PipemanRadio Interviews Bullets and Octane

0:00 Hi, you have unto censure for Wow, cra you young, Wake up of America. It's time for the Adventures of Pipe Man on W four c Y dot com. West pomp Beach is number one Internet radio station. Here's your host, the vipe Man. This is the pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c Y Radio. And I'm here with our next guest man. They have some killer music and I totally dig their newest video that you're going to have to check out. It's this one right behind me, but that's just the album cover. The video's bad ass. So let's welcome to the show. Gene from Bullets and Octane, How are you?

1:15 Hey, Hey, Here we are Man, Here we are. And you know, we were just having a conversation before going on the interview about my days in LA and your days arriving to LA. And you know, there's a lot of stories I wish I could share with you from the eighties Sunset strip, but I don't remember any of them that you don't want to You don't want to go to jail either, right, So I pretty much showed up like right when you were nursing your decade of hangover, right, totally Billy. Have you ever seen the meme? Okay, there's this meme of the eighties rock star and the rock star today. Have you ever seen that meme? Hold on, gosh lost, ye We're back, Okay, okay, no, I have not seen that, so okay. So it's it's so funny because it shows the eighties rock star and the eighties rock star is lying on the ground guitar in hand, passed out and Jack Daniels in the other hand, the ball of Jack Daniels in the other hand, and today's rock star is sitting at a table with the guitar on his lap and typing into a computer. Yeah that sounds about right, yeah, right, yeah, yeah, I mean it's funny you talked about, you know, we were talking a little bit about, you know, the Motley Cruzeys and stuff like that. I remember, right before Bullets kind of had a little bit

2:45 of a break, somewhat in the middle two thousands, I was working at a Domino's pizza, you know, being a driver in the daytime, and all the things just kind of started happening, and I remember, I don't know how they found me, but people started calling the restaurant. So I remember it was just be me and some kid manager, of course, and that's that's the way it always a seventeen year old manager running, you know, the musician guy in his twenties or something, and he'd be like, hey, man, phone and it would be record labels and different things. And one time, I remember, I'm wearing the outfit, I'm folding boxes, the apron and everything. Dude, it was just so humbling. Let's just use that word. And I remember, like, you got a phone call, man, I'm like, okay, who is it? Nicky six is on the phone, and I'm like, what is going? How well, how did that even come to be? So I'm like huh, And you know, he was like, hey man, I heard your song Pirates.

3:38 It's really great. I'd like to maybe possibly use it for brides of Destruction or something. It was something along those lines. And it just all these things started happening, and it was it was happening really really fast and really really strange. And I remember, anyway, long story, I went to West Hollywood and was going up an escalator standing next to him to have a meeting, and he looked at me with all my tattoos and he's like, man, what are you gonna do if this doesn't work? And I remember, I mean literally the way I put that is like this, man, It's like it's like a kid tucking in his baby blanket into his shirt standing on the edge of a building next to Superman and Superman's like you ready to jump? And then he looks at you and goes, what if the cape doesn't open? You know, are you what are you gonna do?

4:18 And so to me, it's like, what are you talking about? Like this is partially your fault, the reason why I'm all tattooed and I moved out here. We're gonna ride. Aren't we gonna ride Harley's and go to the strip club together? Aren't we going to girls? Girls? Girls? The shit out of this? Come on, man, And so just really eye opening moments along the way of like, fuck, this is kind of this is kind of real. And when you're when you're heroes if you will, or whatever you want to call it, are kind of telling you, like, you know, this might not happen. I'm thinking like, man, I don't know, Like I've watched so many headbanger's ball things that it has to happen, right, I mean, this is what happens because you never hear the story of the people who don't make it. Why would you, you know? So, nah, you wouldn't. And there are a lot of bands from my time at the Sunset Strip that I love that who knows. There's one band in particular it's so funny that I was really close friends with. I'd road eat their stuff and all that, and I even knocked my teeth out at their show and they were gone for like ever.

