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Hrvoje Bubić; The Tampa Morgue Interview
Hrvoje Bubić
The Tampa Morgue je podcast kojeg vode Ed Webb i Tony Anderson. Za Solin Live govore o svome podcastu, tematici, kao i ljudima koje su ugostili
1. First, introduce yourself to our readers and say something about yourself.
ED:My name is Ed Webb, one of the hosts on The Tampa Morgue Podcast and a vocalist/bassist/guitarist in the Tampa metal scene.
Tony: Hi, thanks for taking interest in the Tampa Morgue. I am Tony. I am one of the Hosts of the Morgue. I am from Toms River, New Jersey and moved to Tampa Bay in the mid 90’s. I have been in bands since the age of 14 and have been involved in booking shows. I was a writer for a metal zine out of Tampa, Florida many years ago named the Rivot Rag and booked many Metal and Punks shows at a venue named Venom in St.Petersburg, Florida in the early 2000’s .
2. Ed and Tony, what is your musical background? And Ed- what is your current status with Monstrosity?
ED: My musical background is pretty basic. I started playing bass, then learned guitar, so I could write songs better than I could on bass. I really only started singing because my first real band couldn’t find anyone to sing, so I started trying to do it, and seems to be the one thing that has been a constant thing I have been doing up to today. As for Monstrosity, I am the vocalist and we just finished the new album and hopefully it will be released before the end of the year.
Tony: As I mentioned earlier, I have been in bands since the age of 14. My first band was named Meaningless Laughter (was not my idea). I have been playing in the Tampa Bay Metal band that I formed many years ago named Generichrist and of course Ed is the bassist in the band. I am also the vocalist in the band Doomsilla, Fleshreaper and a new band named Crooked Casket.
3. Musical influences growing up? Age started playing?
ED:For myself-I was influenced by the early days of thrash as well as the hair metal era. Bands like Slayer, Venom, WASP, Metallica were in my early teens as well as Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Ozzy and the early days of those bands were a huge influence as well. I started playing bass at 15 years old, though I tried guitar a few years earlier and failed miserably.
Tony: I started out with Piano lessons at 10 and picked up a guitar at 12 but I am unfortunately a shitty guitar player so I stick to the vocal department these days. I started out with the 70’S and 80’s bands like W.A.S.P.S, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Grim Reaper, Venom, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen, and then eventually I found bands like Mercyful Fate, Deicide, Bathory and Obituary and of course as time went on the eviler the better. Oh and Ed can play some guitar no matter what he says.
4. How did the idea to start a podcast come about?
Tony: Me and Ed have been close friends forever and bandmates. We talk about music all the time and figured why not record a few episodes of a show talking about our experiences. The first show aired August 5th 2023 and we have almost recorded a 100 episodes and the show has evolved and keeps doing so. We started out the first few episodes just figuring out what we wanted to do. Our first interview was with Pat Ranieri of Hellwitch on episode #4 and we have been having guests almost every episode since then.
5. The topic of your podcast is the Florida death metal scene. Could you tell us why?
ED: The name wasn’t really meant to be Tampa specific, it is actually a song from a Generichrist (Tony and Ed’s band) album. Since we were basing the podcast off of music and horror movies, the name The Tampa Morgue just fit better than we could have imagined. Out of 89 shows, only a small percentage are actually Tampa related aside from when we do our own shows without guests. Even then we talk about things that are music and movie centric, and not always Tampa related.
Tony: I think Ed said it perfectly- we interview bands from around the World. We do mention in every episode if there are Tampa concerts, events and discuss Tampa history as we remember it . We also cover underground bands from all over the World. We make long deep dive episodes in a time period where people have no attention spans.
6. What are some early shows you witnessed in Tampa in the early days? And memories growing up in the scene?
ED: There are way too many to name, but the ones that are probably the most memorable are the early days before the Death Metal scene really took off. I saw Ravage before they were called Atheist, Amon before they were Deicide, Xecutioner before they were Obituary, and the mighty Nasty Savage and Savatage. I also got to see the early hardcore/punk Tampa bands like No Fraud and Belching Penguins when they were starting out. I think seeing these bands starting out and following them and playing shows later with them are probably the best memories growing up. Also to add to that being a part of the original Brass Mug where myself and all these bands played would most definitely be included.
