UN: How did the formation of Valume Nob come about? It seems that everyone in the band has a long history of being in some fairly high profile bands. Did all of you guys meet through previous bands or have you guys known each other for years?
Frey: Well, Sid and I basically started this whole thing. Then everything else just fell into place pretty much exactly the way we wanted it. Yes, everyone in the band at some point in time, were in numerous other bands, and still are today. That's how we do it down here. It's so laid back (well you know what I mean).Whatever makes the scene happen down here,thats that. The line up stands like this, Marshall Black-Vocals, Kirk Windstein-Bass,Frey Thieler-Guitar,and Sid Montz-Drums
What's the history of Valume Nob?
The band actually started a few years back. Myself Sid and another guitar player started this project out and wrote 6 songs in 6 days. We then took a new approach and called this thing Valume Nob. We originally like I said had another guitar player and a different Bass player at first. I guess some people don't work out in some bands and some do. After the departure of the Bass player and other guitar player left, That gave me full writing control, and Sid, Marshal and Myself took off with this thing. A few weeks after that Kirk (from Down, and Crowbar) Rex Brown of (Pantera,and Down) Marshall and I were out at a local pub, doing what we do best. Kirk grabbed Marshall by his shirt put his arm around him, and said "I love you like a brother and I want to play Bass in Valume Nob." I looked at Marshall then I turned to Kirk, quick look at Rex and said "This motherfucker is bombed".Marshall said Kirk I will talk to you tomorrow. The next day Kirk and I went to Guitar Center, and Marshall called us and Kirk told him He was buying a Bass...
UN: With Crowbar bringing out a new disc right now and touring to follow, what is the Nob up to these days? I’m assuming the rest of you guys would just jam without him while he’s away on tour. Have you guys been writing in his absence?
Frey: Yes Crowbar is releasing their new album on Feb.8th,and It is CRUSHING. Warren Riker,Rex,and Kirk did an excelent job on this fucking thing. If any of you are Crowbar fans you, definitely will love this record.Valume Nob actually had enough songs to put out a full length record at first, but we all got together and made a smart business decision. Why waist a whole record on a band that is new,fresh,and never been heard before. So we decided to put this E. P out which is entitled "THE MOST HIGH" and create a buzz. The E. p is out in the states, and as well as in Europe. We are signed to a one year distribution deal with Crash Music Inc.Valume Nob has written almost all of these songs without Kirk. So we are used to handling up on that end of the stick We actually have about 18 tunes to choose from and we only really have to finish about 2 of them and the music part will be complete.
UN: When can we expect a full-length release from you guys? I’m definitely looking forward to it because the EP is utterly bulldozing.
Frey: We hit the studio on June 16th to start recording the album out in Los Angeles with Warren Riker(Egineer for Down II, and Crowbars' Life's Blood For The Downtrodden). The E. p was just a little taste of what we have to offer. We really didn't spend much time and money on it, and it came out exactly the way we had planned it. Of course there is always something you say you should have done, or maybe you wanted this different, but it came out raw, heavy as fuck, and not to many turn downs, so there you have it. If you are into the E.P,you can bet your ass you will be blown away by the full length.(LOOK THE FUCK OUT)
UN: Can we expect any surprises with the newer material? I’m assuming that it is still going to be fast as all hell. Do you think you’ll get a chance to explore anything more with a longer running time that you possibly didn’t get to with the EP?
Frey: Valume Nob isn't really what you would say a surprise band, you know. What you get is pretty much raw-speed, high powered, brutality. That's what we like. We really wanted to come out and just make motherfuckers jaws drop, and make them say" What the fuck",and so far, its happnin.Of course, since we will have more time and everything is basically done already, you might catch a few extra things here and there, but for the most part Valume Nob is based on that straight forward,Oldschool,attack. We also have been talking to some other musicians, and some surprise guest might do a little playing on the record, but not written in stone yet. For who it is, you will just have to wait to the record comes out.
UN: The style you guys play is a bit different then what usually comes from hard-core bands these days. I’d say you guys have more of a crossover type sound and it’s a style that you don’t hear much these days. Hell I don’t even know if most people into hard-core music these days have even heard early COC and the like. Would you say that the band was formed to pay homage to the old crossover bands?
