{"id":21017,"date":"2021-05-20T05:30:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T09:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=21017"},"modified":"2021-05-18T14:49:52","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T18:49:52","slug":"retired-fire-eater-seeks-doom-stoner-metal-band-slow-machine-the-craigslist-quintet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/20\/retired-fire-eater-seeks-doom-stoner-metal-band-slow-machine-the-craigslist-quintet\/","title":{"rendered":"Retired Fire Eater Seeks Doom\/stoner Metal Band: Slow Machine, the Craigslist Quintet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"An edited version of this feature appeared previously in<\/em> SF Weekly.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does a new band \u2013 combining a Portuguese-speaking former fire eater and an instrumental quartet that plays stoner metal \u2013 get started during a pandemic? Through Craigslist, of course. Oakland-based band Slow Machine has just released its debut EP, Black Tide<\/i>, and the four-song collection of studio tracks documents the breathtaking live power of the group. And that\u2019s remarkable, because Slow Machine hasn\u2019t played in front of an audience yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the band was together before the pandemic,\u201d says vocalist Paula Kaiser. \u201cI joined right before things really got completely out of hand.\u201d The new group managed to schedule a few rehearsals before everything shut down. But by October of last year, Slow Machine was able to book time at El Studio, recording four original songs that showcase the band\u2019s doom-laden, atmospheric roar.<\/p>\n

Kaiser had been in a band before \u2013 when she was 13. \u201cIn Brazil, I played in a punk band called Sphincter,\u201d she says with a wicked laugh. \u201cThe band name was based on that line in Wayne\u2019s World<\/i>: \u2018Sphincter says what?\u2019\u201d But Slow Machine represents her first foray into lead vocal work. \u201cI was so shy about it,\u201d she admits. \u201cI was like, \u2018It\u2019s never going to work!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But it did work. Kaiser\u2019s commanding voice has a mystical, foreboding texture that fits in well with the band\u2019s wide-screen squalls of guitar riffage and ground-shaking rhythm section. \u201cWe\u2019re pretty heavy live,\u201d Kaiser says, \u201cBut when we\u2019re jamming together, we\u2019re a little more psychedelic and hypnotic.\u201d Slow Machine makes liberal use of \u2013 you guessed it \u2013 slow musical passages, but those are brightened by Kaiser\u2019s vocal harmonies. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to be your standard singing-about-Druids band,\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cWe wanted something a little bit fresher.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band \u2013 Daniel Schwiderski on lead guitar, Joel Panton on rhythm guitar, bassist JP Machine and Eliot Rennie on drums \u2013 plays with precision and slow-burn intensity as they support Kaiser\u2019s alluring vocals. The spooky, sinister vibe of \u201cSands\u201d \u2013 at eight-plus minutes, the lengthiest track on Black Tide<\/i> \u2013 takes its time to develop. As the song unfolds, Kaiser spins out an icy, assured vocal that speaks of war and mayhem.<\/p>\n

And weighty subject material is another defining quality of Slow Machine\u2019s music. Kaiser, who writes the band\u2019s lyrics, explains that three of the four songs are about drugs. \u201cFrost\u201d is about cocaine. \u201c\u2019She\u2019s Nodding Again\u2019 is obviously about heroin,\u201d Kaiser says. Citing the well-worn adage \u201cWrite about what you know,\u201d Kaiser says that a decade ago, she was addicted to drugs. \u201cBut I want to make sure that it doesn\u2019t sound for even a second like we\u2019re glorifying drugs,\u201d she emphasizes. \u201cMusic got me through so many hard times; if our music could do the same person for even one person, that would be my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s decision to debut with an EP rather than a full album wasn\u2019t born of lack of material. \u201cThe point was, \u2018Let\u2019s start with an EP because we\u2019re not on a label yet,\u2019\u201d Kaiser explains. \u201cWe were already getting a lot of traction on Instagram without even having any music out,\u201d she says. \u201cEvery week we had more and more followers. It was crazy.\u201d The group\u2019s collective goal was to get some music out there, and then see what sort of interest Slow Machine could attract from record labels.<\/p>\n

And even though the Black Tide<\/i> EP has only been available for weeks \u2013 it saw official release in early February \u2013 there are signs that the band\u2019s \u201cteaser\u201d approach seems to be working as planned. By mid-March, the group was in talks with two labels. \u201cWe\u2019re so humbled,\u201d Kaiser says. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you: I may have cried at some point or another!\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaiser may not have a long history as a vocalist, but she\u2019s a seasoned performer. \u201cI\u2019ve been on stage for years and years,\u201d she says. Before relocating to the Bay Area, she lived in New York City where she worked extensively as a fire eater. Asked if that skill might eventually be worked into a Slow Machine performance when live concerts resume, she allows that it\u2019s at least a possibility.<\/p>\n

Fire eating is \u201ckind of like riding a bike,\u201d Kaiser explains. \u201cYou never really forget how to do it, and if you do<\/i> forget, chances are good that you\u2019ll die trying.\u201d She pauses and then backpedals a bit. \u201cWe\u2019ve joked about it,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that it might be cheesy, and a little overkill: \u2018Hear me sing, and now watch me eat fire!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An edited version of this feature appeared previously in SF Weekly. How does a new band \u2013 combining a Portuguese-speaking former fire eater and an instrumental quartet that plays stoner […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,41,49],"tags":[4532],"class_list":["post-21017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doomstoner","category-interview","category-new-release","tag-slow-machine","cat-23-id","cat-41-id","cat-49-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21017"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21020,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21017\/revisions\/21020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}