©metalpulpandpaper
GREG KUBACKI
(L to R: Elliot Hoffman, Greg Kubacki, Jon Modell, Michael Dafferner)
METAL PULP AND PAPER: Hello Greg, thank you for taking the time to talk with Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it.
GREG KUBACKI: No prob, thanks for having me!
MPAP: 2017 is already off and running for Car Bomb. You are getting ready to go out and embark on a big European tour in March opening for Gojira, along with Code Orange. This is quite the line-up? How much are you looking forward to this?
GREG: We can't wait. We've been playing shows with Gojira for almost 10 years now and to see their progression has been so inspiring. Code Orange bring that old school hardcore energy Mike and I grew up on, so I’m excited to see that live. It’s gonna be a hell of a time.
MPAP: Is there anything you do to prepare for a major tour like this, especially one that takes you overseas and drops you off far away from home?
GREG: Besides going through all the headaches of coordinating the logistic of transportation, gear, flights, etc. we try to save a little bit of money since we're not going work for a while. Other than that we just practice a bunch. This winter I’m trying to be as boring as possible and stay home because I know there a lot a lot of late nights coming up.
MPAP: Have you ever forgotten anything after packing for days and kicked yourself a few times after it was too late and you were already out on the road?
GREG: Elliot always forgets to bring a drum key for some strange reason. Besides that we're pretty well prepared since were all OCD gear nerds.
MPAP: By the way, hoping this European lineup can make it over to the United States soon.
GREG: So do we. That would be awesome.
MPAP: So, let’s talk about Meta. Meta is Car Bomb’s 3rd release that just recently came out in late 2016, along with some great reviews. Now that it’s been out for a few months, how has it been going? The fans are loving it.
GREG: We're really happy with the way it turned out and have been humbled by the reception of it. We feel like we’ve been building a rocket for the past few years and now it’s finally starting to take off. It’s been really exciting.
MPAP: Meta was also produced by Gojira's Joseph Duplantier and yourself as well? With his already busy band schedule, and his now Grammy nominated Magma release out only months before yours, was it hard to get him on board and get him into the studio to help produce Meta?
GREG: Ha ha, yeah during the recording of Meta he was doing the promo for Magma and prepping for that release so it was hard at times. But for the most part he was dedicated to the project and made it happen. He’s truly the most inspiring musician we've ever worked with and helped us out tremendously. Even if we didn’t release Meta the wealth of knowledge, insight and inspiration he provided was worth it on its own.
MPAP: During the writing and recording process for Meta, was there anything you wanted to accomplish that hadn’t been able to be done before on previous Car Bomb release’s?
GREG: Personally I wanted each song to sound different from each other and stand out on it's own. I tried to create “hooks” in some unique and weird way, something that sticks. I think it's really easy to make a riff-o-rama song with 1 million parts strung back to back, but to make something that sticks in someone’s head is tough. And when you’re playing in odd time signatures and tempos that keep changing it’s even harder, but that’s what I tried to do.
MPAP: Looking back, how would you musically compare Meta to Car Bomb’s first release, Centralia, that came out in 2007?
GREG: In a way the newer stuff is way more calculated than the older material. There's a lot more intent to where riffs are arranged and how a song flows. Also I think we're starting to get a handle on how we want things to sound sonically. We recorded Centralia and w^w^^w^w pretty much on our own and the production was always lacking. Now that we’ve detached ourselves from that process and hire professionals we are starting to sound the way we've always wanted to.
MPAP: How do you feel Car Bomb has grown as a band between these two releases together?
GREG: We’ve definitely grown in the way that now we bring other people into the fold. Car Bomb used to be a black box where we wouldn’t ask help from anyone and we wouldn't let anybody see what we were doing. Now we are more open to input from other people and it’s been a total game changer. We work with a lot of amazing people in the studio and on the road now and it’s way more fun.
MPAP: Meta is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction behind another concept, used to complete or add to the latter. What does it mean to you personally, and why was this chosen as the title?
