MIKE McCLATCHEY-GUITAR FOR APIARY

 

Q-First off could you state your name and what you do in the band?

A-Howdy, my name is Mike McClatchey and I am half of the guitar team of Apiary.

 

Q-Where does the name Apiary come from?

A-Peter came up with it forever ago for a possible album title for our old band, but we never ended up using it.   So when it came time to choose a band name for this project it because obvious that we should use it.   An Apiary is a storage unit for bees and hives.   We all have different ideas of what it means and why it suits us, and I think that it wonderful.

 

Q-You have a new CD coming out May 2. I've heard it and it is amazing. How do you guys write your material? Does everyone contribute to the writing process?

A- Thanks man.  Yeah, everyone contributes to the writing.  We don't really "jam", we get together with a collection of parts when we write, and those parts end up getting changed to something different from someone else and so on until we all feel the song is where it should be.   The songs aren't really done until it has a certain feel that has everyone's stamp on it.

 

Q-How was the recording process for it?

A-We went it there insanely prepared and it showed because the process went very smoothly.   We went in there really focused, knowing exactly what we wanted the album to sound like, and I think we got that.    We still gave ourselves room for experimentation and we did our fair share of that.   Zack (Engineer) is incredible and he made it very comfortable to record with him.

 

Q-What is your meaning of "Lost in Focus"?

A-To me, "Lost in Focus" is overanalyzing.  Peter and I both have a major tendency to overanalyze everything we do and this is almost a reflection of that.   It's a good thing and a bad thing.  We put all this focus into everything we do, this album, the band, our own lives, and we look back on it with haziness and confusion.   The title is almost a negative reflection of the creation itself.   I think everyone in the band has their own meaning for the title.

 

Q-How would you describe the sound on "Lost in Focus"?

A-Heavy, dark, dissonant.  I don't know.  It's hard to be objective when the songs and production are so close to my heart.   I know when we went to record this album we wanted the album to sound very dark, raw, and live while still capturing the heaviness that the songs are intended to convey.   I think we succeeded in that respect.

 

Q-How did you get signed to Ironclad/Metal Blade?

A-We had all had a relationship with Trevor (Ironclad) before Apiary got together, from all of our old bands.  When this band was ready with music and a finalized line-up we had already been in contact with Trevor and Ironclad was interested in working with us.   We couldn't think of a better situation than to be close friends with the head of the label, so this was the natural progession.

 

Q-After the California Metal Fest, what are your touring plans?

A-Right now we are planning out our tour in July with our buddies in Dryline and The Final Burden.   Nothing is set in stone for after that tour, but we know we want to stay out on tour for the rest of the year.

 

Q-Do you have any plans to shoot a music video?

A-Yeah, we are talking to a couple people right now about the possibility of making a video.   Hopefully something should be out by late Summer. 

 

Q-If you could play a show with any three artists, past or present, who would they be?

A-Personally?  It would have to be Ministry, Godflesh and Pantera.   Oh man, I'm drooling right now just thinking about it.   Since 2 of those bands aren't together any longer I hope that Ministry is reading this.

 

Q-Do you have any pre show rituals?

A-Not really, aside from the usual stretching and drinking an energy drink.  Maybe we should start doing something like that.   Like chanting in a huddle, or rubbing baby oil all over each other for good luck.  I'll talk to the guys about it and get back to you later. 

 

Q-When you aren't touring, what do you do for fun?

A-For fun?  I collect movies.  I have about 500 movies in my collection now.   It consists mostly of old underground flicks, and hard to find foreign flicks.  I can't get enough of them.

 

Q-If music wasn't your career choice, what would you be doing?

A-Making movies. 

 

Q-What can someone who has never seen you live expect at one of your shows?

A- Depravity.  I don't know, the album is definitely darker than our live show, we tend to have a lot of fun live.   We try to make sure that everyone else has fun too.

 

Q-What is your favorite song to play live?

A-I think Descent is the most fun.  It is the easiest to play so it gives me the freedom to move around more, and there are some really big parts with good build-ups, I really enjoy that one.   Solidified Foundation is another that is awesome to play live, it's really fun. 

 

Q-Descent is getting a lot of airtime on Music Choice and was requested quite a bit. How do you feel about that?

A-That song was part of the weekly KILL or KEEP section of Music Choice and  the people who vote on there are brutal.  They like to KILL bands just to watch them cry I think.  But fortunately they voted KEEP for Descent so that is wonderful.   It was really a shocker to see.  It feels really good to see that people are having an opportunity to hear us in such a broad spectrum.

 

Q-What is the scene in San Jose like?

A-I think it is like everywhere else.  There are a lot of bands that sound alike are about more about fashion than music, and there are a couple gems out there that deserve a lot more attention than they are getting.   There is a band from the East Bay called House of Atreus, they are incredible.    

 

Q-Who are some of your biggest influences?

A-As a band we all draw from different things as influences.  I personally want to make music that paints a picture for you, I want to make songs that are very visual.   So I draw influence from bands that paint pictures for me, that take me to a world that I haven't seen before.  Bands like Ministry, Swans, Foetus, Earth, Killing Joke, Love & Rockets, Sisters of Mercy, Wire, Meshuggah, Cop Shoot Cop, Prick, The Cult, I can go on for days. 

 

Q-Who has been your favorite band to share the stage with so far?

A-There have been a couple.  Dryline, The Handshake Murders, Himsa, Full Blown Chaos and Poison the Well have all been huge highlights.   Our last tour was good to us and we made some really good friends in all those bands.  I can't wait to go out again with any one of those bands. 

 

Q-Thanks for taking time to do this. Any last words to the readers?

A-Thanks for the interview, I hope people enjoy the album half as much as we do.   Take care, and watch out for "The Drypiary Burden '06" Tour in July and August!