If you haven’t been spending significant parts of your life listening to He Whose Ox Is Gored then you have been living life wrong. Ever since discovering the band back in 2012 I have pretty much been spinning their Nightshade and OP Amps II: Into the Ethers EP’s non-stop. There’s a lot f bands around right now that try to do the post metal thing and most of these bands just sound bland like they are trying to make an exact copy of what Isis (R.I.P.) did. Not He Whose Ox Is Gored, they are actually expanding on the genre and adding in some really great and unique elements with their original song structures and ethereal keyboards. Its this new take on heaviness that make He Whose Ox Is Gored entertaining and a consistently interesting listen, because something new can be found in the bands’ songs every time around. However, it has been a few years since the band has released any new tunes. With the exception of one split and a single I have had nothing new to worship from the band except for the aforementioned EP’s. So when I began hearing rumors of He Whose Ox Is Gored releasing some new tunes I had to get more details. So I got in touch with founding members Lisa Mungo (keyboards, vocals) and Brian McClelland (guitar, vocals) and asked them about all this new material that I have been so patiently waiting for. Plus the band is on tour and I wanted to talk to them about that as well.
First off, could you tell us a little bit about how He Whose Ox Is Gored came about?
Brian McClelland: Yes! I have a hole in my heart that no amount of cocaine and strippers can fill, so I had to turn to music.
Lisa Mungo: Haha. Brian and I started the band about five years ago. We’ve been through a couple lineup changes, but finally settled on Mike Sparks (bass) and John O’Connell (drums) when we started working on new stuff last year.
So, I am a huge fan of the Nightshade EP… but it seems like it’s been forever since you’ve released any new stuff. What has been the hold up?
LM: While we were proud of the Nightshade EP, we knew we wanted to do more, so it took a minute to figure out what exactly we wanted, and how to get there. A big part of it was definitely getting the right team together, then there was other stuff, like actually recording.
BM: Yeah, recording took about a year between the first studio date and receiving the final master.
LM: We also had to split our recording sessions up so we could tour.
BM. Right. That was fun, though. Most of the vocals were written and tested on the road.
To my understanding, you have wrapped up work on your full length, The Camel, The Lion, The Child, can you talk with us about what your plans are currently with it’s release?
BM: Yeah, we’re working on finding it a home as of now. We’ve debated releasing it ourselves, but we’d like to find a home also. We’ve been so DIY for so long, that we’re starting to see some real momentum in our online sales, and merch sales on the road. One of the things that we’re missing is infrastructure to fulfill distro stuff, but we’re getting better and better at that every day. We’re in the process of talking to a few labels, though.
I saw that you are also working on a 7″ with Bleeding Light Records that is due out this fall. Can you tell us more about what we can expect from this release and how your relationship with BLR began?
LM: Geometrical astral shred.
BM: Haha, pretty much. It all kind of came together when Paul (from Bleeding Light) and I were up in the middle of the night talking shit to each other on twitter. We’d get hella crossed and talk about whatever records and TV garbage we were into, and it grew from there. He’s a solid dude, really fun to work with.
Between the 7” and the new full length being finished it’s probably excruciating to not be able to share all this new material with everyone. I know it is for us, how are you holding up?
BM: Alright, haha. There’s a weird push/pull vibe with your art where you get stoked in waves. Sometimes we don’t practice for two months, then we get in the room and we sound like shit. After a couple nights, we shake the rust off and go on tour, and it’s awesome again, and we’re tighter than ever.
LM: Yeah. Sometimes we look at the setlist and we’ve been playing certain songs for a couple years even before they ended up on the new record and we don’t want to play them just then. Other times, songs sound super good paired with other tracks and you sort of rediscover them.
BM: That’s actually a great question, because those things do effect the way you make art, and write, and process stuff sometimes.
You guys did just put out a compilation cassette of your Nightshade and OP Amps II: Into the Ethers EP’s through Breathe Plastic. In your opinion do you think cassette tape’s are the new vinyl?
LM: Nah. But they’re definitely cool. They’re a cost effective way to deliver physical copies of your music to listeners and fans, and the fact that that demand is up in a way that’s reviving formerly dwindling mediums is really rad.
BM: Yeah. I like them. Our tape player at home is busted, but I still love collecting tapes from bands, even just to see what they’re doing with packaging and stuff. And give them a few bucks, you know. Still gotta get that shit fixed, though.
You guys are currently out on tour, playing some shows up and down the west coast. What are your touring plans for the remainder of this year?
LM: We’re heading back out late October/early November to release the Rumors 7″, then we’ll be taking some time off to work on some new material.
BM: Yeah, Paul from Bleeding Light is also putting out my other band, the Great Goddamn next year, so we’ll be working on packaging and details for that, too. There’s always a pile of stuff to do.
When I saw you in concert last year, you were playing all new songs. Are your live sets still consisting of mostly unreleased songs? Or are you mixing in some older jams too?
LM: We try to mix in stuff from every release, since there are still plenty of people that haven’t seen us so sometimes we play whatever we want.
What is your favorite thing about touring?
LM: Definitely just seeing our friends and getting out of the house, you know? Tour life is like permanent vacation. It’s always super fun.
BM: Totally.
Least favorite thing about touring?
BM: Getting robbed in Oakland, haha. That shit sucked.
For the Salt Lake City show on the 14th is there any way I can request a cover of “(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight” by Cutting Crew… just kidding. Do you guys have any covers that you play live? If not, any that you’re considering?
LM: Haha, that’s a good one. I could definitely get behind that.
BM: We’ve been working on a cover of Pagan Poetry by Bjork on and off for a while. That one’s super fun. Mike has a no covers rule, but if it were up to me, I’d have us doing half a dozen Smashing Pumpkins songs in rotation, haha. I’ve always wanted to do “The Aeroplane Flies High (Looks Left, Turns Right),” but hella don’t do solos.
If you had to be stuck on the road with only one album to listen to, what would you pick?
LM: TNT by Tortoise
BM: Blue Album or Pinkerton by Weezer. That one’s tough, though. It could be so many things.
You guys have played a ton of shows with a ton of bands, any that you would recommend that we may be missing out on?
LM: Man. So many good bands. We’ve played with a bunch of rad ones on this tour. Definitely check out Serial Hawk, Constant Lovers, Muscle & Marrow, The Black Mare, Glaare, Haunted Horses, Theories, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Bath House, Noise-a-tron, QunQ, so many. Most importantly, go out and find something YOU dig.
BM: Yep. Keep the dream alive, baby.
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