King Black Acid: Press

Willamette Weekly article from July 08'

Daniel Riddle claims he isn’t wearing any pants. Over the phone, he says he’s more comfortable this way.

Born on a hippie commune in the 1960s—he says he doesn’t know the actual date—Riddle grew up in the company of rockers; his mother’s boyfriend worked for the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Santana and the Allman Brothers. He moved to Portland from San Francisco in the late ’80s, becoming a recognizable face in the local rock scene as both a nine-year employee of Satyricon and as a member of world-renowned alt-rock band Hitting Birth. But it was in the early ’90s that he found his voice in King Black Acid.

Technically speaking, KBA is more a persona that exists to channel Riddle’s muse than a proper band—the musically experimental Mr. Hyde to Riddle’s Dr. Jekyll. And like a mad scientist, Riddle’s two KBA-fronted bands, the Starseed Transmission and Womb Star Orchestra, have crafted guitar-fueled, effects-heavy sonic free-for-alls that draw inspiration from a wide range of sources: Hendrix, Bowie, Pink Floyd—whatever strikes Riddle’s fancy. Both were known for ethereal, melancholy grooves and a hypnotic rock sound, and both went through multiple lineup changes and extended breaks. This most recent hiatus, as near as the flighty singer can tell, lasted about three years, but “other people keep better track of those things.”

Nowadays, Riddle is more concerned with simply “rocking out,” as well as enjoying his new role as father to daughter Emmi, “an angel of light” who was born last month. His latest musical incarnation is King Black Acid and the Sacred Heart, which played a “beta” show several months back so Riddle could try out new material and find just the right lineup of musicians. Joined by Jeff Trapp on guitars, Joseph Trump on drums, Thom Rusnak on bass and Rich Landar on keys, he’s finally ready to unleash the Sacred Heart—which, with it’s heavier, more super-charged sound, is poised to bring the rock in an epic way.

WW: What was the reason for this last hiatus?

Daniel Riddle: I kind of stopped doing KBA to work with [New York-via-Portland songwriter] James Angell. But I’ve been writing and rehearsing KBA stuff for about a year. Honestly, I took a break to become a high-level wizard, which I am now. Now I’m fuckin’ ready to rock.

What’s the difference between the Sacred Heart and your earlier bands?

Each has had their own individuality and has been different. With the Sacred Heart, there was a very conscious effort to distill the music of KBA. That’s what’s great about being a wizard. You can use mystical alchemy to cook down, condense and distill the sonic message. Now the music is heavy like a Chevy, with more hooks than a fuckin’ pirate convention.

Did you just describe your music as “heavy like a Chevy, with more hooks than a pirate convention”?

It’s epic, man. Like punching an evil vampire unicorn in the face—just punching it in the face and watching his vampire fangs get knocked out of his ass. Musically speaking, of course.

How has domestic life changed KBA?

I don’t know that it has. I don’t think it has. I might have to put my pants on to answer that question.

How about this: Have aspects of your life as a father made it into any of the new music?

Not really. It’s just sexy stuff. It’s about rockin’ out. The stories that come to mind are not domestic. It’s epic. The songs are epic tales of adventure.

Like punching an evil unicorn in the face?

Like punching an evil vampire unicorn in the face.

Will Sacred Heart be performing any old KBA songs, or is this all new material?

Right now I’m just doing one song from Loves a Long Song, everything else is all new material. At this point I’m so excited about the new stuff that I just don’t want to go backwards, or go slow. This new stuff is not about going slow. It’s like peeling out.

Peeling out? Like in a car?

It’s just like peeling out. You’re in the car, one hand hanging outside the window, and you just peel out. Previous KBA songs were forlorn and haunted. The new territory is glorious and feel good. And epic—like punching an evil vampire unicorn in the face. And sexy. Put that in the interview.

King Black Acid, for those of you who have missed out on the last 10 years of brilliant music produced here in our own verdant land, justflat-out fucking rocks. They take you on a trip. And from what I’ve seen it is a trip you will want to take. They came out and played their hearts out on that lofty stage.

From the moment King Black Acid struck its final note we were ready. We waited for what seemed like an eternity backstage just bouncing in place or swirling glasses, or just staring at the darkness waiting for the flashlight signal.

As soon as we crossed into the light we could feel that the people gathered there were glowing in some way. We fed on that like mother’s milk and got more powerful and dangerous every moment. The songs blew out of the band like smoke. And in the end, when King Black Acid came back on stage to join us for a final song, we knew that there was no air left in the room.

And now we chomp at the bit, waiting as patiently as we can for the next show.
-RW

