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Unsigned518 - Episode 133 - Aaron Holland of Skull Mason · Unsigned518

• 0:01
  Speaker A: He was born on a Saturday in 73 right now on the Ben's guitar with a short whip radio back motherfucking Andy scolding motherfucker cause here he comes Andy scrolling, wearing his orange hat.
• 0:27
  Speaker B: Welcome to Unsigned 518. I'm here with Aaron Holland of Skull Mason. How's it going, man?
• 0:33
  Speaker C: Good, how are you?
• 0:34
  Speaker B: I'm, you know, I'm wonderful. And we just met, you know, probably seven or eight minutes ago, just like a couple minutes ago. And I said, that's like, kind of how I like to roll the show. Like, I like it to be just a natural conversation rather than an interview. Cause I always think of an interview as, like, questions, and sometimes they can be uncomfortable and stuff. So, like, yeah, we're just. We're just hanging out and I'm getting to know about Skull Mason. But the one thing thing I do know about Skull Mason is that as of right now, it's basically you, right?
• 1:11
  Speaker C: Yeah. It's a solo project of sorts. I have a couple prospects for potential members, but nothing really solid yet.
• 1:21
  Speaker B: And we'll circle back to that and talk about the search for members, I guess. But I guess right now kind of go back and tell everybody the story of Skull Mason, like, how it came to be, you know, to where it is at this point.
• 1:40
  Speaker C: Okay, so I've been in the Albany music scene for quite a while. Some of you might have heard of my old band straight through sanity. It's kind of like a thrash metal band. So we were gigging for about 20 years. You know, we've done Saratoga Winters, bogeys, all the classic clubs, trick shots, all that. I recently stepped down from that band, basically felt, I don't know, creatively at a standstill, I guess you could say. So I stepped down just to focus on writing new songs. And over the course of the years in the music scene, I've made friends, one of them being my buddy Jared, who invited me over to record some demos, started posting some of those demos onto my socials and had people reaching out to me as far as turning it into an actual musical project. One of those people would be Chris Williams, actually a drummer out in the UK. Plays in a band called Gamma Bomb. Plays in a band called Shrapnel. He's got a new project called struck a nerve. Really great drummer. This guy's like, hey, so I see you're doing these demos. I'm digging them. Are you looking for some live drums? I was like, hell yeah. Sent him the demos. He knocked them out in, like, two days in the studio. So now I go back to jared. I'm like, hey, man, I got these drums recorded. I'd like to record some proper guitars and, you know, some vocals and whatnot, and, you know, that turned into a proper recording, and I started sharing some clips of this on the Internet, and now I have an artist reaching out to me. Hey, you looking for some artwork for your project? I'm like, sure. So now I got some sweet artwork, and then my friend Daniel of Danimal sound reaches out to me. He's like, hey, man, you looking for a mix? I'm like, sure. So it all kind of happened very organically. I just, you know, I was just trying to be creative, wanted to write songs and record songs, and it turned into something that I'm actually really proud of. And, you know, I can't not do something with it. I want to turn it into a band, start gigging again. So here we are.
• 4:11
  Speaker B: And so, like, that's, you know, basically, you know, and I didn't know for sure, but I kind of thought, you know, looking at your socials, you know, and I said, I don't do any research. I do. I do light research or whatever, but so that, you know, I realized that it's a solo project. And I was wondering in the back of my head, like. Cause we scheduled this weeks ago, but I was like, I wonder if he's looking for people or if it's just a. So, like, you're actively trying to find people to fill roles within Skull Mason.
• 4:40
  Speaker C: I am, yep. And like I said, there's some prospects. I go to shows, I talk to people, and, you know, a lot of guys are down to gym and people that I'm friends with, so I'm really excited about it. But the tough parts, the drummer. So I'm still, like I said, I've talked to a couple people, but everybody's busy. If you are familiar with the Albany metal scene, there's, like, only a handful of. Of drummers, and they're all in, like, five or six bands already, so it's tough. Everybody's got jobs, we got families, and, you know, I totally understand, you know, people being unable to commit.
