EMQ’s With MNRVA
EMQ’s With MNRVA
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with USA Doom/ Sludge/ Stoner band, MNRVA. Huge thanks to their Guitarist/ Vocalist, Byron Hawk, 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?
Byron Hawk. I play guitar and do vocals for MNRVA with Kevin Jennings (bass, vocals) and Gina Ercolini (drums). We were all hanging out having some shots of tequila shortly after Lemmy died and stumbled into the idea of doing a Motorhead cover band. On the spot came up with the name and a set list on a napkin, lol, and shortly after that started working on the songs. We did some really cool and fun shows for a couple of years and then decided to morph into our own thing. We knew we wanted to be in the broader Stoner/Doom/Sludge/Psych umbrella and each picked a song to cover that we liked and that set the parameters for our sound. After that, we went right into working on our own songs.
How did you come up with your band name?
Gina came up with Owl of Minerva but there was already a band out there with that name, and a bunch of bands with the name Minerva. So I suggested dropping a couple of vowels to make it distinctive and pick up some social accounts and it just stuck. Here we are four years later.
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We are from Columbia, South Carolina in the southeastern United States. The scene here is really good, especially in our narrower three-state area of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. There’s a “Southern Sludge” tradition in Atlanta, GA, Savannah, GA, Columbia, SC, and Raleigh, NC that has spread across the region. Lots of great Stoner-Doom bands right now—Space Coke, Dayglo Mourning, Doomsday Profit, HolyRoller, Embr, Hot Ram, Dyerwulf, Bog Monkey, Sawzall Doll, Auralayer, Oakskin, Cosmic Reaper, Big Oaf, Witchpit. The scene for Stoner-Doom is really growing.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our album “Hollow” just came out with Black Doomba Records, and our video single for the title track ‘Hollow’ is out as well. The songs are on Bandcamp and Spotify and you can buy the CD via Bandcamp. The video was cut together by Anthony Stagliano from his indie film Fade. It really captures the doomy and trippy vibe of the song.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Guitar wise, early stuff like Randy Rhodes, Van Halen, Rush. Edgar Rivera from Solitude Aeturnus was a huge influence on me. He played so flawlessly, balanced melody and feel with fast but precise picking, and was a stickler for details, carefully writing and reproducing every solo, and he constantly practiced. Learned a lot from him. I still remember sitting in his room and dropping Kill ‘Em All on the turntable as soon as we got it home from the record store. Of course that changed everything.
What first got you into music?
I still remember sneaking into my sister’s room and checking out all of her albums—Black Sabbath “Vol.4”, Queen “News of the World”, ZZ Top “Fandango”. It went on like that. Those album covers drew me in.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Our friends in Embr and Dayglo Mourning just collaborated on a Down cover for ‘Bury Me In Smoke’ and made a super cool video for it. Sounds and looks killer. Would love to collab with them on something.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Tough question. There are so many big ones, I mean who wouldn’t want to play Download or something like that? As for genre-specific festivals, we really want to play Maryland Doom Fest. Ripplefest of course. Hammer of Doom or maybe Keep it True in Germany. Doom City Fest in Mexico looks pretty cool. Playing with, meeting, and getting to see cool bands is always the reason to play festivals.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Never really got anything weird. I guess I’m not weird enough to inspire weird in return.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Many thanks for listening to, following, sharing, and seeing MNRVA. Any scene is all about participation. Without it, no scene. Without a scene, no real reason to create and play.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
In the great guitarist debate between Rhodes and Hendrix, I might say Hendrix. Both, along with SRV, had lots of music ahead of them. All gone too early. But I’d like to see what Hendrix would have continued to do with tone. Stoner-Doom all traces back to Sabbath and Hendrix. What other tones would have come from Hendrix that we could draw on today? Wish we could answer that one.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The creativity and the achievement of goals. If you don’t enjoy those two things, you’ll have a much harder time. I really hate all of the things that get in the way of achieving goals. And they are myriad. Creativity is easy. Achieving goals is hard work. I guess I’m a bit of a workaholic and a bit stubborn. But you kind of have to be both to make strides in music. Not going to get very far sitting around or giving up.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
The fact that musicians are the last to get paid. I understand why the structure is what it is, but it is even more difficult now to be a musician than ever if you are really trying to make it a profession.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Far too many honestly. But one of my all-time favourites that I think still influences me today is Fates Warning “Awaken the Guardian”. It was seen as Proggy back in the day, especially as Fates Warning evolved. But that is a really Doomy record. Great Doom sound and guitar tone along with some all-time great riffs.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?
I’m a CD guy. I know vinyl is having its resurgence, which is great, but CDs are inexpensive, easier to store, and sound great. What’s not to like? I always try to buy CDs at shows when I can to support the bands I like and see.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
We recently got to play the Gravitoyd Heavy Music Festival in Austin, TX. An awesome lineup—The Atomic Bitchwax, The Well, Valley of the Sun, Howling Giant, Horseburner, Tia Carrera, Yatra, Thunder Horse, High Desert Queen, Switchblade Jesus, Doomstress, Temptress, Silent Monolith. It was a great show overall. So many killer sets that day! Many thanks to Gravitoyd for having us come and play.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I’d probably do a small label or be a show promoter. I’ve dabbled in organizing some shows and have thought about doing a small label since the 1990s. All work and no money, much like being a musician, but once you get the music bug you’re a lifer.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
An artist, philosopher, musician, politician, and scientist walk into a room. Would make for a great joke, or maybe a dinner party! Give me one of each at random. That would certainly be interesting.
What’s next for the band?
We just recorded a video for our next single from “Hollow” for the song ‘Not The One’. Hoping to have that out late summer, early fall. We are signed on to play New England Stoner and Doom Fest in the fall. Super looking forward to that!
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram primarily for socials. Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify and other streaming services for music.
https://www.facebook.com/mnrvasc/
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
After looking it up, I’m gonna say biscuit. But in the US we call them cookies. My youngest kid used to call soft cookies, cakies. Let’s make that happen internet!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
It’s been a really wild ride going from quickly getting the band together and putting out an EP in 2019, having all that momentum disrupted by the pandemic in 2020, and then jumping right into signing with Black Doomba in 2021 and putting out the record in 2022. Seems like a blur. But I can’t say enough about having supportive PR in C Squared Music, a label that puts work behind their artists in Black Doomba, and all the cool bands in the scene that get it and really support each other. We’ve had lots of great experiences so far and are looking to have some more.
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