OBITUARY Guitarist Talks Barbecue Sauce, Upcoming Presidential Election

Shaxul Records recently conducted an interview with guitarist Trevor Peres of Florida death metallers OBITUARY. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Shaxul Records: So you have a barbecue sauce. How did that come about?

Trevor Peres: I love to cook. I have a smoker. I smoke my own meat and make my own rub. And one day I was, like, "I need to make my own sauce!" If you like to barbecue, it's good to have your own sauce. So I spent about a year developing it. Trying different ideas and reading different recipes... had friends taste it. Finally, one day my friend's, like, "Dude, that is SICK! That's the recipe!"

Shaxul Records: What is the signature T-Bone element?

Trevor Peres: It's the center of the gamut. You know the flavor palette of the barbecue sauces? Right in the middle. 'Cause you've got a lot of people who like the vinegar base, some people like it really sweet/hearty, some people like spicy shit... It's got a good flavor, it's got a good spice. It's not hot, though. It's sweet but vinegary at the same time and it's tomatoey, so really...it's the center of the gamut.

Shaxul Records: Do you think when bands like BIOHAZARD, PANTERA and MACHINE HEAD got popular, that your sense of "groove" was influenced a little bit?

Trevor Peres: Absolutely not. Those guys never influenced me, ever, to be honest. I'm friends with those people, but I was already stuck in a rut at that point writing-wise. Maybe uh... SKINNY PUPPY influenced it. I don't know. Because during "World Demise" I was tripping on a lot of industrial stuff. So maybe that had something to do with it. HELLHAMMER. That's where our doom comes from I think. HELLHAMMER/[CELTIC] FROST, I mean... That shit just oozes out of us, I think. And BLACK SABBATH too. Like Terry [Butler, bass] said the other day, "It's a scary movie...on wax."

Shaxul Records: It seems like you have a lot of fun playing these days. Do you ever feel a sense of irony playing such "evil" music but having so much fun with it?

Trevor Peres: Yeah, probably. We're all a bunch of wise guys... We can't go a day without crackin a joke. In fact, John [Tardy, vocals] will look at me and say something stupid onstage and it'll make me crack up and I'm like, [laughs] "Don't do that!" I'll have to turn around and look at Donald [Tardy, drums] to stop laughing. We don't take it so fuckin serious anymore. We're having fun. We like to create heavy music. I think people appreciate… You know, people come up to me and say, "It looks like you're having a good time up there." When we write, we're definitely trying to bring out something dark and it's hard to do now 'cause we're, like... old dudes who... aren't that serious anymore! [laughs]

Shaxul Records: Do you think what you do today with OBITUARY is rebellious? Do you feel rebellious when you are doing this?

Trevor Peres: Well... not as much as I did 20 years ago. Death metal has become so popular in the world of music. I mean, even grandmas know what death metal is now. Or a least they've heard of it. So it's almost kind of a joke; it's not rebellious anymore. I've got kids, you know... I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a rebel! You're lucky I wasn't president when 9/11 happened, let's put it to ya that way! [laughs] I'm probably crazier now than I ever been, to be honest. Fuckin, light the wick from both ends! I definitely black out more now. [laughs] No, I mean... I try to walk a straight line most of the time. Having kids makes you different. So I've gotta be around for them. I don't wanna go to jail [or anything like that]. I used to be more politically involved years ago, and finally one day I just realized I ain't gonna change the world or I don't give a fuck. I can't even watch the news because I get pissed off. Sometimes I wonder why I had kids 'cause I've gotta let them live in this fucking world. But, you know, it's part of life, I guess... I mean, I think we thought of that years ago like when "World Demise" came out, and then one day I realized it's just a waste of my fuckin energy. It really is. I mean... you're not gonna change the world. Life's too short to stress live that way. I enjoy my kids. I go to the beach, go fishing as much as I can and just enjoy being alive while I'm here. All you can do is stress yourself out, have a heart attack, and die, and have gray hair. And I don't wanna live that way.

Shaxul Records: Are you gonna vote Romney or Obama?

Trevor Peres: I'm more Republican. On my voter card it says "independent," but I vote for Republican every time, [it] seems like.

Shaxul Records: Is there something Romney said or did that made you wanna go that way?

Trevor Peres: To be honest, I haven't paid attention to much of what he said at all. I just know I don't want Obama. He's just a waste. He hasn't done anything. He's, like, "I've got a plan!" Well, what have you been doing for the past four years? [laughs] We've gotta keep you in twice to do something? That's not fair.

Shaxul Records: You ever think the whole system is the problem?

Trevor Peres: Oh, the system is the problem. I mean, politicians are a problem. Anybody who wants to be that has a problem. Power, control... [sighs] I can't imagine being a politician.

Shaxul Records: Do you think some musicians are too outspoken about their political views?

Trevor Peres: I think some musicians put too much politics in their music. Definitely. Like I said, life's too short to live that way. If you know who you are and know what you think, you shouldn't care what other people think. If you think a certain way, that's your shit. I mean people all the time are, like, "Did you vote for Bush?" And I'm like, "Yes, I did. Both times!" Because the other guys were idiots! I mean, who's the biggest idiot? You pick the lesser of the idiots. That's what it ends up being at the end of the day. 'Cause they're all kinda retards. [laughs]

Read the entire interview from Shaxul Records.