|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Interviews
Hellride Music: I have no idea how you guys write, but all the recordings seem somewhat spontaneous, as if you started out with a chord progression and then just let the rest take shape. A musical conversation between band members so to speak. From heavy, to psychedelic freak outs, to soft back to heavy. Can you comment on the JPT Scare Band approach to songwriting/recording? Terry
Swope: On many of the 70's tunes we simply turned
on the gear and let fly. Any lyrics or chord changes usually arose from
out of nowhere. If you listen to the jams you can hear at various points
how an idea would be introduced and then developed. At the time we weren't
thinking about hit songs or glory, we were just down in the basement of
our house having fun. The group does have some actual songs with specific
chord progressions and lyrics but even those have room for improvising.
The jam factor is what keeps the music from being too predictable. In the twenty-first century, we have a bit more structure in our lives and this is naturally reflected in our music. Terry brings song ideas to the band and we work them up. In the 21st century, we do more tunes with verses and choruses, but we almost always put long jams in our tunes. We still did a couple of nice long freeform jams during the latest sessions. One of them is called "A Bit Of A Jam" and it runs almost 17 minutes. Those Jamm Vapours sessions from 2001/2002 were recorded live in Paul’s basement on a Yamaha AW-4416 digital 16 track hard disk recorder. We redid most of the vocals, but the instrumental tracks went down live. I say 2001/2002 because we are still in the process of mixing that material down. Paul
Grigsby: We
didn't really approach it like you would approach writing songs. We just
got caught up in the feeling and the volume. With a few visual queues
and some not so visual, we were into some kind of loose association. I
don't know, it just kind of happened. Hellride Music: How does a band retain all of it's core members for pert near 30 years? Most bands that have done this only speak to each other through lawyers and managers, if they can keep it together at all. What's the secret? Terry:
The Scare
Band isn't really a band - it's more a state of mind. Hellride Music: Have you been recording for this entire 30 year period? I see that on Past is Prologue, there are tunes written in 74, 75, 76, 77 then a big gap in the '80's, and one more penned in 1993 and another song that was originally penned in '74 redone in 2001. What are some of the reasons for the spans in between recording? Terry:
Like I said
- we're not really a band. We just get together once and awhile and play
for the sheer joy of it. I have played in many many bands but none of
them have been as much fun as JPT, and that's because there are no hassles
associated with it. Jeff: Two more recorded in 1993 and there are two more from that session that remain unreleased. We have been recording for the entire period, but not always all three of us at the same time. I believe that we are all spiritual creatures and there were times when we just headed out in different directions. So far, since 1973 up to 2002, we have always come back together and reestablished that cool connection that has always existed between the three of us. Paul:
We lost contact for a few years and thanks to Monster Records finding
"Burn in Hell" enjoyable, we got back in the studio in '93 to
do four tunes together. Life is strange and very nonlinear. I don't think
that much time passed, did it? Hellride Music: Listening to the heavy psych jam of "Sleeping Sickness" and "Past is Prologue" it amazes me how greater success didn't come your way. Terry is an exceptionally emotive guitar player and the energy that formed between you guys was amazing. Why do you think that the JPT Scare Band didn't enjoy more mainstream success? Terry: It's because we never tried. The band has never played an actual gig and been paid for it. You can't expect to be noticed if you've never exposed yourself to an audience. Jeff: We were living in the now moment and that involved making music, having fun and living life to the fullest. We just never got around to trying to make money or play big concerts. This may sound crazy, but we were really into it for the music and the crazed bohemian life style. Nobody ever showed up at the Electric House on Manheim or at the Stone House on Crooked Road to offer us a record deal or a concert tour. If they would have, we probably would have gone with that flow. I always knew that we had something magic going on. I dragged around a huge box of reel to reel tapes for years and decades. There were times when I felt the loss of some great possibility and I almost threw the whole thing into the dumpster a couple of times. Glad now that I didn’t. Paul:
We were into the music not the money. It would have been nice to make
some bucks or get "discovered" but for some reason we were more
into just feeling the music. Hellride Music: When "Burn in Hell" was recorded in 2001, it sounded to me as if the band hadn't skipped a beat. The musical intensity was still there. In your own words, tell us how that recording session came about and how it felt to be back in a studio. Terry: I think it's directly related to Monster Records and their release of our 70's music. That generated a bit of interest in the group and got us to thinking it might be cool to have some new material to showcase. The recording sessions took place in a basement of course and were quite intense. We laughed, we cried, we played and played and played. Physically speaking it was an ordeal. My fingers and throat were sore for at least a week after. I know Paul and Jeff felt just as beat up but it was worth it! Jeff: We had gone into the studio to record some material in 1993. I loved the way those tunes turned out, but the guys at Monster Records and some of our diehard fans told us that they thought those recordings were too polished and not as raw and spontaneous as the 1970's jams. Terry contacted Paul and I in the spring of 2001 and announced that he had written some new material that he thought needed to be performed by the Scare Band. When we got together in May of 2001 to begin the Jamm Vapours sessions, we made a conscious decision to make a home recording. We even deliberately did it in Paul’s basement and we recorded everything live. It was as if we decided to try to go back to our roots. There is a telepathic magic between the three of us that has never failed. It doesn’t matter how long we are apart. When we get back together, it is as if we were never apart. Something clicks and we are right back into that magical place where the music flows naturally between us. Paul:
I recall asking Terry and Jeff if they would ever be into recording some
more stuff, we could do it at my house, in my lovely flooded basement.
Terry responded a few weeks later and had written some songs and was pressing
for a date. Things developed and we converged on the first of June. It
was memorable and sheer torture at the same time. Long fucking days and
nights. We probably put 40 hours of work into 3 and a half days of recording.
