Josh Eppard is best known as the drummer for Coheed and Cambria but when hes not chilling with that band hes just weird. Weerd Science, that is. Oh snap got you! Fished in. you thought I was going one way and instead I turned left and flipped a bitch on you.
Weerd Science is Eppards alter-ego and its a weird rap/nuttiness hybrid and it kicks ass. Its like taffy and I sure as hell like my taffy. Weerd Sciences latest album is Friends and Nervous Breakdowns.
Check out the website for Weerd Science
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to?
Josh Eppard: Basically working on the Coheed thing. We have 16 days to finish, but at the same time we're doing a Weerd Science video, so I have to split from the studio, shoot for six hours and go back to the studio. We just got back from Europe and we were behind schedule, so everyone's been a little bit nervous. We've just been railing there with 12 hour days trying to get it done. It's actually been really. I'm planning on breathing again soon.
DRE: Who's directing the Weerd Science video?
JE: I've got these dudes that I know, they work for this company called Mobius Loop; they've done some really good stuff. I kind of knew them in high school; I wasn't super-good friends with them. We came up with this script, and rented out this IBM building because there's this whole Mission: Impossible theme. We got it really cheap and rented some nice cameras and well do it on 16mm film. We got a bunch of actors, so it's like the real deal. It's actually fun; at least I don't have to do 12 hour days in a cubicle, so I love doing this. Its also nuts; I feel like as soon as I wake up it's go time right away. I open my eyes to a phone call.
DRE: What song is the video for?
JE: Conspiracy Theories Without Mel Gibson.
All the stuff on that record is pretty old. That one is old too, but for some reason I still enjoy listening to the words. I think a lot of the other things get old, but I still put on the record and that's the only one I ever listen to. Things get old before they come out because I probably listened to literally 10,000 times.
DRE: Do you contribute writing to Coheed?
JE: Actually, on this record I play keyboards on every song. I don't write all the lyrics, but we're definitely a band. It's hard to say who wrote certain parts. I didn't come up and play the guitar and say do this, but we'll be rehearsing and someone will say Hey, you know, if you do this... A lot of the Proggy shit, the really off-kilter things, definitely happen when the four of us are together. [lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Coheed and Cambria] Claudio [Sanchez] will come up with the whole base of a song and sometimes he'll come up with the more Proggy, really abstract kind of things. Then [bassist] Michael [Todd] will throw an idea out and we'll say That'd be dope. That's kind of just how it happens and I contribute more than anybody really knows. People think Claudio does everything in the band and he'd be the first one to tell you that's just not true.
DRE: So Weerd Science is where you get your ya-ya's out.
JE: Yeah, it's much different. If you walk into a studio where a Coheed and Cambria album is being made, there'll be this guy who's seriously listening. With Weerd Science recordings, during breaks, I'm usually passed out on the floor. People are just partying and having fun. It's just a nice deal. You have to have the fun side of music too. When we were kids and playing, it's supposed to be fun. Making a Coheed record is fun. Even the serious stuff is fun. But during Weerd Science, when we're in the studio, anything goes. Someone could fart and we'd record it and sample it. There's no real boundaries.
DRE: So whose fart is sampled on the record?
JE: Well, not on that record, but when I was 19, I was doing this record called Newborn. On that I think we used a fart and manipulated it. We put it on the computer and put it through a filter and still, to this day, it's one of our favorite tracks. I still want to use it on every song. No one would know it's a fart.
DRE: Did Coheed help you get your Weerd record deal?
JE: Well I doubt Equal Vision would've helped me out if it weren't for Coheed and Cambria. But Weerd Science was around even before there was a Coheed and Cambria. If a kid likes Coheed and Cambria, he's probably not going to like Weerd Science, so I'm not sure how much it really helps me. We've got all these really awesome show ideas for Weerd Science, but more often than not I can't do them because I'm so busy with the band. But the guys are being really supportive. It's a two way street and it's helped me come a long way.
DRE: Would they ever let you open for Coheed, do you think or do you think you wouldnt be able to, physically?
JE: The first show I ever did, I got up on stage in Lancaster, and I said something really vulgar and watched a father grab his 13 year old girl and walk her out. I followed them out and I told the father I wouldn't curse anymore and he just looked at me and was livid. I don't think Weerd Science would go over too well, opening for Coheed and Cambria. There's a lot of young kids. Weerd Science is for old men and old black women. You can quote me on that.
DRE: You wear your baseball cap toward the front with Coheed and turn it back when with Weerd?
