The Catheters will hit you like a hollow spike up the shaft of your penis. It cuts right through you body and soul until it reaches the place where it will fester, your spinal cord. Their music needs to live there to shake, rattle and hum your entire nervous system.
I got a chance to talk to The Catheters drummer Davey Brozowski about their latest album called Howling...It Grows And Grows, working with Sub Pop Records and fighting with one another.
Check out their official website
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey Davey, what are you up to?
Davey Brozowski: Im beat. We had practice last night [laughs].
DRE: Whats funny about that?
DB: It just sounds so uneventful. I worked on our van then went to practice.
DRE: Is your life usually eventful?
DB: Sometimes I guess. I think were all pretty chill guys at home. Everybody goes out but no one is a big partier.
DRE: Arent you all pretty young? Like 22, 23.
DB: Yeah.
DRE: So you stopped partying already?
DB: Well we didnt stop. Everyone partiesyoure getting me all tongue tied.
DRE: You got nothing to be embarrassed about!
DB: We party but its not every night.
DRE: Does everyone have girlfriends?
DB: Three out of the four of us.
DRE: You?
DB: Yep.
DRE: Hows that going?
DB: Its going good.
DRE: Does she make you stay in?
DB: Uhno. Its a personal choice.
DRE: A lot of people called your latest album a concept album. Is that cool with you?
DB: A concept album? I dont think it is at all.
DRE: Is there a story to the whole album though?
DB: Yeah there is. I dont think there is a concept to the record but the lyrics are generally based around the same stuff. We have a process that we use when we are writing songs.
DRE: Whats that process?
DB: Someone comes up with a riff or a chord then the song gets based around that first part. Then other stuff comes in and the vocals are done last. That might be the wrong way to write a song but thats the way weve done it.
DRE: How did you come to working that way?
DB: When we first got together and writing songs we listened to a lot of Ramones, Black Flag and stuff. Bands like that are pretty simple. You have the verse, chords and then they do that two times then go into a breakdown or a solo. Thats how we learned to do it, simply. We look to make it work differently.
DRE: What does Howling...It Grows And Grows!!! mean?
DB: I have no idea. Its from the song Between the Creases. We were trying to think of an album title and we had some ideas. Then I suggested Howling and everyone thought it was no good but I thought it was good.
DRE: Who did you run it by?
DB: It was people we trusted. Some people that work with us and friends.
DRE: Is Seattle still a prime place to keep doing music?
DB: Definitely. There is always a lot going on. There are a bunch of good clubs and new stuff keeps popping up. Weve got The Stranger which is really good about covering local music big and small.
DRE: Did people try to lump you together with other bands when they found out you were from Seattle?
DB: I think its been pretty bad. First we got lumped in as the mini Murder City Devils then the last record we got lumped in with Mudhoney. Grunge revivalists or something like that. But someone wrote up that we are a cute band and we play a good a show.
DRE: That must have annoyed the shit out of you.
DB: Its a nice compliment but people focus on some weird things. They tend to look at the surface instead of just listening. Thats a bummer. I dont like it when they compare us to bands that I dont see any relation to.
DRE: Do you guys improvise live?
DB: Me and Leo try to add stuff in and try to make it different. Recently weve been extending parts, cutting stuff out and trying to make it different. Some of it we plan out and other stuff we just go for.
DRE: Were you totally pleased with the way you recorded the new record?
DB: It was good and bad. It took us a long time to do it and were all pretty hardheaded so we fight a lot. It was a long year of a lot of arguing over stuff which probably wasnt that important. Once we got in there and started going it was a lot of fun. Being able to hear the songs in a real studio made it really cool. We argued so much that we got kicked out of the studio.
DRE: By your producer?
DB: We got kicked out because we were arguing over the levels of the songs like what should be brought up and what shouldnt. So finally our producer, John Goodmanson, had to tell us to get out he said that we either leave and one of us stays there or we find a new producer.
DRE: Who stayed?
DB: Brian.
DRE: What do you generally fight over?
DB: Stupid shit. You name it and well fight over it. Derek and Brian have been friends since they were little kids and Ive known Leo since middle school so weve all grown up together. So its just a natural thing for us all to fight.
DRE: Do people ever team up with the person theyve know the longest?
DB: The joke in the studio is that its the rhythm section versus the guitars.
DRE: So who is the tiebreaker?
