An Interview with Kris Gottlieb of the prog-rock jam band, Cbdb

This article was originally posted to the S&R Blog.

This week we are talking with lead guitarist Kris Gottlieb of the prog-rock jam band cbdb, who is currently based in Tuscaloosa, AL. Formed in 2011, the band has created and adopted a musical sound to what can only be referred to as Joyfunk. The band is a cross-blend of rock, funk with a hint of metal and jazz and takes cues from the likes of progressive rock and jam bands such as Genesis and Umphrey’s McGee. Kris dives into his rig, playing style and what makes cbdb an up-in-comer in the music scene.

Colt Wheeler: Chris, thanks for meeting with me before your show tonight. Let’s dive in. So what is “joyfunk?”

Kris Gottlieb: I don’t know if we have quite figured it out yet. I just think anything in certain songs there’s a funk element or in more recently we have been dipping more into progressive obscure music taste.

CW: Sure kind of like an Umphrey’s McGee prog-rock, Genesis style.

KG: Absolutely, it’s this silly non-word that’s not to be taken too seriously because we don’t want to adhere to doing just one thing.

CW: I guess on that, the jam band scene is known for mashing a bunch of different genres together. But lately there has been some push back, like the Allman Brothers, and folks of that nature saying “Were not a jam band. We don’t like the terminology. Were a band that jams.”

KG: What is a jam band though you know? Jamming is you know… the original jam bands are jazz guys.

CW: Sure just like free flowing musical ideas.

KG: Or you can even go really far back and it’s like Shamans or tribal drummer and stuff. They are probably the original jammers. [Laughs]. We have been listening to a lot of Rush and those power trios with good songs and fun and interesting instrumentation. Stuff like that like Yes, and really getting back to the basics like the Beatles, Pink Floyd just kind of going back…

CW: The good old stuff!

KG: It’s the best, it’s what everything is compared too. [Laughs]

CW: Its interesting how that stays around. Because even 40 years later, people say “well it’s not David Gilmore; I mean he’s close you know. But how do you leave that kind of legacy? Speaking of influences, who are you influences? I know you have a little bit of metal influences, but who are your main influences?

KG: I really like, on the metal end I really like The Dillinger Escape Plan and Black Dahlia Murder as far as metal goes. But then I like Dream Theater and those bands, bands like Black Sabbath like the original metal. I love Iron Maiden’s guitar work with those harmonies and stuff. Then in my 20s I started listening to more the heavy heavy bands then I got into bands like Mastodon, the Sword then it was prog for a handful of years.

CW: Genesis, Floyd, Yes those kind of things.

KG: King Crimson, Liquid Tension Experiment with John Petrrucci, Jordan Rudess and Tony Levin from King Crimson.

CW: Prog-rock super groups.

KG: Then I like a lot of solo guitar players, like Steve Vai, Eric Johnson all those sort of guys.

CW: The Guys who have broken down the norm and changed the way guitar has looked at.

KG: Right I love Tosin Abasi, he’s definitely on the metal end of the spectrum with Animals as Leaders. But he has so much stuff that’s not even metal its really awesome because its world music. I can’t remember the singer’s name right now, but she just has this beautiful voice.

CW: He’s done amazing work. I heard he did every take on the first album, like he wrote and recorded every instrument on that.

KG: Yea he did all of it. Yea and then Misha Mansoor from Periphery, he organized the drums I believe. Then the second one was live drums. I enjoy the sound much better on that one, it’s always going to sound better.

CW: It’s always difficult to replace the sound and dynamics of live drums.

KG: Oh yeah absolutely.

CW: So for band influences, we have been listening to the Beatles lately, and Floyd.

KG: On Similar but different spectrum we like Santana and going back to the roots. Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughn were the first two guitar players my dad was like listen to this. Before that, I didn’t know any better it was all punk music. Like Penny Wives, Green Day and Blink-182.

CW: The old middle school bands like Lit.

KG: Yeah my first concert I believe was Green Day, Blink-182 and Jimmy Eat World. Actually, I think Green Day was the headliner but Jimmy Eat World put on such a killer show and I was probably 9 at the time and there for Green Day and Blink-182 and thought “Hey this Jimmy Eat World, I think I might be a fan now”. The 90s stuff isn’t too bad, people like to hate on it but its nostalgia for me.

CW: Sure, you have bands like Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine…

KG: Alice in Chains and Nirvana, one of the biggest rock bands ever.

