The Battle Axe Howlers are what bands are all about.5 mates,playing the music they love,not for money,not for fame,but simply because god damn it's a good way to spend a Friday night.5 days a week these boys are productive and useful to society,with those things called 'jobs',but come 5:00 P.M,the piles of orange amps are stacked,the fuzz kicks in and they off in the riff filled land.The Battle Axe Howlers sit more on the more punk side of stoner rock, with a vibe similar to Dozer,Unida and Rollerball.
While you're reading this,chuck on their E.P and give their page a like
http://www.facebook.com/battleaxehowlers/app_2405167945
Today I caught up with vocalist Mike 'Diesel' Doleman:
I: Hey
M: Yo,how ya doing?
I: Not bad man,thank fuck it's Friday
M: Yeah I hear ya
*Some random banter ensued,just musician shit- nothing that interesting*
I: Alright lets get into it.Tell us a little bit about the band,how did it all start?
M: Well for the past 15 years or so,me and my mate Pauly (Guitarist) had been meaning to get some kind of band together,but isn't until about 2 years ago that we actually got it together.There was a bit of an alignment of the starts,the 5 of us mates (Deano,Cogsy and Mikey) had the time to make music and so we did.We had a jam one day at jam hut in Preston and it just kinda fell into place.
I: Sweet,the way it should be.Now a couple weeks ago you guys put out your debut,self titled E.P,tell us a little bit about that
M: Well,about a year we hit Woodstock studios in Melbourne with Simon Aarons (Drummer for My Dynamite-Give em a suss) behind the desk and belted out 4 tracks over 2 days of tracking,and then another 2 days of mixing.The mixing part I could have done without,but the tracking part was fun.
I: Are there any plans to do any more recordings in the near future?
M: Yeah definitely.Because that E.P took us about a year to bring almost,we recorded it and then things just happened,so it took a while,but we've a hpea of new material that we wanna get down.Not to sure where,or when or who with, but definitely on the cards.
I: Yeah,some of those tracks are killer.What kind of thing can people expect from a Battle Axe Howlers gig?
M: Ummm...fuck...loud...Drop-D...Heaven. We wanna sound like a drop-d freight train powered by Melbourne bitter fed muscle cars on their way into the Californian desert.
Alot of our songs are a bit of a journey,nice changes and stuff.
I: Now what kind of influences have you got going into this stuff?
M:Well we've all got pretty similiar tastes in music,especially the stoner rock kinda thing.I get into the folks and blues kinda stuff a bit (Mike can shred the mando),while the rest of the boys get into some of the harder stuff,like Metallica
I: Bit of thrash/metal kind of thing?
Yeah,and back into the old punk rock days,Cogsy loves his old school punk,nofx,the bronx, then there's some QOTSA,Tool and Turbo Negro thrown in too.
*Long pause*
I: Uummm...fuck...I was gonna right some questions,but I never got round to it,so I'm just kinda making shit up off the top of my head
What's one of the best gigs you've done so far?
M: Well,there's a couple come to mind.The E.P launch at the Cherry bar was rad,we did not expect that many people
I: Yeah,I can vouch for that one
M: and that espy show was good
I: fuck,that was a vague night
M: and that show we did with you guys at the Brunswick hotel was great.What was it like 40 degrees,the stage was small,everyone was sweaty.Managed to tip a beer on myself.
I: Classic Mike.Now you guys are more of a Melbourne band even though a few of you live a little far,and it's always helpful to know some local bands,who are some of your favourites at the moment?
M: We played a gig with a band called Budd they're great,and System Of Venus.And your band (I'm not putting this in myself,he did say it).I really wished I had have seen Rollerball,pretty major influence for us.
I: Oh cheers man.Your a bit of a big kid at times,front man for a rock band and you've got a bit of a history with snow boarding?
M: Yeah,that pretty much ruled my life for about 20 years,which led into some sponsorships with D.C,Oakley,some local shops and stuff.Nothing serious,just a bit of fun.Ended up president of the Hotham snow boarders group,a bunch of rat bags that just like shreddin round the hill and havin fun and boozin up.
I: Sounds like the way to do it.Anyway,better lat you go,I'm sure the pubs calling
Thanks for having a chat and I'll catch ya soon
M: Yeah,cheers man,catch ya.
You can catch the Battle Axe Howlers on the 4th of August at the Cherry Bar,supporting Matt Sonic and the High Times,who are playing the cornerstone of Desert rock,Blues for the Red Sun from start to finish to celebrate it's 20th anniversary.Expect a review,I'mnot missing that one
Photographers-sorry,I couldn't find any details about the photos- If you've taken some and want a credit,just get in touch and I'll be more than happy to make it happen.
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