{"id":11303,"date":"2013-05-27T01:00:38","date_gmt":"2013-05-27T05:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=11303"},"modified":"2013-05-23T10:59:59","modified_gmt":"2013-05-23T14:59:59","slug":"blowin-wind-w-3-inches-of-bloods-cam-pipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=11303","title":{"rendered":"Blowin&#8217; Wind w\/ 3 Inches of Blood&#8217;s Cam Pipes: \u201cYou never know who\u2019s going to be the next fucking guy in Columbus jumping on stage with a fucking gun.  You\u2019ve got to be careful.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?attachment_id=11343\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11343\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11343\" alt=\"527274_10150716605978063_1367210129_n\" src=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/527274_10150716605978063_1367210129_n-200x300.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>Ever since I first laid ears on Canada&#8217;s 3 Inches of Blood, I was so pumped to have found one of my new favorite bands. Since then, I have had the pleasure of seeing these guys live three times and each time they just killed it a bit more than the previous. When the band released their latest metal masterpiece Long Live Heavy Metal, I knew that these guys were in it to win it. Carrying the torch and flag for heavy metal, 3 Inches of Blood, in my opinion, is leading the horde into battle and they will not accept defeat no matter what cost.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Leading this pack of rabid metal warriors is lead vocalist Cam Pipes. Sounding like the bastard child of Rob Halford and King Diamond (spare the jokes please), Cam quickly became without a doubt one of my favorite metal vocalists. When 3 Inches of Blood pulled into Atlanta for the 3rd leg of their Long Live Heavy Metal tour, Cam was gracious enough to talk to me right outside of the venue before load in. Cam was a really awesome guy and it felt more like talking to a brother than anything else. We talked about his humble beginnings playing church youth group assemblies, how Iron Maiden&#8217;s Powerslave changed his life, and how he deals with the rabid fan base of 3 Inches of Blood, even when they creep him out a little bit.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Cam, you finally made it back to Atlanta.\u00a0 Thanks for taking some time out to talk today.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sure man. No problem. Didn\u2019t you interview Shane before?<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah, I sure did. You\u2019ve got a tough act to follow dude.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not really. [laughs]<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cam, you do a lot of interviews. What is the one question that you get asked so much that it makes you want to eat glass?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[laughs] Probably, \u201cSo\u2026 how did you come up with the band name?\u201d I probably hate that question the most. It\u2019s especially annoying because the way we got our band name is not a very interesting story so I just tend to make shit up if I don\u2019t feel like explaining how it really happened [laughs]. Another one for me is when they ask, \u201cSo how do you hit those high notes?\u201d [laughs] Again, I could never explain it. I\u2019ve never taken lessons or anything. I mean, I don\u2019t want to be rude about it but how do you explain that?<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s like, \u201cDude, how do you talk?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[laughs] Exactly.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cool. Well, neither of those questions is on my list so we should be good.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[laughs] Alright. Cool.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>3 Inches of Blood has been out behind \u201cLong Live Heavy Metal\u201d for a good while now. <a href=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?attachment_id=11344\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11344\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-11344\" alt=\"208668_10151371793418063_1586847677_n\" src=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/208668_10151371793418063_1586847677_n-300x232.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"232\" \/><\/a>How do you feel the new material has meshed with the previous material in the live shows?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Really well I think. After a year of touring this record we\u2019ve found that certain songs are working really well in the set so they\u2019ll stay in there but we swap them out a lot too. On this tour, we\u2019re changing it up a lot. Some night Goatwhore is playing last and other nights we\u2019re playing last. If we\u2019re playing last we\u2019re playing a slightly longer set so that will give us a chance to throw in maybe one or two different songs. There are some from this new record that we haven\u2019t even played live yet. We\u2019re all music fans in general. We\u2019re all about deep cuts so we want to try and get those in somewhere. We also like to revisit stuff that we haven\u2019t played in a little while; songs that might be considered real \u201cfan\u201d songs.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>What songs from the new album do you feel are the best representation of where 3 Inches of Blood is now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a tough one. Fuck, I don\u2019t know [laughs]. I\u2019d probably say \u201cLeather Lord.\u201d It\u2019s something we\u2019re playing on a nightly basis and it was our first \u201csingle\u201d from this album. It\u2019s pretty straight forward but I think it\u2019s also pretty dynamic as well. I think that represents a broad spectrum of what we can do.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b-0Mb-Xkaaw\" height=\"315\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/center><strong>3 Inches of Blood, especially with this line up, has really become a solid and consistent entity. Do you think that this can kind of put to rest any of the non-believers that 3iOB has staying power?