Blowin’ Wind with Bob Pantella of Riotgod/Monster Magnet: “I can’t even imagine being in just one band. I think I’d be bored to tears.”

Next to Warren Haynes, Bob Pantella has to be one of the busiest guys in Rock N’ Roll. In addition to playing drums in Monster Magnet, Atomic Bitchwax and Cycle of Pain, Bob also is one of the creative forces and the drummer for New Jersey’s own Riotgod. Riotgod has just released their latest album “Invisible Empire” and has been getting some really positive reviews. I managed to catch Bob on a rare day when he wasn’t running around doing a million things and caught up with him. It was great catching up with him as we talked about everything from touring in a van to his thoughts on the Black Sabbath reunion. Hope y’all enjoy this one!

Happy New Year Bob!  It’s been a while!

You too man.  Yeah, I know.  It’s been like a year right?  How have ya been?

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I’ve been great man.  It’s great to finally catch up with you again.  So you just got done with European run with Monster Magnet.  Are you pretty much done with winters in Europe?

[laugh].  Man, I’m pretty done with Winter everywhere.  [laughs]

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Bob,I have to start off by saying congrats on a killer new album with “Invisible Empire.”  What an awesome release.  

Thanks man.  I appreciate that.

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So the album has already been released in Europe.  How has it been received over there?

Man, really well.  The reviews have been great and people are loving it.  So far so good.  It’s going a lot better than I ever expected.

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The last time we talked the debut album was just coming out but you guys didn’t tour much in the states for that one.

Yeah, we did just a few shows in the mid-west and then we did Europe.  We didn’t really tour a whole lot for that one but we’ll be touring a lot more for this album this year.  We’ll do a run in the states starting in February.  Unfortunately we’re not playing Atlanta.  I wish we were [laughs].  The closest is Pensacola.

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You’re killing me man.

[laughs]  Man, I love Atlanta and I’m not sure why we’re not playing there but we’re going to start here in the states and then wer’e going to go over to Europe for a bit.  We’re going to do another another run in the states during the summer but we’re going to play the Wacken festival in Germany which is huge.

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What an amazing festival for you guys to be a part of.

It’s going to be insane.  I’m already psyched for that more than anything!

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You’re a busy dude Bob.  Between all they constant touring with Monster Magnet and your other bands Atomic Bitchwax and Cycle of Pain, where did you find time to write and record a new Riotgod album?

Well, we did a tour last summer from June until middle of July, we came home and I slept for about two weeks [laughs].  At the beginning of August I started working on the Riotgod stuff.  We had a few things written here and there but the album had to be done by the end of August [laughs].  It took about five weeks to do the whole thing so that was my summer.  I spent it all in the studio.

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How did the creative process for “Invisible Empire” differ from the debut?  I remember you telling me that a lot of the songs from the debut were written a while before it was recorded.  

Yeah.  The difference was that it was a lot more focused.  The process was pretty much the same except that it was all done at once as opposed to little pieces here and there.  That makes a big difference because you focus on the album as a whole instead of two or three songs at a time.  The writing process was just more focused.  It wasn’t as scattered as the first record.  We really didn’t know who we were as a band on that first record and now that’s changed so it was a lot easier.

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I love that on “Invisible Empire” each song seems to wear a different hat and there are so many different influences from song to song.  I feel like you guys put a lot of thought in emphasis on each song individually.  Is that a far assumption?

Yeah.  I can totally be looked at that way.  Especially with the acoustic stuff, there was really no plan for that.  There was one acoustic song that I had written the music for like 20 years ago and I had been wanting to something with that song forever but there was no vocals.  I gave it Mark (Sunshine; vocalist) and asked him to do something with it and I just wanted to get that out of my system.

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Which song is that?

It’s the song “Gas Station Roses.”  The other one was a kind of Tony Iommi “Laguna Sunrise” type of thing.  Now if you you listen to that one and then listen to “Laguna Sunrise” you’ll know where that was coming from [laughs].  It was perfect because Mark was kind of depressed at the time over splitting up with his girlfriend so he wrote the lyrics to that one in like 20 minutes.

