Rob: Scott...
Scott: Rob?
Rob: yeah...
Scott: Hey, how`s it goin` man?
Rob: How`s it goin`?
Scott: Good...
Rob: ...right on...
Scott: how you doing?
Rob: Pretty good, almost forgot to call you...
Scott: That`s alright...
Rob: I was doing some other stuff around the house...
Scott: My wife just called and said there was a power outage down the street...I was going, shit- I think our power is still on...
Rob: hahahha...
Scott: ...thought maybe I missed you from the power going out.
Rob: Some guy fell asleep at the wheel and ran into a power pole and knocked out our whole part of the city...
Scott: jeez...did he get killed?
Rob: He went away in an ambulance, but the car was...I don`t think he made it...
Scott: wow...
Rob: crazy, anyways- I am glad that we can finally do this...
Scott: It`s about time!
Rob: no doubt...
Scott: I got nothing on my schedule...I don`t know...sometimes I don`t even leave the house for a couple of weeks...but, it`s been kind of hectic lately...
Rob: You guys been playing alot lately?
Scott: naw, I`ve just been busy doin` stuff...round the house and stuff, there`s always projects around here.
Rob: You got a farm out there?
Scott: yeah, we got some acre-age out here...we got a baby horse on the way, so we`re building new pens and stuff...
Rob: ...oh, cool...I grew up on a cattle farm in Georgia...
Scott: That`s awesome...
Rob: Where are you located these days?
Scott: um...about thirty miles out of Palm Springs, towards L.A....we are actually outside of any city limits...we`re out in the boonies...
Rob: OK...you guys just played with Motorhead recently?
Scott: Yeah!
Rob: How was that?
Scott: Fuckin` awesome...
Rob: was it...
Scott: yeah...
Rob: Where was that at? That was in LA...
Scott: yeah, House of Blues...
Rob: House of Blues...
Scott: yeah...it was like...`bout...God, when were the Across the River days...16 years ago?
Rob: uh huh...
Scott: something like that...Someone from SST called and asked if we wanted to open up for Motorhead...just one show...we were like yeah!!! But at the last minute, they bumped us...like uuhhh!!! So after all this time, finally got to open for Motorhead...
Rob: What band was that?
Scott: Across The River...
Rob: ...was that one of your first projects?
Scott: Yeah, it was Mario Lalli and Alfredo Hernandez...and there was this other guy, this kid named Mark Anderson...who was 15 years old...we actually signed with SST...
Rob: huh, did you guys put out some stuff with them?
Scott: ...No, haha...we...ha...it fell apart before we got the record done...we signed the contract with Chuck Dukowski...yeah...we are on our way...but then it just fell apart...
Rob: That was like `86 then?
Scott: yeah...
Rob: wow...how old are you?
Scott: uummm....hahahahah....I`m 37...
Rob: ...hahahha...you just had a birthday right?
Scott: yeah...
Rob: right on...
Scott: another lap around the sun...
Rob: I`m trying to...I don`t know the history of all you guys...I did see you play one time with Kyuss...well actually, you weren`t in Kyuss...you were in...let`s see...92` or `93 here in Portland...
Scott: The Satyricon?
Rob: yeah...
Scott: shit, that was with the Obsessed wasn`t it? We did a tour with Wool and Kyuss...we were lucky if there were 5 people at each show...
Rob: yeah...hahahaha...
Scott: So, thanks for coming!
Rob: yeah...hahahah...
Scott: I think that I ended up doing sound for Kyuss and Wool that night...because the sound man got in a motorcycle accident on the way to the club...ran into a chain going across a parking lot or something?
Rob: ouch!
Scott: ...then he shot up a bunch of heroin to numb the pain, O.D.`d and went to the hospital and...I remember doing sound for Wool...I had just recorded those guys...I was doing background vocals from the soundboard...hahaha...
Rob: So, you recorded Wool? Back in the day?
Scott: yeah...
Rob: ...so you have known Pete for quite a while then...
Scott: oh yeah...
Rob: OK, I`m starting to make these little connect the dots...
Scott: ...a bunch of inbred freaks...
Rob: yeah I know Greg Anderson from back when...we used to play shows with his old band Engine Kid...
