Unless you’re in the military or just really have a thing for weapons, you probably don’t know what a caltrop is. Basically it’s a spiky, nasty thing that, when spread over the ground by the hundreds, is pretty much going to put a stop - in a very bloody way - to whatever army is advancing on you. That description might make you think Chapel Hill’s Caltrop have a nasty brutal sound. But while they’re undeniably one of the heaviest, most menacing bands around, is also swampy, bluesy, and organic. Suitable more for an all-night freak-out jam session at a cabin way out in the woods than the chaos of battle. Caltrop will be at Slim’s this Friday, Aug. 21 with Decoration Ghost. Guitarist/singer Sam Taylor answered Five Questions for New Raleigh.
1. What is the best mind-altering substance to be on while listening to Caltrop?
that is subjective, plus none of us have actually seen us live. get to wherever you yourself feel good and give the record a listen with headphones or just come see us.
2. When are we going to get to hear the new music, and how does it compare to the old music?
caltrop has written the better part of a new record. we hope to record as soon as it is complete, however that isn’t always predictable; we’ll probably demo some stuff out at our practice space soon which could end up online in advance of a release. writing takes time. this go around we’ve spent almost an equal time talking about and constructing the music as we have practicing and refining the parts. we’re getting more in depth into the writing process, and we’re trying to come up with a coherent and complete record. we’ll see. for now, generally about half our set and sometimes more is unreleased material.
3. If you could play a show anywhere with four other bands - current or past - where would you play and who would you play with?
grand funk railroad, atlanta pop festival 1969
bob dylan, greenwich village, early 1961
janes addiction, memorial hall, chapel hill, nc november 13 1990
jimi hendrix, london, late 1966
4. Do any of you actually know how to use a caltrop, or for that matter, any other deadly weapons?
the use of a caltrop is pretty straight forward as no matter how you let it go it lands with the business end up. murat’s pretty good with a slingshot, john can beat most anyone in arm wrestling, and adam and i are pretty handy with a shotgun.
5. How did Julian Cope find out about you, and how did you react when you read his reviews of your CDs?
when we self-released our ep i sent about 30 out to various reviewers in 5x11 envelopes onto which murat screenprinted art. adam suggested head heritage, so without knowing what to expect we sent it off. his response was very positive to our first record, so we sent him the full length when that came out & he gave that a positive review as well. i guess he likes caltrop. over the past several years a fair amount of folks from the UK have bought our records or a shirt from our website and i attribute that entirely to the julian cope reviews. pretty good stuff.
Find out more about shows in Raleigh at Mann’s World.
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