GOLDEN PIG ELECTRIC BLUES BAND "Funeral Wizard: Probably our most metal song to date. What if Gandalf took a page out of General Sherman's playbook? The bridge through the middle sounds like something off side 2 of the first Black Sabbath album or "Paranoid." The Golden Pig Electric Blues Band came together in October of 1995, and consists of Joe [guitar & Vocals], Eric [bass] & Jerome [drums and vocals]. "We wrote words and riffs, massaged and tickled arrangements and jammed a bunch", says Jerome. "The music we made was an expression of all that we loved in heavy music. We took a little from Black Sabbath here, Sleep there and the Beatles from over yonder, as well as anything else that felt good." "Over time we'd recorded demos, some simple 4-track affairs and other more elaborate studio recordings. In the Spring of 2002 we went into the studio with Randall Dunn and recorded the music that we would release as our first CD in the summer of 2003." The band's latest album, "Hitchhiking to Oblivion" [recorded with T. Dallas Reed of Mos Generator-fame at the helm], was released in November 2006 on Heavy Hermit Records. "The music we make is an expression of all that we love in heavy music. I think I can speak for all of us and say that we look forward to making more great music, playing more shows, meeting more great people and having fun while doing so!" Words | Jerome "Hitchhiking to Oblivion" was put to tape, mixed and edited at Temple Sound in rural Kitsap County with our friend Tony Reed at the desk. Temple is a 2" 24 track analog studio off in a quiet woodsy setting. We had already produced a complete demo for "Hitchhiking." and knew exactly what to get down to. Overall we put in six studio sessions spread out over a year or so to get the album ready for mastering. The first weekend was used to get solid takes of bass, drum and doubled guitar tracks. We had base tracks for the entire album when we left Sunday night. Eric snuck back in before the next session to re-record the bass tracks to correct for being slightly out of tune. The second weekend was taken up with more guitar tracks [solos, some harmony parts and the acoustic bit for the song "Hitchhiking to Oblivion"], the keyboard parts for "Carry On" [recorded on Joe's Fender Rhodes], harmonica, some percussion [hand claps, gong and more cymbal] and the first pass at vocals [doubled for all the songs and the harmony vocal on "Grown Old"]. We now had a complete rough mix; our album was slowly taking shape. We showed up for the third weekend just as our friend Mike Schuppe from the Swinos was finishing up the slide guitar for "Born to Lose." More guitar tracking [cleaning up and completing solos], the second pass at vocals ([nearly all redone at this session, we did the homage to Sabbath's "Iron Man" at the end of "Apehanger Messiah" and the keyboard parts for the song "Hitchhiking to Oblivion"]. Tony brought out the Mini-Moog and he & Joe spent an hour or so looking for the right sounds -Joe put down the part he had composed. What started as a quiet, thoughtful piece of road music was turned into a slightly sinister tune reminiscent of the soundtrack to the opening scenes of Kubrick's "The Shining." Cool. In the studio next, Joe and I worked on re-recording vocals for a few songs and made our first attempt at our most ambitious performance yet; the harmony parts for the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young classic, "Carry On / Questions." The results were, uh, very interesting but a huge turn on too. For the most part we don't regularly rehearse our songs the way they'll be recorded for release, particularly with all the extra vocal and instrument parts. So now, for the first time "Hitchhiking to Oblivion" had been revealed to us as a complete piece. Well almost, Joe and I ended up spending one last long evening in the studio recording a new arrangement for the "Carry On" harmony vocal parts. We took one final weekend for the Mixing. Tony was familiar enough with the recorded material and tuned into what we were after so the mix turned over pretty quick. Some of the songs required having separate recorded "movements" edited together which didn't take long. With the mix and editing done, we left the works in Tony's hands to take to his home studio for mastering. Hitchhiking to Oblivion> On to the tracks... The need for transcendance, taking responsibility for your own experience, and accepting mortality are themes central to our songwriting. In some way each of these songs is an expression of these themes. Hitchhiking to Oblivion This one came together after we had the project well underway. It started off with Joe playing the main guitar figure at a rehearsal just kind of noodling around. The light bulb went off and we had the opening to the album. Funeral Wizard Probably our most metal song to date. What if Gandalf took a page out of General Sherman's playbook? The bridge through the middle sounds like something off side 2 of the first Black Sabbath album or "Paranoid". The Longhair One of the first songs we wrote. I love the Soul Brother Number One freak dance bit through the middle. This song has some of my favorite lyrics too. The "It will set you free" at the very end is some Lee Dorrian inspired phrasing. Grown Old You don't seem to pay too much attention to growing up. When you're a kid life is free and easy, then you get out on your own and start to take care of yourself. One day without too much warning, ZANG!, you look into the mirror and you realize that while you weren't looking you got old. The Basilisk "Do not fall in love with me, I prefer to be alone" Sometimes a dude just needs a little "me time." Apehanger Messiah The first song on side 2. Mildly self-indulgent heavy riffing and meandering free rock solos over Jesus Freaks on Weed-Acid Angel lyrics. Born to Loose, Nothing to Prove We get in touch with our Inner Skynyrd with the help of some friends on this song. I imagine the Anti-Christ not so much as a suave and successful evil mastermind but more as just another skinned knee, down-on-his-luck dirt head. The Finger A catchy up-tempo number. We bid fond adieu to all the wealthy, self involved types bopping around like they own the place. They can shove their hollow, cheating, boorish lives up their asses. Carry On / Questions CSNY are Gods. One of my favorite, favorite, favorite songs. We went a bit off the deep end putting this one together. The vocal harmonies were a challenge, to say the least. Sometimes you don't know where you'll end up until you get there, I'm proud that we recorded this song the way we did. Electric Wind This song would not have been possible without "Holy Mountain." Our nod to Sleep. One of my favorite songs. And yes, probably about smoking pot. Hitchhiking to Oblivion> Albums of Influence... These are the albums that most closely inform and affect our music. A great riff, good melodies, a solid arrangement and some meaningful lyrics are very important to us. However, all the head banging, hand clapping, ass shaking, stand the hair on your arms up, roll your eyes up in your head, grinning like an idiot stuff is the real turn on. Black Sabbath - "Paranoid" The first six Sabbath albums are ALL killer and equally important. "Paranoid" on the other hand is THE cornerstone of Golden Pig. Riff, rhythm and lyrics are all worthy of worship on this record. The Beatles - "Revolver" The best songs and the best vocal arrangements. This album establishes the range of tunefulness, poetry and artistic depth of the Beatles. The Stooges - "Funhouse" Their best record. A real head-down, knuckle dragging, badass, snaky motherfucker. The ultimate Rock Action rhythm section, mind blowing guitar playing, some free jazz skronk thrown in for the 'heads', and the coolest man on the planet howling away over the top of it all. The Obsessed - "The Church Within" Wino at the height of his powers. Great songwriting, great arrangements, a great rhythm section and the best voice in Rock and Roll. Sleep - "Holy Mountain" Revolutionary Heavy Rock. Classic riffs, great texture of sound and the weed bent sci-fi imagery is killer.