It took its toll on me but was well worth it. Somebody starting talking
about Dr Strangelove and "Mandrake, have you ever seen a commie drink
water?" We were on the floor convulsing with laughter. It was great
to be back together. Hellride Music: You guys are working on some new stuff currently. Tell us a bit about that. When can we expect this to be available and how will it compare to your older, classic material? Terry: I wish I knew myself when this new stuff will be available. Considering it's over a year old I don't think you could even call it new. Style-wise the biggest difference is the amount of structure. The newer material has lyrics and music that have been worked up in advance. That didn't stop us from ripping them apart though. The new stuff doesn't have the same manic feel as the 70's jams but, believe me, it more than makes up for it with a warped, haunted vibe all its own. Jeff: Jamm Vapours is still a work in progress. We recorded enough material to do at least two 60 minute CDs. Because we recorded everything live, the vocal tracks had a bit of feedback and a lot of instrumental crosstalk bleed. We spent quite a few months trying to get a decent mix with all that crud in the vocal tracks. We finally realized that as much as we wanted to keep the stuff as live as possible, some of the vocals needed to be redone. Terry and Paul got together on two separate occasions and re-recorded most of the vocal tracks. The really cool thing about that is that they went back to the Stone House on Crooked Road near Parkville, Missouri to record the new vocal tracks. That’s where some of the best of the classic 1970s tunes were recorded. Paul’s parents still own the house and they let Terry and Paul set up the Yamaha and record vocals far into the night. There is one total freeform spontaneous jam called "Jello," that had total freeform spontaneous lyrics and vocals by Terry. There is no way we are going to try to redo those vocals. It’s one of my favorite tunes from the Jamm Vapour sessions. We are still in the process of mixing everything down. I wouldn’t expect to see any of it formally released until sometime in 2003. We hope to get some label interest to distribute those CDs. If not, we will put them out on our own label, Kung Bomar. Right now, we are concentrating on trying to distribute and sell the Past Is Prologue CD. Paul:
It is available now if you know where to look. I like it a lot because
I got to record and master the stuff kind of like I want to hear it. So
I get to make it heavy and melty and loud like you'd hear it on a big
stage somewhere. Anyway, it's a little less schizophrenic than the old
stuff but just as heavy. I tried to give it the bass on one side, guitar
on the other mix that we savored in the old recordings. "Burn in
Hell" was never recorded, as far as I know, by just the three of
us, so it was very cool to get to do that one. We nailed it on the second
take, 20+ years after the last time we played it. I love playing that
one! Hellride Music: What role did psychedelic drugs play in the early JPT recordings? If you say "none" I'll be shocked as hell... Terry: For the most part I was in my normal awareness during the jams - I guess what constitutes normal for me may seem abnormal to some. Jeff: There are many paths to expanded consciousness. Those were psychedelic days, there is no denying that. We were influenced by many different styles of music, many different bands. We were way off into the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead. That was psychedelic music and we intentionally set out to create our own brand of psychedelic music. I think that we have achieved a modest success in the field and I encourage the use of headphones when listening to Scare Band music. It can get pretty trippy at times. Paul:
Well I'm just
sure they played a role but I forget exactly what that role is or was
or will be, Amen! Such tough questions, that's like asking somebody if
their wife's a good lay. Hellride Music: Well...is she?! Just kidding. Describe the feeling you guys get when you are in the middle of a jam and everything just seems to be connecting. Can you kind of predict where the next move will take place after knowing each other so long? Terry: It's not a rational process. Awareness seems to shift away from the common linear mode and focuses more on the realm of dreams. If you stop to think then you disrupt the flow of things and lose the spirit of the music and the moment. I think the three of us just trust each other and don't worry about the outcome. Jeff: It is a joyous experience, I can tell you that. It is difficult to explain and I know that I am always amazed when it happens. It is absolutely telepathic. It is pure magic and it is one of the mysteries of the Universe for which there is no easy answer. Part of it is from knowing each other so long and playing together for so many years, but it happened the very first time we got together back in 1973. How do you explain that? Karma? Reincarnation? Inspiration from God? Very heavy questions, no doubt. Paul:
Terry touched on something good. It is a dream state for sure. I know
it when I'm in it. Don't know how it comes over us but it does seem to
be consistent. I was worried prior to the June 2001 session that I would
have nothing to say. I hadn't been practicing and was very distracted
by just getting all the shit together to make a recording happen. When
we started playing, everything fell into place where practice doesn't
matter. It blows my mind every time it happens. I'm not sure what the
process is but we seem to share some visual queues and then some "telepo"
queues and the changes seem to work out. Hellride Music: Thanks for the interview! Any words of wisdom for a war-weary planet? Terry: I think the greatest battles are the ones we wage with ourselves. Life is a struggle to be sure and the best way to deal with it is to fight like hell against self-pity and fight like hell for clarity and laughter. Jeff:
Do the Present.
Live in the Now Moment. Believe in yourself. Never give up. Never surrender.
|
The
JPT Scare Band - flat out one of the best heavy jam bands I have ever
heard. Getting their start in the early 70's, the chemistry between these
three band mates is almost spiritual in nature, each playing in perfect
harmony with the other. They possess an almost telepathic sense that allows
them to make sudden changes within the context of the jam. How history
missed guitar genius Terry Swope is beyond me, his acid-drenched, emotional
solos are on par with the greats such as Robin Trower and Carlos Santana.
Hellride Music catches up with drummer Jeff Littrell, bassist Paul Grigsby
and guitarist/vocalist Terry Swope. 
Read
the Hellride Music reviews of 