US CHRISTMAS
"Eat The Low Dogs was very hard on us to record, but it ended up being the most cohesive work we have ever done. There was a lot of swearing and freakouts and amp punching in the weeks prior to recording, nothing out of the ordinary."
Building on spacerock and wailing indie sounds USX are riding a colossal psychrock wave that owes as much to Hawkwind or Spacemen 3 as it does to their stated influences like sludge metal, blues and early country. "Eat The Low Dogs" is a swirling maelstrom of liquid sounding, cosmic fuzz guitars, analog bleep and whoosh workouts, and universe-spanning dirges. It's a heavy psychedelic trip, and definitely a must-own CD if you're into modern space rock with a dark edge to it.
"Eat The Low Dogs" is out Neurot Recordings.
Words | Nate Hall
This was an album that we made specifically for Neurot. We had done three full-lengths before this, and had learned how to get a good sound on our own. We knew Neurot wanted to release something, and since we have the ability to do everything from writing to final production ourselves, we just had at it.
Chad, who plays synth and guitar in USX, has a home studio. He recorded and pretty much produced the whole thing. There are always lots of ideas floating around, and we have been pretty prolific since we began in 2002. That said, this album was very hard on us to record, but it ended up being the most cohesive work we have ever done. There was a lot of swearing and freakouts and amp punching in the weeks prior to recording, nothing out of the ordinary.
It was in the middle of January and it was cold as fuck outside, and about ten degrees colder in Chad's house where we had everything set up. So the guitars went out of tune as soon as your hands warmed them up. We solved this by letting our hands get as cold as possible and then walking about in astonished confusion when the fingers wouldn't work. That's why the guitars sound so damn good.
It sounds pretentious to say it is a concept album, but I think even a casual listen, if that is possible, will convince you that there is a common thread and energy that holds all the songs together. We recorded all the songs in two seperate sessions, basically in two weekends, with Chad and Nate, Ben and Matt doing overdub sessions throughout the weekdays. While we take ourselves pretty lightly, and usually act like jackasses, this recording is about as honest and gutwrenching as you can get. There is nothing light or funny about it.
Almost all of it came from some other place, it's not like we're really saying anything personal, at least from my perspective. It is an album about human beings, our fears, our tragic flaws, and the brutal things we do. A lament about the darkness in man. It's mainly inspired by a lot of past and current events, literature, and of course a wide array of other music.
Gear:
[Nate] We went to small Class A tube heads and combos for the guitars, and as a result, what you hear is exactly what came through the speakers. We pride ourselves on good tone. In fact, there was little is any EQ used on any of the individual tracks. It's an honest recording. I used several guitars, glow-in-the-dark Gibson SG, 15-pound Les Paul Custom, one-off Gibson Flying V, reissue Hagstrom Swede, mongrel Fender strats. But I only used one amp - a 15 watt Gibson Goldtone I bought specifically for the recording of this album. It is awesome, three knobs, great tone no matter what.
Matt used a mongrel strat with a humbucker and one of those 5-watt Epiphone heads through a Hiwatt 4x12. John got his old Rickenbacker fixed with a new bridge pickup and used a solid state Ampeg. Tim used his old Tama kit with some kind of new cymbal that he promptly broke. As for synths and weird sounds, I have no idea. Moog and Korg stuff, and a keyboard / modular thing that Chad said used to be in Skinny Puppy.
As for Chad's studio gear, to me it's all just a bunch of knobs and lights. I do know that there is no tape involved, it was recorded digitally, and mixed analog. Some people may turn their noses up at that, but we work with what we have, and that is the best way to be in control. We did everything ourselves, made it sound like we wanted, and did not go in debt to record it. We chose what was best for us as a band, and I'm glad we did.
EAT THE LOW DOGS > On to the songs... In The Light of All Time
We did two versions of the original instrumental idea, and both had a different feel and drum approach. I improvised lyrics for this one and Pray to the Sky.
