When I first heard about Beatallica, I wondered how in the hell can you mix those two bands together. Logically they are on two different planes of thought but it is rock music and stranger things have been done before. Thankfully, Jaymz Lennfield, the guitarist/singer extraordinaire of Beatallica, checked in to set the whole Beatallica entity straight.
An interview with Jaymz Lennfield of Beatallica.
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: You guys are well known in certain circles but not everybody knows what Beatallica is. What makes Beatallica work?
Jaymz Lennfield: I can give you the sly answer by saying whisky and beer but honestly that the people in Beatallica are not only in multiple bands but we also do studio engineering, live sound, tour managing etc. We have this all-encompassing thing with Beatallica as far as experience goes. The main thing is that since we are in original bands, we know how to craft songs. That is the most integral part of it. Grg Hammettson, our guitar player, is a huge Beatles fan, so we knew he had to hop on board. Kliff Mcburtney, our bass player, is the one that is chomping at the bit to record CD number 3. Even though we are out on tour for Masterful Mystery he is a studio guy so that is where he wants to be. It is a working, breathing functioning band like any other band.
Metal Exiles: You almost answered my second question but I will put it in the context of this band. A few years ago you were only allowed to have downloads of your songs available so how were you able to make the band survive for almost a decade before you were allowed to sell the music?
Jaymz: Because we are in different projects making money, we are able to make this work. Grg was the touring guitar player for the Violent Femmes and his studio is his bread and butter, he is a union guy. He does sound for different shows as well and I play in a bunch of different bands, touring here in the Midwest so I am busy when Beatallica is not touring. You cannot pigeonhole yourself into just one thing; I mean the Beatles were dabbling into many different things: Pop, rock, country, the fledgling idea of metal. They were never sheltered by what was pop music.
Metal Exiles: I have half of the Beatles remastered catalog. I salivated for the day those were coming out. I have everything from Rubber Soul up because the stuff beforehand was too poppy for me.
Jaymz: It may have been poppy but the song craftsmanship is something to look at. I go back in forth between Revolver and Rubber Soul as my two favorite records by the Beatles. I think that is when they came into their own as songwriters. Not only grabbing the listener but also taking them to a place in the song later on that they did not expect.
Metal Exiles: What made sense to mesh the music of the Beatles and Metallica together?
Jaymz: That is not us; you just cannot take two songs and make them work. If you start forcing the issue on a song, it will sound awkward and stilted, like it was a mistake. It is the same thing with Beatallica, you just cannot throw things together just because you like a lyrical idea or if the music is in the same key. There are some intangibles in music that you can just neglect. My fav Metallica song and favorite Beatles song have never been used in a composition together because they just do not work.
Metal Exiles: What are your favorite songs from each one of them?
Jaymz: “Disposable Heroes” and “In My Life” are my two favorites. Sometimes I am thankful I am smart enough that I know that it just is not there for them. Maybe in a few years I will get it and come upon something that will make them work. We are always learning, especially when we are starting to compose, how we individually think about music.
Metal Exiles: What do you think of mash ups outside of what you do?
Jaymz: We have had people call us up and say we would love to use Beatallica in a mash up with other things. I had one kid tell me he would love to do a mash up of Megadeth and Minor Threat and I told him he has to call it Minordeth and he said, “that was what I was thinking”. It was cool that other people are inspired by what we do.
Metal Exiles: You were finally able to release all of your stuff on CD after all of the legal issues were done. How does that affect your survival as a band?
Jaymz: Well, anybody can make a CD, you can have a band take their demo to a mastering plant and make a CD. On this tour, the label is trying a thing called a dropcard. I told the label I would not buy one if it were me. I want a CD, I want stuff, and I want vinyl. I want the big posters when I am buying the four KISS solo albums, you know what I mean? I know there are kids that come to see you, they grew up on iPods, mp3 players, and the drop card is for them. It is not My preference but it is ok. If Beatallica does the vinyl thing it will be great but you might have the person who grew up in the 90s and they are the CD guy, everybody has a different cup of tea. I love vinyl but I am a CD guy so it is what you like.
