Bonehead
08-27-2007, 06:09 PM
Bonehead: Hello all, this is Tim “Bonehead” Kyle, and I am speaking with Jason Salmer, lead guitarist for local death metal heroes, Flesh for the Beast. I originally spoke with John Rios, vocalist, and Jason a few nights ago (July 19) after they put on a killer set along with four other local metal bands at a new metal venue in Kalamazoo called the Redrum (pronounced red room, long u). Unfortunately, the voice recorder I used took a crap, so Jason was kind enough to answer the questions all over again via email. That also is the reason this interview is posted in the forums, rather than the front page, due to not having the recorded backup of the interview. Thanks Jason, for taking the time to answer some of these questions...again.
Jason Salmer: No problem and I am happy to help out.
Bonehead: Once again, fantastic set that absolutely stole the show.
Jason Salmer: There were some good bands there that night and thank you very much. We really do try to put a lot of effort into making a real "Show" for people. We all agree that when we go see a band and they’re wearing Bermuda shorts and looking like they just walked off the street (that) tends to make us want to look like a "real band" even more. Not to cut on those types of people, but a band should look like a band, like there’s no question whether or not the way we present ourselves that "hey those guys are in a band", and you can tell with us I think...lol.
Bonehead: From the pictures I posted, I think most will agree with that. As few of our readers will know much about Flesh for the Beast other than you being in the top ten of our band links for so long, why don't you tell us a bit about the band, the members, and its history?
Jason Salmer: Well I’d have to say our history starts with the band Sadomasochism, of which we have 4 out of the 5 of us from Sado’s original line up: Ed Ryan (guitars), John Rios (vocals), Jay Kandea (drums), and myself, Jason Salmer (guitars). We did a lot with Sado and we played a lot of places through out the Midwest predominately. Ed Ryan eventually left the fold and moved to Florida and was replaced. Eventually, over-all tensions prevailed and Sado split up for good. Ed Ryan returned to Michigan to start playing with Lansing’s Summon. John had started a new band with Steve Giles (original Flesh guitarist) and had written some material over the course of about 6 to 8 months. At that time, Jay Kandea and I were writing material also. So we decided to all pull together and make it a real band, Flesh for the Beast. We then began to look for a bassist. Mike Muletor filled the spot for us, and we recorded and finished our first effort as a band, the CD "Devouring". Eventually, Mike quit less than a year later due to personal reasons. Mike was then replaced by our current bassist Mark Kinley. Steve Giles was soon to follow and was replaced by Summon`s Ed Ryan. And now we are putting out our latest disc, "Scavengers of the Damned", due out sometime in August.
Bonehead: So maybe that long history of playing together has given you that exceptionally tight live sound?
Jason Salmer: Yes, I’m sure it has a lot to do with it, and the over all tightness I think comes from years of experience as well, which we all have...lol.
Bonehead: Describe what you feel is Flesh’s sound, and what other bands you would fit in with style wise.
Jason Salmer: Pure untampered with old school, mixed with some new styles as well, Death Metal. The bands that influenced us the most were the late 80`s early 90`s Death Metal, such as Cannibal Corpse, Death, Deicide, Morbid Angel, as well as some bands keeping that same style today like Behemoth, Angel Corpse, Necrophagist, and Krisiun.
Bonehead: Currently, you guys pretty much stick to playing in Michigan. What are your plans for spreading out?
Jason Salmer: We are trying to spread out, but due to lack of transportation for the band and gear as a whole, a "VAN" is the main reason why we’ve stayed in Michigan mostly. But it’s a problem that will be rectified very soon, and when it happens we will get out into at least the surrounding states, if not a tour of the U.S....and hopefully over seas eventually.
Bonehead: It would be great to see you guys on a cross country tour. Of the current metal bands out there now, who would you like to be on a “dream” tour with?
Jason Salmer: Morbid Angel with Krisiun, that would be the shit to open for those bands on a European or U.S. tour. Or any of the already mentioned bands in the previous question.
Bonehead: What is it about old school death metal that draws you to it?
Jason Salmer: The Speed, Brutality, Technicality, Diversity, Imagery...pretty much everything about it...lol.
Bonehead: There seems to be a relationship between you guys and a band that a number of our readers know about, local black metal legends, Summon. You mentioned it a bit in introducing Ed, but tell us a little more about that.