GREG: “Meta” to me means “self-referential” which falls back on a common theme of ours of recursion. We’re all about scrambling and re-referencing rhythmic patterns, so the title fits our music pretty well. It’s also “Metal” without the “L”, which for some weird reason makes me happy.
MPAP: Circling back to an earlier part of the interview, not only did Joseph help produce Meta, but he also shared some vocal duties on it as well with the song, “The Oppressor”. And he’s no stranger to the Car Bomb camp either. He also collaborated with you on your previous release, w^w^^w^w, sharing vocals on, “Third Revelation”. How did you first end up getting together with Joseph and being able to work with him over the years?
GREG: Every time we ask him he just keeps agreeing…so we'll keep asking him as long as we’re making records.
MPAP: Can we expect this will maybe keep going as a good trend and you will have Joseph guest spot again for Car Bomb’s 4th release?
GREG: We work really well with him so hopefully we’ll have him produce the next record as well. We’re also really happy with the work Josh Wilbur and Alexis Berthalot did on Meta, so we’re hoping we can keep the same personnel for the next one.
MPAP: Some of Car Bomb’s influences mentioned on the internet have been Dillinger Escape Plan, Metallica, Pantera, and of course Slayer, but one musical influence that stands out the most that most wouldn’t think of is, Frank Zappa. How has he and his music been an influence to you and Car Bomb as a band?
GREG: Elliot and Johnny are the biggest Zappa fans of the band. Personally I like how Frank blazed his own path musically, did a lot of it on his own, and spoke up for free speech. Plus he wrote and recorded SOOOOOOOO much music. Truly awe inspiring.
MPAP: A couple well-known bands have had problems in the past with their name over the years. Anthrax, for example, had problems with their band name because of the concentrated anthrax spores that were being used in the 2001 bioterrorism attacks against the United States that were being delivered by the postal service to several news media offices and to two Democratic Senators. Then in 2014, post-metal band Isis, had to change their Facebook name to, ‘Isis The Band’, to avoid being confused with the militant Islamic group, ISIS. Have you, or anyone else in the band, ever gotten some cold shoulders, harsh words, or even bad press, because of the name ‘Car Bomb’, especially with what has been going on in the world these days with the militant Islamic group, ISIS, and all the terrorists?
GREG: Not really fortunately. I always tell people “We’re called Car Bomb, like the drink” and people seem fascinated with what a Car Bomb drink is. Then I say that our music kind of sounds like an explosion and that seems to smooth people over.
MPAP: When the tour bus becomes home sweet home for weeks on end, is there anything that you do to make it more bearable and a bit easier to deal with as the miles add up?
GREG: We're lucky that when we travel to Europe we have a driver that takes us to the next gig while we are sleeping. When we wake up we’re already in the next city so we get to spend the day exploring and being tourists. Since we don’t tour often it’s like being on a field trip for us and we never really get bored of it. If we toured 150-200 days year it might be a different story.
MPAP: While traveling, whether by bus or plane, has there ever been a moment you feared for your life while out on tour? For example, has there ever been a part of the United States you dread traveling through during the winter months? Any white-knuckle tour bus stories you can share with us?
GREG: There was one time on tour in Canada where Mike was driving the van through icy mountain roads at night and thought we were going to swerve off and die. The rest of us were sleeping in the back and had no idea of the hell he was going through. When we woke up we saw Mike frantic and freaking out and he told us the story of where he was driving through. I think that's our closest brush with death, even though most of us weren’t awake to experience it.
MPAP: What’s next after the Gojira European tour? What else is on the horizon or in the cross hairs for Car Bomb in the coming months, and for the rest of 2017?
GREG: Nothing definitive as far as shows yet but we’ll definitely be playing more in the states and overseas. Personally I'd like to play some festivals and to start writing the next album.
MPAP: Well, this brings our interview to a close, but before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to all your fans out there reading this?
GREG: We can’t thank our fans enough for the support. It’s been really overwhelming and humbling and makes us want to do this even more. Preciatcha!!!!!
MPAP: Greg, once again, thank you from Metal Pulp And Paper. Look forward to when you eventually make your way to Portland, Oregon.
GREG: Can’t wait! We’ll see you there!
