Robert: Thank
you for taking time to answer some questions so that people can
get to know more about you and COILBACK. In your bio there is a
statement "When he finally got a hold of his first guitar, it
didn't take him long to figure out that it was "his" instrument."
How old were you and and what was your first guitar?
Lew: Thanks for inviting me to
the Q&A. I was 14 when I finally got my own guitar. I played with
my friend's guitar for awhile that he had and I instantly knew
that's what I wanted to play. My dad had originally asked me if
I'd rather have guitar or piano lessons when I was 7. I said
guitar, but I ended up in piano instead - go figure. I took 7
years of formal piano, won all sorts of contests and stuff, but I
never enjoyed it - it felt mechanical. After my father died, I
decided to quit piano to save my mom some money. I made her a deal
that I would drop out of lessons if she'd buy me a guitar. My
first guitar was a white pearlized (no pickguard) Fender Squier
II. One of my friend's that I've lost touch with still has it
somewhere. I only had it for about a year, then I got an Ibanez.
Robert: Can you tell us about your playing and how would
you describe the music you make?
Lew: It's horrible - just
kidding. My playing is a little different from the norm I guess. I
like to mix hardcore grinding industrial type guitar like Skrew,
Ministry, etc. with sort of Hard Rock/Metal fills in the vein of
Van Halen, Metallica, etc. It's sort of a complicatedly simple
approach.
Robert: Do you guys have a new EP or something coming out?
Tell us about that and what can we expect from it?
Lew: Actually this one is a
full album. The EP that we've had for about a year now was quickly
thrown together. Steven (drums) had only been with the band about
a month when we did it. We mainly just wanted to get some tracks
done for promotion. I decided to try and sell a few copies on the
web and we've gotten a great response from it. The new album will
be much more polished. We are taking our time and doing it right.
Our producer has got a great ear too so he's definitely keeping us
in check - if I barely hit a note slightly off, he makes me redo
it. We're not using any of the old recordings; instead we are
re-recording everything from scratch along with some new stuff as
well. It's much harder, heavier and more aggressive than the stuff
on the EP. We've had plenty of time to actually gel as a group now
so the playing is very tight.
Robert: I know you wanted to be the next Eddie Van Halen.
What are some of the bands that just made you feel that you belong
in a band on stage? What band opened your eyes and inspired you?
Lew: Yeah, after playing for
awhile I realized that songwriting was more important to me
(melody and lyrics) than just being a great guitar player. At
first, I wrote songs and got other people to sing them, but most
of the time, they just didn't get it. The feel of the song was
totally lost. After awhile, I decided I would just sing them
myself. At that point, I didn't focus so much on trying to be the
next great guitarist on the cover of Guitar magazine. Van Halen
definitely inspired me to want to play live - when I saw them
(before they got all pissed at each other) they just seem to have
so much fun up there. It was good, but it wasn't totally me. I'm
not the "Can't Stop Lovin' You," type. I've had a pretty rough
time in life altogether and I've been through a lot. When I
started listening to bands like Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Skrew,
White Zombie and Pantera, I knew that's the direction I really
liked. It felt more real to me - it wasn't all daisies and
rainbows. Most of my lyrical inspiration comes more from great
songwriters such as John Lennon and Jim Morrison. Their stuff was
dark and edgy.
Robert: You more than likely spend more time with your band
mates than anyone else. So describe for us in your words what
Steve and Steven are like.
Lew: Well, I don't keep a big
circle of friends - friends to me are too high maintenance. So I
definitely spend more time with the guys in the band than any
other people. They both tend to help keep everything balanced
since they have two extremely different views on life. Steve I've
known for quite some time now. He tends to be the one to try and
keep the positive outlook on things. We've gotten on each other's
nerves over the years, but he really seems to believe in the band.
Steve tends to like more classic rock, punk and a little lighter
stuff. His playing helps keep that sort of funky blues feel to the
songs so they don't sound so mechanical. Steve is pretty mellow
for the most part. Steven on the other hand is the
super-hyper-chain-him-down-to-the-drumset sort of guy. He likes
the heavier, newer stuff, but doesn't have a great deal of
knowledge of the older music. He keeps us from slipping into
sounding like we are rehashing old tunes. Since I listen to both -
My CD changer will have Beatles just as quick as it would have Rob
Zombie - I tend to fit somewhere in the middle. I think the blend
is perfect - it keeps our sound original but still modern. In
addition, I think in the time we've been together, we've learned a
lot of different approaches to music from each other.
Robert: What are your own goals for 2004?
Lew: 2004 is more of a
transition I think for us. It's a matter of getting to that "next
level." Right now, we are trying to keep that Do-It-Yourself
approach. Our main goal is to get the new album out there as well
as our name. We've used a lot of different promotion tactics that
not every band has explored. Even if you don't like our music - I
want you to know who we are. We plan to tour around the summer
time and will also be sending the new album out to radio stations
and anyone who will play it. We feel that the music speaks for
itself and appeals to a wide audience. It's hard and heavy for the
"angry youth," but the lyrics are easy to understand and the songs
have a good enough melody that even your parents would like it.
Robert: Any last words to the people out there reading
this?
Lew: Well, I hope that they
all take the time to head over to our website (www.coilback.com)
and listen to some of the songs. The stuff that is up there right
now is off the EP. As soon as the finish mixing the album tracks,
I'll put a couple up there as well. We always love hearing from
our fans so feel free to drop us a line. Who knows - we may be
headed your way soon.
Robert: Thank you so much. I want to wish you and the other
guys in COILBACK all the best for you and yours in the following
months and years. Thank you and take care.
Lew: Thanks again for having
us on your site. It's great that there are people like you that
are supporting the bands here in the underground. I've seen and
worked with a lot of unsigned and indy bands and people just don't
know what they are missing if they just listen to what they show
you on MTV. Check out our site, but also go check out some of the
bands we have links to as well. Thanks again for taking the time
to do this and thanks to all of those that took the time to read
this
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