Monday, November 10, 2014

American Heritage Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band these days?

Nothing. Adamn quit.


2.Recently you have recorded a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I don’t know… you tell me. I guess to me this record feels like a continuation of what we were doing on the last record, as was the record before that one… but NOT the one before that one. That one was half bullshit.


3.This is the first album to be released in 3 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Not much.  Our drummer lives in Georgia and the rest of us in Chicago so we couldn’t function like a normal band. We would practice once every six months or so and try to write as much as we could. I did a handful of tours filling in for Enabler, Wolvhammer, and Mares of Thrace. Me and Adamn got married (not to each other). We started jobs. We quit jobs. One of us played a bunch of Soccer. Another got a job as a janitor and lives with his mom. You know… normal life stuff.


4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

I’m not really sure. Adamn wrote most of those. But from what I understand of them they are mostly about assorted hemorrhoid creams, trepanation, and the latest offerings from Cold Steel®.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'American heritage'?

None. It was either that or Meow Meow Kitty Meow. No… I’m not joking. I’m still not sure we made the right choice. Eh, I suppose U.S. History is pretty brutal, right?


6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

This is impossible to answer. We’ve been a band for so fucking long and played with so many kick ass bands… it’s really hard to single out just a few memorable shows.

I’m not sure how to describe us live… it’s been so long, I kind of forget.
We have fun. We also play everything way faster than we do on the record. Our drummer likes to make it as difficult for the rest of us to play as possible.


7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album/

We will play at least one show in 2015 with Adamn as a farewell.
As far as touring goes…Probably not but I’m not saying no difinitively.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the newer music by fans of metal and hardcore?

Great. I mean… I still don’t think anyone has heard of us after all this, but it seemed like people liked our last record? We got a lot of positive reviews for whatever that’s worth. We live in a bubble so it’s really hard to say. We haven’t been able to do a proper tour in a very long time, so it’s not really in our faces. We’ve never been ones to pay too much attention to that sort of stuff anyhow. We just would write our songs, record them and play shows when it was possible…. Which it very rarely really was. It’s too bad because I think we always enjoyed playing live more than recording.


9.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

I have a project with Botchy from Sweet Cobra called Dissident Regressor. We have an EP that’s in the can and are currently trying to figure out how to release it. I’m working on a new project with Bill from Indian / Lord Mantis… but that’s kind of on the back burner at the moment since he’s been out on tour. I’m playing drums in a noise rock band with members of Mares of Thrace and Ling Ling called Waspkeeper. We are recording an EP next week. I have a couple other projects that I’m working on but am waiting to see how they pan out before I talk about them more. I don’t think Mike, Adamn, or Erik are up to much musically these days as far as I know.


10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I don’t.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We all grew up on punk rock and sort of grew into metal as we got older. I think there’s been an undercurrent of our punk roots going through everything we’ve done.

As far as what I’m listening to these days… I’m all over the place. I don’t even know how to choose what to list, so I’m just going to post from my “Recently Played” playlist… Apparat, Art of Burning Water, Asva, Bastro, Belong, Black Flag, The Cardigans, Craw, Dark Angel, Darwinsbitch, Decapitated, Dismember, Ditches, Early Graves, Einstürzende Neubauten, Ben Frost, Glazed Baby, Gorguts, Mark Harris, Hoover, Damien Jurado, Keelhaul, Krieg, Lewis & Clark, Lord Mantis, Low, The Melvins, Moving Targets, Origin, Pedro the Lion, Phantogram, Power Trip, Rival Schools, Rotten Sound, Saviours, Skinny Puppy, Skitsystem, Struck by Lightning, Twilight, Vio-lence, 1349.  


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m an artist / illustrator. I’ve done artwork for Coffinworm, Corrections House, Buried at Sea, Enabler, and a bunch of others. You can check out my work atscottshellhamer.com.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Farts are funny and poop comes from butts. 

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