MUSIC
300 Watt Lusting in the City of Dead Roses
Josh Brown
Click here to listen to a couple brand new tracks from 300 Watt Lust...
Number of members:
Chico: Currently 3, we’ve dabbled with the idea of picking up another guitar player, but were just not sure because on one hand, a large part of our sound derives from being a 3 piece. But on the other hand we find ourselves having to work slightly harder then the average 4 or 5 piece bands to create a song with dynamics.
How long have you been a band?
Chico: We just had our one year anniversary, but we’ve only been playing together locally for about six months.
How did you guys decided your name?
Chico: We actually use to be called Damensha, but we changed it after running into a bunch of other bands with the same name. We decided to call ourselves 300 Watt Lust after that for two reasons. One, because we have a 300 Watt Guitar Head. And Two, one time we were stopped during the middle of one of our sets by some retarded bar manager because he supposedly thought we were being too loud. After we complied and turned down, all we could think about was how bad we wanted to turn back up. We had a real feeling of lust for our original noyse level. Anyway, even after that the police still called the bar and sent some cheesy city official over with a noyse meter threatening to shut the bar down for the night. Whatever, I thought the bar sucked anyway. The only worth while thing about the gig was that we were provided with unlimited beer. We drank until they wouldn’t serve us anymore of course. And after leaving, got into a scuffle outside with some passer by. It was a fun night.
How did the band come to be?
Chico: It’s a long story, so to make it short. Our Drummer Tim moved here from San Diego around the same time our bassist Bryan moved here from St. Louis. I already lived hear and we all met through the Willamette Week.
Describe what type of music you play, as best you can:
Chico: Our sound spans over a variety of distorted, drummed out and bassy areas. I guess I would best describe us in a nutshell as riffy, kinda chaotic and heavy at times, but all while managing to throw on a little melodic texture and feeling over top.
Do you have any albums already, or is this the first one you’re working on?
Chico: This will be our first E.P recorded in a professional studio. It’s gonna consist of 5 songs. 4 Rock tunes, and 1 acoustic cut. Hopefully we will be out of the studio and done by mid this month.
Have you done any live shows, or do you have any scheduled in the near future?
Chico: Yeah, we’ve played about 7 shows, everywhere from The Tonic Lounge, to Conans Pub, to the Twilight Cafe. Right now we have a show coming up on July 13 at Ash St, and have another show coming up on July 30th at the Rock N Roll Pizza (Metal Cafe).
What kind of publicity have you gotten thus far?
Chico: We really haven’t been around long enough to have any real publicity to brag about at this point. We’ve had a few local reviews and shit, but nothing to bust a nut over.
How closely do you guys want to be associated with Portland?
Chico: That’s a tricky question. Of course I will always represent my city of dead roses, and I will always love my city. But at the same time, my love will always and only be on my terms, not trends. Not there trends, not your trends, and certainly not a whole city’s current trend. Mainstream or underground, it doesn’t matter to me, It’s all the same to certain degree. We don’t want to be pigeon held into any one thing. We prefer more freedom, and prefer to not be thrown into any categories. With that said, our goal as a band would probably be to take our free and un-tainted spirits and love as far as we are graced with the opportunity to take it.
Where do you draw most of your inspiration from?
Chico: A mixture of many things. Artist wise, everyone from The Beatles to Shadows Fall, to Nirvana, to Fu Man Chu, to Black Sabbath or Sublime. Creatively wise, well I personally just need to keep my mind busy so I don’t act too crazy. I really feel like I’m on the fence sometimes. As for my band-mates, I’m not sure.
What kind of audience do you have?
Chico: An ugly one.
What is the craziest story from the band life thus far?
Chico: One time my bass player passed out at the wheel while we were driving down the freeway. I was already passed out myself in the passenger seat so all I remember is waking up covered in windshield glass. Evidently we had wrecked into some construction shit. I was just glad my head was still attached. We were pretty lucky.
How much time does the band spend on average practicing/recording/meeting/etc.?
Chico: We have our own weekly practice spot in S.E.. Other then that, of course we hang out, go to the bars, shows…etc.
Tell us a little about the two songs featured on The Noyse, “City of Dead Roses” and “Promiscuous Infant”:
Chico: Actually these two songs aren’t even finished. The mp3’s you have are songs off our upcoming E.P, but there totally uncut and un-mixed. The producer producing our E.P would shit his pants if he knew that we had leaked these two songs to anyone. He even talked to us about it and asked us not too. Oh well. “City Of Dead Roses” is simple. It’s about my city and my city’s strong attitude when it comes to taking a stand, whether it’s against local police brutality, Or whether it’s against some cricked city official. Whatever the issue, were a strong and demanding city. Another example of our strength was our ability to see through our economy that took a beating for such a long time. Remember, we’ve been dubbed little Berut for a reason. We need to be proud of that!!! “Promiscuous Infint” is about a girl who tries to grow up to fast.
