Budderside recently released their self-titled debut album on Motorhead’s record label. Frontman Patrick Stone (ex-Adler’s Appetite) fills us in on the record, tour plans, memories of Lemmy, his experience in Velvet Revolver and other topics.
Chad Bowar: Give us a brief history of Budderside.
Patrick Stone: Budderside is rock n’ roll with a serious twist. It’s new and different, while its roots are deep in the past with everything you’ve always loved about good old rock n’ roll, yet refreshing and original. We’re not trying to be someone else. It’s full of every emotion. We tackle real life issues. Connecting with hate, love, fear, excitement, lust, religion, peace, war, politics, everything. We’re about honesty, integrity and standing up for what’s right in a world of wrong.
Budderside was originally created when Rich Sacco, The Stoneman and I, Patrick Stone, started getting together to work on original material. We always focused on our own writings. We weren’t always the best of friends and went through our share of ups and downs. The band went through many configurations and different members along the way, but we always kept the Budderside fire alive in our hearts. We’ve all been seduced by other established projects while remaining true to Budderside.
The music has kept us together when nothing else could. We always kept coming back to each other. Once the opportunity to do this “for real” presented itself, the decision was obvious to me who the band really was. My sobriety contributed greatly to our success. The band needed me to be the leader they always believed I could be. I needed to set aside everything else. Just like every relationship takes a serious commitment, this one is no different. The songs and talent were there, but that’s not enough.
When Todd Singerman and Lemmy got behind us, everything started falling into place. Now, the band including Johnny Santoro, are a tight family. We all share the same vision and walk deeper into its reality every day, together. There is a lot of magic within us, surrounding us. We feel our audience experiencing that at shows and while listening to the album or watching the videos. Try it for yourself!
Describe the songwriting and recording process for your self-titled album.
Songwriting is an energy. It’s a need to express ourselves on a level higher than just talking to someone. It’s a revelation dying to be shared with the world, loud and clear. It’s taking a message we’re receiving and putting it to music that supports and conveys the message emotionally, so there is a deep and honest connection with others. It’s a beacon we shine for others to see and become part of. Together, gaining a greater understanding of life, through music is our mission.
Often, I just can’t get something out of my head. Like when writing “Can’t Wrap My Head Around You.” I hear a voice and melodies in my head. When they’re strong enough, I grab a guitar or recorder and play or hum it out loud until it sounds like what I’m hearing in my head. Sometimes it’s just the first few words or chords and I’ll spend the next few days or weeks playing with its possibilities until it’s right. Other times a whole song can just write itself in one sitting, literally. I love looking back on songs like that, feeling like I have no idea where it came from.
Usually I wait until it’s done to present it to the guys. Then we hammer it out. Stoneman is a great songwriter. He’ll bring me music and we’ll add my lyrics and melodies to it to create songs, as well. Rich constantly comes up with drum parts so significant we have to write songs around them. Another reason why I know we’re meant to be together.
He just starts playing these wack beats and I can hear the chords God intended to go along with them. That’s how “Open Relationship” and “The Envelope” were written. Now, the band approaches every idea with an open mind to the other members of the group. This new formula is leading to very exciting songs we’ve already begun to write, together, for our next record.
Recording songs is putting the icing on the cake. Pushing your talent to its limits and making the songs beyond what you thought they ever could be. I know immediately if a song is special, but once it’s been produced right, it becomes something else. Better. Perfect. You really can’t be sure of what you have until you can listen back, without being busy playing, in order to see how good it really is.
Since every member records their parts separately, the other members really get a chance to get everything they want out of the other’s performances. Living up to playing like your recordings makes the band 10 times better than they were before.
How would you characterize the album’s style/sound?
Modern original rock n roll. We love bands like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. We also love the clarity and sonic strength of today’s music. If Jimi Hendrix were alive today you can be damn sure he’d be digging on today’s incredible sounds and combining them with his spiritual approach. We love real instruments and their connection and expression to us as human beings, organically.
We’re not afraid to hardwire technology with our life long dedication to our craft. We jam with sounds through the computer. There are no short cuts, looping or sampling. We write computer parts to complement our completed song arrangements. The end result is the massive sound of today without losing the human connection to all the songwriting legends that brought us this far.
What inspired your lyrics for the album?
