! I didnt mean to hit him hard but I, like eared him. But he was a really nice guy and went like "Ah thankyou mate", and I got it all on video. We’re really trying to put out a DVD with the next record. We have so much stuff from 1994 to today. Weird party stuff and just some awesome footage. Good backstage anthics and shenanigans. We really want to put that together.
.jpg)
On the forum there was some word about a dvd being put together from the Egan Center show, what ever happened to that?
The deal was that those guys…well I dont really know them but they’re really nice guys. They got that AK-49 clothing company and give us clothes all the time..they are into bmx and motorcross and stuff. But they approached us if they could film and take pictures, and it went like "Hey we can make a DVD out of this". But I thought "Wait a second, you cant just put out a dvd, we are signed to Roadrunner, we dont want some possibly shitty ass dvd out". Altough the trailer did look really good. I never saw it, but that was my own fault. They tried to get me to look at it many times, but I was just a bit scared about it. And then in the end they went: "hey so can we get a bit of money for this?" and I said: "Uh dude, not like this, bye bye!". Thats the short version of it. Obviously they didnt want a lot of money, but no one works for free. Thats why it didnt really work out, but I would love to see it done.
I remember from the Roadrage tour 2 years ago that you played Digging the Grave from Faith No More. I also remember that those shows were recorded, what ever happend to that?
I got one videotape of a show in Dublin, and thats pretty much it. Well I got tons of pictures. I actually got a videocamera for this trip..man I got some weird shit. Most of it is just partying on the bus, but I had to do an interview in the UK. It was with three guys who have like a cable acces show called "urangatang TV" (ed: or something like that. And they do a thing called celibrity slap. And you have to play a game like rock-paper-scissors, and I lost both times. So the little guy slapped me kind of soft, but the second time he nails me! So we were all kind of laughing about it. But he went like, "well its okay if you hit me". So I said "ahh no man.." and then WHAM! I didnt mean to hit him hard but I, like eared him. But he was a really nice guy and went like "Ah thankyou mate", and I got it all on video. We’re really trying to put out a DVD with the next record. We have so much stuff from 1994 to today. Weird party stuff and just some awesome footage. Good backstage anthics and shenanigans. We really want to put that together.
On the forum there was some word about a dvd being put together from the Egan Center show, what ever happened to that?
The deal was that those guys…well I dont really know them but they’re really nice guys. They got that AK-49 clothing company and give us clothes all the time..they are into bmx and motorcross and stuff. But they approached us if they could film and take pictures, and it went like "Hey we can make a DVD out of this". But I thought "Wait a second, you cant just put out a dvd, we are signed to Roadrunner, we dont want some possibly shitty ass dvd out". Altough the trailer did look really good. I never saw it, but that was my own fault. They tried to get me to look at it many times, but I was just a bit scared about it. And then in the end they went: "hey so can we get a bit of money for this?" and I said: "Uh dude, not like this, bye bye!". Thats the short version of it. Obviously they didnt want a lot of money, but no one works for free. Thats why it didnt really work out, but I would love to see it done.
I remember that most people on the forum said "Wow this is awesome, I`ll be happy to pay this xx amount of money for that!"
Yeah I know. But maybe when we get "our" dvd out, we’ll get them, us and Roadrunner together and work things out. I dont have any good show footage, just shitty and crazy stuff. Those guys were pretty professional and had like 5 cameras, one in the back, on behind the drums, two on the stage, etcetera. And by the looks of the trailer, they really knew what they were doing. It also had cool shots from Anchorage, the lights and the sun going down. We’re really going to try to work things out.
So what has changed in the past 3 years for you?
So what has changed in the past 3 years for you?
More fans, slowly but truly we’re trying to to spread our name as much as possible. Some of got engaged or maried. Life is happening, and I’m turning 30 at the end of the month. We’re getting older, thats for sure. This band has been going on for 11 years, and lot of things have changed. We’re definitly way better live since those days, and million times better than when the band started (hopefully)…
You got engaged recently, doesnt it bother you when you think about maintaining an active "marriage" while being on the road for months?
