07.05.05 - Volume 1, Episode #2 - Length 38:44
Kicking ass on the Seattle indie scene for the past decade, Phonkbutt refuses to be defined. Discover the band’s views on the music industry – and then hear their bone-crunching melodies.
Phonkbutt members: Brutha’ Ugh – vocals, Mato Caster – guitar Robin – bass, Woogie “D” – drums, vocals.
AAC 35.9 MB
MP3 35.5 MB
Woogie “D” : If I could say one thing about our band; we the truth.
( ♪ Boomerang – Studio Version ♪ )
Brutha’ Ugh : You know what, what is phonkbutt. It’s just a mixture of all kind of funky experiences, juices flowing, music, people getting crazy. Experience what we go through, in life. What makes you stank, what makes you pissed off, then its how you channel that pissed off-ness. Phonkbutt is essence of it. That’s just part of the whole, the four of us, all of us, kind of make that whole and each of us has our own description of what phonkbutt is.
( ♪ Boomerang – Studio Version ♪ )
Mato Caster : Woogie “D” and I met some time ago, we were in high school when we met and we started jamming together a few years back. Derek we met a couple of years later. Started jamming and formed a band called Home Boy Sacred Me, Woogie “D”, and Derek. Derek was actually the bass player in that band. Starting out when we started jamming and we got serious he became the vocalist and actually I wasn’t in the band to begin with. I ended up being the bass player in that band.
Brutha’ Ugh : We were Rage Against the Machine before they were.
Mato Caster : Anyways, we branched off and started something else, which ended up being Phonkbutt with me on guitar, Derek on vocals and Woogie “D” on Drums.
Robin : And here came Rob.
Mato Caster : Then Robin just jumped in, you know he flew on in from CXQ5 and there it is…
( ♪ Boomerang – Studio Version ♪ )
Brutha’ Ugh : All the influences are there in our music that we grew up with, either back in the past to the present time. And King’s X definitely. Mato Caster: King’s X, now that you mention them. Doug Panic always talks about the Sly & Family Stone’s influence on him, so it’s all connected.
Robin : Natural progression of things I believe.
Woogie “D” : I mean its like we had a gig the other night and a guy drunk off his rocker and must have got sober for about 2 minutes and had a 2 minute conversation with me. Told me that he heard the Dramatics in our music. and that’s mind blowing its like man I thought you were drunk all day. He was like ” I heard the Dramatics in there, god dammit” I’m like oh.
Brutha’ Ugh : that was the dude with the glasses. He spit in my eye he was talking to me man.
Robin : That dude was drunk all day too.
Woogie “D” : Good thing I wear glasses.
Mato Caster : Imagine that the do op group dramatics through some hard rock shit, you know that’s pretty much….you know.
Brutha’ Ugh : And you are talking about a do-wop I mean, clean to a point, but they threw hard stuff at you, which was unheard of back in those days.
Woogie “D” : Basically it’s like a gumbo of our influences. From this side of the pole to the other side, like Van Halen, Kiss.
Brutha’ Ugh : Bad Brains.
Mato Caster : James Brown.
Woogie “D” : Rick James, Tom Jones, Sly & Family Stone, Jimi.
Brutha’ Ugh : Deftones.
Woogie “D” : Anything punk rock to funk & roll.
Mato Caster : Funkadelic.
Brutha’ Ugh : Pantera.
Woogie “D” : We just put it in a pot and let it bake.
Brutha’ Ugh : Sizzle.
( ♪ Bite The Dust – Recorded live by BSB ♪ )
Mato Caster : Well, it was never that big of a difference for us, we always were singing in our music, but the lead vocals were always more maybe more rap orientated. We just, I don’t know if it was a conscious thing, or maybe we just decided, it was just a natural progression.
Robin : I think it just became to cliché to many suburban white kids doing it.
Mato Caster : I don’t even think it was even that, I don’t even think we thought about it too much, it was a natural progression in our song writing that it kinda’ of started going more vocally singing. More, just growing. you can only do so much with that and it was cliché like Rob said, after a while.
Brutha’ Ugh : It was just a glut of other bands doing the same thing, so there wasn’t really anything you could distinguish.
Robin : Yeah, just taking it another step ahead, seeing what’s there.