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Um, maybe. If people want to think that then sure. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re consciously trying to silence any haters or those who doubt us. People who dog by saying things like, \u201cOh they\u2019ve lost another bass player. The end is near.\u201d Things like that, people leaving the band for whatever reason has never brought me down. Looking back, I just thought, \u201cWell, there\u2019s another one who couldn\u2019t handle it so it\u2019s better that they\u2019re gone.\u201d Even though we\u2019re on good terms with most of the former members of this band, pretty much all of them except maybe one. It\u2019s a personal thing. We\u2019ve never had to kick anyone out except for one guy but they made their choice and decided it wasn\u2019t for them. It was a bummer because maybe it was a little bit of an inconvenience at the time depending on what the situation was. We\u2019ve always been able to scramble and think on our feet.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>3 Inches of Blood is one of the leaders of preserving this classic style of heavy metal. This kind of metal seems to be taking over more and more. What do you think it is about this kind of classic sound that is appealing to the masses?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think the classic sound that we all grew up on is something that everyone is influenced by even if you don\u2019t hear it right away. That will always stick around. There\u2019s a reason classical music is called classical music; because it\u2019s timeless. There\u2019s a virtuosity about it that is so compelling and that translates into heavy metal as well. I mean, heavy metal has it\u2019s trendy sub-genres and things like that but I think heavy metal overall is just kind of naturally resistant to trends. A real metal band with staying power isn\u2019t going shoot to success all the time and necessarily stay there. I think you\u2019re better off getting that kind of steady build because you don\u2019t want to fizzle out too quickly. I see it happen all the time. These bands come out, they get some popularity with the kids for a couple of years, and then they fizzle out.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Look at all the greats like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, all those guys. Took them 2, 3, and some 4 or 5 albums before they truly caught on and achieved some success.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, exactly. Priest put out their first album in like what, 1974? It wasn\u2019t until like \u201982 or so that they really kind of hit it. I mean, they really hit their peak commercially in \u201986 with Turbo. Some people consider that their worst album but I love that record. Bands like Iron Maiden, Priest, and even bands like Cannibal Corpse all seem to be more popular now than they were back in the supposed heyday of metal in the 80\u2019s. This whole new generation of fans is growing up with them and the fans that were with them back then are still there.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah and guys like us are now in our 30\u2019s, we have a little bit of money, and we can go to the shows and buy the merch and what not.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And take our kids if that\u2019s what the case may be. I don\u2019t have kids but I got my dog a fucking Kiss dog shirt and Rush dog shirt [laughs]. I have a little French bulldog and my dog has to have a Kiss shirt and a Rush shirt [laughs].<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?attachment_id=11345\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11345\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11345\" alt=\"254174_10151472488618063_126937123_n\" src=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/254174_10151472488618063_126937123_n-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a>Alright Cam let&#8217;s get to know you a little better. When did you know you wanted to be a musician?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Probably when I was like 14 or 15. I played piano and my parents brought me up on classical music at a very early age. I didn\u2019t really appreciate music in general until I was in junior high school. I met some friends who liked the same kind of music. I was into punk rock and I met dudes who could play guitar and I was all about having them play certain riffs by different bands. Hearing that guy play through an amp made want to quit playing piano and want to play guitar. My buddy goes, \u201cWell, I already play guitar and I know a drummer. Why don\u2019t you learn how to play the bass?\u201d I was like, \u201cOK. I\u2019ll learn.\u201d [laughs]<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Man, that\u2019s how all bassists are born pretty much.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[laughs] Right. So I told my folks that I didn\u2019t want to play piano anymore and that I really wanted to get a bass guitar and start a band. They were really supportive of it because they wanted me to have some sort of musical appreciation so they were at least satisfied that I was still playing music. I was just swapping out instruments. I don\u2019t play bass in a band anymore but I still have my bass at home and I love my bass. I became a singer because back then I ended up falling into the vocalist position in whatever band I was in with my buddy just because nobody else would do it. We couldn\u2019t get the drummer to sing and the guitar player didn\u2019t want to sing so I just did it. It was just punk rock and we were 14 or 15 and we were just winging it. It just kind of went from there and eventually I only sang in metal bands and punk bands. I gradually figured I could do a decent King Diamond imitation and then joined this band somehow [laughs].<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>You have such a strong voice and it sounds like it can take a beating. How do you take care of your voice so that you don\u2019t blow it out night after night?