by Morgan Y. Evans
LINKS:
Spylacopa is a healthy growing baby, a fiercely creative swirl of ideas. More than just a shot in the arm, this EP grabs and holds on in a way reminiscent of Dillinger's own Under The Running board release, short, sweet and leaving you wanting more. It’s a very nice and overdue return to the scene for founder LaMacchia, one of the most exciting mad scientists in underground rock. Having fantastically capable and witty vocalists on board like the Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato and Made Out Of Babies/Battle Of Mice’s banshee Julie Christmas in the mix as well adds up to a recipe for…well, anything. The possibilities are endless.
Ambient preconceptions are shattered the second you put the album on and hear the village-sacking, locked down hammering of instruments in the EP lead off “Haunting A Ghost”. Puciato’s screaming is total bedlam, while LaMacchia calls to mind Fredrik Thordendal at his angriest. Elsewhere, the first single “Bloodletting” rips open speakers with a goliath trudge topped by Christmas’s engaging wail. I think she is singing about little creatures crawling out of the ocean but am not sure. Puciato soars on the chorus and the song crashes like black waves into the bridge. It is rather forlorn yet in a way that feels good and comfortable, a second skin of sorts, a blanket akin to the melodic power guitars on Godflesh’s underrated masterpiece Selfless. Strange screams fill the atmosphere like spirits escaping cracks in the ground. LaMacchia’s trademark shapeshifting lends some terrific color and unexpected high sheets of noise atop the distorted crunch of parts of “Staring At The Sound”, while the closing track “I Should Have Known You Would” is like the best Pink Floyd, dark and humorous and engaging. It makes you wonder how long you could stare into your pupils in a mirror before collapsing, with Puciato crooning “I should have killed you” in an all-too-friendly manner. Fans of early Spylacopa shouldn’t fear that this has all gone the highway to hell of post-punk, metal-noise, though because there’s something for fans of unsettling calms as well in the instrumental mid-record track “Together We Become Forever”, which evolves from cloudlike keyboards into lush string arrangements. Jeff Caxide of Isis’s instrumental input is also not to be left out, solidifying further the songs that LaMacchia helmed and produced.
Doesn’t sound bad for a one little EP, does it! I talked to John LaMacchia and Julie Christmas about making the record, erasing expectations and forming a good friendship in the pursuit of sonic frontiers. Along the way we also discussed alienation and songs that won’t leave your head. Thankfully, you won’t want Spylacopa to anytime soon.
personal realm for you to channel your frustrations and moods in the wake of the accident. Even the name signaled the word Apocalypse in reverse. You had even left Candiria for a while and did Spylacopa solo and then returned to Candiria before the band sadly broke up. How did the transition come about that allowed Spylacopa to change into what it is now? Was it hard turning over the reigns to outside collaborators and trusting them to come into something that had been so personal?
JOHN LAMACCHIA: It was not hard at all. After leaving
Candiria for that spell of time, the intention was to use Spylacopa as
a means to put out my own music on my own terms. Things changed quickly
though when I had a talk with Greg at a Dillinger show. He asked what
I was going to do now that I left Candiria. After we spoke about it he
expressed interest and mentioned the possibility of doing some vocals
for some of it. From there we both took it pretty serious, right from
the get-go. I have a lot of respect for Greg. He's an extremely talented
and versatile musician, so passing the reigns off to him was really a
great way to expand the sound and the flow of creativity. Not long after
that my good friend Jeff Caxide just happened to be moving to Queens,
NY. He also expressed interest in being a part of Spylacopa, and who in
their right mind would turn that guy away? That was the point at which
I knew that musically things were going to change in a big way. I didn't
know how exactly, but it was no longer just about me and my creativity.
Julie Christmas of Made Out of Babies/Battle of Mice
MYE: Julie, first, how was the recent Made Out Of Babies European tour? I saw some footage from France that was awesome, even for bootleg. Secondly, and more pertinent to Spylacopa, how did you approach your vocals for this EP? Was there much writing with Greg together? I love your versatility, from heavy, manic shit like the Made Out Of Babies song "Silverback" but especially on some recent work like Battle Of Mice's “Wrapped In Plain", you've really delved into your melodic sides. I know you are comfortable with both yelling and singing, but, having worked with John also on a forthcoming solo release of yours, what sort of different approaches did you use for Spylacopa? Sometimes you sound almost nursery-rhyming, not in a silly Korn way, but more, not so much fragile as, like it's a window into a personal place. That said, how did you bring what you do to a project that was initially John’s, well, baby? His Frankenstein's Monster! (LaMacchia's Monster takes some getting used to saying).
