interview: Ghostblood (Seattle)

This publication features Ghostblood often and I am not sure why that is. It might be due to the barrels of cash that the band pays for each mention, concert calendar listing, review, interview and shout out. It was a year ago that they sucker punched the world with their debut album Blood from Beyond the Grave. After the album, they have been playing shows and playing pranks on humans. Their brand of swamp horror comedy gore thrash metal has been a hit with everyone from myself to all three members of the band and some of their cousins, too. Recently they had some time to look up some new words in the dictionary. They came across the word “eviscerama,” and they decided to name it their new, hot smacking single. You’ll want to mosh, break dance and do the hokey pokey when you hear this mutant thrashing. Personally, I prefer to do the twist. "C’mon, baby, let’s do the twist. Take me by my little hand, and go like this!" Yeah, baby, that’s my bag!

By the way, the band sent back these replies to some serious questions about the present state of affairs for Ghostblood. Put your apron on because this is going to get messy. Here’s the interview, which was answered by Adam, who is one of the best bassists in the band. He does some screaming, too.

What it is, Ghostblood! What has happened since the debut album one year ago? Have you changed any members? What have you discovered about each other after spending so much time together? Who is your fearless leader? Who is the one always eating potato chips at your rehearsals?

Hello! Wow, it's been a whole year since Blood From Beyond the Grave...that's like 12 months! To answer your first question, we haven't changed any members since then — we've barely changed our underwear, to be perfectly honest. We're all still getting along just fine, aside from the occasional knife fight over mortuary table-scraps. When you spend as much time together as we do, you really get a sense of the other band members' greatest fears: spiders, rejection, and rejection by spiders, respectively. We don't have a leader, per se — instead we rule by triumvirate, and take turns acting as supreme executive officer on a biweekly basis. Band policies regarding snacks and beer must be ratified by a two-thirds majority, while practice and show scheduling requires unanimous consensus.

Your latest recording is a single called “Eviscerama.” Can you explain a couple of things about the new song: Is the single a test recording? To see how it sounds before recording any more material?

The single is, indeed, a test recording (the test came back positive — we're pregnant!). The process of recording the first album was kind of a mess; we did it ourselves (awesome), piecemeal, over about nine months, recording songs as we wrote learned them (less awesome). The Eviscerama single (which we also recorded ourselves) was kind of a practice run for us in preparation for recording a second full-length. We also wanted to have some new material recorded for us to dangle in front of people, so that we may stay relevant. YOU HAVE TO DANGLE TO BE RELEVANT.

Ghostblood has been doing shows in the Northwest. So far, are you liking the experience of being a live band? Do you have plans to start venturing out of the Northwest? Is the United States ready for Ghostblood’s swamp thrash?! Is Ghostblood ready for the United States?

First off, I wouldn't really call us a "live" band, as we are all cannibal mutant ghosts. But yes, to answer your question, we enjoy the experience of being a reanimated necroplasmic manifestation-band — very much so, as a matter of fact. There's usually free beer when we play shows; occasionally there's free food, too, if a member of the audience appears to be sick or wounded. We're venturing down to Portland in November with Carnotaurus, and hopefully we'll make it down to California at some point this winter. Our ultimate goal to tour the United States on foot, like Forrest Gump.

I refuse to watch the movie Ghostbusters because that movie gives us ghosts a bad name. I think that we need Ghostblood’s celebrity status to do a public campaign in defense of ghosts. Have you been contacted by ghosts recently asking you to stand up for us (I am a ghost, too)? Are you going to help us out or not?

We believe in leading by example. It's really easy to espouse a ghost-positive ideology, but you have to be committed to really live it. So, to answer your question, we already are helping out. Every highly visible act of cannibalism or public decapitation we perform speaks louder than any words.

What is the best Ghostblood song that I should play at my upcoming wedding and why? I am having problems deciding between songs about gratuitous violence and songs about the grave. Both have many positive sides.

We typically recommend songs about opening graves and eating the dead for the reception, whereas songs about gratuitous violence are more appropriate for the actual ceremony. Incidentally, at least one of us is an ordained minister. We would love to preside over the nuptials; all we would ask in terms of payment would be first crack at eating any wedding crashers.

What is the best Ghostblood song that I should play at my second wedding and why? (I like to look ahead and make plans for my future. My teachers always told me to plan ahead, so I do.) Don’t you have songs about broken hearts and evisceration, too?

We definitely have songs about evisceration! We haven't written any songs about broken hearts just yet, but we HAVE recently perfected our technique for breaking them.

1.Open chest cavity to access heart

2.Freeze heart with liquid nitrogen

3.Once heart is frozen solid, strike with hammer/rock/rifle butt/human femur.

(Fun fact: Like you, we were taught to plan ahead, but in decapitation school).

Ghostblood has not written any songs about Casper The Friendly Ghost so far. How can this be? Casper has made entire towns fear his name and many children and adults have needed a diaper change upon seeing Casper. What else do you need to write a song? There you have fear, confusion, and terror. The songs practically write themselves!

According to a cease-and-desist letter we received in the mail, we shall not publish any material featuring or referencing the trademarked intellectual property "Casper the Friendly Ghost," under penalty of civil and criminal prosecution as outlined in U.S. Code: Title 17. Stay tuned for our new jam about Jasper the Amiable Spirit, though!

I have been trying to learn to play Ghostblood songs. In order to do that I have been eating a lot, sleeping and taking naps whenever I can, and I have been climbing the trees in my neighborhood and howling like a wolf. Somehow, these activities are not helping me to become a better musician. What do you think I am doing wrong?

Hmm...honestly, we couldn't tell you; it sounds like you're doing everything right. Here's a list of our best guesses, though:

1.You mentioned you were eating a lot. Are you drinking enough beer to soak up the food? Also, are you absolutely sure your diet contains enough human remains? The only reason we ask is that many people think they're consuming enough, but in reality there's a huge deficit in their diet.

2. Try punching your instrument harder.

3. Play louder?

4. Sacrifice a chicken in a graveyard under a full moon. Eat the chicken. Enjoy it so much that you abandon music to pursue a career in culinary arts.

5. Get drunk.

I have other questions for you, but I have to go and play with my snakes now. I have a snake farm and they need attention. One last question: what is the best way to keep up with the news of Ghostblood? Are you on the Myspace? I have read that the Myspace is very popular with the youth of today. Do you use the electronic internets sometimes? Do you have a hotline that humans can call about Ghostblood news?

For sure! You're not much of a snake farmer if you neglect your scale-babies — they need love just like kittens or baby rabbits or pet bears or domesticated mummies.

Anyway, we've never heard of MySpace, but then, we've never been huge into astronomy (MySpace is like a NASA dating site, isn't it?).

The best ways to contact us are:

1.On the Facebook, www.facebook.com/ghostbloodmetal

2.Over our electric mail, ghostbloodmetal@gmail.com

3.On our Bandcamp page, www.ghostbloodmetal.bandcamp.com

Anyway, we have to go — it's been a long week, and those brains aren't going to smoke themselves! Thanks for asking us questions!

THE END

GHOSTBLOOD - HAUNTING THE SWAMP - Official Video