Bloodstock Breakthrough: Technologist on Perseverance, Prog Metal, and the Power of Music Community

0:04 Hi, you dont here crue w. Wow for you your. Because it's the pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c Y Radio and I'm here. With technologists for Manchester UK. Nice. Like I saw your band name, I was like, that's a fucking cool band name, right, I don't even care what it means, it just sounds cool. Thanks so much. I mean that probably is a story behind it, actually, because if. You want to tell because that's like, that's the most hated journalist question, who'd you get your band name? If you want to tell the story, I'll hear it.

0:53 Well, the whole band is actually sort of based on a concept. You've got the world forty years in the future where it's kind of we've still started, you know, we've still kept abusing the planet basically, and yeah, yeah, it sounds all too familiar, doesn't It all too realistic. And there's an individual called the Technologist. He tries to build some machinery to help regenerate life, but then that kind of gets corrupted and stolen, and the story is all about him kind of trying to reclaim it for the good of the planet basically, So that's the Technologist. Well, it sounds like real life.

1:33 Yeah. The more we try to fix shit, the more we break it. Yeah, you're absolutely right. Yeah, we've tried to make it reasonably realistic, actually not too sci fi as. A bit, but oh sci fi has become real life. Like sci fi from when I was a kid is real life now. I remember watching Star Trek and like, ooh, video calls. That would have video calls that would be cool. Now we're do it. And now James T. Kirk has a heavy metal band at ninety five. Did you know that? That's why of the festivals I go, I'm like, that fucking blows my mind, Like I love him even more. And you should have seen the demands. He had demands.

2:15 Okay, one of the demands I'll remember all of them, but one of them was he needed to have instead of a golf cart to take him to his stage. A DeLorean. It's amazing. Another demand was let's see what else, oh, renaming a boat to so that he can once again captain a ship. That's good. And oh totally because he was on Good Morning America, which is a major morning show in America, and they read off his whole list of demands, but they forgot one, and he goes, don't forget the sour crowd in my dressing room because apparently the rumor is old people eat sour kraut and that's the that's the answer to a long life.

3:07 Oh okay, so yeah. Pretty funny. Yeah, he had a bunch of other like really silly demands, you know, and like some proclamation by the mayor, and I mean, like it's funny as hell, and like I'm really I'm really like curious of what he's actually gonna do in this band. He has an all star band apparently, but I'm curious what he'll do. Yeah, you know, I don't even know. Does he sing, no fucking idea. I don't know if he plays an instrument sings, or if he's just gonna be on there and let's go beyond where we can go beyond or some bullshit.

3:52 There's lots of quotes, but he's got to get some star Trek quotes in there. He's gatzi no doubt and listen, fucking ninety five and your first starry metal band. That's badass. That's like what's his name, Chris phi Lee kind of like, yeah, you have some metal on Dincy that is just like Rod obviously crazy. And then like I'm at the download a couple of months ago on backstage, I look over and Keanu Reeves speaking. About surfing because the band played there. Yeah, It's like it's so funny because I think a lot of these actors they really do want to be rock people. Like look at Tailor Mumpson okay, and like I'm friendly with her and she hated the acting part, meaning that wasn't her like the role she played, and like all the press people they love to ask her about that show and it's like that was years ago.

4:53 She was a kid that annoys the shit. Ever, she left that as a star to struggle as a rock and roller. Mad respect for her. Absolutely, Yeah, I mean I really liked Taylor monestly. She's awesome. Yeah, I mean, like, think about it. She had the world by the balls and she decides to slum it out being a rock person without being big, Like it took her a lot of work to get where she is now. Mad respect for doing that. Yeah, it must be just like hey, Cole, and she wanted to do it. She said script I'm gonna do it. Yeah, that's her passion, you know. And she's totally if you listen to her, she's so passionate about rock and roll, so passionate, so passionate about you know, like all the old school stuff, like the real shit, and you know, like Sound Garden, like she's like the biggest Sound Garden probably fan on the planet.

5:48 Yeah, and then she got to sing with them, so like, you know, that's so cool. I mean I love sound God. Right, you know. Yeah, and like nobody could fill Chris Cornell's shoes. No, he was just epic his voice. I think it's my favorite voice in all rock. I think Captain Kirk might call him an alien. There's no way human that could be that good. Yeah, absolutely right. So tell us about you guys. Tell the listeners what you guys are all about with your music. Yeah, I mean we play progressive, heavy, messal so we kind of like we have different light time seeing that changes and like interesting stuff going on dynamics, but we like we try to keep it where you can bang your head to it. We don't want to confuse you too much. We want to try and keep you kind of like in the groove. But then I have something interesting and spicy getting on the background for those people who want to listen for a bit more.

