Blackened Horde: How did the band get started? How did you meet and how long have you been together?
Neilson: Well, The Reefer Hut was basically a two man project in the beginning. Me and the singer Jason. We both went to recording school and hooked up there. We wrote a few tunes and decided to put something together. So we recruited this cool guy named Eric to play bass and an old friend Steve to fill in as the other guitarist. We used a drum machine at first and that attracted our drummer Mike. The rest is history. We’ve been together for two years now.
Blackened Horde: How would you describe your music?
Neilson: Well, it’s death metal but its not. I guess it would be safe to say it is metal though. It does have that aggressive edge I love so much. And we do experiment in some industrial/noise type stuff. I just let other people label us I guess, and not worry about it too much.
Blackened Horde: What are your biggest musical influences?
Neilson: All aggressive metal. All styles of it. If it’s played well and the production is at least half way good I’ll like it. But I cant listen to metal all the time. It’;; burn me out. So no matter what the style, if it’s good music then it’s good music, no way around it. And people need to understand, if you don’t like it, so what. Just worry about your own tastes and support what you have to support. Let everyone else listen to what they want to. But I can say my favorite non-metal artist is Tori Amos. She’s good, real good.
Blackened Horde: Who if, if any do you consider the bands idols?
Neilson: I really don’t idolize anybody. Just much respect goes out for what they are doing musically. We’re all human beings, all equal. So if I met my favorite artists out on tour, hell I just talk to them as if they were regular guys I’d never met before.
Blackened Horde: What made you want to be in the band? And if you weren’t in the band what would you want to be doing now?
Neilson: The music, The music, The music. Not money or bitches. I just wanted to play music. The fire burns deep. Hard saying what I’d be doing if I wasn’t jamming. Hopefully I’d at least have a sweet lady to take care of me. But the thought of working a regular job for the rest of my life is scary. But life goes on. I’m sure someday it will come to that.
Blackened Horde: What are some of your favorite bands that are really popular today?
Neilson: Metal wise I’d say Internal Bleeding, Suffocation, Dying Fetus (not all popular yet), gosh there’s too many to tell actually. Non metal bands I’m into Rush, Tori Amos, Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill. There’s so many of these too. Good music is just good music.
Blackened Horde: How many demos/albums do you have? Tell me about them.
Neilson: “Stone to Death” is the only demo at this point. It has long since been sold out. I didn’t feel it accurately captured who we were as a band but the response in the underground was pretty good. A lot of people seemed impressed that it was “different” than most other bands. They talked about it’s originality. Which, when you come down to it, is so important. You have to find your own identity as a band and that’s what I’m trying to do without actually doing it. The next demo “Burnt Beyond Recognition” will be recorded this spring.
Blackened Horde: If you could play with any band who would it be and why?
Neilson: Suffocation, because I truly respect what they are doing musically. Good stuff. And some cool guys too.
Blackened Horde: Who writes the majority of the music?
Neilson: All of us usually write whole songs individually and present them to the band and Mike our drummer. Then we’ll polish the song up. I work best by myself with a drum machine.
Blackened Horde: Who has been the favorite band you’ve played with? Why?
Neilson: Internal Bleeding. Those guys fuckin’ slam live. It was a great show and a great party. We’re doing another show with them this May here in Ohio. Should be fun.
Blackened Horde: Where did you get the band name from?
Neilson: I came up with the phrase a long time ago. It just kinda stuck with me for years. I thought it was a cool and kinda forced the guys into agreeing to use it. Of course it’s bud inspired. A lot of people seem to find it interesting and can relate to it. Free the weed.
Blackened Horde: Describe what the band is like live?
Neilson: Sounds, samples and head banging heaven. The local crew is very responsive so it’s easy for me to get worked up and excited on stage. I think that’s where we are our best. The intensity is definitely much stronger than on the demo.
Blackened Horde: If you are gonna do any kind of video what would be in it?
Neilson: Lots of big skunk buds walk around and the world fucked all over it so MTV would tell us to get lost. No, really I’d want to promote weed cause its my other cause.
Blackened Horde: Are there any tour plans made, if so tell me about them?
Neilson: Just local shows are in the works right now. We’ll be doing some show trading with bands in the Midwest and East coast but just hit and run type stuff.
Blackened Horde: Where do you think the band will be in 20 years from now?
Neilson: As long as I keep my roots in true metal and the underground I don’t care where we’ll be. I don’t plan on getting rich playing what we are playing, but I do hope we maybe would still be around then. That would mean we did something right. Who can say? I know I’ll still be stoned for life.
Contact them at:
The Reefer Hut
P.O. Box 736
Piqua, OH 45356