Heavy Metal Textbooks

ULTRA INTERVIEW:

FRAZER JONES from DESERT PSYCHLIST

If you have checked out our links page, perhaps you have checked out the Desert Psychlist, written by Frazer Jones.  If you have, you realize that he does what I do, faster and better than I do.  Frazer's recommendations are sure bets, and I have been following his blog, as well as his bandcamp page, for years.  I have been so impressed by Frazer's ability to identify huge quantities of great music every month, that the thought finally occurred to me to ask him for an interview.  

He was gracious enough to accept, and here is the result:

Ultra: Frazer, as I have told you, I follow you on Bandcamp, and check in on your blog on a regular basis.  While I appreciate some of your recommendations more than others, not once have you recommended something that I disliked.  With the amount of music you buy and the volume of reviews that you produce, I find myself amazed at how you manage to keep up with it all.  First of all, how do you manage to find out about all these relatively obscure but great bands? 

Frazer: Well thanks for following me on Bandcamp and checking out my blog Mike, you’ve sort of answered, in part, your own question as I also follow others on Bandcamp as well as using its excellent feed option to see what others are listening to and buying. My main source of discovery however is from a Facebook page I am a member of called Hard Rock Revolution (https://www.facebook.com/groups/HardRockRevolution/ ) which is a cabal of like minded people from around the globe constantly sharing their discoveries, many of whom are also bloggers, podcasters etc. Of course, as Desert Psychlist has grown I’ve also managed to attract the attention of a number of record companies and PR firms who send me a steady stream of promos and newsletters.

Ultra: How much time are you able to make for listening to new music in your average week?

Frazer: I’m very lucky in that I have a day job that allows me to have most of the early afternoons and evenings free to listen to music and write my reviews. My children have all grown up and left home and my wife works the weirdest hours as a health career so I’m often home alone, just me, the dog and my music.

Ultra: How many listens do you usually give to an album before posting a review?

Frazer: Good question. I usually give an album a spin from start to finish to decide whether it’s just something that appeals to me or is something that might appeal to a wider fan base. If I think it's something worthy of a Desert Psychlist review I will then play it while I’m writing my review, constantly re-playing tracks, trying to catch those little nuances and hooks so I can best describe them to a reader and give him/her a feel of what I’m hearing.

Ultra: When you are listening to new music, are you multitasking, or just totally immersed in the music?

Frazer: Usually, and I say usually as its not always the case, I try to give a release my full attention relaxing with my feet up, eyes closed, headphones on. Life often has a tendency to get in the way so that approach is not always practical, on those occasions I try to get a feel of an album while dealing with something else hoping that I can find some free time to go back and re-evaluate later.

Ultra: The mark of a truly great album, I think, is when you are still listening to it years later.  How often are you still listening to an album that you reviewed a year later?

Frazer: All the time, I don’t believe in hearing something then moving on to the next thing, I go back and listen to albums from 70’s, the 80’s and even last week on a regular basis. As I reply to this question Elder’s “Lore” is playing in the background!

Ultra: What were some of the first rock bands you were ever into?

Frazer: Oh an easy question! All the usual suspects, Sabbath, Zeppelin and Purple etc. along with many (then) lesser known 70’s bands such as Stray , Pink Fairies and Sir Lord Baltimore. I’ve always seemed to have a thing about finding gems buried among the coals of the rock underground. Got a give a big shout to Rory Gallagher too, he was/is one of my all-time heroes.

Ultra: How about a few of the best concerts you’ve ever seen?

Frazer: So many, in my youth I was a regular attendee at London’s famous Marquee so saw many bands who are now legends strutting their stuff at the start of their careers but I suppose Black Sabbath at the East Ham Granada in 1973 ranks highest, they were at the height of their powers and just slayed that night. If though you want something a little nearer to the present then a filthy, rainy Sunday night in North London was made so much better by a blistering performance from Greece’s Planet of Zeus, phenomenal live band.

Ultra: What are a few of the albums you’ve probably played the most in your lifetime?

Frazer: Deep Purple’s “Made In Japan” is never far from the turntable nor is The Allman Brothers “ At Filmore East”, Egypt’s first EP and Elder’s “Lore” are also  releases fast moving to catch up

Ultra: Can you give me a few of your favorite album covers of all time?

Anything with Roger Dean artwork is always going to get my attention especially Yes’s “Close To The Edge” and the cover to The Clash’s “London Calling” is just so iconic but everything pales into insignificance against the artwork gracing Bell Witch’s latest release “Mirror Reaper”, stunning!

Ultra:  You are from England, aren't you?

Frazer: Yes, you're correct. I was born in the East End of London although I now live on a little island in Essex, England that juts out into the Thames River called Canvey Island.

Ultra: Are you willing to give me a top ten albums of 2017 list?  I am so curious to see if we have any of the same picks.  (Several of mine I came to know about through you)

Frazer: Checking out my Desert Psychlist best of 2017 will give you not only my top ten but also another twenty …  http://stonerking1.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/desert-psychlists-best-of-2017.html

Ultra: Some of the bands I am most anxious to hear something new from would be Salem’s Bend and Rainbows Are Free.  What are a few bands whose next releases you are most anxious to hear?

Frazer: I’m looking forward to hearing where UK’s Cybernetic Witch Cult may take us next as I love what they do and there is a band called Sun of Grey who released a fantastic two song EP last year, I’m very interested to see how they progress.

Ultra: Finally, I am curious to hear how you feel about the label “Stoner Rock”.  I think it’s relatively easy to determine whether music deserves this tag, yet it’s really tricky to define the category.  It seems pretty safe to say that being called stoner rock entails being heavily influenced by rock from the 1970’s, including everything from mellow trippy rock to super heavy.  But I also think that relative obscurity seems to be a requirement as well.  For example, it seems to me that a band like Alice In Chains would be called stoner rock if they weren’t well known, but because of their huge success are never given the stoner rock tag.  Another thing that’s tricky about the stoner rock label is that the stereotype of a stoner is someone with little energy who can barely keep their eyes open, while so much of stoner rock is aggressive and energetic.  How do you feel about this analysis, and what insight do you have to offer on the subject?

Frazer: Stoner (or desert rock) was once associated with a certain sound and a certain lifestyle but I see “stoner rock” now as a catch all term for a variety of grooves that fall just outside of the rock mainstream, a sort of umbrella term under which doom, sludge and hard edged rock all reside. The druggy weed smoking connotations that were often associated with the term are slowly being swept away and we are seeing many of those band once classed as “stoner” branching out and experimenting with elements from other musical sources. Personally, it's all about the music and not the classification, if you dig it you dig it, if you don’t then move on.

Ultra: Frazer, I am honored that you have taken the time to share your thoughts and experiences with me, and grateful for all the great music you have introduced me to over the last few years.  I wish you all the best in 2018, and look forward to your next update.

Frazer: Thank you, Mike it’s been a blast,!

Once again, thanks to Frazer for taking the time to answer my questions.  Respect for seeing Sabbath in 1973.  Embarrassed I had missed Frazer's best of 2017 list, but glad I have seen it now.  Got a couple of reviews brewing, will have at least one to post next weekend.  If you need some good tips in the meantime, now you know where to look.  
Until next time!!

-ULTRA