Andreas Weiss Vocalist & Guitarist for Canadian Alternative rock group The Rabid Whole. Interview October 3, 2012
The Rabid Whole Interview
1. Could you tell me about the recording of The Rabid Whole album Refuge?
The Rabid Whole – ANDREAS WEISS: Once the writing process was 75% done I flew over Karl Schubach (Misery Signals, Solace) for about 3 weeks to re-record the songs and act as producer again as he did on our first album… Karl was great in the sense that he wouldn’t allow anything sub-par on the record. Him and I go way back and I can appreciate his no-bullshit approach. If he thinks a part in a song is shit he’s gonna say it…I’m pretty stubborn and we’ll usually fight through the entire record and there’ll be a few ‘I told you so-s’ in the process… I’m pretty sure he’s lost a great part of his sanity because of me bahaha… He really pushed the intensity of the drumming and of my vocals as well… he came up with some amazing drum fill and vocal harmony ideas on the album that totally ‘made’ the songs… Every instrument/sound played on the album was me on my own…other than the female vocals… it was a very DIY operation… Days later I flew over to Vancouver to meet up with the legendary Dave ‘Rave’ Ogilvie (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Jakalope) to handle the mixing, and then back to Toronto for Noah Mintz (Death from Above 1979, The Birthday Massacre) to master the album. I could not be happier with the way everything worked out, and I have no doubt I had the best team for the job.
2. How did the song writing process work for the Rabid Whole?
ANDREAS: I had just quit my day job as an engineer for the oil and gas industry back in Saskatchewan, sold my house and moved the band to Toronto to start again from square one. I had a few of the song fragments/ideas floating around for a couple of years but 95% of it all came together in the 2 months I spent in isolation at ‘TRWHQ’, our personal studio here in Toronto. I worked non-stop from the moment I woke up until the moment I fell asleep… I may have left the place 3 times in that entire period… I had a little Post-It Note I had written up after we had finished our first album ‘Autraumaton’. This little note had about 30 points/things/ideas I had/wanted to add/change on our next album… like: more female vocals, up the intensity on the drumming… more piano… push everything whether it be the quiets, louds, whatever, further than we had before, more emotion, more electronic noises….blablabla… The couple of years leading up to this album I was going through a lot of personal changes in my life and ‘Refuge’ is basically a direct reflection of all this. ‘Refuge’ is about change and all the emotions and experiences that an individual will pass through in the process and ultimately the search for personal peace of mind at the end of it all. I was definitely more time-rushed than on ‘Autraumaton’ but at the same time more focused and prepared…
3. What would be some of the amplifiers and guitars used in the recording to create the tones for The Rabid Whole?
ANDREAS: Well, most of our album was done with direct input on guitars, electronics and the drums were actually entirely programmed, I didn’t even have a drummer at the time! The only thing we actually mic’d were the vocals! We used a digi03 to record.. a UA LA610 preamp for the vocals, guitars were processed through a Fractal Audio AxeFX. For the guitars we used the AxeFx’s amp emulators to combine the tones of Frayette and Engl amps. Seemed to sound the closest to our live Marshall amp Orange cab combo. I think the only guitar I used in the studio was my Schecter C-1… and a Musicman Sub Bass.
4. Any tours coming soon for The Rabid Whole?
ANDREAS: At this point we’ll be touring Ontario and Quebec for the rest of 2012 but there are plans for a full US/Canadian tour in the spring of 2013…possibly some Europe in there too! Hopefully all the same and more festivals as we did this year… CMW, NXNE, SXSW, Indieweek… We’ve got our fingers crossed that everything works out to plan!
5. For The Rabid Whole what do you think of the music industry today and where it is going?
ANDREAS: In the past, the major labels were the gatekeepers and could provide all the promo/marketing/funding/connec
6. Would you say the health of the Music scene is becoming stronger?
ANDREAS: Mmm… I don’t know… I’d like to think so but I think it depends regionally. Some places have been wiped off any touring band’s map simply because the locals don’t attend live music shows…at least not like they used to…though there are other places where the exact opposite is true… There are so many shitty bands out there giving live music a bad name… People are so tired of all the shit bands they have to sift through to find something good. It’s hard to convince someone to give you a chance in the first place cause they’re so jaded. We’ve been very fortunate to have made some good impressions with our audience.. We have NO doubt that if we can get people’s asses out to a show, they will NOT be disappointed.
7. What’s your vision of the internet for musicians in the future?
ANDREAS: While the emergence of these mediums have indeed made marketing/promoting more affordable/accessible to indy musicians than ever, the unfortunate side effect is the market has become so incredibly saturated that it’s become virtually impossible for the listener to sort through the never ending pile of crap bands and ‘artists’ just to find those few diamonds in the rough they actually want to support. People stop caring and become immune to this ‘noise’ unless you’re the most incredible thing anyone has ever seen/heard…
8. What could we find interesting in your music collection at home?
ANDREAS: Ha….depends what you mean by interesting… I’ll go with ‘unexpected for my band’s musical genre’. I’ve got all kinds of stuff here. You’d find anything from Michael Jackson, to Jaco Pastorius to Miami Sound Machine…it’s really random. Even some old school hip hop. My general collection though is more along the lines of Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Bjork, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Skinny Puppy, The Birthday Massacre, Filter, The Beatles, The Police, Depeche Mode…
9. Could you describe what goes on in a day in your life as a musician?
ANDREAS: It’s very random and full of surprises. The only thing that seems to be certain is that the highs get higher and the lows get lower and you’ve gotta be able to handle it! I could be spending a day writing interviews, writing music, handling promo, merch design, booking or planning our year, out on meetings, networking, lining up licensing deals, legal bullshit, etc… It is all about the music at the core but most people don’t realize that it’s 90% business…ugly business that has to be happening constantly in the background…
10. Any words for future musicians?
ANDREAS: If your gonna do it, you’d better realize what you’re getting yourself into. You’d better realize that there’s a never-ending pile of bands out there doing the same thing and you’re gonna have to be better than them if you want to give anyone a reason to give a shit about YOU. You have to be relentless, passionate, easy to work with, have a clear vision, focused, willing to sacrifice everything, have a sense of business savvy, and be persistent. Striving for success in the music industry is one of the most complicated, challenging, highest risk ventures anyone can partake in… this is NOT the easy road. You’d better REALLY love what you’re doing. Good luck! ;)
Check out the Rabid Whole here http://www.therabidwhole.com/