Chron Goblin interview with Devin “Darty” Purdy, Richard Hepp, Josh Sandulak and Brett Whittingham

Fusing stoner metal with punkish psychedelia and an unending tap of limitless energy, Chron Goblin are seering their way to the finish line. For more than four years, Chron Goblin have been serving up swirling stoner psych and there’s nowhere that’s more evident than on last year’s Life For The Living, Chron Goblin’s second full-length album.

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The song structures are all air-tight, stoner psych imbued with the vigor and aggression of metal and armed to the teeth with distortion, feedback, sweat and a genetic urge to pay homage at the riff of the almighty riff! A searing stew of heady distortion and fuzz mingles with menacing bass, rumbling deep in your ear like the hammering of a demon’s hand on the flimsy steal door that separates you from damnation and hell fire. Yeah, Life For The Living’s like that. It’s one of those rare metal albums that not only manages to keep you completely off center and guessing what to expect next, but where all the punches land where they should, effectively sweeping the listener off their feet into Chron Goblin’s own land of delightful carnage and charming havoc. When the darkness does part and the band takes a breath from time to time, they exhale these twisted psychedelic wheezes of air, providing a much needed break from the utter destruction all around them. Featured on the Pre-Rock Records compilation House Of Burners earlier this year, I was quickly hypnotized by Chron Goblin’s devastating riffage, shredding vocals and a rhythm section that could turn concrete to mud in about ten seconds flat with their ridiculously super-powered Neolithic hammerings. So, I decided to track them down and in between tours, life and an insanely hectic schedule we managed to put together the following interview, and it’s one helluva interview if I do say so myself – enjoy!

I know you all have been around for like five years at this point from the fifth anniversary shirts and prints I saw in your online store, since you all have been around for a while have there been any changes to the lineup since you all started? Who all is currently in Chron Goblin and what do you all play?

Devin “Darty” Purdy – Guitar
Richard Hepp – Bass Guitar
Josh Sandulak – Vocals
Brett Whittingham – Drums

Darty: We formed the band in early 2009 after knowing each other for four years, as we all lived in the same residence building at the University of Calgary and shared a mutual love for music, beer and fine herbs. This gave us the ability to form solid friendships first and a band second, which has resulted in us creating a Chron Goblin family. That being said, we’ve not had any lineup changes.

Are either of you in any other bands or do you have any side projects going on? I love being able to look at rock family trees, but I have to admit my feelings aren’t hurt when I don’t have to do all the research myself, ha-ha! Have you released anything with anyone else in the past, if so can you tell us about that?

Darty: I was in my first band at the age of sixteen, a week after I picked up the guitar, and formed a band called Four Past Midnight. We played one live show! Brett and I were also in a band called Electric Plauge in which Brett took up drums for the first time. The two of us were also in a metal band called Teitan for three years prior to forming Chron Goblin, with Brett playing bass in that band. We recorded a handful of songs with the band, but never formally released anything. We had a blast playing in the band, but always saw ourselves playing in a more “groove” based band as opposed to thrash metal. Every now and then, members of our band will fill in for friends’ bands for shows when they’re down a member which is always a fun challenge. Josh and Hepp were heavily involved with the music scene but haven’t played in any former bands.

How old are you and where are you originally from? What was the local scene like there when you were younger? Did you see a lot of shows? Do you feel like that scene played an important part in shaping your musical tastes or in the way that you perform at this point?

Darty: I was born and raised in rural Manitoba until I moved to Calgary at the age of fourteen. As Manitoba was deprived of any all ages live music, I immersed myself in the music scene once I moved to Calgary. Living in Calgary’s great, there are so many talented bands and live shows as our scene’s always been thriving. My tastes started off with punk rock, moved to heavy metal, and upon discovering Sabbath, Kyuss, and Orange Goblin I became obsessed with what’s known as “stoner rock”. I have constantly been going to live shows since I was thirteen years old and still go see at least one or two a week.

Josh: I was born and raised in Red Deer, Alberta and there wasn’t really a strong scene for music when I was growing up. The only shows we really had access to, were all-ages punk shows at community centers, but then those would get flooded by skin heads, so it wasn’t really that cool to be around. Our town always had an edge to it though. I always found myself relating to the value system and ideals of politically motivated punk music, such as Propoghandi, Crass and Fugazi. I guess in terms of performance, I just always felt people work hard for their money and they spend it on seeing you play. You owe it to them to give everything up on stage.

