Continuing with our (I hope nice) habit interviewing the artists whose material we review, I was more than happy to have a pleasant chat with Sam Sandoval, the main person behind the noise grind (and Napalm Death worshipping noise) act Eyegag. What have we talked about? Have a look….
So.. can you introduce yourself to the readers, please?
Thanks so much for the soapbox! I’m Sam, the noise and vocals behind my current project Eye Gag. Over the last 6 months or so I’ve been trying to synthesize the parts of very niche grind and noise that I find artistic and exciting from groups like 7MON or Penis Geyser to Last Days of Humanity. I’ve been really aiming to make “music” that I find challenging to listen to and perform! Just next week we’ll be playing a show with a bunch of metalcore bands so this should be interesting.
Well, that goes well with my next question. Obviously, with 7MON and similar artists, this is a long way to arrive at those from a mainstream…so, can you describe your musical journey..what were the very first bands and albums getting you hooked up on music as such..and which ones got you into extreme genres/underground?
In all honesty I started out on this path because of my interest in “emo” and “scene” bands when I was young. I’m not going to delve into that (but Senses Fail fuckin’ shred). It probably wasn’t until highschool that I started seeking out music instead of it being showed to me. At this point I met a bunch of other guys that played instruments so we all started getting together to smoke pot and and jam on some Black Sabbath riffs. Eventually some one started playing Sunn O))) over the speakers in his basement and for about 2 mins I was very confused and then I was hooked. Sunn’s Black One made me aware of a whole world of niche and overtly extreme music. From there I got turned onto a bunch of black metal and the melvins, that was my thing for a while, eventually I wound up at a lot of grind where I discovered groups like 7MON or melt Banana that completely altered my perception of what makes music and that there is an audience for this sort of thing.
Oh yeah, I remember my first listen to 7MON and Anal Cunt…total revelation. Well, before starting Eyegag, have you played in any other groups?
Here and there, that garage band I mentioned recorded about 30 mins of material that I think is fairly solid for what it is. And then attempts at making grind that I always kind of found lack luster. I’m pretty particular about what I want sonically and was never happy working with flacky musicians so playing shows and merch were kind of out of the question. I see Eye Gag as an avenue for me to make music for myself, if people like it, all the better! I’ll give yo some links:
http://fuckshitpiss.bandcamp.com/album/true-corruption
http://radiantarkhamrecords.bandcamp.com/album/recreation
So, I understand Eyegag is one man band/project, right? Or you the guy with the authority in the band?
I like to think I have the authority, gotta preserve my fragile ego. At the moment we’re a two-piece, just me and a drummer
Nice…well, your stuff on the tape you’ve sent me (and reviewed here) was described as Napalm Death Worshipping Noise. Why’s that, why Napalm Death worship?
On top of their influence over the genre and micro songs, I absolutely adore MOST of their material, the Deathgrind stuff isn’t really my thing but the demo through Utopia Banished I listen to almost daily. My alarm to wake up in the morning is You Suffer. So you could say I worship the ground they walk on.
Haha..I see! Totally understand you! Well, let’s talk Eyegag. What does the name means, why did you choose it and what can you tell us about the band and its discography.
Perhaps this is a bit shallow but the name comes from a Discordance Axis song. that song kind of served as a blueprint for what I wanted to do with the band. I can’t get enough of songs with long samples, Mortician gets me hard.
Eye Gag has been a vehicle for me to itch what I’m looking for in noise and extreme metal. Our first release was with a drummer that I’ve since lost contact with but I wanted to create a sense of tuning a radio being interspersed with very war like noisegrind. From there I put together a short set of tracks that tried to better replicate the energy of Napalm deaths micro and no-wave songs that wound up on a 6-way split. Our first real split was with Coke Nail and featured our current drummer. On that release I definitely felt a desire to do more chaotic and nonsensical noise so I found myself looking to Anal Cunt for some sonic direction.
After that was released I found myself digging through tons of gorenoise projects and felt inspired to incorporate that into my sound and thus our even more noisy split with SkullxPiercer was born.
Yeah…so the sound is still evolving…Now, what material with Eyegag have you released so far?
Industrial Amphetamine Supplier was the first as I mentioned with the radio aesthetic. The left over tracks from that session were mixed separately and used on our 6-way split with Steven Seagal and others. After that I got a new drummer and the SkullxPiercer and Coke Nail splits were made. Currently we’re working on a split with Oozing Meat that will be out on tape through Chaotic Noise Productions
Our discography is available at Collective Gut Distro on bandcamp
You’ve mentioned Collective Gut Distro, which is also ran by you…how did this distro come about, what is your goal with it and do you also plan to go into the releasing other artists?
I see it more as a portfolio to keep all of my current endeavors in one place but eventually when I have tapes made for the current releases on there I plan on seeking out artists I like to give them a platform to share their stuff.
Cool, that’s really good! Now, as we’re getting close to the end of 2019, any interesting artists or releases you might think of you’re encountered this year? What would you recommend to our readers seeking something along the same lines as Eyegag?
I’m so glad you’ve asked! I’ve got too many to account but I highly recommend anyone interested in Eye Gag to check out “Fuckin’ Lovers – City Hippies”, “Acwelan – Nightmare Blood Ritual” and a “First Days of Humanity – Remains”. Theses all were released in the last few months and have completely rocked my world.
Yeah, I’ve seen First Days of Humanity mentioned around, have to check them as well…so, apart from the new split and the gig ahead..what are the plans for Eyegag in the near future?
I have no idea!
Haha..the best answer ever, bro!!! Anyway, thanks for your time answering my questions and I’d like to wish you all the best with Eyegag! I hope we haven’t heard the best from you yet!!! Final message to the readers, please?
Vote, be involved in politics, read a fuckin’ book, don’t be complacent
Thanks a lot again!!!
Check the stuff here: https://collectivegutdistro.bandcamp.com/
