In a couple of days time, heavy doom/sludge/fuzz legends Bongripper will fly over from Chicago in the US to spend a week touring in the UK with Conan and Humanfly. Metal editor Sander asked Bongripper guitarist Dennis a couple of questions about the band.
(((o))): Lots of people are familiar with Bongripper and would know the answer to this question already, but we have a lot of readers who probably aren't familiar with you guys, so can you please give us some history about the band and who’s currently in it?
Dennis: The band started as something we would mess around with while practicing with our death metal band at the time. It turned out that we had more fun playing improve doom. Our singer in that band moved back to Detroit in the summer of 2005. We went into the studio in August of that year with a couple riffs and recorded 80 minutes of music and that ended up being The Great Barrier Reefer. The members of the band are Ron (bass), Dan (Drums), Nick and Dennis (Guitar)
(((o))): One of our writers was asking about the name Bongripper after I posted the review of the Conan split (see here). Can you enlighten us with the history behind the name Bongripper?
Dennis: Like a lot of things in this band it started off as a bad sarcastic joke. I believe Nick was talking about how he was “disappointed” that Sleep left so much unused time on the CD version of Dopesmoker.
Multiple bad jokes later, and I think Nick said something along the lines of, “we should record an 80 minute song and call it Bongripper”.
(((o))): Now, not many bands like to be pigeonholed into a specific genre. You guys touch upon a lot of different styles, such as sludge, doom, metal, post-metal and I even here post-rock influences back on some of your longer tracks. I would describe your music as “kick-ass heavy instrumental metal” or something. How would you describe your style to outsiders?
Dennis: This is a question I dread. “You’re in band? What does your band sound like?” It’s really hard to explain to someone who has no reference point what we sound like. Usually I just tell them we are a heavy band without vocals. It seems like the easiest approach, and doesn't lead to more questions.
(((o))): The whole doom and sludge scene has exploded in recent years. As a band that has been going for many years how do you view this?
Dennis: Well, it can be a blessing and a curse. One way to look at it is that people who may have not given the genre the time of day before are now listening to it. At the same time, as with all genres of music, anytime you have too many people involved, or the popularity grows, it seems to get a bit commercialized or over saturated.
(((o))): Satan Worshipping Doom is regarded by many as one of the best doom releases of recent years. Did the reaction surprise you at all or was it a sense of gaining the acclaim you felt it deserved?
Dennis: It was a complete shock to not only me, but I think everyone in the band. I thought we had some solid songs when all was said and done. Did I think that it would take off the way it did? Never.
(((o))): Recently post-rock band Long Distance Calling had a bit of a turnaround as they introduced a vocalist on their latest album while their previous releases were all instrumental. Have you ever considered adding a vocalist to your line-up?
Dennis: Honestly, no. First off, if we added a singer what would he/she do while we play our old songs? Play tambourine? Secondly, trying to find someone that would fit in with us would be hard. They would probably quit after they heard our horrible jokes.
That’s one of the things I like about being in this band. We don’t have a vocalist to relay a message/feeling to people. We have to do it with our instruments. On some nights that can get pretty intense depending on what type of mood we are in.
(((o))): You have collaborated with Conan for this split release and upcoming tour. Have you been aware of them or played with them before?
Dennis: Yes, I have known of Conan since Horseback Battle Hammer, and Nick and Jon (from Conan ) talk on the Doomed Forever boards, and Facebook. We both played Roadburn Festival last year. In fact, Ron and I, if memory serves me correctly, didn't get to see them. We could only hear them. The stage they played on was packed, and by the time we got there all we could do is stand out in the hallway. Which completely bummed us out, as this was a little after Monnos came out, and we were really looking forward to seeing them play live.
(((o))): Are there other acts that have impressed you or that you would like to collaborate with?
Dennis: Maybe Bongripper doing the backing track to the next chapters of “Trapped in the Closet” by R. Kelly? Actually to go back on the subject of adding a vocalist, R. Kelly and Tom Waits are the only two vocalists we would ever want to collaborate with for a track.
(((o))): Do all the band members share similar taste in music or is there a wide range of influences between you?
Dennis: There’s a wide range of influences. If you were to look at our iPods, music collection, etc… you would never guess that we are in the band that we are in. One thing that we do share a love for though is horrible one hit wonders.
(((o))): For those who have never witnessed Bongripper live, what should they expect on this upcoming tour?
Dennis: I think that’s what is exciting us about this tour. We don’t even know what to expect. We know the group of songs we will be playing, but we haven’t worked out an exact set list. We have been told by a few people that they will be going to multiple shows, so we don’t them to hear the same set list night after night. Nor, do I think we want to play the same set list every night.
(((o))): So far you have released splits with Hate and with Conan this year. What other plans do the band have, can we expect to hear more new material soon?
Dennis: Well, right now we are 2 songs in to the next full length record. Hopefully when we get back from tour we will finish that up, and then get in to the studio soon thereafter and record it. We were hoping to have it written before tour, but with other shows, and practicing for tour we had to focus on those items first. We have recorded demos for those two new songs, and have let a few people hear them. The feedback has been good so far.
(((o))): What’s the best thing of coming over to Europe for?
Dennis: For me it would be getting to meet people who we have dealt with in the past. Since we ship most of our own merch, we deal with a lot of our fans via email. Sometimes it evolves in to friendship of sorts. So it will be nice to finally be able to put some faces to names on this tour, like we were able to do at Roadburn last year.
(((o))): Mike Hayden who writes for us at Ech(((o)))es and Dust also plays guitar in Sleep Lady. He once played banjo on one of your tracks. Have you remained in touch or followed Sleep Lady at all?
Dennis: It was actually lap steel guitar on Her Highness, but I’m picturing Mike playing a banjo now, and it’s pretty amusing. The answer to the second question is yes to both. Though I haven’t seen him in a year or two, we exchange messages and stay in touch. Also, it’s been great to see Sleep Lady evolve the way it has. I can remember one of the last times I was in San Diego, Sleep Lady was a project Mike was working on mainly by himself. To see it go from that, to where they are now is great.
(((o))): I am planning to go to Chicago for work in June 2014. What do I need to do to spend my day off there Bongripper-style?
Dennis: Hopefully that’s nothing like gangnam style? You would have to start your morning off with way too much coffee. Find a random dog, and take it for a walk. Then go back to the place you are staying and watch horrible television until it actually becomes funny (Chicago public access is pretty great for this). Then go get some Mexican food. Go back to the place you are staying and watch more television. Then go to the west side of Chicago for practice. Then end the night a local DIY venue. A drink or two wouldn't hurt either.
(((o))): If you were a beer, what beer would you be?
Dennis: Not sure. Which beer has mesmerizing eyes, and an impeccable sense of humor?
(((o))): Thank you very much for this interview. Is there anything you’d like to add?
Dennis: Thank you, and yes, you should probably give Mike a pay raise! 🙂
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(Disclaimer: our writers don't get paid, it's all hard work, sweat and tears for a huge passion for music)
Credits: Photograph taken by Steph Byrne
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Make sure you got and see Bongripper on their UK tour together with fellow doom powerhouse Conan and the prog monsters from Leeds Humanfly. Here are the dates:
Sat 20 - The Kazimier, Liverpool
Sun 21 - Star & Garter, Manchester Star & Garter
Mon 22 - Sanctuary, Basingstoke
Tues 23 - The Green Wizard, Sheffield
Wed 24 - The Continental, Preston
Thu 25 - The Exchange, Bristol
Fri 26 - Bannermans, Edinburgh
Sat 27 - The Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle
Sun 28 - Desertfest, London
And watch the promo video for the tour:
