Music for the Muse, Nerine Dorman talks Music

 

Nerine Dorman's writing is wildly innovative, her most recent release INKARNA proves that. 
Her music taste is just as imaginative! Help me in welcoming one of my favorite writers to the blog~

If I hadn’t gone into publishing I would have been a musician. I’ve played a number of musical instruments from a very young age, and studied classical music as a subject until I matriculated, majoring in guitar with piano as a second instrument. I played bass guitar in a selection of grunge, Goth and black metal bands, and sometimes gigged solo with my classical guitar. But, life has (sensibly) gotten in the way of me performing, though I have never quite quit fooling around on my bass or guitar when the muse bites.

When I write, music goes hand in hand with the process; the soundtrack I choose while creating a novel is carefully selected to match the story. And, of course I have my favourites, which shift according to my place in time. Most of my novels are fairly epic to some degree, but I’ll give you a short musical tour to give you an idea of what I ended up pairing.

I wrote my two Khepera novels to a steady diet of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dead Can Dance and Bauhaus, sometimes interspersed by the film soundtracks by Hans Zimmer (mainly Pirates of the Caribbean and Gladiator). So, we have a contrast between 1980s Goth and somewhat dramatic and often exotic soundscapes. Dead Can Dance acts as an eclectic bridge between the two. Jamie, the main character, listens to those bands, a lot. In book one he still dresses the part, complete with eyeliner and an ebony mane teased into kingdom come. I wanted to capture that rebellious essence I felt during the late 1990s when I was still part of Cape Town’s Goth scene. We looked back to that era, gave little thought to the future, and went out of our merry way to be provocative in a culture where we, as European Africans, were adrift without identity. And, of course, who can say no to Peter Murphy’s rubber voice or Siouxsie’s sultry siren call?

 Here’s Progeny from the Gladiator soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer:

In 2010 one of my musical heroes passed away tragically. Peter Steele had been an inspiration to me – the one who made playing bass not only cool but damn sexy. And that voice… Deep, baritone reduced to an almost subsonic growl… This coincided with an extended depression for two years. Not so much mourning for the man, but a sense of a profound sadness for lost potential, and at that time I looked inward, and didn’t like what I saw. His death made me remember the dreams I’d had when I was in my early twenties, and made me re-evaluate my direction in life. Consequently I listened to a lot of Type O Negative during this time, and wrote three stories that were heavily themed with music: Hell’s Music, What Sweet Music They Make and Inkarna. If I have to drag one song out that said the most of this time, it would be Suspended in Dusk. It evokes a darkly romantic and very tragic sense, which supported me during my meltdown late 2011. I realised something vital: I’m not ready to die.


 Suspended in Dusk by Type O Negative:

But I have started flirting with other bands. I’ve recently reawakened my love for Fields of the Nephilim. Frontman Carl McCoy has what I can best describe as a whiskey-raw voice and when I’m looking for a desolate feel to my writing, I listen to my collection of Fields of the Nephilim. I’ve a novella I completed during this time which I’ll need to rework at some point, but there’s dust, open spaces and an abandoned landscape. Civilisation as we know it has come to an end and man is at the mercy of the elements. At least that’s what I feel when I listen to McCoy. If you want to write a post-apocalyptic Western, listen to this band. Mourning Sun is one of my many favourites. See:

I must make special mention of Azam Ali. She’s a very prolific Iranian-born musician who stands with her feet rooted firmly in the musical traditions of both West and East, incorporating Middle Eastern sounds in a contemporary package. Oh my, and she’s lush. Now that I’ve finally embarked on writing secondary world fantasy, I listen to her a lot, as she invokes an undercurrent of exoticism that helps me visualise my settings. Eerie, soulful and enigmatic – she helps me seek the muse of mystery. Her musical endeavours are also marketed in groups such as Niyaz and VAS, and I’d say that she compares very favourably to the likes of Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance.
 Go look up her Endless Reverie,

Before I conclude, however, I’m going to toss one
 of my all-time favourites – none other than JS Bach. He’s my special treat, and when I need to totally go into a writing trance, I listen to The Art of Fugue. There are some stunning recordings arranged either for the pipe organ or strings. Both types are sublime. If you want to hear a musical composer who speaks with the voice of the divine, Bach was one such. No other has been able to follow up with the complexity and sheer perfection of his preludes and fugues. He was a master of his art, and for me, as an author, to plug into the beauty of his creations inspires me to craft a tapestry of brilliance with my words.