Scott: How is that stuff? I haven`t really listened...
Rob: Great...check out Angel Wings, it`s brilliant...So you`ve also recorded...well, I talked to Reverend Jim last week...
Scott: yep...
Rob: so you recorded Sixty Watt [Shaman] and you recorded Orange Goblin this last year...how did the Orange Goblin recording come about? Have you known those guys for a while...
Scott: Actually, speaking of Greg Anderson, I kind have him to thank for that `cause he hooked me up for recording Sunn, I don`t know if you have heard that record...
Rob: Oh yeah...
Scott: and...the Orange Goblin guys were into that...and one thing leads to another...and bla, bla, bla...thanks Greg!
Rob: right on...hahahha...so you ...just cruised over there and...recorded it...where did you record that at?
Scott: The Sixty Watt thing?
Rob: no no no... The Orange Goblin...
Scott: um...it was a little home studio `bout an hour and a half outside of London...way out in the country...
Rob: uh, huh...
Scott: I think the name of the town was Peldon...like the oldest town in England or something...and there was a little pub down the road...we made it down there a couple of times of course...it was a blast...we spent about 3 weeks out there...
Rob: ...did you record the whole time?
Scott: Yeah, it was pretty non-stop for me. I was engineering and mixing and you know the other guys had free time once we got the tracks down...I was sitting behind this board for 14-16 hours a day...
Rob: ...the thick of it...
Scott: tweaking...tweaking knobs...
Rob: That`s cool...Jim was really excited about the Sixty Watt record he uh...he told me about the...I don`t know if you read the interview or not, but he told me about Wino and how you guys recorded on the last track of the record...
Scott: ah man...
Rob: How was that for you? You hadn`t really talked or seen Wino in 10 years...
Scott: It had been about 10 years...it had been definitely over 10 years since we`d played together...just getting to see the guy was like this big emotional thing...he hung out one night...it was really great to see him after all these years...I know there was a little bit of bad blood when I first split...what the fuck!
Rob: ...you had quit to join Kyuss then right?
Scott: yeah...it`s all water under the bridge now...it`s really cool, he`s doing really well...and then, after we were done with the record...the last day, finished...the last mix...`OK, we`ve got a little bit of time here...`...and they called Wino, he brought his guitar down...we set up the drums in the middle of the room...and brought a P.A. system in for Dan...knocked out about a 10 minute jam...it was pretty loose, but hahaha...it was awesome...I got all choked up, looking down at the tape on the board when we were setting up and it says...there`s the Sixty Watt guys, then it says: Wino, Scott...oh fuck! man!...it was awesome...
Rob: wow...how long did it take you guys to record that record?
Scott: um...let`s see...I was out there about a month, it took about 3 weeks in the studio...pretty quick...those guys were knockin` em` out. I was pretty blown away by how ready they were for it. A lot of the guitar solos were from the scratch tracks...whats usually considered the scratch tracks...
Rob: really? So he was banging `em out live?
Scott: yeah...like `Joe, you want to re-do that solo?` "un, uh"... Good, I didn`t think so...just you know, just gave a little volume boost on the guitar solo.
Rob: right...
Scott: man, that guy is amazing...
Rob: How does the production contrast with Coupe de Grace...sounds to me like you had a little more limited set up when you did the Orange Goblin...
Scott: The recording approach, the same thing for me, I am just trying to capture the band, how they sound...we had better equipment, and I had an engineer there...so I could kick back, concentrate on performances and stuff...
Rob: ...more of a production aspect...
Scott: ...yeah, but as far as capturing what the band sounds like, it`s the exact same approach...just a different band.
Rob: yeah, I like the Orange Goblin record alot by the way...
Scott: ...cool, alot of people hate it!
Rob: hahaha...when I first heard it, I was like- what the hell! hahaha...but then I listened to it back to back with some other stuff...and decided- it`s just different then their last one...but it sounds...
Scott: It`s a punk rock record...
Rob: yeah! It sounds killer, it just like raw rock and roll, just...then we played with them a couple of weeks ago when they came through town and I was just like `yeah`! This is exactly like the record sounds...