CW: Sure, there is a lot of history there. Now you started out as a metal player right? Now how do you translate over to the joyfunk, progressive rock without it making sound… well, so it doesn’t sound heavy? You can hear the arpeggiated sweeps and stuff but it doesn’t sound like its thrash rock.

KG: A lot of that was listening to my favorite guitar players in a pop setting. Shawn Lane (solo and studio guitar player) was one that did tracks for the Highwaymen albums with Johnny Cash, Waylon and Kris Kristofferson. That’s going even further back. Old country was part of my listening growing up.

CW: The outlaw country.

KG: Yea the outlaw country and that kind of came back around in this cool way. Which I don’t think we sound anything like those guys, but maybe the energy comes through. [Laughs] I was watching this documentary and Flea (bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) or somebody was saying he had this emulation and the articulation of a jazz player but the attitude of a punk player. And that’s the coolest way to be. It’s like Bret Hinds of Mastodon that’s what I love about him is his playing and his general demeanor.

CW: Sure you have the chops and the attitude to back it up.

KG: Right. I which I feel like I’ve always been halfway between those and being more and more reserved but at times playing more at my top ability. But that’s a conversation in itself. Do you play to your 100% and risk it and could potential fail at it or do you stop at 80 so you know you’ll put on a cookie cutter show or put on the same show every time which there should be a balance between those.

CW: And that’s a strong point to yall as a band. You never try to reproduce the same show night after night but try to put on a unique show every night. I’m sure that comes with its challenges, by creating ways to play the same song one night in a completely new way then you did the night before.

KG: Yea, and to keep it fresh if at anything. Sometimes we get these crazy ideas to get really outside of the box. If the crowd is into we will be able to go there. But sometimes you play too many notes that make your ears question “what’s that?!” But if you do that right, those are the best ones, but if you don’t execute that right, we could fall on our faces.

CW: Yeah. So let’s talk about gear that you use to make music. What’s your main axe now.

KG: I’m using this Strandberg Boden OS7, I love it! It’s one of my favorite guitars and it’s my number one on the road. Well one it’s headless, and it’s really compact and I can take it to Dallas after we play New York and I can take it on a plane and I don’t have to worry about it. It seems like it would be kind of a novelty but it really does have this open sound quality about it due to it chambered body.

CW: Does not having a headstock have any affect to it?

KG: Not too much. I think traditionally with the headless like the Steinberger and those I’ve always like. But I want a guitar with a wood neck and most of those have a graphite. This [Boden OS 7] has carbon fiber strips going through but its wood and it breathes. So I think it sounds better than the Steinberger guitars that have the idea of it being compact but also lightweight. I have an 8 string that my friend Brandon Taylor made for me and it’s an incredible guitar but it’s also over 10 pounds. So with this one, it’s almost as if I can’t feel it [strapped to me] because its so light. Then you have Les Paul guys that don’t mind the weight and say screw it.

CW: Oh yeah it’s worth it for the ’59 sound (classic 1959 Les Paul sound).

KG: And I’ll bring it out every so often just not on this run. I just brought the 7 and I’ve also been playing a Strat that a friend of mine loaned me. It’s an American Custom Strat from 92 with a solid piece of ash that’s just amazing.

CW: Maple neck or rosewood?

KG: Yea Maple neck, maple fret board. And its heavy too, it’s the heaviest Strat I’ve ever played; well over 10 pounds.

CW: Wow!

KG: It’s just as heavy as the 8-string. I had it out for a while but I’ll bring it back but on this run I wanted it to be easy because of the travel.

CW: Now the main axe (Boden OS 7) that’s a six or seven string?

KG: 7,and there are certain songs you can get away with on a 6 string without having that extra lowest c, b and d that on a lower guitar sometime. I just like the lower octave. I’ve been listening to a lot of bands that have the lower strings incorporated. And even not metal bands, like Charlie Hunter). He plays in his own way that it’s almost its own instrument.

CW: Has the band’s sound changed at all from you going from an 8 stringed guitar to 7 in terms of your playing?

KG: Yeah, there are a few songs that I can’t play with the 7. But moving things and moving positions on the neck is where I can get away with 90% of what I do. It’s just playing at a different position of the neck to hit those notes.

CW: Just finding those sweet spots and playing where those harmonies are.

KG: There are certain spots on the neck I’ve always found are the most comfortable; usually between the 7th fret and like the 14th or 15th. Just right in there is the most comfortable part of the guitar, I’m not really sure why…

CW: It’s also that frequency range where you’re not getting too much into the bass (guitar) or the vocals. It’s that mid-range of guitar frequencies.