Jason Salmer: Well, as I mentioned before, Ed Ryan played with us before he was in Summon. And we’ve known the guys for years before that. Played a lot of gigs with them and have known them all pretty well for quite some time now. I originally met Shawn and Chaz through a band I played with back in the mid-90`s called Sinister Black and we have shared the stage at several shows as Sadomasochism, and as Flesh for the Beast.
Bonehead: Besides working a lot with Summon, you have opened for a number of national acts, both as Sadomasochism and Flesh for the Beast, and let me say that you have more than held your own on the shows we have seen. Who are some of them?
Jason Salmer: Byzantine, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Krisiun, Pissing Razors, Strapping Young Lad, Six Feet Under, Internal Bleeding, Immolation, Incantation, Corrosion Of Conformity, Speed Dealer, Karma To Burn, Super Joint Ritual, Goat Whore, Corpse Vomit, Dimmu Borgir, Samael, Angel Corpse, Gizmachi, Dying Fetus, Skinless, Cephalic Carnage, The Chasm, James Murphy, Cattle Decapitation, Demise, October 31, Lamb Of God, The Haunted, Dark Funeral, Waco Jesus, Dirt, Soilent Green, Deep, Exodus, Crisis, Watch Them Die,3 Inches Of Blood, Lividity, Hoods, Origin, Satryicon, Sworn Enemy, and that’s all we can think of or remember...lol
Bonehead: That is a ton of nationally recognized acts, and some real heavy hitters. I have to tell you, you guys blew away the entire bill at the Exodus show, including Three Inches of Blood, Crisis and Watch Them Die.
Jason Salmer: Well thank you very much. I think we were really honing our skills as a band at that time and what has lead up to "our sound". In my opinion, the band is tighter now than it ever has been.
Bonehead: I have noticed that one thing that really sets Flesh apart from every other local band is your on-stage professionalism. What kind of effort do you put into that, and how much time do you spend working on it?
Jason Salmer: John and Len "Kravitz" Zimmerman are the ones who took all that to a whole new level. I guess it comes from playing in a lot of clubs that didn’t really have shit to offer as far as lights and smoke and our other stage props as well, but they are the ones that deal with most of that stuff and make it work. And they make it work well, too...lol...I don’t think any other local band’s really put as much effort into they’re live shows as we do, as a whole.
(Note…in the original interview, John Rios mentioned that they video each show and watch it usually the next day, critiquing it much like a football team watching game film. That has led them to many stage presence improvements - Bonehead)
Continued in the next post :metal
Jason Salmer: No problem and I am happy to help out.
Bonehead: Once again, fantastic set that absolutely stole the show.
Jason Salmer: There were some good bands there that night and thank you very much. We really do try to put a lot of effort into making a real "Show" for people. We all agree that when we go see a band and they’re wearing Bermuda shorts and looking like they just walked off the street (that) tends to make us want to look like a "real band" even more. Not to cut on those types of people, but a band should look like a band, like there’s no question whether or not the way we present ourselves that "hey those guys are in a band", and you can tell with us I think...lol.
Bonehead: From the pictures I posted, I think most will agree with that. As few of our readers will know much about Flesh for the Beast other than you being in the top ten of our band links for so long, why don't you tell us a bit about the band, the members, and its history?
Jason Salmer: Well I’d have to say our history starts with the band Sadomasochism, of which we have 4 out of the 5 of us from Sado’s original line up: Ed Ryan (guitars), John Rios (vocals), Jay Kandea (drums), and myself, Jason Salmer (guitars). We did a lot with Sado and we played a lot of places through out the Midwest predominately. Ed Ryan eventually left the fold and moved to Florida and was replaced. Eventually, over-all tensions prevailed and Sado split up for good. Ed Ryan returned to Michigan to start playing with Lansing’s Summon. John had started a new band with Steve Giles (original Flesh guitarist) and had written some material over the course of about 6 to 8 months. At that time, Jay Kandea and I were writing material also. So we decided to all pull together and make it a real band, Flesh for the Beast. We then began to look for a bassist. Mike Muletor filled the spot for us, and we recorded and finished our first effort as a band, the CD "Devouring". Eventually, Mike quit less than a year later due to personal reasons. Mike was then replaced by our current bassist Mark Kinley. Steve Giles was soon to follow and was replaced by Summon`s Ed Ryan. And now we are putting out our latest disc, "Scavengers of the Damned", due out sometime in August.
