My Wall: The Cream Interview – Nashville Scene

Photo: Fernando Ortiz

Sludge-caked guitars, brutally slow tempos and unsettling premonitions of imminent doom rule the day onThe Event backed with Abuse, the latest from Nashville experi-metalers My Wall. Out Friday via drummer Carlos Ortizs No Sabes label, the 45-RPM 12-inch follows Aprils longformMine, which consisted of five trudging, gnarly tracks inspired by Sunn O))) and the mighty Electric Wizard among other nihilist noise-mongers, splayed across 46 minutes.

My Wall serves up a smaller dose of doom this time around, yet sounds even more troubled and feral than before. I want people to hear it and say That was bleak and fucked up, Ortiz tells theScene.To mark the release, the trio will perform a virtual gig from The 5 Spot Friday at 8 p.m. Below, hear the new tracks and put in an order via Bandcamp, and check out my talk with Ortiz, bassist Vaughn Walters and guitarist-vocalist Frank Hand.

Where are each of you from?

Vaughn Walters, bass: West Virginia.

Carlos Ortiz, drums: South Nashville.

Frank Hand, vocals and guitar: Born in Birmingham, but went to high school here in Nashville.

How did you discover the type of music My Wall plays?

FH: I was really into grunge growing up Nirvana, Soundgarden, Melvins, all that Northwest stuff. Bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, thered always be a song that was heavier than the others like the Pumpkins The Aeroplane Flies High, which is super heavy and slow basically a doom song. But when Id get on Pandora and type the titles of those songs in, it would just give me more 90s alternative stuff. No! I want wholebandslike thatThen, in college, I got turned onto Electric WizardsDopethroneand was like Whoa, OK,thisis what I was looking for.

VW: Give me something like Smashing Pumpkins, but more satanic. [laughs]

Is there a difference between doom and sludge, to you?

FH: I think doom is more broad, and sludge is generally dirtier closer to hardcore punk.

Carlos, you grew up here in Nashville. What was your musical upbringing like?

CO: My dad was always into rock music, 105.9 The Rock and stuff. The first shop I ever went to was Phonoluxe. Thirteen was when I really started getting into music that was heavier, faster, weirder collecting CDs and trying to learn every instrument I could. I just wanted to keep pushing my limits, my musicianship, as much as possible. But I didnt start taking drums seriously till way later, when I started my first band Negra and met Frank.

FH: I was in a band called Poodle when Carlos was in Negra. He and I were talking at a show and were like Where are all the doom bands in this town? We saw an opportunity, so we took it.

CO: I also had this band Magmar that was sort of an offshoot of Negra a bass-and-drums duo, Lightning Bolt-type thing. That was a different sort of heaviness, but my approach was the same letting as much out as I could, just at a different pace. With this band, I just want to be as aggressive and as heavy as I can, naturally.

How do you get yourself in the proper headspace to play music that is so intense?

FH: We all focus on mindfulness in our lives in some way.

VW: Where mindfulness meets nihilism.

FH: We all really like this type of music, [even] if some people find it depressing or whatever.

What do your families think? Too loud?

VW: Theres basically nobody who doesnt think its too loud. [laughs]

FH: Carlos mom got really concerned this one time while I was recording vocals in his shed.

CO: Yeah, she was grilling outside and he was going at it in there.

FH: It was one of these new ones, Abuse I think, and she thought something was really wrong, that someone was in real danger. She came in to check, and I could see it in her face. I had to talk her down in Spanish. Todo bien grabando. [Its OK, we were recording.]

Have you been happy with the response My Wall has received in Nashville up to now?

FH: From the people who give it a chance, yeah. Weve played a lot of shows at Bettys to four people. I love Bettys. Weve played there more than anywhere else, and really shaken that place.

Outside the band, whats some music thats helped get you through the last year?

VW: Sharon Van Ettens first record,Because I Was In Love.

CO: This label called Analog Africa, out of Hamburg, Germany. Theyve rediscoveredall this psychedelic cumbia, funk-soul stuff from Ghana and different sections of Africa. Sick label.

FH: I just picked up the Emma Swift record,Blonde on the Tracks. Listened to it earlier tonight and probably will again after this. Its perfect.

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My Wall: The Cream Interview - Nashville Scene