Inspired by bands such as The Misfits and The B-52s comes a whole new genre of horror-themed music- horror surf rock. I had the ultimate pleasure of catching a wave and chatting with both Greg Regular and Scary Gary about the foundations of The Creature Preachers.
How did the band come to be?
Greg: We’ve been playing in bands since we were kids but this band came about during the pandemic so it’s only a year old. We’ve been fans of Surf Rock for a long time and it was always kinda understood that we’d eventually start a Surf [Rock] project. For whatever reason, the time just felt right to finally make it happen.
Gary: What he said, lol. We learned how to write well together over the years and with this band it felt like the world kind of opened up for us to do it and go full steam ahead. So far, nothing has been very challenging for both of us or the band’s success.
Who inspired your sound?
Greg: How much time do you have? Lol. Everything we listen to has inspired us and influenced us in one way or another, but the biggest inspirations for me personally with this band are The Misfits, The Ghastly Ones, The Ventures, The Cramps, The Pixies, The Toadies, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and White Zombie. But I could keep going!
Gary: Greg and I grew up in a town where if you didn’t know any Metallica songs you weren’t playing with anyone. Oddly, guitar isn’t our first instrument either. Greg started with drums and I started on bass; and in our respective circles, we did pretty well. Greg stayed pretty true to metal and punk on his guitar work while I got taken by the indie wave of the early 2000s. We’re metal/punk guys and both huge Mike Patton fans but The Pixies and Misfits taught us how to play guitar.
What is the writing process like? Does music or lyrics come first?
Greg: Well, we’re an instrumental band so we don’t usually have lyrics. But there’s really no concrete writing process. Sometimes it’s music, sometimes it’s lyrics. Most of the time for us it starts with a riff. Our usual process is to jam with one of us on guitar and the other on drums. If it sounds good we’ll record a quick demo and let it marinate for a while. If we still dig it when we come back to it we’ll make a song out of it.
Gary: Ditto, Greg and I write really well together. It’s the unmentioned skill no one teaches you in music. We grew up with the same likes and dislikes so in a way it’s a bit like he's my musical twin. I could start a phrase on guitar and he’d think for a second and write exactly where the rest of it needed to go.
Who is your favorite horror monster from any era?
Greg: Again, how much time do you got? I’ve been fascinated by all things scary, spooky, and supernatural for as long as I can remember. That’s a very tough question though. But if I can only pick one, I gotta give it up to the O.G. himself: Dracula. I must’ve dressed up as Dracula for Halloween for like 10 years straight as a kid. It doesn’t get any more iconic.
Gary: Pumpkinhead! He was the scariest thing I’d ever seen at the age of seven, and when I saw the movie for the first time I was just in awe of how much personality he had for such a gruesome monster. The way people talk about seeing the first movie monsters in the theater is how I felt about Pumpkinhead.
What do you love about the fans?
Greg: Just the fact that they’re our fans. It’s hard for me to believe that anyone would like our music enough to call themselves a fan so I just appreciate them for digging us.
Gary: I know it sounds selfish, but for me, it’s validating. I’ve always played music but the approval of strangers or even people that really dig us, to me that just makes all this have a new meaning. There’s a point where you ask yourself if your music is really just for you anymore.
Where can readers find you on the interwebs?
Greg: We’re all over the place. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp, our label website, and all the music streaming services.
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