SOURCE – What do you like the most about Casting the Circle?
Katie Gilchrest (guitars, vocals) – I really like how our sound has evolved since the last record. For me at least I set out to mix it along the same lines as the last one, but it had a flow and flavor that emerged naturally. I like the direction the band is taking musically, and I’m excited that it just sort of happened. In my head the songs were going to sound huge, when I listen I think we did a great job, and I hope people feel the same way.
Megan Mullins (drums, percussion) – Just like Katie said, I really like the evolution of our sound since the last album. While we still sound like the same band and have so many of the same elements it seems we’ve upped our game a bit. My favorite song on the album is Invocation. We pushed ourselves further on this track and I’m thrilled for people to hear it!
SOURCE – Could you discuss some of the lyrical themes of the album?
Katie Gilchrest (guitars, vocals) – Lyrically we have a couple of songs that deal specifically with ritual and the occult, Casting the Circle and Invocation. Casting the Circle was written as a ritualistic opener for our live shows to call good energy into the room. Invocation centers around Satan, awakening and facing the dark parts of ourselves that we are afraid of. We invite the listeners to become one with Satan, therefore becoming one with yourself. You can’t just always focus on God and heaven, repressing the parts of yourself you don’t like and pretend you’re holy. Hourglass is about time and what we choose to do with it, a sort of lament about wasting our lives. Ave Satanas is a renaissance style mass for Satan.
Mariana Fiel (bass, vocals) – Basically what Katie just said. I think the darkness and the embrace of it has been a main focus on this album because it’s so often suppressed on people’s daily lives. You don’t always have to be bright and shiny, embrace your shadow self because that’s still a big part of you.
SOURCE – How has High Priestess do you believe handled the changing musical landscape and consumer consumption models of music delivery, where streaming often overtakes physical product sales and the live concert circuit has greater income possibilities going back to the Musicians?
Katie Gilchrest (guitars, vocals) – That is a really good question. We haven’t really had a choice, High Priestess was formed in 2016 and streaming has been the primary mode of delivery, and making money from shows and merch is the primary mode of income for us. Gone are the days where labels basically made careers for musicians, allowing them to grow and expand as artists without financial worry over a period of time (at least for larger artists). Now many musicians are also working their day jobs, their 2nd and 3rd jobs. It makes me sad to think of all the music we are missing out on that would otherwise be written and performed. Besides playing live, we’d love to explore other avenues such as music licensing if given the opportunity.
Mariana Fiel (bass, vocals) – I think streaming is great within the years we’re currently living in. Music becomes more accessible and it’s easier to share it across the world to whoever has a curious ear. Ultimately, if people like it, they’ll come to shows and buy the physical copies. I believe that’s why bigger musical acts have no problem making their albums available for free, like NIN just did and Radiohead sometimes do. They know that money will ultimately come back to them, one way or another.
SOURCE – How important is the band’s relationship with fans – do you feel that the interactions has led you to a more devoted fanbase and larger following?
Katie Gilchrest (guitars, vocals) – Yes for sure! The fans are everything. They are special, they are the ones who really get what we’re all about. I think meeting people in person is an especially good opportunity to connect with people. I love hanging out at the merch booth and meeting people after we play.
Megan Mullins (drums, percussion) – Yes! We love our fans!! I’m kind of an introvert so talking to new people makes me nervous, but wow are our fans kickass and encouraging! It really warms my heart to meet people who dig our music.
SOURCE – What do you think are some of the toughest and more difficult decisions a band at High Priestess’ stature has to make that may be difficult for the average fan to understand?
Katie Gilchrest (guitars, vocals) – Thank you for the compliment, I’m glad you think we are at a certain stature! Honestly there aren’t too many tough decisions at this stage, probably more so deciding when to go out on the road, how does it best serve our well being, with routing, places to stay etc. I’m sure the average fan could understand all that though. There are other decisions made in the creative department that keep me up at night, like which guitar should I use on the album, which fuzz, when should I add harmonies, when should I take them away, maybe stuff the average person doesn’t think about when listening to our music.
Megan Mullins (drums, percussion) – Yeah, I agree with Katie. Most of our tough decisions really come in the planning process for touring but most fans understand all that. The painstaking songwriting process might include more difficult to understand decisions. It can be so difficult to even decide when a song is complete. Should we tweak it more? Should I play something different in this section or that. There’s a sense of “what if” ideas that hang over my head all the way until we get the test pressing in.
SOURCE – Do you believe social media has levelled the playing field for an independent band like yourselves to compete against all of the label product and international bands out there?
Katie Gilchrest (guitars, vocals) – We are lucky that we have Ripple Music behind us, so that gives us a leg up for sure. They are still an independent label, but we benefit from being a part of their catalog, whether it’s connecting with other bands or bookers or the like. Social media has sort of leveled the playing field, as has platforms like bandcamp, and independent radio stations, even spotify radio and playlists to get music out there. I wouldn’t go so far to say that the playing field is completely level, but there are plenty of really successful bands out there without labels in our genre. But I do think some important aspects of labels are distribution, online platform and the connections.
SOURCE – What worries or concerns do you have most regarding the world that we live in today?
Katie Gilchrest (guitars, vocals) – My most immediate worry, along with everyone else, is the corona virus. My heart goes out to anyone that is ill and I worry about my friends and family. At the same time, I wonder if this is almost like a hard reset, and I wonder how industry and economy will look after it’s all over.
Mariana Fiel (bass, vocals) – This coronavirus situation is devastating, because we’re losing a whole generation. You’re seeing a really ugly side of the world that is faced with the decision of having to pick and choose who they’re going to care for, and that’s in privileged countries that have universal healthcare. In the US you see the ugly side of the people in charge of the government that had information about this for so long and decided to do absolutely nothing about it. The idiots that are making these challenges of licking toilets and such. It’s sad because I want to think it’s all about natural selection, but with a ridiculous amount of innocent bystanders like people with a compromised immune system that somehow cross paths with the idiots.
Megan Mullins (drums, percussion) – Like everyone else right now I’m very worried about the coronavirus Covid-19. I’m concerned for my family, friends, and communities all over the world. We’ve never seen anything of this magnitude in our lives. It feels like we’re living in a movie or something. The waiting part is very scary.
SOURCE – What’s planned for High Priestess this year?
Katie Gilchrest (guitars, vocals) – Our plans are pretty much on hold because of COVID-19. We had some shows planned and had to postpone/cancel, including our release show in LA. We’d been offered about 2-3 tours before all this began. I think we are all waiting to see what will happen.
Mariana Fiel (bass, vocals) – Specially since many other bands had to postpone their tours and will have to reorganize their paths. We’ll probably still do a release show when the dust settles and see how it goes from there, and what opportunities present themselves.
Megan Mullins (drums, percussion) – This year will look a lot different than we planned, but we’ll adapt. When we’re sure that it’s safe for us and our fans we’ll get back out there and share our music live. In the meantime, keep an eye on our socials as we’ll be sharing some behind the scenes things to stay engaged with our fans during this difficult time.
Contact:
High Priestess
Videos: