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Greetings Dan! How are things in the Ton
camp today?
Everything is going well! Writing new music and having a good time doing it!
I know you're recording a new album. How is
that progressing? Can you tell us anything about it yet? Will the new single
that came out a while back be a part of the
album, or was that a one-off?
We originally planned to release the new album in 2018. But it always seems
to take longer than planned! I know everybody says this but I am confident
this is our best yet! The music is really intense and we are really happy
about the new songs. The single Manzanar will be on the new album.
How has the response been to the last album,
Bow Down to Extinction? How have the reviews been? I know I gave it a good
one, but have you had any other feedback come in?
We had a lot of positive feedback when we released it. We had quite a few
great reviews of it. It’s available on youtube, Spotify and all of those
other places you can stream music.
What's the best part of Ton's second run?
I
think we appreciate to be able to do it more than we did in the 90’s. We all
kept very active during the years that TON was not active. So we’re better
musicians than we were then. Our number one goal is to have a good time! We
don’t sweat the small stuff. We do our best to create the best music we can
and have fun doing it! So having fun with my two best friends is the best
part!
I know you well, so I could probably answer
this one, but for those readers who are interested, what are your biggest
musical influences, both individually and as a band?
Early on we were influenced by 80’s thrash and early 90’s death metal. We’re
still influenced by heavy brutal music obviously! But we’ve been playing so
long that we’re just always trying to improve as musicians and to trying to
create something heavy but interesting. I think that’s part of the reason a
lot of our riffs have a lot going on. We get bored easy. I like to think
that we are able to have a bit of originality in a genre that is very
difficult to be original. We’re not going to repeatedly go jun jun junjunjun
then fast right hand single notes. We like to create riffs that have a
little more to them than that typical death metal style. Although we are
trying to maintain a death metal sound. We’re just trying to have some
originality. I’ve been told we do that, and I think we succeed at that.
How do you balance being in such an active
band with regular life? I mean, it's not possible to be brutal as fuck all
the time.
You just have to be committed to making it work. We do most of our
practicing and learning of the songs at home. Then we get together once a
week to put it all together. Luckily I’m in a band with two other guys that
are as committed as I am. Jeff and Kevin are both married. Kevin has 4 kids.
I have a son. It’s just been a part of our lives for so long we don’t know
anything else. We try to be flexible on the practice schedule so it works
for all of us. You don’t have to be brutal as fuck all the time! You just
have to be prepared to be brutal as fuck when the time comes!
What albums are you listening to right now?
I
rarely listen to anything but metal. I still listen to albums I listened to
30 years ago. But I also still love discovering new bands too. Some bands
that have been in my rotation: Psycroptic, Limbsplitter, Serocs, Euphoric
Defilement, Defaced, Svart Crown, Kronos, Cancerous Womb, Necrotic
Disgorgement, Cognitive, Carnal Decay, Polyptych, Volturyon, I could ramble
on but I won’t!
Is there a particular process Ton goes
through to write songs these days?
Jeff and I write and record our own riffs. Then we get together and start
arranging them on the computer. The songs usually end up about 50% Jeffs
riffs and 50% my riffs. We arrange the riffs into a song then we send it to
Kevin. After the 3 of us start to get the riffs worked out on our own we
learn the song as a band. We do sometimes make changes. The original
arrangement is not set in stone. Arranging the riffs on the computer speeds
up the process and gives us all
something to practice to at home. But it all still needs to be hashed out as
a band!
How have your ideas about death metal
changed over the years?
My idea of death metal really hasn’t changed much. I still love it and
playing in a death metal band is still a lot of fun for me! Obviously I
don’t love every band out there but there are a lot of great bands. The
talent level and the diversity in metal has never been greater. Rather than
bitch about the things I don’t like I’d rather find something I do like! If
something sucks there’s a good chance that with a few clicks you can find
something that doesn’t suck!
If there was one thing you could do with
Ton, what would it be? What's on the band's list of things to accomplish
before you die (or are murdered and dismembered...)?
Tour Europe! I have no desire to go there as a tourist but I would love to go play
there.
What's "unnecessary jammin’"?
Our former guitar player Paul came up with that as far as I know. If a
guitar player was wanking around with some bullshit or a band was playing
some stupid cover we called it unnecessary jammin. It’s kind of like when
someone is just playing some shit you couldn’t care less about.
Have you heard any totally shit albums
lately that you want to warn us about?
Well, there are definitely some bullshit albums out there! I’m not one to
mention names in an interview but yeah! I hear shit all the time that sounds
exactly like a million other bands. If you’re just rehashing what a million
other bands have done what’s the point? Maybe that’s fun for some people. I
do prefer a little originality or at least an effort to somehow stand out
from the crowd. But what the fuck do I know? I see bands that I don’t care
for getting lots of praise and attention all the time. Everyone has their
own taste and opinion.
I might be beating a dead horse with this
one, since I always bug you about it, but do you have any plans to
re-release the older demos, like What Is Heavy or Crushing
Design? I'd buy that shit instantly.
I
sent the old DAT tapes off to Mr. Cassette in Texas today (January 7, 2019).
I’m hoping they are still good and we can get those songs converted to wav
files so we can decide if were going to do anything with them. I would
really like to make Crushing Design available. Our first demo What Is Heavy
I’m not too sure about. I haven’t heard those songs in a very long time so
I’m not sure if we want those out there or not.
Tell us a good story from Ton's past. I
might know it already, but the readers probably don’t!
The first time we went to New York City to play we got a police escort into
the city. Sort of! Haha! Dehumanized brought us in for a show. We were
headed to George Torres place. We were almost into the city but we didn’t
know which way to go. This was before gps. Even though we had a few beers on
the way and there might have been a funny smell in the van we asked a cop
that was pulled off the side of the road. He explained the directions to us.
He could tell we had no idea what he was talking about. So he said follow
me! Turned on his lights and took off. He was switching lanes and drove over
the dividers. The springy ones that bounce back up. We laughed our asses
off! Then he pulled over and waved us on. We still laugh about our police
“escort”! There was also a time a drunk scantily clad girl fell off of a bar
but I’ll save that for next time!
Alright, that's about it for this one, feel
free to drop names, give thanks, tell people to fuck off, or just generally
insult us.
Thanks for the interview
and FUCK OFF!!
http://tonohio.bandcamp.com
https://tonohio.bandcamp.com/
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