• 5:17
  Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. And like I was saying, even before we got rolling, you know, it was like, one of the reasons I don't do a ton of research, because I don't have any fucking time. You know what I mean? Like, I'm like, I have so much shit going on that when it comes to podcast day, like, I look at this day because I record everything on Sundays. So I, you know, stack three or four on a Sunday. That's where I do all my recording. And I kind of look at these days as, like, relaxing, because I'm like, all I got to do is talk to musicians. It's amazing. Yeah.
• 5:48
  Speaker C: Yeah. It's not a bad setup here, too. We're just hanging out the dogs here.
• 5:51
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's air conditioning. I mean, we had to turn the air conditioning off to record, but for audio reasons. But it was. But it was nice and air conditioned. Yeah. And again, I just hang out in this room, and I, you know, smoke weed and talk to musicians. It's amazing.
• 6:05
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 6:06
  Speaker B: But enough about me. So what year? Like, how new is Skull Mason? Like, months? A year?
• 6:14
  Speaker C: Like, in terms of it being announced to the public?
• 6:19
  Speaker B: No, I guess, like, in terms of when is the time that you were writing the songs and, like, coming up with the idea and the name Skull Mason.
• 6:27
  Speaker C: And so I guess a couple years, maybe. It's a collection of, you know, riffs and demos that I just kept on compiling and refining until it was. So I don't know when the exact date of when you'd say it would start would be. But I've been working on this project probably a couple years.
• 6:47
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 6:47
  Speaker C: I didn't really have a name for it. It was just, you know, writing songs is kind of what I do when I daydream. I'm.
• 6:55
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's a name that stands.
• 6:57
  Speaker C: It's tough because a lot of the names, a lot of the cool names games are taken. And then this one just kind of a little background on me. I'm a mason. I work with brick, stone block and stuff like that. And, you know, so that is kind of, I think of as a pretty badass trade, and metal is a badass music, so it kind of worked with it, and then just throw the word skull in front of it and you got a band name.
• 7:22
  Speaker B: Yeah. So do we want to play a skull Mason song?
• 7:27
  Speaker C: Sure.
• 7:28
  Speaker B: Which. Which one do we. Is this one of the ones with, like, the drummer from overseas or.
• 7:34
  Speaker C: Yep. Chris Williams. All the songs have him on it.
• 7:38
  Speaker B: Nice.
• 7:38
  Speaker C: We just completed a eight song cd. I think the first one I'd like to share is the first single that I released. It's called thrash machine.
• 7:47
  Speaker B: Okay, cool. So let's listen to thrash machine, skull Mason, and we'll be right back to talk to Aaron Holland.
• 7:54
  Speaker C: Right on.
• 8:35
  Speaker A: The book. With the trash machine we fight so proud and high with the reparations complete, we now consume the beast fill this raspberry jet russia.
• 9:52
  Speaker B: All right, that was thrash machine, skull Mason. And you know, you were saying while we were listening to the song quite loud in here, by the way. Right. You know, oh, yeah. And we're. I love that. Living in the country, I could just crank that shit super loud at noon on a Sunday and nobody cares. But it's not just you on the record. You know, you said that obviously the drummer was Chris Williams.
• 10:17
  Speaker C: Chris Williams, yeah.
• 10:18
  Speaker B: And then who else is on the track?
• 10:20
  Speaker C: So on the album as a whole, I received a good deal of help on this song in particular, I'm doing guitars, leading rhythm with vocals. Jared Weed, the guy who recorded me, he does the second lead and then we died. A guest spot for vocals in the third solo by David secord of the band Incontinence. Jared played bass as well. He helped him out a good deal on this record.