Richard: I’m twenty-eight and was born in Calgary, but did much of my growing up in London, UK. I would say that growing up in England did do a lot for my musical upbringing. I was in a suburb outside of London that was quite well-off, and many of my friends listened to pop music and garbage like that. At the start, I was really complacent about the music around me and I didn’t care much. Some of my friends that weren’t the most popular started sharing their musical tastes with me and I loved it. Ska and punk blew my mind. I fell in love with it and saw my first live show at the London Astoria with those same friends about two weeks after hearing it. The band was called Capdown and was a London based ska band; unreal show. I had a hell of a time convincing my parents to let me go into London with my friends, as I was only fourteen.

What about your household when you were a child? Were either your parents of any of your relatives musicians or just extremely involved/interested in music?

Darty: Music was always playing in my household growing up. My mother plays piano and my dad plays a mean “air bass”. Typical music playing in my house growing up was The Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, Paul Simon, Bob Marley, The Offspring, etcetera.

Josh: A lot of my musical discoveries happened when I found my Dad’s records. But my family had always been into music in some way, it was always playing in our house. I had a great grandma that sang opera and a grandpa that played in a jazz band.

Richard: My parents liked a lot of the old Steve Winwood, Nazareth and Yes type stuff. I was okay with it, I sang my heart out in the car, but it never made me want to be a musician or anything. I had to branch out a little and find my own tastes, but it definitely helped me on my journey though.

What do you consider to be your first real exposure to music?

Darty: I always enjoyed music at a really young age, but my first real exposure wasn’t until I went to my first all-ages punk show at the age of thirteen featuring a band called Chemikill. The live music experience really opened my eyes and sparked an interest in playing live music that will never burn out. It blew my mind how much energy the band gave to the crowd, and how the crowd reciprocated that energy.

Josh: I guess my first real exposure to music was when I was fourteen, going to see Weezer in Edmonton. I remember biking over to the record shop and trading in my Kriss Kross tape for this new thing called a “CD” when I was ten and that’s when I discovered Weezer; I dug the Blue. Anyway, having somebody’s parent drive us up, and crowd surfing for my first time, and getting contact high… It was an epic experience.

Richard: After my first show in London, I started going to everything I got wind of. Mostly punk shows like No Use For a Name and Strung Out. At the same time, some of my close friends were in bands around the Guildford area where I lived, and still continue to be active.

If you were to pick a single moment, a moment that seemed to change everything for you and opened your eyes to the awesome possibilities of music, what would that moment be?

Darty: We had accomplished a great deal with Chron Goblin in the early years, but when we were invited to play Desertfest in London, England in 2013 that really opened my eyes to the possibilities of what this band could do. At that time we hadn’t toured the United States yet, so for our first international show to be across the pond really blew our minds.

Richard: Every little milestone seems amazing when it happens. I thought recording an album was a surreal experience. Then, I heard our music on the radio and thought that was the coolest. Then, we played the Underworld, a place I’d seen many of the bands I idolize play before and that blew my mind. It just keeps getting better!

When did you decide that you wanted to start writing and performing your own music? What brought that decision about for you?

Darty: The decision came quite naturally to me the moment I picked up a guitar for the first time. I’ve always really enjoyed creating music, and the freedom and empowerment that comes with it. I was never really into playing cover songs and always preferred to write original songs with other people. Covers are fun, but nothing beats the feeling of finishing the creation of an original song that reflects your influences and your dedication to your craft.

Josh: I’m not sure when that moment really happened. Music and the arts kind of always seemed to be the only thing I had an easier time with. Sciences and math, etcetera kicked my ass, but music always seemed to make more sense to me. So I’ve always pursued it in some capacity and then meeting these guys and developing a friendship and a mutual love for music, it’s been a really organic thing.

What was your first instrument? When and how did you get that?

Darty: I started playing saxophone in grade 7 band, which is ironic as I can’t stand sax in songs these days. I picked up guitar at the age of sixteen and have been hooked ever since. I’m completely guitarded now with three half stacks, a full stack, nine guitars, and too many pedals to count.

