By Andrew Bansal
In 2015, Raleigh NC veterans Corrosion Of Conformity resurrected their four-piece incarnation with the return of Pepper Keenan as guitarist/vocalist, and revisited their stoner rock/sludge metal era. Following highly successful tours in Europe and the US, C.O.C. signed a deal with Nuclear Blast and will begin work on a new album soon. Now, they are about to embark on a North American headline tour with support acts Brant Bjork And The Low Desert Punk Band, Saviours and Mothership, and the trek includes a gig at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles on November 17th. On November 11th, I spoke to Pepper Keenan about all things C.O.C. Enjoy the conversation below.
First of all, this year you started jamming again with C.O.C., and you guys have played quite a lot of shows already. How are you feeling doing this again after a while?
It’s been really exciting. It’s really oddly surprising how easy it was and how well we’re playing together. We went to Europe this summer just to book some shows and just do a little trial run to see what would happen, and it went really well. We had some great shows and we ended up adding two more trips back to Europe super-quick after that because the promoter was excited. So we went to Europe three times this summer, played a couple of big festivals and everything was great! Then the Clutch guys came and gave us an offer to open up for them in the States which was awesome. I’ve known those guys for a long time. It really helped us out, got us in front of big crowds and gave us time to put our point across. So, it’s been great with them, and now it’s just us.
Right, so basically you didn’t plan a long-term comeback and it was just like you were trying it out.
We’ve been talking it, and I knew it was time. I spent enough time doing the Down stuff and it kinda started to reverse itself as people were asking me about C.O.C. (laughs). So, we started digging into it. I really enjoy being in C.O.C., I’m glad to be singing again and it’s challenging. I think we’re playing than we did before, to be honest with you.
I’ve spoken to Reed and Mike over the last couple of years and to me it seemed like they always wanted this to happen with you. Through these years, how much were you thinking about C.O.C. when you were jamming with Down?
It was always on my mind, for sure. People were asking all the time, and it wasn’t like I completely forgot about it at any point. I was just waiting for the correct opportunity. Once Reed came back in the picture, we started talking, and I knew they wanted to do a three-piece record and get back out there on that, which was great, and we just waited for the right time.
As you mentioned, you’re enjoying singing again, which you don’t have to do in Down. How much of an effort did that take to get used to again, beacuse you hadn’t done it in so long?
It was a trip! I had to pull out the CDs and stuff and start listening to them, relearn the songs and remember the words and all that shit (laughs). Some of the songs I haven’t sang in 15-20 years, as crazy as that sounds. So yeah, it was a bit of work but I enjoyed doing it and it was actually fun to kinda go back and discover all that stuff again. It still stands up, you know.
There is also a new album in the works, which will be out on Nuclear Blast in 2016. How much of that is done? Is it completely written already?
Oh no, not even remotely close. We literally did those summer tours in Europe and then just did the one here, so we’ve been pretty damn busy to be honest with you. But we’re organizing all the riffs and lyrical content and getting ready to start hashing this thing out, but it’s a tall order, so we’re going to take our time and make it right. I’m not going to rush and just spit something out, you know. The last album that I did was ‘In The Arms Of God’ which is a motherfucker, so I’ve got high expectations and that’s what we’re going to shoot for.
John Custer produced ‘In The Arms Of God’ and a few others in the past, and you’ll be working with him again on the new one, so you’re clearly aiming to recreate the same vibe.
Absolutely!
You’re going to busy with the touring and the new album for a year at least, but do you still plan on doing both bands or is it just going to be C.O.C. for you for the time being?
Oh no, I’ve got work to do. I’ve got Down as well, so it’s going to very hectic and busy. But that’s OK, it’s part of the deal.
Exactly. And recently, before you did the Clutch tour I was on the Motörboat cruise which you guys played. What did you think of that?