• 10:45
  Speaker B: And so, you know, clearly in listening to that, like, you know, when you say thrash, I mean, I always think of, like, whenever anybody says thrash, I always think of Slayer. Of course, they're like the kings of thrash, but like, clearly skull Mason is a little different. You know, you wouldn't just say, oh, yeah, it's just like. So how would you describe, I guess, Skull Mason and how it's different from like your straight up thrash, man?
• 11:10
  Speaker C: If you were to listen to the cd, I think you'd notice a little bit more dynamics, I guess you could say. Not that thrash can't be dynamic, but I don't think that's something people would normally associate with the genre.
• 11:24
  Speaker B: Unless you like, you know, include like the sound of thunder every once in a while.
• 11:28
  Speaker C: Right? You know, I got some acoustic passages, clean channels, some keyboards. I. So I grew up on bands like Megadeth and Slayer and Testament, all those old school thrash bands. But I'm also really into, you know, Prague metal, power metal, death metal, traditional metal bands like Maiden and Priest. So I think maybe you'll hear some of those influences. Like I said, dynamics was. Dynamics within the genre was something I was going for. I don't think we needed Slayer part two. Not that I'm necessarily capable of making that, but I just tried to keep it very organic and not contrived, I guess you could say. So whatever I was feeling when I picked up the guitar, that's kind of what showed up. And people have told me it's trash, man. I don't know.
• 12:26
  Speaker B: Well, and I love the, like, idea of taking influences, you know, it's just like being like a fucking chef or something, you know, like you take this.
• 12:35
  Speaker C: Little bee variety is the spice of life.
• 12:37
  Speaker B: Variety. And it's the way you mix them is how you get something original. So I like. I love hearing thrash, and you're like. But there's some keyboards and an acoustic guitar.
• 12:47
  Speaker C: Yes.
• 12:48
  Speaker B: All right. That's way different than, you know, you would never hear an acoustic guitar on a slam album.
• 12:54
  Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. I think every song will have some new ingredient. If you're gonna go with the cooking thing. Right. To make it a distinct song from the song before it or after it. That was just kind of important for me. Every song has its own personality and a reason to exist, kind of.
• 13:18
  Speaker B: And how much material do you have out currently?
• 13:21
  Speaker C: Well, I've released three singles. The one we just heard, thrash machine, another one called finally awake, and I just dropped one, I think, last week called past life haunting. But that being said, we do have a full album. I say we, but I have a full album.
• 13:41
  Speaker B: The royal we.
• 13:42
  Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. Um, coming out September 8, I'm gonna drop it eight songs long. I think around 40 minutes. During the sessions creating this album, I actually wrote and recorded eleven songs. We released eight of them. And the other four plus maybe I'll do, like a acoustic intro or something like that, or an outro. So, like, a five song ep will probably be released next year. And that one's got some really cool stuff on it, too, including a eight minute long closer called the dying trade, which is kind of tongue in cheek because that's what people call masonry.
• 14:26
  Speaker B: So you've got some stuff out. You've got some stuff already recorded. And on all, like, the recorded stuff, like, the eleven songs that you did, is that kind of the same lineup?
• 14:37
  Speaker C: Yep, the lineup's the same. There's another guest spot, and that's actually on the second single, finally awake by Jeff Caro of the band Malific. He's the man. He's like an og of the Albany metal scene. He's been around forever, and I was honored. You know, we reached out and he's like, yeah, man, I'll lay down a solo for you. And he just killed it. It's like one of my favorite parts in the whole album, you know, going.
• 15:02
  Speaker B: Forward, looking to, like, fill, like, permanent roles and are you looking to, like, you know, book gigs and play out live and record with a solid lineup?
• 15:13
  Speaker C: Yep. I'm definitely looking to get a lineup together and start playing gigs. It's frustrating. I'm actually having people reaching out because I guess I'm. It's not apparent that it's a solo project. So I think I'm a gig ready band.
• 15:27
  Speaker B: Right.