Josh: It was saxophone as well in grade 6. My grandpa and great grandpa played, so I thought why the heck not? I love it in jazz, but yeah… That’s about it.

When did you all originally meet?

Darty: We all met in 2004, as we lived in the same residence building attending the University of Calgary. Josh, Hepp, and I even lived on the same floor, while Brett was just few floors below. We sure partied our asses off in those days, not that that’s changed much.

How did Chron Goblin get started and when would that have been?

Darty: Chron Goblin formed in early 2009 when Brett and I wanted to create a band more aligned to our influences of Sabbath, Kyuss, QOTSA, and Orange Goblin. At the time, Josh was really interested in singing in a band, so after a few drinks we convinced him to try out… And it turns out he had/has a fucking killer voice! We then wrote a five song EP and recruited Hepp, who was previously a guitar player, to jump on board for bass duties a month before hitting the studio.

I love the name it has this retro 50’s kind of feel to it to me. Who came up with it and how did you all go about choosing the name? What does Chron Goblin mean or refer to?

Darty: I was on a work crew that was full of “herbal enthusiasts” with the exception of one member who abstained. One day, he called us a bunch of “Chron Goblins” and I immediately knew I would use that for a band name someday. It didn’t take much convincing for the guys to take on the name as it was funny, memorable, and unique. You could say a Chron Goblin is anyone who’s a fan of the herb.

Is there any sort of shared creed, code, ideal or mantra that the band shares or lives by?

Darty: Work hard, play hard, party hard, and don’t take anything for granted.

Where’s Chron Goblin at these days?

Darty: We just finished our first US tour which was an absolute blast. We got to perform with legendary acts like Red Fang, Lord Dying, Black Pussy, Yob, and Ancient Warlocks. We have quite a few festival performances this summer as well as studio time booked at the end of September to record some demos to shop around for a different studio and a producer. We’re also in the talks of returning to the UK for a tour and including dates in Europe this time. We also just released a music video for“Bloodflow” that you should check out.

 

What’s the local music scene like where you’re at these days?

Darty: Calgary has a thriving music scene for all genres. We’re very proud to call Calgary home, and proud to represent our City as we tour in other countries. On any day of the week, you can go catch some amazing acts. We have a lot of great venues that support the scene and our town is fortunate enough to catch most larger touring acts, which also gives the local talent an opportunity to open for those bands.

Do you feel like you’re very involved in the local scene? Do you book or attend a lot of local shows?

Darty: We utilize a combination of booking our own shows and being asked by promoters. If we book our own shows, we usually hand pick who we would like to play with and the venue. You can find us at pretty much every hard rock show in town as we love supporting our scene and listening to local talent. We’ve also been involved with participating in youth music programs, fundraising and charity events, and assisting touring bands book shows and letting them crash at our place. It’s a great feeling to be able to give back to our music scene.

Are you involved in recording or releasing and local music at all? If so, can you tell is briefly about that?

Brett: Aside from recording and releasing our own material locally, we don’t have too much involvement in local recording or releases. We’ve all focused on the musicianship side of the things and don’t have much experience on the engineering side. However, we’ve recorded and released all of our own material independently using locally and independently operated studios; Echo Base, Slaughterhouse, and Castronuovo Studios. We’d really like to put together and release a compilation of local artists to showcase the great and diverse talent that Calgary has to offer.

Do you feel like the local scene’s played a large role in the history of Chron Goblin or do you all feel like you could be doing what you’re doing and sound like you do regardless of locations or surroundings.

Brett: The local scene has been intrinsic to our development as artists and there’s no way we would have accomplished the things we have without its support. Venues like The Palomino, Broken City, The Gateway, The Ship & Anchor, Vern’s, and Dickens Pub have given us the opportunity to hone our live performance and establish ourselves in the local scene. Our goal is to continue touring and to establish ourselves on a national and international level, but Calgary will always be our home and our beginning.

We’ve talked a lot about the makeup of the band and your history but I’d like to talk a little bit about your sound for a while. You all have a bunch of cool sounds kicking around in your music and I’m curious who you’d cite as your major musical influences? What about influences on the band as a whole rather than just individually?

