CEREBRAL NOIZE – Interview with Cale Burr

Already after firstly listening of CEREBRAL NOIZE intensely broke in my psyche. I have never heard so richly arranged of hard core in my life. Obviously I mean the old school h/c in style of M.O.D., LAWNMOWER DETH or D.R.I. that is the connection the punk rock with the metal and I don't mean about some the present hard core (the connection of rap with metal). CEREBRAL NOIZE shew in what side hard core should evolve, but unfortunately majority present hard core bands took different way. Anyway at present for me CEREBRAL NOIZE is number one in present h/c!!!

Hi Cale!!! Your beginnings reach 9 years and despite of this you gave the one material. Did something serious influence on such course of occur?

I tend to be very meticulous when it comes to making music. Every last note of every song on Process is there for a reason. I guess I'd rather record one really good song than 20 average songs. That's my philosophy in a nutshell. I have a busy life and recording is a hobby, so I work on it when I have free time. I do it because I love it. Maybe if I made money doing it instead of spending money to do it, I'd be motivated to work faster.

I have to admit that I impressed so rich arrangements for inspirations of hard core! The tracks from “Process” are very complex… Beside typical patents of hard core you put quite a lot additions in style of keys, samples, feminine vocals, backing singers, etc.

Thanks for your kind words. I'm constantly listening to music – everything to pop punk to black metal. I like glam metal, hard rock, power metal, speed metal, thrash, death metal, hardcore punk, punkcore, metalcore, classical and some of the numetal. I like different elements of all of these. I guess my appreciation of those nuances comes through in the material I write. I like to play music that is fast and hard. That's the foundation really. But beyond that, I like to give the song a lot of depth and detail. It makes the music more rich and interesting to me. I don't want the listener to hear everything that's going on the first few listens.

Right! Do you know band LAWNMOWER DETH? Once they a bit tried to diversify hard core. There now you passed my expectations.

I remember hearing Lawnmower Deth once a long time ago, but I'm not familiar with their music.

CEREBRAL NOIZE is only Cale Burr (guitar, vocal, drums, keys) and Steve Egan (bass). But you invited the musicians for the team. Why they aren't the members of team?

A couple reasons. The easiest answer is that I haven't found the right people who can embrace the vision that I have for Cerebral Noize. You see, I want to have absolute control over the music. It's my baby. I suspect many people don't like the dictatorship scenario in a band situation. A lot of people I know aren't into what I'm doing, so they aren't interested enough to become a part. I guess I just haven't met the right people yet.

How does the process look of creating the songs?

The process is typically a long one. Coming up with the riffs and stringing them together usually goes pretty fast, though. I keep a little recorder in my car for when I'm away from my studio so that I can get the idea down. When it comes time for writing a song I often go back and listen to the ideas on the recorder. I'll figure them out on the guitar and record them on my computer. I'll then lay down some scratch drum tracks and begin arrange the song. I'll add samples and keyboards. Then comes bass and vocals. Next comes the seemingly endless process of tweaking and fiddling with the song. I'll pay attention to every last detail until it sounds exactly how I want it to sound.

Music CEREBRAL NOIZE stands at the cross-roads between punk rock and metal. Do you feel more fondness to metal or punk? And possibly is some different species about which I don't know?

I'm more of a metalhead at heart. It was Def Leppard's Pyromania that made me fall in love with music. However, punk rock is really fun to play. About 85 percent of my music collection is metal, about 14 percent punk and 1 percent miscellaneous.

So what do you listen everyday?

I have two 400 disc CD players connected together. I typically hit the shuffle button and listen to whatever comes up

And the texts? What is subject matter there? Punk or metal?

It's rare that I'll pay attention to lyrics. Most things that bands have to say don't really interest me, especially if the message is negative. I'm far more interested in HOW they say it than WHAT they say.

Ok. But did someone interest you beyond the USA?

Well, my wife is Canadian. She I was really interested in her when I met her at a Ratt concert in Canada. 🙂 I listen to a lot of European power metal like Helloween and Gamma Ray. I really like The Exploited. Come to think of it, I like a lot of bands from overseas. I'd say about half of the music I buy now days comes from overseas. When the 80's went away, it seems that so did a lot of the best American music. (That's what the song “Metal I” on Process is about.) Fortunately because of the internet, finding the good stuff from outside the USA is a lot easier now.

Supposedly already you work on new material “Origins”, which the samples we can find on your the website? I suspect the material will be well-kept in similar complex style? When do you release it??

Yes, I've been hammering away on the next CD. Hopefully this one won't take another 8 years to finish! I really don't know when it will get done. I do work on it regularly. I post the progress of the songs on the Cerebral Noize site. Stylistically it will be similar to Process. The production will be better, though. It's going to be a conceptual album about the subject of origins. The subject of origins is something I've studied over the last decade. I think it's important to think about where we came from because the answer to that question determines our place in the universe. If the universe and humanity were intentionally created by an intelligent designer, then the implications of our existence are very different than if we evolved from a rock 4.6 billion years ago, which supposedly came from nothing 13-20 billion years ago all by itself. Everybody dies. I don't know about you, but I want to know what's going to happen to me when I die. If we have a creator, wouldn't it be a good idea to know what He wants?

Do you play concerts? You rent additional musicians?

Not currently.

I reflect… On your concerts arrive funs of punk rock and metal. Aren't there any fights during your concerts among the fans? Once in Poland would be heat on such party. Not every would go out in all pieces, hahaha … But I think that at present is better, it is more broad-mindedly.

I think Lemmy from Motorhead would be more qualified to ask this question to. If there's ever been a band that both punks and metalheads both respect, it would be Motorhead.

Cale, can you say about your arts work? It seems that the cover is your authorship.

Professionally, I'm a graphic artist. That's what I do to pay the bills. I love doing it. The song off of Process “Computer Art Geek” is actually all about that. Now days, I don't get to do artwork for myself very often. It was fun doing the cover of Process, because I built personal symbols into it. For example, every one of the metal spikes next to the word “Process” represents a year that it took to make this CD. The cover basically represents the idea that music originates in the mind and that in my case it takes using instruments and technology to actualize it.

Well, it's time to finish this short interview. Maybe you have something to tell for the fans of metal from Poland?

Thank you all for taking the time to read this. Thanks again, Gnom, for your kind words about Cerebral Noize music and for asking me to do this interview.

cale@cerebralnoize.com – www.cerebralnoize.com