DB: The producer tries but we keep going at it. We had just asked the producer earlier if he had to ever kick a band out of the studio and he said there was only one band.
DRE: Was it a good band at least?
DB: I think he said it was Teen Dresch. John is a still a super cool guy so I dont want to make him out to be an asshole.
DRE: Besides all that, what is it like working with John Goodmanson?
DB: Other than that hes awesome. Hes really relaxed and open for us trying out different ideas to see if we could make stuff work. He really tried to make the ideas in our heads across on the record.
DRE: How did you find him?
DB: Maybe three or four years ago we were doing some demos and we hooked up with him to record a couple of songs. We liked him and what he did so we asked him to do our last record then we asked him to do this one.
DRE: How did you come to be on Sub Pop?
DB: I think it had to be with being from Seattle. We toured a bit with a band that was on their label then they saw us play. They pushed for us and we got on.
DRE: How has it been working with them?
DB: Its working pretty good. They put out the record and they do a really good job with marketing and getting us press.
DRE: There was some shakeup early on in the band. What happened there?
DB: Derek and Brian started the band when they were freshmen in high school with two other friends of theirs. The band got going but the guy who played drums decided be didnt want to be there. Then I was in a band and the two bands wanted to switch drummers so we did. Then we added another guitar player and did a record with that lineup. After that the members lost interest and wanted to go do their own thing. So those two guys quit and Leo joined and is still our bass player now.
DRE: How was it touring with The Bronx?
DB: It was cool. We mentioned some bands we wanted to tour with and I guess they liked us too.
DRE: In the bio on your website it says this is the band you listen to when your girlfriend leaves you cold. Whats that mean?
DB: When your girlfriend leaves you just put on our record, youll feel better. Honestly I dont know. I dont get that shit. Stuff that is in bios makes no sense. You can drink a 40 and smoke fire riding in your Harley with this record!
DRE: Whats the craziest thing anyone threw on stage at you?
DB: Just bottles and stuff.
DRE: They ever hit you.
DB: No. I havent gotten hit.
DRE: Do you have any tattoos?
DB: I got a couple. Its two nautical stars on the back of my calf. Leo has the most creative tattoos.
DRE: What do you think of SuicideGirls?
DB: Ive only checked it out once. But my girlfriends friend is on SuicideGirls.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
I got a chance to talk to The Catheters drummer Davey Brozowski about their latest album called Howling...It Grows And Grows, working with Sub Pop Records and fighting with one another.
Check out their official website
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey Davey, what are you up to?
Davey Brozowski: Im beat. We had practice last night [laughs].
DRE: Whats funny about that?
DB: It just sounds so uneventful. I worked on our van then went to practice.
DRE: Is your life usually eventful?
DB: Sometimes I guess. I think were all pretty chill guys at home. Everybody goes out but no one is a big partier.
DRE: Arent you all pretty young? Like 22, 23.
DB: Yeah.
DRE: So you stopped partying already?
DB: Well we didnt stop. Everyone partiesyoure getting me all tongue tied.
DRE: You got nothing to be embarrassed about!
DB: We party but its not every night.
DRE: Does everyone have girlfriends?
DB: Three out of the four of us.
DRE: You?
DB: Yep.
DRE: Hows that going?
DB: Its going good.
DRE: Does she make you stay in?
DB: Uhno. Its a personal choice.
DRE: A lot of people called your latest album a concept album. Is that cool with you?
DB: A concept album? I dont think it is at all.
DRE: Is there a story to the whole album though?
DB: Yeah there is. I dont think there is a concept to the record but the lyrics are generally based around the same stuff. We have a process that we use when we are writing songs.
DRE: Whats that process?
DB: Someone comes up with a riff or a chord then the song gets based around that first part. Then other stuff comes in and the vocals are done last. That might be the wrong way to write a song but thats the way weve done it.
DRE: How did you come to working that way?
DB: When we first got together and writing songs we listened to a lot of Ramones, Black Flag and stuff. Bands like that are pretty simple. You have the verse, chords and then they do that two times then go into a breakdown or a solo. Thats how we learned to do it, simply. We look to make it work differently.
DRE: What does Howling...It Grows And Grows!!! mean?
DB: I have no idea. Its from the song Between the Creases. We were trying to think of an album title and we had some ideas. Then I suggested Howling and everyone thought it was no good but I thought it was good.
DRE: Who did you run it by?
