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Give us some history on Urlo (beer,likes,dislikes, you know the drill)
I was born in a little town in Italy in 1971. My nick-name Urlo (=scream) is due to the fact I was used to cry and scream a lot when I was a child… I’m still living in my home town where I play with the band UFOMAMMUT and I work as MALLEUS with my friend Poia. Today it’s cloudy outside and I feel really sleepy. I got a degree in architecture but outside it’s still cloudy and grey. So I guess it’s not so important. I’d like to have some super-power to fight against everybody. Only for being sure to win when we play iron-arm… I love painting apart from playing and malleusing but my spare time is really thin. And I’m looking for some good amp to screw my ears, like a Sunn or an Hiwatt. I got few friends cause I’m really amorphous and unpleasant. I got big eyes standing outside of my face.
What made you pick up the bass? How long ago was that?
We got a little band about 10 years ago, we played bad Italian music, we were what is called a "cover band". One day Poia and me, bored of this awful kind of music decided to split the band. I was a "singer", one of the worst on Earth I suppose… Well, after leaving the band we started in playing a sort of "pre stoner rock" forming a band called "Judy Corda". So I decided to pick up the bass cause it was surely easier than playing the drums. And I’m grateful to what has happened.
What basses have you owned? What do you play now?
My first bass was a five strings Washburn, it was red, it was terrific. Then, when my Grandma died she left me
some money and I bought my fabulous Rickenbacker. It’s a 4001, the same used by Roger Waters in the first years of Pink Floyd. I had to choose between a Rick and a fender and
there was no game… I’ve always used my rickenbacker, I think I’ve never found another bass with the same power. I’ve got an SG of Gretsch but it’s dead… and a Vox but
it’s in pieces… Last month I’ve bought an EKO, it’s an Italian brand. It’s really cool, a red one with a warm sound.
What kind of amps, strings, any other gear do you use?
I got a Marshall JCM800 MKII amp and a Steelphone cabinet 400W. As I told You I'd like to change all for an HiWatt or an old Sunn. No
particular problems for the strings, they only have to be really heavy! I use a 130-105-90-70 scale.
Then I've some distortions (an UFOCTAFUZZ, a so called FUCK - it was an old D'addario- and a boss analog overdrive), an Electro Harmonix SMALL STONE and a BASSBALLS, a Morley Wah and a Boss analog delay. That's all... for now.
How many different tunings do you guys use? Drop D, C, etc?
Ufomammut songs are based on a drop B. We love to play low tuned...
On track #4-SNAKE the BASS really stands out, do you using any effects? Pedals etc.
Sure, the UFOCTAFUZZ and the small stone. Well, basically I always use a distortion:-)
Where was the best place that you played at on this tour?
I've enjoyed a lot Nancy. One for the people, one for the club. It was a room underground, People came and they were so warm! There was no
division between the band and the audience. Cool. Other good places were Marsiglia and Geneve. Then in Leuven, at Sojo, we've been really satisfied. We got a projector and we use
it for having images and films behind while we were playing. And it was impressive.
Did you have any strange or funny things happen on tour?
Oh yes!!! Our tour has been a massacre: we had to travel for so many kms!!! One day we were in Belgium, the day after we have to be in
Switzerland and then in Slovenia! Lots of kms and trouble! In Switzerland we took a secondary road and on the mountains it was snowing. We arrived at the club in Geneve with a
delay of 4 hours after a risk of death!!! WOW
Then, the day after we left the town in the morning, at about 5 o'clock direction Lubijana! You can imagine how we could be. In a word: broken. We had lots of problems at the borders but at the end we reach the club.
Then, after the dates we got a drug check for 2 hours at the borders... Incredible!!!
What music did you grow up listening to?
Uhmmm... When i was Young I adored Sex Pistols and Clash. Then Iggy and the stooges and B52's.
When I met Poia he was a Led Zeppelin fan and so I started in listening to this band too. Then lots of other bands started in growing in us, the classic Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd, the Beatles and Deep Purple, Area and Le Orme, till coming to my great love called The Melvin's. Then Nirvana, Mudhoney till the Kyuss and the God Machine. One day Sleep arrived and so on... But what I adore, apart from the Melvin's, are the Beatles. They are everything in music, they are the music.
What song has your best bass line in it? How long does it take to lay the bass down in the studio?
I don't know! You have to tell this! I really don't know. No time in studio. I play like in the rehearsal room... Maybe some improvisation...
How hard is it for you to sing and play at the same time?
Not so much...As You've surely noticed listening to our cd is that voice is like an instrument, so we use it only
when it is strictly necessary!
Do you write songs on bass only?
No, we play all together, we jam on a riff and then we try to find out something cool. Sometimes I'm at the drums
while Poia plays bass and Alien guitar.
Where do you get your ideas for lyrics?
They're hidden in my brain... I only have to find them out! And sometimes it's not so easy... the problem is that my memory is really short ...
UFOMAMMUT I think... playing for me is not only the action of moving my fingers on a bass, playing is the inspiration that staying together with people I love gives me. And the feeling we've makes me go on in playing. Well, maybe I could play with THE BEATLES for one day... but I'd prefer to play something like a triangle not to make all the fans cry for the loosing of Paul...
In these days I'm listening to VOLUME I from Sleep, the soundtrack of "Oh Brother, where art thou?", Baby Woodrose "Blow Your mind".
Where do you see UFOMAMMUT in 5 years?
Closed in an alms-house I suppose... Well, we hope to do some other cds and to tour a lot. We are excited by the interest we feel around our band. It's cool, and don't forget we come from Italy, a dead music land...:-)
Oh no! We don't have great income for now:-) We're trying to grow up and become a little bigger and "famous" but it's not so easy... I work in an architect studio too.
If you had to give up your art or playing bass which one would it be?
I think playing the bass and create music is art too, so no problem... I think it would be impossible to leave art. I love Malleus and I adore UFOMAMMUT. The only difference is that I work on the first all the day and night and I play my bass only when I'm in the rehearsal room with Ufomammut's crew. I'm not in playing by myself. Music is like a religion and I must be in "my church" to practice to my god.
art by Malleus
Can you tell me some of your favorite places to visit on the web?
Our websites for sure... :-) Well, we got lots of good links and apart from Playboy, you can check them all with any problems for you health...
If you could change one thing about yourself as a bass player what would it be?
My voice... or my facial expression while I play... I feel totally stupid:-)
All pics courtesy of www.ufomammut.com