To coincide with Blistering’s year end shenanigans, I bring you The Company Band. Though the project shuns the term ‘super-group’, The Company Band’s lineup is a veritable who’s-who of stoner rock royalty. Fireball Ministry Jim Rota has joined forces with guitarist Dave Bone, Fu Manchu bassist Brad Davis, CKY drummer Jess Margera and Clutch’s inimitable Neil Fallon on vocals to unleash one of 2009’s finest record of any genre…bar none. To say that The Company Band brings The Rock™ is an understatement; this record practically oozes class and conviction with every scorching riff and exquisitely crafted lick. It was my absolute honor and pleasure to sit down with one of my own personal heroes, Mr. Fallon himself, for this exclusive chat. Hope you enjoy!
Blistering.com: Was the formation idea for The Company Band a product of a lot of pre-discussion, or did it all happen somewhat quickly?
Neil Fallon: Well, if memory serves me correctly—which it rarely does—it started initially as just wanting to do some instrumental jams with Jim Rota. He brought Dave Bone into the fold; they had wanted to do a record with vocals here and there, so they asked me to do it. One thing led to another, and we ended up releasing the EP. I don’t think the instrumental stuff really went anywhere. Later on, we just decided that—after playing together—that we had a good time, so why not continue?
Blistering.com: Do you make it a conscious effort to keep each band separate, and not let things cross pollinate?
Fallon: I tried to, but it’s easier said than done. They’re both hard rock acts. If The Company Band were a country act, it would be a lot easier, but it’s difficult to disguise one’s own voice. Writing-wise, it’s hard for me to comment on it, because I’m so close to it. I try to just not over-think anything, and just go with gut instinct.
Blistering.com: How about with regards to the writing process? Are there times where riffs are written which could fall within the confines of either band, and do you personally write a lot of riffs yourself?
Fallon: With The Company Band, it’s strictly lyrics. I might put my two cents in on switching some stuff up if I were having trouble writing lyrics to it. With Clutch, I’m much more involved in the music aspect of it, and there’s something to be said about wearing both of those hats.
Blistering.com: Is it more of a meet up and jam situation, or a trading of ideas back and forth?
Fallon: It’s the latter. The EP was written and executed on the internet, sharing files back and forth. It’s great that we’re living within an age where we can do that, but it does make it harder to write songs and get it in a cohesive way. So when we were doing the album, we made it a point to get together, play the songs, and have me sing to it. You can communicate far more within sixty seconds of body language than you can in all the emails in the world.
Blistering.com: With regards to the actual industry side of that, The Company Band has released both a digital single and vinyl, on both ends. What’s your opinion of the shifts the music industry has seen, with regards to not only how people are buying their music, but how labels are promoting it?
Fallon: I think the vinyl aspect of it is in the middle of resurgence, I think because of how—with MP3s—the actual delivery process of music has become extremely disposable. Let’s face it: most of us hardly pay for our music, and if you do get a CD, you put it on your computer, and it ends up on the floor of your car. I think vinyl is a reaction to that. You have it on your iPod, but you also have this physical thing which you can touch, feel, smell and vibe on; it’s like buying stock in a company. I would hazard a guess that a lot of these people who are buying vinyl don’t even have record players! I think that’s more of an aesthetic reaction, because I don’t think there’s a lot of money to be made from vinyl.
As far as the industry side, it’s definitely leveled the playing field, where a band like The Company Band can do stuff like that, and bands like Clutch can start its own record label. The other labels are reacting to it in fear by going back to 360 deals and archaic stuff like that, but the Genie’s out of the bottle. You can’t put it back.
Blistering.com: Clutch has had more than their fair share of label woes over the years; that’s been well documented.
Fallon: Yeah, looking back at it, we used them as much as they used us, in the long run. Hopefully we’ve learned a couple things, and it’s fortunate that an artist can really reach their fans, and cut out so many of the middle people.
Blistering.com: Oh yeah, labels are downsizing left and right, getting rid of people and positions which are no longer needed.
Fallon: Yeah, the well has dried up, and you have to become a more efficient machine in this day and age. It’s good for everybody, because if you live too high on the hog, you get too financially fat to get off the couch.
Blistering.com: It’s probably a given that there are many people involved in the music industry who really have no love for actual music, and don’t know a thing about it.
Fallon: Yeah…you’re exactly right. It’s just another gig. They could be selling cars.
The Company Band Interview Page One << you are here
