I interviewed THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD

I interviewed Stark Cordwain from THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD. The Folk band is recording their new album "Lawful Evil" coming out next year.

01. Hi Stark! THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD are currently in the studios recording the new album “Lawful Evil”. Is everything alright there ?

We haven’t run into any issues in the studio, although we seem to be running dangerously low on whiskey. Oh wait, nevermind! There is another bottle right here! Everything is perfectly alright now. We’re fine, we’re all fine here, now. Thank you. How are you ?

02. “Lawful Evil” is the fourth album of the band. Musically and lyrically, what can we expect ?

Lawful Evil will be our first album without guitar being a primary instrument. Who knows, we may not even record it at all! You can definitely expect to hear more bouzouki than in Heavy Mahogany. The overall tone and delivery of this album is heavier and we have a new member behind the Oddkit laying down his own hooks and flare to our percussive energy. Lyrically, you can expect our usual tales of drinking and debauchery mixed in with some new hilarious antics. No spoilers!

03. THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD is a folk band inspired by metal & folk music... How do you explain the fact it doesn’t sound like a folk metal band within distortion and stuff ?

The largest difference between us and a typical folk metal band is our all acoustic instrumentation. We don’t use distortion or backing tracks and instead capture the energy and attitude of a metal band in our performance. It’s a fun and unique approach that allows us to play ANYWHERE! We’ve even done shows in port-a-potties!

04. You have a lot of fans, are them all from the USA ? What are the other countries that you invaded the best with your music ?

The majority of our fan base is in the USA and Canada, since it is easier for us to tour there. We do have a growing fan base in the UK and Europe. 

05. Do you plan shows in these countries ?

It would be great to tour the UK and Europe once Lawful Evil is released! We have been talking about it, but nothing is set in stone yet.

06. Do you plan a tour in the USA ?

Hell yeah! Right now, the tentative plan is to tour the USA in summer 2016. It all depends on what we line up once Lawful Evil emerges from the briny depths. We want to tour as much as possible in support of the album.

07. What is about “Lawful Evil” album coming out in March 2016 ?

The stories in Lawful Evil range from adventure on the high seas, to drinking all the booze or battling multiple beasts of aquatic and folkloric nature. I think there maybe a song about pirates too!

08. Do we find some covers on this album ? I don’t know...maybe that Turisas cover, unless Sword Chant song or hmmm Santiano ?

There is no plan to release any of those songs, but we do have a special song selected for the “bonus song” stretch goal on our Kickstarter that transcends space, time, logic, and possibly even gravity!

09. What are all the instruments to expect on this record ? And their tuning ?

The instrumentation is accordion, toy piano, mandolin, irish bouzouki, oddkit, and tin whistle. The bouzouki is tuned GDAE, the whistles are in D and C, and the other instruments are a standard tuning. We also have an extensive list of instruments we are going to add for texture. Harpsichord, marimba, jaw harp, gongs, kazoo..the list goes on. We don’t even know what we will end up keeping, but it’s going to be boats of fun to play around and see what sounds tasty!

10. Making this record possible, you asked your fans for one help funding this new project of the band, one help for mixing and mastering cost but today, you reached that goal. How do you feel ? 

The feelings of excitement and relief hit at the same time. There is always that though in the back of our minds whispering “What if no one cares about our silly project anymore?!”. Our fans’ overwhelming support kicked in to high gear and we hit our goal well before the Kickstarter campaign ended! Now we have the opportunity to hit some stretch goals and release even more exciting additions to Lawful Evil!

11. Can you reveal the tracklist or artwork or...both on Sword Chant ?

Since we are still recording the album, we have not had the chance to select the tracklist. We know what songs will be on the album, but not in what order. As I am typing this, we just wrapped on tracking the bass. Accordion, Oddkit, mandolin, and irish bouzouki have already been tracked. We are so close!! The artwork will depend on whether or not we hit our stretch goal of $30,000 and get to work with Mark Gibbons. When our campaign ends and we hammer out the details, maybe Sword Chant can be the first to know!

12. Have you planned some guests appearences for “Lawful Evil” ?

There are a few guest appearances planned, but we don’t want to Unleash The details just yet!

13. Did “Queen's Decree!” video cost $40,000 making this possible ? 

A production like that costs around $20,000, which is why we haven’t shot another video like it since. If we raise enough additional money on Kickstarter, we will release a video that rivals Queen’s Decree. It would be an awesome project to undertake, especially with the new songs on Lawful Evil.

14. Can you give us some lights on the upcoming official video ?

The band is already planning out our first video for Lawful Evil. There are a few tracks in mind and we want to release one video just before the album is released and another of Queen’s Decree level shortly after.

15. Thanks for the interview, Stark! The last words are yours.

You can't hear it, but I just opened the bottle of whiskey. It's a spectacular sound, and I hope to share a drink with you when we visit France! Skål!