by the time it comes to write I can never get them to come to light. For instance on ‘Roots of Earth’ we had some of those songs for almost a year with 5 different versions demoed before we even booked studio time. Most recently with the Calm the Fire split that was released I wrote a majority of those songs in a few minutes while waiting for the rest of the band to arrive at my house to practice. I would show them the riffs and they would usually love them and we would get the songs down that day. I also like building songs from one another so if I have one song written I usually have an idea for the next, so that they flow together. Wayne: Musically, how do you feel about the growth of the band since day 1 (pre-Dylan days)? Spencer: I’ve mentioned this a few times in other interviews, but the initial line-up of the band did not want to experiment with our sound as much as I did. I wanted noise in our music as soon as we started writing the first demo. Once Dylan joined we were able to put our ideas together
and make the band truly focused. I will always want a little bit of our initial sound in the music, but I also want to push boundaries and progress as much as we can without losing a certain vision of ourselves. Wayne: I’ve always been fascinated by the fact you guys incorporate more and more noise into your band. What musicians would you say are you main influences when it comes to creating stuff of this nature? Spencer: The first noise stuff I ever heard had to be either Merzbow or John Weise because of their collaborations with Sunn. The album that made me want to incorporate noise into our music had to be the last Insect Warfare LP. As a band all together I would say Gasp, Bastard Noise and Throbbing Gristle have had the biggest effect on us. Wayne: It seems like you’re always on the road, how has touring been for you and what suggestions do you have for bands who are gearing up for touring for the first time?
Spencer: Recently it has been getting more and more stressful to me. I have been touring with this band and other bands for about 5 years now. But, when I’m home I can’t stand not being out on the road doing something musically. Simple advice for up and coming bands would be, don’t be an idiot and don’t take shit for granted. There is nothing more that I hate than a newer band acting cocky. Wayne: You guys have toured Europe a few times now, how has that been and where is your favorite location to play out there? Spencer: Every time we have gone it has been a whole new experience, good and bad. I love the UK, anytime we have played there the shows have been packed and kids are going crazy. We’ve had maybe 2 awkward shows there out of 3 times visiting. Also this most recent tour with Calm the Fire, Poland had some of the best shows we have ever played as a band I would say. Eastern Europe is just awesome in general.