Coming off of a tour with Evile and Early Man, Bonded By Blood’s bass player, Jerry Garcia (No relation to the late Grateful Dead Guitarist), has been hard at work helping the other guys break in the new stand in singer Mauro Gonzales of the band Mutants Of War. As he stands outside the venue with a cup of coffee in hand, he begins to discuss matters of touring, future plans, and more on Bonded By Blood’s recent events, including the video shoot for “Prototype Death Machine†and the recent departure of singer Jose “Aladdin†Baralles.
What was your reaction when you were offered to do the upcoming tour with Overkill and Forbidden?
It was pretty cool, we had a lot of other offers but we felt that this was ultimately the best one for us and here we are, hopefully well be kicking ass on the road again soon.
How about the Death Angel tour that’s been recently announced?
That’s gonna be great. That’s gonna be a great way to kick off the new year it’s gonna be a year full of tours and full of surprises.
You recently shot a music video for the song “Prototype Death Machine.” What was the experience like?
It was really fun actually, there was a lot of great people that we worked with. Dave Voorhees, the director for the video, he’s a really cool guy and he had a lot of really cool ideas and it was awesome. We really enjoyed it.
Who came up with the concept?
It was a combination of him and us he took our idea and he thought it over for a couple of days and he pitched us his idea for the video. We changed a few things here and there but for the most part its him and us.
Why wasn’t there a video for anything off of “Feed the Beastâ€?
I don’t know. (shrugs) Budget?
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Exodus album “Bonded By Blood.” How do you feel about that?
We just finished a tour with them and its amazing to just go out there and kick some ass and see them every day and they sound so tight. Solid – ass musicians and a huge inspiration to us to keep on going and keep playing.
Did you speak to Gary Holt about recording the next album at Sharkbite Studios?
No we didn’t. It was a possibility before we recorded Exiled but I don’t think the plan ever came to fruition I don’t think it ever solidified. Plus we had other offers and we ended up going with Ralph Patlon.
Who do you feel should get back together to headline next years “Thrasho De Mayo†festival?
I don’t know about getting back together. Maybe a headline would be Exodus. That’d be great. We were talking about that and I think if they played it they would rip that fucking place apart. I think a lot of people especially in the LA area would appreciate it if they played “thrasho de mayo†and I would appreciate it a lot. It’d be fucking great.
You have a very warm bass tone. What gear did you use on this album?
On this album I used this fender bass which I fucking hate but it sounded amazing. So it was a pain in the ass to record with that but we used it and Ralph Patlon had a really cool DI set up with this cool EQ and we tweaked it and we really liked it a lot and it sounded amazing.
How long have you been playing?
Not that long actually. People get really surprised when I tell them I’ve only been playing for about two or three years. I guess it’s three years. it’s a little over three years.
I heard you’re into government conspiracies. Is that true?
(smiles) Oh yeah!
Did you come up with the concept for Exiled to Earth?
Yes and no. Yes because I came up with the main frame as far as like, if you read it you’ll know what you’re reading as far as the government conspiracy part. Then there’s also the sci/fi aspect of it and that was very much Jose’s idea and we really dug it and fucking let our imagination fly with it.
How do you feel about Jose leaving?
Well, as a friend I have to accept whatever choices he makes in life. I wish him the best of luck. He thinks he’s doing whats best for him and I hope he achieves something.
How did the new guy get the gig?
Mauro, he’s a really good friend of ours. He sings in this other band called Mutants Of War. We’re basically trying him out on this tour. He’s doing a good job so far. It’s a work in progress because unfortunately he didn’t have enough time to get the lyrics, and the way me and Jose wrote it is really weird. So for him to sing it compared to his old style is a little different but he’s doing a good job. We felt that he had a lot of potential and that he could bring a lot to the table that Jose couldn’t bring. I can do the vocals easily. If it wasn’t for Mauro we’d be doing the tour with me on vocals but we feel that if we gave him the chance to do a tour and he got it down we could be set up for next year and not have to worry about getting a singer around Christmas time. So were really excited.
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