Darty: I grew up on ZZ Top and The Allman Brothers at home and really got into punk rock from the ages of nine to twelve. I then picked up Master of Reality at the age of thirteen at a local record store and became obsessed with Sabbath; I still am, as you can tell by my giant Vol. 4 tattoo. From this point on my influences became Black Sabbath, Kyuss, Orange Goblin, The Sword, Clutch, Danzig, Maiden, Karma to Burn, Leaf Hound… I could go on forever. I’m also majorly influenced by some amazing Canadian acts including 3 Inches of Blood, Bison, Barn Burner (RIP), Black Mastiff, Shooting Guns (Interview here), Black Thunder, and We Hunt Buffalo. From a full band perspective, we have such diverse tastes it can be difficult to agree on mutual influences, but we certainly have some common ground which includes Black Sabbath, Propagandhi, Pink Floyd, Orange Goblin, The Sword, Black Mastiff, We Hunt Buffalo, etcetera.

Josh: Yeah, for myself I would say my biggest influences are the punk bands, at least in terms of energy and that kind of thing. But I’ve always listened to music from all genres. I’ve always found the phrasing and patterns in hip-hop really interesting and I’m a sucker for the soul hooks that you get in Curtis Mayfield, etcetera. But my heart is in Rock n’ roll. I’ve always thought Joe Cocker was where it’s at when it came to rock vocalists.

What’s the songwriting process like with Chron Goblin? Is there a lot of jamming that happens when you all get together than you kind of distill and work out into a song or does someone maybe comes in with a riff?

Darty: The framework usually begins with Brett and myself jamming out some riffs to get some basic structure going. Hepp is great at adding some unique bass and working with Brett on the arrangements after the initial foundation is laid. Josh writes all of his lyrics and is always able to add his unique style and phrasing to any wild ideas that we throw his way. We definitely work very organically, pun intended, and never try to force or rush new ideas, but rather massage all of our ideas until we’re satisfied with the song.

What about recording for Chron Goblin? I think that most musicians can certainly appreciate the end result of all the hard work, time and effort that goes into making an album. But getting to that point, getting everything recorded and sounding the way that you want it can really be a pain to say the least! What’s it like recording for Chron Goblin?

Darty: All recording can be stressful, but we try to always stay positive and keep a very open and supportive environment. We can honestly say that the good times outweigh the negative ones, and we always have fun recording.

Josh: I feel like everyone always really “shows up” for recording. The guys are always well rehearsed and have all their parts planned. We really try and pull the most out of the time we get, so everyone has to be on point and be able to nail it in a few takes. I think in the end, this just makes us a tighter band.

Do you all like to handle recording on your own DIY style or do you prefer to head into the studio and let someone else handle that side of things so you can concentrate on playing?

Darty: We leave the recording to the experts. We make sure that we focus on the preproduction and have as much prepared as possible before we go in the studio, and have a good idea of the direction and song structure. We’ve always worked with a predetermined amount of time/days in the studio which has always allowed us to stay on track and time with releasing new albums. Ideally, it would be great to have as much time as possible but having a definitive timeline allows us to move forward.

Is there a lot of preparation that goes into a recording session for Chron Goblin where you spend a ton of time working out every part of a song? Or do you all head into record with a good idea of what a song should sound like but give it plenty of room to change and breathe during the recording process? Is there a lot of improvisation that’s involved when you all record or perform?

Darty: We were very prepared for the recording of Life for the Living, which was a significant increase compared to our previous recordings. We had ninety-percent of the album mapped out in advance and knew exactly what we wanted to achieve. It makes the recording process much smoother. That being said, we’re always open to new ideas and allow room for improvisation and creative change.

Let’s take a little time and talk about your back catalog a little bit. Your first release that I know of is the Chron Goblin self-titled CD EP from 2010. Can you tell us about the recording of that first material? Was that a fun, pleasurable experience for you all? When and where was that recorded? Who recorded it? What kind of equipment was used?

Darty: We recorded the EP in 2010 in our friend Marcello Castronuovo’s basement in Calgary. He recorded it for next to nothing and used the mixing board from the 1988 Winter Olympics, which is pretty cool. All of the songs were written before we had a bass player, which is pretty evident when I listen to the record now as it’s very guitar heavy. I’m still super-proud of that EP, as it gave us the platform to move forward from. It was a fun experience as we were younger, with less stress in our lives, and were just focusing on having a good time.