Frey: Basically what I told Sid what I wanted to do when we first started this thing, before we had a singer or a bass player was that I wanted to be the fastest,loudest,and more raw then anything that has come out in the Hardcore/Thrash genre.Of course we are going to have some sounds and likeness of some oldschool bands, I mean come on we all grew up listening to that shit, and to sit here and say no we dot, is nonsense. I cant actually say that we tried or wanted to sound exactly like some of the original bands, but of course we respect, and love everything that they did: Sheer Terror, Cro-Mags, D.R.I, S.O.D, Black Flag, Ramones,The Exploited, and especially Carnivore.............Didn't mean to leave anyone out. We all know who you are and we love every on of you.....
UN: You guys definitely stand out on a label like Crash which is mainly known for death metal and black metal bands. How did you guys come into contact with the label? Will future releases be with them, or was it only for the EP?
Frey: Crash came to us. we actually recorded this E. P as demo to shop to some labels, but it came out so good we decided to package it up and sell it as an EP Mark Nawara who used to be with Pavement runs Crash, and of course Crowbar was on Pavement for years. He dropped us an email, so we decided to get the ball rolling, and everything has gone as planned. We are signed to a one year deal, for the E. P only and we have the right to sign with anyone at anytime. If all is still well through the year, and we are happy, and Crash is happy of course we would stay and put other material out. We would be stupid to leave.
UN: How did the idea for a video for Boots come about? Was it mainly made for the Internet and fans or do you guys have hopes of it being played on any TV stations? Supposedly they are playing heavier bands, but Valume Nob definitely isn’t as safe as any of the mall metal or trendy bands right now.
Frey: We thought "BOOTS" was the right type for us to start off with a video for. Its relentless, and driving the whole time, sort of like an old punk song mixed with the hard-core stuff. Its a very catchy song, and the chorus sticks with you. Marshall my singer actually came up with the idea for that song, as you can tell his background is more on the punk side, Fuck I aint complainin.Yes we are going to submit it to MTV and Fuse/Uranium for the hopes of getting it aired on TV. There will also be a version submitted to MTV Europe as well, and of course you will be able to view it on the website @ www.valumenob.com
UN: Was the video recorded in the bands rehearsal room? I noticed that there was a picture of you guys jamming in the same room. How many people did you guys cram into the room for the video? It looked fairly packed!
Frey: We were going to do a big elaborate shoot, but we decided to do it in the room. Yes, that is" The Lair of The Most High" as some people refer to it. It is where we do everything. We have been there for a while and Its just like being in your own home-You know what I mean Its just flat out fucking comfortable. We had about 30-40 people packed in that fucking place. It was so crowded that people were left out in the hall. So we through a couple of ice chest of beer out there, left the door open and did our thing. The fans loved it.
UN: Do you guys get to play as much as you’d like? Obviously you have other priorities, but I could imagine Valume Nob being extremely violent in a live setting. I know that I would definitely be moshing and throwing people around like a madman. Can we expect any full fledged tours from you guys in the future?
Frey: Yes, It is hard with everyone's conflicting work schedules, but we get it done. We just have to take it one step at a time and I feel very confident that things will all work out in the end. Yes, our shows are very intense, with a lot of movement, and that's what we like. We will play anywhere. We just like to feel and see the response from the fans up and close as possible. We feed off that shit man. We are definitely going to hit the road for some full length tours coming this year, I promise you that. We really are trying to get over seas first, and then come back to the states to prepare for a month or two here.
UN: Does it bother you at all how far hard-core and punk music has come from the 80’s? Bands like DRI, Cryptic Slaughter, and COC were taking the genre in exciting directions and maintaining that punk energy. Now most hard-core just sounds like death metal played by straight edge kids. There is nothing dangerous about the genre anymore. Well, expect for Valume Nob that is.
Frey: Yes the scene has taking a turn somewhere since then. Don't get me wrong, the bands that are still somewhat doing the Hardcore/Punk are trying to hard to fit that style. They aren't really doing the scene justice. Not saying that it sucks or it is bad, because they are great at what the are doing. They just seem to be missing the boat. I think Valume Nob hit the fucking nail on the head, and I think that is because we just let our emotions and feelings take over. That's what the scene is based on, not trying to be like someone, just being yourself, and Valume Nob is full of that. We have so many great talents in the band and when they were combined you now have one of the most brutal and intense. Hardcore/Punk bands around right now.
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