5:19 And then I get this email like several months ago about this band releasing their first album in like thirty some odd years and can you interview them? And it was that band, and I was like wow, and then he got on with me. I'm like, I don't know if you'll remember me, because you know, it's kind of hard from those days to remember people, you know. But I'm the one that knocked my teeth out at your show. And he's like, oh my god, I always wondered what happened to you, and like I felt so bad, and like you're You're like it was great too, because you tell your kids stuff and they don't believe you, like, and so I've told my kids a bunch of stories from back then. And it's like they're probably thinking their head, Yeah right, dad, And I told them I'm like an legend in La Medal because I ended this band's show by knocking my teeth off diving off a Marshall stack. And he says literally in the interview without it being prompt and he's like, yeah, man, you're like the most tragic thing that ever happened to La Medal ever. And I was like, thanks. Now, I complain this for my kids and they know I'm not full of shit, not on everything anyway, right exactly. Imagine being proud of the fact that you're a legend for knocking your teeth out, for being an idiot, Yeah, dude, I

6:53 mean I can't even imagine what you experienced, man, because you know, I have my own little weird memories of you know, like we'd go up there when we first moved here and there was that Steel Panther obviously, but they were called Metal Shop and they were playing at the Viper Room every Monday night, and that was you know, like I said, we arrived a little late to the party, as I said earlier to you, and I just remember like all these things like Chad Smith from It Hot chili peppers would like get up there. You know, probably had some drinks and he threw the snare drum and they were freaking out at the end of the ship when the curtains closed the viper room, you know, they always had the curtains closing. And I hear the band like, why'd you let him throw the snare? I didn't let him, man, he just threw the you know, it was always something. And just sitting on that little wall ledge outside the liquor store next door, right and I'm just, you know, scared and young, and you know, everything's just fucking insane, and all of a sudden, there's this gas guy and glasses at night. It's midnight, it's black as shit out. It's got glasses on his hair and we're just talking. And you know, I've never been good at a poker face in rock and roll. I've always just been a nerdy kind of like, yeah, what's up, you know, hey, let's talk about our feelings and yeah. And I remember this dude and he was I'm like, you playing a band too, and he's like, yeah, my name is Tamey Man.

8:07 I got this band, you know, Faster Pussycat or something. And I'm just like, what are you talking about? How's this? What do you why are you sitting right here? So out there. It's just like random stuff. You just like walk around and all of a sudden, there's Slim Jim Phantom, he's got the cat club at the time across the way, you know, and it's like, holy shit, it's a fucking straight cat. There's a stray cat, a little stray crat right here. Like so it's just so mind blowing the different things that can happen that are just everyday stuff that we only dreamed about back in Missouri. Like it was just stuff of legends. We didn't have. You couldn't watch it on your computer. So it's like every Saturday, I'd be at my neighbor's house who had cable, and we would sit there and watch Headbanger's Ball and Saturday Night Live and just just lose ourselves into the TV and just you wouldn't even blink because you could you can't rewind it. So you really had to soak it in, man, And you know, so to hear that, you got to actually be around most of the stuff that we only got to wonder about.

9:03 You know, it's really so cool. Oh yeah, there's I have so many stories of stuff like, okay, check this out. I was at a Slayer show and Striper open for Slayer, if you can imagine, okay, and so I'm right up at the stage and I'm a total Slayer van okay, and hated Straper, you know, because it got you know. That was the shitty part about La back then is you had so many gatekeepers and like you could, like when I started listening to Slayer Metallic and stuff, my friends were like, we need to burn your Motley Cruise. Shit, you can't be having that right, you know. And it was just stupid, but it is what it is. So yeah, it was funny.

9:46 I was at the stage and the guitarist for Striper he bends over and his cross is hanging down in my face, and so I grabbed it and I flipped it upside down. King would be so proud. RIGHTHI though, right, Oh my god, it was funny. Yeah, I was. Here's a good story. You're ready for this this You're gonna shit on this one. I've said this one a lot of times because it's just such a great story. I was seeing this band, they were playing their first gig ever, like first like real gig ever, and they were really freaking good and there were like twenty five of us to see them. And the guitarists of the band comes down after the gig, because this is what happened in La. After the band played, they'd come interact with you. You'd walk with them up to the rainbow, like I go to a rainbow now, I'm like, how the hell did I get in there at fifteen years old?

