Smothered Bowels Interview
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: What type of artist are you?
Defoe Trahunctus: Cheers everybody! We are Smothered Bowels, I’m Defoe, he is Barbie, and this is Pope. Today we shall tell you a lot of fucking weird and funny stories (or not so weird =)), which will remain in your memory for long time and you will be happy to remember them in long and cold evenings.
Pope Kickapoo: We play heavy-metal-rock that will turn your viscera upside down and make them dance with you until you are tired to death… The name of this genre is goregrind.
Barbie Tourette: If you’d like me to choose three adjectives to describe our artistic manner, I would 
choose “malodorous”, “overwhelming” and “bombastic”. And “meaty”, four adjectives.
PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.
Pope Kickapoo: I think, our noble founder and drummer Sir Defoe Trahunctus will tell the history of the band more precisely. I joined Smothered Bowels in November 2016, so I’m the youngest member here. Brief personal history: I was born, then kindergarden, school, studying ecology in University… and now I’m here.
Defoe Trahunctus: I’m Defoe Trahunctus – the real pachydermatous man with gentle and sensitive soul. My musical path began in 2007 when I played bass for the first time, but that doesn’t matter. In 2010, I formed one-man-band with codename Smothered Bowels and recorded the debut EP trickily named Traho Defunctus. There’s been a long time, and since then we released some albums (two of them on well-known Bizarre Leprous – everything has been flourishing since that moment), got constant members dedicated to the band, and now it’s definitely more than it had been in the beginning. Also I play in Поцелуй Бомжа (Kiss The Hobo), Lebenslust:404 and Odium Nova.
Until recently, we had a bit different band lineup. We had two guitarists – Govnocturne and Sturmfuhrer Frankenschwein. They are cool guys, we still have good time together. Thank you, my dear friends, for being members of SB – that was joyful and cucumberish! They took part in shootings of our music video “U.S. Butcher” from our new album, as full participants of the band. Apart from Smothered Bowels, we play in Odium Nova together, our first common musical project, 
where we learned how to pull guitar strings and give decent shows.
As for our former vocalist, Eardrums Oppressor, he ended up like a nasty… person. After tons of his unfulfilled promises, I realized that it’s time to change something. Fortunately, I went to the chapel and with God’s blessing found a man who agreed to help us with vocals – it’s my friend Pope Kickapoo. If you’re somehow interested, you can discover Eardrums Oppressor’s attempts to vocalize in bands Candieland and NSPHRS. So, wish you good luck with this creature, guys!
Barbie Tourette: I joined the band in 2015, at the early stage of filming of our notorious music video for U.S. Butcher song, and chose a pen name after greatest American sex symbols: Barbie the Doll and Giles de la Tourette. Now I chop meat on regular basis in here and also work in Frozen Ocean, Big Guns, Поцелуй Бомжа (Kiss The Hobo) and Lebenslust: 404.
PD: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Pope Kickapoo: As for me – I’m a big fan of Progressive rock (adore King Crimson and all this old-school prog community, even Cardiacs or Steven Wilson), but I also love a lot of other music. Every band from my playlist influenced my musical part of brain more or less. Most recent influences – Devin Townsend, Tony Levin (and his two-haded tapping), Lana Del Rey (haha, that’s not joke, btw) and… this list can be long, so only 3 names for now. You ask why I came into grindcore? BECAUSE IT’S FUCKING COOL AND REMARKABLY GREAT! It has the energy and humour (of course, you can play it with serious expresion, but what’s the point?) and community of people, who really love spending time wisely.
About non-musical influences… I grew on action films (Arny, Sylvester, Jackie, Bruce, another Bruce – they still mean a lot for me and I’m grateful to them for my childhood), they helped me to survive on cruel Russian streets; horrors were there to, but in smaller amount – Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Freddy, Jason – that’s classic, doubtlessly. Maybe some newer stuff…
So another crucial part of my life is sport. That’s why I behave weirdly active and stay positive even
when Butcher cuts my head off. It also helps me to shout, growl and squeal louder – for grindcore’s sake.