GREG KUBACKI: No prob, thanks for having me!
MPAP: 2017 is already off and running for Car Bomb. You are getting ready to go out and embark on a big European tour in March opening for Gojira, along with Code Orange. This is quite the line-up? How much are you looking forward to this?
GREG: We can't wait. We've been playing shows with Gojira for almost 10 years now and to see their progression has been so inspiring. Code Orange bring that old school hardcore energy Mike and I grew up on, so I’m excited to see that live. It’s gonna be a hell of a time.
MPAP: Is there anything you do to prepare for a major tour like this, especially one that takes you overseas and drops you off far away from home?
GREG: Besides going through all the headaches of coordinating the logistic of transportation, gear, flights, etc. we try to save a little bit of money since we're not going work for a while. Other than that we just practice a bunch. This winter I’m trying to be as boring as possible and stay home because I know there a lot a lot of late nights coming up.
MPAP: Have you ever forgotten anything after packing for days and kicked yourself a few times after it was too late and you were already out on the road?
GREG: Elliot always forgets to bring a drum key for some strange reason. Besides that we're pretty well prepared since were all OCD gear nerds.
MPAP: By the way, hoping this European lineup can make it over to the United States soon.
GREG: So do we. That would be awesome.
MPAP: So, let’s talk about Meta. Meta is Car Bomb’s 3rd release that just recently came out in late 2016, along with some great reviews. Now that it’s been out for a few months, how has it been going? The fans are loving it.
GREG: We're really happy with the way it turned out and have been humbled by the reception of it. We feel like we’ve been building a rocket for the past few years and now it’s finally starting to take off. It’s been really exciting.
MPAP: Meta was also produced by Gojira's Joseph Duplantier and yourself as well? With his already busy band schedule, and his now Grammy nominated Magma release out only months before yours, was it hard to get him on board and get him into the studio to help produce Meta?
GREG: Ha ha, yeah during the recording of Meta he was doing the promo for Magma and prepping for that release so it was hard at times. But for the most part he was dedicated to the project and made it happen. He’s truly the most inspiring musician we've ever worked with and helped us out tremendously. Even if we didn’t release Meta the wealth of knowledge, insight and inspiration he provided was worth it on its own.
MPAP: During the writing and recording process for Meta, was there anything you wanted to accomplish that hadn’t been able to be done before on previous Car Bomb release’s?
GREG: Personally I wanted each song to sound different from each other and stand out on it's own. I tried to create “hooks” in some unique and weird way, something that sticks. I think it's really easy to make a riff-o-rama song with 1 million parts strung back to back, but to make something that sticks in someone’s head is tough. And when you’re playing in odd time signatures and tempos that keep changing it’s even harder, but that’s what I tried to do.
MPAP: Looking back, how would you musically compare Meta to Car Bomb’s first release, Centralia, that came out in 2007?
GREG: In a way the newer stuff is way more calculated than the older material. There's a lot more intent to where riffs are arranged and how a song flows. Also I think we're starting to get a handle on how we want things to sound sonically. We recorded Centralia and w^w^^w^w pretty much on our own and the production was always lacking. Now that we’ve detached ourselves from that process and hire professionals we are starting to sound the way we've always wanted to.
MPAP: How do you feel Car Bomb has grown as a band between these two releases together?
GREG: We’ve definitely grown in the way that now we bring other people into the fold. Car Bomb used to be a black box where we wouldn’t ask help from anyone and we wouldn't let anybody see what we were doing. Now we are more open to input from other people and it’s been a total game changer. We work with a lot of amazing people in the studio and on the road now and it’s way more fun.
MPAP: Meta is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction behind another concept, used to complete or add to the latter. What does it mean to you personally, and why was this chosen as the title?
GREG: “Meta” to me means “self-referential” which falls back on a common theme of ours of recursion. We’re all about scrambling and re-referencing rhythmic patterns, so the title fits our music pretty well. It’s also “Metal” without the “L”, which for some weird reason makes me happy.
