DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Eld Varg
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we find Eld Varg sat on the beach. The island is far from their home, so how did they end up here and how did they cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
You're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
Ollie - Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon. A perfect album. It would also be a reminder that being stranded on Devil’s Island, away from the world, might not be such a band thing!
Andy - I would grab Queens of the Stone age- Songs for the deaf. This album just hits so hard with me every time I listen to it. I actually wasn't a big QOTSA fan when this album came out, but when I did eventually get into them, Song for the Deaf is clearly a defining album for them.
Micah - I’d have to go with Crack The Skye by Mastodon. Fifteen years later it’s still the biggest lasting influence on me as a player, and I can still close my eyes and visualise when they sing the line “Spiralling up through the crack in the sky / Leaving material world behind”. That would be a pretty handy escape while stranded!
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
O – Dark Side would be too easy to choose twice, so I’m going with Amon Amarth’s Surtur Rising. Although not the devil on the cover, perhaps if the Devil custodian of the island sees that cover, he might think I’m a sympathiser and leave me be?
A - Well, I’m not crazy familiar with album covers, but it could get pretty lonely out there, so I’m going to go with a European variant of the cover for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Ladyland. IYKYK.
M - Well I’m a big fan of the art for our new album, but in this case I think I’d have to go with Purple by Baroness. It’s beautiful, it’s complex, and there’s pretty girls on it!
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
O – I’m going to choose Arehuchas Ron Miel. It’s a really easy rum to drink and it feels desert island themed although I would hope that a functioning fridge washed ashore with us to keep the bottle nice and cool!
A - I’d need to go with a Hazy/fruity IPA. Beer but juicy and way more refreshing.
M - Normally my drink is Old Fashioned, but I think I need to lean into the island theme here, so I’m going to go with a Zombie.
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
O – Without searching it, surely KISS have something survival based in their merch lineup? I’d be surprised if Gene hadn’t slapped his face and tongue on some kind of Devil’s Island survival backpack!
A – I’d have to go with my "Ex-ska-cutioner” t-shirt from Glasgow punk band "The Guillotines".
M - Oh, definitely my Mastodon Space Laser Owl t-shirt. Number one, it’s practical to have a good piece of clothing, and number two it’s the only shirt I’ve ever owned that I bought a new copy after wearing it out.
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
O – Ozzy maybe? It would make being stranded a whole lot more chaotic, but the guy would have endless stories to keep it entertaining!
A - Literally anybody else! Nah, we get along! I should probably say I’d rather be shipwrecked with the missus, but someone with top tier survival skills might be a better investment!
M - Is it a cop-out if I say my wife Ashley? I feel like that’s kind of a cliché answer, but she’s legitimately my best friend. I know for a fact we’d drive each other insane being stranded in close quarters like that, but that’s not too far off of our day-to-day anyway!
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
O – In terms of recorded shows, Frampton Comes Alive is a killer live album. For shows that I’ve attended, I saw Taking Dawn at a small club show in about 2010, and it was one of the most energetic gigs I’ve been to, I would happily relive that one on the Walkman.
A - Lars Frederiksen and The Bastards, at The Venue in Edinburgh, 2005ish. One of the best gigs of my life, even though the whole band were rocked with the flu!
M - I think for this one I’d have to go with You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 – The Helsinki Concert (1974) by Frank Zappa. I’m a huge Zappa fan, and this album is a real quality snapshot of one of his best lineups when they were at their peak. Featuring some of their top songs from that era, some live concert exclusive songs that never had a proper studio release, and plenty of that signature part-concert/part-improv comedy show vibe that Zappa was a master of.
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
O - I’m calling Bruce Dickenson. The guy can fly a 747, surely hopping in a wee plane to save us would be no big deal?
A - Nick Mason of Pink Floyd. He is a qualified helicopter pilot, and as a fellow drummer, we might get along! Probably a good shout for sending a message to!
M - That’s a tough one! There’s many ways you can go with that: someone with vast resources, someone with some crazy survival know-how… I think in the end I might have to go with Sting, given that he’d know exactly where I am at all times – every step I take, every move I make… He’s been watching me.
You've been stuck here a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
O – Unfortunately I think this answer will be unanimous! Micah, as he’s about 7ft14, so there’d be plenty of food to keep us going a while!
A - It's gonna have to be Micah, being the largest of us all, it would give Ollie and I the best chance of survival. Sorry Micah, it ain’t personal.
M - Honestly, probably me. I’m the biggest, so my meat would probably stretch farther than either of the other boys. Then again, Ollie’s a vegetarian so he’d probably taste the best.
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
O – That’s a tough one, different parts of my musical journey have had different influences, but, in terms of Eld Varg influence, it would have to be JB from Grand Magus. Everything changed with my songwriting and guitar playing when I found Grand Magus about 15 years ago, and the influence continues to this day. If we’re stranded on a desert island together, we’d be writing some killer riffs!
A - It would probably have to be Fat Mike of NOFX. I don't really do Idols, never have, but when I saw NOFX at my first ever gig at 12 years old, having never heard them before, the direction of my musical development and life outlook changed very suddenly!
M - My dad, Gary. He never achieved mainstream success, but he’s been a professional musician my entire life and is the one who inspired me to do the same. He’s been in and out of bands playing across the Pacific NorthWest as well as a great portfolio of session work. He taught me to love music and love the people you make it with, and that’s one of the most valuable things I’ve ever been given.
