Home to Last Sigh

Contact

Last Edit/Update
02 April, 2000

Copyright Last Sigh Magazine 1996-2007
Last Sigh Magazine

An Evening With

Eric Powell
Of
16 Volt
Conducted by various people
via IRC channel #liveonline at Undernet
May 21, 1997
Transcription by Jeremiah Rickard

Q : what's up with H3llb3nt

Eric : nothing, Bryan is moving to england, sorry but i think hellbent is a done deal

Q : Do you plan to stay on Re-Con? or are you gonna move to a new label in the near future?

Eric : re-con, no way, we are done (sorry chase!)

Q : you are done with chase?

Eric : well i am friends with chase but i am not gonna work with recon anymore on 16volt stuff

Q : what label do you wanna move to?

Eric : we have a bunch of offers and we are just waiting it out to go to the right label.

Q : no more wacky compilation tracks?

Eric : well i hope no more comps! if the $$ is right though!!!!!!! i need to eat!

Q : working on any new material right now?

Eric : we are wqorking on new stuff 24-7

Q : what type of sound are you going for on the new material?

Eric : whatever comes up we are not limiting ourselves to a particular sound

Q : what u been listening to lately eric

Eric : not much, mostly my own stuff! a little of both if that makes any sense

Q : do you have any tour dates announced or planned?

Eric : well there is a little talk about a 1 month asia and europe tour but who knows, these things come up and then they are gone, i dont believe anything now until i am on the stage starving

Q : do you have any other projects right now to explore different styles?

Eric : i am doing a tekno thing for decibel records, other than that we just want to make our next records the fucking best weve ever done, that requires a lot of time.

Q : Eric, what equipment do you guys use live?

Eric : last tour we used a emu e64, eps16+, panasonic 3700 dat (!), and a mackie 1604 to sub it

Q : Eric, how old were you when you started getting seriously involved in music?

Eric : About 15

Q : what kind of equipment did you start out with when you were first recording stuff?

Eric : ensonic, eps

Q : how'd you like doing shows in DC and are you planning on doing some over in the east coast again soon?

Eric : we had fun in dc, we'll be back there too

Q : dont you have an asr10?

Eric : not anymore, i am trying to get away from ensoniq stuff

Q : do you have a kurzweil yet? :)

Eric : no kurzweill.....

Q : got a nord lead?

Eric : got one!

Q : Who would you like to do production work on the new album?

Eric : i dont know, we've been thinking about bill kennedy, or butch vig!, who knows

Q : I'm curious, how much did it cost to record letdowncrush?

Eric : well thats kinda private, sorry, lets just say we could have bought a nice car, a really nice car

Q : Is there anyone you'd really like to work with? cevin key perhaps?

Eric : i want to do wierd shit, with different people, i am sick of the usual cevin key and trent, and blah blah, i mean i have mass respect for them but i want to break the mold

Q : Would you ever consider having any female vocalists work with you? or female musicians? and if yes, any in mind? Didn't stella work with 16volt?

Eric : stella did, i like her cool, i'm shure we'll do sumpin.......with sinnie!

Q : Eric: got any analogue synths?

Eric : own - no, acess - yes

Q : what's the crappiest place you've done a show in?

Eric : Tri Cities Washington

Q : Ever sampled any punk bands?

Eric : surf punks!

Q : eric - are you chatting from home or studio or ?

Eric : home

Q : Ever given/gotten any injuries during a show?

Eric : many! one time mike, our bass player hit a girl in the head with his bass, total accident but it split her head open! we felt so bad, we took her out to dinner

Q : did you intend to have any attraction from the digital underground when you started making music?

Eric : of course!

Q : What did you think was better, Skin or Let Down Crush?

Eric : i like ldc

Q : So what do you think will be the next wave of music after "electronica"?

Eric : i hope there wont be a wave of music!

Q : What do you usually do after a show?

Eric : eat, sleep, drive!

Q : What was one of your most memorable times playing live?

Eric : In dc we got cut off, i threw a fit, bouncers tried to kick my ass. It was awesome. We played in new york for cmj, that was a memorable show too

Q : cmj is?

Eric : college music journal festival

Q : What is your favourite food NOT on tour?

Eric : pizzza

Q : seen any good movies lately?

Eric : I read good books

Q : What books?

Eric : runaway jury, lost world, cheesy i know but.................

Q : Eric: how many hours a day do you practice with 16volt on average?

Eric : Right now none, during a tour prep or a album usually about 6

Q : Do you construct your beats or use samples?

Eric : both

Q : Are you planning on coming on again soon?

Eric : i hope, i like touring

Q : What's the story behind carla's tarantulas

Eric : carlas tarantulas was just a little joke, we recorded this wacko who kept calling the studio for al, we just taped her and put her on the record

Q : Ever met any other bands other than brian and jared/dylan?

Eric : filter, ministry, puppy, madonna, the list goes on and on,

Q : Any words of advice in choosing a label?

Eric : Get a good lawyer, go with a label that has it's full staff behind you, take time and investigate.

Q : good lawyers cost money, how can you afford em if you're a starving artist?

Eric : a lot of them will do it on a commision basis

Q : Is a manager absolutely essential?

Eric : It depends on how much time and or resources you have, if you don't know a lot of people in the biz a manager is important, and if you have allot going on a manager is important

Q : eric: when do you a remix, do you keep alot of the original song's sounds and elements or do you start completely from scratch?

Eric : depends on the song, sometimes i completely redo it... i have a dinner meeting with bugs bunny and co., i need to go soon

Sin-Tek : I would like to THANK you, Mr. Powell for coming online with us on behalf of liveonline (at) waste.org and Last Sigh.

Eric : hey people, i thank you for supporting 16volt, in any way.......... it really means a lot to us, thanks. sorry i was late

Sin-Tek : tis ok....i will put out a msg to rmi ... and the mail list...take care eric! and thanks again...bring a friend next time??

Eric : will do!