KG: Then there are those guys who adjust where they pick on the string whether it’s closer to the bridge or the neck based on where they are playing on the neck. Which is incredible, I can’t think that much! It will sound different if you play up where the fret board meets the body and much different if you play next to the bridge.

CW: Yeah totally. So what kind of amps and effects are you using these days?

KG: I’ve been using a Dean Markley CD-30 it’s like a two 6L6 (tubes) 1×12 tube combo. And actually in the past few weeks, I’ve been bringing out this Holmes which is like this late (19)80’s solid state 60 watt amp. Kind of like a Roland Jazz Chorus sound. They were made in Mississippi and I found that one for such a great deal on Reverb.com just scouring through and I saw it and was like “Oh God this guy must not want it because it’s less than $300 plus shipping!”

CW: So you took a risk on it.

KG: Shawn Lane uses a different model of their amp, but it has such a simple circuitry that I thought well I’ll try it. I put this tube pedal, it’s this navy tube pedal that I put with it and it just sounds real buttery.

CW: Is that before the pre-amp or through the effects loop in between the amp and speaker?

KG: It’s all into the front of the amp.

CW: I tell you what though, Reverb.com has changed the way of guitar buying and effects and aftermarket buying for the community.

KG: Oh yeah, I’m on their surfing all the time!

CW: I mean you go to Guitar Center looking for a used Fender Strat and its maybe $300 cheaper than a brand new one at market price. But you go onto reverb and you can get some killer deals.

KG: You can get some really good deals! You just have to watch it. There is certain gear that I look for every time I get on reverb. It’s always those amps (Holmes) and those pedals because they are super rare. Right after I bought that pedal, I found another one and I was going to buy it in case the other one failed. But I passed on it, now I can’t find another one.

CW: [laughs]

KG: I guess that’s the way it goes.

CW: So was it gear acquisition syndrome for you then; a little G.A.S?

KG: Yeah, yeah exactly! It’s always as soon as I get my pedal board to where I’m happy with it, it like alright it’s time to rip it up again and start over again.

CW: Oh you know what I need….It’s like  I have this sound in my head and its driving me crazy so I need an envelope filter or a compressor or something like that.

KG: I’ve been leaving the wah pedal at home lately just because if it’s on there, I’ll use it [laughs] and you don’t want to be the wah guy!

CW: Right, you don’t want to be Kirk Hammett…

KG: Well you do, if you can be Kirk Hammett, then of course you do. I mean, I can’t [he is lying, he can] But, he uses it really well and there are players that do. The thing though for me is that I started using it too much; so I decided to completely cut it off and get rid of it.  It was the same thing with my Boss phaser and so I was thinking “Did I use this the last time I wrote a song?” and I did so I sold it just to take a break from it for a while. You can always grab those everywhere. I mean they are the best phaser pedals I’ve played with.

CW: Well they always sound an amazing when you use it. 

KG: Well it’s not up there tonight, there is no funk phaser tonight.

CW: Well I’m sure it won’t change your playing that much. 

KG: It shouldn’t…

CW: Well I know you used to use the Fractal Audio Axe FX. 

KG: Cy (Simmons, lead singer and rhythm guitar of cbdb) still does and plays it through a Fender….

RS: The Fender Twin?

KG: No it’s the Fender Deluxe Reverb. It’s similar but it has the 1×12 speaker and Twins are 80 watts and his is something smaller. But it’s enough for the stage because you don’t really need a lot. My Dean Markely is a 30 watts and it’s just enough. But this solid state amp is 60 and that’s pushing it.

CW: And you’re miking them with Shure’s?

KG: Ha, I don’t know, whatever they have up there.

CW: Now was that a tough transition going from something as endless as the Axe FX to something is set where you know your rig and this is the sounds you are expecting. Like if you needed to change or add something on the fly, you couldn’t.

KG: Yeah, yeah the Axe FX was just easier. At one point, I had two of them and one would stay in the rack at home so I could practice at home I could plug into that and that was plugged into the computer. And that was great, I do miss that aspect. But now, I have a four year old, so I don’t play nearly as much at home. Well I do, but it’s more now of watching cartoons and playing an unplugged electric guitar while she’s building Legos and stuff and recreating cartoon melodies. But I do like having an amp on stage, you have a little bit more control on the fly. But I do miss, the endlessness of the Axe FX. There are so many parameters so you can set that to what’s in your head.

CW: But [an amp] allows you to be more creative on stage or during the creative process.

KG: Yea. I do miss the limitless process but I do love how seamless it is going into the front of the amp. It’s like I said earlier, going back to the basics. I still play with Cy’s Axe FX sometimes. But really, like during practice, I’ve been playing with my iPhone and the garage band app and that is incredible, you got a drum progression going and yea.