Defoe Trahunctus: I was heavily influenced by the bands like Rammstein, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, Napalm Death, Cannibal Corpse, Purgen, and of course Cock and Ball Torture. I’ve always wanted to do something special and awesome like these guys, and I think we proceed well. We always try to provide music with something really new and fresh, how pretentious as it may sound. Many bands are simple clones of their favorite musicians, but I think one needs to discover his own style and sound distinctively among the armies of clones. Anyway, every band must have its own +tricks.
Barbie Tourette: I listen to almost any style of music and open to almost everything (speaking of music, of course). Such approach allows me adding extra notes of music insanity in SB music, especially in regards of extreme electronic music and post-metal.
PD: What are your dreams and goals?
Pope Kickapoo: Obscene Extreme for now. Hope we’ll get to there and make all of them dance and have fun with us. And dreams… I want a 7 string superstrat with art made by Yvette Young herself… and a Chapman stick… and more brain to become smarter!
Defoe Trahunctus: Every amateur band wants to be famous, to play in front of a crowd of squirting schoolgirls, to live a life full of crazy fun and die at the age of 33 of overdose. As you get older, you understand it’s only a dream that never comes true – not proper time, place and genre. You can spend a lot of time enumerating factors that affect, in one way or another, the band’s success. Our main goal now is to perform a show on some big festival, such as Obscene Extreme. As for goals we succeeded, it’s our new brilliant LP “Dead Cunt Dance”, which was released on November 10th on Bizarre Leprous, and, of course, release of our music video “U.S. Butcher”.
Barbie Tourette: To share stage with bands we like and used to listen to; to play for thousands of people and make them all dance like crazy; to eat a biggest hot dog in the Universe (at least to try); to record and release all insane songs we have already written.
PD: Who writes your songs, what are they about?
Defoe Trahunctus: We have three composers in the band – me, Barbie, and now Pope began to do his sketches. We don’t have lyrics from the human point of view, but we have extreme squealing, guttural and vomiting vocals instead. The only song with lyrics is “U.S. Butcher”. Its first name was Old Blind Butcher, first edition of lyrics was written by my classmate, then our bassist Midget made his correctives, and we decided to make a video on this song after renaming it. Eventually the song has three editions. As for music, I wrote most of it, and we have tons of materials for 5-6 years – now it’s only question of realization. After Barbie joined us, emerging of new tracks now moves faster, and new riffs sound much more diverse. Every member brings his own vision of the band’s development, and it’s encouraging!
Barbie Tourette: The most massive load of songs is brought to our common semen pool by Defoe Trahunctus. I make my humble contribution, but the aim of our songwriting manner is that not a single person is able to predict which one of us has actually written the song. Themes wise, major 
part of sense (if there is one) of any song is explained in its title. Or isn’t.
PD: How do you promote your band and shows?
Pope Kickapoo: I share info on the internet. And of course, personal advertisement to friends and to strangers. Hey, you! Yes, you! Have you watched our new music video yet?!
But guys make lion’s share of it.
Defoe Trahunctus: Let Barbie Tourette to answer this question.
Barbie Tourette: We use internet, as many bands do, to promote our band and shows, and there is nothing special actually. In any special case, such as having our new album coming out the closet or premiere of our new music video (have you seen it already? Do it!) we prefer to have professional assistance, therefore we are used to hire a PR agency for making all the good work for us. In particular, we recommend you all to collaborate with Imperative PR, a British agency whose goal is to find the best way to getting you exposure.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online?
Pope Kickapoo: I think it’s good. Almost all music I have on my HDD was downloaded (first of all, I don’t have much place for CD’s, but that’s another story). And for major artists like Slayer, Periphery or Scorpions or…whatever – if you downloaded their album, it won’t be any difference for them. But it’s important to support your local or not very famous bands – so that’s the reason not only to download music, but to buy it sometimes. Or their merch. It’s really great deal.
