Heavy metal is one of the most progressive genres on the market, which is one reason why it’s such an acquired taste for many. When I stumbled upon Marty Eason on Bandcamp, I felt his new release Lazy Bones (available now as a free download) was no different; it’s a complex listen, but one that contributes admirably to the progressive metal legacy.
The record is a jarring experience from front to back; it’s full of huge, razor-sharp guitars and pummeling double bass, yet there are moments when it manages to delve into the electronic realm, evoking sounds similar to Flying Lotus or Samiyam. But as excited as I was to come across such an interesting and diverse release, I was equally pleased to find out Marty Eason is also an Atlanta resident.
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with him and discuss his musical inspirations, the recording process behind Lazy Bones and where he thinks his future efforts will take him.
You’ve got some killer riffs on your new CD, Lazy Bones, how long have you been playing guitar?
I started playing guitar about six years ago while in high school. With the exception of about two months in 2009 when I broke my wrist, no more than a day or two has gone by without me playing.
Who were your main influences when you first started?
When I began playing I was musically illiterate and only listened to a handful of older metal bands like Metallica and Megadeth. I bought Metallica’s Ride the Lightning album tab book and started learning the guitar solos from the songs I liked. Guitar tabs were intuitively easy to follow so I kept practicing. Music didn’t really start for me though until I went to my first concert — Darkest Hour at the Masquerade. Their performance was mind-blowing and something just clicked reaffirming with me how awesome music is. Since then I’ve tried to steadily keep growing musically.
Which new artists are you digging right now?
Protest the Hero and Between the Buried and Me consistently put out amazing new work that I keep coming back to. Sikth, Animals as Leaders, and the Mars Volta are more contemporary favorites. Newness is also relative to my discovery of certain music, and lately I’ve found amazing recordings from decades ago like the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Miles Davis’ albums.
As a progressive metal artist, do you feel that you’re in the right area for metal music? How is the metal scene in Atlanta at the present moment?
I feel that anywhere people want to groove and feel good is the right place for music, metal or not. It seems like Atlanta has steadily been building and diversifying its music scene and in the end, all the music blends together. Atlanta is a musical melting pot bound together by beer and fun. In regards to metal, I feel the scene is getting more popular. I’ve had a chance to work with and listen to a lot of great and ambitious upcoming metal bands from Atlanta like Bigot, An Isle Ate Her and Vae Victus, all of whom are releasing new material soon.
Let’s talk a little bit more about your new release Lazy Bones. I hear you recorded everything on the record yourself. Was that really labor intensive?
I recorded all the instruments myself except for drums, which are triggered through programmed MIDI and rendered with Toontrack’s Superior Drummer software. I don’t feel like it was especially labor intensive, but I also love to work on music; when I start working I get lost and come out of the haze hours later with finished a piece of music or a collection of ideas.
The recording process for Lazy Bones was also its writing process — for the guitar songs, I jam guitar improvisations to my recording software (usually Cakewalk’s program Sonar) synced to a metronome and pick out what I like from there. Any particular song may start with any instrument — like the piano, for example, on “Chuck’s Medicine.” There’s usually no preconceived idea or solid plan involved which keeps the music spontaneous and in the moment, drawing from feeling to answer the question: “what comes next?”
Once I end up with an instrumental track I feel is song-worthy, I fill out the remaining musical space with what’s missing: more guitars, bass, drums, keys — whatever needs to happen and feels right. I keep the Les Paul and Fender bass handy and just work until it’s done. In the case of Lazy Bones, I wrote a collection of songs that I felt mixed well together to make an EP/album while keeping a groovy theme over a few different musical styles.
Did you feel the album was more of an opportunity to showcase your skills as a guitarist or did you have other motivations behind the record?
While it could be great to be recognized as a “guitar god,” I don’t know that I’m a good guitarist, especially when I compare myself to musicians to whom I look up to (laughs). Some of the tracks from the EP don’t even have guitar on them. I like to think of Lazy Bones as a musical whole whose components just so happen to include guitar. The guitar is just as important as the bass or drums on these recordings. It’s my goal to have the instruments and sounds work to complement each other and form a fully dynamic and emotional expression. Likewise, I consider the entire metal sound just another musical tool rather than a framework.
My motivation for Lazy Bones was to challenge myself as a musician and producer to see what I could actually make happen within a week’s time. It’s like a psychological compulsion driving me forward. With music careers and jobs bearing less consistency and structure these days, musicians have to be diverse; I’m a musician and I’m compelled to work. If there’s an objective to be reached with this EP, I hope that it’s perceived more as a creative musical venture than limited to showing off my guitar skills — its reception is beyond my control. I just want to share what I believe in. It would be fantastic if I could I find like-minded musicians through my releases, people who share the same beliefs and want to contribute to what I do.
Do you prefer to write by yourself or are you open to group endeavors and musical projects?
Even though I can’t stop doing it, I don’t like writing by myself. It has the nasty consequence of no immediate external feedback and I find myself being it’s only audience. It becomes good and bad. My biggest problem with writing alone is that I don’t know if it’s worthy or not. Because I may love something doesn’t mean other people will understand it or share that experience.
Conversely, it’s amazing to write with and be a part of group music where you have the support of the whole band’s input towards a singular idea. In my experience the best, most meaningful music always comes from a group of people actively listening to each other and performing in real time. Great live music and improvisation requires a group of people fluent in music, who are constantly listening to and building from each other and the result is a deeply musical conversation. I play guitar/bass in a two-piece jam band called Cosmic Extract and am amazed at the quantity of new music we’ve created just by jamming and having fun.
I’m open to any musical endeavor: the more challenging it is, the greater the reward I gain. Sharing musical experiences is all part of the fun. The universe is a groovy place and we’re just here to channel its message.
What can music fans expect from Marty Eason in the next few months?
In the immediate future there will be several compilation releases including my older music leading up to Lazy Bones. I’m also writing a jazz-oriented album and another heavy set. I plan on learning more, writing new music and watching the musical journey unfold. I will keep producing as long as I am able to.
More Info:
Bandcamp: www.martyeason.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/martyplaysguitar
