KVRX’s HELL OR HORNRAISER melted faces and inspired ample headbanging, all while supporting student radio. Get to know the stellar lineup behind the show and be sure to check out KVRX’s Hornraiser to amplify student voices and keep none of the hits rolling all of the time.
Throat Piss
KVRX: You are often referred to as a “sludge band.” What does this mean to you, and how do you think it fits your music?
Aaron: I think it’s just kind of a tangible way to describe our sound. I feel like we fit into a lot of genres, but sludge seems to be the sound we’re most rooted in. I think there’s enough divergent things about what we do that it’s more experimental, but definitely built on the same frame. Like most people I know that make music, I'm not terribly concerned with what genre of sounds we make, but am thankful that there’s a moniker that can be ascribed to it so that it’s easier to loop people in on what we’re doing.
Nick: I’ve heard a lot of people say sludge is a mix of hardcore punk and doom metal, I would agree with that. Early influences like Swans with their album “Filth” that came out in 1983 and even the last half of Black Flag’s 1984 album “My War” show the early stages of artists mixing the genres. I’m very much inspired by sludge bands throughout the generations and the diy mindset. I’m honored to be part of the ATX sludge scene. I am personally a big fan of the New Orleans sludge scene and the bands that came out of that era, like Crowbar, Eyehategod, and Thou.
KVRX: What inspires the cover art of your albums?
Aaron: When I was designing the current album’s cover I was talking to the rest of the band about the overall theme of the album. The art was directly inspired by the name “Existence as a Grinding Gear” and the way that the band interpreted the name and the lyrical themes. I thought a lot about extreme pressure, and crushing feelings. The face on the cover is more or less smashed flat against a pane of glass or other translucent surface we can see through.
KVRX: How did the band come to be? What is your origin story?
Nick: I was getting tattooed by Whitney for a few years when she asked if I wanted to start a band. I had only been playing guitar for about a year at the time and I said yes. I had a few riffs and we all got together with joe and jammed. We did this for about a year and even played a handful of shows before Aaron (sax man) joined and it truly blossomed into what it is now
Aaron: I was a late addition to the band, so I’ll let the others talk about the earliest conception of the band. My addition to the band started as a joke. Whitney and I work at the same tattoo shop. Initially when Throat Piss started, I was just designing some shirts for em and working the merch booth occasionally. The band was a three piece featuring vocals, 7 string guitar, and drums. At the tattoo shop, I would always hear Whitney being asked “how was the show” and her reply was always along the lines of “great, but I swear if another person asks to play bass for us…” followed by general exasperation. I offhandedly said to her, “you know what would be a funny ‘fuck you’ to the constant onslaught of bass-hopefuls? Just throw something up there that makes no sense, like a saxophone, before you ever put a bass on stage.” She thought it was funny and told me to come to a practice session. It worked, surprisingly, and I kept tailoring my equipment to get it to work better and better. At first I was only featuring on two songs. After a few months of showing up to practice to run two songs twice and then leave, and hopping on stage to play two songs, Joe finally asked if I was in the band or not. So here I am.
KVRX: If you had to choose a message that represents your band, what would it be?
Throat Piss: Shake your ass, fight for the oppressed and marginalized members of society, and fuck fascism. Be yourself and everything else will fall into place.
KVRX: What is your songwriting process like?
Throat Piss: Nick is Riff-Master-Supreme. Typically, he lays out the structure of the song and then the rest of us build our parts around his idea. He usually sits with a drum track on Logic, and crafts whatever he’s feeling at the moment around that basic drum beat. It’s a lot of fun because the way he writes gives Sax Man opportunities to fill the role of the bass with lots of moments where he can play a lead or solo. From there, Sax Man tends to work on some groove and syncopated stuff with Joe and it just gets even more fun. Then the final step is making sure that he’s supporting and not standing in the way of our human chainsaw vocalist, Whitney.
OOGWEI
KVRX: What’s y’all origin story?
OOGWEI: Before OOGWEI Jack and Oscar were in a band called Facade and I was in a band called Red River Trucking Company. We played some shows together but the three of us felt like our bands weren't playing live enough. One day we were discussing that outside of Oscar's jam space and we decided to jam a little bit and we ended up writing three songs.
KVRX: Where’d the band name come from?
OOGWEI: Kung-fu Panda.
KVRX: Y’all have more live music recordings released than studio songs. How does the live sound define your music?
OOGWEI: The basis of the band is playing live shows and our sound is the three of us in a room playing together.
KVRX: Walk me through your song writing process. Inspirations, meaning, instruments, recording, everything.
OOGWEI: Song writing can come from anywhere. Most of the time one of us will start playing a groove or a riff and the others just fall in. Depending on how that goes I might write lyrics right then and there and it gets a little bit of structure. After that initial time we just keep going back and flushing it out until we can play it live. Then it really starts to solidify after playing it live a bunch. A lot of our inspiration comes from what we're listening to at the time and it's never intentional. For recording we get in a room playing the songs and very minimal vocals and maybe guitar or a little bass overdubs...synths if we're feeling fancy.
KVRX: What’s your mission with this band? Do you have an end goal?
OOGWEI: Play in front of as many people as possible, travel, and jam.
OOGWEI, Photo by Dina Zeid.
OOGWEI, Photo by Dina Zeid.
Mallories
Mallories, a sludge band based out of Austin, TX, is one of the best up-and-coming acts in the underground scene. Having played live shows since 2023, Mallories have already made their presence known and are here to stay for years to come. Their first and latest EP, stories fables and poems, contains five songs, all of which hit the nail on the head when you think of underground sludge. Bound for a huge break, Mallories are only on the rise!
KVRX: Where does the name Mallories come from?
Mallories: Mallories name came from our history teacher in high school, Mr. Mallory. He was super chill and nice.
KVRX: What is the main inspiration of the band?
Mallories: Some of our biggest inspirations are Boris, Eyehategod, Weedeater, Sleep, and Black Angels
KVRX: How long have y'all known each other?
Mallories: We went to high school together, but we’ve been bros since birth.
KVRX: Why should people care about the Mallories?
Mallories: Because Heavy Music is back in 2025.
KVRX: What is y’all’s favorite food place after a show?
Mallories: P. Terry’s… double burger or chicken sandwich. Milkshake if we are feeling crazy…🍓