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think it comes with just doing it for a long time. The first tour where I did a bunch of shows in a row without any days off kind of helped me to build resistance. I lost my voice a little bit and really suffered when we did a tour where we did 11 shows in a row. I\u2019d never done that before and I\u2019d only been in the band for maybe a couple of years. It was really disheartening but since then I\u2019ve learned a few tricks here and there. I haven\u2019t had many problems since except for the odd bad PA night and not being able to hear myself or being sick. Otherwise, just playing every night seems to keep my voice warmed up. It\u2019s nice to have a sound check to get the cobwebs out during the day but I don\u2019t really do any warm-ups to speak of. I like to have a bottle of water and just gargle with it like it\u2019s mouthwash to just get any phlegm out that\u2019s kicking around [laughs].<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you remember your first ever live performance?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah [laughs]. I was probably 15. Me and my best friend\u2019s parents were church goers. We went to Youth Group on Sunday evenings and we got a gig playing at our Youth Group in the little gymnasium that was attached to the church. Our drummer told us at the last minute that he got grounded and that he couldn\u2019t do the show. I think he was just nervous [laughs]. His drums were at my buddy\u2019s house and we called another friend of ours to help us out and he said he would. Well, that guy didn\u2019t make it [laughs]. There was this other guy in our Youth Group who was also a metal guy and he was like, \u201cYeah, I kinda know how to play drums.\u201d [laughs] We did a couple of Sex Pistols songs and what not and during the course of the show you could tell he was getting really nervous. He didn\u2019t know any of these songs and mid way through the set he freaked out. We just said, \u201cDoes anyone out there know how to play drums?\u201d [laughs] This one guys goes, \u201cI do!\u201d He actually got up and was a competent drummer and we finished the set. We jammed with him for a while after that until we eventually had to kick him out for being a goof.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you guys have a name?<a href=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?attachment_id=11346\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11346\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11346 alignright\" alt=\"Img_5747\" src=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Img_5747-200x300.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We were called Thumper [laughs]. We changed names almost daily but eventually morphed into Pilot Light. Pilot Light ended up becoming a bigger entity and did a lot of shows around our hometown. We ended up getting a second guitar player and a better drummer. That band was around for a few years and we ended up getting better. It was a crazy time and when I went into high school I was all about playing music and smoking pot [laughs].<\/p>\n<p>===========================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>European fans (and fans in general) are known for giving bands really insane gifts. What\u2019s the craziest thing a fan has given you as a gift?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Actually, there\u2019s this fan from Las Vegas who\u2019s been coming out to our shows for the last couple of years and she always brings us stuff. She\u2019ll do drawings, like portraits for us. She made us these little bracelets with our goat head logo on them. She made me a denim jacket that she painted my name on the back and then painted art from our previous records on it. Just really cool stuff like that. The coolest of all was that she painted me a portrait of my dog. My wife and I always post pictures of our pets on Facebook so she got this canvas and painted a portrait of my dog. It was really the sweetest thing. She\u2019s just this 17 year old girl from Las Vegas who always brings us really cool stuff. It\u2019s really nice and really neat. She never expects anything in return but of course we\u2019ll give her a bunch of shirts [laughs].<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>It seems like an ongoing trend these days for bands to charge their fans to meet them. What\u2019s your opinion on this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, in general, paying money just to meet a person? I\u2019m not really into that. I really think it comes down to if the band is not cool to hang out and talk to their fans outside of that, then that\u2019s really where the problem would be. In this day and age with the internet and all that, you\u2019re already that accessible if you\u2019re on top of your social media which I like to feel like we are. The fans almost demand that personal access to you anyway. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re playing arenas or stadiums. We can\u2019t really hide away from the fans but it\u2019s not like we really want to. It\u2019s boring sitting backstage all day. You kind of want to get out there and explore the town you\u2019re in if you can or walk around the venue and see what\u2019s going on when you\u2019re not playing. Most of this tour I\u2019ve been selling our merch so I\u2019m there all night. If people notice that I\u2019m out there, we\u2019ll just chat.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?attachment_id=11347\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11347\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11347\" alt=\"Img_5738\" src=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Img_5738-200x300.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>3 Inches of Blood has some pretty intense fans. Do they ever kind of creep you out at all?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most people are cool and occasionally you get someone who\u2019s really annoying and gives you a rash but you just kind of do the best you can [laughs]. You don\u2019t tell them you\u2019re annoyed with them. You never know who\u2019s going to be the next fucking guy in Columbus jumping on stage with a fucking gun. You\u2019ve got to be careful. Sometimes you get those dudes that are so into it and they\u2019re looking up at you on stage and it\u2019s almost like they\u2019re demanding that you pay attention to them for the whole set. You can see it in their face that they\u2019re getting pissed off if you\u2019re not giving them enough eye contact. That happens every now and then and it starts to freak me out. It doesn\u2019t happen that often but every now and then.