Interview with Alex Russin conducted by Donny Mutt.
How are you doing today Alex?
It’s a shitty day out and I don't have work til Thursday, but it's the Phillies home opener today, so I'm doing okay.
Can you introduce yourself just in case there is anyone out there that has never heard of Cold World?
Alex Russin, guitarist for Cold World. We're a hardcore band from Wilkes-Barre, PA. Aside from playing guitar in Cold World, have you played in any other bands over the years?I've been playing in bands since I was 14. Frame of Reference (first band to ever play Positive Numbers fest), True Identity, Magnus, On X Deck, Live Alert, Frostbite, Cold World. I've also done some work on some of my friends’ records. My friend Greg does an "indie-folk" project called These Elk Forever I soloed on, and on the new No Turning Back I have a solo. I think that’s it. I could be wrong. It’s been awhile.
Do you remember the first time you picked up a guitar and realized playing guitar was something you wanted to do?
In my house, in order to play sports I had to play an instrument. I actually started playing piano just so I could play baseball and basketball. But I got into guitar when I was about 11 or 12. It became my first love. When I was about 15 I realized I wasn't that bad, and probably had more of a future playing guitar than swinging a bat so I focused more on guitar than sports. So that was when I really started thinking about guitar a lot and really busting my ass with it.
What influence did Del Griffith have on your playing? I know he is some what a hero of yours.
His air-orchestra rendition of THE MESS AROUND is the reason a game like Guitar Hero was invented. His general free spiritedness and love for all things in life really gives a man hope.
How long have you been playing the guitar? Is it something you learned on your own or did you take lessons?
I started playing around 11-12. I took lessons in Jazz and Blues actually. I thought "rock" guitar was easy so I never really wanted to learn that except on my own free time. I really think learning jazz and blues makes my playing unique simply because its not something most guitarists do, especially hardcore guitarists.
What would you say is your favorite or the most satisfying aspect about playing the guitar and music in general for you?
You can never be perfect. And there is always someone better than you. I like that about playing guitar. It’s not a competition, but in the same aspect you're always trying to be as good as possible. Also, just creating a song that you feel like you would listen to if you hadn't written it is an incredible feeling.
I always liked that you play Les Pauls whenever I have seen you play live. What kind of guitars do you own and what would be your dream guitar purchase?
Right now I have an '87 Les Paul Custom, ESP EC Deluxe 1000 (which I don’t like that much), and an American Strat that I inherited from a family friend that died. Honestly, I've played a lot of guitars and my Les Paul will always be my favorite, so that is my dream guitar and I own it. But, if I could buy any guitar it would probably be an early 70's Les Paul Standard, or maybe a late 50's Gibson ES 137.
Is your live amp setup any different than what you use in the studio to record with?
On the first two records, I basically used my live setup for one guitar and Title Fight's Marshall Mode 4 for the other guitar. On the new record though, I didn't use my live setup at all. My live setup is basically my Les Paul or ESP through my pedal board [described later], into a Mesa Dual Rec, with a Mesa 4x12. For this record I used 3 amps to get one sound and then recorded that 3 times for three rhythm tracks. It was a Mesa Tremoverb into a Marshall 1960A cab, 5150 into a Harry Kolbe cab, and a Marshall MK II head that I had a master volume added to going into a Mesa cab. All of that blended together to make one sound.
You are one of the few hardcore guitarists I have seen to have such an interesting pedal board set up. Most guitarists only use a noise suppressor and a tuner. What are you running and how do you have your effects chained?
I wish I could draw this somehow... but, its a Dimebag Wah - Korg tuner - noise suppressor *through the loop of the noise suppressor: fulldrive fulltone 2 overdrive - MXR 6 Band EQ* - Boss octave pedal - Boss dd6 digital delay - Boss chorus ensemble - Boss flanger - electro harmonix holy grail of reverb. I have the EQ and the overdrive on all the time, and I set the gain on my head back a little bit. This really cleans the sound up and makes the notes more distinct. The chorus pedal is my secret weapon. It really makes mosh parts more like that alpha omega sound.
When you started singing more with Cold World, was that an easy transition to start singing and playing more or did that take you a while to find your groove?
The older songs are easy to do it with, but the new songs took some practice and a lot of concentration. The whole album is more complicated guitar-wise and its not that easy to sing and play some of the new shit.
When Cold World is getting ready to write a new song or an album, what is your writing process like? Do you all work together on the material or do certain members compose the material and then present it to the band as a completed idea?
Nick and I write the songs. Sometimes he'll come up with an idea and bring it to me, and sometimes I'll write a part and bring it to him. I've tried to write a whole song before, but when Nick and I get together, we end up fucking with it a lot and either adding parts or changing existing parts.
On your current CD "No Omega" you mentioned how in the studio you broke so many strings you wound up playing a 7-string guitar with a capo on the 2nd fret to finish a song. What was that like and how in the world do you burn through two packs of strings in the studio? That just seems crazy to me.
It was weird to play with a seven string. I never did it before, and you basically have to readjust your whole playing style. It’s really strange. Honestly, I don't really break strings that often; that was an off night.
If you had to choose, what would be the riff or song that best defines your style?
Probably the song Ice Grillz, because I think you can hear that different style that I have in it. On the new record there are some songs that you can really hear my style come through. It’s definitely more musical so you can hear all of our styles a lot more.
Cold World recorded most of your material with the legendary NYHC engineer Don Furry. What made you decide to go to Underground Sound Studios with Billy and Danny from Biohazard to record your new record?
Working with Don was cool, but it was very frustrating. He was very out of touch and the idea of me singing or scratch parts in songs, that was so beyond him. He's a great guy and I have nothing bad to say about him, but the new songs are super wild and we didn't think he was the right guy to produce it.
Have you received any guff from the hardcore community since your "No Omega" CD is available in Hot Topic? I only know it is in there because I bought a copy myself for $9. 99 at the Granet Run Mall Hot Topic. I know that is not cool to admit, but it was the first place I saw it available at.
Didn't catch any shit for it yet that I know of. I pay zero attention to the Internet. So all the shit talk that happens, I am blind to it. It’s way better that way. But honestly, kids don't buy records anymore for the most part. They download them. So it’s hard for an independent record store, where a hardcore CD would normally be sold, to stay open. So it goes to places like Best Buy or Hot Topic and that’s why its important for a label to have distribution that goes to places like that, because mom pop record stores are going out of business left and right.
One of my favorite things about Cold World is that you occasionally bust out a solo in your songs. Is that something we should be expecting more of on "Dedicated To The Babies That Came Feet First?"
Yeah, there’s a good amount of solos on the new record. Even some leads that aren't necessarily solos but definitely add to songs, and a lot of hardcore kids will consider them solos, but they are just leads.
Last words?
BE EAZY
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