JULIE CHRISTMAS: The
tour in Europe was amazing, even though we went in August when everyone
usually disappears for the month. Paris is always great for us. I love
it there and people really support heavy music culture. The best show
on tour would be hard to pick, but I can definitely say that the worst
show was in Germany. BLLLLAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!! I'm excited to be working
with John on Spylacopa as well as my own solo release. John is a Brooklyn
boy and we hit it off immediately when we met. Great guy, very, very talented
and totally down to earth. As far as working on Spylacopa goes, I approach
it like I do every song I sing. I listen to the music and try to uncover
what it is trying to tell me about how the vocals should be. I can try
different things when I work with different people because each person
I've been lucky enough to work with has their own style. Greg and I didn't
really get to write together too much because scheduling was difficult
for both of us, but we were both able to respond to what the other was
doing. Greg is definitely the primary vocalist on the album. I think I've
only done three or four songs. It will be fun to work it out in the future
so we can write together.
MYE: How did you both know that you felt comfortable working together? I know you met after John heard Battle Of Mice, but what clicked and made you sort of start to establish a musical connection or whatever the heck?
JL: Well for me, a big part of it was that not only were we both born and raised in Brooklyn but we both now live in the same neighborhood. So working with someone that lived so close by made it so much easier to manage scheduling. There is also something to be said about being born and from the same place. It just made it that much easier for us to identify and be comfortable with each other. We laugh all the time about songs we heard growing up, all these freestyle tracks like “Diamond Girl” by Stevie B. and “Din Da Da” by Art Of Noise. Being comfortable enough with someone to put your heart on the table and put it all out there is really important when you are collaborating on music and after singing “Diamond Girl” in a cab on your way to a studio session, it’s pretty much all out there.
JC: Same for
me. We have very similar backgrounds because we grew up really
close to each other. I'm surprised we didn't meet earlier. And as long
as John is telling about all the terrible songs we have burned into our
brains, I just want to
let you know that he knows all the words to the Afro-centric breakdown
of Lionel Richie's “All Night Long”.
MYE: [laughing] John, how does it feel to have this happening? After Candiria's final record Kiss The Lie didn't get released, which is a crime, how much energy and emotion have you put into Spylacopa? I'm sure it's a lot. It's a stupid question! But, I mean, can you describe what the changes in yourself and hearing what the other collaborators brought to the table evoked and how it shaped the sound of the record? I don't think a lot of people were sure what to expect because you had very mellow ambient material up and released prior and now the newer stuff varies between much heavier and more groove based and some ambient elements still in place.
JL: It feels great. This is a big step for me because not only am I putting this record out, I'm putting it out on my own label, Rising Pulse records. I have invested so much time, energy and money into this it’s just ridiculous. This was not an easy record to make. Between scheduling, financing it on my own, Producing it, artwork, forming a label, hiring lawyers etc. There was just so much that needed to get done and there still is to get this record out properly. The musical aspect was the fun and easy part. Each collaborator’s personality shines through on these songs and that is how this EP and project came to be what it is now.I guess what changed most over the course of making this record and making Kiss The Lie was that I’ve learned how to adapt to an industry handicapped by technology. That’s actually one of the reasons I kept the ambient, moody older material up on the MySpace page for so long. This day and age, the industry is so saturated with music, good and bad that it’s really hard to keep peoples attention so I wanted to wait as long as I could before unveiling the new sound and the actual music from the EP.
MYE: Very smart. What themes, lyrically, did you want to touch on within this project, versus other bands or recent releases? My friend Jeff Jaworski sings for a Sacramento punk band Red Tape and also Will Haven now and I am impressed when singers and instrumentalists can make each project succinct in style or content. Is it sort of a song-by-song basis or does the EP have a sort of thematic arc? Also, people are calling this a supergroup. Do you feel "super" today? And, Julie, how much of a control freak was John, really, about this thing? [laughing]
Greg Puciato of Dillinger Escape Plan
JC: I saw
Motorhead last night, so I am not feeling so super today. But what a show.
Words can't describe how hard those particular Senior Citizens rocked!
Lemmy played harmonica during one song. And the drum solo. The drum solo!
I wish everyone reading this had been there. Um…John is not a control
freak, or at least not with me. When we were recording, I listened to
him when he had an idea or wanted me to try something different because
I respect him and I know he's good. I'm always happy to try something,
because I also trust my own instincts. Are the lyrics succinct? I'm not
sure what that means. Is that a way of avoiding saying they suck? You
can tell me! I can take it! If the lyrics are different it's because the
musicians are different.
