By Andrew Bansal
Longstanding Los Angeles-based experimental hard rock trio Owl, featuring former The Cult/current Ace Frehley band bassist Chris Wyse as the frontman on bass and vocals along with Jason Mezilis on guitar and Dan Dinsmore on drums, is getting ready for the release of their third full-length studio album ‘Things You Can’t See’ via Overit Records on July 28. The album witnesses further expansion and development of Owl’s seemingly boundless sonic landscapes, but maintains its signature hard rock groove. As part of a short run of shows, Owl will perform with Dave Lombardo’s equally experimental project Philm at the Whisky-A-Go-Go on Tuesday July 21. Two weeks ago, I spoke to Chris Wyse about all things Owl. Enjoy the conversation below.
Chris, it’s great to have you again on Metal Assault. The new Owl album ‘Things You Can’t See’ is coming out soon. I’ve listened to it and I’m excited for people to hear it, but how did it all come about and what was the process like for you this time, writing-wise?
Oh, it was pretty cool. We recorded in Dan’s Roman Catholic Church, which is his media company and recording studio, and we wrote and developed everything in the studio. So that was pretty interesting, because for previous releases we had a lot of things written already when we went into record them. This was a new kind of exciting thing for us, to write and record in the studio. Some of the choruses came at the very end, and we were just coming up with different stuff as we went along. So it was very cool to really have a free-flowing creative process.
With everything you’ve had going on with The Cult and now with Ace Frehley, do you think you’ve been able to devote as much time to Owl as you’d like?
Well, I’ve come on board full time with Ace and I’ve been focussing on Owl. I have made some decisions on how to spend my time for the rest of the year. So, there will be a lot more to come with Ace and with Owl.
That’s good to hear. I think on the previous Owl album, your band mates Jason Mezilis and Dan Dinsmore contributed more and it was a band effort. Were you able to keep that approach going on this new album?
The way that it works is, I’m the seed planter, I write the lyrics and drive the direction, but the guys are involved in different ways. Like, Dan would push me to come up with better choruses, may be come up with a better lyric. It can be frustrating because sometimes I’m just like, “Why don’t you come up with it?” (Laughs) It puts a lot of pressure on me, but they are very involved. Whether they are coming up with the parts or not isn’t really the point. I tend to hear the big picture a lot of the time, and that’s why I am the producer. So I drive a lot of the ideas home but it’s still free-flowing in the studio. A lot of the parts that Dan came up with on the drums, for example, were just natural flowing things.
What I like best about Owl is that it’s kind of hard to pinpoint the musical style of the band. It’s a combination of so many things into one. I’d say you’ve kept that going on the new album as well. It’s diverse in that sense.
Yeah, I really feel that this new music captured what we’re all about, more than ever. I think we’re a complicated band to some degree because there are all kinds of things coming at the listener, but what we’ve developed into is something that’s its own sound now, and there are certain signature things we do. I think our choruses are really potent. Even though we’re experimental, we still have a really strong song craft. Songwriting is a big part of what we’re doing. It’s not just about jamming or anything.
Absolutely. It’s like there is no limit to what Owl can stand for musically, even in future.
Exactly. That’s a good way to look at it. Some of my favorite bands are Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and so on, and they kind of veered into whatever they wanted to do, but they still had their signature sound. That’s the kind of stuff that I’m trying to focus on as an artist, really artistically strong songs and songwriting craft. It’s got to be catchy but it can be really interesting still.
As I mentioned earlier, you’re playing full time with Ace Frehley now. Has that had any impact on your music in Owl at all?
It has in a lot of ways, because I feel like in the Ace band, on stage with Ace and in the studio with him, there is a very new positive energy and it has kind of shaped everything I’m doing, just like singing background vocals with Ian Astbury every night had an impact on me. I think every single experience you have does make an impact on you, specially as a musician.
Right, exactly. And after you’re done with the Ace tour you’re currently on, you have a couple of dates coming up with Owl. People can expect to see you on stage very soon.
Yeah, and I get to do different things in Owl, pull out the upright bass, and I get to basically express myself as my own singer-songwriter. These guys have been with me since 2007 and this is our third record together, so it’s pretty exciting to see how it has developed upto this point. You can tell that we’re taking risks on this new Owl CD. There’s symphony, strings, piano, and some pretty outrageous parts that come together in some very well-crafted songs.
How did you get those layers? Were all the parts played manually?
The way it started out was, I had a lot of rough bass tracks with a drum machine. We started jamming for real in the room and coming up with different parts. Everything’s real, of course. Dan is playing drums, I’m playing bass, Jason is playing guitar and so on, and Jason also played organ at the end of ‘Star Up’. There are little piano bits and stuff like that. We had some guest background singers. On ‘Witch’s Familiar’ we had a girl named Tara sing operatic high banshee kind of stuff above my vocals, which came out amazing. We took some liberties to orchestrate, and as a producer I kind of heard the sound of various symphonies and strings and the juxtapose of very strong, heavy, almost hardcore screaming heavy metal kind of stuff, mixed with very melodic sounds. So, that was kind of fresh and new as opposed to anything I’ve really heard in a long time. I think we arrived at some very original-sounding bits as a result. We’re finding ways to pull this stuff off live, too. We did ‘Things You Can’t See’ live at Taste Of Minnesota and it went over awesome. We figured out ways to do a couple of the other songs as well, so we’ll be doing some material at these upcoming shows.
You mentioned the freedom of expression you get in this band. Does Owl allow you to be the freest you’ve ever been as a songwriter and performer?
Yeah, it does. At the same time it’s also some of the most pressure because I’ve got to deliver something or else there’s no point in doing it. When I play with so many different cool people, in a sense I feel like I have a lot to say still, but I really also feel the pressure of making sure it’s worthy. It was exciting for me to show Ace the teaser before we made a press release for this album, and stuff like that. He totally got it. It’s nice to see the excitement from people. My friends and family have been watching me do this all along. When I excite them, I know I’m onto something. But it’s mostly us. When I was in the room with the guys I could tell that we were onto something. And this time it has gone beyond something we ever imagined, because the songs weren’t even written. It was an interesting ride to hear the songs develop.
I think the great thing is, since you don’t really fall under any specific musical category, you could play with a bunch of different bands. But according to your own observation, what kind of audiences are best suited for Owl?Or have you even reached a point where you’ve found an audience for Owl?
I think to some degree we have, and to a large degree we’re still growing and finding it because we’re new to a lot of people. We’ve played as an opener for Jet, we opened up for In This Moment, Camp Freddy which is called Royal Machines now, and basically we’ve won over every single type of crowd. I think what it is, it’s genuine rock energy but we are more experimental with Floyd-esque Nirvana chops. When I was on stage this past Fourth Of July at Taste Of Minnesota, I really felt like I was some sort of wid witch with my upright bass, giving the people something different.
Talking of the shows coming up, you have a show at the Whisky-A-Go-Go on Tuesday July 21 with Philm, which is Dave Lombardo’s project. How far do you go back with him? I’m sure you’ve had interactions with him over the years.
Yeah. even though he’s kind of a newer friend. I got to go right behind his drum kit at a Sonisphere Festival in Europe. John Tempesta and I stood right behind him when he was playing. I was blown away, and then I bumped into him, we heard about each other’s band and we said it would be a great idea to hook up. I also did the Bonzo Bash with him and played ‘Stairway To Heaven’ with him. I think he’s a true great and an amazing talent, so it’s fantastic to team up with him. It adds a lot to have two kinds of guys like him and I in our own bands doing our own thing. It shows a lot of independence and it’s exciting.
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