MPAP: Circling back to an earlier part of the interview, not only did Joseph help produce Meta, but he also shared some vocal duties on it as well with the song, “The Oppressor”. And he’s no stranger to the Car Bomb camp either. He also collaborated with you on your previous release, w^w^^w^w, sharing vocals on, “Third Revelation”. How did you first end up getting together with Joseph and being able to work with him over the years?
GREG: Every time we ask him he just keeps agreeing…so we'll keep asking him as long as we’re making records.
MPAP: Can we expect this will maybe keep going as a good trend and you will have Joseph guest spot again for Car Bomb’s 4th release?
GREG: We work really well with him so hopefully we’ll have him produce the next record as well. We’re also really happy with the work Josh Wilbur and Alexis Berthalot did on Meta, so we’re hoping we can keep the same personnel for the next one.
MPAP: Some of Car Bomb’s influences mentioned on the internet have been Dillinger Escape Plan, Metallica, Pantera, and of course Slayer, but one musical influence that stands out the most that most wouldn’t think of is, Frank Zappa. How has he and his music been an influence to you and Car Bomb as a band?
GREG: Elliot and Johnny are the biggest Zappa fans of the band. Personally I like how Frank blazed his own path musically, did a lot of it on his own, and spoke up for free speech. Plus he wrote and recorded SOOOOOOOO much music. Truly awe inspiring.
MPAP: A couple well-known bands have had problems in the past with their name over the years. Anthrax, for example, had problems with their band name because of the concentrated anthrax spores that were being used in the 2001 bioterrorism attacks against the United States that were being delivered by the postal service to several news media offices and to two Democratic Senators. Then in 2014, post-metal band Isis, had to change their Facebook name to, ‘Isis The Band’, to avoid being confused with the militant Islamic group, ISIS. Have you, or anyone else in the band, ever gotten some cold shoulders, harsh words, or even bad press, because of the name ‘Car Bomb’, especially with what has been going on in the world these days with the militant Islamic group, ISIS, and all the terrorists?
GREG: Not really fortunately. I always tell people “We’re called Car Bomb, like the drink” and people seem fascinated with what a Car Bomb drink is. Then I say that our music kind of sounds like an explosion and that seems to smooth people over.
MPAP: When the tour bus becomes home sweet home for weeks on end, is there anything that you do to make it more bearable and a bit easier to deal with as the miles add up?
GREG: We're lucky that when we travel to Europe we have a driver that takes us to the next gig while we are sleeping. When we wake up we’re already in the next city so we get to spend the day exploring and being tourists. Since we don’t tour often it’s like being on a field trip for us and we never really get bored of it. If we toured 150-200 days year it might be a different story.
MPAP: While traveling, whether by bus or plane, has there ever been a moment you feared for your life while out on tour? For example, has there ever been a part of the United States you dread traveling through during the winter months? Any white-knuckle tour bus stories you can share with us?
GREG: There was one time on tour in Canada where Mike was driving the van through icy mountain roads at night and thought we were going to swerve off and die. The rest of us were sleeping in the back and had no idea of the hell he was going through. When we woke up we saw Mike frantic and freaking out and he told us the story of where he was driving through. I think that's our closest brush with death, even though most of us weren’t awake to experience it.
MPAP: What’s next after the Gojira European tour? What else is on the horizon or in the cross hairs for Car Bomb in the coming months, and for the rest of 2017?
GREG: Nothing definitive as far as shows yet but we’ll definitely be playing more in the states and overseas. Personally I'd like to play some festivals and to start writing the next album.
MPAP: Well, this brings our interview to a close, but before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to all your fans out there reading this?
GREG: We can’t thank our fans enough for the support. It’s been really overwhelming and humbling and makes us want to do this even more. Preciatcha!!!!!
MPAP: Greg, once again, thank you from Metal Pulp And Paper. Look forward to when you eventually make your way to Portland, Oregon.
GREG: Can’t wait! We’ll see you there!
Greg Kubacki - Guitars
Elliot Hoffman - Drums
Jon Modell - Bass
Michael Dafferner - Vocals
Elliot Hoffman - Drums
Jon Modell - Bass
Michael Dafferner - Vocals
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