SOURCE – How would you describe your band’s music style to someone that has never heard of your before?
Parker Chandler (Bass) – We just call it heavy rock.
SOURCE – Which are your expectations from split LP with SATAN’S SATYRS and what do you wish to achieve with Windhand in the future?
Parker Chandler (Bass) – Our only expectation for the split was to put out some music with our good friends in Satan’s Satyrs. Sometimes people need to be reminded that two bands don’t have to sound at all similar in order to tour or release music together. We just like spending time with them and hope that we can help expose their music to a wider audience. I think the goal for Windhand is to just keep doing what we’ve been doing as long as it feels right to us; we try not to do anything if there’s any trepidation on behalf of any band member.
SOURCE – Where did the recordings take place and who took care of the album’s production, mixing and mastering this time?
Parker Chandler (Bass) – Both sides of the split were recorded and mixed by our guitar player, Garrett, in our practice space with Clayton from Satan’s Satyrs helping to mix their songs. Brad Boatright handled the mastering at Audiosiege in Portland, Oregon.
SOURCE – Grief’s Infernal Flower is your last album, after a small period of relative silence with few gigs etc. Were you on hiatus so to speak?
Parker Chandler (Bass) – There was never a hiatus. Garrett had a kid shortly after “Grief’s Infernal Flower” was released so we stayed as active as we could in that period but we also had to be respectful of this huge, life-changing event.
SOURCE – What has changed in your sound/music style and in the band since Windhand (Forcefield Records, 2012) and which were those things that inspired you to write the music and the lyrics for the new album?
Parker Chandler (Bass) – Musically, I guess we’ve picked up the tempo a little bit in some places over the years. Nowadays, I think the sound and style are more natural to us and a better reflection of our personal tastes. Since the last album, we’ve experienced some of the best and worst of what life has to offer so, naturally, we put those experiences into our new music. When you’ve been in a band this long, you’re essentially a family and you experience all these significant losses or gains together so, when it came time to write the new record, it felt like we were all on the same page.
SOURCE – Do you think that this sound change of yours over the years has made the band more appealing to a wider audience than before?
Parker Chandler (Bass) – I don’t really have a good way to gauge that. The sound doesn’t seem to have changed drastically enough to be the sole reason for an increase in popularity. I like to think that it has more to do with making sacrifices and being honest in the art we create. If you’re working your ass off creating and touring, eventually people will start to notice whether or not you have a label and a booking agent.
SOURCE – Has the internet changed the ways music should be played and released or not? Is it a “divine gift” or a curse?
Parker Chandler (Bass) – There’s a lot to talk about there. It’s definitely changed the landscape of the music industry. As a fan of music, I see it as a gift; artists are giving away their new albums for free as long as you’re not too concerned with the tangible aspects (vinyl, CDs etc.) but they kinda had to because people were going to download it illegally anyway. I do like being able to listen to a record before deciding whether or not to buy the LP and it’s very cool that somebody with no label ties and no resources to produce a physical album can release music too. As a musician, it can be frustrating but I think it’s good overall. If a free album stream gets a handful more people interested and willing to support the live show, it’s a positive thing. I think the drawback I struggle with the most is that music feels somewhat disposable now. You can put extra emphasis on the art and packaging as a reward to the people who still like to hold music in their hands but the majority of people nowadays won’t bother with the physical album. There’s no easy answer but I view it as mostly good and it can’t be undone so here we are.
SOURCE – Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Wish you the best for the future to come.
Parker Chandler (Bass) – Take care!
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