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you keep from going into a mode of absolute paranoia or fear about shit like that happening?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Man, you just kind of go with it and you always keep the sketchy people in the corner of your eye. Make sure you\u2019re always aware of where they are. I\u2019m already on the lookout for people who are jumping on stage and hanging out too long up there but then you have to think of the whole Randy Blythe (Lamb of God front man). You can\u2019t forcibly push them off the stage too hard because you don\u2019t want to hurt them. Ever since that Randy Blythe thing, I just have to be a little more careful.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cam, if you could sing for any band, of any era for just one night, who would it be and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Man, I\u2019m just happy playing with friends ya know? Me, Shane, and Ash and another buddy of ours are doing a Rush tribute band in the next little while. We\u2019ve had one jam and it was so much fun. It was so different from our regular 3 Inches of Blood even though it was us [laughs]. It\u2019s us just jamming and having fun. That\u2019s why I started playing music in the first place; because it was fun. We\u2019re going to play some shows around Vancouver.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>In your opinion, what is the ultimate metal album that nobody should be without?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Powerslave. That is the album that launched me right into heavy metal. Everything about that album. The cover was so cool that it almost scared me [laughs].<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>I remember looking at that cover for hours.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[laughs] I remember being an 8 year old kid seeing that for the first time and thinking, \u201cHoly fuck that is so cool.\u201d Then I heard the record and I just went from there. I always go back to that record. That\u2019s probably my favorite metal record.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Have you ever thought about having a scream off with Nitro singer Jim Gillette?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know if I would. Lead singers have a bad rap with having the egos and what not. You know, lead singer\u2019s disease [laughs]. I\u2019m trying to break the stereo type of the lead singer by not showboating or being an egomaniac dickhead. Dude, I actually load gear. I\u2019ve heard people say, \u201cWhoa. The singer\u2019s loading gear [laughs]. That\u2019s just how I am. I almost feel that having a \u201csing off\u201d or something would be perceived as trying to satisfy my own ego about my ability. I\u2019m confident in what I do. I know that a \u201csing off\u201d or something would be perceived as trying to satisfy my own ego about my ability. I\u2019m confident in what I do. I know there are a lot of other great singers out there and I\u2019m never going to claim to be the best of them.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, finish this sentence: If I wasn\u2019t a musician I would be ___________________.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I would be working some shitty job that I\u2019d probably hate [laughs]. It\u2019s hard to imagine life not being a musician. I\u2019ve only been a musician and not had any other work for the better part of 10 years. I couldn\u2019t imagine doing anything else. When I\u2019m at home, I work at a local pub when we have breaks. I figured rather than sit around for two months I might as well do something.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s cool. At least it gets you out of the house.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Exactly. And I also work the same hours as my wife. We both work nights.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next for 3 Inches of Blood?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to be off for most of the summer but then we\u2019ll be back at it for most of August. We\u2019ll be doing some shows in our neck of the woods in BC. We\u2019re going to Europe to do a couple of festivals and then we\u2019ll probably start writing in the fall.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thanks so much for taking the time out to do this. Now go load your gear in!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[laughs] Hey no problem Don. Thank you man.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11348\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11348\" style=\"width: 468px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?attachment_id=11348\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11348\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11348\" alt=\"The Brainfart &amp; Cam Pipes\" src=\"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/600866_10151614848005943_631098719_n.jpg\" width=\"468\" height=\"515\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11348\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Brainfart &amp; Cam Pipes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever since I first laid ears on Canada&#8217;s 3 Inches of Blood, I was so pumped to have found one of my new favorite bands. Since then, I have had the pleasure of seeing these guys live three times and each time they just killed it a bit more than the previous. When the band released their latest metal masterpiece Long Live Heavy Metal, I knew that these guys were in it to win it. Carrying the torch and flag [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[497,929,728],"class_list":["post-11303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-3-inches-of-blood","tag-cam-pipes","tag-long-live-heavy-metal"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}