JE: It's actually the other way around. When I'm with Weerd, I wear it frontwards, and when I'm with Coheed I wear it sideways. The whole hat thing is overrated. But I hate my hair, so I put on a hat and I don't have to worry about my hair anymore, but I hate wearing hats. Fuck that! Fuck 'em all, Daniel Epstein, fuck hats!
DRE: The kind of stuff you do reminds me of RJD2 and Blueprint; do you know them?
JE: Oh yeah, totally. With any kind of music you're a product of your influences and I listen to a lot of that shit. I never went into the studio and said Okay, we're going to rip off this guy. But the influences were in our heads and I think that's one of the cool things about music. You can't help but take from your surroundings. It's what inspires me so I've gotten that comparison a lot and I definitely hear it.
DRE: Do you think you could ever produce hip-hop like RJD2 does?
JE: Not yet. Not really, no.
DRE: But do you think you could?
JE: I definitely think that I could but there's just not enough hours in the day. I'd always hear my Dad say that, There's not enough hours in the day but it's really true. One second, it's 11:30 in the morning and the next thing I know, it's five in the afternoon. I produced the Weerd Science record but I didn't get any credit for it because I wanted to keep dudes happy and I had a lot of help along the way. Producing is something I definitely want to get into and I want to own a restaurant, one day.
DRE: What kind of food?
JE: All kinds of food. No one ever has any white soul food. We need white soul food; all soul food has like a big black lady on it. What is white soul food, Danny?
DRE: I'm Jewish, so my soul food is pastrami.
JE: Hey, I'm down with that, dude. White soul food is a BLT! Really, it's kind of fun making a joke out of it, but owning a restaurant with a couple of my friends is a dream of mine. That or maybe a magazine. Who doesn't have a bunch of things they want to do? Hopefully, if it pans out, I'll be able to do at least another one of them.
DRE: Who did the animation for the website?
JE: That'd be a group of guys from the video, Mobius Loop. The website needed a lot of work, it took those guys a lot of time but I think it looks really great. Better than what I wanted.
DRE: You like SuicideGirls?
JE: I've seen it and stuff, I enjoy it. I'm not a member, but all my friends are. I think I know a bunch of SuicideGirls. I'll meet SuicideGirls and I'll be like oh, that's scary!
DRE: Why are you scared?
JE: I'm just kidding. They're usually pretty hot and when pretty girls are around I begin to sweat a lot and I dont know what to say. That's what happens. You can tell if there are pretty girls in the room because I've got huge sweaty armpits and I'm curled up in the corner crying.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Weerd Science is Eppards alter-ego and its a weird rap/nuttiness hybrid and it kicks ass. Its like taffy and I sure as hell like my taffy. Weerd Sciences latest album is Friends and Nervous Breakdowns.
Check out the website for Weerd Science
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to?
Josh Eppard: Basically working on the Coheed thing. We have 16 days to finish, but at the same time we're doing a Weerd Science video, so I have to split from the studio, shoot for six hours and go back to the studio. We just got back from Europe and we were behind schedule, so everyone's been a little bit nervous. We've just been railing there with 12 hour days trying to get it done. It's actually been really. I'm planning on breathing again soon.
DRE: Who's directing the Weerd Science video?
JE: I've got these dudes that I know, they work for this company called Mobius Loop; they've done some really good stuff. I kind of knew them in high school; I wasn't super-good friends with them. We came up with this script, and rented out this IBM building because there's this whole Mission: Impossible theme. We got it really cheap and rented some nice cameras and well do it on 16mm film. We got a bunch of actors, so it's like the real deal. It's actually fun; at least I don't have to do 12 hour days in a cubicle, so I love doing this. Its also nuts; I feel like as soon as I wake up it's go time right away. I open my eyes to a phone call.
DRE: What song is the video for?
JE: Conspiracy Theories Without Mel Gibson.
All the stuff on that record is pretty old. That one is old too, but for some reason I still enjoy listening to the words. I think a lot of the other things get old, but I still put on the record and that's the only one I ever listen to. Things get old before they come out because I probably listened to literally 10,000 times.
DRE: Do you contribute writing to Coheed?
JE: Actually, on this record I play keyboards on every song. I don't write all the lyrics, but we're definitely a band. It's hard to say who wrote certain parts. I didn't come up and play the guitar and say do this, but we'll be rehearsing and someone will say Hey, you know, if you do this... A lot of the Proggy shit, the really off-kilter things, definitely happen when the four of us are together. [lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Coheed and Cambria] Claudio [Sanchez] will come up with the whole base of a song and sometimes he'll come up with the more Proggy, really abstract kind of things. Then [bassist] Michael [Todd] will throw an idea out and we'll say That'd be dope. That's kind of just how it happens and I contribute more than anybody really knows. People think Claudio does everything in the band and he'd be the first one to tell you that's just not true.