By: Alex Steininger (In Music We Trust)Portland, Oregon's King Black Acid has been around for quite some time, releasing a handful of records on well-respected indie Cavity Search Records (home of Elliott Smith's debut, Roman Candle). Over the years the band has garnered a hard-fought measure of success and recognition; most recently, eight KBA songs appear on the soundtrack of a big-budget Hollywood movie, the Richard Gere-vehicle The Mothman Prophecies. "Lakeshore Records approached us about making a demo for the movie. We wrote a song for a specific scene. They liked the song but were not sure it fit the scene. After a few tries we hit it," says King Black Acid front man Daniel Riddle. "Then we had all these extra songs that fit the vibe of the movie, so we tossed in a few more and made it an eight-song deal. The whole thing happened so fast and so last-minute. To understand Daniel Riddle (or to try to do so) is to understand King Black Acid, a band that is known for its long, drawn out space-jam songs, a band that also writes spacey-pop songs clocking in at a short (for them) five minutes. The groups songs are slow, methodical, and intricate, able to break away and jam, yet snap back into focus and structure smoothly. They are a group of musicians who know each other and the music inside and out. But for all the intricacy and space-oriented sonic creations the band builds upon, the focal point of King Black Acid, Daniel Riddle, can be a mystery himself. A mad genius in every sense of the word, Riddle has a great sense of humor and can joke like nobody else. When talking with him, however, you wonder if he's joking around with you or being serious, as he seems to be nothing but serious when it comes to playing music, but talking about his music is a different story. Despite being as funny as he is talented, Riddle knows his music and when pressed to talk about it, will freely and openly discuss his opinions and observations to anyone who asks. "Most of our time was spent negotiating, discussing, debating, arguing, and waiting... lots of waiting," Riddle comments on the negotiations with Lakeshore Records. "We really started our focus on the music at the last possible second. The masters left our hand into an overnight delivery truck while we pulled our hair out and ranted about how we wish we could have fixed that vocal or finish that piano part or re-track the scratch guitars or take the time to mix the damn thing properly! It was crazy. Yes, we did feel like the music was getting pushed aside... it was. Mixing emotionally based art and financially based business together is a very dangerous prospect. It will drive people out of their fucking minds and often times right out of their bodies." With a soundtrack under their belts, what else can we expect from King Black Acid? "I'm busy trying to figure out how I'm gonna pay the electric bill and get my teeth fixed," says Riddle, not even close to joking. "The band is busy working on our live show, gearing up for a bunch of small tours, and trying to keep our eyes on the prize. I plan on making many more full length records." The conversation quickly turns to making records and the cost inherent in recording them. "I make them as I can afford them," replies Riddle. Loves a Long Song (KBAs last full-length, on Cavity Search Records) took me a year and a half to make because I made it mostly at home paying for it with my day job and a few bucks from playing shows. I'm often crippled with frustration at the lack of funding and support in the record industry. The Nirvana backlash has really taken a toll on the musical artists who do not project a bubble gum boy band, diet soda, adolescent pornographic image like fake breasts on teenage Mouseketeers on which the listener can float to safety in a sea of new cars, fast computers, red white and blue eatable Olympic underwear signed by Catholic priests immune from aids and prosecution, murder on the news every fucking day and so many products to try... um... what was the question?" Has Riddle ever pondered the idea of doing a solo record? "I'm not sure I could stand to be alone with myself long enough to make a solo album," Riddle quickly replies. "Not to mention the fact that I have surrounded myself with musicians who have so much to offer my songs that it would be a crime against humanity to not use them. They are at times just as much 'King Black Acid' as I am. I ask Riddle where he sees King Black Acid in five years. Incorporating humor with his vision, he gives me a witty reply, even taking a stab at local press for ignoring King Black Acid, a band that can draw more people to its local shows than any other band in Portland. "Touring, making records, scoring film, playing shows on the space station, drinking all the pop, playing all the rock, feeling the love...and maybe even getting an article written about us in the local press!"

Portland-based guitarist Daniel Riddle, a founding member of industrial combo Hitting Birth Family Circus, originally launched King Black Acid as a solo side project, but eventually it became a real band (King Black Acid And The Womb Star Orchestra) with keyboardist Melinda Dicillo, guitarist Roger Campos, bassist Nathan Jorg, drummer Scott Adamo (ex Wipers), percussionist Joe Trump (ex Pigface). The single Caterpillar Blood (Ruckus, 1995) and the posthumous EP Into The Sun (Starseed, 1999) capture their early, raw sound. Their performances were soon legendary.
The real deal, though, was the albumd Womb Star Sessions (Cavity Search, 1995), that contains four lengthy jams: the 10-minute The Wave (with samples of chanting monks), the 18-minute Aloha, the 15-minute Alone On Mars (with a poppy refrain that leads to a demonic freak-out) and the 10-minute Autumn. It was blues-based space-rock, something different from the mighty Oregon school of garage-rock, something that mixed and disfigured Red Crayola, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Doors, Mercury Rev, My Bloody Valentine, etc.

Sunlit (Cavity Search, 1996) offers a gentler, dreamier, dilated sound. The tracks are even longer: twenty minutes for Somethings Must Be Believed To Be seen and eighteen for Headfull. But the third and last track, Think Away makes up for the languor with a 22-minute devastating freak-out.

Royal Subjects (Cavity Search, 1997), the soundtrack for a film that apparently never materialized, refined their atmospheric experiments. While not as wildly original and spontaneous as the previous albums, it achieved a classical sound of sort. The main tracks were structured and well-planned like progressive-rock suites, rather than chaotic free-form improvistations. Except for The 144,000 Member Acid Army (with didjeridoo) and Royal Subjects (both a quarter of an hour), the songs were also shorter. 60 Cycles Numb and Only Wine Will Tell seemed attempts at focusing rather than expanding the mind and recall Brian Eno at his most abstract (but not yet ambient).

King Black Acid broke up in 1997 and the following year they transformed into Starseed Transmission. But then somehow the band reconstituted and released a new album, the sprawling Loves A Long Song (Cavity Search, 2000). The songs (eight of them, each about 10-minute long) continue the metamorphosis towards a more traditional structure and performance, although they maintain Riddle's penchant for hypnotic codas and for contrasting gently-morphing phases with hard-hitting phases, implosions with explosions, introversion with extroversion. Not only School Blood recalls late-period Pink Floyd and Colorado rediscovers the format of the orchestral ballad, but standout tracks Into the Sun and Butterfly Bomb are fundamentally catchy progressive-rock. The album even gains spiritual depth from the celestial psalm, Gentle Collapse, that closes it.