BAND: Machine Head
INTERVIEWERS: Chris Hazel (chrish@bandvibe.com) and Liz Wise (liz@bandvibe.com)
INTERVIEWEE: Phil Demmel, lead guitar
DATE OF INTERVIEWS: 04/26/07 (San Diego), 04/29/07 (Denver)

BAND MEMBERS:
Robb Flynn- Vocals, guitar
Phil Demmel- Lead guitar
Adam Duce- Bass, vocals
Dave McClain- Drums

We have a double treat for you Machine Head rockers out there! Our Kickass Bandvibers, Chris Hazel and Liz Wise got to interview Phil Demmel in two cities of Machine Head's tour with Heaven and Hell, and Megadath! Chris started off first meeting with Phil over in San Diego on April 26th, and Liz closed out the remaining interview with Phil over in Denver on April 29th. Check out the pics from Denver (link is provided down this page).

Let's start it off with the interview taken in San Diego with Chris and Phil...

Chris: Since you guys live in the bay area, do you ever check out local shows and if you so, do you have any favorite local acts?
Phil: I don't get out to many local shows because we are always on tour or recording.

Chris: Machine Head rather unceremoniously parted with roadrunner records USA, only to go back to them. Have they changed their attitude towards Machine Head with this new deal, and is the promotion of the blackening up to snuff considering the strength of the album?
Phil: We produce the albums, they promote them, and I have seen more Blackening posters around so I do feel they are promoting it.

Chris: Are you in talks with Jackson to produce a signature guitar for their lineup?
Phil: Actually, I was speaking to Jackson earlier today about putting my guitar as a production model for next year.

Chris: The Red V or the Warrior with the Machine Head logo?
Phil: The Red V, the one with the cuts.

Chris: The "Elegies” live DVD was badass, are you guys planning another concert DVD?
Phil: Not any soon, but maybe later down the road.

Chris: Just curious, who were the opening acts for the “Elegies” DVD?
Phil: Uh, it was Caliban and God Forbid. Caliban is a German band and God Forbid is from yeah…USA

Chris: During the Supercharger era, a song called "Rat Race" was listed on import versions of the album, but has since disappeared and was not released on those versions after all. What happened to this song?
Phil: Wow um... that's before my time with the band.(shrugs) not a clue.

Chris: What were you doing before you joined Machine Head full time?
Phil: I was playing with the Vio-lence reunion tour and with a band called Technocricy.

Chris: Are you still playing with them or is Machine Head your full time gig?
Phil: I'm in this full time, Technocricy is done. Vio-lence is done, I'm here.

Chris: What is the key to the Machine Head guitar sound? Is there a slight effect going on at all times? Sometimes it seems as though there's a touch of flange going on, but it's very subtle. Other times, it's obviously over-the-top, but in the main sound... something is there?
Phil: We stick to a specific sound, and Robb plays with all different types of amps but he loves the 5150's. We’ve tried all types of strings, and effects. Yes we use flange but not as the only effect, other pedals as well.

Chris: The 5150's stock or heavily modified?
Phil: Modified

Chris: When the band is on tour, are there any cites that you guys just can't wait to play for again other than your hometown shows?
Phil: We love playing in Chicago, Philly, and we just finished playing in Montreal on the log tour and had a blast.

Chris: Any favorite cities in Europe?
Phil: London is Insane!

Chris: Are there any bands out there that you guys would flat out not play with?
Phil: Well...were not going to be asked to play with Ashlee Simpson, but it comes down to personalities not bands that are the issues.

Chris: I know that you said you weren't in the band at the time but just asking if you know, where did the lyric “Let freedom ring with a shotgun blast!” come from? Is Rob the primary writer or is there total band input into lyrics?
Phil: Robb came up with that cuz it sounds cool, and he is the primary writer. This is Robb’s band, and he has very specific ideas, but I do contribute riffs, other ideas, and it all mixes.

Chris: Have you guys pulled any “Rufus” pranks with the guys from this tour or is playing with Heaven & Hell too sacred to mess with? (if you don't know what the Rufus is, check out the DVD)
Phil: (laughing) No, we haven't pulled any thing like that on this tour yet. We've just been watching by the sidelines checking it out first, but some thing might happen, who knows?

Chris: How do you feel about playing with Iron Maiden in Rome this summer?
Phil: It’s going to be awesome! We missed Rome on the last tour and to be able to come back and play with the freakin metal gods is sweet!

Chris: What advice do you have for kids starting a band?
Phil: Put your heart into it. It's a hard life, and we’re just a moderately successful band. If you can't give 110%, it will be much harder to be successful.

Chris: Thanks for you time and good luck tonight.

Next up, we have the Denver interview with Liz and Phil...

Machine Head has always been in my top 3 favorite bands of all time. So when I got to interview Phil Demmel, I was super excited. We actually sat and talked in their dressing room at the venue. Once I got over being star struck, Phil and I had a good conversation about the past and the present, touring with Dio and Sabbath and what he does when he’s not on stage kicking ass.
-Liz

Liz: So what’s it been like touring with Sabbath? Did you look up to Tony Iommi as a kid? What’s it been like touring with him?
Phil: Oh yeah! Sabbath was the band, some of the heaviest stuff I’d heard at that time. It is kind of surreal being on this tour with them, being around Tony and Geezer and Ronnie (Dio) especially.
Liz: Are you picking up any techniques from Tony?
Phil: Not really because he’s left handed, so it’s kind of hard. But I’ve been watching some of the songs and just seeing how he plays them. Watching the Megadeth guys, I’m learning new stuff for sure. Dave and Glen are both amazing.
Liz: Watching Glen Drover is pretty intense. It barely looks like he’s even touching the strings.
Phil: Yeah, he’s great, pretty amazing.