Mato Caster : One thing I don’t like is the comparisons, I mean its a compliment but I like to think we can stand our own with out people saying, “oh, you remind of us Rage or Red hot Chili Peppers .
Brutha’ Ugh : Red hot Chili Peppers .
Robin : We are not trying to be them.
Mato Caster : They are all great in their own right, but we like to be known for, you guys sound like you know, you got something fresh.
Woogie “D” : Plus there’s a lot of group out there, like you said, its a cliché. Limp Bizkit is their hero, its like, c’mon man. We have been doing this for a long time. When we rap, we mean what we say, a lot guys do it to get over, to get girls or whatever. There was a band we played with the other night…Yo Yo Yo Check 1 2, in the place.. you know they don’t talk to grandma like that. They are like yes, nana. It’s like you guys are keeping it unreal. Everything we spit is the truth, we’ve been through it.
Brutha’ Ugh : We are who we are on and off the stage, basically that’s it. We are not trying to put a front on you.
Babylon Machine (Studio Version)
Mato Caster : We have been doing this for a long time.
Woogie “D” : We have sustained so far…
Brutha’ Ugh : I think we have. Everything, man.
Woogie “D” : Now sustaining is an after thought. We just do what we do.
Brutha’ Ugh : We are not too worried, we gotta’ be better then this band, or that one.
Robin : Ain’t trying to be this, trying to be that. Just being.
Brutha’ Ugh : Being ourselves is the best thing we have ever done. The past 6 months we’ve been doing what we feel is us, and we are fine with that, you know we don’t have this pressure that we have to be as hard as this band, or sing as good as this band. It’s just ourselves and that’s what we are fine with.
Robin : Not being concerned with walking into the club and having to read the crowd and find out…decide what kind of music we think they like and put a set together according to what the people look like, just get up there and do our thing and not worry about what’s going on.
Brutha’ Ugh : Going and kick some ass and then shake a hand and get the hell out.
Mato Caster : There’s a bunch of new songs we are in the process of recording and we would like to put those together with the things on the EP and have a full album. Unless we write more songs, in the process of recording then we just put all new songs on it.
Woogie “D” : The way they been comin’, its like Cool and the Gang.
Mato Caster : Usually somebody comes up with some ideas at home and bring it in and the rest of us will put the icing on it sometimes they come up just through jams, rehearsal here.
( ♪ Boomerang – Recorded live by BSB ♪ )
Woogie “D” : I had the motto: you build a bridge and they will come, and they be coming. We do what we do and they love it.
Robin : Yeah, there’s lots of different phonkbutt fans, you know, I mean from 12 years old, buddy of mine, his daughter favorite band is phonkbutt. She 11 – 12 years old. Her and all her friends love this stuff.
Mato Caster : My daughter’s 2 years old and she rocks out to Phonkbutt.
Brutha’ Ugh : Man does she rock out.
Robin : All the way up to you know, 50, we got people who are 50 years old like our stuff, so you know there is no typical phonkbutt fan, it runs a gamut.
Brutha’ Ugh : It’s not just a factor of who, it who ever feels it.
Mato Caster : LSD, Lead Singer Disease.
Robin : Just anybody.
Brutha’ Ugh : We got the foundation of a good driving bass and drum all that comes together, everything falls into place. Its where your head is at you know, and that’s the whole thing about the music scene, not in Seattle, but the whole idea, back in the day you would go to a concert and you would see a cross section of all types of ages, sizes, ethnicities, and everything and that’s missing right now in today’s music, because its so sectioned off in little clicks.
Woogie “D” : Music has become Mickie D’s.
Brutha’ Ugh : Wacha’ wacha’ want, super size me, whatever.
Mato Caster : One thing we want to avoid, we have avoided obviously up until this point, more then likely because of our mixture of sound that no one can pigeon hold us in one thing and they don’t know how to market us. So we have dodged the bullet of becoming another tax write off for some corporate record label. So you know I it’s to our advantage.
Robin : We got that going for us, which is nice.
Brutha’ Ugh : We ain’t going out like that.
Mato Caster : It is an advantage in my personal view because there’s a lot of bands that were coming out when we did, that did get signed to labels and nobody knows who they are now, they are gone. Sinister Dane.
Brutha’ Ugh : Where are they now?
