Violent Resonance: Tell us a little bit about the band and how you came to be? What do you sound like?
Joey: My brother, Wayne, and I have been playing music together since we were kids. He picked up a guitar and I grabbed a bass. We started Powered Wig Machine years ago and over time we had an itch to put together another project as well. We were looking to create something a little different than Powered Wig Machine. We wanted to try a three piece! We asked our buddy Marlin to come drum with us and Fuzz Evil was born.
Fuzz Evil is psychedelic, catchy, and of course fuzzy. There are lots of harmonies between the guitar, bass, and our vocals. I feel that current songs are psychedelic with an aggressive cadence. Each song takes the listener on a journey with moving plot twists.
VR: The scene all over Arizona is buzzing with tons of bands playing awesome music, what do you think has helped make the scene so strong? In your opinion, what do you think would make it stronger?
Joey: I feel an overwhelming sense of community here in Arizona. A lot of people have really stepped up and are putting in a load of extra hours. To name a few you have Patrick Hogg (Sludge.com), Shay Smith (Salsaman photography), Mike Trujio (Valhalla radio), David Rodgers (Battleground Records), Rudy Flores and Teresa Estrella (Bestia Dentro), Hannah Levin (KXCI Community radio) and of course the staff of the Southwest Terror Fest. These folks, among the many others I didn’t mention, are using their skills to help create a strong community here.
Beyond those working in the music scene there is also some great music lovers here. It’s wonderful to see how people will travel hours to come to a show. We see people from Sierra Vista at Phoenix shows and Phoenix folks at Tucson.
I’d say Arizona is on an upward path. If people keep doing what they are doing and stay excited about the music here then it’s bound to become even stronger!
VR: You put out a split with Chiefs, another band from AZ. What was it like working with them? Where can we go to stream that split (if possible)?
Joey: Man I love Chiefs. I got to meet Paul a while back and we’ve been friends ever since. We played some shows with them back in 2013 while we were in Cali. They were great guys and really kill it live. It was an easy decision to put our first single out with them. If you want to hear the split you can stream it at the battleground bandcamp (https://battlegroundrecords.bandcamp.com) or you can visit our bandcamp at (https://fuzzevil.bandcamp.com).
VR: Who were your biggest influences growing up? Musically or otherwise? Did anything you heard as a child/teen stick with you?
Joey: Personally, My biggest musical influence growing is Tool. I grew as an appreciator and a musician by listening to them. Justin Chancellor, of Tool, is one of my favorite bass players. Not because of his raw technical skill but because of the rhythm and melody of his written parts. Good examples of that are in Eulogy and Lateralus. His style has influenced how I think about writing bass lines.
For us as a band I’d have to say that Jimi Hendrix, Queens of the StoneAge/Kyuss, The Stooges, Nirvana, and Dead Meadow are probably our biggest influences.
VR: What sets Fuzz Evil apart from the other bands in a similar genre?
Joey: We are very passionate about what we create and try to show that in what we produce. I think our fuzz sound brings a unique flavor. We’ve tweaked our setup from pickups to pedals, amps, and speaker cabs to find a nice blend between the bass and guitar and the psychedelic fuzz pairs nicely with Marlin’s driving beats.
Also, we’ve incorporated a lightshow! Our buddy Chris Sittler went crazy programming a DMX lightshow. We brought it on the road to Texas earlier this year and really brought a whole new element to the show.
VR: If Fuzz Evil were a drug (or a combination of drugs), what drug(s) would you be and why?
Joey: I was talking to a buddy of mine about these questions and I mentioned this one to him. He jokingly said Fuzz Evil is like a cocaine fueled Peyote trip. I figured this description was too funny not to share.
Your heart starts racing and you feel on top of the world. Eventually, you’re no longer in your body and your experiencing show just as passionately but you watching yourself be lost in the groove and jam the fuck out….or something like that?
VR: Tell us about your bad habits and your guilty pleasures.
Joey: The music world is our guilty pleasure. Everyone in the Fuzz Evil has another band and when we aren’t planning a tour or shows for ourselves we are booking shows for other bands coming through Arizona. Furthermore, Wayne and I organize the annual Borderland Fuzz Fiesta in Tucson. It happens in Feb and 2016 will be our second year. It’s has been an all year affair for us to book the bands for the festival, find sponsorships, and promote the event. Being a part of all the inner workings of the BFF has given me an even greater respect for Dave and the SWTF crew for making SWTF so incredible over the last 4 years.
Outside of the music, I also Run Ghosttown Graphic Art with my partner Carrie Olaje. We’ve been working with a lot of bands and labels doing Flyers and Album art. We’re currently doing the album art for ongoing series of Ripple Music’s “The Second Coming of Heavy”
If music is our guilty pleasure I’d say that how busy we keep ourselves is the bad habit.
VR: Who are you most looking forward to watching/sharing the stage with at Southwest Terror Fest this year? Anyone you haven’t seen live before that you’re particularly interested in checking out?
Joey: I’m pretty stoked to share the stage with Acid King. I’ve been jamming their music for years! We are very honored and thankful that we were asked to be a part of the show. The previous years have all been an amazing party to attend and I expect no less from this year. Honestly, the entire fest line up will mark a lot of bands of my list of “make sure to see live”. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Sleep. I’m excited to experience how Sleep is felt coming through tons of speakers pounding against your chest.
VR: What’s next for Fuzz Evil? Any writing/recording/touring plans in the works?
Joey: Fuzz Evil’s debut album is already recorded and ready to go! The release is planned for the beginning of 2016 by Battleground records. We recently released a track on our bandcamp from the same recording session called “Born of Iron”
We are currently working out details for a tour. I can’t pass any information about the tour along yet but we are definitely excited for it.
VR: Provide us with any links where the readers can go to check out your music, learn more about the band, or purchase physical copies of your music.
Keep up to speed with what we are doing by following our Facebook or follow us on twitter. Our handle is @fuzzevil.
If you’d like to listen to some music visit our bandcamp or look us up on youtube!
Thanks for the interview!