DB: It was people we trusted. Some people that work with us and friends.
DRE: Is Seattle still a prime place to keep doing music?
DB: Definitely. There is always a lot going on. There are a bunch of good clubs and new stuff keeps popping up. Weve got The Stranger which is really good about covering local music big and small.
DRE: Did people try to lump you together with other bands when they found out you were from Seattle?
DB: I think its been pretty bad. First we got lumped in as the mini Murder City Devils then the last record we got lumped in with Mudhoney. Grunge revivalists or something like that. But someone wrote up that we are a cute band and we play a good a show.
DRE: That must have annoyed the shit out of you.
DB: Its a nice compliment but people focus on some weird things. They tend to look at the surface instead of just listening. Thats a bummer. I dont like it when they compare us to bands that I dont see any relation to.
DRE: Do you guys improvise live?
DB: Me and Leo try to add stuff in and try to make it different. Recently weve been extending parts, cutting stuff out and trying to make it different. Some of it we plan out and other stuff we just go for.
DRE: Were you totally pleased with the way you recorded the new record?
DB: It was good and bad. It took us a long time to do it and were all pretty hardheaded so we fight a lot. It was a long year of a lot of arguing over stuff which probably wasnt that important. Once we got in there and started going it was a lot of fun. Being able to hear the songs in a real studio made it really cool. We argued so much that we got kicked out of the studio.
DRE: By your producer?
DB: We got kicked out because we were arguing over the levels of the songs like what should be brought up and what shouldnt. So finally our producer, John Goodmanson, had to tell us to get out he said that we either leave and one of us stays there or we find a new producer.
DRE: Who stayed?
DB: Brian.
DRE: What do you generally fight over?
DB: Stupid shit. You name it and well fight over it. Derek and Brian have been friends since they were little kids and Ive known Leo since middle school so weve all grown up together. So its just a natural thing for us all to fight.
DRE: Do people ever team up with the person theyve know the longest?
DB: The joke in the studio is that its the rhythm section versus the guitars.
DRE: So who is the tiebreaker?
DB: The producer tries but we keep going at it. We had just asked the producer earlier if he had to ever kick a band out of the studio and he said there was only one band.
DRE: Was it a good band at least?
DB: I think he said it was Teen Dresch. John is a still a super cool guy so I dont want to make him out to be an asshole.
DRE: Besides all that, what is it like working with John Goodmanson?
DB: Other than that hes awesome. Hes really relaxed and open for us trying out different ideas to see if we could make stuff work. He really tried to make the ideas in our heads across on the record.
DRE: How did you find him?
DB: Maybe three or four years ago we were doing some demos and we hooked up with him to record a couple of songs. We liked him and what he did so we asked him to do our last record then we asked him to do this one.
DRE: How did you come to be on Sub Pop?
DB: I think it had to be with being from Seattle. We toured a bit with a band that was on their label then they saw us play. They pushed for us and we got on.
DRE: How has it been working with them?
DB: Its working pretty good. They put out the record and they do a really good job with marketing and getting us press.
DRE: There was some shakeup early on in the band. What happened there?
DB: Derek and Brian started the band when they were freshmen in high school with two other friends of theirs. The band got going but the guy who played drums decided be didnt want to be there. Then I was in a band and the two bands wanted to switch drummers so we did. Then we added another guitar player and did a record with that lineup. After that the members lost interest and wanted to go do their own thing. So those two guys quit and Leo joined and is still our bass player now.
DRE: How was it touring with The Bronx?
DB: It was cool. We mentioned some bands we wanted to tour with and I guess they liked us too.
DRE: In the bio on your website it says this is the band you listen to when your girlfriend leaves you cold. Whats that mean?
DB: When your girlfriend leaves you just put on our record, youll feel better. Honestly I dont know. I dont get that shit. Stuff that is in bios makes no sense. You can drink a 40 and smoke fire riding in your Harley with this record!
DRE: Whats the craziest thing anyone threw on stage at you?
DB: Just bottles and stuff.
DRE: They ever hit you.
DB: No. I havent gotten hit.
DRE: Do you have any tattoos?
DB: I got a couple. Its two nautical stars on the back of my calf. Leo has the most creative tattoos.
DRE: What do you think of SuicideGirls?
DB: Ive only checked it out once. But my girlfriends friend is on SuicideGirls.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
HAHAHAH Claudia is the hoe!!!