#jim lowder

[bigguysinmetal]

Jim Lowder of Norska (via)

[steelforbrains]

Of Vikings and Vegetation - A Conversation with Norska

And that's just the thing.  Norska's music - their sound - demands you listen not just because you could hard boil an egg in front of the cabinets, but because the authenticity pours out of every note and every bellowed melodic scream from vocalist Jim Lowder.  I recently had the privilege of speaking with Jim just briefly before they embarked on their current tour with YOB, and we had a conversation discussing the nuances of the music industry, and how metal is wonderful but nature seems to be the most inescapable beauty in the world.

Jim, my first question actually has to do with the name Norska itself.  The name is derived from the Norwegian language, is that correct?

That is correct.  We actually took the name from the legend that was told to our guitar player, Dustin, by a good friend of his, Ryan.  They’d been talking casually about nautical themes, and Ryan relayed the story about the legend about a Viking vessel called Norska that had been defeated in battle and had risen to help the Vikings fend off another invading force at some point.  It’s just one of those things we immediately liked when we heard, so.

I’m always fascinated by the Norse lore and things of that nature, Jim.  That’s why I had to ask just after listening to the record and then being curious about the origin of the name itself.  Speaking of which, the album drops when?

The official release date is September 18th.  We’re actually going out on tour, and we’ll have copies for sale at the shows. 

And you guys are touring with YOB and even have a member of that band in Norska as well?

We do, yeah.  Aaron, who’s our bass player, also plays bass in YOB. 

One of the things I like to explore with musicians such as yourself, Jim, and bands like Norska is the journey you’ve made as an artist or a musician.  What’s brought you here to Norska?  What’s the thread that’s brought you to where you are as an artist and musician today?

I’ve always liked deep and interesting music.  Even from a very young age, growing up in musical family, I was involved in band, the high school choir, things like that.  And I’ve always had a bit of a sense that that arena of music really wasn’t going to cut it – there was just something missing in that particular kind of rigid structure.  As I got older, through high school and beyond, I really got into expanding the kinds of music I was listening to.  I learned to explore the different vocal styles and things that kind of went along with my background as it was primarily in vocals.  When I was a young man, it was all hip hop, and then metal became huge, and I was absolutely blown away by it.  I mean, I had a really diverse listening spectrum, but that was the thing that really just grabbed a hold of me.  You know, when Norska got together – we got together under different names with different members.  There were different incarnations before we settled on our lineup that we have now, and what really brought me to the band was Dustin Rieseberg.  He and his brother, Aaron, they’ve both been playing music since they were knee high, and they basically approached me about a music project they were trying to get together.  I went out and gave it a shot, and even struggled for a while to find the niche – like where I belonged – in that particular structure, but once I started expand on the vocal style and sort of push out what I thought that music was needing, we all sort of felt like it was a perfect match, and we’ve plugging away at it ever since. 

  When was the inception of the group, Jim?

I had lived in Seattle for a couple of years and had moved back down in the early 2000s, and I had heard that a friend of mine, Travis, who I’ve known since junior high and who plays drums in the band YOB, and they had a show coming up in Portland, so myself and a couple of friends went up there, and I bumped into Dustin, and he was like “Hey, man.  We’re putting this band together.  If you’re interested in coming out and giving it a shot that would be fantastic.”  So there I was, man.  I showed up, and we started jamming and putting songs together.

You said earlier, Jim, that metal was what drew you in, and obviously you’ve got a diverse background in music.  What was it about heavy metal or the metal genre that resonated with you more than any other? 

It just felt incredibly natural, I think.  I mean, personally, heavy metal spoke the most.  I had a lot of friends growing up that were really into hip hop and country and all these different styles, and metal really spoke to me.  I guess I should give credit to the “darker” metal or what was considered  “dark” at the time in the middle of the 80s and early 90s.  It just seemed more vital and more honest, and it had this energy and a bit of anger and, of course, the relationship to classical music too.  Some of those bands were weaving in and out of melodies that were just absolutely appealing when I heard those tones and what they were doing.  It spoke to me more than other styles. 

Five or ten years ago, Jim, and I ask this a lot, because I feel it bears repeating, and I feel it’s a subject that should be looked at if only for the socio-cultural aspects involved with it, but it seems like metal is receiving so much critical acclaim and press these days and not from the typical outlets, either.  You’ve got NPR and other “non typical” press outlets who are covering metal and not mainstream metal, either.  I mean, as a musician who’s been around long enough to see the ins and outs of the music industry, how do you view the sudden embracing of genre that you’ve embraced all along? 

That’s a tough question.  I think my interpretation of it is that people are finding what they need.  I think ten or fifteen years ago it was a little bit more difficult to find a copy or a cassette of what you wanted to hear.  You had to put time into finding these bands and what you wanted to hear.  I think now is a really interesting time for metal, because there’s so much out there, and it’s so easy to get your hands around what you otherwise may not have been able to find.  There’s the immediate access, and everyone is available now, and I think people are certainly responding to it.  I think people are seeing more reality in the music.  I think there’s a certain level of honesty and expression in heavy music than there is the other side of it.  That’s not to say the same isn’t true for rock altogether, but I just think there’s a lot more honesty and vitality in what’s being put forth in heavy music, and I think people are realizing that and tapping into that because it’s more readily available now than it’s ever been.  People are seeing these bands who are putting out their records on smaller labels versus these massive juggernaut corporate ones, and there’s a distinctive difference.  People know. 