Listen to Contrapunctus 1:

Bio:

Nerine Dorman is a somewhat grumpy editor, author and musician who resides in a Treehaus in Cape Town, South Africa, where she cares for her husband, who is an award-winning indie filmmaker and visual artist. Nerine is cultivating a steadily encroaching forest, likes Earl Grey tea and can be bribed with cupcakes. Sometimes she hand-rears pigeons, but only bites…a little.

Follow me on Twitter @nerinedorman
on Facebook~
Nerine Dorman 

My novel, Inkarna, is available from Amazon. Go grab it now while it’s on special. http://www.amazon.com/Inkarna-Nerine-Dorman/dp/0983160392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336592119&sr=8-1

A Warm Sigh with Tunes of Dawn

I can't claim discovering this band, but when I was made aware of them, I instantly fell in love. The baritone vocals and sweeping melodies turn my bones to jello. I’m excited to welcome Tunes of Dawn vocalist Hagen Schneevoigt here to the blog, so let’s get to it.

 Welcome Hagen, Tell me a little about Tunes of Dawn. How did they come into being? Who are the current members?

 It all started out in 1993 when we were a death metal band. But we became kind of bored over the years and decided to change our style. Also of the different tastes of the Members.
 Tunes Of Dawn is me, Hagen Schneevoigt, on bass and vocals, Martin Schorlemmer on drums, Gunter Büchau on keyboards and Rene Gödde on guitars.

 What are the band's influences? Personal influences?

 The main influences are of course rock and metal. But in fact we are all listening to different music like jazz, classic, pop, gothic and whatever, everyone brings their own taste into the band. The mixture of our tastes bring a lot of musical influences into our style. Type O Negative is definitely one of them, but there are so many others, ranging from Black Sabbath to Pink Floyd.
 Many times it’s not so easy to say which is the strongest influence, especially because it can differ so much from one piece to another. It was always important to us not to restrict ourselves to one style, to keep growing and try out new as well as old stuff.

What is the band’s writing process like?

 With most songs I have the outline in my mind and, by playing and everyone bringing ideas in, the song is created. Sometimes one of the others has a song-line created already. Other times I have a song completely written out and we just fine-tune it in the rehearsals.
 Within these different processes a song is sometimes created in one day; sometimes it takes a month or more. It depends on the mood we are in or we're trying thousands of different sounds for a song.

Two major themes for ToD seem to be suicide and hope. Care to elaborate on the juxtaposition of these two themes?

 Suicide always was a theme, symbolizing so much the extreme situations a human can get into, where taking your own life seems the most absurd thing to do for a living creature and, on the other hand, such a logical and easy solution of dealing with a world completely out of its mind. So, it breaks down to Hamlet’s contemplation whether there is more honour in bearing life in silent suffering, or to withdraw and refrain from taking part in this crazy game.
 Then again, it feels so helpless to just let everything happen, and there might be the option to fight. This is where hope comes into the picture. As long as we keep breathing there might be a way to conquer your own life and fill it with love instead of despair. And this is where you can find a strength in yourself you didn’t believe could be there and rise and rage. And, then again, you find it was all in vain in the end and all you want is to vanish and finally find time to relax, finally find peace. And be it in pieces. But because of that, our music is not just sad. Sometimes its hopeless too ;o)


What do you do when not playing with Tunes of Dawn?

Well, beside the band, each of us works in a regular job. Unfortunately the music does not pay. Some of us are also involved in some other musical projects, like playing in a cover band to gain some money or helping out friends in the studio with their recordings. It’s good to keep the diversity in our musical minds. Be it playing in a band with different music, sound- or composing-structure. Or keeping musically fit, for example playing in a cover-band.

