Unearth – John “Slo” Maggard, Bass

With a new album out and a huge touring schedule planned for next year, SMN News had a chance to get a word with Unearth bassist John “Slo” Maggard. In this in-depth interview, Maggard discussed the band’s new album, The March, the political slant in their songwriting, and how the economy is affecting their touring.

So you guys just got back from an overseas tour. How did that go?

It was amazing. We toured most of Europe, Denmark. The shows were sold out and it was a great time.

Do you find that the European audience is different than the American audience?

Well, it used to be a big difference between the U.S. and European audiences. Years ago, in 2001-2003, you could see a change in the way shows were going… (at some point), you saw that the world became a smaller place, and there wasn’t so much of a difference anymore.

So let’s talk about the new album, The March. The reviews have been positive and fans seem to love it. Explain the recording process this time around and bringing back producer Adam Dutkiewicz.

The last album we worked with producer Terry Date, who has worked with Pantera, The Deftones, among others. That was a great experience, but the album before that one, The Oncoming Storm, we worked with Adam Dutkiewicz. He’s from our area, Massachusetts, and he’s a friend of ours, plays for Killswitch Engage. He’s kind of like a sixth member of the band and we wanted to get back in the fold with him. He understands what we do musically and he’s a musician himself, so anytime we had trouble with guitar harmonies or structure, he comes up with the most sensible solution. We like to have his musical knowledge…when it gets down to recording the stuff. We wanted to get back in the fold with him and that’s what we did and the album turned out terrific because of it.

From what I read, there seems to be an underlying concept behind The March. Can you go into some details about it?

Basically, with The Oncoming Storm, two albums ago, we did a political album. We addressed the political climate that had arisen during the Bush administration. We wanted to get back to that and provide another political album that was a resolution to what was going on during The Oncoming Storm. That’s pretty much it; it’s a political climate album of now. We touched back on all the subjects that we did on the previous album.

Some people are very hesitant about putting political messages into metal music, especially considering metal music is associated with drinking and partying. Do you feel that these messages are important to put in the music?

I think, in Trevor’s (Phipps, vocalist) case, he’s very knowledgeable when it comes to politics. A lot of times, I don’t like when bands touch on it, but he has a reasonable outlook and he’s not preaching to anyone. He basically is just making people aware and he gives an opportunity for people to think about their own lives. That’s what I like about the way he writes. I don’t personally mind being part of a political band because of that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want to touch on that, because I wouldn’t want to create a one-sided team, if you will. I like the way he wrote everything. Of course, we are a drinking and partying band as well (laughs). It’s also fun, but I like that Trevor is well-spoken when it comes to politics.

The album seems to be going away from the metalcore tag the band had, with more thrash elements and more solos. Was that a conscious decision or was that a natural progression for the band?

That definitely just naturally comes out. We’ve always been a band that plays what we wanted. Before metalcore existed, we existed. I think we were one of the pioneers of that genre. We always played what we felt; that’s what we wanted to hear back in the day and that’s what we want to hear now. As we get older and our musicianship goes stronger and our writing goes stronger, it changes with time. We had wanted guitar solos, but we may not have been good at them, and now we better at them, so we use them more.

The songwriting; a collaborative process or does Trevor stick to lyrics and the rest of the band deals with the musical side…

In the past, that’s how it was. Nowadays, it’s more of a group effort. We have so many different brilliant personalities within the band and a lot of great ideas, so we always trust each other with instincts when it comes to putting together songs. A lot of times, Buz and Ken (McGrath and Susi, guitarists) will come to the table with a lot of riffs and a lot of different ideas. Then me and Derek (Kerswill, drummer) will take these parts and hash them up and create structures for them. Then we’re come back and add more structure. In the meantime, Trevor usually does most of the lyric writing, but on this album, myself and Derek also lend a hand in the writing process.

Was the writing done mostly before you got in the studio, on the tour bus?

Most of the writing was done previous to recording. We did pre-production work with Adam before we started recording as well. Some of the lyrics weren’t all written until we had the tracks locked down. One song wasn’t even written until the last day of tracking and we ripped it out quickly.

Which song was that?

It was actually…um, the secret track on the album…something called the Silent Tongue (laughs). I don’t own any of our albums, I don’t know why (laughs).

(Laughs). I want to talk about that hidden song for a second because when you look at that song compared to all the songs, it has a Slayer-ish breakdown and a lot faster than the other ones.

We just wrote a lot of different songs. We just experimented a little bit and went a few different directions and that’s how it came out. We don’t try to be like any other band; it just comes out.

In the studio, when the band is sitting around, going through the tapes, do you over-analyze everything or do you have a tendency to let it flow, let it be organic like the songwriting?

Some of us have a tendency to over-think and some of us let it flow. I think that’s actually one of our big strong points. Sometimes, things will flow easily, but it will be long-winded. When the people that over-think, they come in and tone it down and give it a better structure. Then we come back and add a little more flow and then they come back and give it a better structure; that’s basically how we work together, that push and pull.

Is there ever any conflict because of that between the band members?

In the past, there was, but not so much anymore. We just used to dealing with songwriting at this level…we don’t have any conflicts anymore. We have discussions about things, but everybody listens and keeps open minds.

