The brutal American death metal force that is JUNGLE ROT is led by vocalist/guitarist Dave Matrise and
the musical act has unleashed easily their best album to date with Kill On Command in 2011. The band was signed with Napalm Records in January of 2009 and released What Horrors Await in June of that year. In April of this year, Victory Records signed them for their new release, which hit streets June 21, 2011.
The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody has conducted an exclusive interview with Dave Matrise of JUNGLE ROT for his loyal worldwide Den Headz.
Rocket: Where were you born and raised?
Dave: I was born and raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin-The land of Big White Tail Deer and Cheese!
Rocket: Do you come from a big family?
Dave: Not really… Just my mom, sister, grandma, and Me.
Rocket: Do you recall your first rock concert?
Dave: My first concert was Kiss and Judas Priest, at an ice rink, I think I was 12? It was killer. I did not know who Priest was and never heard of them before. I remember the spikes and studs that Halford wore that night, I’ll never forget it. Years later Priest became my favorite band of all time….I grew up on the early Priest and Maiden, that was 100% heavy metal!
Rocket: Who are some of your biggest guitar playing influences?
Dave: I would have to say the first time I saw Kreator, I told myself that is what I wanted to do, and Max as well, from in the early days of Sepultura, it had a lot of impact on me to start, and to make me start playing..The good ole days…
Rocket: What kind of guitars are you playing live and in the studio?
Dave: I play an ESP Viper Baritone Guitar for recording and stage.. I play a baritone because we tune down lower to a # B. This helps me out live because these guitars stay in tune forever. I also use heavy gauge strings 72. This set up always sounds killer and never comes out of tune, that’s important when playing live…
Rocket: What kind of amp rigs?
Dave: I use a Mesa Boogie Dual Rec head, 2 Marshall JCM 900 1960B cabs, a Boss Noise gate, and an Ibanez Tube Screamer petal.
Rocket: Let’s talk about the new album from JUNGLE ROT: “Kill on Command”. I absolutely dig what
I have heard so far. Where was it recorded and who produced it?
Dave: Kill on Command was recorded at Bell City Sound in Racine, Wisconsin with Chris Wisco. It was produced by Chris and JRot. We have done all of our recordings with Chris at his studio. He is a very talented person and has a great ear for music. It’s always a fun, and a memorable time when we record with Chris.
Rocket: How is your relationship going with your current label Victory Records?
Dave: It’s the best we have ever had with any other label. Victory has done more for this band in 3 months then any past label ever did. They did everything they said they were going to do for us and more. The whole staff is great and gives us a lot of respect.
Rocket: Tell me about your new drummer, Jesse Beahler. He is a beast!
Dave: Yes, he is…We met Jesse when we were touring in Europe. We became good friends and always kept in touch. We talked about maybe doing something together some time. We were on tour in the US and came through his area, so he came out to the show. At that time we were touring with a hired drummer for the tour, we started talking about maybe doing the next CD together and him joining the band, he liked the idea and we started to work together. Jesse really step it up for us and did a killer job recording the new CD. He is by-far the best drummer Jrot has ever had…
Rocket: How does the songwriting process work for this band?
Dave: Well, most of the songs on the new CD I wrote with the help of Geoff and James. I lock myself in my house till I come up with some good ideas. I then go to practice and play it for Geoff and James, and show them what I have been working on. They would say that’s some killer shit. They would start to learn what I was playing and once we get it all down, we all sit down and plan the Vocal patterns. Once we get them all down, and on time, James then writes the lyrics to finish it all up….And over, and over, until we completed the CD. Everyone has a special talent when writing new songs. We all have a job to do. Geoff is the man behind the pro tools and lead parts, I write most of the songs on the guitar and James writes all the lyrics.
Rocket: What can you tell me about the video production for the cut “Rise Up And Revolt”? I think it came out Killer! Is that generally a fun process for you or more of a pain in the ass?
Dave: That was a killer time. We shot the video Rise Up and Revolt on a construction site that was located around the corner from the Victory Record’s office. The Victory Video Crew are true pros and made it a very fun time for us. I wanted to do a performance video because I like the old school feel of just seeing the band head banging it out. I’m sure on the next one we will do some kind of story line now that we have a few videos out already, we might try something different.
Rocket: So where exactly is the best place for fans to pick up the new album?
Dave: That’s a good question. During the first week of sales we need as many pre orders and buys that we can get. It helps the band by making a statement that we do have fans and there is a demand for us to tour. We see little money from sales, most of it goes for recouping. The best way is buy it is from the band when we are on tour. That way we make a little money off the cd when we sell it while on the road. Buying it from us at the show lets us make around $2.50 per CD we sell. When bought through stores or online we make .29 cents per CD.
Rocket: With all the bands you play shows within the underground scene are there
Any worth mentioning currently that you think have some talent?
Dave: Yes, we played with many bands, but a few that come to mind are BlackBreath and Internal Silence, both of these bands have a great start, they need to just keep fighting the fight.
Rocket: You guys have toured around with big names like HATEBREED, DEICIDE, CATTLE DECAPITATION,GOATWHORE… are you friendly with those bands — maybe hang out — when you are sharing bills? Or is It all business for you?
Dave: No, we are all good friends. That’s what makes it a fun time on a tour. Meeting new buds and learning different tricks from one another. Usually when we get done touring with other bands, we become good friends, and the next time they come through on tour, or Jrot comes through, we go and support each other and hang out after the shows to catch up on things. There is a lot of business to deal with as well, but you have to make time to enjoy the experience.
Rocket: How do you warm-up your vocals before a show? Do you have a ritual?
Dave: I real don’t do much of a warm up, I just drink a lot of water before I play to keeps me from getting dehydrated while playing on all those hot stages. We usually all just come together as a band, look at each other, and say “Are you ready for battle?”
Rocket: What are some of the upcoming tours going on for Jungle Rot that we need
To know about?
Dave: We will be doing a US tour in October with Immolation and Gigan. Then we will be back out on a North America tour with Deicide as part of the March of Death Tour in March of 2012. After that we head to Europe in the spring for a short run of dates, and some of the open air festivals that they are so known for.
Rocket: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Dave: I don’t think I will be still touring but in a band? I think old man age will finally catch up to me, and put a stop to the touring. I will always play in some kind of band just to have fun. I see myself spending time working, hunting, and spending time with my wife and dogs, in my beautiful house.
Rocket: Any last words for your fans?
Dave: I like to thank everyone who showed us support by buying the new CD and not stealing it. We had our best first week sale ever, and that’s because of you, our fans. We thank you very much for staying true. We all cannot wait to get back on the road to see all are diehard fans. See you soon. Cheers!
Rocket: Thanks very much for rocking this out with me. Best of luck with your music! Go ahead and
Give thanks out to your biggest supporters.
Dave: Carrie Matrise , The Matrise and Bryk family, Shawn Glass , Kurt Manthe, Demetri Benoist, Wookie, Everyone @ the Victory office. Brian Bezot, Chris Wisco ,Chip Coxs, Jim Flint, and Chuck Chipetta.
http://www.myspace.com/junglerot
Superb interview – many thanks for posting! So cool to hear from Dave. Love Jungle Rot and am amped up the see them on the road with Immolation and Gigan (and it looks like I’ll have to find them with Deicide now in 2012!).
My own interview with James is at http://gogmagogical.blogspot.com/2011/07/jungle-rots-james-genenz-speaks-truth.html