Scott: ...like the `We Bite` cover...you know you listen to that next to some of my...you know, old punk records...
Rob: yeah, it totally sounds like Misfits production...you know...
Scott: Right on...
Rob: Let`s talk about Unida...I know you have a record recorded, and a lot of people are going when is the record coming out...is it coming out?
Scott: oh, you know...one of these days...dammit...
Rob: ...are you guys gung ho on touring? Or are you guys a kick back recording...
Scott: oh, we`re gung ho it`s just...everything has been in this weird limbo for so fuckin` long now, we finished the record last May 2nd...
Rob: Over a year ago...
Scott: May 2001...everything was set to come out on Columbia...and you know, we`ve been meeting a lot of people who`ve been working on it...the artwork was done...everything was looking really good...and then I guess, Rick Rubin had a falling out with Sony...moved the whole label over to Island/Def Jam...and apparantly, after months of being just strung along...`oh yeah the release date got bumped back a little bit`...finally we found out that somebody at the label didn`t like the record...so they didnt` want to deal with it. The lawyers had to go back and forth for months and months and months...a chess game where every move takes 2 months...`you have sixty days to reply to this letter...`...and...so we just got out of the deal, a month ago...
Rob: ...ah...so you are out and clear...
Scott: maybe 2 months ago...yeah, we`re clear now, but they still own the record...and we can`t re-record the songs for a year...
Rob: Sounds like a bad after school special senario...
Scott: so...if somebody steps up and wants to buy the record...great, but, otherwise- the date is...I forget what the date is...where that year started...a few months back...
Rob: So you still got a good half of the year to go...
Scott: yeah, we could totally re-record the stuff now, and whatever label wants to do it, just put it out after that deadline...then we`re cool...it would take that long anyway...to get a deal done and do all that bullshit...it`s all good...
Rob: That`s cool...
Scott: ...so we`re just playing some one-offs right now...you know, around our area...L.A....
Rob: You guys should come up to Portland...
Scott: yeah! We are talking about jumping in the van and doing a West Coast thing...in the next couple of months...maybe sometime after July...
Rob: you jamming with anybody else other than Unida?
Scott: umm...at the moment, no, I`m working on my own record...
Rob: Like a solo thing?
Scott: ...yeah, I finally got enough stuff at the house where I can put together some pretty decent sounding stuff...
Rob: ...right on, what are you recording with?
Scott: Pro Tools...
Rob: ...cool, you a MAC or a PC guy?
Scott: MAC...doing a homemade record...got about 4 songs done right now...and I`ve got about 12 written...it`s just a matter of putting them down...and it`s cool...not having any pressures on the studio time or anything...
Rob: right on...little back burner project...other than that, recording bands...or is that something that just happens once in a while?
Scott: Well, I`ve been engineering for about 15 years...when I started playing in Kyuss, things kinda slowed down...and then after the band broke up, I started getting back into it...I was doing sound design for films and TV and stuff...and started getting pretty busy...I was basically living out in L.A. with the Wool guys and commuting back and forth to Palm Springs...then my wife and I started this Pet Store...and got pretty busy with that.
Rob: So you have a pet store?
Scott: Well, we did we closed it in October...but when we started getting busy with that, I turned down a lot of jobs...after a while the phone stops ringing because you`ve turned them down so many times...just getting back into it now.
Rob: What was up with the pet store? Just not as...profitable or...
Scott: ahh...it was a pain in the ass dealing with like, just people who didn`t give a fuck really about their animals. It was doing alright financially, it was hanging in there...but...man...
Rob: ...the people bummed you out?
Scott: ...yeah...some old rich guy that would come in...buy some salt water fish...and you`d see him a few days later...get a bunch of new fish...was like `dude, you shouldn`t be putting that many fish in your tank, what`s going on?` ... Turned out he wasn`t taking care of his water at all in his tank...the fish looked cool for a few days and they`d die, and he`d come back and buy new ones...after dealing with so many people like that...ahh...I`d rather just hide out and take care of our own animals.. [also] the whole business part of it was just a pain in the ass...rather just...relax out here for a while...I don`t know...My wife`s trying to get into raising horses...we got one due in a couple or weeks probably...our first baby...