How was the Chron Goblin EP originally released and distributed? I assume that’s out of print at this point, but was it a limited release and if so, do you know how many copies it was limited to?

Darty: All of our releases have been very DIY, and our EP was exactly that. We produced 1000 copies ourselves by raising funds performing and selling t-shirts. We still have approximately 500 left. We sold, and still sell, the EP at shows and through our webstore. The production on the EP’s not quite as good as our full-lengths, but we’re damn proud of it!

A year later in 2011 you followed up the EP with One Million from the Top which if I understand correctly if getting ready to go out of print. Was the recording of the material for One Million from the Top very different than your earlier EP? Do you feel like learned a lot from the recording of the previous EP? Who recorded the One Million from the Top material? When was that recorded and where was that? What kind of equipment was used?

Brett: That’s true! I think we have about five copies of CDs of One Million from the Top left. The recording process was a different experience with our first full-length album. We recorded this project at Echo Base Studios with Casey Lewis and he has a different approach than Marcello Castronuovo. Casey has a more established studio and more years of experience engineering and producing under his belt. Recording the EP was losing Chron Goblin’s studio virginity. Recording One Million from the Top was our second time in the studio, so we were still fairly studio-inexperienced and working with a new engineer was a unique experience. Casey pushed us to do our best and we did many takes of each part to make sure it was as solid as it could be before Pro Tools was put to work.

While you all didn’t release any albums in 2012 or anything it proved to be a pretty busy year for you all none the less with several appearances on compilations that year. There was an appearance on a live radio compilation but you all contributed the track, “Give No More” to the Palomino Smokehouse 12”. I did a little bit of poking around but I couldn’t find out a whole lot about it. Did you all write or record “Give No More” specifically for the Palomino Smokehouse release or was it something left over from one of your earlier sessions? Was that a limited release? If so, do you know how many copies it limited to?

Brett: 2012 was a busy year with lots of great shows and touring. We played shows in Brandon, Manitoba; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Lethbridge, Aberta; as well as the Sled Island festival in our hometown. We also had the opportunity to open for Bison and 3 Inches of Blood, both excellent Canadian metal bands that we’re influenced by. We were approached by The Palomino to submit an unreleased track for their 2012 compilation, so we decided to work with Marcello Castronuovo again and we recorded the song “Give No More” with him at Slaughterhouse Studios. This track was one of the first songs we wrote after releasing One Million from the Top and we felt it was a great track to submit for the Palomino’s annual compilation album. I’m not sure exactly how many copies of the 2012 Palomino Smokehouse Compilation were released, but my guess would be between 200 and 300 vinyl records. This was also our first track released on vinyl, so we were very excited about that at the time.

You dropped your second full-length album last year (2013) Life For The Living. While I seriously dig your first album, Life For The Living was a huge step forward in my opinion and the songs sound much more like your own unique sound that I’ve seen displayed live. Did you all try anything new or radically different when it came to the songwriting or recording of the material for Life For The Living?

Brett: We agree that Life for the Living was a big step towards finding and developing our own unique sound and style. I think the songs are more cohesive, and stronger independently, than some of the tracks on One Million from the Top. Playing most of the tracks on Life for the Living live throughout 2012 and 2013 really helped to make the studio performances stronger for all of us. In the studio, we didn’t branch too far from the same approach we took with Casey on One Million from the Top, but this being our fourth time in the studio, we had a much better understanding of the process and what it takes to prepare and perform well. We recorded ten tracks in thirteen days, which was a tight schedule, but it forced us to stay focused and productive and ensured we were very prepared going into the sessions.

Who recorded Life For The Living? When and where was that? What kind of equipment was used?

Brett: As with One Million from the Top, Casey Lewis of Echo Base Studios recorded Life for the Living. This session was in late May-early June 2013, immediately after we returned from performing at Desertfest in London.

Does Chron Goblin have any music that we haven’t talked about, maybe an appearance on a comp or a single that I might have missed?

Brett: I can’t think of anything you’ve missed; you’ve done your homework!

