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Interviews
Godhunter - Charlie Touseull (Part 1)
04/01/13 || gk
Godhunter, a sludge metal band from Tuscon, Arizona formed in 2008 and have so far released a couple of splits and an EP with their full length debut due for release in 2013. GD forummer Methodical is on guitar and backing vocals and their EP Wolves was quite the impressive release. Anyway, I had a long chat with vocalist and scene veteran Charlie Touseull which was eventually split into 2 parts. This first part of the interview focusses on Godhunter from inception till 2012 and Charlie’s own musical roots.
Global Domination: So I understand Godhunter just got done touring. What was the experience like? Any fun stories from the tour? Are you guys done with touring for 2012?
We did a lot of touring in 2012 and almost all of the shows were great! We played shows that ran the gamut: from small chaotic house shows, to festival shows, dive bars, and everything in-between. We had a blast out on the road. We met some amazing people along the way, swam in the ocean, had good food, and (some of us) smoked a lot of weed. I learned that I really like Jack Daniels Honey, when we were in Palm Desert, California, way too much. Let’s just say that shit is my kryptonite. We are done touring for the rest of 2012. Right now we are writing a bunch of new material and breaking in a new drummer named Andy. So, writing new songs, and having Andy learn the songs off of Wolves, is really keeping us busy for the next couple of months.
Godhunter organized the recently concluded Southwest Terror Fest. How did this Fest come about and how hard was it to organize this? Is this going to be a yearly event?
David Rogers from Godhunter, and Dave Carrol from Inoculara were the initiators of the festival. Both of the Dave’s had the same feeling about Fests in this city. They both wondered why there were no showcases in Arizona that showcased the massive amount of talent that exists in the underground scene. Picking bands was not a problem, when there are so many good ones to choose from. It was a really successful show that will become an annual thing here in Tucson. Next year may even be expanded to an additional day to accommodate not only more bands, but to include a wider range of musical genres. It was definitely a labour of love, with a healthy dose of angst, rage and pain thrown in for good measure. There were some scheduling conflicts, cancellations and adjustments that had to be made during the process. But with so many bands playing, and coming from so many different places and backgrounds, that is to be expected. We cannot wait to do it again!
I know you guys tour a lot so in your opinion what’s been your most fun show so far?
The best show that Godhunter has played was at the Southwest Terror Fest. Hands down, that was one of the best sets that I have ever performed, since I have been in bands. There was such an intense synergy between the band and the fans that evening that really permeated the air that night. We played on the floor that evening. We were right in the faces of the crowd. We really feed off of that. It is something that we all really get off on. That intensity of being at eye level with a fan who is screaming along to the songs really makes us play harder and with more emotion every time. That night there was a really intense energy that set off mass fits of moshing and chaos during the entirety of our set. It was also our last set with Spyro (our drummer for the past year), so there was an additional sense of urgency and determination in our performance. It really culminated in an epic evening that we hope happens again soon. It was all blood, sweat, and beers, man. Now, that’s not to say that we have not had memorable performances elsewhere. It was just that SWTF was so awesome, than nothing else compares right now.
I’ve heard that Godhunter fans are a wild bunch. Any crazy fan stories?
Godhunter fans are pretty amazing. We have shipped albums and merchandise to every continent, including Antarctica. There are those fans that show up, know all the lyrics and sing along passionately. There are those that arrive at our shows, bearing gifts of hash oil and weed. There are those fans that just go nuts as soon as the music starts, throwing anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way right to the ground, in a fit of happiness and drunken bliss. All of those crazy people make the shows and the tours that much better. It’s always cool to meet new fans, either at home or on the road!
Where did the name Godhunter come from? What was the thinking behind it? It always gets a reaction when I wear the T-shirt.
Godhunter is a name that is purposely aggressive and in your face. We want to be provocative and start a dialogue regarding social norms and what is or is not permissible in a society so strictly confined to an archaic way of thinking about science, the environment, race, gender, and the future of humanity. We want to challenge your way of thinking, we want you to challenge dogma, and question sociological norms. Godhunter is a name from a comic book originally. We gravitated towards the name because of its abrasiveness and the social/political imagery it immediately conjures. Our shirts are purposely offensive. Fuck your couch!