Metal Exiles: I do see that your label is working on getting your releases issued as vinyl LPs.
Jaymz: People in Europe have been asking us for vinyl so we really want to get it out.
Metal Exiles: I know on “Winter Plumberland” you had a few originals of your own. Are you going to pursue that again or stay with the Beatles/Metallica thing?
Jaymz: I would like to do another but you have to temper that enthusiasm. When people buy a Beatallica CD or hear it on the radio, they are going to have a certain expectation. They are going to want to hear that certain thing you are known for. If you start doing too much of your original music on a CD, it might take away from what a listener is really expecting or desiring. I can see us doing a few more originals but I think if you start doing that then you are not doing Beatallica. We have outlets for our original stuff and we have done our originals live but if you start doing to many then you confuse the listener.
Metal Exiles: That is understandable because if they listen to you then they want to hear the mash ups, not what you are doing originally.
Jaymz: It is kind of as if you are fighting the urge. You may have people that do not like what we do and try and rip us on that so you have the urge to show them what you can do, you want to say “look, we know what we are doing, see?”.
Metal Exiles: You are doing the Masterful Mystery Tour so what brings people out to see you live?
Jaymz: Everything about us is live. There are no samples, no sequencing, no turntables. Two guitars, a bass and drums. There are three vocals up from, 4 if Ringo is feeling spry behind the drums that night. There are no other bands doing the interweaving of lyrical and musical ideas quite like we are doing. I think that is a great thing about the project because it prohibits the band from getting lost in our thoughts on stage because we end up thinking “oh, that Beatles song we have been listening to is now this”. I get people telling me they cannot sing “Hey Jude” anymore, they just end up singing “Hey Dude”. We try and make the show interactive because when people see you up close it is different. When you are in the studio you can do whatever you want but when they see it live and you are throwing it down people can say “wow, it is actually a working live band”.
Metal Exiles: Any last words for the fans?
Jaymz: If you come to a show then I will probably be the one watching Sports Center. If there is not a game on, we can have a beer and hang out and even if there is a game on lets hang out before the show.
Beatallica is the ultimate cover band doing two of the most influential bands together in their songs. If you want something completely different then you have to get into these guys.
Official Beatallica Site
BUY Masterful Mystery Tour!
An interview with Jaymz Lennfield of Beatallica.
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: You guys are well known in certain circles but not everybody knows what Beatallica is. What makes Beatallica work?
Jaymz Lennfield: I can give you the sly answer by saying whisky and beer but honestly that the people in Beatallica are not only in multiple bands but we also do studio engineering, live sound, tour managing etc. We have this all-encompassing thing with Beatallica as far as experience goes. The main thing is that since we are in original bands, we know how to craft songs. That is the most integral part of it. Grg Hammettson, our guitar player, is a huge Beatles fan, so we knew he had to hop on board. Kliff Mcburtney, our bass player, is the one that is chomping at the bit to record CD number 3. Even though we are out on tour for Masterful Mystery he is a studio guy so that is where he wants to be. It is a working, breathing functioning band like any other band.
Metal Exiles: You almost answered my second question but I will put it in the context of this band. A few years ago you were only allowed to have downloads of your songs available so how were you able to make the band survive for almost a decade before you were allowed to sell the music?
Jaymz: Because we are in different projects making money, we are able to make this work. Grg was the touring guitar player for the Violent Femmes and his studio is his bread and butter, he is a union guy. He does sound for different shows as well and I play in a bunch of different bands, touring here in the Midwest so I am busy when Beatallica is not touring. You cannot pigeonhole yourself into just one thing; I mean the Beatles were dabbling into many different things: Pop, rock, country, the fledgling idea of metal. They were never sheltered by what was pop music.
Metal Exiles: I have half of the Beatles remastered catalog. I salivated for the day those were coming out. I have everything from Rubber Soul up because the stuff beforehand was too poppy for me.
Jaymz: It may have been poppy but the song craftsmanship is something to look at. I go back in forth between Revolver and Rubber Soul as my two favorite records by the Beatles. I think that is when they came into their own as songwriters. Not only grabbing the listener but also taking them to a place in the song later on that they did not expect.
