Holy Grail is a band that I have been rabidly following since first hearing and seeing them back in2013. Since their humble beginnings, Holy Grail has grown to be force to be reckoned with. The band has toured with bands such as Exodus, Blind Guardian, 3 Inches of Blood, and this past summer was a part of the Metal Alliance tour featuring Anthrax, Exodus, and Municipal Waste to name a few. Every time I see Holy Grail live they are that much better than the last time and their fan base continues to grow because of relentless touring and putting out some of the best metal music around.
On their recent stop in Atlanta with British doom legends Orange Goblin, I had the pleasure of sitting down over dinner and beers with my good buddy and Holy Grail bassist Blake Mount. Blake was totally into having a little chat with me and we bonded over our love of Jamiroquai, we talked about why playing bass with a pick really isn’t weaksauce and how getting healthy and life on the road as a touring musician in general. This was a really fun chat and I hope you’ll dig getting to know my buddy Blake! Enjoy!
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Blake, thanks for taking the time to do this brother.
No worries man.
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Looks like you guys are touring with a bigger trailer than usual. Now you can finally get that double bass drum kit in there. You’re moving up in the world.
[laughs] Yeah, totally. That was the issue before. We had the small trailer packed to capacity and it was just kind of dangerous having a full load in a smaller trailer with a single axel. We upgraded to the dual axel and it’s a lot safer. Now we can tour with more stuff because it’s got a higher capacity to carry it all.
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So I’ve asked the other guys this before but I’m going ask you. Tell me what it’s like touring in a van for six weeks or more sometimes.
Well, touring in a van for weeks at a time definitely has its ups and downs. We’ve been doing this our entire career so we’re used to it. We’re road warriors and we’re used to driving overnight to get to the next gig, sleeping in the van, and not getting hotels every night [laughs]. A lot of people don’t like it. There’s a lot of time where it really sucks especially if it’s hot or even like now when it’s cold outside and you have to sleep in the van. It’s really not as bad as everyone thinks it is. We find solace and comfort in the van. Sometimes we’ll feel more comfortable being in the van than we will be staying at someone’s house who we don’t know where you feel obligated to stay up and party with someone we don’t know. That can be pretty awkward sometimes. We do get hotels sometimes so we’re not always in the van.
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How do you guys survive living in a van without killing each other?
[laughs] We’ve all got our days where someone’s in a bad mood and you just learn to deal with it. You’re not going to be able to get away from any of these people for 3 or 6 weeks or for however long the tour is. You just got to deal with it and take everything with a grain of salt. You can’t take it personally of someone’s being an asshole because the next day you’re going to be the guy acting like an asshole to everyone because you’re going to be in a bad mood.
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So why not a tour bus man?
[laughs] Money! [laughs] We can’t afford that and honestly I don’t know if we’re ever going to get to that point. That’s a lot of money and a lot of overhead. Hell, I’m glad we have a nice van and a rad trailer and we’re pretty happy with that [laughs]. We don’t have a big crew with us or anything. It’s always been just us five and even now we’ve just recently acquired a tour manager/merch guy. It would be nice to have a bus but I’m not going to hold my breath [laughs].
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How many Holy Grail tours have you done?
I did two tours before I had my little sabbatical but since then I think I’ve done maybe 12 tours? I think I could count them all out but I don’t think I want to do that right now while we’re recording [laughs]. It’s been a busy couple of years.
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How is touring now different from when you first started? What have you learned and picked up along the way?
Well, I definitely learned how to maneuver a van with a trailer. Don’t get me wrong I still have my issues with backing up and parallel parking but compared to the first tour, I’ve come a long way [laughs]. Learning to drive a rig of that sort is not like driving a regular car. Also learning how to get to venue and loading in. We’ve learned how to keep out of people’s hair. We try to get off stage as quickly as possible. If you haven’t been as seasoned at touring you might take a little more time but that time means a lot to headlining bands or bands playing right after you. Those are just a few things I’ve learned along the way.
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How about taking care of yourself on the road? That must be hard.
Yeah, learning how to eat on the road. That first tour you might be eating fast food every day because it’s cheap and readily available. As you get older and you tour more often you feel like shit if you eat shitty food every day. Learning how to balance being frugal and eating as well as we can. That’s something I’ve learned since that first tour when I would just eat hamburgers and shit everyday [laughs].