I loved doing the Motörboat, man. It was a privilege and an honor, but it was fun as shit, on top of that. The bands are great, the fans are great, and it was a good opportunity for C.O.C. to get in front of a wide audience. There were people from 40 different countries on the damn thing, so it allows you to play to that many different types of people at one time.
You mentioned the Clutch tour earlier. You just finished a tour with them. How far back do you go with those guys?
Oh man, back on the East Coast, one of their first shows was opening for us in Baltimore, Maryland in 1991 or ’92 or something like that.
And now you’re about to start a US headline tour of your own, and it has come at the right time for you. You’ve done these shows and you’re ready.
Yeah, we did a headline tour in Europe, so we got the set down, and we’ve got some cool bands with us, Saviours, Mothership and Brant Bjork, so it will be a cool fucking concert. It should be fun.
It’s interesting that you’ve come back into the band at this time, because the kind of style that you guys play together in this version of C.O.C., stoner, sludge or whatever you want to call it, it’s very relevant right now. Did you ever see that coming?
We were kind of ahead of the curve on that shit, and now everybody and their grandma is doing it (laughs). So, we have to up the dose now. But it’s fun. The more the merrier, man. We get a lot of cool bands to tour with now, and it’s a good thing.
It was not like that for you in the past, was it?
No! You could count them on one hand!
Why do you think that it’s happening now?
I guess the secret just got out, and there are a lot of bands out there that are doing it well. Bands like Crobot are fucking great, and shit like that, you know.
I was going to ask you. What are some of the newer bands in this style that you’ve been impressed by, aside from Crobot?
Crobot is a great band, and I like a lot of the Swedish bands, fucking Graveyard, and a band from Ohio called Mount Carmel I think is fucking great. Shit like that, man. People are doing their homework and they really play it. They’re not bullshitting.
I agree. Coming back to the C.O.C., so far what’s been your favorite songs to play, songs that you really missed playing over the years?
For the set that we’re doing, we’ve learned about 24 songs, so it’s been crazy. I like shit like ‘Goodbye Windows’ which we never did before, ’13 Angels’ is great, and we’ve been finally doing ‘Broken Man’. There are so many of them, and it’s fun to rewrite the set list and switch shit around. But it’s challenging vocally, and I have to stay in good shape.
On tours, how do you go about staying in shape for your vocal performance?
Yeah, I don’t want to get up there and fall on my ass. I hadn’t sang in 15 years (laughs), so I had to retrain my vocals back and get into shape, and I do vocal exercises and some of the simple stuff before the show. I try to maintain my body’s capacity to do it, you know.
I spoke to Reed recently and he said you have to party less in this band than you do in Down.
Oh yeah, absolutely. In Down all I have to do is beat on a damn guitar (laughs).
Corrosion Of Conformity links: website | facebook | twitter
Corrosion Of Conformity US tour dates:
11/12/2015 The Loft – Atlanta, GA w/ YOB, Black Cobra
11/13/2015 Riverside Warehouse – Shreveport, LA w/ local support
w/ Brant Bjork And The Low Desert Punk Band, Saviours, Mothership:
11/14/2015 The Aztec Theater @ Housecore Horror Fest – San Antonio, TX
11/16/2015 Pub Rock – Scottsdale, AZ
11/17/2015 Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
11/18/2015 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
11/20/2015 Venue Nightclub – Vancouver, BC
11/21/2015 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
11/23/2015 The Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
11/24/2015 The Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
11/25/2015 Mill City Nights – Minneapolis, MN
11/27/2015 Rtr 20 – Racine, WI
11/28/2015 The Odeon – Cleveland, OH
11/29/2015 Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA
12/01/2015 Opera House – Toronto, ON
12/02/2015 Machine Shop – Flint, MI
12/03/2015 Altar Bar – Pittsburgh, PA
12/04/2015 Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
12/05/2015 Brighton Music Hall – Allston, MA
12/07/2015 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
12/08/2015 Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
12/09/2015 Shaka’s Live – Virginia Beach, VA
12/10/2015 Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC
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