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Interview with Kenny McNabb
of Ganon
July 2008 by Metal Mark |
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Ganon hail from the Ann Arbor area of Michigan
and play a blend of stoner rock, doom and other heavy styles. I
recently interview vocalist/keyboardist Kenny McNabb to learn about
this band.
Hello, please introduce yourselves and tell us
some about the history of your band.
Hello Mark, thanks for taking the time out to conduct an interview
with us. Kenny McNabb, vocalist and keyboardist will be your loyal
participant on behalf of Ganon, which is comprised of Clark Eagling
on bass (let it be known that there is applause after each
introduction) Mr. Greg Heaney on guitar, Mr. Ryan Toohey on guitar,
and on drums we have Brian Fredenburg. Ganon started out circa 2002,
the actual date was never recorded, but the band has had many births
and deaths, so the actual date has been skewed over the years. Ganon
first started off 4 friends who got together to start as an
Eyehategod and Melvins worshipping band to give the struggling
Detroit metal scene a bit of a makeover, and over the years as we
all matured and members moved on, we have grown into our own sound
that has no longer been directly influenced by the heavy doom
community.
Tell us some about your latest album "As
Above, So Below".
Well, "As Above, So Below" is the newest album we wrote with newest
addition, Ryan Toohey, who really brought a different sense of
melody into the band and where we could mark a new beginning for
Ganon. The album as a whole has a running lyrical theme of
everything on earth affecting that of the celestial bodies and the
celestial bodies affecting everything on earth. We went back to the
same studio that recorded our first album, so we felt more
comfortable in the studio this time around and didn’t feel inferior
to our producer since we have established a good relationship with
him over the years.
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How do you think it differs from "In the dead
of sleep"?
Well, as with most bands, this sophomore album, depicts the maturity
in songwriting and lyrics. The first album was made over 4
struggling years and we still had the sense to want to pummel the
listener. For this album, we intrinsically had the sense to not do
that to the scale we did it before, now it's just in moderation.
How did the writing and recording process for
the new album go?
With writing, we would hash out a lot of material in the practice
space from various members presenting ideas to one another. In the
practice space we record demo tapes for reference and expound on
those ideas. For lyric and keyboard placement, I would take the
tapes home and practice placement on my own terms. From there we
recorded demos in Clark’s home studio so we could easily streamline
our efforts in the studio as to not waste time and money, we knew
exactly what we were doing and how we were to do it. After we
recorded at the studio, Clark would mix and master the material and
he would present it to us, and we would write down our gripes, he
would remaster until we came to an amicable decision that the record
was mastered to everyone’s liking.
What are some of your songs about? Where do
you get your ideas for
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your song topics?
All the songs revolve around the same concept of the celestial
bodies and how they influence our circadian rhythm and vice versa.
The topics basically came from a time where I was working 2 jobs and
going to school and sleeping about 2 hours a day. My rhythm was way
out sync and saw nature in a different perspective. But, I wrote the
lyrics in such a way that was not personal and therefore subjective
to the reader. I really object to the use of words like "my," "me,"
and "I" I don’t want to exclude anyone, so those words are not in my
vocabulary when I get influenced to write a new song. But every once
in a while I'll use "us" or "our" to include everyone.
What has been the response to your new album
so far?
So far the response has been very positive, we have been getting the
feedback that we really wanted. Everyone has really focused on our
songwriting ability, the sense of melody and maturity that makes us
standout from the fledgling pack we are running in. albeit, they
still reference the traditional heavy hitters, but it gives the
reader something tangible to grasp onto, which is definitely a
benefit for us.
Under "sounds like" on your Myspace page under
sounds like it says "a force that bulges with a spacious atmosphere
and dust-laden trances of building rhythms and frequencies". Where
did that come from and how would you describe your sound?
That was a quote from a Metal Maniacs review when we did a DIY 2
song EP, which featured the song "The Calm of Unlight" which was
ultimately re-recorded, and the song "Murder the Silhouettes" To
describe one's own sound without sounding pompous is difficult, but
to give it a shot, it's an organic sound that ebbs and flows to keep
the listener attentive.
How did you come to get signed to Acerbic
Noise Development Records?
Well, as with a lot of indie labels, we aren’t actually "signed"
per-se. It’s more of a gentleman's agreement. After we recorded "In
the dead of sleep," I was researching labels to release it, and I
came across this young label and in the matter of 2 years since
there inception, they became an impressive and respectable force in
the indie community. The label owners, Chad and Heather Baker,
immediately really impressed us with their instant hospitality. They
were very accommodating and accessible before they even agreed to
release our album, so we knew instantly that they were a good fit
for us.
So you have some tour dates set up in August,
are you psyched up for that? Will there be any more dates coming
soon?
We are very excited for this little jaunt, as we should be. we are
coming to some areas that we haven't been before, and the reaction
has already been positive from club owners about booking us, so its
been flattering so far. Since the gas prices are high, we are
limiting and moderating our time out on the road, we now have a
publicist, so we have the ability to make sure the timing is right
each time we go out on the road, and just not arbitrarily tour,
which could be disastrous. |
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What are some of the more memorable shows that
you have played so far?
Well, as of recent times, we played with Coalesce in Detroit.
Coalesce was very important to me as a young hardcore kid, so it was
very special to me share the stage with such a groundbreaking band.
we just recently toured with Sourvein and Zoroaster, and each show
was memorable in its own sense since it was our first time touring
for more than 3 days.
Is there much of a metal scene in the Ann
Arbor area?
In the Ann Arbor and Detroit area, its on a smaller scale, its still
struggling, we have been doing pretty well recently in the Ann Arbor
area, thank to our good friends Idol and The Whip and A Working
Model, they introduced their fans to Ganon and in the past 2 years,
Ann Arbor has been very good to us.
What do you think are some of the best albums
of 2008 so far?
Well so far, the new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Torche albums
are stellar. And of course, all of our label mates albums are
something that are interesting that you should check out, El Chupa
Cobras, Devil and the Sea.
Under "influences" on your Myspace page it
says "alcohol and video games. Does that mean you do those two
things at the same time? What are some of your favorite video games?
Well, the name Ganon came from the legend of Zelda, 4 out of 5
members of Ganon are highly into video games, I am not, so I put
alcohol in there so I wouldn’t feel excluded. I do occasionally play
Dr. Mario with a nice micro brewed India Pale Ale (IPA) on my 8 bit
Nintendo, but that now lasts only a few minutes before it starts
malfunctioning, the NES that is.
Is there anything else that you would like to
say about your music or band?
With Ganon, you are getting honest music that is not a direct carbon
copy. We are just constantly pushing ourselves to make things
interesting to us and the listener, to give us and them something
memorable, on recorded format as well as our live set. A few
listeners have mentioned that they find themselves humming our songs
as they are walking down the street, so I think we are accomplishing
that feat. Thank you, Mark!
www.myspace.com/ganon |
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