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Another thing I loved about this album was that I never knew what to expect from song to song.  With the debut, three songs in I kind of felt like I knew what to expect vibe wise but with “Invisible Empire”, just when I thought I had it figured out a song would come on and go completely opposite of where I thought it was going to go.  I love that it’s such an unpredictable album.

Thanks.  That’s really cool.  I like that personally in an album.  I like unpredictable stuff.

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Is there some significance to the title “Invisible Empire”?  What’s the story behind it?

You know what?  The music and the title are not related at all [laughs].  There’s really nothing to read into to be honest.  We just thought it sounded like a cool title and it’s as simple as that [laughs].  If you get stoned enough, I’m sure it will relate to the music [laughs].

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Dude, if you get stoned enough, everything relates to everything.

[laughs]  Then it will all make sense!  [laughs]

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Riotgod has been a band a bit longer at this point than you were when you made that first album.  Did you feel like the songs came to you a bit easier and quicker being that you all know each other a lot better?

Oh yeah.  It made it a lot easier and it went a lot faster because you know how everybody operates musically in the studio.  It made a huge difference and it saved a lot of time too.  We didn’t have a lot of time to sit around and experiment for months and months.  We had a deadline and we had to get it done before the tour but playing together and touring together made it much easier this time.

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You’re a busy dude Bob.  You’ve got Riotgod, Monster Magnet, Atomic Bitchwax and Cycle of Pain.  Do you ever look at what you’re doing and say, “I think I want to focus on just one project with all my energy” or do you enjoy being spread thin?

Yeah, I do enjoy it and I’m able to spread myself out like that.  I don’t think I could do one more band.  I’m definitely at the max.  Well, if the money was right then I could one more [laughs].  I’m maxed out but I love it.  I mean, what else am I going to do?  Everything is different.  With Atomic Bitchwax, Chris (Kosnik; bass/vocals) runs that and he deals with all the business side.  I couldn’t do the business side of all four bands so Riotgod is my thing.  I take care of all that but in Monster Magnet and Cycle of Pain, I just play the drums.  I still have to tour with all these bands and that’s consuming but whatever band I’m touring with at that time, that’s what I’m doing and I’m 100% in it.

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How do you keep it together?  Do you ever just forget where you’re at and go, “What fucking band am in right now?”

All the time [laughs].  What country are we in?  What day is it?  Is it 5am or 5pm?  [laughs]  I like being busy.  I mean, I can’t even imagine being in just one band.  I think I’d be bored to tears.  I would want to be on the road constantly.  We’d probably make 3 albums a year.  I’m just used to being in that pace.  I like having a different head for ever band.  It’s a whole group of different personalities and it’s a different way of playing.  It’s great because musically I get to stretch out.

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This upcoming Riotgod tour is going to be the most extensive US run you guys have yet to do.  What can people expect from a Riotgod live show?

Well,  if we’re opening up for somebody and we’re only playing 45 minutes or so, it’ll just be balls to the floor because you don’t have much time. If we’re doing a headline show we’ll play a longer set and it will be a lot more dynamic.  It’s pretty much balls out rock.  We’ll maybe do the acoustic stuff mid-set and kind to give it some dynamics so it’s not just on “11” the whole time.  We’ll have some projections and a light show going on.

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So you guys will have like ramps, stairs and pyrotechnics and shit like that?

[laughs]  Man, I wish.  That would be great.  I would love to have that.

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Man, I miss seeing bands with big ass productions like that.  Even arena bands these days don’t do it up like they used to back in the day.

Yeah, I miss that shit.  I’m a Kiss fan.  I grew up on old Kiss and I love that stuff.  For some bands, it would be weird if they did that stuff.  Like Aerosmith, they’re just a straight ahead rock band but if you go see Kiss or a band like that, you wanna see a spectacle.  I love that stuff.  I want to see Appocolypse Now!  [laughs]

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So when Riotgod headlines arenas, we’re gonna get that show right?