6:48 Yeah, yeah, And I love the musicianship when it comes to Prague because you got the brutality in the metal, but then you have real musicianship, like real good musicianship. We're trying. So, what tell me about the journey that got you to Bloodstock. Well, it's actually been quite a long one, to be honest, but that's kind of what it's about. It's about grafting, it's about improving yourself day on day and just trying to be the best musician you can be. So we actually got to Bloodstock through the Metal to the Masses competition and we won it in Manchester, nice, which is a really competitive scene as well.

7:32 But I would imagine so I'm not even from here, but I imagine probably of all the places in the UK, that's one of the most competitive. I would think. Yeah, you're right, it's fierce, it really is. But at the same time, everyone's supporting each other because it's music is not a competition really exactly. It shouldn't be either. Yeah, you're totally right. And we've made so many friends, so many contacts, and we've got such a nice support group now in in Manchester as. A result of that. So we're hugely thankful to everyone who's put on all of those gigs. The one six one community is the community that puts those gigs on, and yeah, we're hugely thankful.

8:16 So we've actually we entered it a few times before as well, almost got there, but not quite. And it would be easy to it would be easy to say, you know, it's not our maybe it's not our time, but we just we kept going with it and this year we won. We played to a huge crowd at the Rebellion Venue in Manchester and it was just the best feeling to finally play here. Some of us have been coming to Bloodstuff for almost twenty years. Wow, to play is an absolute honor. It's an honor and what a. Great fest of all this is. You know, it's like I got here. I'm not even from the UK. I'm like I posted that I'm home with my family at blood Stock because that's the way this place is.

9:03 Like it. I have yet to find an asshole, and that's so true at other festivals. Yeah, there are assholes here. Everybody's so nice, everybody's so cool, nobody's an outsider, no gatekeeping shit, just all people here for the love of metal and their metal community. Yeah, and that's absolutely the way it should be, isn't it that there's such a variety of different music here as well, even within metal, but no one's kind of you know, it's not be about one thing or another. You know, everyone's really open minded here.

9:44 We've been talking to people across the campsite so the last few days, seeing if they might enjoy our music, you know, if they might want. To go and check us out, and people have just been so welcoming. That's so cool. Yeah, it's it's just been lovely. Yeah. And what you said about to the masses is so true. I hear it from every band and it warms my heart that, like you're in a competition, but not competing, you know, and everybody if you win or lose, everybody's supporting each other. You know. You may be a little upset for yourself that you didn't win, but you're so proud for the other band for winning and representing. And like you said, you make friends, you net work, and there's even if you don't win, there's so much you can get out of it.

10:31 Absolutely, Yeah, and. We've that adversity in a way has made as a better band because each year we've had to come with something better, something bigger, some new music, and just keep improving. So I think I think that competition has given us a lot. It's made us a better band so that we could go on today and give it all, all and and and play to a packed tent. Actually, did that blow your mind? How many people were amazing? I've never seen I've never heard my voice so loud. I've never seen so many people from a stage and they stayed as well. That was a super cool thing. Yeah, you know, the tent stage.

11:19 That's a testament to your music because if you weren't good, that crowd with a thin del exactly. There are so many good bands here that we're privileged that people decided to spend their time with us. Absolutely, And I love that attitude too, because that makes you a true musician in my eyes, you know, And like, I'm glad you persistent because I'm also mo ovational speaker, so I'm a big believer and persist until you succeed. A lot of times quit and people quit and they're just close to that finish line and they quit right before they could have gone on. Bands like Metallica could have quit and then what were that been? And people I always say it takes about twenty years to become an overnight success.

12:11 So true, So how many years have you got left? I think you made it blood Yeah totally. I mean yeah, well I'm just want to Andy's saying, like we we have got better as a band, and you can feel it. We've got tighter, with more confident on stage, and hopefully it showed today. And I think as you said, like I saw so many people that we chatted to, like in the campsites and stuff, like there's a guy who chatted to in the Newboo stage yesterday and he was there front row like he's like I was just like, oh man to yeah, come chefs out, we're playing tomorrow and he's like yeah, I'll be there wow from the center, banging his head and it was like, yeah, man, thanks are coming down. So yeah, it's. As cool as ship right.