The Scalphunters
I was experimenting with two delays together and started getting the weird effect you hear in this song. I like the approach because the guitar sound starts doing its own thing and produces these strange overtones and feedback sounds. Also used a Hagstrom Swede for one guitar track, as it seemed to cut through the best. It's kind of like Les Paul, but darker sounding, and with a tone toggle on the cutaway horn.
After we recorded it Chad came up with a lead / melody, and my only regret is that we didn't get that down on this track. Teeter had the idea for the raygun synth sound when everything kicks in, that's how he got the gig I guess. Tim's drumming is really creative and and heavy.
Say Sister
One of the oldest songs we had, but we worked on it right up to the end. Used my parts 62 strat and it got a really nice sound, especially in the outro part. Single coils are great for slide leads. It's hard to use a straight-up strat for heavy stuff, but sometimes it's the best guitar. Think I tracked a Les Paul on there for rhythm as well. Old Ibanez tubescreamer for most of the overdrive sounds. Both Matt and I used those I think.
Silent Tongue
Another old one. There is a live version of this on "Salt the Wound", and I wish we hadn't put it on there because it isn't the best reflection of this song. This version is it, no regrets. Had to punch the main guitar track out in the middle because the white SG went WAAY out of tune about halfway through. We had a fire going in the fireplace and the combination of fire and extreme cold made the strings expand and flop all over the place.
The Light and Trails
Chad thought I said, "Delight Entrails". Nope. This is all him, and the only guitar he did on the record. I like having a trippy instrumental
right in the middle of the album.
Uktena
An acknowledgement of Cherokee withcraft and folklore. The Cherokees are a native American tribe that inhabited much of the southeast, including the land we all live on today. They were a very powerful and complex society, and I love their creepy stories about cannibal spirits and wild beings. Uktena is the name of a giant, serpent-like being that terrorized Cherokees until some of them somehow imprisoned it and gained control, but gave it some kind of blood sacrifice to keep it satiated. If you want the accuarate version, just ask a Cherokee person who knows. Or read this
There are many stories about it, but the song isn't supposed to be a literal narrative. I got the idea after talking with a Cherokee woman who told me about a being that lived in streams and would snatch the soul from a person and leave nothing but an animate, but soulless, body that would walk around and talk some but would shrivel up and fall apart after a few days. She said she used to walk down to the creek every morning and wait for this to happen, but it never did. Then she got in a fight in my truck with a crazy woman, and I had
to go to court. Twice. I wrote the lyrics in one burst on a Halloween night. Pretty creepy.
Gallows Humor
This song was originally recorded as an instrumental, on our CD "Bad Heart Bull." I had some words that I liked and they fit right in. Cosmic.
Black Lung
Paranoia. What? Who's out there? Beat up 69 reissue strat with lefty neck on the slide parts. I really like the bubbely synth part at the beginning.
Pray To The Sky
Kind of weird how it came together, this song has received the most attention so far. It was really put together on the spot, but it happened naturally.
EAT THE LOW DOGS > Albums of Influence...
Neil Young – "Weld"
Some of my favorite guitar tones of all time, huge sound.
Caustic Resin - "The Medicine is All Gone"
It's just a great sonic, trippy, dark, beautiful album. They have done a lot of good records but this one is my favorite.
Jimi Hendrix - "Electric Ladyland"
Jimi Hendrix - "Electric Ladyland", "Axis", "Radio One" sessions, pretty much everything. The best.
Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Live at El Mocambo"
Live VHS and CD versions. The live version of "Texas Flood" is the best tone and control and raw emotion I have ever seen. A true master
of the guitar. He rules.
Pink Floyd - "Animals" EAT THE LOW DOGS > Art credit...
The artwork was done Scott Cline, a good friend who has played a lot of music with us over the years. He did everything, the design, origianl art, layout, everything. He also did everything for the 12 inch EP Neurot put out last year.
Words | Nate Hall 