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You really took a turn for the better by getting healthy and losing a lot of weight. From one former big dude to another, how hard was it being a bigger guy living on the road like that?
It’s something I’ve really struggled with my whole life but being on the road where I’m in a more strenuous situation and being cramped in a van, I would wake up with aches and pains and feeling sluggish because I had like 75 to 100lbs on almost everyone in the band. Now that I’ve slimmed down a bit, I’m still a big dude but I’m 50lbs lighter. I feel better, I feel like I perform better, I feel like I’m more energetic and less winded when I get off stage. A lot of times I’d be read in the face and huffing and puffing and now I feel like I’m not as worried about that anymore. Now I feel like I can focus more on playing well as opposed to getting winded or being off balance. It’s made things a lot better for me.
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I hear a lot of bands talk about how life on the road is this huge rush but then getting home can be a huge downer. How do you cope with that down time and not falling into some of those really bad habits that some artists do to maintain that high?
I can completely relate. On a long tour, especially like this one where we’ve been out for two months by the time we’re done, the first few days you’re home it’s nice to be home because you have your room, your bed, your house, friends, family, and girlfriend, whatever. It’s awesome but then after a few days you realize that you try to live life and act as you did while on the road. We’re pretty much living a lifestyle every night that is different from someone that has a regular job. I get home and I want to party with my friends and go on a little bit of bender the first few days but then after a few days I say, “Ok, I’m not on tour anymore. I need to get back into the routine of everyday life.” Sometimes it’s a downer and I do get that post tour depression sometimes but knowing that there’s another tour usually coming up afterwards it’s not that big of a deal. It’s a balance just keeping it in check and I can understand why a lot of people go into rehab or even die. It’s a different lifestyle and if you continue that lifestyle at home that you do on the road it’s really hard. When I get home, I try to get back to healthy living and that grounds me.
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Alright man, let’s get to know Blake! When did you start playing bass guitar?
My dad bought me a bass when I was 15. I kind of fucked around with it in high school but I didn’t really play in any bands. I didn’t really get serious about playing until I was about 22. That’s when I felt like I was in a rut as to what I wanted to do with my life. I started taking lessons and started learning jazz theory and started really trying to get my chops up. Shortly after that was when I was asked by Tyler to audition for Holy Grail. I’ve been playing for about 12 years but only really seriously for about 5 ½ or so.
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So I have a friend who says that playing bass with a pick is weaksauce. Care to weigh in?
[laughs] Well, I totally thought the same thing at first [laughs]. My first few gigs w/ Holy Grail, well before it was Holy Grail (the band used to be called Sorcerer) I used to play my fingers. I mean, c’mon man. Fucking Steve Harris. I want to play with my fingers [laughs]. You think of all the classic bass players and they’re shredding with their fingers. I was actually asked to play with a pick but it’s a different style. You get a different kind of sound when you play with a pick and it’s a lot more attack and a bit more consistency. People who say its weaksauce are close minded I’d say. You’ve got to be able to embrace any style and me being a musician I can respect any style of playing whether it’s playing with your fingers or with a pick or slap bass or whatever.
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Who are some bassists that you really look up to?
Oh man, there’s a whole laundry list of bassists that I respect and look up to. Dave Ellefson. Rex Brown.
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Rex’s work with Kill Devil Hill is so fucking good. I actually really loved his stuff with them even more so than Pantera.
He’s an amazing musician. He played the piano parts in “Cemetery Gates.” He’s not just a bass player. I read that he was a jazz player before he was even into metal.
Yeah. It’s going to be more reflective of what you’re going to hear live because its’ only one guitar.
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I know man. Hell, did you ever hear Motley Crue live? That band is fucking horrible. On the albums you got Mick Mars crunching out these awesome rhythms but live you get Nikki Sixx up there and he’s a shit bass player man. I’m like “What the fuck is this?”
[laughs] I have not had the pleasure of seeing Motley Crue live luckily [laughs].
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If you could play bass for any band of any genre who would it be?
Oh man, that’s a tough one. Man, off the top of my head, I’d have to say Jamiroquai. You and I were just talking about this earlier. Stuart Zander is the fucking man. Just because it’s so stylistically different from what I play with Holy Grail so it would be a release from playing 16th notes as fast as I can [laughs]. I don’t even know if I could play that shit. That’s some really technical stuff.