[laughs]  I would love to just blow stuff up and maybe play some music in there somewhere.  [laughs]

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Bands just don’t seem to reach that status anymore.  Last time we talked we touched on the fact that people just don’t go to shows anymore.  They don’t go for the experience like they used to.

Oh yeah.  I think a lot of that has to do with the entertainment you can have at home.  You don’t need to go anywhere but you’re missing out something.  It’s like watching a concert on TV and being there is a completely different thing.

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Exactly.  I mean, I don’t wanna watch shit on YouTube.  I want to go to a show and I want to get sweaty and maybe even knocked around a little bit.

[laughs] I wanna get banged up, drunk and the “where’s my car” bit.

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Are you guys touring in a van or do you guys get a tour bus?

In the states,since it’s just us, we’re doing the van thing which is always hilarious.  In Europe we’re actually splitting a bus with another band so at least on that tour we’ll be comfortable.

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I remember talking to Tom Hunting of Exodus once and he said that he has to tour in a bus because at his age he needs to sleep vertically at all times.

[laughs]  I’m short so in the van I’ll wind up curled up in a ball in the front seat upside down.  [laughs]

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And that’s on an off night.

Man, that’s every night [laughs].  Sometimes we’ll just go punk rock and once we get to the gig we’ll go “We have to find a place to stay tonight [laughs].  We don’t want to spend money on a hotel so we’ll just find somebodies house to stay at and just pull up some floor.

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I just think it’s sad that the states can’t even come close to being as responsive to live music as Europeans are.

Oh man, you go over there and the people are hardcore about going to see live music especially with the summer festivals.  It’s great.  I wish it was like that here.

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You’ve got all these great festivals in Europe like Download and Wacken.  Why can’t we get that shit here?  

[laughs] Yeah.  I think a lot of it has to do with regulations and laws and money.  I see stuff over there at these festivals that they would never do here.  At this one festival, they had this big crane and a Jagermeister bar tent that holds about 25 people with a hook on the top.  The crane then hoists the bar up about 10 stories and you just drink Jagermeister sitting a bar 10 stories in the air for 30 minutes.  They would never do that shit here [laughs].

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Being that you’re a big fan, what are your thoughts on Black Sabbath getting back together?

Oh I think it’s great.  I love it.  They’re all still alive so why not?  [laughs]  I mean, it’s really all about Ozzy at this point.  If he’s in good enough shape and he’s sober now, why not?  It all comes down to him.

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Do you think that there is some point where a band should just call it a day?

You know, that’s just up to the band.  The Rolling Stones.   They’re still good ya know?  I mean, maybe if someone dies?  I mean, bands like The Who, they should just stop.  Zeppelin did the right thing with Bonham died.  Van Halen still sounds great.  They’re killing it.  I never expected that but wow.

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Man, I’m just real picky about these bands that I loved as kid coming back.  I just fear that they won’t live up to my expectations.

Yeah, don’t ruin the idea I had of you as a kid.

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What have you been listening to these days that you’d like to share?

Lately I’ve been listening to this band called Black Mountain from Vancouver.  I really dig them.  They’re just a great rock band.  I’ve been listening to The Black Angels a lot as well.  Those two bands I really like a lot.

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If you could put three albums in time capsule to try and explain to future generations what rock n’ roll was all about what would they be?

I think one would be “Back In Black.”  Black Sabbath’s first album and just to throw them off I’d have to say Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Nothing Fancy.”  [laughs]

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Is there a particular artist or musician that you’d love to work with that you haven’t done so already?

Oh yeah.  I’d love to work with Jimmy Page.  He’s just a studio genius and I would love to work with him.  I’d just love to meet him [laughs].  I would just love to pick his brain for an hour.

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Bob, thanks again for doing this….

Thanks so much Don.  I really appreciate it and I hope to see you this year in Atlanta.  We’ll see what happens.

 

Thanks to Bob for yet another really fun interview.  For more on Riotgod, head over to: http://www.riotgod.com

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