Misery Signals shred master Ryan Morgan says a few words
"His actual hair is attached to a puppet that he sometimes performs with called Ziltoid the Omnicient" August 26, 2008, 05:56 PM   ALTSOUNDS - Misery Signals, what a privilege, hello! Who am I talking to and what's crack-a-lackin?
RYAN - Yo. This is Ryan Morgan. I make guitar riffs. Laying low in Texas on a day off from our current tour. I was just swimming in the pool at my friends apartment and eating some veggie burgers, to tell you the truth.
No foreplay, lets go straight to the music; I'm horny for the answers. Your new record 'Controller' is out this month, album number three, did you ever think that you'd see this day?
There have been some times where we weren't certain the band would even last another day. But that's the life of an underground musician. It's volatile and there are so many ways to destroy yourself. Something that makes me happy about continuing to do this band: We've set a lot of goals for ourselves, and so far we've been able to grind them all out.
I noticed that 'Mirrors' sounds a lot heavier than your debut 'Of Malice and the Magnum Heart' and the band overall seems more matured, like an expensive cheese, but one of the nicer ones. Is this trend continued on Controller or can we expect something completely new and different?
Controller, in my eyes, is by far the heaviest. I have absolute confidence that this album will satisfy anyone that's enjoyed our earlier stuff. We incorporate elements that have worked for us in the past and that fans have liked... but to be a good artist I think you have to be wary of repeating yourself. We made it a point to expand on the things that we find interesting, or the things that define Misery Signals as an original band... and we've pushed that aspect of the band even further this time.
The band has been completed by new vocalist and microphone tamer Karl Schubach for a while now, does Misery Signals feel like a close family these days?
Yeah we have a great time. Comedy is an amazing thing. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by such good people. A lof of bands we tour with have such insane internal dynamics... dudes are snapping on each other, getting at each other's throats all the time. Life like that has gotta be hard. Tour is hard enough when people are getting along, i would hate to be in that brutal situation.
In your opinion do you feel that your sound has changed since Karl came along and slotted into the line-up? What justifies his position in the band?
Yeah Karl has earned his stripes. He's the main weapon on this new record. With "Mirrors", Dude came into the process late, and he had to play catch up... we had a majority of the music written already, he came aboard this already speeding vessel. This time around, he was with us from the very beginning when the riffs were just babies, so he got in there early. Karl's really developed as a performer and as a personality in the band. His stamp is definitely on this record, and i think it's better because of it. You can hear how commanding his presence is when you jam the songs.
So, Devin Townsend recorded your new album. I know that he's a friend of the band, but does it still feel pretty special to be recorded by a man as respected and as influential as he?
Yeah of course. I'm one of the people that respects and is influenced by Devin. Collaborating with him is an absolute pleasure. I don't mean that in a professionalism/ass-kissing kind of way either. I heart the dude and think he's brilliant. He worked really hard on Controller, and sometimes i wonder how much weaker it would have been if the dev didn't get in there and pimp it.
What does his beard actually feel like and does it wag like a dogs tail when he's happy? If you say that it feels like aregular beard I'd be indescribably disappointed. Did it influence any beard growth for anyone in your band during the sessions?
You must have missed the memo, bro. Dev has no more beard. Dev has no more skullet. He just looks like a normal dude now. But i understand... he doesn't really perform anymore, he's recently had a kid, he lives on an island... literally he had to take a ferry to the studio every day that we recorded. He's pretty isolated from the world of metal shows. But I promise you, the genius and intensity is still in him.
Like he's actually a madman. His actual hair is attached to a puppet that he sometimes performs with called "Ziltoid the Omnicient". There is a whole record starring ziltoid and a bunch of videos and shit. It's mental.
I told a friend who is a massive fan of yours that I was going to be interviewing you and he had a question….'Why is the drummer so awesome?'. Can you shed any light on this? Voodoo? Popeye-esque spinich intake or just full on down to the possibility that he's a robot?
Haha there have been rumors about Branden writing stuff with computers, which i guess is similar to him being a robot... but i assure you, his shreds were built organically. The dude literally practices 4 hours a day. Ask any band we've toured with, just to see how close they've been to losing their cool cause they here my guy just tapping a drum pad all day every day. He's earned it. And he can do almost anything with a drum kit in front of him.
I see that there's yet another colossal tour coming up for you, is the love for playing live still there after so many shows or does it sometimes get routine if the crowd aren't into it?
Facing a dead crowd is a pretty hard thing to do, cause you have to muster up this energy out of nowhere. But we've been pretty fortunate, cause the majority of shows we have lately we get a pretty cool response from people. If you have a bunch of people in a room that are already vibing, you can harness that and just use it as a catalyst for more energy.
I think touring on your music is essential. The live show is where the songs are given their life, that's where they really exist; in between the performer and the audience. We gotta get out there and do it to make them complete.
When can we expect you in the UK? We're like baby birds begging in our little damp nest that is Great Britain waiting to be fed your tasty, tasty music.
Potentially as soon as January. I can't really give the details, but I swear we'll be there early in the year 2009. It's already in the works. We love it there.
Misery Signals, thank you and good luck with 'Controller', the tour, beards and the voodoo enhanced drum skills.
Last edited by altsounds : August 26, 2008 at 11:32 PM.
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