Interview Alex Petrovich The Mighty Nimbus

Lineup: Andy Campbell - Drums Dinis de Carvalho - Low-end Guitar Minnesota Pete Campbell - Lead Guitar Alex Petrovich - Vocals

Candlelight Records Presents: Entombed Crowbar Pro-Pain The Mighty Nimbus 2/15/05 Joe's on Weed St. Interviewer: Sharita Lumpkin

"To me it means the calm before or the mother of all storms."

This is what the band's name, The Mighty Nimbus, means  to vocalist, Alex Petrovich. However, the road the band has taken has been nothing but calm. From the start, vocalist, Eric Larson, who was originally from the band Alabama Thunderpussy, made it known that The Mighty Nimbus would be just a project and that he was always going to be in his original band. The next singer, Dan Soren, couldn't continue because he had personal problems which prevented him from continuing. Still, the band does have things to look forward to, their label Threeman Recordings, is backed by members of one of the biggest bands out of Sweden, Entombed Seeing that they come from a band that has a huge cult following, Sixty Watt Shaman.

In this interview, done via phone on 3/26/05, Alex clears up the lineup changes in the band as he also explains, he's been in the band for almost two years. The bio misleads you into thinking that Eric is still in the band when in fact he left to do the GWAR tour with Alabama Thunderpussy, thus leaving the band permanently. I asked him if he was related to the late basketball player Drazen Petrovich which he replied he wishes he was. Read on... 

Sharita: What went into you joining the Mighty Nimbus?

Alex: I was in a band here in Canada because I'm actually from Windsor, Ontario. The way it happened was, a couple of years ago when Sixty Watt Shaman was still around and Alabama Thunderpussy was doing their thing, we really got to know each other well through the bands hanging out and we liked each others [music]. We started all this talk about getting together through telephone conversations and email. We became really good friends. Dan was my favorite singer from the new school of heavy metal and rock n' roll but, he couldn't do it because of personal issues with The Mighty Nimbus. He did his first record with Eric, Pete, Vinnie and Andy, then right after that we did one tour and Eric couldn't make it so that's where I came in to play guitar.

We did 12 shows ending with the Emissions From The Monolith tour in Ohio. After that, Dan made it clear he couldn't do it anymore because of personal, marriage issues. Then they auditioned some new singers but the way Pete saw it was, my band here, Mr. Bones in Canada, had been influenced by Dan since day one, so it was the perfect piece. I came in to fill in for Dan, but now I am the full time singer, they just put up the press release a couple of days ago. It was on Underground Metal, Blabbermouth, BraveWords.com and also Threeman the record label.  

Sharita: Ok, that explains it. Where did the name the Mighty Nimbus come from?

Alex: Well basically The Might Nimbus is supposed to be the strongest being or thing, Pete actually came up with the name. To me it means the calm before or the mother of all storms. It's all intertwined and there are theories behind it that Pete [was] trying to work into the music. It's the Viking and the Nordic Mythology stuff and that's Pete's thing. It's supposed to be the heaviest band on earth, that's where we're pretty much going with it right now.

Sharita: As far as the songwriting, did Dan write most of the lyrics?

Alex: Yes, Dan took care of all the lyrics and Pete did all the riffs, he worked with Vinnie and Andy in the rehearsal space. They'd work out the arrangements and send them back to Dan. Dan worked out the final arrangements with the verses and choruses and how it's supposed to be throughout the song. Now with Dan out, I started writing the lyrics for the 2nd album. The way we're doing it now is trying to keep it the same way it was but, I'll be handling the lyrics and the vocals. The guys from Entombed will be involved with it as well.

Sharita: I did find out from the website that it is run by the members of Entombed, are you a big fan of theirs as well?

Alex: Yes, huge fan.

Sharita: Ok, so what's it like working for the band that you've been a fan of for so long?

Alex: It's amazing. It's like everybody [feels the same way]. We we're all fans before it happened. To be thrown in that position where you get to cheer for your heroes every single night, that alone is an honor. To be working for them and have two albums on Threeman is great and amazing.

Sharita: Well tell me a little about Threeman is it run by all the members or just one?

