Interview: Pseudo/Sentai

There was a time when bands were formed with heroes of insurmountable powers or by the like minded.

The members of Guitar Wolf were raised by wolves and then began to play jet rock'n'roll music.

GWAR is peopled with crazy persons from another part of the galaxy.

Today let's take some time to get to know the members of Pseudo/Sentai who are also super heroes.

Glacially Musical: Let's get to know you guys a little bit. First off, explain the name Pseudo/Sentai for us please.

[RED]: We wanted a name that would capture the idea of a band that’s also a task force, while also relating that the task force is just a bunch of musicians. We’re sort of a task force! The / is like the lightning bolt in the Power Rangers title!

[BLUE]: Not much else to say there.

GM: What about beverages. What's your favorite caffeinated beverage?

[RED]: Jameson + Coke - Coke

[BLUE]: Black coffee while listening to black metal is usually my morning caffeine

GM: Where does your music and sound come from?

[RED]: We aim to thwart the many injustices that plague this planet! 

Our music is our way of chronicling our battles with monsters and forces generated by the darkest corners of the human experience. 

The sounds themselves come from smacking strings attached to wonky pedals and vocally wailing in various pitches.

[BLUE]: The music comes from many places. 

Other than what [RED] mentioned, we also get our music from stories that the Loracle tells us. 

The actual sound comes very naturally. We have been told that it is very spastic and it changes quite a bit, but we are just doing our best to write our favorite songs.

GM: When's the last time you had really good pizza? Where was it? 

[RED]: Last week. I got the Ol’ Dirty from Sizzle Pie in Portland, OR. I am a connoisseur of pizza. 

It is my favorite food on the planet and I value it more than many things and people. I’m a total Pizza Slut. If pizzas could run the train on me, I’d ride them.

[BLUE]: I think I had a slice of chicken bacon pineapple green pepper red pepper spinach ranch hot sauce pizza at some random place maybe like 6 months ago? 

Despite loving pizza, I can't eat it very often.

GM: Is there a concerted effort to music as varied as you do or is it just what comes out?

[RED]: We’ve approached music in many ways over our almost decade long run. 

When we first started we just wanted to see how crazy we could be musically in a brief period of time. We were really into burst tracks for our first two albums. 

As time went on, we refined what we wanted our music to be and began to elongate sections that hit the nail on the head. 

While there is still much we wish to accomplish, I am extremely pleased with what we were able to do with Enter the Sentai.

[BLUE]: The very first album we made, Scrapes of an Enigmatic Nature was definitely insane on purpose. 

As time went on, we have worked on writing great songs with interesting transitions. It doesn't seem that varied to me in comparison to many tastes I have because I am well versed in Rock In Opposition and avant-metal type bands.

GM: Do you ever worry you're going to go too far and become self-indulgent?

[RED]: I feel like we might have already done that! 

Glad we got that out of the way! Haha! I feel like it took awhile, but we finally learned what works and what doesn’t. 

And, on some occasions, what works for a long period of time and what only works for a measure or two. We really, really love Prog. We love going on mental journeys and can listen to a single song for 20+ minutes, but we’ve come to realize not a lot of people do. 

These days, we try to condense the prog feel into songs that are 2-5 minutes. One of our biggest inspirations is Wax Simulacra by the Mars Volta. 

If you slow that song down, it would be a killer Prog tune. But it’s a fast song that ends up being this whirlwind of power, riffs and organized disarray! 

We try to translate the masturbatory and extensive into something catchy and fairly brief. 

[BLUE]: It has definitely already happened at moments... but I feel like we keep our songs short enough that it's not self-indulgent. 

There are no 5 minute guitar solos on our albums. In fact, most of the time when I'm doing a guitar solo Scott is singing at the same time. 

I'd rather have 20 riffs in a 5 minute song that twists and turns whenever it wants and stays catchy than some drawn out epic.

GM: Based on the pictures I see...It would appear there's an otaku connection to what you do. What's your favorite anime, manga, giant monster, and samurai flick?

[RED]: Anime: Berserk (both the original show and the remakes), Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, Outlaw Star, Fist of the North Star, Vampire Hunter D, Attack on Titan, anything Studio Ghibli cranks out.

Manga: Berserk, Tomodachi x Monster (think Pokemon meets Battle Royale), Ajin, Attack on Titan, Uzumaki, Gyo, anything that Junji Ito makes. 

Giant Monster Flick: The Host
Samurai Flick: Seven Samurai, Lady Snowblood

Honorable Mentions: Kill Bill, the Ong Bak movies, Kung Fu Hustle, Ichi the Killer. Rigor Mortis caught my attention recently. It’s a ghost story/martial arts movie with a very cool, very dark look and feel. It’s amazing! It’s on Netflix and I highly recommend it. I’m also a HUGE fan of Japanese and Korean horror.

[BLUE]: Holy cow... This is a loaded question. So much. Again, I second all of scott's suggestions but gotta realy second Uzumaki.

I'll just focus on anime: Monster, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Parasyte, Psycho Pass, Gurren Lagen, Death Note (the first half of it mostly), Paprika, Berserk, Neon Genesis, One Punch Man... So fucking many. This is making me want to sit down and watch anime...

GM: What's the likelihood I find a rice cooker and noodle chopsticks in your kitchen right now?

[RED]: You will most certainly find both of those things. My fiancé and I keep a big bag of rice in the pantry. 

[BLUE]: No comment.

(NOTE: At the time of this writing, yours truly has now visited Japantown and Chinatown in San Francisco. I purchased for my daughter both a No Face charm and a Totoro purse and I bought myself a great Voltron T-shirt...sadly, they were out of the one with Sven in place of Allura in Fat Bastard size, so, I had to get the other one...which is still quite cool.)

GM: What are the five most important albums of all time?

[RED]: 
De-Loused in the Comatorium (The Mars Volta)
Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True (Fair to Midland)
Alban B. Clay (The Slaughterhouse 5)
Steal This Album (System of a Down)
Rubber Soul (The Beatles)
Crack the Skye (Mastodon)
That’s six, but it is a necessary six! 

[BLUE]:
This is where I am right now I think. "Most important" is much different than favorite I would say.
On Land and in the Sea (Cardiacs) or A Little Man a House and the Whole World Window
Deloused in the Comatorium (The Mars Volta)
Darwin! (Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso)
Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice (Deathspell Omega)
In the Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson)