By Keith Walsh
With a dark, complex sound and lyrics drawn from horror and science fiction films and short stories, Stereo Christ are a duo from Phoenix, Arizona. Their style reflects inspiration from a variety of punk and hard rock genres, with Douglas Gluth’s fuzzed-up bass guitar playing dual rhythm and melodic roles, while Moucha’s drums carry a beat while his vocals tell stories. I had the chance to ask some questions of the two members of this iconoclastic rock project. (For my album review, please visit Punk Rock Beat dot com.)
Popular Culture Beat: Even if you aren’t specifically punk it seems like other guitar genres after the punk era were forever changed after that and so there’s going to be some punk element in most metal or hard rock. Agree or disagree and why?
Moucha: Yeah, for sure I’d have to agree. There’s a high energy, tonal quality that is forever inherent in all distortion that screams with an attitude that punk has claimed as its own. It doesn’t matter whether its muffled and fuzzy or bright and trashy, it will just find its way into any genre and be at home
Douglas: Absolutely agree with that! Punk may have initially been an underground movement, but music that good and real was destined to make its way into everything. I believe the grunge movement helped get that raw sound of punk out into the mainstream, and people started checking out the music that inspired those grunge bands. I am fortunate enough to have a father who was there in the early 80’s LA scene, so I was raised on the classic stuff. That is why a bit of it makes it into my playing.
Popular Culture Beat: I’m certainly hearing elements of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, MC5. Do you agree, and what other influences are there?
Moucha: Our sound is undeniably Sabbath inspired, and you for sure have Doug to thank for that! I love them, but I feel my main contribution to the sounds comes from years of watching fast playing, heavy handed hitters, so I’d hope my love for punk and hardcore drumming shines through.
Douglas: I like to think we wear the Sabbath influence on our sleeves, though any band with a stoner rock sound owes them for the core sound of the genre (along with any band using heavy distortion for that matter). I think that classic vibe we have really comes through thanks to Moucha’s energetic drumming. He has been likened to the madman Keith Moon (fun fact, Moucha’s first name is also Keith). It also comes from how I’m pushing my sound out of vintage amps. The tone of my Sunn amp is always going to sound old school. Of all our influences, the most accidental would be Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. I have listened to each of their albums countless times and I think aspects of their songs come out in my writing. One time, my friend came over and laid some guitar over our song ‘Shadow out of Time.’ I swear it turned into an Uncle Acid song! Sometimes you think you know your influences, but what you listen to bleeds into what you’ll end up writing.
Popular Culture Beat: For Doug, how did having a musical and punk fan dad inform your choice of instruments, and your approach to playing?
Douglas: Yes, I got into playing 100% because I wanted to play punk rock like the bands he raised me on. A lot of people pick up guitar because they want to emulate their favorite musicians. Guitarists are the “rock gods” we are raised on, so of course everyone wants to pick up guitar. If felt like all my friends played guitar, so I figured it’d be easier to get into a band if I was a good bass player. That was pretty much the extent of why I picked bass instead.
Popular Culture Beat: Moucha, how about your musical upbringing and experiences?
Moucha: I remember I picked up drums first at 8 years old. I broke all the drum heads in a short time right after. My parents threw out that kit because they thought it was busted and I didn’t really play them again ‘til high school when I was able to afford another drum kit. By that point I had found myself learning guitar because I wanted to be in a band and to start playing shows as soon as I could. For me being on stage is what it’s all about and that’s all due to my family being big into performing growing up.
Popular Culture Beat: How did you guys meet and how long have you been playing together? What were the initial concepts you discussed? And what inspired the decision to go with slower tempo songs?
Douglas:- Moucha is married to my best friend from high school. We hit it off pretty well when we first met 9 years ago, and over the course of time, I learned he was an incredible musician. Moucha is an amazing drummer, but he is a master of any stringed instrument he picks up. Now, Stereo Christ really started when a guitarist in one of my previous bands had explained to me that the band Royal Blood was actually just a bass and drums. The bass was so rich and distorted in their songs, like a guitar and bass all at once. I had to figure out how to do it myself. I initially wrote our self-titled album jamming with my good friend Edgardo on drums. We recorded the songs, but the project never went any further. This is where I figured out my sound and how I wanted to separate myself from other drum and bass 2-pieces, like Royal Blood. Moucha had shown interest in the idea, and it was him who suggested that he could drum on the songs. He pretty much nailed it out the gate, so we re-recorded the album. Its funny you mention the slow tempo because the record is faster than the original recordings with Edgardo! I’d say the slow tempo is just rooted in the style of stoner rock, even though I don’t personally believe we fit squarely into that genre.
Moucha: Doug said it perfectly!
Popular Culture Beat: I think adding another guitarist would make the sound too thick, but how about a keyboardist? How about a B3 sound, or a Vox organ?
Douglas: Agreed. Moucha had at one time come over to jam on guitar when Edgardo was drumming. The guitar just washed out my bass sound and made everything a wall of distortion. Before that, Edgardo and I had discussed bringing rock organ or Moog synth in, but didn’t know anyone who could do it. Moucha and I have since decided that keeping our sound more straightforward is probably best. I personally think keys can add great accents to rock music. That said, I find that if you bring a key player in, they want to play the whole time. It gets aggravating, and I am sorry key players! Unless you’re Jon Lord or Edgar Winter, I don’t want to hear you play over the whole damn song.