10:41 Oh, that's right. And I was walking in with Motley Crue, you know. And so they basically this guy said, gives me his business cars, a business car, and it said on it. Are you ready for this? Metallica power metal? Dave Mustaine, No fucking way, dude. Yeah, there wasn't even a thrash metal yet. So Metallica was power metal for like a minute. And Dave is sitting here talking to me and handing me his business card. I wish I had today. Everybody was gonna have it. I'm like, no, I didn't think it meant to. I was fucking fifteen years old or probably somewhere around there, like I thought, what the fuck is this bullshit? I probably threw it in the car yeah, you know, it's like, damn, I would want to have that. Oh man, that would be amazing to have that today. Yeah, are you there? We got audio here? Hello? Hello, hear me? Now we're back all right. My engineer will added that out.

11:58 I don't know what happened there. Yeah, yeah, it blew my mind because it's like, okay, a cup of stage. I don't think anybody hands me a business card. I'm like, what that was, I'm here for a show. And then, like I think nowadays, i'd like to interview Dave and have that business card and like just pull it out and hand it to them and say do you remember giving me this? But I can't do that, you know, but that would be a cool last thing, you know. Yeah. I mean if you remember the details of it, maybe you can make a mock of a mock one up, just just for sentimental reasons, to you know, be like this is something like this.

12:39 You know, Oh, he'll remember for sure, because you know, it's funny what these dudes do. Remember, Like I was good friends with Armored Saint, like really good friends with them. I was their first merch company, actually, me and my bro. They didn't have shirts or pins, were like, can we make shirts and pins and sell them at your show? We'll give you fifty percent. They're like sure. We were like fifteen years old. So Joey the Basis and I were talking like a couple of years ago about this, and he even informed me of something I never knew. And he goes, yeah, you know that picture of Lars with a guitar wearing an armored Saints shirt. I'm like, yeah, he goes, that's your shirt and he still has it, and he goes, he he still has it. I'm like, really, I don't even have one anymore.

13:26 He goes, neither do I. Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of that. I've never been good at collecting all this stuff from all the years I moved so much and had such a crazy life that I name, you know. It was just like fuck it, I don't care, you know. And they're like, why don't you should have that stuff to hang up their trophies And I'm like, I remember all the shit. Man, it's all good. But I realized that not for me, but for story purposes or later on down the line. It's like, there's no proof of it other than my mouth, you know, like telling me random we were talking about that before the show. It's like, we didn't have social media, we didn't have the Internet. There was no roof of all the shenanigans that were going on, thank god though, you know, right, yeah, but you know that's kind of the sacrifice, isn't it. So you got away with things and stuff like that, but at the same time you have zero to show for it. Yeah right, I was going to tell you too, It's interesting how that stuff traveled along. I still actually have problems with it to this day, with writing songs and music and picking albums and stuff. Is that whole policing thing you mentioned slightly of the judgments between because even like back in when I was in like in sixth grade and playing Slayer covers at a church called Saint Jude, And I remember I took my dad's two jazz drum kits and smashed them together to make a double bass drum set, you know what I mean. So it would it would it would be like Dave Lambardo and all that stuff. And I remember, this is how much it goes. I mean, I'm from a small little town out of Saint Louis basically, and all the metal kids would be We're sitting on

14:56 the walls at the church when we were playing these songs, and I remember even they were like someone played a little Metallica riff and they were like, fuck Metallica, Megadeth, and it's like, man, it traveled so far, even into a small town of like that weird thing of if you liked you could like a bunch of the right bands, but if you happen to like one of the wrong bands, you instantly were not in the circle. You know, it had to be Exodus and Anthrax and Slayer and like that whole thing. But if you like something like you said, like Motley Crue was two hair metal, Metallica cut all their hair off and so they were fucking out. You know, like all of these ridiculous rules that we had to follow, and I still kind of do that today. It's a huge battle within man of like, you know, everyone kind of knows us as a heavy band in the UK and Sweden, and I tend to, as I get older, write a little bit more of some emotional shit. That's why you see all these cats that are from punk rock and stuff, all of a sudden they had they're havingn acoustic and they're doing folk and stuff, and they're doing that whole alt rock type thing. I get it, man, like your testos throne changes. Possibly maybe it's a little bit more into the psychosis of it, but you just don't feel as pissed off, and I don't really feel like writing about skulls and you know, like stupid shit like I just it's maybe it's just a young tribal energy of just you know, being angry. But I have more important shit to say, and sometimes playing heavy metal doesn't really fulfill my personal thing. But then I realize there's people on the other side of the hat. Like for example, let's talk about like Rob Zombie, right, that guy knows who he is. He