Defoe Trahunctus: That’s fucking great! There is a lot of music in the world today, much more than 20 years ago. It’s impossible to find time to listen all stuff you enjoy, or even buy it. Anyway, it’s good branch of promotion for bands, and we are alright with downloading our music free. Obviously, it’s good if people buy the music – it’s financial support for us (usually we don’t get fees from gigs). And we are always pleased to know if someone truly liked our piece of art and ready to buy an album.
Barbie Tourette: Denying Internet and its power is the most ridiculous mistake an underground band can make. Bitching about pirates and digital stealing makes any sense (if there is any) in case of having contract with major label that spends more money on advertisement and promotion than any underground band can obtain after selling their instruments, backline, flats and visceral organs. Otherwise there is no sense in stealing a thing no one wants to buy.
PD: What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
Pope Kickapoo: I think it had changed a lot last maybe 10-15 years. Now every person can afford a
sound card, so every “home musician” can perform independent records by himself. But studios will never die – next 20-30 years at least.
Barbie Tourette: Market of physical releases declines day by day, but it will never completely die. And reputational price of having one in your discography will increase day by day as well. For now we make it and I hope that we will continue this practice and give you and all listeners new loads of fresh meat soaked with biological fluids of all sorts.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
Pope Kickapoo: Slayer’s Angel of Death. I’d call it Demon of Birth.
Defoe Trahunctus: For me, Rammstein songs have always been almost ideal for me – they are 
memorable, heavy and melodic. Which song I wish I had written… Maybe “Sonne”.
Barbie Tourette: Ulcerate’s “The Destroyers of All” or in general any Ulcerate song. When I realize how can they write such lunacy of music, I will become a demigod and immediately ascend somewhere.
PD: What are some of your pet peeves?
Defoe Trahunctus: I used to have bedbugs, but then I killed every single creature of them (they frazzled me out). I’ve never had animals anymore. But I’ve got a money-tree, extremely cheerful and tenacious, despite everything was done to it.
Barbie Tourette: I have a rabbit named after the most taciturn killer in slasher movie history. Jason Voorhees, of course.
PD: What is your proudest moment in music?
Pope Kickapoo: Actually, I don’t count “proud” moments. I collect impressions of every single event. Was it a trip to a far-far city to play a gig there, among polar bears – of course, I’ll find a folder in the palaces of my mind.
Defoe Trahunctus: The most awesome moment in my music career was on one of our gigs, when a crazy fan-girl burst onto a stage, pulled my pants down and gave me a perfect blowjob! Claudia, hi! You were super! Write me, I miss you! Actually, there were a lot of weird stuff on our shows. Once our former vocalist Eardrums Oppressor decided to show his hairy little friend to all people in the club – but it appeared to be so small, that visitors didn’t get it and started throwing tankards at him. Or, in Archangelsk there was a funny case too. A guy with vodka entered our dressing room and proposed to drink his alcohol. But we had no desire to drink and refused his proposal. He noticed, that people in Russia don’t drink usually because of two reasons: bad health and drunk mayhem. Our vocalist Pope Kickapoo answered, that he killed a man with bare hands after his last attempt to drink vodka – and the vodka-guy suddenly disappeared. Even Jesus was on our gig once. By the way, he loves alcohol and extreme metal. AND WE LOVE YOU, JESUS!
Barbie Tourette: I would say that all my moments in music are quite proudest! Especially ones of me getting a boner (both on stage and at home)! But if there is one to choose, it was a day when I get my very first physical release back in 2008. Never had a feeling that strong since those days.
PD: Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
Pope Kickapoo: We will perform a show at Dmitroff Brutal Fest 5 in Dmitrov of Moscow district on December 16th. You definitely must come to Russia and attend the show with all these crazy dances and eating cucumbers in front of a wall of low tuned madness and crazy unicorn dancing around.
Defoe Trahunctus: Every our show differs from others. We create new jokes for every gig, and dress new costumes from Gucci and Petrucci. Our next show will be performed in Dmitrov, we prepared some new and awesome special effects and, moreover, we will sacrifice one visitor to Cucumber Satan!
Smothered Bowels links:
Band location – Moscow Russia
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