Mato Caster : We got to go into Sony Records a few years back and talk to some A&R people, through a connection and the guy listened to our stuff and thought it sounded good, and he said “well, I’d love to work with you but I can only work with one band at a time. Things are tight, and I’m trying to push this group” and they were kinda’ similar to what we were doing.
Brutha’ Ugh : So what the hell you bringing us in here for.
Mato Caster : So there you have it, you know what I mean, their hands were tired. They are only thinking about how much money they can make and what kind of image they can create. Now-a-days that’s what music is about, music industry mainstream wise is about, its more a beauty pageant then it is about music, and we are all about the music, and everything else is part of the package.
Robin : Not that we ain’t beautiful.
Brutha’ Ugh : That’s right.
Mato Caster : Don’t hate us.
Crazy (recorded live by BSB)
Brutha’ Ugh : I think we wore out our welcome here we need to branch out.
Robin : Definitely, that’s the plan for the future, you know. We working on getting these new tracks down. Getting them all solid, and putting it all together with the old stuff. Having an actual product to put out for folks.
Mato Caster : Yeah, that’s the first thing. Get our product together.
Robin : Once we have something to take on the road, we have to get on the road.
Mato Caster : We’d like to promote our selves up and down the West Coast. We’ve played in LA, we’d like to get all the way down to San Diego and up Portland, SF, LA again.
Brutha’ Ugh : TJ
Woogie “D” : Actually Portland & SF are very close to in the works.
Robin : I really want to see what its like in Yelm. I’ve heard Yelm, I’ve heard Yelm’s got a happenin’ scene. Hopefully by summer we’ll be out there.
Brutha’ Ugh : Squim.
Woogie “D” : Hey listen don’t sleep on Yakima.
Brutha’ Ugh : I’m not going to sleep on Yakima.
Mato Caster: As a matter of fact, we got an email, you guys check the phonkbutt music email, someone from Washington DC checked our website out, a young lady, and she really dug it and would like a CD and was wondering if we were ever going to come out to Washington DC, she thinks the band is hot. That was just the link off of, connected to my eBay account. phonkbutt.com. www.phonkbutt.com p-h-o-n-k-b-u-t-t.
Brugha’ Ugh : Phonkbutt.
( ♪ Twisted Times – Recorded live by BSB ♪ )
Mato Caster : I like to use gear that I don’t see many other people using, just because I Feel like I can have more of a distinctive sound and tone. I think really no matter what gear you play as far as guitar goes, I think you are going to have your own distinct sound basically because that’s your playing. It’s in your hands. gear is just a tool to get you across, to connect you to other people, but I think that no matter what gear I play I always kind of have… Specifically, I like Ampeg, I use a Ampeg head for guitar. Mesa Boogie pre amp that’s a V Twin. Picked that up a few years ago and it just gives a nice tone, it shapes the tone and gives me a nice punch. I also use a Boss wah pedal. Its the V Wah and it models several different wah was peddles.
Brutha’ Ugh : Tell them about the OC2.
Mato Caster : The OC2 octave peddle, that’s for bone crunching, low, back breaking, low end sounds, so when I get a thick tone to match with Rob’s bass, that’s what I punch in.
Robin : Get that brown noise.
Mato Caster : Its that nice brown sound that Eddie has.
Brutha’ Ugh : You said the brown word.
Mato Caster : Then I play, my main guitar is my Mato Caster its a guitar, its a body I’ve had since I was 16. It’s a Frankenstein guitar of sorts, all kinds of different pieces in it. It’s a Mato Caster because it’s so personalized.
Woogie “D” : I kind of fell in love with Perl Drums, back in the day. They are built really well, exceptional value Right now I’m using the X4 Kit they take a beating. I put my old kit through a beating, I just got a new one a couple of weeks ago that I have not even used for a gig yet. My old one still sounds good. I used to take that to the steel cage matches, drop it down a couple flights of steps, it still sounds good. I use it for a gig on Friday the 13th. I think we are going to bury it now. I was gong to set it on fire at a club, but they wouldn’t let me.
Mato Caster : Can you say Great White?
Woggie “D” : Cymbals I’m a Zildjin man. My high hats, I love to death, I’m not going to change them ever. I got some Zildjin quick beats because to me they cut through all the bullshit.
