From the mighty frozen north (that's Canada to you and Steve Albini, thanks) comes the tall and cranky one. Here's what Neddal thinks of the whole thing, eh?

What to say about Floor? Back in the mid- to late nineties they released a slew of 7" singles for small punk and hardcore labels. When they went for heaviness, they tossed out riffs that I'm sure made Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley shit their pants. When they went for a groove, they could have knocked Kyuss on their asses. Then they broke up for about five years. They got back together in 2001 and have since released a split 7" with Dove (2001) and a self-titled full-length (2002). The single didn't stray too far from their earlier recordings. The full-length was another story. One of the top records to come out of the stoner / sludge scene last year, it combined the heavy-as-fuckness of their earlier singles with melodic, almost sweet-sounding vocals. It caught a lot of people by surprise. I caught up with Steve Brooks, Floor's fearless leader, singer, and guitarist via email:

NEDDAL DISCUSSES SWEET-SOUNDING VOX WITH FLOOR:

DA: Give me a brief introduction. Finish this sentence: "Hi. My name is Steve Brooks. I play guitar in a band called Floor and...."

SB: I live a glamorous life! Second and third-hand clothes and canned food! Sometimes I get to sleep in rest stops and bathe in dirty sinks. How's that?

DA: When Floor started back in the early to mid-nineties, you were lumped in with bands like eyehategod, Buzzov.en, and Cavity. Aside from Cavity, did / do you know any of those guys? Did you influence each other, or was it a matter of having similar influences?

SB: The funny thing about the Cavity thing was that ME, Henry, and Anthony (who is no longer a member of this band) were members of Cavity during different times. Anthony played on most of Cavity's recordings and both Anthony and Henry played on their SUPERCOLLIDER record. I actually played on the very first full-length record on City of Crime Records, later released on Pushead's label. But I was more into doing my own thing than being in someone else's band. Floor and Cavity started around the same time in 1992, but I don't really think we had much of a influence on each other. We were all friends, but surprisingly didn't listen to much of the same music. Cavity was more into bands like Laughing Hyenas, and Floor was much more into the Melvins, Husker Du, and Godflesh.

As far as being lumped in with bands like EHG and Buzzov.en? I don't think we sound anything like those bands, but we listened to some of them. I never really got too much into Buzzov.en. A few good riffs here and there, but I thought they were overrated. EHG, on the other hand, was a heavier and all around better band, in my opinion. Floor has been influenced by just about everything we listen to, so we were probably influenced by EHG at some point. But the REAL reason why we formed this band and have been playing WHAT we've played... the credit has to go to the Melvins. I don't think any of the other bands in this "whatever people call it these days" genre can touch or have had nearly as much impact on us as THE MELVINS did.

DA: As an aside: When I first heard Floor, you guys blew my barely post-teen mind. I was always slightly confused that you were lumped in with the sludgecore crowd because to me, the early Floor stuff sounds like a warmer and more human Godflesh, especially the vocals. Care to comment?

SB: Yes, I just wanted the band to sound kind of "Godfleshy" (ha ha). I loved what Justin Broadrick was doing with his voice and I thought Godflesh was the greatest band on earth! I got to see them on the STREETCLEANER tour and they were, without a doubt, the most powerful band in the world!!! I didn't get too much into the later stuff, but the first three or four records and eps were flawless! I still listen to them religiously.

DA: What really happened with the full-length you recorded called DOVE? I've heard several rumors -- that the label folded before it could be released, that the label refused to release it because of the 15+-minute Joy Division cover, that the band wasn't happy with the way the recording turned out....

SB: Well, wait no longer. We're working on a discography 2 x cd for No Idea Records with songs from our early ep's, comps, several unreleased songs... and a few from the DOVE sessions. Everything was recorded from 1993 to 1994. We're kind of putting the best of the ep's on disc. I no longer have the last recordings we did in 1995 in Atlanta, because they were sent to Rhetoric and Bovine (both no longer exist). Plus, the production on those 1995 sessions was so horrible that I'd rather not put that garbage on disc.

Two of the songs, however, were released, though: one on the split with Sloth... and the other on THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY 2 x 7" comp. The 15+-minute cover of Joy Division's "I remember nothing" should be on the discography cd. Don't expect a great version of the song, though. We kind of did it as our tribute to Joy Division and didn't include any vocals. So, it's more like background music and we recorded it in one take while coming down on Ex (I was the only sober one). Those were the days....

