Chicago - The men of All Them Witches – Charles Michael Parks, Jr. (vocals, bass), Ben McLeod (guitar), Allan Van Cleave (keys), and Robby Staebler (drums) – moved to Nashville for the purpose of making music with people who loved music as much as them. The guys were raised throughout the South and Midwest (Charles Michael Parks, Jr. – who simply goes by Parks – is from Louisiana, Ben from Florida, and Allan and Robby are from Ohio) but share the bond that is music, and in Nashville, they find themselves surrounded by “people who are motivated to play music and do it well.” Just like them! These four make psychedelic, bluesy rock with a noticeable southern influence. Last Fall, All Them Witches released its third studio album, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, and since then, ATW has been touring on and off in support of the album.

Best New Bands talked with frontman Charles Michael Parks, Jr. of All Them Witches, while the band was rehearsing at home in Nashville, before heading out on the road for its latest tour. Parks discussed Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, growing up in the South, and his favorite childhood cartoons.

I read you recorded your last record, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, in a cabin in the woods. How did being surrounded by nature influence the album, and how was that experience in general, being away from Nashville?

It was a last ditch effort – we had some places fall through, to record our record, and time constraints – and the cabin was like, ‘Alright, we have a cabin, let’s go and do this. We have four or five days to this, so let’s get it done.’ We had about half of the songs written before we went in, and I think being on the mountain was a good experience for us because it was quiet; there was no one else around for the first few days. You could see what people come to that region for: moonshine and the East Tennessee stuff. It was funny to be up on the quiet mountain and see down on to all the touristy stuff, I suppose.

You were like the “maker” looking down. [laughs]

Yeah, and I was really glad for where I was, glad I wasn’t down there. [laughs] But overall, it was great! Mikey Allred did our record. He’s a good friend of ours. We had some friends stop by. I would’t say it was lax. We were up in the morning, and we’d finish up pretty late in the night. Everyday we’d get up and start working.

Do you have a favorite track on Dying Surfer Meets His Maker which you love to perform live?

“Blood and Sand.” I think that one is the most fun to play live because everybody locks in, and I basically just get to yell at people… you can let it go for as long as you want. Or cut it short. There’s not a lot of boundaries on that song.

I really love “Call Me Star.” What inspired this song?

I wrote a few of those songs – like “Call Me Star” and “Open Passageways” and “Talisman” – I wrote them all going on three years ago now, two or three years ago, when I was living in a cabin by myself, out in Louisiana. It’s hard to say; I guess you say it stems from whatever was happening at the time, and at the time, I was pretty sad and living by myself, in the winter, in this place, where I didn’t know anybody. I guess over time, the real method of me writing songs is just being isolated. I guess those are about isolation.

I was watching the music video for “Dirt Preachers” and the animation style kept reminding me of watching He-Man, as a child. So I’m wondering what cartoons you watched, while growing up? 

Oh, I love cartoons! I liked He-Man. What did I watch? I guess I grew up on the Nickelodeon era cartoons, like Doug and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. And Beast Wars: Transformers!

Speaking of “Dirt Preachers,” does being based in the Bible Belt, surrounded by churches and highway signs preaching to you as you drive by, influence your music much? 

I feel like Christianity is such as huge part of what this country is trying to wrap its head around. It’s one of the main struggles; religion-based struggles seem to happen every day in politics, our communities, and it’s pitted us all against each other. I mean, I have no qualms with religion. People have the right to do as they please. But I think that maybe just living in America you intercept – I don’t know what I’m trying to say [laughs] – you see a lot of good and a lot of bad come out of religion. And you see a lot of good and bad come out of everything else, so religion is just a mirror of people’s lives’ anyway. Yeah, I would say it’s influencing in a way that any billboard that you pass by and notice will influence you.

I grew up in Chicago, and I didn’t start going down South till probably about three years ago. That was such a shock to me because we just don’t have that – well, if you travel to rural parts of Illinois there are some religious billboards, but it’s not like in the South. It was a shock to me because I had never experienced that, and it was interesting to me to think about people who grew up there or are living there, that that’s around them all the time. So I’m always curious, for people from the South, how that influences them because I didn’t have experience with that.

Yeah, I grew up going to Church. I lived in Louisiana till about fourteen, and I got serious about church when I lived in New Mexico, to the point where I was going on a weekly basis. I had a lot of friends there. I was at an age where you need something to bond to. It must be weird for some people, growing up outside of the fingers of the church. [laughs] At first, it was kind of a burden when I was younger, then it was fun, and then it became a conflict in my life. Now I feel fine about it. [laughs]

You guys recently returned from a European tour. How was that? Any memorable moments you can share with us?

Yeah, Europe is one big memorable moment, which makes a lot of it hard to remember. We had a blast in Greece. We had a blast in Israel. I drove the van – we drove ourselves, and our car was a U.K. vehicle so it was a right hand driver, left hand shift. But then we took it into Europe, so we were driving on the right side of the road, wrong side of the car kid of deal. Pretty much just driving was a really interesting experience. I drove once, and I blew out the tire, at four in the morning, in Paris. Met a lot of interesting and crazy characters… overall it was an amazing experience. We’re going back in August and again in October. I can’t wait to go back!

I saw you perform in Chicago, at Lincoln Hall, for TNK Fest. Your music put me in a bit of trance and transported me to another world within myself. Do you feel the same while playing?

Yeah, that’s the quencher right there! If it doesn’t, you’re not doing it right… We consider ourselves a live band, and while the CDs and the records do a pretty good job of taking a snapshot, it’s never the same as coming to a show.

I can’t end this interview without asking about your album artwork and the promo photography the band uses – it’s very unique and in many ways, matches your sound and feel. What artists do you work with? How involved are you in finding artwork and creating artwork for All Them Witches?

Yeah, we do all the art, and we do all the photography.

Sick!

It’s Robby, our drummer, he does all of that. He’s a really amazing photographer. It’s all film. He processes it all, in his own darkroom, and he does all the drawings and artwork.