What kind of bass do you play?

 Usually I play a 5 string LTD bass, but I also play Ibanez and an ESH bass. It depends on the sound I need.

 Favorite fan moment?

The last record release show in October 2010 in Berlin. In the middle of one song almost 500 people raised burning sparklers and fluorescing crosses. I almost forgot to sing. A stunning moment.

Most embarrassing moment?

 I think that was when a string of my bass and a string of Rene's guitar broke at the same time on stage. We just looked at each other and started to giggle. But mostly because we had to stop playing to change the strings. It felt like an hour. But shit happens.

 Whiskey or Vodka?

 Definitely both :o)


 If you could sit down to dinner with 5 historical people(living or dead, and they can be musicians) who would they be and why?

 I think that would be Elvis Presley, Peter Steele, Billy Idol, Jack the Ripper and Beethoven. The musicians are major influences for us. I would ask Jack the Ripper how he managed to never be caught.

 What is next for Tunes of Dawn?

What can we look forward to? Currently we are writing new material for the next album which will hopefully be released next spring. But before we are releasing a digital EP called "Basement Goodies" carrying some specialties like acoustic-songs, a remix and a song we have written for our friend Kilian Kerner for his show on the fashion week in Berlin. It will be out on June 1st.

 

you can find Tunes of Dawn at the following links~

http://tunesofdawn.bandcamp.com
www.tunesofdawn.com
www.myspace.com/tunesofdawnmusic
www.reverbnation.com/tunesofdawn
www.youtube.com/user/TunesOfDawn

These Three Things – A Long Story and Music by Carrie Clevenger

Carrie Clevenger knows music. Never professing to be an authority on the subject, she approaches it with humility and an enthusiasm that few can match. And yet, she knows more than most of my previous bosses do. She singlehandedly rekindled my own enthusiasm for music when I thought it to be dead. She is the voice behind wicked twitter/YouTube VJ Xan Marcelles @crookedfang and will have her first full length novel Crooked Fang released this August. Clevenger exposes herself in a beautiful and lyrical way with this post, by opening a vein and bleeding music for us. I for one am a fan! Enjoy! 


 

Music has always been a part of my life. My parents listened to 1970s-era pop, country, and oldies, meaning 1950s to 1960s decades’ music. But my first experience with music was a radio my grandfather bought me when I was about eight. It was the first I ever had to myself; one on which I could listen to any station I chose. Sure, I’d been given a tiny AM transistor radio years before, but all it received was baseball games and talk shows. This new radio got FM and that opened a whole new world of sound to my eager ears.

The year was 1985, and new wave was hot as the head of a comet in that time. The early forms of alternative were developing between the Casio-style basic beats. I fell in love with the new stations I discovered in the privacy of my room. I was raised in a religious household, and although my parents weren’t as strict as other kids’ parents in the same church, they still watched my choices as closely as they could. There were times when I’d be getting ready for school, and a song would come on that would make my mother say “What is this?” and demand I either change the channel or turn it off (one of those artists was Madonna).

 I soon settled in a long-term love affair with a band I still consider one of the most lucrative groups on earth, Depeche Mode.

“Blasphemous Rumours” was such an outlaw song for me at the time. A spit in the face of organized belief. A seed that made me realize I could think for my own self.

Depeche Mode had several albums to choose from at that time, but was still fighting the pretty-boy syndrome. As years passed, the boys gained more creative control over their works, and the albums kept getting better and better. Asking which one of their albums the most would be hard. Every CD is like visiting a new destination. Some of my favorites are Violator, Exciter, and Dave’s “Jesus” phase, Songs of Faith and Devotion.

Fast-forward to around 1994. Grunge was in, and I was head-over-heels in love with Guns N’ Roses, Danzig, Metallica, and of course, Nirvana. I subscribed to some sort of alternative video service. I think lots of us had BMG or Columbia House, unable to resist the 12 free CDs for 1 cent back then. Anyway, I got my VHS tape, popped it in the VCR and, in between, I believe it was Soundgarden and Dream Theatre, I caught and heard my first impression of Type O Negative.