Metal Exiles: What made sense to mesh the music of the Beatles and Metallica together?
Jaymz: That is not us; you just cannot take two songs and make them work. If you start forcing the issue on a song, it will sound awkward and stilted, like it was a mistake. It is the same thing with Beatallica, you just cannot throw things together just because you like a lyrical idea or if the music is in the same key. There are some intangibles in music that you can just neglect. My fav Metallica song and favorite Beatles song have never been used in a composition together because they just do not work.
Metal Exiles: What are your favorite songs from each one of them?
Jaymz: “Disposable Heroes” and “In My Life” are my two favorites. Sometimes I am thankful I am smart enough that I know that it just is not there for them. Maybe in a few years I will get it and come upon something that will make them work. We are always learning, especially when we are starting to compose, how we individually think about music.
Metal Exiles: What do you think of mash ups outside of what you do?
Jaymz: We have had people call us up and say we would love to use Beatallica in a mash up with other things. I had one kid tell me he would love to do a mash up of Megadeth and Minor Threat and I told him he has to call it Minordeth and he said, “that was what I was thinking”. It was cool that other people are inspired by what we do.
Metal Exiles: You were finally able to release all of your stuff on CD after all of the legal issues were done. How does that affect your survival as a band?
Jaymz: Well, anybody can make a CD, you can have a band take their demo to a mastering plant and make a CD. On this tour, the label is trying a thing called a dropcard. I told the label I would not buy one if it were me. I want a CD, I want stuff, and I want vinyl. I want the big posters when I am buying the four KISS solo albums, you know what I mean? I know there are kids that come to see you, they grew up on iPods, mp3 players, and the drop card is for them. It is not My preference but it is ok. If Beatallica does the vinyl thing it will be great but you might have the person who grew up in the 90s and they are the CD guy, everybody has a different cup of tea. I love vinyl but I am a CD guy so it is what you like.
Metal Exiles: I do see that your label is working on getting your releases issued as vinyl LPs.
Jaymz: People in Europe have been asking us for vinyl so we really want to get it out.
Metal Exiles: I know on “Winter Plumberland” you had a few originals of your own. Are you going to pursue that again or stay with the Beatles/Metallica thing?
Jaymz: I would like to do another but you have to temper that enthusiasm. When people buy a Beatallica CD or hear it on the radio, they are going to have a certain expectation. They are going to want to hear that certain thing you are known for. If you start doing too much of your original music on a CD, it might take away from what a listener is really expecting or desiring. I can see us doing a few more originals but I think if you start doing that then you are not doing Beatallica. We have outlets for our original stuff and we have done our originals live but if you start doing to many then you confuse the listener.
Metal Exiles: That is understandable because if they listen to you then they want to hear the mash ups, not what you are doing originally.
Jaymz: It is kind of as if you are fighting the urge. You may have people that do not like what we do and try and rip us on that so you have the urge to show them what you can do, you want to say “look, we know what we are doing, see?”.
Metal Exiles: You are doing the Masterful Mystery Tour so what brings people out to see you live?
Jaymz: Everything about us is live. There are no samples, no sequencing, no turntables. Two guitars, a bass and drums. There are three vocals up from, 4 if Ringo is feeling spry behind the drums that night. There are no other bands doing the interweaving of lyrical and musical ideas quite like we are doing. I think that is a great thing about the project because it prohibits the band from getting lost in our thoughts on stage because we end up thinking “oh, that Beatles song we have been listening to is now this”. I get people telling me they cannot sing “Hey Jude” anymore, they just end up singing “Hey Dude”. We try and make the show interactive because when people see you up close it is different. When you are in the studio you can do whatever you want but when they see it live and you are throwing it down people can say “wow, it is actually a working live band”.
Metal Exiles: Any last words for the fans?
Jaymz: If you come to a show then I will probably be the one watching Sports Center. If there is not a game on, we can have a beer and hang out and even if there is a game on lets hang out before the show.
Beatallica is the ultimate cover band doing two of the most influential bands together in their songs. If you want something completely different then you have to get into these guys.
Official Beatallica Site
BUY Masterful Mystery Tour!