Tony: I came to Tampa from New Jersey after Ed actually, in the 90’s and have seen some amazing shows. We were lucky to regularly see bands like Obituary, Deicide, Nasty Savage, Cannibal Corpse, Lowbrow, and the list goes on. Like Ed said- we all grew up going to the original Brass Mug, a place that was the CBGB’s of Tampa, in my opinion.
7.Where can people hear the Tampa Morgue?
ED:We are on all of the podcast streaming apps, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and we have a Youtube page it can be streamed from.
8. Best Story heard on the Morgue from an artist?
Tony: We heard so many, so it is really hard to answer this. We heard a great story from Lee Payne of Cloven Hoof about Ozzy shooting gold records out of the sky with a shotgun and then driving into a ditch. There are so many great stories on the King Fowley of Deceased episode, I do not know where to begin. We have heard so many great tales through the last few years. I do not know how to pick one after 90 episodes. It is hard to pull a favorite.
9. Which podcast episode do you think is the best, the most memorable?
ED: For me (Ed) that’s like asking which of my kids I like best…..lol. As for most memorable, I would say maybe 2, and only because they were over 5 hours and they were just insane conversations before and after the podcast itself. One would be King Fowley from Deceased, who is generally a killer guy all around. The other would be Jeff Mantis from Venom/Venom Inc. His episode was almost 5 1/2 hours, had so much history and just getting to talk with him as being a huge influence band wise for me, was nothing short of epic.
Tony: Ed just mentioned two great episodes. I always say this but if you’re a Venom fan- I do not know if I have heard a more detailed interview on Venom and maybe I am biased because I conducted it. There are also some epic interviews with Snowy Shaw, Don Of The Dead of Nunslaughter, Ritual Butcherer from Archgoat, Sulphur from Finland’s Urn, John Walker of Cancer, and of course the legendary Creature feature host Count Gore De Vol. The list goes on and on. I think it is a hell of a guest list so far.
10. Besides hosting a podcast, what else do you do?
ED: I Own my own business as a Pro Bike mechanic and assembly technician, and of course musician.
Tony: I do work for companies online and also own a business involving extremely hot peppers.
11. Finally, what are your plans for the future? What would you say to our readers?
Tony: We really make no plans to be honest. I think we are a show for those who love the history of bands and stories from the artists that maybe they have not heard before. Also for your readers check out the Tampa Morgue, it is on all streaming platforms and we post new episodes weekly for the most part. We also post audio versions on youtube for those who do not stream.
12. Final words?
Tony: Thanks Hrvoje for inviting us and thanks for listening to the show. See you at the Morgue!
ED: See you!
HRVATSKI PRIJEVOD
1. Prvo se predstavi našim čitateljima i reci nešto o sebi.
ED: Moje ime je Ed Webb, jedan od voditelja The Tampa Morgue Podcasta i vokalist/basist/gitarist na metal sceni Tampa.
Tony: Bok, hvala na interesu za The Tampa Morgue. Ja sam Tony. Ja sam jedan od domaćina The Tampa Morgue. Ja sam iz Toms Rivera, New Jersey, i preselio sam se u Tampa Bay sredinom 90-ih. U bendovima sam od 14. godine i sudjelovao sam u bukiranju koncerata. Bio sam pisac za metal zine iz Tampe na Floridi prije mnogo godina pod nazivom Rivot Rag i rezervirao sam mnoge Metal i Punks koncerte u mjestu Venom u St. Petersburgu na Floridi početkom 2000-ih.
2. Ed i Tony, kakva je vaša glazbena pozadina? I Ed- kakav je tvoj trenutni status s Monstrosityjem (Edov bend, op.prev.)?