Peter Steele and his dark methods in metal were like nothing I’d ever heard before. The song on the video was called “Christian Woman.”

Another poke at the idea of someone wanting a god so much, yes?

His looks, his demeanor, and definitely his voice caught my head and my heart instantly. I was hooked and immediately struck out to find Type O Negative’s album. Of course the stores in our tiny town didn’t have that sort of music, so I had to go to the mall in a neighboring town to finally possess the CD Bloody Kisses. Discovering this band for myself also lit the fuse for what I would consider my muse many years later. The music inspired me in ways I’d never been before. It spoke to my fears, my insecurities, my depression, everything. Peter let me know I wasn’t alone in his songs.

Moving forward to 2001, I was fully into multiple genres of music. Type O Negative was still my main vice of choice, and to be honest, this still hasn’t changed to this day. But in order for me to become what I was to become, I needed one final ingredient.

My spouse at the time and I visited a friend’s house together and fell into a discussion of different bands we liked. Music had gone digital by this point and ripping CDs commonplace. Our friend went to her computer after I brought up that sure, I kind of liked “Sober” by Tool but knew very little about them. This friend of ours was a massive Tool fan.

“You need to hear one song by them. Just one, and then you’ll know if you love them,” she said to me.

“Pushit” really spoke to me about someone dealing with a situation that is so overwhelming, they take a very desperate and violent way to get away from it.

The song was just a few seconds under 14 minutes long, but I sat perfectly still, mouth wide open as I heard the swell and burst of the guitar, the deep growl of the bass, and Maynard’s voice warbling clear and brilliant like the sun peeking out from behind a cloud on a rainy winter’s day.

My mind went utterly apeshit with interior images. I had nowhere to put it; I didn’t even know what it was. I’d always sketched my entire life, so I drew like a maniac. It wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t enough. It didn’t feel like it was the thing I should be doing.

Tragedy struck in the fall of 2001. A friend as close to my heart as family committed suicide. The news of his death devastated me.

I listened to my three major influences: Depeche Mode, Type O Negative, and Tool constantly. And a few weeks after the dark day, I sat down at my dad’s new computer and started typing.

It had me. It possessed me, this story I was writing. It was shit; I hadn’t even graduated high school. I was just some dumb female, married with a new baby, that had a voice in her head that would not shut up. I was slow. I had to look at the keys to type. I lost endless hours of sleep, but about six weeks later, I had a short story, full of errors and plot holes, that amounted to about 90 pages, single-spaced.

That story was the tiny flame that eventually turned into a blazing inferno in my mind for my novel 11 years later:

Sometimes a vampire's past can bite him in the ass.

Xan Marcelles--bassist for Crooked Fang, vampire and full-time asshole, is content with his quiet existence in the backwoods of Pinecliffe, Colorado. But life at the Pale Rider tavern is set to become a little more complicated when he gets entangled with a feisty, blue-haired damsel and her abusive soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.

To add to his woes, he’s gone from hunter to hunted, and his past returns to haunt him when a phone call draws him back to New Mexico. With the help of friends from his living past, he must get to the bottom of a murder, and figure out where he stands with his lover and his band, all while keeping one step ahead of his enemies. Hiding won’t be easy for him, especially with a mysterious woman dogging him every step of the way.

WARNING: Cussing, smoking, drinking and hot sex.

ebook cover from Lyrical Press                  print cover

Get a preview now of Xan Marcelles in my collaborative work, Blood and Fire. For the month of May, both sites will carry Blood and Fire for the low price of 99 cents.

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-and-Fire-ebook/dp/B006SD3F2S/

On Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-and-fire-nerine-dorman/1109933142

Carrie Clevenger landed in the urban fantasy genre when she couldn't decide between horror and humor. When not writing she enjoys listening to music, hanging out with musicians, attending local venues, catching her favorite bands on tour, and obsessing over The Next Big Album release. Carrie resides in Austin, Texas with her family and two cats.