I’ve heard that you got your start in the hardcore scene. Is this right? Also, what was it like when you started being in a band and any changes in the scene since then?
I have been only been in punk or hardcore bands since I started singing back in the early 90’s. Before I joined Godhunter, I was in a band called Gat-Rot. I played with that band for the better part of 14 years. During that time we put out 3 CD’s, two cassette releases, and did a lot of touring. It was a really great experience. We played with so many amazing bands, and experienced the underground scene at what I believe to be one of the most exciting periods that underground music ever had. A small sampling of the bands we had the opportunity of playing with include: Botch, Dillinger Escape Plan, Indecision, Isis, Hatebreed, Boy Sets Fire, and Earth Crisis. What really drew me into the hardcore scene was the political aspect. Bands like Groundwork, Born Against, Struggle, and Downcast really were the catalyst that I needed to evolve as a person at that point in my life. Hardcore is such a positive environment to be around. It offered an environment that was critical of the world, while causing one to be deeply introspective at the same time. Hardcore offered me a method of catharsis. It offered a place of belonging, and allowed for the proliferation of an artistic musical community to evolve. It offered something for everyone, without pretence or prejudice. In the time that I have been a part of the underground scene a lot has changed. The internet was a massive game changer. And not always for the best either. It’s just a different era. I’m a lot older than what I was then and my perspective on politics and culture have evolved a lot since my early experiences in music. Without hardcore in my life, I would have been a very different person than what I am now. I used to be all about stage diving, moshing, and being the crazy guy in the front singing along to everything. I’m a tad mellower now days. However, whenever Converge plays, watch out. I will mess you up. I fucking love that band. They always get me going.
Talk to us about Wolves for a bit. How did the songs come about? What was the recording process like?
Recording Wolves was a fun process. After we did some road shows, we dropped the gear off at the studio. We recorded with Ryan Butler, from Landmine Marathon, at Arcane Studios. The drums were the first thing to be recorded. We did all of the instruments separately, as individual sessions. That process produces a sound more like what we intended. Also, it would be impossible for us to all record at the same time at that particular studio, given the space limitations. We tried to be as efficient as possible when we were recording. So, that means that we were more sober than usual during those sessions. Is this a good or a bad thing? You be the judge of that. I joined the band shortly fore we went into the studio. I was responsible for writing the lyrics on “(Stop Being) Sheep”. The other sings were basically completed before I even joined the band. Most of the songs on that album were a collaboration of the members that were in the band at the time we were in the studio, and a couple of guys that were in the band earlier, in previous incarnations of Godhunter.
The song Powerbelly was one of my favourite songs from last year. How did this song come about and who came up with that chorus?
That song has a fun chorus, and always gets a great crowd response. That song too was collaboration between David and Sean Raines. Sean did backing vocals for us on the last track on the CD called “Dead hooker on the side of the road”. He was in Godhunter for a while before I jammed as well. It was sort of a song that came about as a party anthem and is sort of about a guy we know in Texas. He’s a big boy, with a “powerbelly” himself. That song is all about rock-n-roll and just not giving a fuck.
You recently released a split with Inoculara. How did this come about and is it still available?
Yeah. That split 7” came out in October and is available through our Bigcartel site We have known the dudes from that band for a long time. I used to work with Adam, the screamer for Inoculara, at pizza place for around a year. He exposed me to a lot of good crust and punk when we worked in the kitchen together. We also did some road dates with them earlier this year. So, doing a split was just the natural thing to do. It is in limited run, pressed on off-white vinyl. So, if you want one, act fast. We have sold a lot of those already.
Any more splits coming up before the release of the full length?
We do not have any splits in the works. However, we will be releasing another single from Wolves out on vinyl before our next album. We are hoping to release The Road as a limited edition vinyl release sometime early next year. We will definitely be releasing the next album on 180-gram vinyl. We are really excited about that
That’s about it for part 1 of this interview. In part 2 (coming on January 8th), Charlie talks about the bands plans for the future, the upcoming album, a couple of peeks into the songwriting process and more…
