Napalm Death

Lineup: Mark "Barney" Greenway, vocals; Mitch Harris, guitar;Jesse Pintado, guitar; Shane Embury, bass/vocals; Danny Herrera, drums

Label: Earache Records

Album: Diatribes

Producer: Colin Richardson

E-mail: earacherec@aol.com

Website: http://www.earache.com

Q&A with Jesse Pintado on tour in Europe

Sheila Rene': Hello from Texas. What time is it in Germany?

Jesse Pintado: It's about 8:00 o'clock in the evening. There are four bandson the bill tonight so I've got time since we're headlining.

SR: I guess after all the changes in lineup this band is going to be "the"band having settled in to a good crew. Embury writes a lot and Greenwaywrites.

JP: Mitch, Shane and I write it all. Overall it's collective with everymember contributing.

SR: What's the hardest thing about being in a rock band.

JP: Mitch, Shane, Danny and I live together. Even if we're not rehearsing,we see each other all the time. When someone has an idea whether it's thecolor of the logo or the silliest thing about how to tune or whatever, we'rethere to talk about it. We go out together and we're always in a studio,writing or recording when we're home.

SR: How did you get hooked up with Colin Richardson? He's one of the bestproducers we have on the scene today.

JP: He did Utopia Banished and he mixed Fear, Emptiness, Despair as well.He's been a Napalm fan for a long time.

SR: What's the writing process like on a tune like "Cursed To Crawl?"

JP: We started experimenting with some down tuning first and Shane camein with one riff. I think the song is essentially one riff that we justbroke up. It came really
quick.

SR: Any first takes?

JP: We all record separately. We concentrate on drums first and then layerthe guitars, bass and vocals. Everything else is pretty much scratch tracks.

SR: A lot of people are hearing melody on this album that hasn't been therebefore. I disagree, however.

JP: I don't think they're hearing melody. If anything, it's strange anddiscordant, eerie stuff. If that's melody to some folks that's OK.

SR: Relate an exciting moment in the recording process.

JP: Recording to me is hard and rather boring. It's very repetitious andtime consuming. I enjoy playing more. You just go out and play even if thereare mistakes. If
anything, it was the quickest we've ever recorded an album. It was reallysmooth. The whole thing took about two and one half weeks. Everything wasalready written
and we rehearsed for eight months. We try to get everything down beforewe go in to really record.

SR: You're in Europe on a big tour through May 3. Where is your biggestfan base over there?

JP: We are bigger in Europe because we've played there more often. We goto South Africa or Israel and to places that aren't on anyone's touringschedule and get
great reactions. We were in Russia in '91 and that was amazing. We playedfor 7,000 fans two nights in a row.

SR: You're leaving Germany tonight after nine shows.

JP: The fans over here are just more loyal. In the States it's whateveris hip at the moment. They don't forget you over here.

SR: How did the "Mortal Kombat" soundtrack happen. That's goingto garner more fans for you because of the target age groups.

JP: Columbia Records set that up. We heard about it and then no one talkedabout it for months and months. Then the movie premiered and we found outthat we were
on the soundtrack. It's pretty trippy because they use our music in themost violent scene when they're fighting.

SR: What is the biggest change in Diatribes as compared to the work on Fear,Emptiness, Despair?

JP: This album is a bit more varied. We've always wanted a clear sound andI think the production on this album is the closest to that goal. The thickbottom for the
sound and being able to distinguish every instrument is great.

SR: What are you listening to any great bands today?

JP: I haven't had time to listen to much.

SR: Has the music business changed at all for Napalm Death?

JP: It just gets a bit more serious. You have to watch out for everyonewho wants to rip you off. We keep an eye out for that. You have to be involved.Earache in
America is really on the ball, but Earache in Nottingham gets lazy aboutthings. Details don't get handled.

SR: How much airplay do you get in Europe?

JP: We did a BBC live session and that gets played. We get airplay but Idon't get a chance to monitor it.

SR: What's your favorite song to play live?

JP: I like the slow ones "Self Betrayal" and "Cold Forgiveness."

SR: "Cold Forgiveness" shows me a whole different side to yourband. You guys keep evolving.

JP: That's why I like them. They can be played different ways...extremelyfast or extremely slow.

SR: How do you want people to think of Napalm Death?

JP: That's a hard one. I always think we're really extreme. When they thinkthey've figured us out, we make a quick, left turn.

SR: Is this one of your favorite tours?

JP: They've all been pretty smooth. We get along with all the bands. We'reout with Crowbar now. They're from New Orleans.

SR: Try putting some crayfish in their bed some night.

JP: We share a bus with them but everyone pretty much keeps to themselves.I don't like that playing tricks on people. We toured with Sepultura andthe last night of
the tour they threw mustard, catsup all over us. They play tricks on eachother, but we're not into that kind of stuff.

SR: What does the touring look like for the U.S. and in particular, Austin.

JP: We'll head back to tour in June. We've played there. It was really weirdsince we usually tour in the summertime but this last time we almost frozeto death.

SR: What's the most fun for you being in this band?

JP: The touring and meeting the fans. You meet people who just want an autographand then there's the fan who's more interested in talking in depth aboutthe music.

SR: Do the fans want to know everything?

JP: Sure there are those who get nosy. The attention is nice, but sometimesthey can overdo it.

SR: Thanks for this call from Germany. I'll hope to see you again soon.

JP: Thanks.

 

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