Interview with Philadelphia Author Dave Claw
By Mick Michaels
Cosmick
View: Hello, Dave! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thanks for taking
some time out of your day to speak with us. It's greatly appreciated.
CV: What was the defining moment that made you realize you wanted to document
the Philadelphia Metal scene in this format?
Dave Claw: It was a series of moments, really. It started when I had
to step away from playing bass with the NJ death metal band Spectral Descent
due to carpal tunnel syndrome…it’s mostly cleared up now, thankfully. Being
unable to play in a band made me realize that I’d like to keep supporting local
underground metal bands however I could. This resulted in me running a webzine
where I wrote reviews, took live photos, conducted interviews and edited
together some videos. The hope was to get into making mini-documentaries, maybe
longer ones eventually, when COVID hit.
Eventually
the book idea was born after reading USBM:
A Revolution of Identity in American Black Metal by Daniel Lake. I’d had
ideas for books on music before, but that book was especially inspirational. My
book was temporarily shelved to make a podcast focused on local underground
metal bands, but it came back when I realized a podcast felt like it lent
itself to more “surface level” interviews. I wanted to dig deeper and a book
seemed like the more appropriate medium. The podcast or documentary idea may
have worked in an alternate timeline, but my extensive background in writing
lent itself to a book, so that’s where I landed.
DC: Any local heavy band who’s slogging away at it counts as underground in my view. Generally the more extreme stuff - which is what I consider my roots - is more underground because it’s less accepted. But it’s easy to lose context as a fan of heavier music. On the whole, this music is far less accepted than other genres. If you need proof, ask the bands what they get paid when they play shows.
Beyond
the extreme styles like black metal, death metal, grindcore and thrash metal,
there are less extreme styles such as traditional heavy metal (Corners of
Sanctuary) and symphonic power metal (Anatomy of the Sacred and Empress)
represented. There are also metal-adjacent styles such as stoner rock
(Thunderbird Divine) and punk / hardcore (Half/Cross and Ides) represented in
the book. I’d argue that all these bands and styles contribute to what we call
the underground metal scene in Philly.
CV: "Philly Metal"
profiles a number of area artists within the Philadelphia Metal
scene...definitely an undertaking compiling such an array of stories and
backgrounds. How did you come to choose those artists to include in the book?
Was there a certain criteria you were looking for?
DC: I made a point to include a range of voices in the book…especially across
age, genre and sex. The subjects in the book are half men and half women. That
was on purpose. The demographics of the underground are changing and should be
represented. I did my best to offer a broad overview, but I know it isn’t truly
comprehensive. Hopefully others keep documenting the current scene.
CV: Being a musician yourself, did any of the stories from those interviewed
resonate with you as being a similar personal account of your own journey as an
artist?
DC: Yes., almost all of them, haha. It’s really amazing to see how so many
musicians go through a similar journey. We’re bitten by the bug and we just
can’t shake it off no matter how hard we try. In his chapter, Chevy McQuaide of
the bands Skullovich and Bastard Cröss talked about a tough time in his life
where he felt like he was just living for the next show to attend. It’s dark
but beautiful too. To know he loved something so much and now he gets to be a
part of it…and he’s in a much better place mentally, thankfully. Music is
awesome. I live for it and somehow writing this book…despite all the work,
anxiety and headaches that went into it, made me love it even more. Go figure.
CV:
Does one artist’s profile stand out more to you as being the validation for the
book's existence? Is there one story you feel encapsulates the theme of the
book?
DC: Chevy’s aforementioned story fits
the bill. But I’ll throw another one at you. In his chapter, Bob Stokes of the
bands Oktas and Drones For Queens talked about losing a bandmate of his, Dave
Sommer. Dave played guitar in Cloud Minder with Bob, who played bass in the
band, and died at thirty-three due to brain cancer. I’ll let Bob take over:
“It
was like: ‘Wow, this shit that we’re doing here is kind of important. It’s kind
of our epitaph. It’s kind of the only attainable afterlife any of us can
actually get that has actual evidence.’ Because I can go throw on a Cloud
Minder record right now and I can hear Dave’s parts and it’s like he’s still
alive. He’s still here. It literally lived longer than he did. It is his afterlife
right here. And that’s definitely something that made me respect and appreciate
other people’s music. It also realigned why I do a lot of the stuff that I do
because this is my epitaph that potentially could live on longer than I am.
This is the only thing left here.”
Bob
makes a great point. I’ll add: if you’re a musician reading this and you don’t
realize it: this is your life. This is it. Music is your life.
So
all these underground bands do it because they love it. They need to do it.
It’s their lives. I’m honored I could share their stories because their stories
are passionate and real.
CV: Overall, what do you want readers to come away with after reading "Philly Metal?" Is there an
underlying message you want conveyed that might not be so obvious upon first
read?
DC: These bands are real. They need to play this stuff. They don’t do
it for fashion or money or whatever. They like making loud, expressive music.
Art without all the fancy crap around it is refreshing. Even if you hate the
music, you’ll appreciate their stories because they’re passionate and real.
DC: At times I do and then I realize how much work writing just one was, haha. I encourage anyone who thinks it looks fun, easy or interesting to continue cataloging the scene. I plan to keep writing about music, but I’d like to zero in on a specific subject for the next book. I may return to it one day though, you never know.
CV: On a personal level, what have you come away with, both as a musician and a person, after writing this book?
DC: I had a lot of fun despite hitting a bunch of walls along the way. It made me realize I want to continue writing about metal and that generally I’m much more interested in writing books than making albums or playing shows at this point in my life. But, like everyone in the book, I’m bitten by the bug. So I’m still playing in bands and making noise
CV:
What's next for you? What can fans and readers expect to see coming up?
DC: I hope to have another book out in a year or two. Until then, I
urge you to read this one. You can read sample chapters at phillymetalbook.com
or screambloodybooks.com. You can purchase it from Amazon (you’ll find a
purchase link at both sites). It’s cheap, I promise.
CV: Thanks again, Dave, for taking
the time to share with our readers. We wish you all the best and continued
success.
Check out Dave and “Philly Metal” at:
www.phillymetalbook.com
www.screambloodybooks.com
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