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METAL PULP AND PAPER
METAL PULP AND PAPER INTERVIEW
Shawn Knight of:
METAL PULP AND PAPER: Child Bite formed in 2005 in Detroit, Michigan. If a billboard sign was to be erected, what should the next thing about Child Bite be on this billboard for all to see? 

SHAWN KNIGHT:
Hmm! For some reason I imagine this billboard to be vertical, resembling a giant tombstone. How about; "Too weird to succeed, too stupid to quit." 
 
MPAP:
There have been quite a few lineup changes in Child Bite's history, do you feel like youre finally running on all cylinders now and its time to shift into 5th gear and show everyone what this band is capable of doing? 

SK:
Yeah man! We've always been relatively ambitious and productive, no matter which era you look at. As much as I think we've got things figured out or set in place right now, things change, and every record is a reaction to the previous one. The past couple years have been great regarding touring, and I think next year will be another big one too! 
 
MPAP:
For a new listener, describe your music style? 

SK:
My go-to quickie response for that is Punk/Metal, 'cause that at least gets you in the ball park even if you don't listen to punk or metal. We usually list a couple bands on our LP's promo stickers, like Voivod meets The Jesus Lizard meets Black Flag. We sound like the result of those three tossed into a blender, maybe? 
 
MPAP:
Child Bite's vocals have been compared to the likes of Mike Patton, Jello Biafra, Joe McTighe, David Yow and even Dave Brockie. When you first started singing, who were you influences? Did you ever imagine you would be compared to these musicians? 

SK:
Most of these guys for sure! Patton, Biafra, and Brockie have been huge influences since I was a kid. I got into Jesus Lizard later on, but I've always had a bit of Yow in me even before I knew who he was. Even though I don't necessarily sound much like Rollins, Danzig, or even metal guys like Anselmo & Hetfield, I would definitely site all of them as key influences in regards to lyrics, phrasing, stage presence & stuff like that. 
 
MPAP:
MTV doesnt play music videos any more, but if they did 'Ancestral Ooze' would have to be on heavy rotation. Everyone needs to see it. Was it fun making this video? 

SK:
Yeah it was a great time! Our buddy Jeff Tuttle (ex-Dillinger Escape Plan) wrote and directed it for us. We based it somewhat on the '80s horror movie Street Trash, which is fitting for us because the gore is super surreal and not realistic at all. A bunch of friends all pitched in and it turned out awesome. 
 
MPAP:
How did you go about getting Buzz Osbourne to be a part of it? What was that like being able to work with him? 

SK:
I had worked on an art project with Buzz's wife a few years ago, so I approached her with the idea. Buzz was into it and the timing was perfect as his solo tour was hitting Detroit later that week. We shot all of his scenes just outside of the venue (Small's in Hamtramck, MI). He rules! 
 
MPAP:
Child Bite and Red Fang need to collaborate and make a video together. Do you agree? 

SK:
I wouldn't say no to that! Their videos rule.  
 
MPAP:
Speaking of being able to work with someone, Phil Anselmo is another youve worked with now quite a few times. How did this come about working with the legend the first time? 

SK:
We had the idea to record some Anal Cunt covers, just for fun. Then we thought about who to snag for guest vocals, and knowing that he was buds with Seth Putnam made him our top choice. Their screams are pretty similar too. We tracked the music and sent it to him. Next thing I know, we are opening up for his band Down here in Michigan and he tells me that the recordings sound great and he'll lay down vocals when he gets the chance. We were stoked! It turned out perfect too. 
 
MPAP:
His famed Nodferatus Lair, what was it like being able to record and hang out there? Any stories you can share? Or any stories you were told about that happened there you can share with the audience? 

SK:
The funny thing about Phil's studio is that it's one of the most barebones studios we've ever worked in. It just goes to show that it doesn't take much to make a great sounding record. One funny thing I remember was my first day of tracking vocals. It's a little stressful 'cause you've got Phil Anselmo sitting directly behind you, listening to every word and following along the lyric sheet, line by line. I was a little nervous I might push too hard and fart directly in the dudes face. Any way, he came up with the idea of going back to the house and telling the rest of the band that I hadn't finished any of the vocals and was kind of freaking out. They swung by the studio to check in later on and I played it up. After we wrapped for the day, we all had dinner together and I stayed quiet. Mid-meal we finally came clean and all had a good laugh... 
 
MPAP:
What are a couple things you want to accomplish as a band? What are in the cross hairs for Child Bite

SK: We've been touring the hell out of North America the past few years, so making our way to some other parts of the world needs to happen soon. Other than that, we haven't done much writing this year, so we are all looking forward to creating some new tunes this winter. 
 
MPAP: You did a tribute song of Celtic Frost's "The Usurper," again with Phil Anselmo on vocals. Its almost like you should have a band together? Not too many get to experience this, how is making music with him? 

SK: Well, the way we tackled the five Anal Cunt songs as well as that one Celtic Frost song (which might be longer than the entire AxCx EP, ha!) was completely independent of each other. All of the music was tracked up here in Detroit and then sent down to New Orleans for Phil to add vocals to. We did it that way for Morbid Hits 'cause we wanted to show him finished recordings rather than just present an idea. It worked so well that we just did the same thing for the Morbid Tales comp. Side note, it's a total coincidence that both projects have "morbid" in the title. Since those songs are covers with minimal changes, there wasn't really a need to physically get together.  
 
MPAP: Celtic Frost has an extensive catalog, what made you pick this particular song? 

SK: To Mega Therion is my favorite album of theirs, so I listened to that record a few times in a row trying to decide what song was the best fit for Child Bite musically as well as for Phil. I narrowed it down to "The Usurper" and "Necromantical Screams," which Phil said happened to be his favorite two tracks. So then it was up to the band to decide. I'm glad we went the way that we did, 'cause it allowed us to throw in a bit of that great intro track. Once the music was finished, we tossed Phil the idea of doing an intro to the intro, which he was all about. We figured fans of the band would get a kick out of that, plus it basically guaranteed our chances at getting that coveted first track slot on the record! 
 
MPAP: Have you ever heard if Tom G. Warrior has heard it before? 

SK: I have no idea! It would be interesting to hear what he has to say about it. You hear metal bands covering punk songs all the time, but it's not as common to hear a punk band covering metal. 
 
MPAP: You just recently toured with Voivod. Were you a fan of their music growing up? 

SK: I'm embarrassed to say that I was late to Voivod. They are one of those bands that I had seen the logo and heard great things, knowing that I should check them out but didn't get around to it until I was an adult. Since then I've been listening to them constantly, trying to make up for lost time. We were thrilled to be able to tour with them and feel like they might actually be the perfect band for us to be paired with; a strange mix of punk and metal with progressive leanings yet we don't sound anything alike. I hope we get to tour with them again! 

MPAP: What’s something musically you would want Child Bite to try out on future releases that might take some fans by surprise? And of course what’s something Child Bite will ultimately stay away from on anything? 
 
SK: Hmm! Our early records had bits of strings and horns here and there, stuff that we eventually phased out in favor of our current more stripped down approach. I could see us bringing some of that back at some point. Who knows! Other than that I really don't think about that too much; things tend to steer one way or the other naturally. We're also kind of an odd ball band, so I'm not sure if anything would surprise people that like us. Scatting? 
 
MPAP: All good things must come to an end, any last words you want to say to your fans and Metal Pulp And Paper?  
 
SK: Thanks for giving a shit! We'll keep trying to make things interesting for you guys!

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