Phil Demmel - Machine Head

June 20 2009 (Hellfest - Clisson)

It's with great pleasure and respect that I had a meeting with MACHINE HEAD's lead guitarist Phil Demmel, who seemed genuinely happy to be here, and started making fun with my voice recorder yelling a loud "hey! How's it going?" just before we begun the questions/answers ritual. And the fact that the interview was filmed for the upcoming dvd (cf.interview) had stressed things up a little for me.

Fab: So are you happy to be here at the HELLFEST 2009 ?
Phil Demmel: Yeah, absolutely, it's a great line-up. We had a great time last year in the rain, the burning generator, the mud (ndlr: actually, it was two years ago, the 2007 edition of the HELLFEST). And this year seems running a lot better, so it's awesome to be here.

Fab: Have you planned something special for your upcoming show?
Phil Demmel: We've been mixing up several stuff, we try to make new songs every night. But it's always special when we play (laughter).

Fab: Do you consider as I do that your two latest albums are a real rebirth for M.HEAD? and that you have something to do with it.
Phil Demmel: Yeah, I think it is a rebirth, I mean that, after "Supercharger", when I came in I (it was the) good time. I think the band wants to get back to their roots (and) I brought in the thrash attitude, but I was just a part of that, I'm not responsible for this, I think I've got too much credit. But yeah, I think I have something to do with it absolutely.

Fab: The Blackening is a real master piece of power, intensity and technicality. How do analyze it now, two years after its release? Its success and everything?
Phil Demmel: Yeah, it's amazing. It's like we took off, we start the touring, two and a half years ago, onto this record. And there's still a big amount of touring. It's amazing that the shows and the tours get bigger and bigger an bigger. We did six months with METALLICA, and seven months with SLIPKNOT…we did a couple with LAMB OF GOD…and we're headlining huge festivals. So, I mean, we set the aim for the next record.

Fab: Speaking of METALLICA, how went the touring with them? As I saw you @ Wembley in 2007, in London & Paris this year?
Phil Demmel: Yeah, we did a lot of shows with them, it was amazing to be summoned by them to do the tour. We're doing more shows in the summer, and, who's a better band to be touring with? They're such amazing guys. It was inspiring to see how they work as individuals and as a band. I think it really helped us.

Fab: About the second show in Paris, it was your birthday (ndlr: April 2nd).
Phil Demmel: Yes!

Fab: you managed to slam into this audience, and I received your foot in my face (lol)
Phil Demmel: Yeah!!! I did that. Oh, I'm sorry man!!! (laughter). Stage diving, yeah.

Fab : So, did you throw a decent party afterwards?
Phil Demmel: Yeah, we had a…they threw me, they got me a huge tall penis cake (laughter). It was about 4 feet long. We had a little party, it was the last time on the tour, so.

Fab: And as I saw one of your guy filming the two gigs, is there a possibility of a special release on dvd?
Phil Demmel: Yeah. We're doing a "The Blackening - Beginning to the end" dvd. From the writing process to now, with behind-the-scenes…

Fab: I read that, in spite of your growing success, there was recent dissensions between Robb & Adam, and as a fan, I'm worried. Could you tell me not to worry?
Phil Demmel: It's very common. There's always tension between everybody. Between me and Dave (Mc Clain - Drums), me and Robb (Flynn - Guitar & Vocals), me and Adam (Duce - Bass), Adam and Dave etc……everybody has their issues, and it has all been resolved, so. People have different ways of doing it. We're all brothers, so it's (just) brothers' fight, we're friends too, but (acts) more like brothers (and) It's how you deal with your issues. We get past that, we're fine.

Fab: Have you started working on new stuff?
Phil Demmel: A little bit, barely. You know, I mean, we're just writing a couple of riffs, here and there, and everybody's got their own recorders. I got a little voice recorder where I put some "ta, ta, ta…" (guitar riffs sounds). But nothing properly as a song, we're still in the tour mode. We don't write on the road. We've written one song on the road, "Season withers" and it was like the first real, my first being a part of the band. And on tour, we're doing this (interviews) all day, we wake up late, we do press, we eat, we warm up for the gig…Days off are for eating pizzas and watch some porn (laughter).

Fab: In September 2007, you almost played @ Disneyland Resort (House Of Blues Anaheim), but the Disney company put some pressure to prevent you from playing.
Phil Demmel: There was no pressure, they cancelled the show.

Fab: It would have been fun to see you play "Davidian" with Mickey on stage, no?
Phil Demmel: (laughter) I remember the first time when I was at the House Of Blues on the Disney property, I was in a band called VIO-LENCE, we were supporting HALFORD, and I didn't know that the House Of Blues was right there, so we were walking down Disney avenue, there was all these metalheads who were there for the show…I was really surprised that they have metal shows there. But three days before, they cancelled the show, so we move this to Pomona (the Glass House) and we kicked ass anyway. Fuck that! I still take my kids to Disneyland though (laughter).

Fab: Coming back on the Dvd you've mentioned earlier. Could you tell us a little bit more about it?
Phil Demmel: Yeah, it's gonna be more about behind-the-scenes stuff. The last dvd was all about the live shows so…

Fab: Do you prefer playing in festivals or in more intimate club shows?
Phil Demmel: Well, we just played Rock Am Ring, and there was 75 000 people there. Mentally I realize there is all those people there, but I usually only see the front row, so, it's pretty much the same. I also like playing in sweaty club shows, getting very close with the fans, slap the hands. It's different in that sense but for the most part the show's the same. I like playing (in front) of large audience.

Fab: Concerning the videos, who's responsible for the storyline, the ideas?
Phil Demmel: It different sometimes. Like the "Halo" video, we all sat down at the back of the bus, we all kind of contributed. Robb came up with some excellent ideas…so, it's a mix.

Fab: What's your plan for the next future? Any side-projects?
Phil Demmel: No, we don't do side-projects. MACHINE HEAD is what we do.

Fab: A last word for the readers of Bspix?
Phil Demmel: I always thank the fans, they're the reasons why we're here. Thank you for all the support. And nice pictures!