16:27 does yoga, he eats his tofu. He's very focused from what I hear in that kind of way. So I can't imagine that he goes out on his patio with his tea in the morning and sits there and goes, yeah, yeah, I'm a super beast. Yeah. He just knows to he knows who, Like, that's his product. He makes movies and horror films and shit, So he could put that hat on and take it off, take it or leave it. The guy's on stage, he walks off stage, he's somebody else, And I think that's a weird journey along the way, especially when you're at a level that I'm at where I'm not a big band, I'm not a big artists, so I'm still at the proving I have to always prove myself. I don't just walk on stage and no matter what, I fucking do shit into a microphone and people are gonna love it.

17:07 And so it's like I'm constantly still doing that. I remember touring with bands like Cky and a lot of old school punk bands Cut her Mouth and stuff like that, where those fans were instantly I'd be in Texas and it's a full crowd and it's just me and like four other guys, three other guys or whatever, and it would be every day, I have to fight you. I have to fucking fight you to get you to do it. And so that meant the songs had to be faster, they had to be louder. I couldn't have a break in between to let anybody get a fucking word in to get the crowd riled up against us. And when you get older, it's like I'm sick of fighting for shit. Like that. It's like it should be a thing where I could slip in different types of songs, different types of things at the age that I'm at and have everybody kind of dig it. It keeps you alive, that keeps you young. But there's just some times where you see folded arms and you're like, all right, let me fucking win you over. God damn, how long have I been doing this? You know? Right? Right? Well? I love of all that you're saying there. I think the listeners need to hear that because it's so true in so many ways. First of all, the angst you have as a teenager, it's kind of hard to have the angst at later stages and listen as a musician, like you want to evolve and get better at your craft. The reason you start punk rock band is because you don't know how you're how to fucking play the thing, you know, so once you learn, it's like even Hetfield has said that he hates that.

18:30 He said it's funny. He says they play Seeking Destroy at the San Jose Sharks games, and he hates that they played the old version because he said, I didn't even know how to sing, like he wants end to play the version where he actually knows how to sing, you know, and people don't see the artist point of view. And then funny, I was interviewing Joe from the Vandals, and he go, and we're kind of friends, so he knows I wouldn't asked this question, so he brought it up in the interview because everybody asks, he goes, and don't, hey, pipe man, don't ask me when the Vandals are coming out with new songs, because nobody wants to hear fifty year old writing punk rock songs, right, you know, I get that, man. There's a lot of bands that I see where I mean, Metallica is a good example of that as well.

19:17 It's like I've seen these things and it's cool that they kind of get ahead of it, get in front of it where they'll go, you guys want to hear something new, Hey, you want to hear something old, you know, And it's like do we you know why why even at this point, I mean, unless it's just completely merely and purely for yourself, you are making the next album at this point. If you're any of those bands like fuck it man, go out play Master of Puppets, give them the fucking ride the Lightning, give them all that shit, Maybe not do the weird snare drum album right and just get on with the show and say fuck it. You know, I don't know, Oh yeah, no doubt, no doubt. Like me, I went to their first show ever, so I'm gonna kill them all fan. And it's like when Black came out, I was like, fuck those posers. I'm never see them again, and I still love them to this day. Like that, that was that young idiot saying, yeah, you know, I completely get it. Man.

