Joe From Borgo Pass

Borgo Pass are one of the best "Sludge Metal" bands around.In fact if you want to know what "Sludge Metal" is then you don't have to look much further than these guys.One hell of a hard working band with some killer gigs to their resume.People are always going on about "Down"etc but this band deserves to be right up there in the minds of "Sludge fans"everywhere.Hopefully this interview with Joe the drummer will inspire you to check them out.






1.First of all,tell everyone about the history on Borgo Pass and 12 Eyes.Both bands have been around a while.

 (( Borgo Pass started jamming in the mid '90s. We were a Black Sabbath cover band called "Slow Painful Death". Tom (guitar), YT (bass) and I were the lineup. Paul (guitar) played in my brother's band and when they parted ways, we grabbed him! We started writing originals, went through several singers, and after bringing in Ed (vox) we released our self titled cd in '97, followed by "Powered by Sludge" in '99. We parted ways with Ed and, after 30 auditions for singers, brought in Jimmy (vox). Jimmy's vocals are more aggressive than Ed's, so we turned up the energy level as well. We rushed into the studio again to record the "Slightly Damaged" ep, followed by "Nervosa" in '05. After YT left borgo, we recruited Joe Rega (bass) from 12 Eyes. We just finished our new self titled ep which is available at borgopass. com.

 12 Eyes started in 2005. Ryan (guitar, vox), Joe Rega (bass, vox) and I were in other bands, but we wanted to chill and write some stoner/ doom material. Ryan and I played in a punk/ psychobilly band with Kenny Bones (Negative Reaction) and Joe and I jammed out on doom stuff a few times, so I introduced these two and we've been writing like crazy. We released the "Mama Loves Sabbath" ep and we've been working on releasing a full length.

2.Borgo Pass are one hard working band,you seem to be always playing live.

 (( Onstage is where the band is at it's best. We try booking as many shows as we can to keep people interested and it encourages us to keep writing new material. We also dabble in cover tunes occasionally, keeps things fresh. But we've fucked up a few of those! Still, the best way to get to know our sound is to hear us live!

3.You have written some new tunes in the last few months,would you like to tell us about them?

 (( We've had some interested parties asking us for new material. We've been writing, but due to busy schedules we have not been in the studio in awhile. So upon request, we went into the studio with our producer (Chris Laybourne) and went through our new tunes, looking for the 3 strongest songs. "The Dogs Know Better" was more or less finished before we went in. "Bless" was coming along well, but once in the studio, it took a life all it's own! And "Of Flesh & Bone" was written almost entirely by Paul specifically for this ep. We added our ideas together, then Chris helps alot with tweaking the tunes to make them really stand out. He's great to work with.


4.Borgo Pass are a classic example of Sludge Metal,how do you think Sludge Metal differs from generic Metal. Of course its heavier than most forms of Metal,but is the attitude important?

 (( Sludge Metal.. That perfectly sums up what we do, thanks! I love sludge mostly because it's so damn heavy without being depressed or angry, which is what i DON'T like about metal nowadays. Attitude is important. Anybody that knows us can see that we're in this to have a great time, no to excersise demons or solve kid's problems...

5.You mixed up the styles a lot from Southern Rock,70's Hard Rock to Stoner Metal. Is this the direction the band will continue to go in?

 (( Absolutely! Over the years we've matured as musicians, but the sound is still Borgo.. we have a pretty wide variety of influences. Tom's into hardcore & 70's rock, Jimmy's into Down, Pantera, BLS, Van Halen , Joe & I are really into the stoner rock / doom metal scene and Paul's into it all.. thrash, grunge, stoner, you name it! and the one common thread here is Black Sabbath. Without them, who knows what metal might sound like!

6.Where did the name Borgo Pass come from?

 (( I found the name 'Borgo Pass' in a book called "Dracula- Prince of Many Faces". It's a book about the life of Vlad, The Impaler. The borgo pass was a passageway through the Carpathian Mountains, and Vlad's escape route from the Turks. I liked the ring of this name for some reason, so we went with it.

7.You also play in 12 Eyes,do you like one band more than the other?Dont want to get you into any trouble with this question.

 (( I know this sounds like a generic answer, but I enjoy both projects equally. We take Borgo seriously and out of it comes awesome shows. We've shared bills with great bands such as Alice in Chains, High on Fire, The Misfits, Heaven & Hell, Clutch, Superjoint Ritual, Alice Cooper, Anthrax and then some. 12 Eyes is still out to not take ourselves too seriously and have a blast chilling, drinking and writing new tunes, and we've gotten great shows as well.

8.How has been the reaction to the CD's,i have read some great reviews.

 (( The feedback we've gotten on our cd's has been awesome! The writing and recording process can be a pain in the ass! (especially recording, i hate mics) But the end result is always positive, so that will keep us recording.. as long as people care!

9.Have you been treated well by your local scene,Promoters,club owners etc.

 (( We've been treated with much respect in the music scene here. We've been doing this for awhile, so we get to pick & choose who we're going to work with. We get good offers and the promoters know that we'll deliver.

10.Any chance of a national tour and is this something you would like to do?

 (( We've done a southwest tour (New Orleans, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona) and we had a great time, my favorite show of that tour was SHOD 4 (Az). We've also done travel gigs (Los Ang, Las Vegas, Canada, Rochester, etc), so we're ready to play out anywhere... Unfortunately, because of work, families, homes,etc we haven't  had time to get back on the road for any extended period. We hope to hit the road again soon.. we'll see! I can tell ya that we're sloted to play SHOD X in Maryland in Sept '09.



 11. Do you and the rest of the band agree or disagree a lot?

 (( As I'm sure all bands do, we do bicker occasionally about song arangements, plans, etc. But for the most part, i'd say we're all on the same page musically. And we've been friends for a long time, so there's no problems there.



12.What is the long term plans for Borgo Pass and 12 Eyes?

 (( Borgo Pass plans to keep writing and recording 'till we're all old and fuckin sick of each other! We've been shopping the new cd and the feedback has been positive. As long as they care, we'll keep working.

 Ryan from 12 Eyes is moving to Az in mid '09, so that may mark the end of the ride for us.. although we've talked about continuing writing and emailing ideas, so ya never know. In the meantime, Joe & I will be jamming some drum / bass stuff.... Stay tuned!

13.What is your opinion on the downloading of music,lately i have been seeing some of my favorite albums up for free downloads.I find this to be nothing more than stealing.

 (( This whole download music deal really sux because look what it's done to the music industry! This is now a dead business, labels are falling and there's hardly a chance for new artists to break through. As douchy as Lars & Metallica seemed during the Napster deal, the fact is they were absolutely right! People were stealing right out of their pockets..

 So there's little hope for anyone in the business to progress.

14.What has been the highlights of your career so far,gigs etc

 (( The highlights of our career has always been the great gigs. Like I said, we've shared bills with some excellent bands, and not so geat bands (Vince Neil, Wasp, Dokken, Buck Cherry, etc) but the parties were always great and we met some awesome people along the way. Meeting and hearing new bands always keeps things interesting.

15.What is the easiest way for people to obtain the CD's?

 (( You can get any BORGO PASS cd by ordering from www. borgopass. com and check us out on www. myspace. com/borgopass 

  Cds from 12 EYES are available by writing to us. check out our page.. www. myspace. com/12eyes 

 Of course.... come to our shows to get the real experience!!!!!

16.Anything you would like to add?

 (( Thanks for checking out BORGO PASS & 12 EYES and show us, and the metal world in general, some support... especially now that the music world is dominated by hip hop, r&b, american idol, guitar hero and ringtones! metal still has a voice!!!!!!!

 Cheers!</