Interviews About Albums: Turkey Vulture - On The List (2024)

In this new interview, we sat down with the American Doom Metal band Turkey Vulture to ask questions about their album, "On The List".

1. What can you say about this new EP?

On The List has been a long time coming! We hadn't been to the studio since the summer of 2021 and we had a lot of material "on the list" to record and get out into the world. One thing that's unusual about it is that we recorded at two different studios. We went to Bonehead Studios for the first five songs, which are our regular punk/metal fare. Then we recorded the final track, "Jill The Ripper," at Tiny Bunker Studios which is known for folk/Americana releases.

2. What is the meaning of the EP name?

Jim and I are a married couple with two small kids and we are constantly telling each other that one thing or another is "on the list." Need more oat milk? On the list. Do we need to bring more diapers to daycare? On the list. Are we ever gonna record "Adults Destroy"? Once again, it's on the list!

3. Which one is the composer of the EP?

We both composed different parts of the EP. Jim wrote "Dollhouse," I wrote "Untitled," "Adults Destroy," "Harvest Moon," and "Jill The Ripper." We collaborated on "Fiends Like Us" -- Jim came up with the concept and wrote the lyrics, and I wrote the music. But really, all the songs are collaborations. We've been playing in different bands together since 2008 (long before we were married or even romantically involved), so we know each other's writing styles and help each other with arrangements and ideas.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

Oh man, that's a tough one! Right now I'm loving "Fiends Like Us," which we just released because it is fast and gritty. But "Jill The Ripper" stands out too because it's a completely different musical vibe than anything else we've put out. It's a folk song and our engineer Steve Rodgers played on it as well, adding guitar, accordion, and banjo. So it's definitely unique in that way since we had someone else's musical input!

5. Is there a special message in this EP? If there is, what is it?

Don't give up. There might not be a specific song with that message -- maybe "Untitled" is closest -- but don't give up. Making music is a celebration of life, even if that music is gritty and ugly. If you feel good playing it, if someone else feels good listening to it, just keep going.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

I get a big kick out of the lyrics to "Harvest Moon." The song is about the movie Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, which our sons became obsessed with and made us watch over and over again for a couple months. I'm not sure if it's the only Scooby-Doo movie like this, but the monsters are real! Here's a verse:

Cat god helps us get revenge

On pirates who destroyed our island

Buried with their buried treasure

Messed with the wrong motherfucking cats

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?

Musically, we are inspired by Social Distortion, Misfits, Johnny Cash... Scooby-Doo... That Scooby-Doo movie actually has a pretty sick soundtrack! Outside of music, we are very grateful for the support of our families who have been putting up with our musical endeavors for many years, be it coming to shows or babysitting so we can play shows!

8. Something to add?

Thank YOU for taking the time to interview us and spread the word about our music!