TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?
The new album is going to inspire old and young listeners around the globe. The new single “Memories in stone” is a reflection of our personal thoughts and hurdles we had growing up and what can we do to preserve our time on this earth even after we are gone.
WHAT INSPIRED THE LATEST SINGLES?
Memories in Stone was inspired by the people that give their life for the greater good of society on a daily basis. This song represents being grateful for what we have and how our life is represented when we are gone.
CAN YOU SUM UP THE NEW TRACKS IN A FEW WORDS?
These first tracks released from this album is definitely for the people. Shovelbelt wants to put a realistic view on society in a high desert positive gritty way.
WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
The record that change my life (Rich Cornelison) was KISS Destroyer, I loved the rawness and simplicity of the grooves and melodies. Yet, the band was in all make-up portraying a life outside of reality. Russ Mickel’s album is KYUSS Blues for the Red Sun. This album took the high desert sound and gave it a life all its own with no rules. This album showed us how to push the envelope with huge sounds.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?
Our list of favorite music videos is a couple of pages long, spanning 30 years. The video would be TOOL Sober, this video was a game-changer in rock music. It incorporated Adam Jones’s art outside of playing guitar. It gave the band a full look of what they were about without actually getting to see the band. At that time 90 percent of videos were to show the band in all sorts of scenarios.
WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?
Russ Mickel spends a lot of hours working and promoting Shovelbelt. Russ is up at 4am thinking and manifesting the day. What can be achieved and conquered before 8pm is
Russ’s moto. Rich Cornelison is also an early riser, remodeling homes for families in need. This keeps reality in close focus and how grateful we should be for what we have.
DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
Not at all. Shovelbelt becomes another entity live. The energy and pure power takes on a comfortable level, showing that Shovelbelt has had many hours performing live, its definitely second nature and a live show you should check out.
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
Russ Mickel was in a band from Portland Oregon called LID. Rich Cornelison and Russ were the driving force behind this project. Russ played drums and Rich played the guitars. Russ and Rich took LID across the US several times. Russ relocated to Bend after a decade of touring and recording. He took the next couple years writing and exploring the singing part for a new project. Shovelbelt was going in a couple different directions style wise through this period. Russ and Rich agreed Shovelbelt would be the band. 8 years later Shovelbelt is on the road and recording music that best represents the past 25 years of their experiences.
HOW DO YOU WRITE?
Russ Mickel is the singer songwriter of Shovelbelt. Rich Cornelison adds layers of guitar soul and blues to Russ’s deep tones and lyrics. Overall Shovelbelt is a collaboration of Russ and Rich’s internal drive to explore and achieve great music writing. We are always learning new things. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? The unknown. Great music old and new. Especially new music. Being out in the woods also inspires us, the farther away from people or politics for a brief period of time gives the soul time to reset and open your mind in the middle of nowhere.
WHAT IS NEXT?
We are going back into the studio and recording 3 more songs for the album. We have decided to record this album in sections. Spending time on 3 songs at a time. In the past we used to blast through a recording session in week and having to rush things when we shouldn’t have. With Shovelbelt we want to create an album that we are 100% confident in. This summer Shovelbet will be playing several festivals and concentrating on touring the US. When the pandemic slows down we will be touring world wide.
PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE.
Spotify, Amazon Music, I-Tunes, FaceBook, TikTok, Instagram and radio streaming sites across the globe. Shovelbelt is expanding every day. Thank you for your questions and interest in Shovelbelt. It means a lot to us. Music has been our passion for a long time and we really appreciate everything you do to help bands like us get out there and be heard.
Thank you!!
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