ED: Moja glazbena pozadina je prilično osnovna. Počeo sam svirati bas, zatim sam naučio gitaru, tako da sam mogao pisati pjesme bolje nego na basu. Zapravo sam počeo pjevati samo zato što moj prvi pravi bend nije mogao pronaći nikoga tko bi pjevao, pa sam počeo to raditi, i čini se da je to jedina stvar koju sam radio do danas. Što se tiče Monstrosityja, ja sam vokal i upravo smo završili novi album i nadamo se da će biti objavljen prije kraja godine.
Tony: Kao što sam ranije spomenuo, u bendovima sam od 14. godine. Moj prvi bend zvao se Meaningless Laughter (nije to bila moja ideja). Svirao sam u Tampa Bay Metal bendu koji sam osnovao prije mnogo godina pod imenom Generichrist i naravno Ed je basist u bendu. Također sam vokal u bendu Doomsilla, Fleshreaper i novom bendu pod nazivom Crooked Casket.
3. Glazbeni utjecaji odrastanja? Dob je počeo igrati?
ED: Što se mene tiče – na mene su utjecali rani dani thrasha kao i era hair metala. Bendovi kao što su Slayer, Venom, WASP, Metallica bili su u mojim ranim tinejdžerskim godinama, kao i Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Ozzy, a rani dani tih bendova također su imali veliki utjecaj. Počeo sam svirati bas sa 15 godina, iako sam nekoliko godina ranije pokušao svirati gitaru i neslavno sam podbacio.
Tony: Počeo sam s satovima klavira s 10 godina, a gitaru sam uzeo u ruke s 12, ali sam nažalost usrani gitarist pa se ovih dana držim vokalnog odjela. Počeo sam s bendovima iz 70-ih i 80-ih kao što su W.A.S.P.S, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Grim Reaper, Venom, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen, a onda sam na kraju pronašao bendove kao što su Mercyful Fate, Deicide, Bathory i Obituary i naravno, kako je vrijeme prolazilo, to je bilo sve bolje. Oh i Ed zna svirati gitaru bez obzira što on kaže.
4. Kako je došlo do ideje da pokrenete podcast?
Tony: Ja i Ed smo oduvijek bliski prijatelji i kolege iz benda. Stalno razgovaramo o glazbi i shvatili smo zašto ne bismo snimili nekoliko epizoda emisije govoreći o našim iskustvima. Prva emisija emitirana je 5. kolovoza 2023. i skoro smo snimili 100 epizoda, a emisija je evoluirala i nastavlja to činiti. Počeli smo s prvih nekoliko epizoda upravo shvaćajući što želimo učiniti. Naš prvi intervju bio je s Patom Ranierijem iz Hellwitcha u epizodi #4 i od tada imamo goste u gotovo svakoj epizodi.
5. Tema vašeg podcasta je death metal scena Floride. Možete li nam reći zašto?
ED: Naziv zapravo nije trebao biti specifičan za Tampu, to je zapravo pjesma s albuma Generichrista (Tonyjev i Edov bend). Budući da smo podcast temeljili na glazbi i horor filmovima, ime The Tampa Morgue nam je pristajalo bolje nego što smo mogli zamisliti. Od 89 emisija, samo mali postotak zapravo je povezan s Tampom, osim kad radimo vlastite emisije bez gostiju. Čak i tada govorimo o stvarima koje su usredotočene na glazbu i film, a nisu uvijek povezane s Tampom.
6. Kojim ste ranim nastupima svjedočili u Tampi u ranim danima? A uspomene koje rastu u sceni?
ED: Previše ih je za imenovati, ali oni koji su vjerojatno najupečatljiviji su rani dani prije nego što je Death Metal scena stvarno uzletjela. Vidio sam Ravage prije nego što su ih nazvali Atheist, Amon prije nego što su postali Deicide, Xecutioner prije nego što su postali Obituary i moćne Nasty Savage i Savatage. Također sam vidio rane hardcore/punk bendove Tampa kao što su No Fraud i Belching Penguins kada su počinjali. Mislim da su vjerojatno najbolje uspomene na odrastanje vidjeti te bendove koji počinju, pratiti ih i svirati kasnije s njima. Također da dodam tome da sam dio originalne Brass Mug gdje sam svirao ja i svi ovi bendovi bi svakako bio uključen.