Moucha: Ya know, I’ve been thinking we could use a horn section.
Popular Culture Beat: For Doug: what techniques or approaches, and gear are you using for the bass to fill the frequencies that electric guitar usually occupies?
Douglas: The secret sauce is in the way I use my amps and distortion. When I first set to accomplishing my bass sound, my instinct was to put a chain of fuzz and compression through a guitar amp and then keep the bass amp clean. Our friend and recording engineer Jalipaz of Audio Confusion was the one who came in and helped me figure it out. I consider Jal more than just our recording/mixing guy. He really acts almost like my producer. Jal suggested I put fuzz through the bass amp and then add a crunchy, high gain guitar amp. The dirt and guts live in the low end, while the clarity is in the highs, but still has grit through the amp distortion. As for my technique, I think of songs in sections where I lean back on the rhythm of the song to give space for vocals, then open up more ‘noodling’ for big moments. I play by intuition, though the trick is in my strumming technique. I don’t use a pick, all fingers.
Popular Culture Beat: Where does the mysticism of the lyrics come from? Where does personal experience cross over into theater? I’m referring to references about the Shaman, the devil and the apocalypse.
Douglas: I’m not sure I’d call it mysticism. More so intentionally esoteric. I write about things stemming from my fascination with the horror genre and apocalyptic concepts. I take a note out of the Geezer Butler school of lyricism and keep it vague so you can apply your own ideas, while knowing there is a story at the heart of the lyrics. For instance, ‘Crimson Draw’ is about an alternate reality where Thomas Edison has built a mechanized army and is invading a fictional Native American nation. Their last member is a shaman who conjures a healing spell, and then inverts it to create a destructive demonic force to kill the invaders. Unfortunately, the spell gets out of hand and ends up ravaging all life in the land, turning it into a wasteland of red sand dunes. The story is in the lyrics, but the way its told leaves room for you to apply more of what you think it means. Other songs are more direct, like ‘The Dead’ being references to Romero movies or ‘Shadow out of Time’ being about my favorite Lovecraft story of the same name. The latter songs on the record are more personal and do derive from my life experiences.
Popular Culture Beat: How did the name of the band come about? Would you change the band’s name to tour the deep South? 🙂
Douglas: I wish it were more complex, but it comes from a joke Moucha made. I was telling him one night about seeing the doom legends Monolord in concert that previous weekend. He just said, in his signature dry wit, ‘Mono Lord… Stereo Christ’ in a joking inversion of the band’s name. I thought it had a cool ring to it, and so we decided let’s do it! The original working title was ‘Fine Young Goblins’ but we felt that was too similar to ‘Fine Young Cannibals,’ even though the name was a quote from the Disney film Hocus Pocus. As for changing the name? Absolutely not! I don’t think it’s sacrilegious in the slightest, nor do we have any ill intent towards believers. Bands from the South like EyeHateGod or Goatwhore have been doing great for decades, and those names are way harder to tell your mother who you’re seeing that night!
Popular Culture Beat: Best and worst parts of being on the road with the band?
‘Moucha: I used to live in a van with my wife and our dog. Traveling and living on the road is something I crave and love immensely. Everyday on tour I get to feel badass and its great. People responding to our songs, being receptive, just sticking around to watch us and even enjoy our tunes. Some nights are better than others, and shit happens, but you regroup, breathe, and keep pushing and try to have fun with it
Douglas: Best part of touring with this band is that being a 2-piece makes logistics SO much easier than it usually is. That, and Moucha is just a great dude, so he is the perfect travel buddy. The hardest thing on tour is just dealing with the unknown. Gear problems, the venue sucks, the promoter double books the same night. Too much shit can happen and you have to roll with it. Still, it gets hard to roll with the punches when you’re on your fifth night in a row of playing after driving 6+ hours a day and you’re losing patience with the world. That, and money, always money.
Popular Culture Beat: Working on a new album? What changes in approach and sound are involved, if any?
Douglas: – Yes and we will be recording it soon! Everything is written and ready to go, just refining it. This next record keeps the core sound the same, but with a few changes to the formula. The majority of the new stuff is tuned to C Sharp Standard, so the songs have a darker, grittier, and slightly modern sound. A lot of the lyrics delve more into real subjects, with fewer songs about sci-fi/fantasy topics. The first record was written 4 years ago, so these songs feel more like a representation of who I am today. They get into some personal places, so it will be exposing yet also cathartic in a way. I am really proud of it, and think it blows our first record out of the water, though every artist tells you that, no?
Moucha: This record has us moving towards a sound that is undeniably our own. We know each other’s style and tendencies better now. This makes writing and creating more fluid and natural. We have developed a great feel with one another, and it’s been real awesome because Doug is a killer bassist and has all the bitchin’ riffs.
Stereo Christ dot com
Stereo Christ on Bandcamp
Stereo Christ on Spotify
Stereo Christ You Tube
Stereo Christ Links
Stereo Christ Review At Punk Rock Beat
finis