Its like breaking up with your girlfriend, you never talked about it before until you do it. I`ll be married next summer, our new record will be out, we’ll be touring the earth and being away. It sucks but I have to live my dream until the end.
So what are the inspirations for the whole band, things you listen to? I happen to know you played some Metallica songs in the old days..
We played a shitload of Metallica songs!
But what would be the main influences for 36C? Everyone who hears and likes 36C goes "Oh I love them but I can’t really compare them to any other band that I know". Sometimes I say like well its like Boysetsfire + a bit of Glassjaw and a bit of this and that and blablabla. Where does it come from?
That's the million dollar question! We’re doing our own thing, but not reinventing the wheel or something. We are definitly not The Mars Volta. Things from Metallica, things from the Deftones. Bands we loved when growing up. I think those things shine through a little bit. We’re trying to keep things as original as possible. If you go to Los Angeles, you might run into 200 bands who sound the same. If you go to Alaska, they sound nothing like eachother. That place breeds a sort of "unique" people. Not better people, but just with different thoughts and attitude because of things like the weather and the enviroment. We’re just trying to not rip things off. The Deftones tag is cool, and I get it, and I love the Deftones. But the Glassjaw thing..I dont get it, but people keep saying it. I dont sound anyway like Daryl. He has an awesome voice but I dont sound like him. The lyrical content might be a bit similar.
But what are some other bands from Alaska or Portland (ed: Portland is the current location where the band lives) who definitely deserve some more attention?
Delmag, for sure. They are our buddies from Alaska. We’ve known them forever. The guitarplayer and the drummer are dudes I’ve looked up to since when I was a kid. They’re like a darker Foo-Fighters kind of thing. Mike, their singer, is a great lyricist, and is actually an acoustic player actually. He’s just a great talent. Other than that, there are a lot of of friends in bands I know from around there, but I dont feel as if I should put my name on them. Everyone has to work for it. But Delmag is a band that I really try to help, but Roadrunner isnt a place for them, and I dont know that many labels. When they play in Alaska, they get good crowds. I think they are the most popular band there. But I want them to experience "this". They’ve been playing just as long as us, they’re great musicians and they deserve it also.
.jpg)
In a few weeks you guys are back home, and then?
We drop our bags, take a shower, jump around a bit being happy about not having to live in a suitcase for a while. Last year, I lived in a suitcase for almost a whole year. I had a place I just moved into, but I havent slept there for more than two or three days. When we get home from this tour we probably take a week to settle back in, and then get to work on the new record. I probably go to Alaska for that week and see my friends, and go back to Portland after that to start rehearsing…and I hate every second of that –laughs-!
So not going to Florida, chilling out on a beach while recording some new stuff?
Ah no, I dont think we are going to use James (ed: Wisner, producer for Snowcapped) again. We need something new and fresh for every record. We’ll definitely use Andy Sneap (ed: Mixing for Snowcapped) again, he really is our man regarding that. I really like that guy called "Machine"..he did stuff like VOD, Armor for Sleep and Emanuel. He isnt a big metal guy, but he’s good at getting melodies out and bringing the best things out of a band. We’re going to try and seek that out a little bit.
Any new stuff in the cd-player or i-Pod?
The new Armor for Sleep, the new Judas Priest. I got some Usher in there..you got to bring that to a dance party. Have you guys heard of Cliffton (ed:?)..I just got their cd, its really good.
So another question..Thomas always wears his backpack around..
Oh I love that. Somehow everybody knows that, and asks "what is in the bag?"..
Yeah, what is in the bag?
I dont know what is in his back..why does he have bag on…fucking weirdo! But its funny. He would take it the bag and his jacket of in a bar, but put the bag back on. And I was like: "Thats weird, dude". But I believe its mostly stuff like cigarettes and cds. And his drumpad, he is playing with that the whole day.
Well that pretty much covers it! Anything left for the readers?
If you picked up our record, thank you! If you dont have it, it is in stores and pick it up! Thats about it!
Metalrage would like to thank Brock for his time, and Roadrunner for arranging the interview!
