MUDVAYNE's Chad Gray Discusses Studio Process, BBQ Secrets

Mudvayne's performance at iTHINK Financial Amphiteatre from their August 24 support slot alongside Megadeath is up on surfmiami's channel.

In a recent interview with Pablo from the Minneapolis radio station 93X, MUDVAYNE's frontman Chad Gray discussed the progress of their songwriting sessions for their upcoming studio release, and revealed some BBQ secrets along the way.

The band, which reunited after a long hiatus, hasn't released any new material since 2009, leaving fans without fresh MUDVAYNE music for over 15 years. When asked about whether they have engaged in "file sharing" to create new music, Chad stated, "We've done it pretty much every fucking way you can do it at this point. But we did some file sharing and stuff like that. Greg (Tribbett) sent around some riffs and then Matt (McDonaugh)— 'cause Matt does a lot of like ambient-style music on his own, so he can definitely program. So he programmed some drums, and, obviously, when I get that… All I need is basically the guitar riff and I can start kind of feeling it out for melody and lyrical direction and shit like that. I don't need necessarily the whole thing. I can just have very basic shit for me to start writing… But I'll have the nuts and bolts, and, ultimately, that's what file sharing is all about. It's about getting the nuts and bolts of what you're wanting to do. And then from there, you go in the studio and you fucking tweak it, and you fucking add harmonies and you add fucking layers and fucking overdubs, and you can go crazy and then really make it special. So I'm excited about that. We haven't done that yet. That's the one thing we haven't done yet, is got in a room with a fucking producer."

Chad also addressed the pressure he and his bandmates feel to produce music that meets fan expectations, stating: "Honestly, dude, if we were to go into a studio situation and we were to record something, if every single fucking person on our team — us, the producer, our fucking manager, our fucking lawyer — if everyone on our team is not fucking jumping up and down and high-fiving, then it ain't worth putting out. That's just me — I only wanna put out fucking great shit. And with great shit, [I mean] timeless. You wanna create timeless music, and you have to ask yourself the question, 'Is that timeless? Is this timeless music or is this a fucking fad? Are we following something here or are we leading something here?'"

Gray further elaborated on the creative dynamics within the band, saying: "We are who we are. How we are with our personalities is almost the dynamic of what makes MUDVAYNE great. And it's not conflict or whatever, but we test each other. But I think that that comes across in the music we create. And I think we've always had that since the beginning or whatever. And I think that that's one of the things that kind of makes it great. Obviously, we overcome it and we get through it, but there are like times when we start writing, man, where it's, like, 'Do we want the same thing?' We're trying to mold it. But the good thing is that everybody in the band is really open-minded, and that's what it takes. But when we start, like, I have a vision, Matt has a vision, Ryan [Martinie, bass] has a vision, Greg has a vision, and they're not always the same. Through that, you bring it together, but you've gotta give a little, take a little, give a little, take a little, but you've gotta be willing to do that.

"But, yeah, it's really cool," he added. "I like the dynamic we have. I like the personalities that we have in the band, and I think that, honestly, that's one of the things that makes it great. And I think that's one of the things that make it special.

"Our music is emotional music, whether it's helplessness or fucking anger or aggression or any fucking gamut — our music definitely covers the gamut of all emotions — and I think that those emotions are what bring people close to our music, because they can build a relationship with it," Chad continued. "'Cause I'm not the kind of writer that's, like, 'This is what the song is. This is what the song's about.' I kind of get you going down a road, maybe reel you in a little bit so you kind of get the vibe on where I'm at, but I'm giving you off ramps all the way through it where you can take it and make it applicable to your life. But that's what makes it special, 'cause now you're building your own relationship with it and not what I'm telling you the relationship has to be. There's no boundaries on it, so it's pretty boundless."

Catch Mudvayne on tour around the US over the next couple of months, before they wind up with some Knotfest dates in Latin America.

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August 27- Charleston, South Carolina

August 29- Grand Rapids, Michigan

August 30- Madison, Wisconsin

September 1- Green Bay, Wisconsin

September 3- Tinley Park, Illinois

September 5- Huntington, West Virginia
September 6- Charlotte, North Carolina

September 7- Raleigh, North Carolina

September 9- Reading, Pennsylvania

September 10- Albany, New York

September 11- Boston, Massachusetts