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What was it that drew you into playing music in the first place?
Well at first it was punk rock but what made me really want to play music live and to be a touring musician was seeing all that old Iron Maiden shit. Seeing them with so much energy and so many catchy and melodic songs. Seeing them live is so awesome and it really inspires me to want to go out there and put on a good show. That is something that impacted me for sure. There’s just something about Iron Maiden that is inspiring. You see bands up on stage that look like they’re at a recital but seeing someone really put out energy is what made me want to play live.
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You guys have been at this now for over five years now and are showing no signs of slowing down. I know it’s a rough sometimes but what is it that keeps you from throwing in the towel when things get rough?
We’ve all got moments where we all feel like it would be easier to get a regular job and just stay at home. If I were doing this band for financial success, I’m doing it for the wrong reasons and then I might as well get a 9 to 5 job. I’m doing this because I love it. Obviously there are moments when we’re playing a weird show or to a really small crowd that might bring us down but as is life. There’s always going to be ups and downs. Knowing that we’ve only put out two records and knowing that we’re doing better than a lot of bands out there is like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. As long as I keep my intentions as pure as I can and remember that I’m doing this because I love it everything will work out. If it doesn’t, I tried my hardest and did what I wanted to do. I’d rather try and fail then never try and not know what could’ve been. I’m lucky that we have a great group of dudes and that we all get a lot with each other. It’s a hard road but it’s worth it.
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What is a metal album that nobody should go without hearing?
Oh man. Well, I’m a huge Thin Lizzy fan. I feel like anybody who listens to metal should listen to Thin Lizzy because they are the beginnings of any bands that have crazy guitar harmonies. They were one of the first bands to be doing that and they kind of laid down a foundation for metal bands to do stuff like that. Black Rose from Thin Lizzy is one of my favorite albums of all time. There are all sorts of rad riffs and it has great songs too. It’s not just mindless noodling. It’s just great songwriting and I think that would give a lot of metal fans some perspective and give them more ideas to write good songs as opposed to mindless shred or brutal fucking drum machine insane shit [laughs].
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If you could have a 30 minute bass lesson with anyone who would it be?
Man, I’d have to say again either Dave Ellefson or Rex Brown because of the kind of music that I play. Their styles would be best to help me to improve my playing. I think Dave Ellefson would really help me step up my shred. That guy is the fucking rhythm master. Those Megadeth riffs are just gnarly and he just plays those crazy guitar riffs on the bass and that’s awesome. I think that would probably be the most awesome 30 minute lesson.
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If Hollywood was to make a movie about your life, who would play you?
That’s a weird question dude [laughs]. Well, the easy answer would be the dude who played Opie (Ryan Hurst) in Sons of Anarchy [laughs]. Man, I couldn’t tell you who would be the best fit to play me. I never thought of that one to be honest.
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What kind of advice would you offer up to someone who wants to pursue music on this kind of level?
Practice with a metronome [laughs]. To be a tight band, especially playing bass and being a rhythm player, practicing to a metronome will really get your playing tight. Write good songs and strive to be more than just that local band. I know it’s hard out there but strive to be more. Focus on writing good music, being a good musician and everything else will fall into place.
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How do you come down from the rush of being on stage?
Well, a lot of times it’s tough. I want to keep it mellow but there’s a lot of energy being transferred from you to the crowd and vice versa. It’s hard to come down from that adrenaline and sometimes it translates into, “Let’s fucking party! [laughs] You can’t do that every night so I just try to relax a little bit afterwards and try to keep it level.
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Last but not least, finish this sentence: If I wasn’t a musician I would be…
Man, I don’t even know. I’ve thought about what I would’ve done but I started playing music because I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do [laughs]. I really have no clue what I’d do. I’m all in. I guess since losing my weight and being into fitness I’ve thought about something like that but I’d have to get in much better shape to do any sort of personal training or dietary consulting [laughs]. That would be something I’m interested in besides playing music so that could be cool. I honestly have no backup plan. I really don’t have a Plan B because if I’m already thinking about Plan B, I’m assuming Plan A isn’t going to work out.
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Blake, You’re one of my favorite people in the fucking world and thanks so much for doing this brother.
You Don. You’re my fave. That was the most casual interview I’ve ever done [laughs]. That was a blast. Love ya bro.
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