You can find Carrie Clevenger on twitter~
@CarrieClevenger

and Xan Marcelles on twitter ~
@Crookedfang

Carrie's website
Mindspeak

Crooked Fang's website
Crooked Fang

Method to my Madness Music Series #1 : Sonya Clark

Even before I started writing seriously, nearly every book I read had a soundtrack to me. My favorite example of this is James Ellroy. He started out a humble mystery/thriller writer, then became the legendary Demon Dog of American literature with some of the most searing, hard-boiled prose to ever earn the name noir. The LA Quarter - The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential, and White Jazz - are my favorite books by Ellroy. Spanning the late forties to the late fifties, these four books paint a masterpiece of Los Angeles always overheating with its own unique darkness and frequently bursting into flames. Full of bad guys, tough men, and even tougher women, they also feature some of the most romantic subplots I've ever read, an antidote to all the violence and despair. There's a feel to the books, a sound, a certain type of jazz I'd always hear in the back of my head while reading them. Cool West Coast jazz like Dave Brubek, Gerry Mulligan, one of my longtime favorites Chet Baker. The hard bop of Charlie Parker, a tight frenetic boil threatening to spill over at any time. That's what reading Ellroy sounded like to me - all the complicated mystery of the jazz of that era in which the books were set. When just hearing it in my head wasn't enough I'd play some of it on the stereo while reading.
At some point, I don't remember when, I came across a jazz album from Bob Belden called The Black Dahlia. The album was actually inspired by Ellroy's novel of the same name, which to this music lover is just about the highest honor an author and book could receive. The music fits the novel perfectly too, moody late forties jazz with a cinematic feel best played long after dark. I don't know what Ellroy thought of the tribute. I did eventually learn the author himself is more of a classical music fan, which didn't make a dent in my association of his work with jazz.
When I took my first stab at writing seriously, the book was soaked in music. Perhaps I should say attempted book, it was never finished. The plot was about music, the main character was inspired by a vague name out of one my history books on the blues, and I toyed with an outline that mimicked the verse-verse-chorus pattern of songs. The book went nowhere but I was beginning to find my way with using music as the method to the madness of my writing. Finding songs that suited them became an integral part of developing characters. It's a way of setting the tone for their personality, even if the lyrics aren't quite a perfect match. Sometimes a song will be perfect for a particular scene but I don't need a song for every scene. Mostly what I need is the sound of the book.
Just like with characters, finding the right sound for a book means discovering the tone and the mood of the story. With Mojo Queen that sound was blues, classic and alternative country, R&B and soul, early rock and roll - in short, Southern music. I eventually made a short playlist to encapsulate the book but while writing I listened to hours of RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Johnny Cash, Al Green, and anything else that provided the right background mood. Music that felt like a particular sultry sort of darkness that called up the earthy kind of magic I was trying to evoke in the story. When it was time to write the follow-up, Red House, I went back to that music again.
My latest work in progress, a novel called FreakTown that is still in the revisions process, is very different. For one thing it's set about fifty years in the future, which led to a real dilemma in finding music to suit it. I wound up going back to the past. The first piece of music I found that sparked inspiration for this project was a track from Bob Belden's The Black Dahlia album. It fit the noir-ish mystery I wanted as a big part of the plot. It fit so well in fact that one of the main characters suddenly had a collection of hundred year old jazz. That happens a lot with my characters - I can't keep my own love of music out of them. The other main character has more of a Depeche Mode and Faithless feel, so I wound up with a pretty diverse playlist for this book too.
In fact "diverse" is a pretty good word to describe my taste in music. My next writing inspiration could just as easily come from Led Zeppelin as Florence + The Machine. A character whose favorite music is the Flying Burrito Brothers on vinyl is likely to be a different sort than one who has the entire catalog of Thelonious Monk on their mp3 player. I'm always on the lookout for music that's new to me too, and more ways to weave music into my stories. Music is the most powerful form of magic there is, so it makes perfect sense to me that someone who writes about magic would also be writing about music.
*

 ******************

Sonya Clark grew up an Army brat, living all across the United States as well as Japan and Germany by the time she graduated high school. Books were one of the few constants in her life. An eclectic reader, she always had a special love for the paranormal and is a lifelong fangirl of all things that go bump in the night.