With the release of Life For The Living in 2013 does Chron Goblin have any releases in the works or on the horizon at this point?

Darty: We have studio time booked for September 2014 to record three to five demos to shop around for a producer and a studio. We’re really excited about this, as we’ve never worked with a producer before and we’re looking to record in a studio with some history, and possibly outside of Canada for the first time. Once we’ve selected a studio and producer we’ll continue to write the full album, so you can expect a new release in early 2015.

With the completely insane international postage rate increases that don’t show any sign of letting up, I try and provide our readers with as many possible options as I can for picking up imports. Where’s the best place for our US readers to pick up copies of your stuff?

Brett: We have a US distribution deal with Heavy Ripples. US reader can grab our CDs and vinyl here.

What about our international and overseas readers?

Brett: As part of our deal with Heavy Ripples, we sell our music overseas through Clear Spot distribution. You can find music through them here. We also sell our releases through Ozium Records based out of Sweden. You can find our stuff at their website here.

And where would the best places for our readers to keep up on the latest news from Chron Goblin like upcoming shows and album releases?

Brett: We do our best to keep all of our social media outlets up to date. You can find us in the following formats: our website, Facebook, Twitter: @chrongoblin and Instagram: @chrongoblin

Speaking of keeping up with stuff, are there any major plans or goals that Chron Goblin is looking to accomplish?

Brett: We’re booked in the studio in September (2014) to record some demos of new material. We plan to be back in the studio for spring 2015 to record another full-length album and we’re hoping to use the demos from the fall to secure an outstanding studio and producer. We also plan to return to the USA for more touring, as well as make it back to the UK, and to Europe for the first time.

What, if anything, do you all have planned as far as touring goes for the rest of the year?

Brett: We have some local shows coming up this summer, including performing at our hometown festival Sled Island on June 21st (2014). We’ll be playing at Beaverfest Aug 30th in Valleyview, Alberta. Aside from these few shows we don’t have much booked at the moment, as we’re focusing on writing new material.

Do you all spend a lot of time out on the road touring? Do you enjoy touring? What’s life like on the road for Chron Goblin?

Darty: We tour as much as we possibly can while having jobs back home. In the last year we’ve toured more than the rest of our careers combined. We just completed our first US tour which was a damn blast. We’ve had the opportunity to open for Vista Chino, Red Fang, Orange Goblin, 3 Inches of Blood, Bison, and The Devin Townsend Project which were all an absolute honor. Personally, I live for touring. I could do it for the rest of my life. Some days are tough, as in Canada you have to drive a long distance to any new city, but playing to a new crowd makes it all worth it.

Do you remember what the first song that Chron Goblin ever played live was? When and where would that have been?

Darty: The first song that we ever wrote was called “Walk With Me”. I can’t exactly recall if that was the first song we every played live… But it certainly could have been. Our first bar show was in early 2010 at a small pub in Calgary, while we had played our five songs from the EP at various house parties in late 2009. I do remember our first house party show we only had the five songs… So we played all five twice and everyone at the party was too drunk to realize we’d already played them before.

Do you have any funny or interesting stories from live shows or performances that you’d like to share with our readers?

Darty: My personal favorite had to be the first time we played with Bison. Their drummer Matt lit a joint and put it in my mouth during the intro to “Give No More”. Security freaked out and came over to give us shit and then Matt grabbed the doobie and put it out on the ground. Had we not been in the bands playing, we definitely would have gotten kicked out. Another funny memory that comes to mind would be Hepp playing in Saskatoon with Shooting Guns. The beer lineup was crazy, so right before we go on he decides to get a pitcher of beer with three shots of vodka in it. Hepp can drink like a tank so manages it quite well, but it was hilarious to see people’s faces when they took a sip from his pitcher. That night ended with the band taking some “tussin” for a “quality” sleep.

Do you all give a lot of thought to the visual aspects that represent the band like flyers, posters, shirts and other stuff? I seriously dig the hell out of what I can only guess is your Rat Fink inspired design! Is there any kind of message or meaning that you’re trying to convey with your art? Do you usually turn to anyone in particular during your times of need when it comes to that kind of thing, if so who is that and how you originally get hooked up with them?

