Bob Pantella - Riotgod
Bob Pantella is a busy guy. As if being the full time kit man for Monster Magnet wouldn’t keep anybody more than challenged, Bob also handles the sticks for The Atomic Bitchwax. Both bands have been working on new material and they are set to drop new records this year. But it’s Pantella’s true passion project that we will be delving into in this interview. Along with good friend and fellow Monster Magnet alumni Jim Baglino (Bass), this most heavy duty of dudes has enlisted the talents of guitarist extraordinaire Garrett Sweeny and a voice simply known as Sunshine to create a true testament to Rock’N’Roll in the form of Riotgod. This album is, essentially, Hard Rock defined. Bob Pantella recently caught up with Metal Exiles and shared some insight with us.
Interview with Bob Pantella (Drums) of Riotgod
By Rob ”Bubbs” Harris
Metal Exiles: Thanks for the chat, Bob. How are things on your end?
Pantella: Good, man. I’m actually sitting in a bar, having a beer and some grub, watching football.
Metal Exiles: Sounds like a winner, pal. I dig the Riotgod record a lot. Don’t take this the wrong way, but it reminds me of the album, Soup, by Blind Melon. Not so much in an exact sense, but in the complete feel of the album.
Pantella: Wow! I don’t take that the wrong way at all, but I can’t say I’ve ever heard that before. We’ve had our stuff compared to all kinds of bands, but never Blind Melon. That’s pretty cool. We get Soundgarden all the fuckin’ time, which isn’t a bad thing, I guess. I love Soundgarden. But yeah, we get compared to a few bands a lot.
Metal Exiles: Like I said, it isn’t the exact sound that strikes me familiar. I just get the same overall vibe from both records. Your album has sixteen very different tracks that go from high to low, to heavy, to melodic and back again. That Blind Melon joint does the same thing, and I can pick up small hints of Shannon Hoon in Sunshine.
Pantella: That’s awesome that you feel that way. We definitely wanted to make a diverse, yet complete record, and I think we did that.
Metal Exiles: The press has been eating the album up. Are you blown away by the response so far?
Pantella: I am. When it all started, we were just wanting to jam on some tunes and see what happened. There was no solid plan or anything. It was kind of like, whatever happens next happens next. It has since become something much more than that. We’re very happy that the response to the album has been good so far, but at the end of the day, we made a record that we enjoy by playing the kind of music that we love, so it’s a win/win.
Metal Exiles: Riotgod has been considered a side project for you and Jim, but since you guys are the driving force behind this band, has Riotgod become more like your main squeeze?
Pantella: For me personally, it’s my main thing. I play in four bands, Monster Magnet, The Atomic Bitchwax and Cycle of Pain, along with Riotgod. This is my passion project, much like Monster Magnet is Dave’s (Wyndorf) thing, and Cycle of Pain is JD’s (Black Label Society) brainchild. For me, the other ones are my side projects as far as creatively.
Metal Exiles: You dudes have a big European jaunt that you’re about to go on. What about US dates? Are you going to take Riotgod out on a full scale trek across the states when you get back?
Pantella: It all depends on how time unwinds itself. The difficult thing about being in four bands is, you’re either recording or touring during most of your time. Sometimes things overlap, but I’m getting used to it. With the new Monster Magnet record coming out in October, Jim and I will be heading out with them for six weeks or so. I’d like to get Riotgod out in January or sometime around then for a big US tour. We’ll probably be hanging out at NAMM this year too, so you never know where or when we’ll pop up next.
Metal Exiles: Any ideas on who you’d like to take out with you when touring is possible?
Pantella: Not a clue. It’s pretty much going to be about us trying to get our name out there. We’ll probably have local openers or something like that. We’ll see what happens.
Metal Exiles: Are you the main force in the songwriting department?
Pantella: For the most part. I write most of the music, but the other guys help to fill in the blanks, and they had a few ideas that we liked and used. It’s a four way split though, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want Riotgod to be one of those bands that has the one guy that controls everything. It’s a cancer. This is a rock band, and it’s even amongst us.
Metal Exiles: The Stoner Rock label has been attached to your music. Do you embrace that, or do you feel as if it’s more of a simple Rock’N’Roll style? Although, I will say this; It probably wouldn’t hurt to be baked when listening to this album.
Pantella: I don’t really think we’re a Stoner Rock band. There may be a few nuances that resemble a few bands from that genre, but Riotgod is just a no nonsense Rock’N’Roll band. We’re all a little older now, me being in my forties, and we all grew up listening to the same shit, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and stuff like that, so that’s pretty much what we were going for with Riotgod.
Metal Exiles: The video for “Light of the Sun” is pretty cool. It reminds me a lot of those old Sabbath or Free videos with the trippy backgrounds and simple effects. I understand you used the lemonade process on that one, can you please explain this method?
Pantella: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. We spent like zero dollars on that. We put up some material on the walls and played to the track and our buddy Mark edited the whole thing and actually made it look decent. I shit you not, that was a no budget endeavor. It does have that old early seventies music video vibe to it.
Metal Exiles: Well, as I said before, I really dig the Riotgod record and I look forward to catching you guys live and hearing some new music from you in the future.