20:07 I was in a weird spot, bro. I was in like a very weird thing. My parents are both like, you know, jazz musicians. So my dad was a big band jazz guy. He taught Dave Weckel how to play drums, you know. From the early age. I was named Jane from gene Krupa Lewis from Louie Belson, these you know, big band drummers, so I had that element. Then the people next door listened to classic rock, and then my friends listened to punk rock, and my brother was into butt rock. So I had all these different elements and that's why when people ask me like the most basic shit in interviews, about like what's your favorite album, what's your favorite this, And I'm like, I don't really have that. I have. I do like top I do like top forty music, and I do like catchy fucking songs, and I like it across the board, man, I listened to everything, like I can't imagine what bullets would sound like if I wasn't influenced by the early Brian Setzer orchestra stuff. Not not so much as job whale shit, but it's like those elements come in. And when I worked with Page Hamilton from Helmet that he produced one of our albums, we like hit it off instantly because I was looking at him like I remember Helmet from the nineties, this is going to be great. I love that shit. And he I didn't know he was a jazzer, you know, so all of a sudden he heard my simple little rock songs that were pretty shitty, but he heard these weird jazz changes that I didn't fucking know that they were there, but he did, and he helped kind of pull that stuff out. So there's a lot of shit that I don't even realize. I'll be in the dentist office, man, and whatever that music is they pipe in at the in elevators and dentist office, that weird soft rock Chicago and Steely Dan and like that weird thing whatever that is. That's the shit that I subconsciously stole a lot from for

21:40 Bullets. I'd be in there getting drilled on, and all of a sudden, I'd hear like, you know, okay, freaking we're not in love anymore, you know, And I'm like hearing a bridge and I go, oh my god. On my heavy metal song, I totally stole the horn section for a lead guitar section, right, So I love that about music. And you mentioned and earlier, like we were talking about Slayer. I always use them as an example, man, because with one thing that pisses me off about, like the art thing. I get it, it's music business, second word business. I get that argument. But I imagine music being like this art palette. You have all these paints on your thing, but you're stuck in metal. Let's say metal carry king metals red and yellow, and your whole life red and yellow, red and yellow, and one day you look down and you go, man, a hint of turquoise would really set this fucking painting off. And I just kind of find it, like, why the fuck don't we do that. I remember one of my guitar tech tech friends worked for Slayer and Guns N' Roses, and I had to ask him. I'm like, dude, so at soundcheck, does Slayer ever play fucking Sweet Home Alabama anything other than metal? And He's like, now, dude, they just do the metal thing. And I'm like, ah, fuck, I'd lose my fucking shit if I was touring for decades and just having to go shit every day and not just once in a while.

22:53 Go hey, you guys want to fucking rock a Sweet Caroline just for the shit of it, Let's just do it? Come on, you know nice? See I love that. That's why people need the listener shit, because I mean, that's it right there. I think music should be unique and it should be like that's the thing problem with metal nowadays, it's like they use this algebraic equation, this is how metal has to sound. But I think the key to great music is something that stands out, that's unique and that you can show different sides of you. And it would be boring Ollie from bringing me to Rise and they've been giving them so much shade lately for the different music, and he's like, hey, I don't want to write the same song over and over again, you know. And that's it right there. So tell everybody how they can check out your new video space Lord Symphony. That's a badass, and how they can connect to you guys on socials on the web all that great shit. Thanks man. Yeah, we're Bullets and Octane. If you go to our bulletsin Octane official YouTube, you could check it out. This year alone, we've put out like a crazy amount, like ten videos, ten singles, just pumping out as much stuff as possible. Some is great, some is a little off, painted, pale, strange, but it's everything. It's everything that matters to us.

24:12 So go to Bullets and Octane official YouTube. Go to Bolts and Otane official Instagram. I'm always posting silly shit my day to day weird walks and vamps between you know, jogging and weird shit and then straight up just music stuff, and you know, I try to keep things honest. Go check it out space Lord Symphony, Bullets and Octane. We got a bunch of new cool things I wish I could talk about right now that I can't wait to talk to you, hopefully about in another month or so. It's gonna be It's gonna be a really cool year. Man. I'm very excited about it. I love it. Let's do it. And I know you have an album coming out this year to be determined, so that'll be cool. And man, I just gotta check you guys out because I like, as soon as I saw this video, I was like, man, that's badass.

24:57 I got to interview these people. And so everybody needs to listen to you. And do you have any final words you want to leave the listeners with. Uh, keep an open heart, keep an open mind, always be a fan of everything music. And thanks for sticking around with you know, true artists and true people who struggle and put stuff out no matter what it takes. Just thank you for being a fan of all things music, all things rock and roll. Everybody, Uh no better words have zaid. Thanks for your great music, and thanks for being on the Adventures of pipe Man. You got it. Thank you so much, brother, Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipe Main. I'm w for CUI Radio.