JC: Beach visors are for prudes. Yes, it is very hard to find time for everything, but I can always fit in something I want to do.
MYE: [laughing] This record was originally going to be a full length, right? And then it became an EP? I lost track. Did you whittle down and rearrange and edit material over time or what? What was the cutting room floor process like?
JL: We wrote a significant amount of music and decided that putting an EP out first was best. We then went into the studio and worked out some of the songs that were written over the past couple of years.
MYE: John, I had heard at some point that Ken Schalk, former Candiria drummer, was going to be involved in some way with Spylacopa. I was wondering what happened, if you don't mind, because I also know that he couldn't continue with Candiria near the end. It's a shame because he's such a monster player and I think you guys, though very well respected, deserved even more. I think the best live bands I probably ever saw in my life were Candiria and Clutch, though I must say I really enjoyed Made Out Of Babies at Southpaw recently even though I was completely shit-faced.
JL: Well, I’m sure Ken would agree with me saying this. I always thought we had great chemistry on a musical level. I thought we made a great team. Unfortunately life happens. Ken moved to Cali. I stayed here in NY. His life has changed dramatically. So have his priorities and his views on things. That being said, he is still one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever worked with and he continues to astonish me musically. We did work on some of the early Spylacopa music that will eventually work its way on to a record somehow but at this time it’s just not practical enough to constitute working together on this project. However, We have been discussing the possibility of working on some new Candiria music, but that’s another interview.
MYE: How much "jamming" was involved between the various participants? Do you like Phish or Widespread Panic? [Joking!!!] Also, John, onto some nerdy prog shit, my old drummer from when I was in this band Divest, Dave Bodie, plays sometimes now with Kayo Dot and he played this band Gentle Giant for me. Do you like them? They are actually cool. But, a second part of this question is, drawing on rock influences again, in addition to the ambient start of Spylacopa, did you make a conscious effort to distance yourself from Candiria-esque riffs (hard to pinpoint completely as that band covered a lot of ground sonically) or was it just letting yourself play and see what forms from the chaos?
JL: There was a bit of a stint jamming out ideas with this drummer Troy Young I worked with for a short time. He helped work out two songs for this EP and recorded the drums on the EP and other music that will come out after this. He is no longer working on this project for personal reasons. I’m not much of a fan of Phish or Widespread Panic or The Dead for that matter. I do love jamming though and Ghosts Of The Canal was a great outlet for that aspect of my creativity. I really dig Kayo Dot. I think they are offering something really different to the music world and really pushing the boundaries in a somewhat stagnant industry. Not a fan of [Gentle] Giant but have not been exposed to much of it. I did make a conscious effort to separate the guitar style on the Spylacopa record from what we did with the Candiria records. That was intentional. I must give credit where credit is due. Eric Matthews and Chris Puma were the players responsible for that Candiria guitar style and sound. I just adopted it as my own because I knew that what they were doing was different and exceptional and I wanted to continue with it while adding my own personal twist when writing new ideas for the records I played on and wrote for.
John LaMacchia of Candiria
JL: I think God created the universe… and that’s where God ends for me. If there still is a God, I believe he is off creating other universes. Better ones. Better worlds than this one, at least. Life is like a tidal wave and you have to ride it out and try to stay on course as best you can and if you go down, you get back up and ride it again and again until that desire to ride leaves you. Then you are no longer living, you are just slowly dying.
JC: Did you just say God created the universe? NNNNOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!!!!! God is imaginary, like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. John and I are about to have a big fight over this. Way to go, Crusher. Seriously. If anything is wrong with the world it's usually because of some interfering Bible-thumping Freak-tard. Cindy Lauper rules though. She had Captain Lou Albano star in her biggest video of all time. You gotta love that, right?
MYE: Captain Lou was the man. And Junk Yard Dog, for the old school Wrestling . Lastly, and this is vital. Do you ever think that, or hope, you might someday get so famous, that you could become so insulated in your own crazy reality, that despite your completely recognizable celebrity status, you would think it possible, as DMX did a few years ago, to crash your car into an airport and then pretend you are in the FBI when questioned by authorities?
JL: I have been known to crash a few cars actually, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. I don’t think I have it in me to deal with what real famous people have to deal with on a daily basis. That was never really a goal of mine anyway. I just hope to be recognized for my work and have the ability to continue making music and art for the rest of my life.
MYE: Right on, man.
JC: I have
also made some very messy mistakes, but I am lucky enough to be
surrounded by people who put me right in my place if I start getting too
silly.
I don't really think I have to worry about fame clouding up my reality
meter, though. People have to know who you are for you to be famous.
Jeff Caxide of Isis