Earthless Record Review/Interview - “For the sake of Fuck what happened to the rock?” – Lothar, the god of metal - Lothar is right, rock has taken a back seat in the public eye to hip hop, American Idol, Justin Timberlake and all that crap. Do not even
“For the sake of Fuck what happened to the rock?” – Lothar, the god of metal
Lothar is right, rock has taken a back seat in the public eye to hip hop, American Idol, Justin Timberlake and all that crap. Do not even say pearl jam, Blink 182 and that crap is rock either. Sure bands are still rocking out there but you gotta look deeper than the radio station.
Earthless has been rocking San Diego for about five years. This is their third release, the first on Tee Pee Record. It’s a must have for fans of hard psychedelic rock. The drummer, Mario Rubacalba, was in San Diego’s finest rock band Rockets from the Crypt and is a former pro skater for Alva. Unlike a fast hard hitting song like Motley Crue Shout at the Devil or Slayer it is more like down for the count, long term rocking. The cd has three songs, 2 of which are about 20 minutes. This is good music to fuel a session, steady, heavy music and you do not have to get up to skip songs like other cd’s with three minute songs. Maybe not music for a video part or an X Games run but music for a heavy jam session. A mix of Motorhead, The Melvins, Funkadelic and Led Zeppelin, kind of; music to get amped and stay amped to. I recommend it. Four out of 5 stars on the scale of metal. Keep in mind that 5 is Motorhead playing in the Basque Country with no opening band in the rain for 3.5 hours with Lemmy wearing lead weights on his feet so he walks like Frankenstein, so a four is pretty damn good. Seeing them live is supposed to be even sicker than the cd. Check out their My Space, just search for Earthless. If you are in San Diego check out Mario’s record store the Thirsty Moon. If you like hip-hop or rap do not buy, If you like rock – get it. Read on for a brief interview with Mario, the drummer.
SR: So Mario, you work at Black Box, have part ownership of a record store (Thirsty Moon Records in Hillcrest) and are in the band Earthless, did you plan on mixing things you enjoy and making a living or did it just end up that way?
MR: It just kinda ended up this way, I have been in Earthless for a few years, started the record store then knocked my lady up so I had to get a more consistent form of money aside from music so I hit up Black Box. They seemed to be what I was looking for in a skateboard company & I am really stoked to be a part of it.
SR: Is working at Black Box cool or would you rather wear a suit and work in some office somewhere making lots of money and selling your soul?
MR: It’s great, I skate the park everyday, & we don’t have a dinky little manual pad & a quarterpipe. We have a full -on ripper!! I don’t have anything against suits…just some of the people who wear them.
SR: Who is the funniest person at Black Box? Is it the guy from the Heartaches?
MR: There are too many characters here, I am constantly laughing
SR: Ok, this is supposed to be about Earthless, how would you describe the type of music you guys play?
MR: Heavy, Loud, Sonic mind melt sandwich.
SR: There are not too many bands out playing heavy, powerful music like Eathless, how did it come about that you guys play this type of Music?
MR: It’s in the chimichanga’s that I eat.
SR: What has been the best show you guys have played thus far?
MR: They all are fun.
SR: If Earthless could play with any two other bands (living or dead) in the world, who would they be?
MR: It would be an open jam sesh with Zeppelin, Hendrix & Sabbath.
SR: I know Lou’s has your Cd’s and probably the Thirsty Moon too, where else can people get a hold of the music?
MR: Best buy but go the independent route.
SR: Does the Thirsty moon have Justin Timberlake CD’s or more hard to find stuff?
MR: Just Morrissey (gag!)
SR: Thanks man, any shows coming up or anything else you want people to know?
Sounds like “Eyeballs floating in space…” from the Eathless My Space sight. Also like this photo I took from their My Space sight
The review in Thrasher said Mario is a former pro skater. Well, Mario may not be pro for Alva anymore but he still shreds. Here is a Madonna on the extension at Black Box (Mystery, Zero, Fallen, Greed) were he works