Its like breaking up with your girlfriend, you never talked about it before until you do it. I`ll be married next summer, our new record will be out, we’ll be touring the earth and being away. It sucks but I have to live my dream until the end.
So what are the inspirations for the whole band, things you listen to? I happen to know you played some Metallica songs in the old days..
We played a shitload of Metallica songs!
But what would be the main influences for 36C? Everyone who hears and likes 36C goes "Oh I love them but I can’t really compare them to any other band that I know". Sometimes I say like well its like Boysetsfire + a bit of Glassjaw and a bit of this and that and blablabla. Where does it come from?
That's the million dollar question! We’re doing our own thing, but not reinventing the wheel or something. We are definitly not The Mars Volta. Things from Metallica, things from the Deftones. Bands we loved when growing up. I think those things shine through a little bit. We’re trying to keep things as original as possible. If you go to Los Angeles, you might run into 200 bands who sound the same. If you go to Alaska, they sound nothing like eachother. That place breeds a sort of "unique" people. Not better people, but just with different thoughts and attitude because of things like the weather and the enviroment. We’re just trying to not rip things off. The Deftones tag is cool, and I get it, and I love the Deftones. But the Glassjaw thing..I dont get it, but people keep saying it. I dont sound anyway like Daryl. He has an awesome voice but I dont sound like him. The lyrical content might be a bit similar.
But what are some other bands from Alaska or Portland (ed: Portland is the current location where the band lives) who definitely deserve some more attention?
Delmag, for sure. They are our buddies from Alaska. We’ve known them forever. The guitarplayer and the drummer are dudes I’ve looked up to since when I was a kid. They’re like a darker Foo-Fighters kind of thing. Mike, their singer, is a great lyricist, and is actually an acoustic player actually. He’s just a great talent. Other than that, there are a lot of of friends in bands I know from around there, but I dont feel as if I should put my name on them. Everyone has to work for it. But Delmag is a band that I really try to help, but Roadrunner isnt a place for them, and I dont know that many labels. When they play in Alaska, they get good crowds. I think they are the most popular band there. But I want them to experience "this". They’ve been playing just as long as us, they’re great musicians and they deserve it also.
In a few weeks you guys are back home, and then?
We drop our bags, take a shower, jump around a bit being happy about not having to live in a suitcase for a while. Last year, I lived in a suitcase for almost a whole year. I had a place I just moved into, but I havent slept there for more than two or three days. When we get home from this tour we probably take a week to settle back in, and then get to work on the new record. I probably go to Alaska for that week and see my friends, and go back to Portland after that to start rehearsing…and I hate every second of that –laughs-!
So not going to Florida, chilling out on a beach while recording some new stuff?
Ah no, I dont think we are going to use James (ed: Wisner, producer for Snowcapped) again. We need something new and fresh for every record. We’ll definitely use Andy Sneap (ed: Mixing for Snowcapped) again, he really is our man regarding that. I really like that guy called "Machine"..he did stuff like VOD, Armor for Sleep and Emanuel. He isnt a big metal guy, but he’s good at getting melodies out and bringing the best things out of a band. We’re going to try and seek that out a little bit.
Any new stuff in the cd-player or i-Pod?
The new Armor for Sleep, the new Judas Priest. I got some Usher in there..you got to bring that to a dance party. Have you guys heard of Cliffton (ed:?)..I just got their cd, its really good.
So another question..Thomas always wears his backpack around..
Oh I love that. Somehow everybody knows that, and asks "what is in the bag?"..
Yeah, what is in the bag?
I dont know what is in his back..why does he have bag on…fucking weirdo! But its funny. He would take it the bag and his jacket of in a bar, but put the bag back on. And I was like: "Thats weird, dude". But I believe its mostly stuff like cigarettes and cds. And his drumpad, he is playing with that the whole day.
Well that pretty much covers it! Anything left for the readers?
If you picked up our record, thank you! If you dont have it, it is in stores and pick it up! Thats about it!
Metalrage would like to thank Brock for his time, and Roadrunner for arranging the interview!
Related Content
Other Related Content