Interview with True Widow’s Slim TX

Unless you’re new to this website, you probably already know that we here at B.G.M. are pretty much obsessed with the somber entrancing tunes of Dallas Texas’ True Widow. I was late to this bands party (as usual) after discovering True Widow’s previous full length and even lengthier titled As High As the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the Earth, back in January of this year. Upon hearing the first dissonant notes of “Skull Eyes” I was straight up hooked and after seeing the video for the song and discovering drummer Slim TX’s bodacious beard I knew True Widow was going to be a favorite band of mine. With the bands most recent release Circumambulation the band has further cemented a new little dark and cloudy spot in my heart.  I love this band and their new album so much I absolutely had to get in touch with Slim TX to talk about their tunes, inspirations, and his aforementioned bodacious beard.

B.G.M. True Widow has a pretty unique sound. Describe how you guys came to your more somber slow paced style?

Slim TX: A lot of smoke and a few cold rainy Texas days. We don’t get them that often, but when it happens they’re doozies. It was a pace we fell into pretty naturally. It worked out great for me since I had zero drumming experience prior to TW.

Are there any main influences on the band?

Drug culture, sonic cleansing, tonal harmonies, movies, & goodtimes!

Has the band ever written a faster paced song and thrown it out, because it didn’t fit the overall vibe of your sound?

If its a song that really works for us it will lend itself to being played at various tempos. Most times it’s slower than the record, but every once and while we’ll cut loose a little. Even when the tempo is upbeat it’s still all about finding the right groove.

I’ve read that the band doesn’t rehearse very often to keep the songs “fresh”, do you go into the studio with the songs fully mapped out or are they still works in progress?

We don’t even use the word rehearse! We’ll get together and jam when time permits, but we all stay really busy when we’re at home. Every once and a while we’ll run through a couple of songs, but we prefer to save that for the shows. It’s the same for set lists. We come up with a new one each night. Right before we play we’ll have a smoke session and sort out what songs everyone wants to play.

How do you decide who sings on what songs? Who generally comes up with the lyrics?

Whoever is singing came up with the lyrics 8 times out of 10. Every once and a while we’ll all chip in on something together. As for who gets the mic… the songs usually let us know who they want singing.

Circumambulation is defined as the act of moving around a sacred object and in previous interviews the band has referred to the association with the ritual of playing records. Does this tie into the concept of the album at all?

It does to a degree. The more people talk about it the more meaning it will be given. A lot of folks do take their vinyl very serious, so it was something that was thought about.

One of the things I love about Circumambulation is the eerie soundscapes before and after the songs. They seem to almost connect the album into one giant piece of music. Was this intentional? How were the soundscapes made?

We’ve played around with that sort of stuff on all the records. This one has a few more of those moments than the others, but we didn’t try to cram a bunch in. Just where it felt right/natural. All the sounds were created by our instruments and then tweaked into sounding like something else. For  example the “thunder” sound at the beginning (“Creeper”) started as a hits on the kick drum.

How do you feel the new album fits in with your previous work?

Very well. It’s a little more stripped down than the others, but we felt sonically it would be the proper way to go after “AHA”.

I thought it was an interesting choice for the band to sign to Relapse Records being as they are known for releasing faster more aggressive music. What was behind the decision to sign with the label?

We’ve known those guys for a while now and it just so happened we parted ways with Kemado the week before going into the studio. They heard all this through the grapevine and hit us up. I don’t really get wrapped up in the whole this or that type of music thing, so it was more about a label that was down to share in our vision and help out where they could. So far it’s been great!

You have a pretty bodacious beard. We enjoy beards ourselves, how do you feel the beard benefits the band?

I’d have to say it’s really what holds the band together. If it’s a good beard day you’d best believe it’ll be a good show night!

Are any of the band members involved in any other music projects?

We all dabble here and there, but nothing to speak of… at the moment.

True Widow has a tour coming up with Chelsea Wolfe. To me this seems like a perfect fit and I am extremely excited for the Salt Lake City date. How did this tour come about?

We just so happened to be looking for something to do around that time and they approached us about that month. They’ve been super supportive so far, which definitely has me looking forward to September.

During your shows what are the crowds generally like? Do they just stare at you? Any stage divers?

Yes, and we stare back. It’s like a head bobbing stare contest! Naaah. Maybe in the beginning, but now we see a whole range of stuff. Nothing that extreme, lots head rockin back and forth, some people sitting down around the edges getting their zone on, and somewhere there’s always a couple having a heavy makeout session. That last one is the best by the way!

Is there any way I can request “Skull Eyes” for the Salt Lake City show?