12:52 Yeah. I was super just like I don't know it is. Yeah. I felt amazing about that, really, Yeah, humble that he chose to spend his time to come and see us exactly awesome. Because there's other bands he chose, yes, and all the great bands. Yeah, so he chose you guys, Well, that says a lot, and he stayed that says even more, you know, And the fact is is it's true. I think competition does make you better, Like it's healthy competition. And do you think that you applied whatever advice the judges gave you to what you do now that propelled you into winning?

13:33 I would say so. We're also pretty harsh critics of ourselves as well, like most yeah, totally. So you know, after every gig it's like, oh, you know that flipped that note or or that wasn't quite perfect, And so after every gig would be like, okay, we need to tighten this up, this is too bad, this is too better, or did that quite work? Has always wanted to and we'll have these little reflective chats like after, you know, after gigs and at rehearsal, what do you need to change now? Is that exciting enough? Is is that good enough music? Yeah? So yeah, I think it did help and it has made us a better band, and hopefully it's just gonna carry on going because we're not there yet. I'm definitely I'm very proud of where we're at. But we played fus Star. It's awesome.

14:15 I know we can carry on. We can get bester in best, I think, And that's the nice y. Yeah. Anyway, you like you're always going to involve as a musician, I think you're always You could be forty years from now still trying to get better, and that's what a true musician would do. Yeah, I've already got some gray hairs. Forty years time. I feel like Jeff Loomis just just not as good. You never know by that. Yeah, forty years could I be as good as Jeff Louis and forty practice? Right? Practice practice practice. It's like that was my failing when I first started playing guitar when I was younger. It's like I just didn't want to practice all the time and those fucking scales and like I was bored. And then like my idold Randy Rhodes, I found out he played practice eight hours a day. I'm like, I'm not practicing eight hours a day. But that is what it takes, having that kind of dedication no matter what you do. Like so I dedicate that to what I do now. But as a musician, like I think people think, oh, you just pick up the guitar and you can play it, you know, and like.

15:32 Right, I would. I would wish that for sure for myself because like then I would be playing it right now. But so my kudos to people like you that really take the craft seriously and put into work because people always say, oh, you're living a dream. Partially true, but it's hard fucking work every single day, probably one of the hardest jobs you ever have to do. As much fun and as much as it looks like something like, oh, they're just playing music. Yeah, there's so much as well. Obviously there's a practice. See I spent hours and I was and hours practicing, but there's all the other stuff that comes with the band as well, like you know, all the driving or the prep for promo stuff, the social media stuff as well.

16:20 Nowadays takes up so much time. So yeah, there's a lot to be in a band. I mean, I love it. There is so much fun that. Is okay, you have to absolutely love all of it. You know. Yeah, just to add to what Josh said, when we released our first album, we did it all, you know, we did everything. We recorded it, we produced it, we mixed it, we mastered it. Well there's someone else mastered it actually. Then we released it. We did all the promotion around it. We didn't have a label, we didn't have management or a media kind of company behind us or anything like that, and that is that's hard. That's really hard. And all of those professions exist for a reason because people are expert in what they do, you know.

17:13 So when we release new music, I think one of the things that we can do to be a little bit smarter next time around is trying to talk to the right people. Yeah, make the right friends, you know, and see if they can give us some advice. You know. I'm a big believer in you know, there's all of us can do a lot of things, but master one and then let delegate the things that people are buried than you like. Even with this, I could certainly edit my interviews, except like you, as an artist, I'm like my worst critic, So like this interview, if I did, it would probably take two weeks because I would find every little fuck up and edit it and like it would drive me nuts. But I'm also not the best editor.

18:05 I'm good at what I do. I can do the other thing, I can't say I'm the best at it. So I have my audio engineer edit it and he can do it pretty quickly. He's not as anoy as me. But also he knows how to make it sound the best it can be, and so sometimes you do have to hand it over because what ends up happening, too is you spend all that time on the stuff you're not best at, or you don't like that you don't have time to do what you are best at that gets you where you want to be. Yeah, that's a great point. That's a really great point. I mean we've found, we found that it takes a team, actually, it takes a team supporting you to really put something out there.

18:56 That's that's that's great totally. Yeah. Think of Metallica too. Without Bob Rock, would we know Matallica today? They're still great, but he I think brought them to a whole nother level. Yeah, you know, and I think that's true with a lot of bands. You know. You know, it's funny because even respecting the people in your band, I was watching that documentary with Paul McCartney and you know, they're listening to the music I think it was with Rick Rubin and they're listening to it and he's Paul's like, you know, back then John was just this bloke I played with. Now I'm like, oh my god, I was playing with John Lennon. And that's Paul McCartney saying that, you know, so like the mad respect he had for John doing what he does. Yeah, not like, oh I'm Paul McCartney and the Beals were great because of me.

