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I first saw Judgement Day about a month ago. They played a show with Battlehooch at the Bottom of the Hill. I can't think of a more complementary tour arrangement: Judgement Day provides the metal-feeling hand-raising string-shrieking cloud of feist while Battlehooch makes you want to shake along with the screamingly shoutingly dancingly panic of their instrumentation. I recently had the brilliant idea to interview them about their experiences with each other en route to Austin. The questions I ask are relatively tame compared to interviews of the past, cf. Eli Horowitz of McSweeneys. These questions fit, I think. Unfortunately, their tour together has ended as of SXSW, but be sure to see them all together again for the LP/record release in SF on April 17th at... the Bottom of the Hill.
1. What's it like being on tour with (insert other band name here) ?
Anton (JD): Its awesome so far! They all went through the same music program that I did at UC Santa Cruz so we all get to geek out together on things like shankerian analysis and pointalism and be music dorks together.
Grant (BH): Well, this is our first official tour with another band, so the experience is new to us. But so far it's been awesome; we all get along and appreciate each other's personalities. Not to mention they are extremely talented musicians.
2. What do you like about their music?
Anton (JD): I love how creative they are! They seem really excited to experiment and push the boundaries of their music with crazy instruments (flute through whammy pedal??) and interesting rhythms. At the same time they manage to stay totally awesome and fun to dance to.
Grant (BH): Their music for me is an exploration into what I'm feeling at the time.. I really appreciate their re approach to metal music making. Guitars are the iconic instruments for that genre, and they totally break down that wall in a unique way. I love how heavy yet musical their music is. Their live shows can be very cathartic too (that's kind of referring back to the explorative side)
Lewis (JD): It seems like they're more interested in making music than just being in a band, which I think is a good order of priorities.
3. Why would you choose to spend such an inordinate about of time with (insert other band name here)
Anton (JD): There are 8 in their van and 4 in ours. That brings the number of our combined touring party to 12. It litterally is a touring party, complete with sleep-overs and pillow fights. Its awesome!
Grant (BH): Well, even though we're on tour together, we're not always traveling or staying together. Last night was the first time both bands stayed together, felt like a summer camp or outdoor ed (shout out to middle school) We choose to spend time with Judgement day because we consider them musical and business allies. We're both independent artists. We do everything ourselves. Our tour together symbolises the new and exciting music that is coming from the San Francisco bay area.
4. Has (other band) changed your idea about (your band) ?
Anton (JD): Totally. We're all going to grow scruffy beards and mustaches and start playing saxophones and analogue synthesizers.
Grant (BH): Yes, we are all giving up our instruments for violins and cellos after this tour.
If you are headed to SXSW, be sure to check their shows:
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Battlehooch
Wed. 3/20
Palm Door
401 Sabine Street
They play at 4
Judgement Day
Fri. 3/20
Dominican Joe’s Coffee Shop
515 South Congress Avenue
Starts at 1:30, we play at 6:30
All Ages / Free
Judgement Day is known for their spur-of-the-moment street shows, so keep tabs on their whereabouts via Twitter.
JD Flier/Artwork by Brandon Redenius
BD Photo courtesy of Ruthie Anne Swanson
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