Alex: A few of the guys [are involved] but it's Alex [Hellid] mainly. There's also a guy named Dan who runs it [with them]. Alex is definitely the head of the operation.

Sharita: How did the band come to be on the Candlelight tour?

Alex: Candlelight signed us for distro and it just kind of took off from there. They sold tons of copies of the CD so everything was going really good. They figured that we would be the best opener for bands like Crowbar and Entombed.

Sharita: So are you self taught or did you have lessons?

Alex: Oh, completely self taught.

Sharita: Do you think that being self taught gives you a lot more freedom as opposed to taking lessons?

Alex: Definitely, when you're self taught you pick up the technical stuff as the years go by. You only realize the names of the scales and which ones are which after you've learned them all. Basically it's kind of like going backwards. Self taught players definitely have a creative edge over players with lessons. It's easier for them to go in different directions as opposed to those with lessons, even the song structure is different.

Sharita: What is the inspiration for the lyrics. Is it books or current events?

Alex: It's based on a little bit of everything but we're trying not to go into everyday life too much because it's played out. It's just really brutal heavy metal, but a lot slower.

Sharita: Yeah I was listening to a lot of the songs last night and I definitely hear a lot of Black Sabbath in there. On the website, it mentions that the music is described as doom metal.

Alex: Yeah, Black Sabbath is definitely a big influence. Dan is one of the greatest singers of today, he's in a league of his own. He always get compared to Phil Anselmo. They're influenced from the same generation of music, almost the same age; but yeah, in the music you can hear Black Sabbath and Rush, stoner metal.

Sharita: Ok, do you have a favorite Black Sabbath album?

Alex: Sabotage.

Sharita: Good one. What was it like touring with Pro-Pain, Crowbar and Entombed?

Alex: Amazing. Pete, who played in Sixty Watt Shaman got to see and play with these guys. It was pretty cool to do that with him all over again and as a new band. Playing with these guys, your heroes Entombed, and Curt from Crowbar was awesome. You quickly realize from the [beginning] that you can't be fans anymore, in order to get along you have to become buddies and respect  them.

The band is already a family and the other bands are like an extended one of your aunts and uncles. You realize that you couldn't live without these people, they're great. They made it really easy to put that rock star status aside.

Sharita: Ok, are there any future tour plans for The Mighty Nimbus?

Alex: Well we're recording in the summer, so the only thing is Europe in December.

Sharita: Is there a working title for the new album or is it in it's baby stages?

Alex: Yeah, it's in the baby stages right now. The music is pretty much done and redone. They pick the basic structure and then we will all get together and see what makes the most sense. As of right now, it's the heaviest theme album. It will be a lot more aggressive whereas the last one was a lot more laid back.

Sharita: Ok, cool. Would you consider your style to be a lot like Dan's or completely different?

Alex: When I first started, I was told by somebody at our show that Dan and I, were a lot  alike. They actually gave me the CD out of their stereo just because it was so uncanny. When I heard them, I felt this connection with Dan. I would say there are some similarities.

Sharita: So, do you have any favorite singers?

Alex: Yeah, I would say Pepper Keenan (Corrosion Of Conformity), the New Orleans scene is and always will be an amazing scene to draw influences from. More of my lyrics Palmer Thompson would be my most influential not even singer but writer; it's more off the wall than Dan's. It's going to be cool. 

Sharita: Do you have any favorite bands that are out now?

Alex: Out of the new stuff, I don't know how exactly new they are but High On Fire, the new COC album, Clutch. The whole stoner rock genre is really starting to catch on and I like it a lot.

Sharita: We just interviewed Matt Pike from High On Fire, he's really a nice guy.

Alex: Sleep was a great band too.

Sharita: Yeah he talked about that, he joked that they played drug induced music. Ok, my final question is what do you want people who haven't heard The Mighty Nimbus to walk away with.

Alex: Remember that these guys we're the heaviest thing they'd ever heard out the new school [of bands] coming out now.

Sharita: Well, thanks so much for talking with me Alex.

Alex: Thanks for everything, it was nice talking to you.


Thanks to Dave at Earsplit & to Andy Campbell for setting the interview up.

While waiting for the band's new release,

check out their self-titled CD which is available now