TORCHE:
Stoner pop? Beach Boys-like doom? Whatever

COBALT:
I don't really consider us black metal in any sense of what black metal is.

DODSFERD:
Motivated by desolation,
despair, hate, irony, death,
loss, betrayal, etc

PYGMYLUSH:
Between the delicacy of
gorgeous acoustics & the
ugliness of noise rock.

TRACTOR SEX FATALITY:
The most active defunct garage band in Seattle answers our questions.

MERCILESS DEATH:
Thrash metal revivalists  
speak out against false metal

JONAH JENKINS:
The man behind the voice of some of the most underrated underground American bands. 

THE PAX CECILIA:
Giving their music away for free. And it's damn good too.  

WORLD COLLAPSE:
Hardcore has always been about self-expression and
that's exactly what we do. 

U.S. CHRISTMAS:
North Carolina psychedelic hard-rockers acquire
'band to watch' status..

INTRONAUT:
The best self-indulgent odd metered prog metal band around.   

GENTLE VEINCUT:
German angular punk rock/post-hardcore for lack of a better term. 

THE INTELLECTUALS:
Italian garage rock you must know. 

NACHTMYSTIUM:
Spearheading a new wave of  extreme American music.  

BARONESS:
Men of a few words. 

MOTHER TONGUE:
On their beginnings, their first record and their first demise. 

FLATTBUSH:
Extreme world music via San  Francisco.

TOTIMOSHI:
Six drummers & four records later the band unleashes its finest.

HOLY HEART FAILURE:
Shitty emo puss-pop bands & a short tale of Wild Turkey.

THE JONBENET:
Bar recordings and a meaningless moniker.

NOVEMBER COMING FIRE:
Cheese sandwiches and 
progression in hardcore.

SINCE BY MAN:
"We are happy fun-loving dudes."

THE MASS:
"Money, time and blood go straight down the drain."

Miami based pop doom stoner psychedelic quartet Torche is about to become the biggest musical export from the city since Miami Sound Machine erupted onto the music scene way back when Gloria Stefan had a boyish hairdo and couldn’t afford an island. Well, not really but you know. The band’s initial two releases, their self titled debut along with the quality confirmation release In Return (both on Robotic Empire), did two things; got some heads scratching with critics struggling to categorize them properly and gained them massive numbers of converts; from your truly all the way to the boys from Mogwai who not only release Torche’s music in Europe but have taken them out on tour a couple of times. With an upcoming new album titled Meanderthal on Hydra Head Records about to be unleashed, we are all assured to hear a lot about this great band in the upcoming weeks. Drummer Rick Smith and guitarist/vocalist Steve Brooks answered our questions. Read on and spread the word.

- Music is not about reviews, but I don't think I have ever seen any even slightly negative about your music. The decision is pretty unanimous, care to comment?

Rick: Ohhh! I've seen some pretty bad ones out there! Hahaha... I do see lots of pretty great reviews out there though. Definitely more good than bad and I'm pretty excited to see so many people really getting into what we do.

Steve: Yeah, we're totally awesome!

- In Europe you are signed to Rock Action, which is managed by the guys from Mogwai, how did this come about?

Steve: We toured with Mogwai a couple years ago and they dug us. Somehow it was mentioned from Andy (Robotic Empire owner) and they worked out releasing our records in Europe on Rock Action.

- Your music pairs disparate extremes; on one hand you have this pop hooks which are married to guitar oriented heaviness, how do you find a balance between the two?

Rick: To me it's mostly a combination of everything we listen to collectively as a band. We take what we like from what we grew up on and use it as creatively as we can. I think the meshing of different sounds comes naturally just because we all have different musical backgrounds yet have a ton of common interests.

Steve: It's rock music, simple. I don't analyze what we do too much. I just enjoy what we've created.

- Your last few months have been pretty productive for the band; a tour finished with Jesu, Capsule and Fog. What was the response like regarding the difference in sound between the bands?

Rick: The audiences varied a lot on the tours but for the most part they were all pretty open-minded. I think all the bands had pretty good responses from the audiences. The Capsule part of the tour was set up by the band as a quick effort to play shows up to Salem where we'd record our new record at Godcity (Kurt Ballow’s Studios). Capsule are all close friends of mine that I grew up with and I'm a big fan of their music as well so I thought it'd be a great time to take them out on tour with us.

