Masked math metal weirdoes Dr Slaggleberry have received much acclaim here at SoT for their unorthodox approach that finds them showcasing a three piece instrumental line-up of twin guitars and drums. Zany song titles such as "Extra Strength Grandma" and "Gone Devil" add to the mystique and Dean Pedley caught up with band members Lewis and Chris to find out more.

SoT: Hi both and welcome to Sea of Tranquillity….how are things with Dr Slaggleberry right now?

Chris: "Yes its going really well, really enjoying playing our new material to new audiences"

SoT: Tell us a little about the background to how you guys came to putting the band together?

Chris: We have been through many line up changes but last year Rich our drummer joined the band and its been the strongest line up we have ever had.

Lewis: "We started with this line-up about a year ago, we've been through our fair share of members who couldn't hack it, but this line-up is definitely the best we've had".

SoT: Which bands provided your early influences / how did you first become interested in music?

Chris: "Through my dad I was always surrounded by music at a very young age, and played many different styles of music and wanted to do something more challenging in the form of a progressive rock band. My influences for Dr Slaggleberry include Primus, Meshuggah, and Psyopus. My early influences ranged from Peter Gabriel to Rage Against the Machine".

Lewis: I listen to blues and funk before I joined the band, not a lot else. Obviously when I joined the band I started to discover metal. I'd been playing guitar for years before I joined the band. I just wanted to be in a band!

SoT: For our readers who haven't yet checked you out, how would you define the Dr Slaggleberry sound?

Chris: "Frank Zappa meets Meshuggah"

Lewis: "Chuggin"

SoT: It's a non traditional line-up of two guitars and drums; any plans to change this around or are you comfortable with this format?

Chris "Were not looking to, but not closed to any new ideas"

Lewis: "We're all comfortable with this format, if someone comes along who can add something to the music with a different instrument then that's cool. But nobody has succeeded with that yet."

SoT: It may be entirely instrumental but you still have some crazy song titles…how do you come up with such gems as "Feed Me A Stray Cat" and "Extra Strength Grandma"

Chris "Songs titles generally don't have a meaning, but they sometimes have small personal meanings, like Gone Devil and 845"

Lewis: "Titles don't really mean anything to me , sometimes we let other people name them, unless we can think of anything better".

SoT: It seems a very fluid approach; what's your usual songwriting process…do you jam together and see where it takes you?

Lewis: "Chris writes a riff, Rich drums and then I put a guitar part over it. Super simple."

Chris: "Yes. That's how it works"

SoT: So what's the story behind the masks…they very much remind me of Michael Myers from Halloween as opposed to say Slipknot or the face paint of KISS.

Lewis: "We all have court summons we're avoiding so we try to keep under the radar"

Chris: "Yeah don't tell anybody"

SoT: Would you say that the masks are very much here to stay?

Lewis "Until they decide to drop the charges, yes."

SoT: What are your plans over the next twelve months….are you hoping to get on the festival scene at some point?

Lewis: "We want as many people to hear our music as possible".

Chris "Gigging the current material and working on a new release, we will keep writing as long as we are enjoying it."

SoT: And finally was there anything else you wanted to add?

Chris: "Come along to one of our shows and experience the Dr Slaggleberry live for yourselves, buy our new release The Slagg Factory which is out on the 12 October on Crash Records,visit us at www.myspace.com/drslaggleberry and say hi! "

SoT: Cheers and all the best!

Dean Pedley