Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
-(16)- balances international success with local obscurity
Sludge flows better across the pond
-(16)-: Sometimes, not fitting in anywhere means you can go everywhere.
“I’m an equal fan of Ratt and Cattle Decapitation,” says Bobby Ferry. “Bottom line, this city has produced some of the best metal music ever made.” The founder/guitarist/vocalist for -(16)- fronts a band with an international following; they’re often referred to as the Godfathers of Sludge. They elude categorization in much the same way as they defy newer music distribution models — they’ve earned a rabid fan base willing to snatch up vinyl in the age of streaming. “I’m a huge fan of digital music as a consumer,” says Ferry. “What’s the saying? If Spotify’s algorithm proposed to me, I’d say yes. It’s uncanny how it caters to you and really knows you, like a teenage crush making you a mixtape. And as a band that still makes a bunch of vinyl, honestly, we are doing as good as we ever did with vinyl and merch. I see it as a positive, with fewer promos in the landfill. All music is accessible at any time. Streaming and legal weed blow my mind continually. We are living in the golden age, in some respects.”
Bassist Barney Firks (Shot Out Hoods, Taz Taylor Band) was added to the lineup while streaming was still ascending. “I’ve been in the band for 10 years now, and digital media was already pretty dominant when I joined. It has continued to morph and expand exponentially, and streaming has really come to dominate the industry. Obviously, we can reach a wider audience now, but the financial returns from streaming are negligible, at least for most artists. Lucky for us, much of our fan base continues to appreciate vinyl, so we move a fair amount of that. The labels we work with always produce limited run and multicolored products, and that keeps the collectors happy.”
One such label is Totem Cat Records, a French company that specializes in vinyl issues of underground metal. Because of their reputation, it’s become a badge of honor to have the label release a band’s product. The recently-released Cadaver Monuments is double vinyl split four ways between -(16)-, Deadbird, Nightstick, and Fistula. The gatefold item is available in a variety of colors and splatters, all limited to 200 copies, plus a standard black vinyl.
The European fervor for bands outside the mainstream has always provided a window to different and extreme music, with a higher level of respect shown for some acts there than in many U.S. cities (including San Diego). “When touring in Europe with a band, they always make you feel welcome and show you so much appreciation for being there,” says Firks. “They always have ample catering backstage, and a hot meal as well. Many of the clubs have ‘artist apartments’ that are part of the same building, or just around the corner, so there are no extra costs for lodging. Another bonus is the drives are usually shorter. You just feel more like a real artist, and that what you’re doing has value. Those two things are kinda rare over here in the States.” Response at live shows overseas is often stronger as well. “We have a good following in Europe. I would say Italy always comes through for us with good crowds. The Netherlands and Denmark are solid as well. Switzerland and Slovenia come to mind.”
The band’s brand of proggy metallic sludge is more of a cult genre in America. “We played a small festival in Little Rock, Arkansas back in June,” says Firks. “We’ve gone out there to play more than a few times now, and there’s a pocket of our fans there that always bring it. People right up in front going off hard, that know all the lyrics, and are screaming along, shouting out requests. There’s nothing better than that.”
Both Firks and Ferry are unconcerned about appealing to the masses. When asked where -(16)- fits into the metal scene, Ferry tells me “I don’t really know honestly, nor have I considered it. We’re here, and we appreciate all comers. We’re strangely both an international band, and a bit of a struggling local band. There’s always been a bunch of great influential bands in this city since the ‘80s. If we fit in somewhere, great.”
Adds Firks, “I think it is to our benefit that we don’t really fit in with a specific genre of the metal scene here. I mean, just in the past few months, we have played shows with Bongzilla, Pallbearer, Cancer Christ, and Pentagram. That’s a pretty mixed bag. We have elements of sludge, hardcore, thrash, doom, and even stoner rock. Sometimes, it’s good not to fit in.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
-(16)- balances international success with local obscurity
Sludge flows better across the pond
-(16)- balances international success with local obscurity
Sludge flows better across the pond
-(16)-: Sometimes, not fitting in anywhere means you can go everywhere.
