Interview with SOiL Guitarist Tim King
By Mick Michaels
Cosmick View: Hello, Tim! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thanks for taking some time out of your day to speak with us. It's greatly appreciated.
CV:
What do you feel made Taylor Hawkins such a dynamic
and magnificent individual? Why did so many fans seem to
connected with him?
Tim King: It's
pretty rare that you have a musician with such a great personality and kind
heart that is also one of the best at their craft. His drumming speaks for
itself. The few times I got to hang out with him, he was just such a nice
guy and fun to be around…just the type of person that you want to be around
because he makes being in the same room fun. That's the best way I can describe
it. As far as fans connecting with him, well that's just like what I said. He
had a magnetic personality. He just drew you in. He was honest and
genuine.
CV:
"Monkey Wrench" with stand as Soil’s tribute
to Hawkins. Why this song in particular?
TK: Well, we already had this song
recorded long before Taylor's passing. SOiL recorded a 11 song covers album for
Cleopatra Records and we have been delayed on releasing it because of
manufacturing shortages of vinyl and materials. So, since we had the song done
and no set release date for the album, we thought it would be a nice way for us
to shed a little bit of light in the darkness. "Monkey Wrench" is
such an uplifting song. It was our chance to give a farewell to a guy who we
really appreciated as a person and a musician.
CV:
What do you think Taylor Hawkins brought to the music world
that now may be missing and/or irreplaceable on some level?
What made his contribution one-of-a-kind in your opinion?
TK: His drumming gave such a
powerful vibe to the band. The exact way that Dave's drumming gave an entire
vibe to Nirvana. And the way that Dave gave his own vibe to the Foo Fighters.
In order to even come close to matching the dynamics and level of Dave Grohl,
the drummer of the Foo Fighters needed to be top of the line. Dave found the
right guy in Taylor.
CV:
"Monkey Wrench" will be included on Soil's
upcoming 11-song covers album. More and more bands are going the route to
not only cover single songs but to produce full albums of covers. What is
the allure for such an undertaking? Is there a guaranteed audience or a
sure hit when including covers in a band’s catalog?
TK: Cleopatra Records came and
offered us the opportunity to do a covers record right in the middle of the
pandemic. We weren't touring and the band was sitting around trying to figure
out what we should do during the pandemic, so it was perfect timing. We did it
entirely as a fun project to do. We've only covered 2 songs ever in our 25 year
history as a band and they were "Black Betty" and "Gimme Some Lovin".
That's it. As a band that has pretty much seen and done it all, from studio
albums, to a live album, to a greatest hits album, we have never done a covers
album. So we did it. No other reason than to have fun with some songs that we
thought would be fun to cover with the down tuned SOiL sound and Ryan's vocal
style. Wait until you hear some of the other tunes on this album!
CV:
What do you see as the biggest difference between working on cover material for
an album compared to working on all original material for an album as a band?
Is it a different mindset?
TK: Oh big time. For one, the
playing styles of other musicians and bands are sometimes very hard to get a
feel for. And little notes or sound effects that you don't even hear until you dissect
a song are intense as well. We had to actually scrap a couple songs and replace
them with alternatives because we couldn't capture the right vibe. One was a
Corrosion Of Conformity tune. They are such a talented band and they are
very much a "jam band" in many ways. SOiL definitely is not a
get up and jam type band and we couldn't lock into the vibe so we actually
replaced the COC song with a Helmet song and the Helmet song just kicked so
much ass and we fell right into the groove of it. So yeah it was challenging to
down tune everything to our SOiL tuning, learn the original way of playing the
song, then do it SOiL style. There were a few times we wanted to break stuff
out of frustration! LOL
CV:
Do you think long-time Soil fans will be surprised at some of
the chosen songs the band decided on to include on this
upcoming cover album?
TK: A couple yes. But for the most
part I think we chose songs that when the SOiL fans hear them they will be like
"Oh yeah, that's SOiL".
CV:
For many of us, the last two years have felt like being in the
twilight zone; and for some it's just a big blur. Looking from the inside
outside, does Soil see itself differently as a band now in
2022 compared to at the start of 2020? If so, what has changed?
TK: Sort of I guess. We started in
1997 and have never taken a break. We never stopped. So to have some downtime
it really gets you thinking on how to move forward as a band. We didn't have
much of a break because we were in the studio for 3 months. But from a touring
and live perspective, it definitely gets the wheels turning on how to do some
things differently when the touring picks back up.
CV:
Same question, but for you, as an individual artist, how differently do
you see yourself? Would you recognize yourself?
TK: Personally I needed the break.
I was getting pretty burnt on playing shows. So it gave me a breather. Let me
re-charge the batteries a bit and gave me room to start some other ventures. I
started a management company with my business partner Mark Nawara called Surface
management. Signed and developed an all girl band called "Plush" who
is blowing up right now. And I did a Death Metal project called Embryonic
Autopsy with my buddy Scott and we signed a deal with Massacre Records and put
out our debut album "Prophecies Of The Conjoined" in February 2022.
Plus I still have the record label Pavement Entertainment with Mark as well. So
I never stopped during the pandemic. I was busy as could be.
CV:
In addition to the new single and upcoming cover album, what
more can fans expect to see coming from Soil in 2022 and
beyond?
TK: We recorded 2 albums during the
downtime. So the covers album called "Play it forward" will be out
this year and the 2nd album will be out in 2023. That one I can't speak much
about right now. But it is interesting to say the least....
CV:
Thanks again Tim for taking the time to share with our
readers. We wish you all the best and continued success.
TK: Thanks so much for the
interview. Peace, love, and METAL!!!
Check out Soil at:
Official: www.soiltheband.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/soilmusic
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/soil_official
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/soiltheband
Tour dates:
www.bandsintown.com/soil
Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/soilofficial
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