DRE: So Weerd Science is where you get your ya-ya's out.
JE: Yeah, it's much different. If you walk into a studio where a Coheed and Cambria album is being made, there'll be this guy who's seriously listening. With Weerd Science recordings, during breaks, I'm usually passed out on the floor. People are just partying and having fun. It's just a nice deal. You have to have the fun side of music too. When we were kids and playing, it's supposed to be fun. Making a Coheed record is fun. Even the serious stuff is fun. But during Weerd Science, when we're in the studio, anything goes. Someone could fart and we'd record it and sample it. There's no real boundaries.
DRE: So whose fart is sampled on the record?
JE: Well, not on that record, but when I was 19, I was doing this record called Newborn. On that I think we used a fart and manipulated it. We put it on the computer and put it through a filter and still, to this day, it's one of our favorite tracks. I still want to use it on every song. No one would know it's a fart.
DRE: Did Coheed help you get your Weerd record deal?
JE: Well I doubt Equal Vision would've helped me out if it weren't for Coheed and Cambria. But Weerd Science was around even before there was a Coheed and Cambria. If a kid likes Coheed and Cambria, he's probably not going to like Weerd Science, so I'm not sure how much it really helps me. We've got all these really awesome show ideas for Weerd Science, but more often than not I can't do them because I'm so busy with the band. But the guys are being really supportive. It's a two way street and it's helped me come a long way.
DRE: Would they ever let you open for Coheed, do you think or do you think you wouldnt be able to, physically?
JE: The first show I ever did, I got up on stage in Lancaster, and I said something really vulgar and watched a father grab his 13 year old girl and walk her out. I followed them out and I told the father I wouldn't curse anymore and he just looked at me and was livid. I don't think Weerd Science would go over too well, opening for Coheed and Cambria. There's a lot of young kids. Weerd Science is for old men and old black women. You can quote me on that.
DRE: You wear your baseball cap toward the front with Coheed and turn it back when with Weerd?
JE: It's actually the other way around. When I'm with Weerd, I wear it frontwards, and when I'm with Coheed I wear it sideways. The whole hat thing is overrated. But I hate my hair, so I put on a hat and I don't have to worry about my hair anymore, but I hate wearing hats. Fuck that! Fuck 'em all, Daniel Epstein, fuck hats!
DRE: The kind of stuff you do reminds me of RJD2 and Blueprint; do you know them?
JE: Oh yeah, totally. With any kind of music you're a product of your influences and I listen to a lot of that shit. I never went into the studio and said Okay, we're going to rip off this guy. But the influences were in our heads and I think that's one of the cool things about music. You can't help but take from your surroundings. It's what inspires me so I've gotten that comparison a lot and I definitely hear it.
DRE: Do you think you could ever produce hip-hop like RJD2 does?
JE: Not yet. Not really, no.
DRE: But do you think you could?
JE: I definitely think that I could but there's just not enough hours in the day. I'd always hear my Dad say that, There's not enough hours in the day but it's really true. One second, it's 11:30 in the morning and the next thing I know, it's five in the afternoon. I produced the Weerd Science record but I didn't get any credit for it because I wanted to keep dudes happy and I had a lot of help along the way. Producing is something I definitely want to get into and I want to own a restaurant, one day.
DRE: What kind of food?
JE: All kinds of food. No one ever has any white soul food. We need white soul food; all soul food has like a big black lady on it. What is white soul food, Danny?
DRE: I'm Jewish, so my soul food is pastrami.
JE: Hey, I'm down with that, dude. White soul food is a BLT! Really, it's kind of fun making a joke out of it, but owning a restaurant with a couple of my friends is a dream of mine. That or maybe a magazine. Who doesn't have a bunch of things they want to do? Hopefully, if it pans out, I'll be able to do at least another one of them.
DRE: Who did the animation for the website?
JE: That'd be a group of guys from the video, Mobius Loop. The website needed a lot of work, it took those guys a lot of time but I think it looks really great. Better than what I wanted.
DRE: You like SuicideGirls?
JE: I've seen it and stuff, I enjoy it. I'm not a member, but all my friends are. I think I know a bunch of SuicideGirls. I'll meet SuicideGirls and I'll be like oh, that's scary!
DRE: Why are you scared?
JE: I'm just kidding. They're usually pretty hot and when pretty girls are around I begin to sweat a lot and I dont know what to say. That's what happens. You can tell if there are pretty girls in the room because I've got huge sweaty armpits and I'm curled up in the corner crying.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
alkalinenerd:
great interview, i loves me some Eppards.
ainur:
lol, hah! Nice.