“I’m an equal fan of Ratt and Cattle Decapitation,” says Bobby Ferry. “Bottom line, this city has produced some of the best metal music ever made.” The founder/guitarist/vocalist for -(16)- fronts a band with an international following; they’re often referred to as the Godfathers of Sludge. They elude categorization in much the same way as they defy newer music distribution models — they’ve earned a rabid fan base willing to snatch up vinyl in the age of streaming. “I’m a huge fan of digital music as a consumer,” says Ferry. “What’s the saying? If Spotify’s algorithm proposed to me, I’d say yes. It’s uncanny how it caters to you and really knows you, like a teenage crush making you a mixtape. And as a band that still makes a bunch of vinyl, honestly, we are doing as good as we ever did with vinyl and merch. I see it as a positive, with fewer promos in the landfill. All music is accessible at any time. Streaming and legal weed blow my mind continually. We are living in the golden age, in some respects.”
Bassist Barney Firks (Shot Out Hoods, Taz Taylor Band) was added to the lineup while streaming was still ascending. “I’ve been in the band for 10 years now, and digital media was already pretty dominant when I joined. It has continued to morph and expand exponentially, and streaming has really come to dominate the industry. Obviously, we can reach a wider audience now, but the financial returns from streaming are negligible, at least for most artists. Lucky for us, much of our fan base continues to appreciate vinyl, so we move a fair amount of that. The labels we work with always produce limited run and multicolored products, and that keeps the collectors happy.”
One such label is Totem Cat Records, a French company that specializes in vinyl issues of underground metal. Because of their reputation, it’s become a badge of honor to have the label release a band’s product. The recently-released Cadaver Monuments is double vinyl split four ways between -(16)-, Deadbird, Nightstick, and Fistula. The gatefold item is available in a variety of colors and splatters, all limited to 200 copies, plus a standard black vinyl.
The European fervor for bands outside the mainstream has always provided a window to different and extreme music, with a higher level of respect shown for some acts there than in many U.S. cities (including San Diego). “When touring in Europe with a band, they always make you feel welcome and show you so much appreciation for being there,” says Firks. “They always have ample catering backstage, and a hot meal as well. Many of the clubs have ‘artist apartments’ that are part of the same building, or just around the corner, so there are no extra costs for lodging. Another bonus is the drives are usually shorter. You just feel more like a real artist, and that what you’re doing has value. Those two things are kinda rare over here in the States.” Response at live shows overseas is often stronger as well. “We have a good following in Europe. I would say Italy always comes through for us with good crowds. The Netherlands and Denmark are solid as well. Switzerland and Slovenia come to mind.”
The band’s brand of proggy metallic sludge is more of a cult genre in America. “We played a small festival in Little Rock, Arkansas back in June,” says Firks. “We’ve gone out there to play more than a few times now, and there’s a pocket of our fans there that always bring it. People right up in front going off hard, that know all the lyrics, and are screaming along, shouting out requests. There’s nothing better than that.”
Both Firks and Ferry are unconcerned about appealing to the masses. When asked where -(16)- fits into the metal scene, Ferry tells me “I don’t really know honestly, nor have I considered it. We’re here, and we appreciate all comers. We’re strangely both an international band, and a bit of a struggling local band. There’s always been a bunch of great influential bands in this city since the ‘80s. If we fit in somewhere, great.”
Adds Firks, “I think it is to our benefit that we don’t really fit in with a specific genre of the metal scene here. I mean, just in the past few months, we have played shows with Bongzilla, Pallbearer, Cancer Christ, and Pentagram. That’s a pretty mixed bag. We have elements of sludge, hardcore, thrash, doom, and even stoner rock. Sometimes, it’s good not to fit in.”
Comments