Interview: Tom Coyne of 45 Grave and FEAST

Tom Coyne is best known for being the drummer of the legendary ghoul rock and punk outfit 45 Grave. Tom has launched an expansive and eclectic new project known as FEAST in which every song has a different group of players and every song is a completely different genre. FEAST’s first single and music video is for the song “Melech Malchei Hamelechim” which is linked at the bottom of the interview.

RockRevolt: Thank you, Tom, for the interview!

Tom Coyne: Thanks for having me!!

So how is FEAST! different from 45 Grave?

Sonically it is completely different, but the attitude underneath is similar. Conceptually it is very experimental, with a lack of restrictions and a lot of room for ideas. That is VERY 45 Grave.

The music is a bit dark and moody, but much more mellow so far. It’s not as aggressive and not as cheeky as 45 Grave either, at least not yet! A big part of the 45 Grave ethos is dark humor. It’s all supposed to be fun after all. Feast! is more about setting up dark, cool moods.

How do you feel 45 Grave fans will perceive this project?

So far it has been really positive. 45 GRAVE fans cross a wide spectrum of people; old school Punks, Goths, Death Rockers, art rock people, etc. The FEAST! stuff sounds right at home with some of the gothier and artier tendencies that 45 GRAVE has always had.

Tell us about the players in FEAST.

FEAST! is an amalgam of people, styles and taste. So far I have two groups of collaborators, The Macias’ in Tulsa and the Mayden’s in Seattle. Both are married couples who do music. I’ve known Heather Macias since 1992, and Paul and Mel Mayden since the mid 2000’s. Both of these ladies are incredible singers! Mel is an opera trained soprano, whereas Heather is more of a Goth style alto. The guys both play multiple instruments and can record at home. Mario has this really cool Robert Smith meets Arabian Nights style, while Paul has a cool 90’s rock, Dave Navarro vibe.

I recently found a singer in Chile who I’m gonna do a few Creatures covers with. She is like a reincarnation of Siouxsei! More on that later.

How did you land on the decision to do a single and lyric video to start rather than a whole album or even EP? Who crafted the video and chose the visuals of it?

My publicist Groovey Newville said “Hey, you need a video!!” So I got together a very simple lyric video. It is all public domain photos of the desert. It goes from early morning into nightfall and seems to match the vibe of the music.

What are the religious connotations and meanings behind the video?

The video is just about the mood. Mysterious… a little foreboding. The actual lyrics are in Hebrew. The singer on this track, Heather Macias, writes lyrics based on her Jewish faith. She has a music project with her husband Mario called “Winters of Our Faith”.  He wrote all the music for the first FEAST! single “Melech Malchei Hamelechim .“

The title literally means “King of Kings”.

What kind of drum techniques did you use and how did you push yourself to perfect those techniques?

This music is based on a few drumming concepts that I find interesting and fun: odd time signatures, poly-rhythm and playing over ostinatos. All of these things just take time to get your head around them. Starting slow, counting the rhythms out and getting them internalized. You will notice that there isn’t a lot of fast soloing or playing around the drums. These other techniques are more difficult to figure out at first but sound very musical. Plus, it’s fun!

Tell us about the kit you used for “Melech Malchei Hamelechim”.

It was pretty wacky! For about a year I’ve been using this mix of drums that force me to play differently. It’s a regular 22” Bass drum and 14” snare drum. I believe we recorded with a 14″X6.5″ Ludwig Supra Sensitive snare. Ive got 3 Remo Roto Toms set up, with a big 14” in front of me and two smaller ones to my right, where the ride cymbal would normally be. I played the 8’ and 10” Rotos as you would a ride or a cowbell. For cymbals I had only one big crash cymbal, a Paiste 18” thin crash. The rest were splashes and Wuhan Chinas. 

Speaking of kits do you use different setups and types when you tour versus when you record?

Absolutely! For touring it’s always a 4 piece rock n roll type kit with big cymbals. More often than not you are playing whatever drums are there. For flyout gigs the promoter usually rents or borrows a kit. You never know what you will get, so I always bring a snare, bass drum pedal and cymbals.

For recording anything goes!

What is the most difficult percussion technique you have mastered?

I don’t know that I have mastered any of them! It is funny because some of the things that people find confusing or complicated are actually not that difficult once you understand them. Things like playing in 7/8 or 17/16 time sound difficult but really it is just about finding a counting system that works. 17/16 is just like 4/4, with one added note. So instead of counting (1 e & ah) four times you break it up into smaller groups. (5+5+3+4) is the famous pattern from “Discipline” by King Crimson.

The famous 5/4 beat from “Take 5” by Dave Brubeck is subdivided 3+3+2+2. I used that pattern in the song “Cleansing” that I’m mixing at the moment.

The most difficult this is playing a tempo steadily for five minutes without losing it and making it feel like something.

What’s the next step for FEAST?

More songs with more people! I’ve got 3 already done, with several ideas in the pipeline. I will release one every few months as they get finished. Eventually I can see this project playing out on the Con circuit. Since there isn’t a set lineup I can play with whoever is around. Dragon Con, Steam Con, ll those types of things.

Anything else you would like to add?

Thanks for asking about all things FEAST!! Keep an eye out for new music at https://feast6.bandcamp.com/releases or on Youtube at Tom Coyne FEAST! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9jhlSNszz697CGTktoaAg