Each song has its own unique inspiration. Angst, hope, fear, hate, love and many things inspire our songs. There are stories behind each one. Regretting decisions, the need to make a decision, fighting a decision that is being made for you. Something has to truly have some weight on the heart and mind to feed a song. Life experience guides the way, other times the song leaves us a lesson we didn’t even know we were teaching ourselves.
“Pain” is really a song about strength and rising above it. “Open Relationship” is about wanting someone so bad, you can’t get enough. “Genocide” is a war against conformity. “X-Girlfriend” is a ride on the Motorhead tour bus, dealing drugs, addiction gone wrong and the battle to make it out alive. “Ska Bra” is a life of hardship and crucifixion, silver-lined by a deep belief that someday life will have substantial meaning.
“Clear Blue Sky” sees the world through a child’s eyes and an old man’s heart. “My Religion” takes a look at why we’re here and what we’ve done, standing up to the powers that be with belief in ourselves. Come along with us on a trip through the psycho circus and lose yourself joyfully in chaos with “The Envelope”. “Let This One Breathe” faces the hardest choice of all in life and it’s possible consequences on the other side. “Can’t Wrap My Head Around You” is the most romantic story of all time. Inspiration is everywhere.
How did you decide to work with producer Paul Inder Kilmister?
Lemmy has been, by far, my biggest influence. Our mutual manager, Todd Singerman, recommended Paul produce the album and made the introduction. Budderside sees Motorhead and the Kilmister family as rock n’ roll royalty. I felt if he had Lemmy’s blood in him he’d be a wizard. Todd knew what he was doing and I couldn’t have been more right about that feeling. Paul and I met at his studio and studied the Budderside demos. There was an instant connection and understanding of where we wanted to take the music. We began work immediately.
How was the experience?
Going to work with Paul was like visiting another planet and engaging with higher life forms. Very rewarding. We learned so much from Paul, as musicians and as people. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this album. All well worth it. We couldn’t have asked for a more knowledgeable, talented producer or wished for a better friend.
What are your expectations for the album?
We know it’s not easy. It hasn’t been so far. Even if we get what we want we know it’s a lot of hard work. We know that there are people out there dying to be set free. Even just for a minute. People want to escape. They want to be lifted up. We believe we can take you there. We want to be there with you when it happens. We know there are a lot of great bands out there. We just want to be one of them. We won’t let you down.
We hope to gain a massive fan base and make a name for ourselves. We aim to tour the world over and over, sharing our music with everyone along the way. We hope to make our label, our manager Todd, the entire team, our family and friends, and last but not least, we hope to make Lemmy very, very proud of us. We hope to catch the attention of the right people that will help our amazing team put Budderside where we all believe it should be… ON TOP! One “Like” at a time, we’ll get there with your help.
What has been your most memorable Budderside live show?
By far, Wacken Open Air 2016. The whole experience was beyond compare. 80,000 metal fans, all together celebrating rock n’ roll. The rush of a show that size can’t even be compared with jumping out of an airplane. It’s like a drug and we want more. Not only to be performing, to be surrounded by the whole UDR/Motorhead Music, Buntmetall family, 24/7, for days on end was priceless. The W.O.A. team ain’t messing around. Best crew on earth. Everyone knows exactly what to do and how to do it. We are so happy to be a part of this family.
What are your upcoming show/tour plans?
I’m told we’re looking at a very busy 2017 in Europe. Our confidence in our team at UTA is solid. In the meantime, back in the States, we are expanding beyond Los Angeles. We have won round one of the 517 Band Wars in Santa Ana and will go on to the semifinals. We hope to be announcing our November/December US tour schedule, and with who, very soon. Stay tuned.
How did you first meet Lemmy and the Motorhead guys?
An ex-girlfriend of mine was very close with the guys. Lem would show me his guitars, play his video games with me and we’d watch his war movies. Early on, Lem gave me a test. He was sharing his unbelievable collection of World War II memorabilia when I told him how good I was in jewelry class back in high school. I told him I had an amazing jewelers kit at home. Lemmy handed me an entire set of authentic bayonets. I swallowed my tongue in disbelief. These things were worth a lot of money and meant even more to Lemmy. They were dirty. It was hard to make out the images and symbols on them.
Lem said “Can you polish these up for me?” A million voices in my head rang out at once, “You’ll lose them!”, “Someone will steal them!”, “You’ll fuck them all up!”, but all I could say was, “Of course.” For the next 72 hours or so I guarded those things with my life. When I got home, I took out my dremel, jewelry tools, polishing equipment and carefully went to work. I don’t think I was ever as careful with anything as I was with those priceless pieces of history. You could feel the war in them. Some of the residue could have been blood, or soldiers’ sweat, I thought. But, Lemmy wanted them clean.
