Philip sat down with guitarists Ryan McClain and Oscar Sparbel at the Tube in Portland, OR on September 27, 2010.

When it comes to today's Metal scene, the capitol of Washington State is pretty much just known for one band, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM. However, the Pacific Northwest is burgeoning with talented Metal acts and there is another shining star in Olympia waiting to be discovered by the multitude and that is CHRISTIAN MISTRESS. With a solid base of influences from the NWOBHM and classic Hard Rock, CHRISTIAN MISTRESS breathe new life into a tried and true style with their own unique take on things and a very high level of energy. They recently released their debut album, Agony & Opium, and followed the release with a tour supporting THRONES.

Phil: This is your first bit of extended touring - what are your expectations for it and how nervous are you?

Oscar: Not nervous at all, just excited. Just want to see some new stuff and play some places we've never played before.

Ryan: I think a lot of us are just way stoked about the tour, being that some of us have never toured the other side of the States, so we're just amped and really excited to go, play some new shows, see some new faces.

Phil: How do you think the THRONES' fanbase will react to you?

Oscar: I'm not sure.

Ryan: I think it's gonna definitely be a pretty eclectic bill, so a lot different. Hopefully a new fanbase that would be into it. I think that would be the ideal situation. [laughs]

Phil: Tell us a bit about your debut album, Agony & Opium.

Oscar: Yeah, our debut album, Agony & Opium, is a shorter album, but we're just stoked to…. What would you say about it, Ryan? I'm out of words right now [laughs]

Ryan: Well, it's a shorter recording, but we kind of did that to keep people wanting more. We also re-recorded one song from the demo, the song "Poison Path" we brought back just to give people something they might have already heard. But yeah, I don't know - just playing Rock music.

Phil: What is the song writing process like for CHRISTIAN MISTRESS?

Ryan: Oscar wrote most of Agony & Opium, but previous to that we… like, one of us would write a song and we would just bring it to the table and have everybody else learn it or just throw their ideas in. And we did collaborate a lot on this record as a band and its functionality - Christine Davis (vocals) wrote a lot of the lyrics, of course. Reuben's great at helping us arrange things - we'll come up with maybe most of the formula for the song and then just little details; he's really good at accenting that. Just finishing touches on songs.

Phil: Tell us a bit about the production process and how much your budget allowed for that. [laughter]

Oscar: We were pretty poor, I'd have to say.

Ryan: We had five hundred dollars and it was recorded on four track, half inch tape or inch and a half tape, was it?

Oscar: I don't know.

Ryan: We basically had two main live tracks that we used to record the band and then we had two other tracks, one for vocal and then for guitar overdubs or any other overdubs. So basically it was pretty rough; we had to figure out a lot of different ways to record, especially on "Omega Stone" because I felt that (on) that song we should at least have like an eight track or at least more room to bounce tracks, but somehow we figured it out and with very few takes, so at the end, as far as what we we're working with, we're very excited about what we were able to do with the limited amount of resources we had.

Oscar: Yeah, there's no Pro Tools, no digital editing, none of that - it's like everything that you hear, we really did and we're proud of that. I mean, we're an honest band; we're not trying to cover up any sort of mistakes. I mean, it's Rock N Roll, after all, so you gotta play what you really play, if that makes any sense. No… what is that? Auto tune now? We don't have any of that stuff.

Phil: What would you say is your favorite track off the album?

Oscar: You go first.

Ryan: Uh… I don't know. I really like playing "Riding on the Edges". It's really riffy and there's just a lot of different stuff to play and it's just fun to play.

Oscar: Mine are actually the last two tracks on the B-side - "Black Vigil" and "Omega Stone". It's a really good flow and kind of a free vibe. It's a little bit of a darker vibe at the same.

Phil: I've heard that you're going to be recording your second album once you get off tour, could you tell us a bit about that?

Oscar: Yeah, we've already started working on some of the material right now. It's still in the works - we have a lot of different writing processes right now, too. I think we have a bit bigger goals. We'd still like to record analog; it just has more of our sound. It sounds better to me, to my ears personally. We're going to record somewhere else, though. It'll be a different sound. I don't know if we're going to get the budget, but I'd love to record on two inch tape - that's kind of my dream.

Phil: What can we expect from that new material that you're working on?

Ryan: Similar vibe. I think I'm going to stick to maybe more of a Rock direction as far as any of my riff writing is concerned, but who know? We are a band and we're all creative people, so it's gonna definitely mutate and develop as time goes on. By the end of it, it's gonna be something different. [laughs]

Oscar: Yeah, definitely different. As far as the songs that I'm writing for it, they're a little bit shorter and simpler, but just as memorable.

Ryan: I think there are still going to be like maybe a couple epics, but trying to not overdo that, too.

Phil: Could you comment a little bit on the internet buzz you've gotten, like I know Fenriz from DARKTHRONE has really talked you guys up.

Oscar: He's helped us out a lot and we really appreciate it. I mean, like, I've been a DARKTHRONE fan since I was a teenager, so it's pretty cool.

Ryan: It's an honor, definitely an honor, I'd have to say. Did you want more details on like how he got to hear about us?

Phil: Sure.

Ryan: We're friends with the artist Dennis Dread and he just showed him our demo and he liked it instantly, so since then he's mentioned us in interviews and I think that's awesome.

Oscar: Yeah, Dennis drew an album cover for DARKTHRONE, so that's how we kind of got in touch with him.

Phil: Okay, recommend a book for our readers and then explain why you recommend that particular work.

Oscar: This isn't a question for me, man. [laughs]

Ryan: Let's see here… Fux's "Study of Counterpoint". It's just a really good book for composition, understanding harmony and counterpoint.

Oscar: The last book I read and really enjoyed was "Song of Solomon". That was a pretty good one. But that's about it.

Phil: What are the future plans for CHRISTIAN MISTRESS beyond the new album and tour?

Oscar: Rock N Roll, man! [laughter] Party every day!

Christian Mistress

Interviewer: Philip A. Wickstrand

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Olympia, Washington  USA
Label: 20 Buck Spin Records
Genre: Heavy Metal

CURRENT LINE-UP:

Christine Davis:  Vocals
Ryan McClain:  Guitar
Oscar Sparbel:  Guitar
Rueben Storey:  Drums
Johnny Wulf:  Bass

DISCOGRAPHY:

Christian Mistress (Demo-2009)
Agony & Opium (2010)

October 20, 2010

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PHOTOS BY PHIL A. WICKSTRAND

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