CW: Very cool! So now is your live rig different than your studio rig or are they pretty similar now a days?

KG: It’s pretty much the same rig. I just bring pedals in or just plug it straight through the Dean Markely. The pedals, I literally have got them to fit on a piece of plywood to fit in my carry on and strap it in and put the dirty clothes on  top of it.

CW: Well that’s rock n roll right there!

KG: Yea, the pedal board is just volume, distortion, two overdrive, I have a Joyo compressor, which is the cheapest compressor that I have ever played through and it sounds just incredible like it sounds like a Ross. For $30 or whatever the thing costs, it really sounds great.

CW: I think I was listening to the Trey Anastastio, where he explains his rig. And he was talking about his Ross and he was saying he stole it from Mike and said he paid like 25 bucks for it. 

KG: But back in the day it was simple circuitry man.

CW: Right, and it does amazing things. Those simple circuits… there is something magical about them versus something like a $300 Keeley compressor. Which, if that’s your thing, then absolutely go for it, but for something so simple, it almost has like a golden spark on it.

KG: I really like the idea of cheap gear. [laughs] I mean I’ve spent money on gear but I like the idea of a pedalboard just being the distortion, the compressor and like an electro-harmonix delay memory boy, which is the best delay. I like what it does to the sound, other than delaying it. It’s more of a wet dry knob to use as a solo boost for when you need that space. And I’ve got a digi tech digital delay, which is another $50 pedal for like a short delay. Then I have a Boss Pitch Shifter to do harmonies and that doubles as my chorus pedal. It has that deep detune mode, where it has that swirly Leslie effect. Always trying new things and pedals.

CW: Experimentation! So what is cbdb’s writing process?

KG: Hmm I don’t know, oh hey Paul!

Paul Oliver (cbdb’s drummer): We do it best when somebody comes to the table with an idea or riff and we will sit there and play with it and try to come up with a song from there, build around it. There is not really a formula to it for us. But a lot of the stuff we have written has been passed out in practice. Especially the Fame EP that was all written in rehearsals.

CW: Awesome recording by the way!

PO: Yea, we are really proud of that one. Ready to get back into the studio now. 

CW: So we have new material coming out soon?

PO: We are pretty much in the writing process now. We have been grinding it out pretty hard this spring. 

KG: Writing and grinding. I think 2017 may hold a new record for us. 

CW: Are you going to go back to the Tuscaloosa studio?

PO: Probably not, we like to use different studios. If we went back to anywhere, it would be Fame.

CW: Such a legendary studio. Now do you do your own mastering and engineering or do you have someone else?

PO: We hire somebody out to do that. We did a lot of our mixing, but we hired someone out for the mastering process.

CW: So now I get this all the time, but what does cbdb mean?

KG: Well you know like a cb radio, like citizens band? Well take the band and put that as the last b and the first b and d stand for “boogie down” so you have the “Citizens Boogie Down Band”

CW: Okay….

[Everyone laughs]

KG: That’s a good one isn’t it?!

CW: That is a good one. [everyone laughs] I’ve heard a lot of different stories of what it is short for and that is the most creative one I have heard. I like that one a lot.

KG: Well, we just came up with that, so that’s what cbdb stands for tonight.

CW: So Bobby Cox (legendary former manager of the Atlanta Braves) bobble head on the amp, is that yours or is that Cy’s?

KG: That’s Cy’s. He is the Braves fan. Even though I was born in Atlanta as well. It’s funny I haven’t ever thought of it but we went to see the Philly’s game yesterday and he’s a big Braves fan and we were all hanging out and it was cool. But it had occurred to me that my grandfather had played in the minors for the Philly’s and I hadn’t thought of that in a while and it just occurred to me.

CW: Ah very cool!

KG: I’m not one to keep up with sports that much, but I might have to get their coach (Pete Mackanin) up on the amp.

CW: Yeah like a mini battle of the NL East. That’s awesome! Okay so last question, where can people find out more about yall’s music?

KG: cbdbmusic.com has the whole 9 yards. Everything is linked up from there.

CW: Well, Kris, Paul it’s been a pleasure! Have a great show.

KG: Thanks man! 

You can Kris on cbdb’s two albums “Phone.Keys.Wallet” and “Joyfunk Is Dead” as well as their latest EP, “The Fame EP”! For more information about the band, upcoming tours on their website cbdbmusic.com and be sure to check them out live!

Until next time, let the music play!