One day they’ll erect a rock n’ roll pantheon dedicated to attitude and sound instead of social stature and sales. It’ll be a natural history museum of sorts; neanderthals in motorcycle boots; a hall of beards; denim through the ages (its brilliance lies in its resiliency); stuffed herds of tattooed buffalo. And they, whoever they are, would be best served to hire Tony Reed as curator. Reed, best known as a musician and producer, is also a rock n’ roll preservationist. It’s not an accredited title, but it is a state of mind, a way of life, and it is in this capacity that Reed can approach his other duties with the respect they are owed.

Hence, Stone Axe. Reed’s band, founded in 2007 in Port Orchard, Washington and in which he does most of the studio work less the vocals (he leaves that duty up to friend Dru Brinkerhoff), is a nuts n’ bolts (that’s balls n’ lightning, baby) testament to rock’s classic aesthetics. Reed’s obsession with the heaviest, meanest, choicest, and oft obscure bands of the ’60s and ’70s infuses his songwriting with a golden, hairy-chested gusto. His old band, Mos Generator, sold the skies as a rocket fueled entity, a cosmic druggernaut of futuristic proportions, but Reed ultimately succumbed to Earth’s gravitational pull, and the urge to write dirt and mortar songs for past Gods was too strong to ignore.

Since its birth, Stone Axe has released two full-lengths, a 10″ EP, three 7″ singles, and a split with Sun Gods in Exile, proof that Reed’s work ethic is as relentless as his music. In fact, the start of this interview was delayed until Reed could return from working in Texas with Blood of the Sun. So there you go; he even goes whole hog for other bands, too. But the great preservationist finally put aside his craft for a moment to talk to me about his favourite songs of all time, his vinyl collection, what’s next for Stone Axe, playing the Wurlitzer, and, of course, beards.

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Tia Carrera
Cosmic Priestess
Small Stone

If Tia Carrera’s 2009 album, The Quintessential, was a bit of a hazy, sleepy, psychedelic deviation from their norm, then their newest one, Cosmic Priestess, is a return to form. That form, of course, is a rather loose and improvised gush of hot, bubbling cosmic lava, and that old rock n’ roll cliche of melting faces seems to be the guiding principle on which this celestial babe governs her kingdom. Firing up fuzzy freak jams and roughshod riffs from the outset, the album itself, like the music, is a real trip, with opener “Slave Cylinder” delivering earthly, 70s-inspired, knuckle-dusted fury before coasting into the clouds with “Sand, Stone and Pearl.” Where it really takes off, though, is when the meteoric, near 34-minute “Saturn Missile Battery” kicks in and you find yourself on a galactic tour de force that’ll make you think you’re at the Roadburn festival on, well, Saturn. Closer “A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing” grounds you there for good, its moon rock groove forcing Saturn’s rings into a wobbly spin like warped vinyl. Have a nice life on planet high, buddy, because you’re never coming home.

Sorry, folks, but the songs are too big to share here. I can’t even find a youtube video of any of ‘em. Looks like you’ll have wait until this one comes out!

Torche/Boris
Chapter Ahead Being Fake split 10″
Hydra Head

All right, so this one was really released late last year on CD in Japan by Daymare Records, but Hydra Head has just re-released it on these shores on 10″ vinyl (it comes in black, clear light pink, opaque hot pink with purple splatter, opaque light orange, and opaque purple with orange splatter), so it’s worth mentioning. Besides, it’s Torche and Boris, and I don’t really need a reason to talk about either of them, do I? Whether you snagged it last year or are just getting into it now, you’re probably doing so because new material from both of these bands is still forthcoming. Actually, it’s not gonna be too much longer now; Torche’s Songs for Singles will be out in September while Boris’ collaboration with Ian Astbury, called BXI, will be out in August. Anyway, Torche’s “King Beef” occupies side A, and frankly, it’s not one of their better songs. They’ve replaced their usual, awesome brand of sludgy melody with a post-apocalyptic clamour, and the whole thing just sounds like storm clouds gathering. You’ll be waiting for the lightning but it never comes. Side B contains Boris’ “Luna,” a 12 minute long showcase of the band’s schizophrenic approach to genre bending. The song moves from black metal trickery to ambient shoe-gazing to stoner fuzz riffola while the vocals breeze right along over top the whole thing. It’s a strange mess, but as always, Boris seem to have it all figured out.

(The Japanese cover)

Check out the video for Torche’s “King Beef” from Chapter Ahead Being Fake!