Mato Caster : SSSSSS…Sizzelean.
Woogie “D” : AKA Sizzelean….that sizzelean factor, like sssss, I hear in my sleep some time. Sticks I like 5A’s because they are not too heavy, not too light. 7A’s too light, break ‘em. 2 songs, gone. I use wood tips on my sticks because I started off using those nylon tips and then half way through the show, one is gone.
Brutha’ Ugh : Ping…..My eye, my fucking eye!
Woogie “D” : So I just started using wood tips and you get more definition off the bell on the ride, even the high hat when you use it. It just cuts through the bullshit. As far as heads.
Brutha’ Ugh : You said head.
Woogie “D” : That’s right, Head. A drummer needs some head every now and then. You all can cut that out right? I’m a Remo man. I like the Emporers on the toms, because they just ring and sing. Powerstroke 3 on the kick drum. cause you get that heavy bottom. Mud foot, basically.
Brutha’ Ugh : That’s not a bad name for a band.
Woogie “D” : I use a 13 piccolo that I got back in Buffalo, from this small company called Dixon out of Ohio. And I just walked into a Buffalo drum outlet there and was like “whoa” this is a nice snare drum, and just played it and it reminded me of James Brown and the Meter’s all at once, I was like “I got to have this”. And there it is.
Robin : Right now I am playing, I guess it’s probably a mid 70’s Ibanez Musician bass. Things made out of solid lead I believe. Weighs about 300 pounds. Some kind of heavy, heavy, duty wood. It’s a tree trunk right there.
Brutha’ Ugh : That’s the Titanic.
Woogie “D” : Actually, that’s the slabe.
Robin : That’s what gives my bass a lot of it’s sound, is just that. That particular bass, it’s particularly heavy and it’s got a lot of resonance.
Brutha’ Ugh : The Wood…the wood.
Robin : As for pickups I got Bartolinis in there. Bartolini active pickups. Sometimes I run them active, sometimes I don’t. It depends on the mood. Ampeg gear it’s never let me down puts out plenty of punch I run a peddle or two.
Mato Caster : It depends on whether or not he’s got a working battery.
Brutha’ Ugh : Got a battery!
Woogie “D” : Say man, someone stole your battery.
Brutha’ Ugh : You’re battery ain’t working, man!
Robin : And Ampeg gear. I am running an Ampeg SVT3 Pro which seems to be a pretty stable little amp. It’s never let me down. I got the Ampeg 810 cabinet being driven. That’s the whopper. So that puts out plenty of punch. All the punch we need.
Brutha’ Ugh : Thunder (singing AC/DC)
Woogie “D” : King Henry VIII.
Robin : My gear is pretty limited, ya’ know, it doesn’t take a whole lot to move the air. Basically, I run a peddle or two now and then…nothing to really effect the sound.
( ♪ Trophy – Recorded live by BSB ♪ )
Brutha’ Ugh : The Fenix
Robin : I would say the Fenix, or the Nectar is a good club. I like that place.
Brutha’ Ugh : That’s a new club in Fremont. Very nice.
Woogie “D” : One of my favorite places, two of my favorite places to play are now defunct are Sit-N-Spin was a good room
Mato Caster : We used to love the O.K. Hotel.
Robin : Rest in peace, O.K. Hotel.
Woogie “D” : And the O.K. Hotel. I mean the rats would whoop your ass as your packing your gear, but the playing there was gut-bucket.
( ♪ Trophy – Recorded live by BSB ♪ )
Mato Caster : The craziest thing, I would say, was a few years back. We were doing a show. It was like a benefit show in Buffalo. We used to do these “ball busters”. We would play for hours on end and the thing is on our shows there would be a point where we would get a bunch of young ladies on stage, dancing, while we were playing. And this one particular night we had a weak stage and a couple of us fell through the stage as we were playing.
Brutha’ Ugh : True story.
Woogie “D” : Yeah, all that estrogen on stage at once.
Brutha’ Ugh : All of the sudden I’m up there singing and my left leg is like…
Woogie “D” : Get eaten alive.
Brutha’ Ugh : Is it me or is the earth rising? I’m like, “Holy S…Look at this” These girls literally fell through. We are still filming. Our friends are filming. We are trying to get these girls up.
