Cortez - Going beyond the desert

1.Hello,thanks for allowing this interview to happen.First of all for the people that might not know the band already,can you give us a rundown of where you are from,band members and a brief history of the band ?

We are Cortez from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The band consists of: Scott - Guitar, Jay - Bass, Jeremy - Drums, Matt - Vocals. The band formed in early 2006. We have released one EP on Buzzville Records titled "Thunder In a Forgotten Town".


2.The EP released last year "Thunder In A Forgotten Town" got some great reviews.Was that something you expected ? After all it is a real high quality slab of Stoner Rock !

Thanks for the kind words, we tried to make a record that we were satisfied with above all. I think we succeeded in so far as we made the best EP that we could at that point in time. We always like to think that the next thing we do will be better than the last. The positive reviews are just icing on the cake, although it does feel good to know that other people are also on the same wavelength.


3.Speaking of " Stoner Rock " which is a musical tag that is becoming very tired and overused these days,is this a tag you are happy with and is it even a musical genre anymore ?

We aren't too concerned with labels...if we are tagged as Stoner Rock that's fine. It helps people get an idea what we sound like before they listen. Ultimately we just want to make heavy music that we enjoy playing. As for whether Stoner Rock is even a genre anymore, I think it is although like anything it has changed and mutated. Any genre will have it's "traditionalists" who only want to sound like Kyuss or whoever they deem to be true Stoner Rock and there will also be the bands who have those bands as influences but forge their own path and identity. There's room for both sides so I think Stoner Rock will be around for a long time.


4.You recently had some time off and are back doing shows again.What was the reason behind the break ?

The reason behind the break was that we split with our original singer. Unfortunately it didn't work out so we had a couple of friends fill in on vocals for us at some shows (Craig Riggs from Roadsaw and Gaff from Gozu). It took us a while to find the right replacement. After a year we finally found the right singer, Matt. He has been amazing and really brought us up a notch in the vocal department.


5.So whats happening with the new album ? Can you give us a update with songs and a album title ?

We have been writing songs for the new album and have seven written and a few more in the works. We would like to get into the studio this summer and start recording. We are really pleased with the new songs and can't wait to record them.

As for an album title, it's a little early for that right now but some of the new song titles are "All Hail", "Monolith", "Wormwood", "Beyond the Mountain" and "Ride On".


6.Earlier this year you played the Stoner Hands Of Doom X show.Are the big festival type shows something you enjoy ? Also do you think its a bit much for the average fan to sit through all those bands all at once ?

Actually the SHOD X show is in September so it is a few months away still. As far as festival shows go, we like playing them. They are always fun and a great opportunity to play for people that may not have seen you before. A good set can go a long way to making new fans. It's always good hanging with the other bands as well.

If a person is a fan of at least a few of the bands it makes for a real party, drink, smoke, watch the bands you like, buy merch, check out distros and hang with other people that dig the same kind of music. Nothing wrong with that if you ask me.


7.The band has some big chunky riffs but also with a sense of melody similar to that of some classic bands from the 70's. Do you spend a lot of time working on melody and the feel for a song ?

We are very particular about making sure we feel that a song really works before we record it. Some songs go through numerous chorus or bridge sections before we settle on the right parts. Arrangements also tend to change from the beginning until the song is finished. We are our own biggest critics. As for melody and feel we try and take all of the elements into account in order to write quality songs.


8.With the new album coming out,how does it compared with last years EP ?

It is the same members who wrote all of the music on the EP so obviously it will continue in the same vein but the new songs are frankly, better. Most of the EP songs were written within six months of becoming a band while we were getting used to playing together and while we are happy with them we are extremely excited about the new material. Matt's vocals really take the songs to a new level without losing the feel of the older songs.


9.Its perhaps a little too easy to listen to bands like "Cortez" and compared it to " Kyuss " and are they a influence to you ( really ).I mean i don't think you really sound like " Kyuss " at all but that comparison must come up pretty regularly !

Kyuss is most definitely an influence and if people think we sound like them great. We love that band so it is an honor to be mentioned in the same breath. That being said we don't actively try to sound like Kyuss but their influence is in the mix along with Sabbath, Deep Purple, Cactus, Soundgarden, Dozer, Melvins, Black Flag and a million others.


10.The band's material is available all over the place including CD Baby and I Tunes.How important is that sort of distribution ? I know a lot of bands that refuse to have anything to do with I Tunes etc !

For us it's about making it readily available. If we make a great record and nobody gets to hear it, what's the point? In this day and age Itunes is responsible for quite a bit of our sales. It's just another way for people to get their hands on our songs. I tend to prefer the old fashioned way of going to a record store and scouring the racks looking for a hidden treasure and looking at the artwork but many people just want to download songs. Which is fine with us, the bottom line is getting the music out there.


11.Future shows - what is planned for the band ?

We are booking shows for the summer and fall right now. As I mentioned earlier we are playing the Stoner Hands Of Doom festival on Sept 4th. We are also doing a short run of shows with Ichabod, Maegashira and When the Deadbolt Breaks which are in the works as I type. We would also like to go back to Europe after the new album is finished.


12.Also on the same subject,have you got any preferences over what bands you like to play with or are you pretty open-minded about it ?

We're pretty open minded. As long as the bands are good it usually works out. A little variety sometimes makes for the most interesting shows. Playing with bands that we are friends with is always a good time.


13.I read in your blog about the reaction coming out of Russia,that must have satisfying to know the tunes have made a impact so worldwide ?

It feels good to know that people are digging songs that we wrote in our small, sweaty rehearsal space. It's kind of surreal, actually, but very cool.


14.What is your thoughts of the current music for the so called " Desert Stoner Riff Rock " scene ?

I think there are lots of good bands out there in all of the heavy genres these days. In Boston alone there are tons of great bands like We're All Gonna Die, Gozu, Hackman, Ichabod, Riff Cannon, The Proselyte, Born Of Thunder. Not to mention bands from everywhere else Solenoid, Deville, Dozer, Solace, Orange Goblin to name a few.


15.Ok time for some shameless promotion,give all the readers a rundown of websites where they can find you and also the easiest way of picking up some merchandise .

The best way to reach us or to buy merch is at our myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/cortezboston

You can also check us out at the following sites:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/cortezboston
http://www.last.fm/music/Cortez (US)
http://www.reverbnation.com/cortezboston

Thanks to Ed & Earthdog for spreading the word!