Brett: We love collaborating with artists to achieve a variety of visual representations of our music. Logan Morrison has done a fantastic job for the artwork of our last two releases, as well as a few shirt designs. He’s from Calgary but lives in Vancouver working as a tattoo artist at Tattoo Union. We met him through our pals in Witchstone. Deano Robertson’s also done a bunch of logos and designs for us, including the hilarious Rat Fink-inspired shirt you mentioned. He’s a tattoo artist currently working at Immaculate Conception. We got to know him as the legendary Stoner Rock Guy; he’s a huge champion for music and is always attending and promoting local shows and bands, as well as stoner rock music internationally. He’s well known in the community and an amazing human all around. We’ve also worked with Dominic Soho, a UK artist, and we’re currently working on a new design with David Paul Seymour who’s done artwork for some of the best bands out there right now including The Sword, Kadavar, Graveyard, Red Fang, Church of Misery, Lordy Dying, Truckfighters, and Earthless. We’re also working with Gabriel Shaffer on a new shirt design, lots of new stuff on the way! We’re often inspired by tattoo artists, as you can tell from our collaborations with Logan Morrison and Deano Robertson. I think we’re also attracted to art of a psychedelic nature, although we don’t typically have a specific goal in mind when we work with an artist. We hope the artist interprets our music and puts their style to use to create something unique, powerful and just generally badass-looking!

Do you have a preferred medium of release for your own music? What about when you’re listening to and or purchasing music? With all of the various mediums that are available to musicians today I’m always curious why they choose and prefer the methods of release that they do.

Brett: I think we’d all agree that vinyl records are our favorite medium for music, both in terms of our own releases as well what we purchase as music collectors. There’s more room for artwork and the whole listening experience is much more tangible and interactive. We all download music, but if we don’t pay for a digital download, we always make sure to buy a band’s merch or tickets to their shows.

Do you have a music collection at all? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?

Brett: We all collect vinyl and are working on building our own collections. Some of my favourites that I own are Time Traveling Blues by Orange Goblin, Prior to the Fire by Priestess, Hisingen Blues by Graveyard, the Self-Titled and Abra Kadavar albums by Kadavar, Queens Of The Stone Age’s Rarities & B-sides, The Action is Go by Fu Manchu, Dap Dippin’ from Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Welcome to Sky Valley, And the Circus Leaves Town, and Blues for the Red Sun by Kyuss. I also inherited a bunch of original Canadian pressing Beatles 45’s from my grandmother as well as some Elvis and other classic pop stuff from the late 50’s to early 60’s.

Darty: I have a massive collection of vinyl that started with inheriting about two hundred records from my old man. I then spent a ton of time collecting heavy metal and stoner rock vinyl albums. If I had to pick my five favorite vinyl albums they would be Orange Goblin’s Eulogy for the Fans, the Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age split, Red Fang’s Murder the Mountains Pizza Picture Disc, Belzebong’s Sonics Scrapes & Weedy Grooves (Interview here), and the best of all Black Sabbath, Live at Last. The Sabbath live album is hilarious… Ozzy singing all kinds of improvised lyrics, out of tune guitars, random space jazz odyssey jams, and medleys of numerous Sabbath songs within one jam.

I grew up around an enormous collection of vintage garage, psychedelia and blues, but beyond that I was really encouraged to dig in and enjoy it from a young age. In fact I was encouraged to listen to just about anything that floated my boat. There was something about popping an album into the player, kicking back with a pair of headphones, reading the liner notes, staring at the cover artwork and letting the whole experience transport me off to another place. There’s something about having a physical object to hold in my hands and experience along with the music that made for a more complete listening experience. Do you have any such connection with physically released music?

Brett: I couldn’t agree with you more! That’s why vinyl’s the best listening experience. Although, even as a kid when I would buy a new CD or tape cassette, I would do the same thing: headphones on, volume up, unfold the liner notes and explore all of the lyrics and info about the band and that particular recording. That’s the sad part about so much music being listened to in purely digital formats these days; you really don’t get as much of an opportunity to connect the physical artwork with the music.

