EMQ’s with Cold Black River
EMQ’s with Cold Black River
Hi Everyone. Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Madison, WI Swamp Rock/Metal band Cold Black River. Huge thanks to them for taking part!
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Cold Black River! We play swamp rock; heavy on blues, grunge and doom. We started in ’13, building on straight-forward rock tunes then adding our influences.
How did you come up with your band name?
We started as Wicked Tree, but changed our minds after finding another ‘wicked’ band in Milwaukee. We had to dig to find a band name that hadn’t been used. We threw around a lot of descriptive words that could describe the sound we were going for. We finally settled on Cold Black River – which fits the sound perfectly.
What country are you from and what is the metal scene like there?
The United States! Wisconsin has a vibrant metal scene. Tons of talented bands of varying taste. Very supportive!
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single or Video)
“Tales Of Death & The Devil” – 2019 CD Release – full length album featuring the songs ‘Keep Rollin’ and ‘Oh My Goddess’.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Clutch, Sabbath, Alice In Chains, ZZ Top, Tom Waits!
What first got you into music?
Eric: Listening to outlaw country with my mom growing up in the Ozarks. Eventually you search for your own music which led me to metal and punk.
Aaron: Listening to albums with my Dad as a kid.
Jeremy: My parents record collection and relatives who were also musicians.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Eric: Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, John Paul Jones, Clutch.
Aaron: Queens Of The Stone Age, Red Fang, The Sword.
Jeremy: Clutch, Queens Of The Stone Age.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Roadburn Festival, NL – always so many good bands, and who wouldn’t want to go (back) to NL?
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
A dear friend recently carved and artistically burned a skull out of a piece of wood with Cold Black River engraved underneath. Pretty cool; also weird.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Enjoy every moment of every show. You never know when it’ll be your last.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Lenny Bruce. He was a rock star. I would love to hear his take on the world today.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
A) Spending time with like-minded people; Performing, writing, and recording.
B) People with poor attitudes; haters, “critics”, bands that are disrespectful.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Eliminate the “music industry”. By now, we’ve proven we don’t need them. DIY all the way!
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Eric: “The End of Silence” – Rollins Band – It just hit me at a particular time in my life. I still listen to it. Second and third are The Heavy Metal soundtrack, and “Live After Death” – Iron Maiden.
Aaron: Tool “Ænima”. I could listen to that Album anytime.
Jeremy: Clutch – “Blast Tyrant”. I’ve been listening to that one again. Great all the way through!
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Really depends; there’s an audience for all of them. I personally love vinyl; it’s just so expensive to produce for bands like us. Otherwise, CD’s!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Those gigs where, before you play, no one knows who the hell you are, but once you’ve played, you’ve really connected with the audience. It’s also great to perform somewhere where you find people actually singing along. That still blows my mind.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Creating something. I still draw, write, and do design work. There’s always something going on. That being said, I cannot imagine a life without music. It’s always been around.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
David Lynch, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, Stephen King, Neil Fallon.
What’s next for the band?
Flesh out the rest of the year with as many gigs as possible performing the new album for as many people as possible. Try to play gigs where we haven’t yet, make new friends and fans.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Nearly all of them.
Start with our website www.coldblackriver.com and you can’t go wrong.
Otherwise, head straight to our bandcamp page www.coldblackriver.bandcamp.com
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Be sure to check us out on all social media, keep up with our schedule, and hopefully we’ll be in a town near you very soon! Thanks for the interview!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
