Review Fix Exclusive: Emperors and Elephants Guitarist Jeph Stiph Talks “Devil in the Lake”

Review Fix chats with Emperors and Elephants Guitarist Jeph Stiph, who discusses the band’s new album “Devil in the Lake,” as well as the band’s origin, inspirations and goals for 2014.”

A self-sufficient band behind the scenes and one that draws its sound from some of the best bands in rock today, Emperors and Elephants will surprise you with both their attention to detail musically and their attention to their fans on various forms of social media.

Review Fix: How did the band come together?

Jeph Stiph: Jason and I have been playing together in bands on and off for years. In the summer of 2010 neither of us was involved in any projects, so we started jamming again to see what we could come up with. Ron is another player from our area and part of the same scene. We invited him on board and worked on songs for 6 months or so. We decided things were working well and it was time to add a vocalist. Jason was out one night and heard Jesse singing at a local bar and struck up a conversation. Randy had known Jason for years thru Jason’s work for Dean Guitars. Randy told Jason he always wanted to be in a band in him, so when he became available we brought him into the fold.

Review Fix: What do you think makes you guys different?

Stiph: I think one thing that sets us apart is that the band is extremely self-sufficient. In addition to what you see everyone doing on stage, each of us also has a job behind the scenes. Jason does all our video and imaging work. I also assist with that when needed. I also did the bands website, emperorsandelephants.com. In addition to owning his own production and stage lighting business, Ron has a background in carpentry, so he handles all of our physical production needs. Jesse and Randy are promotion machines, doing all the networking and social media.

Review Fix: What are the band’s influences and how does it help determine the band’s sound?

Stiph: Alice in Chains, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Stone Sour. There’s an old school band called Saigon Kick that everyone loves. Jesse is a Pearl Jam nut and I’m into all the Maynard Keenan bands. Ron loves Rammstein. There’s a certain sonic space that those bands occupy musically that we wanted to express ourselves in. Which is, music heavy enough to create a lot of energy coupled with soaring melodic vocals that will engage listeners.

Review Fix: What song on “Devil in the Lake” do you think best personifies the band’s sound?

Stiph: Each song represents a facet of what we do, but if I had to boil it down to one song, I think it would be “Your Will.”
It has the heavy guitar riffs, but also the dynamic clean sections as well. It has the electronic elements in it too. The vocal performance in it is one of the standouts on the album.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2014?

Stiph: Release the album, and promote and support it as much as possible. Playing shows. We also have some ideas for videos up our sleeve which we also want to get out there.

Review Fix: What do you feel you guys have to do as a unit to reach the level of success you desire?

Stiph: Keep doing what we’re doing, keep our head and down and keep moving forward. If it isn’t broken don’t fix it !

Review Fix: How do you want this album to be remembered in a few years?

Stiph: As an honest effort by five people that came together to create something greater than the sum of it’s parts.