CROWBAR's KIRK WINDSTEIN On His Debut Solo Album: 'It Really Turned Out Even Better Than I Ever Thought It Would'

Andrew McKaysmith of the "Scars And Guitars" podcast recently conducted an interview with frontman Kirk Windstein of New Orleans sludge metal veterans CROWBAR. You can listen to the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his first solo album, "Dream In Motion":

Kirk: "I would say it turned out different, but actually better than I thought from the initial thing. I thought, 'This will be cool…' but I was a little worried about what the CROWBAR and DOWN fans might think about it. The final product, when I gave it a listen, I was, like, 'Whoa! This is really strong. I'm really digging this.' It was a true blessing and it really turned out even better than I ever thought it would. It was something for me to do. It took two years to complete it and then as the vocals started coming, [producer] Duane [Simoneaux] started mixing it and I started hearing it, I said, 'This is going to be fucking killer.' To be honest, speaking of the bass work, I love playing bass. I'm totally just playing it by ear. I tend to go for things. Duane is always, like, 'You find the oddest fucking notes, but they work.' But I enjoy doing the bass as well. The whole project was a lot of fun. It really was."

On whether he had any cover songs in mind other than JETHRO TULL's "Aqualung":

Kirk: "Not really. 'Aqualung' is a song I wanted to do for a really long time. Honestly, I told Duane, I said, 'All right. Let's take this thing one fucking step at a time. One riff at a time.' Really, when you break it down and pick it out, the root note guitars and then the harmonies and the bass does a lot of odd notes, then harmonies along with the guitar tracks, then you've got the middle section which I threw in some of my own CROWBAR-type of shit, that middle section. Then the guitar solo is just an iconic rock and roll guitar solo that it's a really long solo, but just really memorable to me as a kid, even today. I just took that one riff at a time: 'All right, let's get this. Cool.' Next riff, boom, boom. I'm telling Duane, 'I got to be getting close.' He said 'You're not even halfway there.' I was like, 'Jesus Christ, it's been like two hours!' [Laughs] I tried to get it note-for-note as I could, but put a little bit of my touch in it, but I was really pleased with the playing and then the tone on the solo really came out fantastic."

On his relationship with HATEBREED frontman and KINGDOM OF SORROW collaborator Jamey Jasta:

Kirk: "Honestly, when I met him, he was a kid. I think I'm 13 years older than him, I believe. I could probably, by nature, be old enough to be his father. But, it's kind of the other way around. He co-manages CROWBAR with his manager that does HATEBREED and all of Jamey's affairs. He started out as a big fan. We met, then we went on tour together. HATEBREED took CROWBAR as a support act in the U.K. and Ireland. We really hit it off. That was back in 2005 when we talked about doing a project together. Usually when you're with your friends talking about that stuff, guys from other bands, nothing ever happens. A month later, he called me up. I was painting a room in my mother's house, listening to music on some CD player or something and we chatted for a bit, and he's like 'Are you still up to do that project?' I'm, like 'Fuck yeah!' He goes, 'When can you come up?' I said 'Whenever.' It ended up where we just hit it off as friends. The rest is history. We've been really, really tight. He's done so much for the band. I really appreciate all of it."

"Dream In Motion" was released on January 24 via Entertainment One (eOne).

Windstein recently announced he would be taking part in DOWN's upcoming 2020 shows to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut, "Nola".

CROWBAR is currently at work on their next studio album which is due sometime this year via eOne.

Photo credit: Jimmy Hubbard