It definitely seems like the massive record industries are absolutely scrambling and struggling to find a footing and stay afloat.  I mean, now because of the internet and because of social networking you have the immediacy there.  I mean, I can listen to a prog metal band out of Australia, Islands, on Bandcamp now, whereas six or seven years ago that wouldn’t have been so immediately available to me.  I mean, even Norska – that’s the thing, I wouldn’t have heard of you guys had it not been for the internet.  I’m browsing through some stuff, I see YOB, and then I see you guys right there, so I’m just compelled to listen, and then here we are.  I think it’s exciting, Jim, because I think it’s made the music better.  I think bands are being forced to up the ante, of sorts, and realize that the competition is as fierce as it’s ever been. 

I certainly think it has as well.  For the most part, there is an unspoken level of competition and a little pinch of politics there, but everyone is trying to rock everybody else’s ass off.  You know, there’s that, and it’s completely valid, and it’s awesome.  I think it’s fantastic that that’s the way it works, man. 

Kind of switching gears here a little, Jim, but as far as your vocal style, how did you arrive to the place where you’re at, vocally speaking?

You know, originally, I was absolutely blown away by Queen.  I was pretty floored by Axl Rose when Appetite for Destruction came out, and I freaked out about that.  I always though that, especially in the case of Freddie Mercury, he just sort of pushed himself and brought this melodic element to it.  When I actually discovered that I could sing the way that I do, if you want to call it that, I decided that I had to push and emulate the sort of energy that those who I had admired growing up had done that and it absolutely came through in an honest way through their music.  I didn’t think I was going to be satisfied with sort of phoning it in or just doing what I could do.  I had to achieve a certain level of performance, so it’s just a constant push for me to do what I do, and I really didn’t discover or realize that I could what I do vocally until I got involved with Norksa.  It was definitely a rebirth of what I needed to do and how I pursued it. 

From a lyrical standpoint, is it a collaborative effort, is it just one of the members writing the lyrics? 

 You know, originally, we kicked around all sorts of lyrical ideas.  We had some of it written on a base level.  We basically record once we have a musical structure that we want to build around, and then I put a lot of time and effort into fitting the subject matter around the music.  We come to that agreement unanimously, as a group, once we’ve laid down the musical foundation.  I write the lyrics, and we’re starting to collaborate a lot more even since this last recording – just bouncing ideas and concepts off of each other.  Largely, that’s my responsibility – as a lyricist. 

  How do you personally approach your lyrics, Jim?  I mean, there’s obviously going to be subconscious or unconscious influences.  Are there literary influences?  Life experiences? 

I try to keep my eyes open and see what’s going on around me.  I think, for the most part, what you find in our recordings are pretty common observations and pretty common experiences for everyone.  I mean, I’m not breaking any grounds or pushing into any new territory with what I’m doing.  I’m just looking at the world around me and putting words to it that I think describe it best.  I try to put the energy and that undercurrent of “What the fuck” or “Why is this like this” into the words as much as I can.  I try not to express anything on a negative level, necessarily, but to observe and explain it to myself.  I’m not telling anyone to do anything.  I’m certainly not encouraging any sort of behavior or belief or anything like that.  I think our music just demands attention to the human experience and to what everybody can relate to and see and feel for themselves – this natural existence of ours.  I really don’t have much of a process.  I listen to a lot of what we’re doing, what we’re playing, and I’m constantly thinking about where things will go, what words will fit – how I can structure the melody itself within those spaces of the music itself.  What will work the best as the fifth instrument.  I just take it from there and put words to it.  The subject matter usually comes fairly easily.  I think a lot of our songs just have that particular flavor to them.

I think a misconception that a lot of people have on the outside looking in about sludge or doom or stoner metal is that the people creating it are just a bunch of potheads who sit around writing about nothing else but that.  I guess people forget that these subgenres are not assigned by the bands themselves but are born out of laziness from the press or fans or even bands.  I think when a band has an agenda or a label or a genre or image to push that’s immediately when they art suffers.  My next question actually is a diversion away from the music, Jim, and I’m always interested to hear what you guys do when you’re not working tirelessly on your craft, but what do you like to do on your own?  Just to sort of unwind. 

My personal time is filled with family and nature.  I’m a studying biologist, and one of my deepest interests is the woods.  It’s one of the things I absolutely love about the world we live in.  I fish a lot.  I hunt.  I’m very interested in wild foods.  We garden and preserve foods here at my house.  It’s a sort of living off the land thing as much as we can.  I’m fortunate to live in a part of the Pacific Northwest where you can in any direction and run into absolutely gorgeous wilderness and find things to eat.  My interest moved into my college studies, and I love gathering mushrooms and other wild vegetation.  My wife, my daughter, and I – we load up the car, we go out, and we hit the woods as much as we can, and that’s how I fill up my free time, and that’s what I prefer to do with my time. 

Well, that’s a great thing about living down here, Jim.  I’m at the foot of the Appalachians.  There’s so much absolutely gorgeous wilderness just a stone’s throw away, and I think we share a similar interest in that regard.  The kind of bringing yourself back to nature concept is one that’s very near to my heart as well. 

We have friends that moved to North Carolina a few years ago, and when we visit, and we’re there eating and having fun, I always catch myself looking into the distance and thinking “Man, how am I gonna get my ass out there.” [Laughs].  I have to get out there, so I can be selfish and look around.  I mean it’s absolutely beautiful country out there where you are and that, to me, is just the pinnacle of what I love.  It’s where it all comes back to for me, honestly.  

Thanks to Jim for his time.