Rob: I saw the pictures of the birds [at stonerrock.com]...
Scott: ...yeah...So last year was 2 McCaws...and it`s a huge job hand feeding them every few hours...and this year, we have already had 3 hatch, they`re about ready to come out of the nest and we have about 4 more that are about ready to hatch...oh man, big job.
Rob: So you have a bunch of animals out there...sounds like you love it huh?
Scott: Oh, it`s great...it`s like a dream come true out here...
Rob: Anything else going on Unida wise?
Scott: yeah, our management is shopping around looking for labels...I am not sure who`s been biting...I`ve been out of touch the last couple of weeks, celebrating my birthday...Catalina for a while...we will see what happens...you know, we`re just going to be doing our thing, got into this mind set now...like, fuck everybody. We did fine without labels before we are just going to do our thing, jump in the van doing shows...
Rob: I`d like to see you guys...
Scott: ...been wrapped up in the business bullshit for so long...uugghh!!!
Rob: That sucks...I have heard of so many bands going through that...like Sleep...
Scott: It`s happened to almost every band I`ve been in...The Obsessed, their whole thing with Columbia...I got out right before we signed with Columbia...right before they signed with Columbia and...then Kyuss got held up...after we recorded Sky Valley, that didn`t come out for a year...probably a year and a half after it was recorded...Elektra took over...yeah- you think that something like that only happens once in your lifetime...NO!!!
Rob: Following you around like the plague...
Scott: I hate it!
Rob: Bands around nowadays...you listen to any new music at all?
Scott: um...lately, I`ve been pretty much my own thing...and before that I was listening to...Sixty Watt Shaman all the time actually...jump in the car, put that on and dig on that...still listen to that...I got Sixty Watt and Orange Goblin in my car...can`t get enough of either one of those...listen to a lot of Beatles...
Rob: The Beatles one of your favorite bands?
Scott: Yeah, the Beatles were the first band that I really got into...when I was 4...for Christmas, I got Revolver...it was right when Revolver came out...I got The Beatles Revolver and the Sesame Street Record...
Rob: Right on...hahahha...Beatles and Sesame Street...that sounds like my early record collection too...
Scott: hahahha...
Rob: I got Meet the Beatles for my 4th Birthday actually...I still have it...it sounds like a frying pan when you put it on...I don`t have the cover, just the record...but...
Scott: still got it...
Rob: yeah, they are definitely one of my favorite bands...what other influences would you say you have?
Scott: Um...when I started playing Bass, that was `81...lots of Black Flag, `Jealous Again` was my favorite record...it`s what I started playing bass to...god, what was that first batch...TSOL, Bad Religion, Minor Threat...those were the records I learned to play to, when I first started playing...I was playing in this band called `Dead Issue` which was right before Across the River...I was playing drums actually...and our bass player quit, his family had a restarant and his mom didn`t want him going out to L.A. to play gigs...we started getting real shows...couldn`t find a bass player that was into Punk Rock...we got Alfredo, he was playing in a band called `Mutual Hatred` back then...and he was just playing a snare and a high hat...I bought the old bass players stuff...borrowed a guitar amp and started playing...So that was me and Mario and Alfredo and this guy named Herb...that`s still playing out in the desert...I can`t remember the name of his band dammit! They`re pretty good though...
Rob: Alot of you...those guys just stay out in the desert huh?
Scott: yeah...
Rob: ...and that`s where you are from too?
Scott: yeah...wasn`t good for the animals...we moved away about 2 years ago...we knew we wanted to get horses eventually and it`s just too damn hot out there...
Rob: Thanks for letting me pick your brain for a while...
Scott: yeah...no problem...I always hate interviews...it`s like going to the principals office...
Rob: hahaha...I`m no good at them either...I just try to talk to them like I am just doing it with a normal person you know..hahaha...
Scott: That`s whats cool about doing it with you dammit!
Rob: Yeah...hahahha...my first interview was with Nick of Queens...you know Nick...I`m like `what questions shouldn`t I ask you?` That was like my first question...hahaha...what questions piss you off? Let`s get that out of the way so I don`t piss you off...so I know for the future...
Scott: hahahha...
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