Curtis from Snew interviews Georg of Rhino Bucket Curtis: So what are you guys doing right now? Georg: Well, we are a week away from going into the studio and working on an album. And we have been working fairly hard. Well, as hard as Rhino Bucket works, which means we speak to each other a couple times a week, plan on getting together, then never do. Just kidding. We are really excited this time because we got an old bandmate Simon Wright… He’s great, just like old times again. Now the album sounds great, having Simon behind there is rock solid. Curtis: What has Simon been doing [for the past ten years]? Georg: He’s in a deal. Curtis: He was in a deal this whole time? Georg: Yeah, he’s been in the deal playing gigs and tours with UFO, Pat Travers, you know Simon’s the kind of monster drummer that whenever available, if people find out, they give him a call and he goes out. He’s a great guy. Curtis: Cool, you also got Brian Forsythe from Kix. Georg: Well, yeah he’s been in the band for seven years. He moved out to LA when he quit Kix, and he was in a band with us. He had to take care of some stuff personal. Get cleaned up. Which he did. He’s awesome now he has been clean for eight years. He has really changed in a subtle way, taking Rhino Bucket a little bit away from the full on AC/DC vibe. Cutis: Did you record the last album with him? Georg: We did, yeah. It was cool for Brian because it was the first time Brian actually recorded a whole album of new material in quite a while for him. And the way we do everything is to share 25% each. So that was a nice little change for him. He was able to put his own stamp on his own music and know that he was a full member and not just there for shits and giggles. Curtis: Yeah, that is definitely the way to go. When you have one guy living on the hill and the rest of the guys living in the valley, it causes problems. Georg: Absolutely, I agree with you. The guys are humping gear with me on stage totally committed and sometimes there just isn’t a lot of money, and they are still giving it 100%. So they just should have their fair share of everything. At this point we’ve all been fighting the battle and playing the game for most of our lives. If I were on the hill, I wouldn’t enjoy it. With this new album, everyone came out of their shells a little bit. And I have been in this band for like, 21 years, and I am sure it has to be hard for Reeve who has been in the band four years to say, “Hey, I got this thing and I want to sing it this way.” We are coming around that corner, and I’ve completely ran of original ideas myself so I’m gonna milk these guys — hopefully they can get me some good stuff so we can all live on top of the hill. Curtis: So, you are working on the album and then…? Georg: We are doing a couple fly outs this summer to certain places where we’ve had really good times… So, it’s the standard thing you put out an album, you think about making a video then you go fuck it. There’s twenty youtube videos already, and you go on tour. Curtis: Business has really changed, you know. Georg: I remember a couple of years ago, you made more money if your song got sold as a ringtone rather than on a CD and you’re like “get the fuck outta here!” Curtis: What the labels don’t get is that there are just too many options, and they are still trying to do business the old way. Georg: Right, at some point there is a good possibility all of this is gonna go back to the bands who have sat down and spent time learning this crap then going out there and able to perform. That way you can get rid of the thousands of people who think with a good HD system and 14 weeks of guitar lessons they are the next Jimi Hendrix, which is not rocking my world! Curtis: How are you recording this album? Georg: We try to keep it live as possible… I just basically walk in there and talk and they have to do their editing magic… the great thing about pro tools is with it you can is with it you can still have experimentation… you don’t have to spend $18,000 booking the time. Also the thing on this album is like I some friends, Jason McMaster from Dangerous Toys & Broken Teeth… I want him to sing, and we were trying to figure out how the hell we are going to do that. You know, then all of a sudden, we figured it out. We’ll just FEDEX you the drive, the files, and their guitar player from Broken Teeth is a real good engineer. And Jason just sent me the files so we could do this. Curtis: The internet brought back the whole [rock] world. It has opened up everybody’s ears. Because people have been turning away from radio. Georg: Radio is one big commercial… its basically one big infomercial, and nobody wants that… But wherever you go there is good music if you are willing to search it out. Like you said, with the internet it will be easier for people to discover all kinds of new stuff and that is great. Curtis: Yeah, it is an exciting time. This time a band has all the publicity tools to do it on their own. Georg: Right and it’s here, hard work too, but I’m obviously not afraid of that. It’s like sometimes when you are sitting in the can in Louisiana at 3 a.m. because some idiot forgot the map at the last club (like my tour manager), you might get a little frustrated but at the same time the life adventure you’re having. Like you pursued your dream from the time you picked up your first instrument when you were young is pretty amazing. Rhino Bucket can be found online at www.rhinobucket.com