Pantella: Thanks, man. We’re always writing material, so new music won’t be a problem. We’ll see what we can’t do about putting a cool tour together for the states early next year. As far as this album goes, there’s no secret messages or any big plan behind it. It’s just a rock record and we hope people enjoy it, because we sure as hell do.
Buy Riotgod
Riotgod Online
Interview with Bob Pantella (Drums) of Riotgod
By Rob ”Bubbs” Harris
Metal Exiles: Thanks for the chat, Bob. How are things on your end?
Pantella: Good, man. I’m actually sitting in a bar, having a beer and some grub, watching football.
Metal Exiles: Sounds like a winner, pal. I dig the Riotgod record a lot. Don’t take this the wrong way, but it reminds me of the album, Soup, by Blind Melon. Not so much in an exact sense, but in the complete feel of the album.
Pantella: Wow! I don’t take that the wrong way at all, but I can’t say I’ve ever heard that before. We’ve had our stuff compared to all kinds of bands, but never Blind Melon. That’s pretty cool. We get Soundgarden all the fuckin’ time, which isn’t a bad thing, I guess. I love Soundgarden. But yeah, we get compared to a few bands a lot.
Metal Exiles: Like I said, it isn’t the exact sound that strikes me familiar. I just get the same overall vibe from both records. Your album has sixteen very different tracks that go from high to low, to heavy, to melodic and back again. That Blind Melon joint does the same thing, and I can pick up small hints of Shannon Hoon in Sunshine.
Pantella: That’s awesome that you feel that way. We definitely wanted to make a diverse, yet complete record, and I think we did that.
Metal Exiles: The press has been eating the album up. Are you blown away by the response so far?
Pantella: I am. When it all started, we were just wanting to jam on some tunes and see what happened. There was no solid plan or anything. It was kind of like, whatever happens next happens next. It has since become something much more than that. We’re very happy that the response to the album has been good so far, but at the end of the day, we made a record that we enjoy by playing the kind of music that we love, so it’s a win/win.
Metal Exiles: Riotgod has been considered a side project for you and Jim, but since you guys are the driving force behind this band, has Riotgod become more like your main squeeze?
Pantella: For me personally, it’s my main thing. I play in four bands, Monster Magnet, The Atomic Bitchwax and Cycle of Pain, along with Riotgod. This is my passion project, much like Monster Magnet is Dave’s (Wyndorf) thing, and Cycle of Pain is JD’s (Black Label Society) brainchild. For me, the other ones are my side projects as far as creatively.
Metal Exiles: You dudes have a big European jaunt that you’re about to go on. What about US dates? Are you going to take Riotgod out on a full scale trek across the states when you get back?
Pantella: It all depends on how time unwinds itself. The difficult thing about being in four bands is, you’re either recording or touring during most of your time. Sometimes things overlap, but I’m getting used to it. With the new Monster Magnet record coming out in October, Jim and I will be heading out with them for six weeks or so. I’d like to get Riotgod out in January or sometime around then for a big US tour. We’ll probably be hanging out at NAMM this year too, so you never know where or when we’ll pop up next.
Metal Exiles: Any ideas on who you’d like to take out with you when touring is possible?
Pantella: Not a clue. It’s pretty much going to be about us trying to get our name out there. We’ll probably have local openers or something like that. We’ll see what happens.
Metal Exiles: Are you the main force in the songwriting department?
Pantella: For the most part. I write most of the music, but the other guys help to fill in the blanks, and they had a few ideas that we liked and used. It’s a four way split though, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want Riotgod to be one of those bands that has the one guy that controls everything. It’s a cancer. This is a rock band, and it’s even amongst us.
Metal Exiles: The Stoner Rock label has been attached to your music. Do you embrace that, or do you feel as if it’s more of a simple Rock’N’Roll style? Although, I will say this; It probably wouldn’t hurt to be baked when listening to this album.
Pantella: I don’t really think we’re a Stoner Rock band. There may be a few nuances that resemble a few bands from that genre, but Riotgod is just a no nonsense Rock’N’Roll band. We’re all a little older now, me being in my forties, and we all grew up listening to the same shit, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and stuff like that, so that’s pretty much what we were going for with Riotgod.
Metal Exiles: The video for “Light of the Sun” is pretty cool. It reminds me a lot of those old Sabbath or Free videos with the trippy backgrounds and simple effects. I understand you used the lemonade process on that one, can you please explain this method?
Pantella: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. We spent like zero dollars on that. We put up some material on the walls and played to the track and our buddy Mark edited the whole thing and actually made it look decent. I shit you not, that was a no budget endeavor. It does have that old early seventies music video vibe to it.
Metal Exiles: Well, as I said before, I really dig the Riotgod record and I look forward to catching you guys live and hearing some new music from you in the future.
Pantella: Thanks, man. We’re always writing material, so new music won’t be a problem. We’ll see what we can’t do about putting a cool tour together for the states early next year. As far as this album goes, there’s no secret messages or any big plan behind it. It’s just a rock record and we hope people enjoy it, because we sure as hell do.
Buy Riotgod
Riotgod Online
