Interview: Chainsaw Charlie speaks about Ravenous

Chainsaw Charlie - Guitarist from death metal band Ravenous speaks with What's Good about his reflections on music, and the band's recent inauguration into the Southern Metal Confederacy’s Hall of Fame.

1. How did Ravenous first get started? We met at Lorneville Freezing Works, in FP2.
   The drummer Rick and I organised a jam. He then asked Jared our vocalist to come down the same day we first jammed.
   
2. Can you tell me about Ravenous' first gig? It was a Battle of the Bands competition in 2002 or 2003 I think. We didn't win and got all depressed. Lol.
   
3. What did you guys do after the Battle of The Bands competition? Got wasted and bitched about the other bands. Haha.
   
4. What was one of your favourite moments of your musical career? Opening for Pungent Stench from Austria and for myself, opening for Ozzy Osbourne and Kiss in Wellington.
   
5. Do you have any specific moments you remember that inspired you to take your music more seriously? Listening to Nirvana for the first time and being like, "Wow, I want to play like that!" Also the reaction of the crowd is always a big inspiration.
   
6. What are your personal top 5 favourite albums? Ohhhhhhhhh don't do this to me! There are way too many!!!! But if I had to choose 5 they would be:
   Nirvana - Nevermind (the first cassette I saved up for.)
   Metallica - Master of puppets
   J Dilla - The Shining
   Bonobo - Black Sands
   Shapeshifter - Solstice.
   
7. What went through your head when Ravenous got inaugurated into the SMC Hall of Fame? I was a bit embarrassed to tell you the truth. Haha. I'm not one to make a fuss, but really grateful to the organisers, it was truly a humbling experience.
   
8. Do you think the overall sound of Ravenous has changed or adapted with the times? Nope, straight blackened death metal until we die! Lol.
   
9. What made you identify with making death metal compared to other genres? Rick and Jared were both into it and I slowly started to enjoy it as well. More the Black Metal at the time for us all, then we moved on to the more technical music.
   
10. Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians? Get used to being poor.
    
11. How did you expect things to be musically when you were younger, and what things have you found different (or what you expected)? I dreamed of being a rockstar, haha. I realised traveling the world as a sound guy that that stuff was less important to me as I got older. Watching the crowd have a great night is more my buzz now!
    
12. What's next for Ravenous? Not sure? I'm only back for the year, so we'll have to wait and see.
    
13. Any special thanks or shout outs you want to make? Just to all the metal heads out there. Brutal Hails to you all.

Local Music Community Unites to Celebrate Bri-Fest

Behind the Scenes: Iain Sweetman and Mike Holland manage the live sound for Left or Right.

Invercargill live music enthusiasts saw an impressive 20 hours of live music last weekend at the Bri-Fest Music Festival 2014 hosted at Players Entertainment Centre.

With over 20 live bands and DJs performing over 2 nights, Invercargill locals had a diverse range of bands and music genres to enjoy.

Originally started to celebrate the birthday of the main event organiser – Brian William Kane, Bri-Fest has been running for the past 6 years. Mr. Kane said it started in 2008, with friends’ bands having celebration jams and has been growing ever since.

Bri-Fest was a much needed improvement in the musical festivities of Orientation Week, said lead vocalist for fusion band Rhythmonyx and member of Southern Phoenix Productions Jono Leask.

“There’s been a lot of emphasis on games and food in Orientation Week, but it’s lacking in music. It’s not branching out as much as it should, so it’s good to get behind Brian and support all the time, effort and money he’s put into keeping the local music scene alive.”

Music enthusiast ‘Dancing Donald’ Simpson kept the dance floor alive from early Friday night until Sunday morning and said Bri-Fest 2014 was “right up there with the best music festivals I’ve been to, including Blues Festival which is my favourite”. He particularly enjoyed the brass combo in Rhythmonyx and the uplifting sound of reggae band Ghettoblaster QT.

Event organiser Brian William-Kane said he was happy with the event and the audience were well behaved and genuinely there for the music. In addition, Brian gave special thanks to Iain Sweetman for managing the live sound, Vicky Robinson from Players for providing the venue, and everyone who came out to support the event.

Performing Acts included: D&M, Soul Manor, War Saw, Alphasintori, Belial, People Of The Land, Ghettoblaster QT, Rythmonyx, DJ Beefy, Otepuni Moonshine, Russian Blue,
Iron Mammoth, Little Smith, Silly Drunken Bastards, Sunley Band, Tie Dye, Ink Mathematics, Phoney Dog, FOTA, Left or Right,
The Fu King, DJs Selective Soundsystem