As much as I love my music collection I would be lying if I didn’t say I love my digital music collection as well. Being able to take stuff on the go with me for the first time has really changed the way that I listen to and enjoy my collection. But taking stuff on the go is just the beginning, when you team it with the internet that’s when digital music gets really interesting. Together they’ve exposed people to an entire universe of music that they otherwise would never have heard of led a long had the chance to listen to and interact with. It’s eradicated a lot of the boundaries that being located in isolated or strange surroundings created. It’s not all peaches and cream though, illegal downloading is running absolutely rampant right now, a lot of people feel like music is becoming this sort of disposable experience to be used and then forgotten and it’s harder than ever to get noticed in the chocked digital jungle out there. As an artist during the reign of the digital era what’s your opinion on digital music and the internet?

Brett: The internet and file sharing is definitely a double-edged sword. It’s allowed many bands, including us, to expand their networks internationally and share their music with places they may never get a chance to tour. We recently had a person from Morocco message us on a Facebook asking where he could buy our CD! We were so impressed by his interest in our band that we mailed him one for free. Being able to share music, pictures and video digitally has really helped us gain ground as a band and to connect with people worldwide. As a growing band, the internet and file sharing has definitely helped us rather than hindered us. I’d rather someone downloads our music for free than not listen to it. Potentially that listener may share our album with a couple of people, and they may end up coming to our show and buying merch and/or physical copies of our music. That being said, if people never purchase music or merch or buy concert tickets, then musicians simply won’t have a future. We put thousands of hours into learning our instruments, rehearsing as a band, writing songs, recording songs, playing shows, going on touring, and managing the business end of being a band. We put thousands of dollars in to our craft to be able to play music, record our material, and release it. All we ask, is that if you’re interested in our music, come to a show and if you like what you hear, buy a t-shirt or a record to help keep us doing what we love to do.

I try to keep up with as much good music as I possibly can but I swear there’s just not enough time in the day to keep up with one percent of the amazing stuff out there! Is there anyone from your local scene or area that I should be listening to that I might not have heard of before?

Brett: There’s tons of current great local and area music going on! Here’s a list of some of my favourites: Witchstone, doom n’ roll, Cowpuncher, western grunge, Temple, rock/metal, High Kicks, bass n’ drums party rock, and Mallard who do rock n’ roll. All from Calgary.

What about nationally and internationally?

Brett: Here are some national and international bands I’ve been digging: We Hunt Buffalo, fuzz rock from Vancouver, Black Thunder, progressive stoner rock from Regina, Black Mastiff, rock and roll, they’re from Edmonton and just recorded a new album with John Garcia producing! There’s Bison, metal from Vancouver, Shooting Guns, progressive instrumental psych rock from Saskatoon (Interview here), Ancient Warlocks, riff rock from Seattle, and Sandrider, riff rock also from Seattle.

Darty: Montreal’s Barn Burner (RIP), Buzzard and Black Wizard from Vancouver, and Daywalker from Calgary.

Thanks so much for doing this behemoth of an interview! It was awesome learning so much about the band and I hope it was either fun or at least entertaining looking back at everything you’ve managed to accomplish in the last few years. Before we call it a day and sig off though is there anything that I might have possibly missed or that you’d just like to take this opportunity to talk to me or the readers about?

Darty: We’d like to thank our friends, family, and fans who have supported us along our rock and roll journey! We wouldn’t be here today without your support! Cheers and beers!

– Roman Rathert

DISCOGRAPHY
(2010) Chron Goblin – Chron Goblin EP – CD – Chron Goblin Entertainment (Limited to 1000 copies)
(2011) Chron Goblin – One Million from the Top – digital, CD – Chron Goblin Entertainment (Limited 1000 copies – less than 20 left)
(2012) Various Artists – Palomino Smokehouse 2012 – 12” – Palomino Smokehouse Self-Released (Limited to ? copies. Chron Goblin contribute the track: “Give No More”)
(2012) Various Artists – Sonic Theories: Live Sessions From CJSW 90.9 FM // 2012 – 2xCD – CJSW (Chron Goblin Contribute the track: “One Million From The Top”)
(2013) Chron Goblin – Life for the Living – digital, CD, 12” – Chron Goblin Entertainment (12” limited to 550 Vinyl, 500 CD’s)
(2014) Various Artists – House Of Burners – digital, CD – Pre-Rock Records (Limited to 1000 copies. Chron Goblin contribute the track: “Deserter” from Life For The Living)