• 15:28
  Speaker C: Which just isn't the case, unfortunately. So, you know, there's a guitarist and a bassist that seem interested, but without the drummer, we're kind of, you know, just playing the waiting game. So, you know, if there's any drummers out there, feel free to reach out.
• 15:44
  Speaker B: And how would they. How would they contact, like, what's your handle on, like, social or.
• 15:49
  Speaker C: So I'm Aaron Holland. That's Aaron. And you could message me directly on any of those or the Skull Mason page. Skull Mason official on Instagram and just Skull Mason on Facebook.
• 16:03
  Speaker B: Sweet.
• 16:04
  Speaker C: Yep.
• 16:05
  Speaker B: And so you're looking for a drummer, bass and guitarist, and, like, someone who can kind of bounce back and forth. I mean, clearly, having listened to the song, like, they've got to have some fucking chops.
• 16:17
  Speaker C: Yeah, they got a shred, for sure.
• 16:20
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 16:20
  Speaker C: Um, and there's no. There's no shortage of talent. Like I said before, it's just a. A matter of interest and availability.
• 16:26
  Speaker A: Right.
• 16:27
  Speaker C: The talent's definitely there in the Albany scene.
• 16:28
  Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. And so the band spaced right out of Albany, then.
• 16:32
  Speaker C: Yeah, we would be. Within reason. I mean, we'll travel, you know.
• 16:36
  Speaker B: Right.
• 16:36
  Speaker C: A little bit. We gotta be flexible.
• 16:38
  Speaker B: Sure. Sure. All right, well, do we want to hear another song?
• 16:43
  Speaker C: Yeah, sure. I think it would be more interesting to show the dynamics of the record to play past life haunting next, maybe you can hear some of those clean channel guitars and some keyboards.
• 16:59
  Speaker B: All right, so let's check out past life haunting skull Mason. And we'll be right back to wrap.
• 17:05
  Speaker A: It up with Aaron Hollande now. Bye bye. See your thrill go real lord, I don't know how I can deal your familiar face before they ever race man, that it's gone without all trace.
• 20:39
  Speaker B: I.
• 20:39
  Speaker A: Love you with us now I make the sun what you think about it? Living with the mind of your sexy life fucking day.
• 22:50
  Speaker B: All right, that was past life haunting skull Mason. And, Aaron, I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your day to come up and do this. I really appreciate it. And before we go, I want to give you a chance to say what I refer to as your gratitudes.
• 23:04
  Speaker C: Great. Well, first of all, I'd like to thank you, Andy. You're very welcome. This is a really cool opportunity for me. Maybe get some new listeners and maybe even a live band to play with.
• 23:14
  Speaker B: Right. We'll make it happen.
• 23:17
  Speaker C: And it's. You know, it's just really cool. They give people in the 518 a spot late like this. I'd like to thank my wife because she's really flexible with me doing this and throughout the years with my previous band, I'd like to thank the guys helped me make the record. Jared weed, guitar and bass. David secord. He did the guest vocals on thrash Machine. Jeff Caro on finally awake. Danny Dannemolee, the owner of Danimo Sound, did a really good job on the mixing of this album and machine. The producer who did the mastering, I'd like to thank just the Albany scene in a hole.
• 23:58
  Speaker B: All right, so that is Aaron Holland of Skull Mason. I am Andy Scullen. This is unsigned 501 eight. I'll see you on the road later. One sign 518 is produced and hosted by me, Andy Scullen. New episodes are available every week wherever you stream podcasts. If you'd like to help support the show, please like and subscribe wherever you are listening. Or you could buy me a coffee@buymeacoffee.com. unsigned 518 if you would like to advertise on the show, send me an email at unsigned 518 mail.com and to be a guest on the show, reach out to me through Instagram at unsigned 518. Take care of one another and I'll see you next week.
• 24:45
  Speaker A: And scarce.