A deep love of music is another constant thread in all of her fiction. She writes at a desk equipped with High John the Conqueror root and a mojo hand. She has worshipped at the mother church of country music, traveled the back roads of the blues highway, been to the crossroads at midnight, and though she’s never cooked up a mess of polk salad, she has been to Graceland four times.

She lives with her husband and Yorkie in Tennessee.

Learn more about Sonya Clark at her blog found at www.sonyaclark.net.

Girls,Guitars, and Fireworks? - Eric Anthony of Powderburn

Recently you may remember my review of Powderburn's EP One Fix. This band has some fantastic old-school metal elements without becoming cliché. They are on their way up that much is true.
On that note I am really pleased to welcome PB's lead guitarist Eric Anthony to the blog. He has graciously agreed to chat us up about what makes him tick.. you know beside the usual drink, women, and geetars. So let's just get with it shall we?

 Welcome Eric, glad to have you aboard!

 So tell me a little about Powderburn. How it came to be?

How did Powderburn form? I don’t really know since I was not a part of it then but some thing happened in an apartment in Jersey or here in Texas (as I have read on wiki) and then bam!!! Powderburn formed. There must of been some serious jamming or bro hugs cuz Powderburn has been going strong ever since.
 There are three original members right now: Ken Lockman (guitar/vocals), Greg Enkler(bass, vocals, pizza maker) & Joel Reyes(drummer, back up vocals) I joined in 2008 and it feels like its been 15 years of my life. There were a lot of member changes back in the day but this is now and who cares about then, right??

Who are the band's big influences? What is the writing process for the band like?

What is great about us is we have SO many influences. But we do agree one..Metallica. That has both pros and cons. Not every one of our songs sounds the same or has the same feel over and over. But writing sucks sometimes because there are four different ways we want the song to go and its hard compromising to just one. But we are good at letting the song take its own path and not shoe horning riffs just because..which I like to do,a lot. We all have a hand in writing but 95% of the time it's me or Greg with riff ideas or a whole song structure and then the others put in their two cents and then the song suffers because it's not the way I wrote it. So threaten to quit and then I get my way. I am the MVP! HA HA not really! I am a riff machine, some bad, but most good! ;) And Greg is a composing genius! He is real good at making the songs something that I would of never thought they could be and it usually sounds fukn kick ass! Joel just complains he doesn’t have a real drum set at practice and Ken writes music videos for the songs before he writes lyrics. Kind of backwards but I guess it works. Wait, we aren't famous yet, I guess it doesn’t. ;(

(greg enkler and eric anthony)

OK let's talk about you-What made you pick up the guitar?

“Stone Cold Metal” I was a HUGE Stone Cold Steve Austin fan back in the day. Anything he liked, I liked more. Kind of gay when you think about it now. haha. But he came out with a compilation CD of some of his favorite metal/rock songs. Scorpions, Kiss, Ted Nugent, Def Leppard, Accept, and one of my biggest influences, Dokken. But only because of George
Lynch. I hated Don’s voice. Like a camel making love to a terrorist or vice versa.

What kind of guitars do you use? 

 I play Jackson guitars through a Peavey 6505+ amp head. I love the look and feel of Jackson guitars. Very smooth and rugged at the same time. Does that make sense? fuk it, it does to me. I get certain tones and squeals out of my guitars that I can't seem to get with others. I want to eventually have my own line of Jackson guitars called “Jacksoff” HAHA get it??? I’m sorry if that was rude :(

 Who are your big personal influences?