19:59 It's every part of it. Yeah, And I've. For my part, at least, I feel privileged to play alongside these guys. You know, they've they. Nice, they've put there's so much time in that. They're really great at what they do. They're great bandmates as well to be around. And I always feel like I've played catch ups so nice every day. It's just an extra motivation to work that little bit harder, you know. Well, Plus, everybody in the band has their say, so sometimes it's hard for us to be objective, like what we think is good or great. If we set our ego aside, maybe somebody else says, well, from my side of it, and they're going from the listener side, maybe you should do this, try this out. Like the greatest producers, that's what they do. They're like they don't tell them it's not good, or they're like, try this. Yeah, you know, absolutely, and they're speaking for us, the audience, because we're the ones that are going to hear your finished product.

21:11 Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I'll give a perfect example war Pigs. The original lyrics sucked what's that call the what it is? But the lyrics the way they are now, oh my god, they just fucking fit that song. Whenever I hear the old version, I'm like, it doesn't even make sense, nor does it fit with the you know, flow of a song. But whoever wrote the lyrics probably didn't think of that, you know, or like I write like I'm a published author, and I have written one song with my bro, who was my head engineer at the station, by a great musician, and I came to him with this song and he looked at It's like, what the fuck is this? He goes, this is a book, not a song, and then he starts going, can we take this out?

22:08 No, that's important, That's what I'm saying. He must have said like one hundred times, can we take no, that's important, till finally I was like, fuck it, do whatever you want with it, and he cut that thing. Down to. Like way lower than I would have, you know. But then it was fucking good and it wasn't before that. Yeah, you know. And I think that's also the key of having people around you, because you when you write lyrics or you write music, you take ownership of it. It's all your baby. So you don't want to get rid of any of it. You need somebody say let's take that out, Yeah, let's add this in.

22:48 But you also need to trust that person, don't. You million percent? And that's what I'm saying him. I trusted because he was such a great musician and because I you know, he was one of my best friends, that was my head engineer at the station for years. Like if I din't trust them, why do you have that job? You know? And so it's like you gotta finally submit and like, okay, do whatever you want. I want to stay out of it, you know, because as long as I'm in it, I'm not gonna want you to take shit out of it. Yeah, that's absolutely right. That's one of the reasons I feel lucky to be in the band because I feel like, I, you know, when people come with ideas, I might not get it straight away, and that's that's the case for everyone. But we trust each other's instincts. We'll always try it out, but open minded. We're not afraid of being wrong sometimes and being humble about it and saying, oh, you know, let's try something different. Yeah, let's give your idea a go.

23:49 And that's how some of our best music was written. Well, you know, interesting about that too. Recently, like I'm longtime friends with Armored Scene, and recently I was here viewing Phil and he was so excited because for the first time he was allowed to put lyrics to the songs for their new album. And what I get out of that is, look at what it did to make him feel, How it made him feel that you allowed him to express himself. To take the other side of a coin, Jason Newstead. You know there's the other side not allowed to do stuff. Let's pull his bass out of the album and do all that, Like, how is your bandmate gonna wanna be with you if they feel they have no say and if they can't express themselves. You're all artists. You all need to express yourself.

24:49 If you stifle that, it's not gonna be good. But that little thing of he was just so proud that he was allowed to add to the lyrics of the new songs after what forty five years or whatever it's been like and just a smile on his face and the pride that makes the band better right there. Yeah, couldn't agree more. Right, that's a great story of it. Yeah, So tell everybody how they can reach out to you on socials. Buy your merge because they can't listen to my show, and let's say, buy your merch. Sure, all that fun stuff, all that fun stuff.

25:30 Yeah, so you can listen to all student platforms Spotify, et cetera, et cetera. If you want support us, band camp is probably the best way to do it. And we've got everything now, We've got merch, physical CDs, and we're on all these social media as well, Facebook, Instagram. Give us a follow on there and you'll be able to see when we're playing, where we're playing. Any new music which we've got coming up about hopefully in about a month's ish time. We've got a new single coming out called Rearrange. We've got a music video as well, which is filming at the moment. I'm really excited about that and yeah, I think I like from now and that. Hey, well, you guys rock and I'm glad you're here at Bloodstock and thanks for being on the Adventures of pain Man.

26:15 Oh thanks so much, Steve, thank you very much. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of plate Man. I'm w for c UI Radio.