I polished and polished, but made sure not to damage the steel and gold. Underneath the muck and gunk laid lions heads, eagles and swastikas. I got them gleaming as bright as the sun. I returned them to Lemmy and he looked at me differently. Like he could trust me. It was pretty intense. I found myself driving Lem a lot of places. Lem didn’t drive and I was happy to help. All the guys, Mikkey, Lem even Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor would frequent my house, Todd included. I had an amazing collection of instruments and recording equipment.
Phil Campbell was constantly laying tracks on Budderside demos. One day Phil C. was on my couch right next to me when he received a call from his roadie, saying that he wouldn’t be able to make the tour starting that week in the states. Something about his visa, I think. But, who cared? Not me. When Phil hung up the phone he said “I don’t have a tech for the Everything Louder Than Everything Else tour.” I said, “Yes, you do!” I was hired right then and there.
What is your fondest memory of Lemmy?
My most cherished memories with Lemmy were on that bus. He would constantly pull me aside, or into the back of the bus and share the lyrics he was writing at the time with me. He could have been busting my balls about my job or keeping to himself, but I feel like he knew exactly what he was doing. He was inspiring me. He’d allow me to come up with rhymes and finish lines. We’d go back and forth about what the words meant and what the message of the song would become. It was intense. Lemmy really was larger than life. When the tour came to a close, Lemmy told me, “You belong on the stage, not behind it.”
Give us the lowdown on your experience with Velvet Revolver.
Again, another door kicked open by Lem. Velvet Revolver were looking to replace Scott. Lemmy called Slash and told him I was the guy for the job. I got a call from Matt Sorum who told me just that. Matt gave me the raw tracks they had been working on and it was up to me to be the voice, lyrics and all. This was already well into my sobriety and I don’t think I slept for about a week. I poured endless hours into creating my best work ever. It had to be. Matt encouraged me to “Speak My Truth.” To me, Velvet Revolver were at the pinnacle of rock n’ roll.
I wrote four songs before turning anything in and when I did, Matt and Slash said they liked it and wanted more. My band at the time, Aces N Eights, who totally understood and supported the idea, were scheduled to play a show at the Viper Room. I got a call that Slash would be joining us on stage. Everyone was rooting for me. I had the time of my life. Steven Adler jumped up with us as well that night. We jammed songs including a few GN’R tunes and afterward Slash told me how much he really enjoyed it.
I attended a few events with Slash while still working on the material after that. By the time I turned in the second round of songs, Matt informed me that the band was moving on to do other things. Duff went on to Loaded, Matt had a few other projects and Slash went on to be super-successful with his solo project. I was heartbroken, but my game had grown far beyond my limitations. Thanks to that experience, thanks to Lem, I was a whole new man.
What was your reaction to the recent Guns N’ Roses reunion?
It’s about time! I love Guns N’ Roses, especially Appetite For Destruction. Being the lead singer of Adler’s Appetite and sharing the stage for hundreds of shows with Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and original drummer of GN’R, Steven Adler, it makes me very happy. We had the time of our lives on tour, playing those songs together and for me, it was a dream come true. I learned so much from Steven and we will always have a deep brotherly love and respect for each other.
But, all Steven ever really wanted was to be back on stage with his band. When I heard about the reunion I knew he would stop at nothing until he got what he wanted. When I saw those pictures pop up on the internet of him playing with them for the first time on the tour, I screamed with joy! I reached out to Steven while it was happening, congratulating him and was pleasantly surprised when he replied immediately with a, “Thank you, Brother! Thank you for believing in me! I love you!” I can’t wait until Izzy joins the show.
What’s currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Ektomorf. Not just currently, always. Such a powerful band. I also have a copy of the unreleased Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons EP. Just an amazing work of art. Best new rock n’ roll/heavy metal I’ve heard in a long time. I’m not allowed to share, but everyone can hear it blaring out my windows as I drive by. (laughs)
Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
Thank you Heavy Music Headquarters for having us. We’re nothing without fans. Please join the Budderside movement and follow us: Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. Give us a “Like” on Facebook and please message us. We want to hear from you. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and check out all of our videos. More coming very soon and more to come after that. Get yourself a copy of our debut album, out now. Thank you for taking the time to read about us.
(interview published October 4, 2016)
