the Innervenus Music Collective | Records, Live Music, Promotions, etc. | Pittsburgh, PA

There was an article posted today from Pittsburgh Music Magazine about the Grisly Amputation & Lycosa releases. You can find that article here – http://pittsburghmusicmagazine.com/2013/02/12/the-innervenus-music-collective-releases-two-new-projects/

It was great as it was and we appreciate it very much, but in the process of writing said article, there was an interview between writer, Seth Pfannenschmidt, and Innervenus HMFIC, Scott Massie. Seth asked some good questions, so we thought we post it here in it’s entirety. For those of you who are interested in more details of who we are and what we do, this is for you…

You mention on your website that Innervenus is 99.9% D.I.Y.  Does this philosophy come out of necessity, or are you committed to maintaining such an approach even with increasing success of your bands?

A lot of what we do was founded on our old punk rock ethos. It’s a big part of who we are (Kimee and I), and it’s really carried over into Innervenus as a whole, into the cult.

“Unity! Unity! Unity! You’ve heard it all before!!!”

What makes Innervenus a collective is that we try to use what we have and promote from within. Not only does it help create the overall vibe of what we do (of being more a family than a label), but we try to take care of each other through work and services. We support each other. That’s how we benefit. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room to grow and expand, but we appreciate the close, personal connection more than anything.

Sometimes we use outside resources for certain aspects of manufacturing, but ultimately we try to do as much as we can ourselves. We really like the physical format, and hand manufacturing or hand assembling, we feel it really adds something and transfers a certain energy from us to the end user. So yeah, I guess you could say we are committed to maintaining such an approach. We represent something… more.

Innervenus has a few bands that share members such as Amy Bianco in both Molasses Barge and Motorpsychos as well as Garrett Twardesky in both Grisly Amputation and Vulture. Some labels would discourage such a thing so as to maintain a more direct focus on a specific project. Discuss the relationship Innervenus has with its bands and artists.

Family, friends and cult first. While music may be our common thread, it actually comes in about 4th on the list. Considering we’re a music collective, some people may not get that, but I like to think it’s what sets us apart. You have to think about your priorities. Our connections are more with people than with bands, so it doesn’t matter if they’re in multiple bands. We like it, actually. It keeps us all closer. The network stays tighter. The art and music get better with people we already know that can and trust that will rock it the fuck out.

Lycosa describes themselves as “New school meets old school mayhem.”  What is the creative vision of Innervenus? Are you encouraging your artists to push the envelope?

We’re all over the place (IV as a whole, bands and all). It’s a very organic process, so we try not to stress about defining it. Sometimes it can change with the seasons. Other times, with a shift in the wind. Life and experience should teach you that.

As for music, I like sludge, doom and drone A LOT. Stoner rock. Space rock. 80′s punk rock and punk rock so fast & heavy it that it almost sounds like metal. Old school hardcore. “Metal” metal — thrash and grind are my go to’s. A little Viking metal. Traditional metal. NWOBHM. Shit with attitude. I have a very special place in my heart for Guns N Roses, Skid Row, W.A.S.P. and early Crüe. Some black metal lately, mostly the more ambient and mellower black metal though. I’m not so much into death metal, personally, but it has it’s moments and it’s place, so we put it out. I’ve listened to my share of electronic and industrial over the years, too. Truthfully, I might listen to as much trip hop as I do metal, so you can probably expect some of that to show up on an Innervenus flier or new release list at some point. A lot of blues. Dark jazz. Eastern meditation music. The list goes on and on into the infinite.

I don’t like the idea of limiting ourselves or narrowing anything down to a specific genre, style, or pigeonhole, if you will. First of all, it would cut out too many great things that we could potentially be doing. Second, that would get predictable and boring and shallow and weak, and who wants that? Not me. There’s a million reasons for us to keep it fluid. All you can really count on is that it’s going to be dark and/or heavy (I stole that description from Rennie Jaffe, who was describing Relapse Records in an interview I read once, but it fits us as well, so I use it fairly), and it’s going to be meaningful, not just some bullshit we thought would top the charts. But if it does, that’s cool too. That’s good. It means we all did our part and our job. We want our bands to succeed. WE want to succeed. We just want to do it knowing we did it for the right reasons and knowing we did it in a way where all who were involved benefited from it accordingly.

What convinced you to release Grisly Amputation‘s Cannibalistic Tendencies and Lycosa‘s self titled ep?

Well, Lycosa was pretty much a given since the day the band was conceived, for me anyhow, before we actually even heard them play or before they even knew it. Chris & Amy were in Reducer together back in the early 2000’s, which was the first Innervenus band outside of one of my own. The relationship we developed at that time has remained very strong over the years, and anything those two are a part of is a priority to us. We love them very much as people and will always honor & respect that bond. But after seeing a few shows, witnessing what they (Lycosa) do; the music, the energy, and their emphasis on their people and keeping it real; it really couldn’t be any more perfect of a pairing. Leech is also one of my best friends, we’re like the Odd Couple of Pittsburgh metal. So, there’s that.

As for GrisAmp, Gene (Fikhman, also from Vulture) approached me about manufacturing the CD for them, not actually about releasing it as an Innervenus album, but once we got talking about it, there were just so many reasons that it made more sense for us to make them a part of our roster. Gene & Garrett are both in Vulture, and Vulture is one of my all time favorite bands anywhere ever, so we’ve been around each other a lot already. And Chris Dissell is a stand up guy that I’ve known for a while. Add that to the fact that Mark Palmieri (another of my closest friends) was recording their album, and Chris Smith (long time comrade and collaborator) was doing their artwork, the list just goes on and on. That’s how we make decisions. It’s all about the connections and the timing and the resources and the means. Basically, the stars have to align, and they did.

How do you think Pittsburgh’s metal scene measures up against the rest of the country?

I think we’re holding our own and turning some heads lately. SO many really great bands from around here, a lot of which have made various levels of impact throughout the national & global music world. It’s so humbling that we actually get to work with some of these bands.

Seriously, I was recently told that Pittsburgh is “officially the most metal town on the planet” because we started BLACK YO)))GA. I guess that is to say, “You’re so metal, even your yoga is metal.” Or something. LOL. Hey, that may sound kind of funny, but I’m cool with it and I’m honored. But even beyond that, I think we definitely have something to be proud of, all of us, as the greater collective that is the Pittsburgh metal scene. We’re just happy to be part of it and to be able to make a difference for the betterment of all.

Where do you see Innervenus in 10 years?

Somewhere similar, I’m sure, but much more established, I hope. Whatever that means. It’s hard to predict. It’s 11pm and we’re still figuring out today.

Thank you for your support.

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