Tony: Došao sam u Tampu iz New Jerseya zapravo nakon Eda, 90-ih i vidio sam neke nevjerojatne nastupe. Imali smo sreće što smo redovito viđali bendove kao što su Obituary, Deicide, Nasty Savage, Cannibal Corpse, Lowbrow, a popis ide dalje. Kao što je Ed rekao – svi smo odrasli u izvornom Brass Mugu, mjestu koje je, po mom mišljenju, bilo CBGB iz Tampe.
7. Gdje ljudi mogu čuti Tampa Morgue?
ED: Nalazimo se na svim aplikacijama za strujanje podcasta, Appleu, Spotifyju, Amazonu i imamo Youtube stranicu s koje se može strujati.
8. Najbolja priča koju ste čuli u Tampa Morgue od umjetnika?
Tony: Čuli smo toliko toga, pa je stvarno teško odgovoriti na ovo. Čuli smo sjajnu priču od Leeja Paynea iz Cloven Hoofa o Ozzyju koji puca u zlatne ploče s neba sa sačmaricom i zatim se vozi u jarak. Ima toliko sjajnih priča o epizodi King Fowley of Deceased, da ne znam odakle da počnem. Čuli smo toliko sjajnih priča u posljednjih nekoliko godina. Ne znam kako odabrati jednu nakon 90 epizoda. Teško je izvući favorita.
9. Koju epizodu podcasta smatrate najboljom, najupečatljivijom?
ED: Za mene, to je kao da pitam koje od moje djece mi se najviše sviđa….. lol. Što se tiče najupečatljivijih, rekao bih možda 2, i to samo zato što su trajali više od 5 sati i bili su to samo ludi razgovori prije i poslije samog podcasta. Jedan bi bio King Fowley iz Deceased, koji je generalno ubojit tip posvuda. Drugi bi bio Jeff Mantis iz Venom/Venom Inc. Njegova je epizoda trajala gotovo 5 i pol sati, imala je toliko povijesti i sam razgovor s njim kao bendom s velikim utjecajem za mene nije bio ništa manje od epskog.
Tony: Ed je upravo spomenuo dvije sjajne epizode. To uvijek kažem, ali ako ste obožavatelj Venoma – ne znam jesam li čuo detaljniji intervju o Venomu i možda sam pristran jer sam ga vodio. Tu su i neki epski intervjui sa Snowyjem Shawom, Don Of The Dead of Nunslaughter, Ritual Butcherer iz Archgoat, Sulphur iz Finland’s Urn, John Walker iz Cancera, i naravno voditelj legendarnog Creaturea, Count Gore De Vol. Popis se nastavlja i nastavlja. Mislim da je to za sada vraški popis gostiju.
10. Osim što vodite podcast, čime se još bavite?
ED: Posjedujem vlastitu tvrtku kao mehaničar i tehničar za montažu Pro Bikea, i naravno glazbenik.
Tony: Radim za tvrtke na mreži i također posjedujem tvrtku koja uključuje izuzetno ljute papričice.
11. Za kraj, kakvi su ti planovi za budućnost? Što biste poručili našim čitateljima?
Tony: Da budem iskren, stvarno ne planiramo. Mislim da smo emisija za one koji vole povijest bendova i priče izvođača koje možda prije nisu čuli. Također za svoje čitatelje pogledajte Tampa Morgue, nalazi se na svim platformama za streaming i objavljujemo nove epizode većinom tjedno. Također objavljujemo audio verzije na YouTubeu za one koji ne streamaju.
12. Završne riječi?
Tony: Hvala Hrvoje što nas je pozvao i hvala što ste slušali emisiju. Vidimo se u Morgue!
ED: Vidimo se!