Liz: And touring with Megadeth? Is Dave a nice guy or…?
Phil: I haven’t met him yet.
Liz: Really?
Phil: No I haven’t. I came into catering once, and he was there and I said hi, that kind of deal but I haven’t really introduced myself to him or anything. The other guys in the band are great, the Drover brothers and James (MacDonough).

Liz: Are you still working as a carpenter?
Phil: Yeah, when I’m home for sure.
Liz: What do you build? Like homes of furniture?
Phil: I do commercial doors like these frames (points to dressing room door), metal doors and frames, or wood. It’s all commercial though. But I don’t install anymore, I work in the office, so I got the cushy desk job.
Liz: That’s where the money is.
Phil: Yeeeeeah! It’s really good.

Liz: Do you guys practice? How often?
Phil: Yeah, when we have a tour, we’re usually practicing a couple weeks before. And when we’re writing, we’ll practice maybe four days a week.

Liz: The reason I ask is because I wanted to ask about warm up dates- like you guys did here in Denver before the Sacramento Tour with Lamb of God. I mean I’ll always come and see you guys no matter what, but it seems like every show that you play should be your best. Like one city shouldn’t get missed notes and vocals… What’s your take on that?
Phil: Well, warm up shows are warm up shows. So we’re obviously going to be better down the road. But it’s not like we’re trying any less on those shows, we’re just more rehearsed a couple shows later. Those first shows are always rough no matter what band you are. And then once you get into tour mode things start clicking and happening.

Liz: In the past, it seemed that Robb would change his look and hair about each time Machine Head came out with a new album. How come he didn’t do anything for The Blackening?
Phil: You know, I don’t know. Robb’s fashion trip is his trip. I don’t know why he does the things he does. Back when Robb quit Vio-lence and began Machine Head he took on this whole different persona, this gangster kind of persona and I don’t know why he did that either.
Liz: I’ll just always remember seeing in a magazine once, they had little pics of Robb’s look and it changed as the albums came out and the music evolved. I always thought that was funny. (Both laugh)

Liz: I like the artwork used for The Blackening. All the graphics look like old woodcarvings. Did you guys have a say in that, come up with it?
Phil: Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It’s a metal carving actually. It was Robb’s idea. We’ve got a licensing deal with the record label, so really we put it together and just hand them the finished product. If they have ideas sometimes too, we’ll just bounce things back and forth.

Liz: I really dig the red and black V guitar you have; is that going a Phil Demmel signature model?
Phil: Right on. Yeah, that’s the one. I’m talking to Jackson right now. So far, it’s a prototype, but hopefully by next January, it’ll be out.

Liz: With the advent of new technologies like digital recording, has the recording process gotten easier? Less takes, etc.
Phil: Oh yeah, defiantly. In terms of tracking and editing and duplicating the album.

Liz: Did you ever think that you’d be playing in a band with Robb again after being in Vio-lence together?
Phil: No I didn’t. I was pretty much going to quit music all together there for a little bit. I never imagined that this would all be happening again.

Liz: Did you imagine that you’d both be where you are now when you were in Vio-lence?
Phil: Nope. I guess there was a time in the beginning of Vio-lence where we hoped that we’d be doing arenas and stuff like that but towards the end it was like um, okay, this isn’t so glamorous.

Liz: A lot of people think of groupies when they think of 80s hair bands I guess, but do you still get that attention?
Phil: (Laughs) Um, I guess that there are always loose women that come to the shows. It just depends on the crew and how they round them up. Because the band won’t try and get them, it’s the crew that goes out there and gets them. Everybody in this band is either married or has a girlfriend pretty much so the crew fends for themselves and take that in their own direction. I think our bus is pretty much the most adult bus.

Liz: I like all your ink and how it’s colorful and not just black and grays.
Phil: I just got a new one. It’s my son’s handprint and his initials. (Shows the tattoo on the underside of his right arm)
Liz: (Points to ankle) I got this one yesterday. I was getting it at noon, then I had to run over and interview Shadows Fall with this huge bandage on my foot.
Phil: I saw that. That’s a pretty painful spot too. Shadows Fall was here yesterday? Our tours are kind of following each other a bit.
Liz: Any other interesting stories behind your tats that you’d like to share?
Phil: Well I have this cross here (right arm). And these are my grandfather’s initials. He owned a construction company, and his symbol was the ram, so I got that. Then my grandma’s on the other side of my arm here, and my mom grew up on a farm so I’ve got this windmill by those initials. ‘Be still and know’ is a Bible verse and my grandma, she had like 20 grandkids, and she gave every grandkid their own Bible verse and she’d write it on every birthday card or Christmas card. It symbolizes what she thought of each of us.
Liz: I got this ‘F’ near mine too for my grandma. I draw all mine out so I know no one else has the same thing.
Phil: Right. That’s killer.

Liz: So you mentioned your son. What’s touring like as a dad compared to back when you didn’t have those sorts of responsibilities?
Phil: It’s a lot harder for sure. It’s harder to leave, I mean he’s ten months right now. He said his first word while I was gone. And he’s walking now. But she’s good about sending me pictures of him and little videos too.

Liz: Anything you’d like to add?
Phil: Just pick up the record. We’ve got a video for ‘Aesthetics of Hate’, it’s online already and we shot one for ‘Now I Lay Thee Down’ so look for those. Thanks.

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