Heard of “thrash grass”? No, neither had we until we encountered The Native Howl. We’ll let the guys in the band tell you all about it, and a bit more about themselves…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Our self-owned/operated C.A.D. Studios recording and rehearsal facility is in Leonard, MI.
How did you meet?
Josh and I have been performing together for 10 years as Clean as Dirt. Chandler went to our high school and gigged with us in his band Ancient Chaos. I met Jake through his cousin, my former guitarist Teddy. It seemed to become inevitable that we would all compose and perform music together.
How long have you been playing as a band?
With Chandler on bass, 2 years.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The Native Howl came from Jake and I’s separate ideas, ed into one. We both found that our favourite animal was the wolf (my choice drawn from my husky “Zeke”, who became the centerpiece for the artwork on our first album The Revolution’s Dead). In my mind, the term “native” came from all the experimental world music we were creating at the time. Jake saw “The Native Howl” as music being the universal language spoken between all peoples.
What are your influences?
- Me (Alex) – Metallica/The SteelDrivers/cKy
- Josh – Metallica/Kanye/Michael Jackson
- Chandler – Iron Maiden/Metallica/Black Sabbath
- Jake – The Dave Matthews Band/Old Crow Medicine Show/Fleet Foxes
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We write, record, and perform many genres of music, but currently our most prominent undertaking is our invented “Thrash Grass”… our combination of the aggression and intensity of thrash metal with the melodicism and precision of bluegrass.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
We draw lyrical and musical inspiration from both painful and triumphant personal experiences, as well as the pain and triumphs of others (both acquaintance and historical) in a “story-tellers” capacity.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
It is an energetic, immersive, and interactive experience. Too many to count.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
When we closed out a festival last year, we brought the entire crowd onstage with us while performing our encore “Hurricane”. The structural integrity of the venue had been compromised.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
- Josh – Mapex drums
- Alex – Seagull acoustic guitars, Fender bouzoukis and mandolins, Gibson Explorer electric guitars
- Jake – Seagull acoustic guitars, Deering banjos, Hohner harmonicas
- Chandler – Nameless, Faceless bass guitars
What are your plans for the rest of 2017?
We are performing festivals and shows in multiples states throughout the summer/fall ’17, as well as recording our new album through Clean as Dirt Records.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We would love to open for Metallica, and have our friends/band brothers The Gasoline Gypsies open for us.
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