Solace: The H.o.S. Interview
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Uncle Dan: First of all, let me thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to grant this interview, Tommy. I know things must be hectic at the moment.
Tommy Southard: Yeah, it has been a bit hectic. I have been doing a lot of interviews and trying to get the band ready for our tour. Plus, work and taking care of my two boys at home--I am hella busy these days! But thank you for helping us spread the Solace word!
UD: Although 13 hasn't been out very long, how has the initial response been? Are you pleased with the feedback, so far?
TS: I tell you, it has been just great. To see that a lot of people really seem to dig the new record lets me know that all the bullshit I put up with in getting this record out was all worth it.
UD: Why was there such a delay in the release of 13? Anything heavy happening behind the scenes?
TS: A lot of heavy stuff. The details are too tangled and sordid to dive head long into. It gets pretty complicated and it's not worth rehashing the past. Forward is the move, now.
UD: The debut Solace outing, Further, was such a revered and resounding success, did it cause the band any sense of pressure to outdo yourselves with 13?
TS: Absolutely not. The only thing I was concerned with was that it had been so long since Further came out, I wondered if people would remember us. It appears that a lot did. As far as pressure goes, we are always going to do what it is we do and not let anything get in the way of that, including expectations--unless they are our own expectations. I wouldn't let something out if I wasn't proud of it, and I'm damn proud of 13.
UD: One of the highlights on 13 is "Common Cause," a song which features a guest appearance by doom legend Wino. Collaborating with "The Great One" would be a dream come true for any doom fiend. How was it, having actually experienced it first hand? Any special stories from that session you could share?
TS: The whole thing really. Wino was so gracious and such a pro. For him to take time out of his busy schedule and come up to Jersey to help us out was just awesome. We owe him a great debt for doing what he did.
UD: As I've said before, I think the choice of covers on 13 lends quite an insight into what Solace is all about--respectively, renditions of Pentagram's "Forever My Queen" and "With Time" by Agnostic Front. Could you elaborate on the importance of both doom and hardcore forms, in terms of what Solace does musically?
TS: Well, the honest fact is that hardcore music has had just as much an impact on shaping the Solace sound has doom has. Even though Black Sabbath was the first band I heard that made me want to start a band, groups like Agnostic Front, The Cro-Mags, Poison Idea, Battalion of Saints, and The Accused were really big influences on me when I was younger. I lived that shit. These guys to me were the NEW Black Sabbath.
UD: Related to the hardcore aspect of what Solace plays, it's obvious that flavor always stays traditionally rooted--rarely being pushed to the extreme of sludge. Is this a conscious decision? If so, why?
TS: Rarely is anything we do a conscious decision. The only conscious decision we made about the band is to do want we want. If you make too many decisions about your band, I think you can only limit yourself. We just do what we do and, as long as everyone in the band digs the end result, then it stays. So, however anything comes out in the end is always pot luck.
UD: In the face of all the accolades you received for Further, how were you able to stay grounded as a band? Times like those are dangerous junctures where ego and big-headedness can creep in and kill a band--how were you collectively able to avoid those pitfalls?
TS: Because we're just normal, everyday, hard working, average Joes. It's not in our nature for shit to go to our heads. If anything, I find it remarkable that so many people actually dig what we do. I swear, I'd like to thank every last person who has bought our records and buy them a beer and tell them how much that shit means to me.
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