So are you the over analyzer or just let things flow?

Actually, I’m one of the flow guys. That’s how I am. To hear a song and have my interest remain in the song the entire time, I want to be tricked into that. You know, that flow that keeps you interested in the song and feels natural and stays at a pace the entire way through.

So you’re saying you want to trick your audience into listening to the album?

Yeah, I do actually. Let’s say you’re at a party and somebody puts some song on, and you’re in the middle of a conversation. All of a sudden, halfway through the song, you realize that there was this awesome song playing the whole time. You’re like ‘wow, this is a fucking great song, who is this? What band is this?’ That’s kind of what I want in a song. I want somebody to be playing it and somebody be like ‘what is this? This is great.’ I’ve been listening to this song all the way through, with my interest kept the entire way, which is good. That’s what I think a song truly is.

Okay, let’s switch gears a little bit. Let’s discuss getting Derek into the ranks. Was it a tough challenge to find him? Was there like 600 auditions for the spot?

Actually, we didn’t have any auditions. We knew that Derek was our man way back when we split back with Mike (Rudberg, band’s first drummer). Derek helped us write a couple of songs on The Oncoming Storm album previous to Mike (Justian) being hired into the band. At the time, Derek couldn’t be in the band. We asked him to, but he was working on several projects. This time around, we asked him to fill in after Mike left, and he agreed to it. He kept playing with us for a long time, and as time went on, he dedicated himself to writing the new album and now he’s in the band. It was a process where he was filling in for a while and committed to the band. There was no real audition or anything; we didn’t even miss a beat.

Did Derek adjust to the band’s old material, as well as the newer stuff?

Yeah, I think it was a challenge on one side because he was coming from a more blues-rock project and he was going into the ranks of playing fast heavy metal. He had to do a little practicing on his own to get his endurance up, but once he got that locked in, it was a smooth transition. I know he’s put in a lot of work and a lot of effort into it, taking it very seriously and we thank him for that.

Before Derek came in, you had legendary drummer Gene Hoglan fill in. How did you get him on board?

We met Gene a few years back when we played Ozzfest 2006 and before that, Sounds of the Underground. We met him through Strapping Young Lad and we became good friends with him. When things went…with our previous drummer, we were within 100 miles of where Gene lived. We called him up and ask if he could fill in for the rest of the tour and he said he could, so our next show happen to be in Vancouver. He learned the songs that day and that night, he played with us.

Cool, cool. So what are the band’s plans for touring in 2009?

We’re doing a US tour in January, and I think some Canadian dates will be included with that. Then, in February, we will be going back to the UK with Lamb of God. Then we will be heading to Australia…from there, we’re going to Japan with Lamb of God and In Flames. After that, everything is up in the air and we’re kind of taking it on a day-by-day basis.

Is the economy having an effect on bands touring?

I think it might affect some bands. Personally, it hasn’t affected us yet and I don’t think it will. We were just in Europe recently and the dollar was bouncing back quite a bit. We had left to go to Europe and the British pound was 2:1 on the dollar and when we came back, it was 1.5:1. The American dollar is gaining more steam in the world market; either that, or the rest of the market is crashing as well. I don’t think its really going to affect us that much. We’re obviously going to be touring the states like we always have. We’re going to continue to tour the rest of the world as well. We’re going to keep going and assume everything will go according to plan (laughs).

So when the market crashes and things go to shit, the band will still be on the road?

Absolutely. I can’t see that, at this point, it’s going to get any worse. The economy will get better with the new administration coming in and the rest of the world being hopeful for us as well. The rest of the world is on the side of Obama, so we’ll be in good hands regardless.

Since we’re getting political, what do you think needs to be done to the economy to fix it? Do you think its going to balance itself out naturally?

As we see the war in the Middle East end, as well as a lot of unnecessary budging spending, there will be a lot more money available to pay off debts and create jobs in other markets, other than the war industry. I think that is what’s going to help stabilize it. It’s going to be a long process; I kind of have to agree with Bill Clinton had said recently, when he said it would take three or four years for the country and the economy to bounce back. Personally, I don’t think that’s a bad time frame, considering that it’s been 8-12 years of getting into this mess we’re in. If we can bounce back in that quick of a time, I think that we’re doing pretty good. I hope it doesn’t take any longer.

Going back to the album, what’s your favorite song off it at this point?

Right now, I would have to say “Grave Of Opportunity.” I do actually like a couple of other songs better, but we started playing that song live and I really like the down vibe it  brings to our live set. Usually, our set is really energetic and…like a train throughout the entire set. It’s nice to play that song, because it plays everything down and gives people something to listen to, instead of kill each other through.

Are there any B-sides, demos, etc. left over from the recording session for The March?

Yeah, I like to say that “Crow Killer” is going to get a lot of attention. I don’t know why I consider that song a B-side, but I’m sure we’ll never make a video for it. It’s a strong song and it’s been in our live sets for the last two tours and I don’t see us pulling it out. It’s a good song and I think it representative of Unearth current day.

Any final thoughts?

Yeah, thanks for everybody out there that supports us and we greatly appreciate it. Hopefully, we’ll see you very soon.

By Dan Marsicano

(+21 rating, 5 votes)

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