{"id":5768,"date":"2011-04-04T07:00:14","date_gmt":"2011-04-04T11:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=5768"},"modified":"2011-03-28T20:16:18","modified_gmt":"2011-03-29T00:16:18","slug":"blowin-wind-w-bob-pantella-of-riotgodmonster-magnet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=5768","title":{"rendered":"Blowin’ Wind w\/ Bob Pantella of Riotgod\/Monster Magnet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Riotgod has to be near the top of a growing list of “new favorites.” The brainchild of drummer Bob Pantella and bassist Jim Baglino (both of whom are members of Monster Magnet), Riotgod released their self titled debut which was a sonic psychedelic rock face melt that was reminiscent of bands like Soundgarden and Captain Beyond. I was lucky enough to catch Bob at home during a rare break in a busy touring schedule with Monster Magnet. Bob’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever talked to and we discussed his plans with Riotgod, his appreciation of Captain Beyond and all else in between. I hope you’ll read this and go check out some Riotgod. Enjoy this one!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Bob, thanks for taking the time to do this. I have to say that the debut Riotgod album is spectacular. It made my top albums of 2010.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s really cool man. Thank you.<\/p>\n

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How was the last run with Monster Magnet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a great run. I\u2019ve been home for a while. It was a six week European run but it didn\u2019t seem short [laughs]. Six weeks in the winter time in Europe is pretty brutal.<\/p>\n

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Riotgod is a side project for you outside of your gig with Monster Magnet but it sounds like so much more than just that. Would you say this is more than just a side project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really consider anything I do a side project. I try make whatever I\u2019m doing my priority. Lately with Riotgod we\u2019ve been in the studio recording for a new record. I also play with Atomic Bitchwax and Cycle of Pain but Monster Magnet does take up most of my time at the moment.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>I can totally hear that in the music. Riotgod doesn\u2019t sound nearly like just a side project.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, we put a lot of time and thought into it. We didn\u2019t know where it was going to go and we just did whatever we were doing. We didn\u2019t even start out saying, \u201cThis is what we want to sound like.\u201d We just started writing music and just went wherever it took us.<\/p>\n

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How would you describe Riotgod\u2019s music to someone that has never heard you before?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hm. [laughs] I mean, it\u2019s just rock n\u2019 roll to me. It\u2019s the kind of stuff that I liked listening to while growing up. There\u2019s some Zeppelin-isms in there and some of the Aerosmith stuff. Definitely a little Soundgarden in there especially with the vocals. There\u2019s definitely a Monster Magnet influence in there with the space rock kind of stuff.<\/p>\n

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When I first heard your it, the first thing I thought was \u201cThese guys are the Captain Beyond of this generation!\u201d Is it safe to say they are an influence?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Wow, that\u2019s a huge compliment. I really appreciate that. I love Captain Beyond. That first record is great. We recorded a cover of \u201cMesmerization Eclipse\u201d back in 2004 although nobody has heard it. I gotta dig it out. It\u2019s buried somewhere [laughs].<\/p>\n

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The metal world is full of genre tags like thrash, death, grindcore, etc. I\u2019ve heard people lump Riotgod into the \u201cstoner metal\u201d genre. Are you guys comfortable with being placed into a genre like that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eh, it\u2019s not stoner rock. Not that I have anything against stoner rock. I love stoner rock but I really hate all those sub genres. To me it\u2019s just hard rock. It\u2019s not metal. Just hard rock.<\/p>\n

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My head swims when I hear all of these sub genres. I\u2019m not old but probably 90% of these sub genres didn\u2019t exist when I was a teenager.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. Look at The Who. Back in the day they considered themselves a pop band.<\/p>\n

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2\/4 of Riotgod also perform in Monster Magnet. How does playing in Riotgod compare or differ from \"\"<\/a>playing in Monster Magnet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well now \u00be of Riotgod is Monster Magnet so not very much [laughs]. No, it\u2019s really a different thing especially because the singer is different. It\u2019s a different energy with one guitar in the band so that\u2019s a different, more free feel live.<\/p>\n

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Do you have more creative freedom in Riotgod than in Monster Magnet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely. Monster Magnet is Dave\u2019s (Wyndorf; guitarist\/singer). In Riotgod we all write and it\u2019s more of a band kind of thing. It\u2019s definitely an equal shared venture.<\/p>\n