Bonehead: So maybe that long history of playing together has given you that exceptionally tight live sound?
Jason Salmer: Yes, I’m sure it has a lot to do with it, and the over all tightness I think comes from years of experience as well, which we all have...lol.
Bonehead: Describe what you feel is Flesh’s sound, and what other bands you would fit in with style wise.
Jason Salmer: Pure untampered with old school, mixed with some new styles as well, Death Metal. The bands that influenced us the most were the late 80`s early 90`s Death Metal, such as Cannibal Corpse, Death, Deicide, Morbid Angel, as well as some bands keeping that same style today like Behemoth, Angel Corpse, Necrophagist, and Krisiun.
Bonehead: Currently, you guys pretty much stick to playing in Michigan. What are your plans for spreading out?
Jason Salmer: We are trying to spread out, but due to lack of transportation for the band and gear as a whole, a "VAN" is the main reason why we’ve stayed in Michigan mostly. But it’s a problem that will be rectified very soon, and when it happens we will get out into at least the surrounding states, if not a tour of the U.S....and hopefully over seas eventually.
Bonehead: It would be great to see you guys on a cross country tour. Of the current metal bands out there now, who would you like to be on a “dream” tour with?
Jason Salmer: Morbid Angel with Krisiun, that would be the shit to open for those bands on a European or U.S. tour. Or any of the already mentioned bands in the previous question.
Bonehead: What is it about old school death metal that draws you to it?
Jason Salmer: The Speed, Brutality, Technicality, Diversity, Imagery...pretty much everything about it...lol.
Bonehead: There seems to be a relationship between you guys and a band that a number of our readers know about, local black metal legends, Summon. You mentioned it a bit in introducing Ed, but tell us a little more about that.
Jason Salmer: Well, as I mentioned before, Ed Ryan played with us before he was in Summon. And we’ve known the guys for years before that. Played a lot of gigs with them and have known them all pretty well for quite some time now. I originally met Shawn and Chaz through a band I played with back in the mid-90`s called Sinister Black and we have shared the stage at several shows as Sadomasochism, and as Flesh for the Beast.
Bonehead: Besides working a lot with Summon, you have opened for a number of national acts, both as Sadomasochism and Flesh for the Beast, and let me say that you have more than held your own on the shows we have seen. Who are some of them?
Jason Salmer: Byzantine, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Krisiun, Pissing Razors, Strapping Young Lad, Six Feet Under, Internal Bleeding, Immolation, Incantation, Corrosion Of Conformity, Speed Dealer, Karma To Burn, Super Joint Ritual, Goat Whore, Corpse Vomit, Dimmu Borgir, Samael, Angel Corpse, Gizmachi, Dying Fetus, Skinless, Cephalic Carnage, The Chasm, James Murphy, Cattle Decapitation, Demise, October 31, Lamb Of God, The Haunted, Dark Funeral, Waco Jesus, Dirt, Soilent Green, Deep, Exodus, Crisis, Watch Them Die,3 Inches Of Blood, Lividity, Hoods, Origin, Satryicon, Sworn Enemy, and that’s all we can think of or remember...lol
Bonehead: That is a ton of nationally recognized acts, and some real heavy hitters. I have to tell you, you guys blew away the entire bill at the Exodus show, including Three Inches of Blood, Crisis and Watch Them Die.
Jason Salmer: Well thank you very much. I think we were really honing our skills as a band at that time and what has lead up to "our sound". In my opinion, the band is tighter now than it ever has been.
Bonehead: I have noticed that one thing that really sets Flesh apart from every other local band is your on-stage professionalism. What kind of effort do you put into that, and how much time do you spend working on it?
Jason Salmer: John and Len "Kravitz" Zimmerman are the ones who took all that to a whole new level. I guess it comes from playing in a lot of clubs that didn’t really have shit to offer as far as lights and smoke and our other stage props as well, but they are the ones that deal with most of that stuff and make it work. And they make it work well, too...lol...I don’t think any other local band’s really put as much effort into they’re live shows as we do, as a whole.
(Note…in the original interview, John Rios mentioned that they video each show and watch it usually the next day, critiquing it much like a football team watching game film. That has led them to many stage presence improvements - Bonehead)
Continued in the next post :metal