Steve: The audience response was great. We had a blast and I got to tour with one of my musical heroes Justin Broadrick.

- You just finished recording your new album Meanderthal at God City Studios in MA, when can we expect it? How does it differ sonically compared to your previous releases?

Rick: The record should be out in April I believe on Hydrahead Records. I think the new record is my favorite that we've recorded so far. It definitely is different from our past material but I think it still sounds like Torche. I really don't wanna go into detail about how it differs from past releases just because I'd like for people to be surprised by it. I always think it's a bad idea to give people expectations to grasp upon before listening to a finished product. The recording process was good for me... recorded all my drums to tape and got them done in 2 days. I couldn't really tell you how most of the other sessions went because as usual I disappeared once I was done! Hahahahahaha...

Steve: Kurt Ballou handled production for this LP. It's was good to work with someone different this time around. It was a little stressful, but the results are good. It's very much us. We're all very happy and proud of Meanderthal. Hopefully others will dig it as well.

- You guys hail from Miami, not exactly a hotbed of heavy music. Is there a heavy music scene in your area?

Rick: There's a very small heavy music scene in Miami. It's super hit or miss down here. There's never any telling whether or not a show will have a good attendance. Miami is a lot better if you're into dance music, going to clubs, or into hip hop.

- Man, if there is anything I like about Miami is the food, being Peruvian I am a fan of cebiche and arroz con mariscos, of course it's killer. Have you tried any Peruvian food?

Rick: I have tried Peruvian food and it was great! In Miami there's tons of Cuban food and not too much Peruvian though...

- Of all the ethnic foods, which is the best in Miami? Recommend me a restaurant?

Rick: I have no idea really... there's a lot of places to eat ethnic food. Haitian, Cuban, Indian, Italian, etc... My two favorite places to eat in South Florida are actually just outside of Miami. One of them is Vegetarian Delight in Margate off of 441 and Hallandale Beach Blvd. Great Jamaican all vegan cuisine there and the portions are great! My other favorite is Woodlands which is an Indian Restaurant in Plantation on University off of Commercial. They have a great all vegetarian lunch buffet ‘till 3:00pm almost every day of the week at a great price too.

- Doesn't the weather and the heavy traffic gets to be a bit too much down there? (it's heavy in Tampa, but the traffic is OK)

Rick: Yeah traffic does suck here but I know how to avoid it now after living here 23 years!! And I don't mind the weather too much... it's better than being in 0 degree blizzards!! Summertime does get pretty hot though. Humidity here sucks too!

Steve: Well, I just moved to Atlanta. Traffic is bad up here, but the drivers are more courteous. Miami drivers are horrible. I hate Florida weather, too humid and warm. I don't enjoy freezing cold either, but I'm a fan of cool weather. Atlanta is pretty perfect for that. All 4 seasons.

- There are two latin guys in the band, has this multi ethnic factor had any influence in the mechanics of Torche?

Rick: Well, there are actually three of us! I come from a Puerto Rican background. Jon is Cuban and Juan is Columbian. I have no idea if our ethnic backgrounds really effect our songwriting and influences in anyway though... probably does without us even noticing it!

Steve: I think our brand of Rock is more of a mixture of American and European influence.

- I am always looking for obscure gems, please list some/all of your favorite albums.

Rick: There's so many. I'd have to say my two all time favorite bands/musicians would probably have to be Aphex Twin and My Bloody Valentine. Those aren't very obscure at all though. If you're looking for an obscure gem, check out "Crystal Logic" by Manilla Road. Great classic styled heavy metal record from the early 80's! I also listen to Rauh a lot which is some awesome experimental noisecore stuff. Other heavy stuff I listen to a lot lately would be Revenge (Canada), Zouo (Japan), C.F.D.L. (Japan), World (Japan), Insect Warfare (USA). As far as other stuff goes I've been into the following records lately... Japancakes "Loveless" (they cover the entire MBV record!!!), Gary Numan "Replicas", Jimi Hendrix (EVERYTHING!), Vaz "Dying To Meet You", Bowery Electric "Beat", Jay Reatard "Blood Visions", Modest Mouse "Interstate 8", SPK "Auto Da Fe".... the list could go on forever!

- What's next for the band?

Rick: New record, more songs, more tours, more fire!!!

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