Mato Caster : And keep playing.
Brutha’ Ugh : Oh, it was hilarious!
Robin : I think playing at the King County Youth Correctional Facility was a pretty hot gig. That was some pretty strange stuff.
Brutha’ Ugh : Well, you know, it was not strange. That was a good cause because the whole idea was based on victory over violence. And we were trying to speak to these kids about where you are now right now is a good thing, but there’s a chance for you you can make yourself get out of that situation by having these people help you and if you need to talk to anybody these people are here for you.
Robin : We can preach.
Brutha’ Ugh : We preach on ya’. That was different.
Brutha’ Ugh : The one that sticks out in my mind was in Tacoma. That crazy band, the Sea..
Robin : Oh, the Manglers.
Brutha’ Ugh : The Manglers! Oh, man. The most funniest thing was seeing these two, Rob and Woogie “D”, running out of the door and slamming the door like the devil was going to come out. Woogie “D” goes, “man I was so scared I went home and kissed my son”.
Robin : It was the Show Boat or something.
Brutha’ Ugh : It was a crazy show.
Woogie “D” : Oh, I remember that one.
Mato Caster : I don’t remember that show.
Brutha’ Ugh : You don’t remember the Seatown Maggots.
Woogie “D” : It was down by the waterfront.
Brutha’ Ugh : It was like Gwar lite.
Robin : Discount Gwar.
Brutha’ Ugh : That was crazy, man. No dis intended, but that was craziest, scariest, show.
Woogie “D” : Yeah, because they know where you live mutha’ fu…
( ♪ Trophy – Recorded live by BSB ♪ )
Mato Caster : We try to concentrate on uplifting people and try to be positive. You know because, at least that’s my personal outlook, I don’t think we need to have any more negative things put out there. There’s enough of that being done by other folks.
Robin : Yeah, everyone knows there is negative stuff around. We don’t need to put that out.
Mato Caster : I like to counter all of that and do what comes from the heart, which is usually something positive.
Robin : Keep it light. A little bit of levity. A little bit of levity.
Brutha’ Ugh : Bring it, make it fun again. You know because, when I was a kid going to concerts they were fun, I didn’t feel threatened when I came into the door. Nowadays, you know, people are putting up a front and all this…this macho.
Mato Caster : There’s so much aggression people come out with nowadays. There’s nothing wrong with being a little sissified.
Brutha’ Ugh : I don’t know about that. A little bit of lovin’ to ya’.
Mato Caster : A little sugar in your pocket.
Woogie “D” : Listen, I’m going to put into perspective, man. It’s like to be a successful rapper or something you got be shot or damn near, near death. You didn’t hear about Lionel Richie getting shot in the ass to get a record deal. Al Green got grits thrown on him later in life but, you know…
Mato Caster : That was some personal stuff. Him and his lady.
Woogie “D” : That was some personal shit, but you know, you didn’t have to use that as an angle to get a record deal. Oh, I got shot in the ass six times.
Mato Caster : Well, that’s the thing.
Woogie “D” : And that takes precedence over their skills.
Mato Caster : And another thing, It’s tough for us to get a break in the mainstream because…
Brutha’ Ugh : We ain’t gangsters.
Mato Caster : We’re not a rap act and 3/4 of us are black musicians playing rock-n-roll. Which shouldn’t be an odd thing. Ya’ know, but in today’s musical landscape and mainstream it is. It’s an odd thing to see a brotha’ holding a guitar, unless it’s Lenny Kravitz.
Brutha’ Ugh : We got black folks looking at us like, “What are you all holdin’? Where’s your turntables?”
Mato Caster : You know it can be kind of distressful sometimes when people…people see us and love us when they see us play, but it’s unfortunate that more people don’t get an opportunity to hear an alternative to everything else that’s going on. All the other rock-n-roll stuff sounds the same to me that comes out now and I think we are definitely an alternative to that.
Woogie “D” : A refreshing alternative to all the bull.
( ♪ Scratch That Itch – Studio Versoin ♪ )
"The past 6 months we've been doing what we feel is us, and we are fine with that, you know we don't have this pressure that we have to be as hard as this band, or sing as good as this band." - Brutha' Ugh, Singer
Phonkbutt Official Website http://www.myspace.com/phonkbutt