I have four main influences: Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, & George Lynch. I broke my VCR from playing an instructional video of George Lynch from playing it EVERY single night so I could fall asleep. I also listen to a lot of pop stuff you might not expect. Lady gaga, Katy Perry, Rhianna, and even gangsta rap like Bone Thugz N harmony. I get a lot of arrangement and small riff ideas from listening to that stuff. And it's catchy as fuk, and there’s just no denying that.

 What do you do when not playing with Powderburn?

 I am a state licensed pyrotechnic! Fireworks, special FX, flame FX anything with fire or explosives, I am all about! I also off-road when I can in my jeep. Luxury to me, is dirt and mud. I used to race ATV’s but mine breaks all the time and I have no money to keep fixing it. I shoot guns with my family and LOVE LOVE LOVE Call of Duty! And I am a gym rat.

 Favorite fan moment? 
It's always an honor when there is a line at our merch booth to sign posters and stuff. Girls showing their boobs. Some good, some should never take their bra off ever again! EVER! But one of the most intense moments was in Laredo, TX. We played our first arena show with Korn and right after we got off stage we packed up and loaded in to Average Joe’s Sports bar. It was a pretty drastic change. Kind of, “back to reality” We were setting up for the official Korn after party. The show was absolutely nuts! There were about 250 people and it could barely hold 175. In the middle of the set I am playing a solo and all of a sudden my feet are not touching the stage. The crowd lifted me up and I was crowd surfing while playing my guitar solo. I felt like I was part of the crowd. They were so into it they decided to be part of the band themselves. BEST FEELING EVER! I am glad they didn’t flip me over, cuz I am sure I had a chub going. (Hope that’s not rude either) ;)  

Most embarrassing moment?

 I’m not typically embarrassed much. Falling down is usually what does it. I fell off stage completely one time. Thought the stage was a bit bigger, and I bit the dust. All you can do then is get back up, laugh, take a shot, and keep playing. But only in that order! Or the whole thing is ruined.

Whiskey or vodka?

JAGER!!!!!!!!

 If you could sit down to dinner with 5 historical figures who would they be and why?

 I don’t know if my list is technically “historical” but to be honest, eating with George Washington or some other dead boring dude just doesn’t seem like much of a party. And I love to party ;)
 1.Dimebag Darrell- No explanation needed for that one.
 2. Chuck Norris - was a big fan when I was a kid, and still am. And I want to pet his beard and shake his beard hand.
3. Leslie Neilson- one of my favorite actors of ALL TIME! Love every one of his movies and have always wanted to meet him.
4. Mikhail Kalashnikov - he invented the most famous gun of all time. And Russian accents are awesome.
5. (skinny)Anna Nicole Smith - She was my first love! And this dinner is starting to look like a sausage fest.

 Favorite books?

 What’s a book?

What's next for Powderburn? What can we look forward to?

We just released a brand new EP entitled “Come And Take It” It was produced by Aben Eubanks (guitar player for Kelly Clarkson). I know what you're thinking....WTF?!?! But the dude was pretty metal for being a vegan. Surprised all of us! And he knew what he was doing! We are about to hit the studio again with Sterling Winfield. He did the last two or three Pantera albums and the first 2 Hellyeah albums. We are giving up on doing a CD/album every year or every 2 years. It’s 2012 and the majority of people get their music online via iTunes, Google music, etc. So we will most likely be doing that from now on. Just keep an eye out on www.powderburn.net or on our facebook for updates and such. Hope I wasn’t too graphic in the interview and I thank you from the bottom of my little black heart for this interview!!! Thanks sooo much! -Ecrest out

Here's a bit of a teaser video for you all!

Thanks for dropping by, pleasure to chat with you.. come back anytime!

you can find the band here:

 www.powderburn.net
on twitter -@powderburn
 on facebook-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Powderburn

you can get their music here!!

on bandcamp~
  http://powderburn.bandcamp.com/album/come-and-take-it
http://powderburn.bandcamp.com/album/one-fix

on iTunes~
 http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/one-fix/id336816634

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/come-and-take-it-ep/id520561880