BVC015: Matthew Putman of Living Sacrifice, Eso-Charis, Lovedrug, and every other band ever.
Jesse and Trav had to do one without the powers of the Seth, but we at BVCHQ couldn't be happier with how this one turned out. Matt has what could be considered an indie drummer's "dream resume." This guy has played with everybody; just check his wiki page. We went a little long but that's because Matt has so much ground to cover. With stories like his unorthodox way of joining Living Sacrifice, breaking up overseas with Eso-Charis and leaving for Ohio to do a short stint with Lovedrug and staying for two years, we're sure you won't mind a little overtime.
Here are a ton of show notes:
Matt did quite a bit of work for us for this show. He is a great guy and we recommend checking out all of his musical endeavors...and there are quite a few. We'll get you started:
Ok so is Matt's wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Putman_(musician)
Here is a link to a dropbox folder of all of the music that Matt sent us to hear:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3m78poooml3n1f6/AAALstiHtgJK7Txv5n-5TreMa?dl=0
Here is the list of music in the dropbox folder Matt sent us, plus a small bio of each song:
Benchmark - The Reality of Distance
I'm pretty sure that Benchmark were the first Fort Smith band that released a 7", but I might be wrong. There are 3 songs and they all rip. This is what we called "Emo" before bands like SDRE (whom I love) and Promise Ring took over the genre and definition. This 7" was a huge influence on Eso-Charis.
Rash Of Beatings - Pig Raped Citizen
This is probably the 2nd 7" released by a Fort Smith band, and it was revolutionary. Punk Grindcore, fast and violent. These guys were legends around here, and still friends to this day. This song is a personal favorite. It was recorded LIVE with Barry Poynter, no overdubs. Each song is one take and the whole thing just melts. Barry did a ton of records with T&N/SS. He said these guys had BO, which is awesome.
Burned Up Bled Dry - Count On Yourself
BUBD was basically Benchmark with the bass player switching to guitar (because he's a riff-master). Awesome Grindcore with a punk feel. They also recorded this entire 7" (Cloned Slaves For Slaves) LIVE with Barry Poynter. Eso-Charis played lots of shows with BUBD back in the day.
Eso-Charis - The Absolute Progress of a Nothing Day
This song is from our only 7", titled "Setting Roots For Winter", released on Deadself Recordings (Jarrod Norris). It had the last 2 songs we ever wrote, recorded after we broke up. It's a SUPER crusty recording, but that's how we wanted it. We took our budget and worked with our friend Matt Depper to buy equipment so we could record it ourselves. We had no idea what we were doing, but we took our time in the studio and added lots of other sounds. It's lo-fi, but I'm really proud of it. I've seen this 7" go for $50 and higher on Ebay.
Current bands I am involved with
Bear Colony - Flask Retort
This song is from my band Bear Colony. It was released on our sophomore album "Soft Eyes" in late 2012 on Esperanza Plantation, an awesome record label out of Jackson, MS. This album marked my first time producing, composing, and performing. It was a blast. I created the main section for this song using acapella vocal samples from the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" sessions.
Family History - Howlin'
This is my band with Chase Pagan, whom I've recorded and played with for a decade. Chase decided he wanted more of a band feel for his next album, so he wrote some amazing songs and enlisted awesome players to join us. We tracked the bulk of it with my brother Adam (Insomniac Studios) and added percussion and vocals in my garage. I love this album and hope it see's the light of day eventually.
Prom Nights - Pissswap
This is my band with an old friend, Evan Garner. He played in Benchmark and Burned Up Bled Dry. He is the riff-master that I mentioned previously. This is just the two of us fucking around in my garage. The best description would be instru-metal with a mathy bent. I recorded these tracks in my garage (turd) and my brother Adam (Insomniac Studios) did an awesome mix/master job on them (polished turd). It's a fun project with a good friend.
Fear Is The Driving Force - Diet Cocaine Habit
This is a band with my brother Cory, who plays in Norma Jean and started Eso-Charis with me. We grew up playing Slayer and Alice-in-Chains riffs together in our parents basement, so the chemistry is great. He is also a riff master and writes songs that blow my mind. We are working on our full length album, and it's close. This is just a demo that we did to raise funds for the full length.