REX BROWN: 'When You Hear DOWN, You Know It's F**kin' DOWN'

Blasting-Zone.com recently conducted an in-depth interview with DOWN/ex-PANTERA bassist Rex Brown. Several excerpts follow:

Blasting-Zone.com: In comparison, was there a significant difference in the songwriting processes for "II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow" and "Over The Under"?

Rex: "On the last record, we all got in the same room and just kinda hashed it out. We put it into these huge jam sessions and then way down the road, we figured it out. With this one…we had the ProTools in the actual jam room where we were working. We had a guy in the control room sitting there workin' on it. Look, if you can't get to a good song…I mean, a good fuckin' killer riff, a turnaround and a good, catchy hook within five minutes, then you've got some fuckin' troubles, ya know? So that's what we wanted to do with this thing. There's a couple of songs that are over, but that's okay, too, ya know? We just wanted to make it as solid and to the point as possible."

Blasting-Zone.com: Have you found it easier to compose, both lyrically and musically, as you've gotten older?

Rex: "I think when your eyes are open and you're not fuckin' hung over, it's a lot easier to focus on what's goin' on (laughs). Everybody's gotten those demons out of their systems, so to speak. That definitely helps. In a way, as we mature as human beings, of course things get a little more complicated, but at the same time, they get a little easier, so it's hard to say one way or the other if that really contributed to anything on this record. I'll let the fans decide that one."

Blasting-Zone.com: What are your current touring plans?

Rex: "We're heading through to November in the Sates, which is what we wanted to do, ya know? We wanted to put out the record and then make a big splash…do the whole fuckin' thing. We just wanna play the record for the kids and go eyeball to eyeball with them, ya know? This band is ready to fuckin' go play live and show 'em what the fuck this band is all about. It's between the fan and the band, ya know? We need to tell everyone to buy the record because the artwork on this thing is fuckin' super sick. It's one of those things that takes you back to a time when you actually bought records to listen to fuckin' records. You didn't listen to it for just one fuckin' song, ya know? You listened to it for the whole record. We wanted it to be like, 'Dude, have you heard the new fuckin' DOWN record?' I keep sayin' record and not CD or track because it's a cohesive record, ya know? Basically, when we went through Europe (last year),we were learning to walk again as a band, ya know? Then we started to move our feet a little faster, ya know? Then we went and did HEAVEN AND HELL with Dio and the gang in Canada in March right when we were in the middle of doin' this record. That's when we really learned to jog again, ya know? We also went and did it in Australia with Dio and the same camp and dude, it was a perfect fit, ya know? Those guys a fuckin' great. It's BLACK SABBATH…the greatest BLACK SABBATH you could ever fuckin' see. I'm dead serious. No Ozzy bullshit. Dio gets up and sings his balls off every fuckin' night. It's just awe-inspiring. Now, were learnin' how to fuckin' run and…and we're gonna start doin' laps, ya know? We're gonna start doin' fuckin' hurdles and sprints, ya know? This is not a side project anymore. This is a band…this is everybody getting' on the same page and kickin' some fuckin' ass."

Blasting-Zone.com: At this point, do you have any idea what type of set list the group will be working with? I'm assuming you'll be trying to work in material from each disc…

Rex: "The tentative thing is that we'll be playin' well over two hours, which is cool. We'll be goin' back and playin' some stuff like 'Jail' off of the first record and fuckin' 'Never Try', which is a song from the new record. We wanna add some depth to the set instead of playin' the same old fuckin' riff every time, ya know? I'm excited. I'm really pumped up about gettin' in and figuring out how were gonna approach this. Phil's got a pretty solid set list… That's what supposed to happen, but with us, ya never fuckin' know. We show up at the gigs every night and we play over two fuckin' hours. We put as much blood, sweat and tears as we possibly can into the show. It's about the kids, ya know? That's what it's all about. It's about the fans."

Blasting-Zone.com: Overall, how would you describe the music DOWN creates? Do you feel the "sludge doom" classification is accurate or fair?

Rex: "Well, I think we're all influenced by the same Goddamn thing. Basically, what I'm saying is you can call us whatever you want, but I call us DOWN, ya know? Look, you've got five different guys from four different bands that have written hundreds of different songs, albeit all different from each other. Because we all grew up listenin' to the same shit, it's all the same in a certain way. I can't say more than that, but when you hear DOWN, you know it's fuckin' DOWN. We don't sound like any of the other bands that are out there now, ya know? There's a bunch of bands that want to sound like us, ya know, but we don't sound like anybody else. And that was the case with PANTERA, ya know? There were so many bands that wanted to sound like that and used that whole deal. I was just like, 'Wait a second, man, ya'll are kinda walkin' on our toes because we've already done that,' ya know? That's just the way it is, bubba. I just love fuckin' music and I love playin' music. That's all I can say. I don't have any big political thing. If there's any message that I have to give you, it's 'Check out the music and fuckin' enjoy it,' ya know? If you don't like it, don't like it. If you like it, fuckin' come on and join the fuckin' party, ya know? That's basically it. When it comes down to it, I don't care if people fuckin' hate it. I just hope they fuckin' love it."

Read the entire interview at Blasting-Zone.com.