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How did you guys write for this album? Did you just jam in a room together and write songs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually, I have a recording studio in my house. Jim and I had been talking about putting a band together or years. I recorded a bunch of stuff at home by myself and I didn\u2019t let anybody hear it [laughs]. I called Mark (Sunshine; singer) up to come over and do something with it and come up with some vocal melodies and lyrics. It all came together really quick once he jumped into it. I played the guitar, bass and drums on it but didn\u2019t do any leads. I called Jim over to check it out and he was blown away. The first song we did was \u201cLight of the Sun\u201d which is the first song on the record.<\/p>\n

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How did you guys manage to find a singer named Sunshine? That shit is just plain awesome!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known this guy for 20 years and that\u2019s his real name. No joke. I\u2019ve always wanted to do something with him but it never came together. He\u2019s just out of his mind. Sometimes you don\u2019t know if you\u2019re getting Mark or if you\u2019re getting Sunshine [laughs]. He was obviously the first choice and the only choice. I can\u2019t think of anyone else who could sing like that.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve listened to this album straight through. It\u2019s an amazing listening experience. When you guys were putting it together, did you sequence it this way intentionally to have that flow to it or did it just happen that way?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, it didn\u2019t happen that way. It was definitely intentional. I wanted it to start heavy and kind of mellow out and then come back up again. A kind of ride you know? Not too many people listen to an album all the way through any more but for those that do that\u2019s why I did it like that.<\/p>\n

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Riotgod is already planning a new release for 2011. What can we expect from this album and will I get to see you guys on tour? I need a Riotgod show.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where are you at? [laughs]<\/p>\n

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I live in Atlanta.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh that\u2019s cool. I\u2019d love to do some more stuff in the states. We\u2019re doing a tour in October in Europe for about 3 weeks. The new album is going to be a bit heavier but we\u2019re still writing for it. I\u2019d love to do some shows in the states but we don\u2019t have a booking agent here so we\u2019re pretty much on our own at this point but that could change over the next couple of weeks or months. I\u2019d love to do a tour down south because we haven\u2019t done anything there at all. We have to have the album done by July. That\u2019s the deadline so we\u2019re kind forced into it [laughs].<\/p>\n

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Where can people go to hear some Riotgod and maybe buy and album and other merch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, you can go to the website (www.riotgod.com) or the MySpace page. You can also pick up the album on Amazon.<\/p>\n

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Besides the new album, what can we look forward to from Riotgod heading into 2011?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next record. I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s going to be called yet but it\u2019s going to be heavier. We just really wanted to something a little more heavy. We need to tour it a lot more. We\u2019re going to South America in the fall but we\u2019ve got to put together a States run. Some good rock and roll!<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s funny that you say that. I tend to interview a lot of European bands and they are always talking about how well recieved music is there. Why is it that in the States they don\u2019t seem to get it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that people here are just bombarded with so much entertainment you don\u2019t have to leave your house [laughs]. Internet, video games and all that stuff. People don\u2019t really do that in Europe like they do it here. Some people are just afraid to go out. They don\u2019t want to get in trouble for drinking and driving, not that you should do that, but people just seem to be afraid to go out. People don\u2019t want to spend money when they can stay home and have just as much fun. I just think there are so many options.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s just insane to me. For instance, I saw Exodus here last year and was shocked to see only about 200-300 people there. It just killed me that they can\u2019t get the support from fans here that they get overseas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh wow. I love \u201cBonded By Blood.\u201d I saw them in New York when that album came out with Paul Baloff singing. It was great but nobody was there [laughs].<\/p>\n

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I talked to a guitarist from Germany and he said that he felt that the American audiences were a little spoiled in that we are so over saturated with entertainment and concerts that people don\u2019t go out to all of them. In Europe they don\u2019t get as many shows so the reception is always so much more intense.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s true. Europe is great for us as it is more most bands but I also think it\u2019s kind of a generational thing too. Maybe I\u2019m sounding old but when I was a kid we used to go outside and build a tree fort [laughs]. Kids today don\u2019t seem to go out much. When we were kids we were hiding in the woods, getting a barrel of beer and smoking pot [laughs].<\/p>\n

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Oh I do that now!<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] That\u2019s funny.<\/p>\n

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Bob, thanks so much for doing this interview. It was really fun talking to you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you very much Don. I really appreciate it man. Talk to you soon.<\/p>\n

Special thanks to Bob for taking the time out to talk with me. If you want to get your face melt on with some Riotgod, check them out here:<\/p>\n

Official Website: http:\/\/www.riotgod.com<\/p>\n