Rob: How was it recording with Jeff Pinkus?
Clayton: Recording with Jeff was a real cool deal. He has some great gear….an old Trident console and a big fat fuckin’ 16-track 2” machine!! We were able to get some real warm tones. Plus he was a great host and made us completely comfortable in the studio. Even though we only had two days to work on it there was never that feeling of `hurry up… time is money`. He put us up at his place, had a barbecue, kept us high….and Karen was real cool too. Even with a cranked stack blaring in the living room all night long. Anyone that reads this should check out Jeff’s band Honky. Great Texas Rock!! Go to www.honky.net!!
Rob: Do you have any plans for upcoming tours?
Clayton: We’re planning on hitting the road real hard starting in May and just going until all of our amps are blown, all the cymbals smashed, etc…hopefully we’ll make it around the US a few times before we have to come home!!
Rob: The songs I downloaded off of your web site (Makin’ Time and Turbo wing) remind me of Sabbath, Mountain and have a southern flare that is distinct….How do you describe your sound?
Clayton: I guess I’d say we’re a super-heavy, fuzzed out, southern rock trio. The new tunes are definitely going more towards the southern side of things but still really fuckin’ heavy. There’s some stuff that I actually play clean at times or use a slide on. Trini’s vocals are getting more melodic as we go. But the heavy side will always be a huge part of the `Dixie Witch` sound! Its just the way we play…
Rob: What’s your band agenda?
Clayton: Well, we’d really like to get an EP out sometime before next spring/summer. Then tour relentlessly….come back home…cut a full-length….tour some more…put something else out…..go back out on the road and just keep going and going!
Rob: How many times a week do you practice?
Clayton: It really depends on how many shows we’ve been playing. Lately we only get together to work on new material and just jam. We’ve been playing so many gigs around Texas that we really haven’t had to practice the songs that we play live all the time.
Rob: What are some influences that you guys share?…outside of the obvious…
Clayton: Between the three of us there are so many influences its really hard to say which ones come out more or less in our music. Trinidad used to run a record store and he listens to everything under the sun….from Budgie to Sir Lord Baltimore….Trapeze to Rainbow…Grand Funk, old ZZ, Captain Beyond, Charlie Daniels Band, Govt. Mule, Blue Cheer, Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Willie and Waylon, Merle, Hendrix, Priest, the Allmans, James Gang…..tons of shit! And ofcourse a lot of the stuff that’s coming out now. We all listen to old country and blues….Curt’s vinyl collection is insane. He’s got everything. We’re all huge metalheads. I was really into a lot of thrash/speed metal and punk when I was younger and I’ve listened to a lot of the old jazz rock too. John McCaughlin, Mahavishnu, Trower, Al DiMeola….shit man, I could go on forever…
Rob: What are some of your favorite bands that you have played with?
Clayton: We’ve been really lucky in that we’ve had the chance to play with a lot of really great bands passing through Texas in the last year since we got together. Spirit Caravan, High on Fire, The Suplecs, Alabama Thunder Pussy, Tummler, Sourvein, Goatsnake, Bottom, Supagroup Core, Men of Porn, Choke, Oversoul…not to mention all of our brothers from Texas…Honky, Speedealer, Archie Bunker, Super Heavy Goat Ass, Roller, Godzilla Motor Company, the Riverboat Gamblers, Voltage (RIP), Sinis……
Rob: What other Texas bands should we know about?
Clayton: There are so many great Texas bands playing out right now in every style imaginable, but if you’re looking for some good Texas rock bands check out Honky. Their like the illegitimate sons of ZZ Top. Speedealer and Roller are both really bad ass bands. Its that real fast motor-core kick your ass kinda rock. As far as the more “stonerish” kind of rock bands, there’s Archie Bunker from Ft. Worth and Super Heavy Goat Ass from Austin.
Rob: Do you have any upcoming releases?
Clayton: We’re going back into the studio in January and something should be out by summer. At least an EP….nothing is definite right now though.
Rob: Thirteen `Stoopid` Questions...If you weren’t a rocker, what would you most like to be?
Clayton: I’ve been a live sound engineer for years and done some studio work here and there. Curt’s a mechanic and Trinidad would probably be a male dancer or something like that.
Rob: What was your worst gig and why? What was your best gig and why?
Clayton: Worst Gig…we played a show and there was a couple of camera crews out filming it. The power on Curt’s side of the stage kept cutting his rig off right in middle of tunes, Trini couldn’t hear us and we couldn’t hear him ‘cause of the way the stage was setup…the drum riser was real far behind the rest of the stage so it was like we were all guessing about the time and shit. And the whole time there’s all the people with cameras crawling around on stage and getting in our faces…..Best Gig…..we’ve had a lot of really great gigs but I guess recently it was the last time we played Houston at Mary Jane’s with ATP. It was just one of those magic nights where we all played better than our best.
Rob: Top 3 movies, books, and albums of all time?
Clayton: Just off the top of my head…..Spinal Tap, Apocalypse Now, and Up In Smoke. Albums…..that’s a real tough one to narrow down. If I was stuck on a deserted island….. Physical Grafitti, Electric Ladyland, Reign in Blood, Miles Davis - Bitches Brew, and some Willie Nelson.
Rob: How often do you surf the net and what do you mostly do while online?
Clayton: I don’t surf that much but when I do, I’m usually just downloading music and checking out bands.
Rob: What is your favorite city and venue to play, and why?
Clayton: Austin, Texas…Emo’s and the 7/10 Room! Great crowds, cool staff, good sound. There’s always a real energetic vibe when we’re down in Austin.
Rob: What is the most Rock’nRoll thing you’ve ever done? What’s the most Rock’n’Roll thing you’ve seen someone else do?
Clayton: ?
Rob: What’s your worst `bad trip` story?
Clayton: I’m sure those guys have got some stories too but personally, I’d rather not incriminate myself any further…..I once walked out of a sound gig with Ed Hall towards the end of their set. I swear the faders were all melting away. I just split and left everything up and running.
Rob: What’s the most painful thing you’ve ever witnessed at a rock show?
Clayton: I was doing sound at a club once and there was some drunk asshole who kept fuckin with the bass player in Brutal Juice. After a few minutes he just swung his bass down at the guy and smashed right in the face. Broke his nose in two.
Rob: How old were you when you first realized you wanted to rock?
Clayton: First time I saw Kiss on TV.
Rob: What’s the most embarrassing job you ever had?
Clayton: When I was a teenager I used to push around a lawn mower all over the neighborhood and I had a paper route too. Made enough money one summer to buy a BC Rich guitar and a Peavey stack. Hell I was young, I didn’t know any better about Peavey. Trini said he worked at a snow cone stand one summer when we was kid to save up and buy a new drum kit….can’t remember what kind though.
Rob: What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Clayton: ??
Rob: If you could date any rock star Dead or Alive in the world, who would it be? Movie star?
Clayton: Well Trini took Janis. Curt said Joan Jett. I guess I’d go with Lita Ford or the blonde guitarist from Nashville Pussy….someone I could trade licks with all night long.
Rob: What would be the ultimate dream gig of all time line-up be, with your band opening? Limit to three bands please (including you own…) and where?
Clayton: My ultimate dream gig….i’d love to sit in with Skynyrd and play the end of Freebird with Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, and Ed King. And then the Band of Gypsy’s would go on next…