DA: Does the Bomb String ever break? And what do you tune the other strings to?

SB: Unbelievably, Anthony was the only member of this band that broke the "Bomb String." I couldn't believe it myself. I mean, it's pretty much a broken string to begin with. How can you break a broken string? The other strings are tuned to A and the "high" ones are E, B, E. So for those who want to steal our tuning (so we can sue 'em just like Metallica does... ha ha), that's what it is. It's pretty mindless and stupid. It's really "stupid" tuning. I think it should be called that and Gibson should make specially-made guitars for us.

DA: When the new record came out, the sound threw a lot of people. What was the impetus behind combining those poppy melodies and the downtuned heaviness?

SB: Well, why would anyone want to be in a band and not experiment with their sound a little? We've had nothing to lose with doing it. I mean, Floor released about a dozen 7" ep's of somewhat experimental recordings, but we've been a pretty unknown band through the years. We knew what we wanted with the music and none of that has really changed, other than natural progression.

The vocals always ruined it for me. If there are going to be vocals in a band, make it work! We tried so many different things in the early years, but none of them really fit. This time around, I tried something that blended perfectly. Props go to Robert Pollard (of Guided by Voices) and Karp for inspiration. As for throwing people off, we didn't expect anyone ot like the record or even give a shit about what we were doing anyway. We did what WE wanted and that's how it's always been. This band might throw everyone off the next time around too. I'll say one thing, though -- Floor is basically an instrumental band with a vision and a sound (musically) that's ours. So from now on, we know it sounds like us, even if we start writing power ballads. It's where we're at and what WE feel comfortable with. If others don't like it, it's because we're misunderstood. Floor is pretty sincere about everything we do, so if we don't actually feel it, it's not going to happen.

DA: You've been touring quite a bit. How have the new songs been going over live? Have you been playing any of the older material?

SB: Surprisingly, a lot of people want to hear songs from the old ep's. We play a few from the ep's, and we also do a shorter version of "Dove" (which is the 20+-minute song from our unreleased lp), but we're supporting our s/t lp and those are most of the tunes we play at this point. We've got a few newer ones that we play out too.

DA: A while ago someone close to the band mentioned that you all share a love of Miami bass music and that you were planning an ep of Miami bass-type music based on the trinity of Mandy Moore, Christina Aguilera, and Britney Spears. Is that still in the works? Was it ever in the works?

SB: We REALLY wanted to do it, but I think it's too late at this point. If we had enough time and money to jump in a studio and try it out, then maybe, but I think many other bands have jumped on top of that already. I think it would be a perfect combination, though. A wall of AMPS and 808 drum machines!

DA: Did that concept have anything to do with the song "Tales of Lolita"?

SB: Well, the music was probably the last stuff we did before we recorded the record. I started singing the melody... kind of poking fun at Anthony because he was infatuated with these sexy underaged pop stars. It was magical!

DA: A lady by the name of Lisa Bugayong sings on the album -- is she involved with any other bands?

SB: She has been in the past, but I'm not too sure what she's doing musically now. Lisa has been a friend of ours for years. Anthony used to be extremely infatuated with her back in the day, and most of the lyrics he sang for Cavity were about her. The lyrics on the "Chelsea / Pigs" song on our split with Spazz were about her too. We thought it would be great to have her sing on the record. Plus, we love her very much!

DA: I know both Henry and Anthony have both spent time in Cavity. Are you involved in any other bands?

SB: Floor was always really my main band from 1992 to 1997. Other bands I've played for: Cavity in 1993. Also, I used to be involved with several bands during our "official" breakup from 1997 to 2001. I played guitar in Ed Matus' Struggle, briefly played bass in a Spanish rock band called Enemigo Sol (I think I spelled that one correctly), and spent about a year playing with the members of The Remedy Session, before they started being active with recording and touring. None of the other bands after the Floor breakup sounded anything like us. I guess it was time for me to do something different at that point.

DA: What about a new album?

SB: We're planning to record this fall for the next record. So hopefully it'll be out there by spring of next year.

DA: What's on your turntable / in your cd player right now?

SB: Hmmmmmm.... I've actually been pulling out my old records. The stuff I've been listening to this weekend on the turntable has been: Exodus -- BONDED BY BLOOD; Voivod -- RRRRROOOAAARRR; Black Sabbath -- MOB RULES; Journey -- DEPARTURE; and Judas Priest -- SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE, among other oldies. On my cd player, it's been: The Party of Helicopters -- PLEASE BELIEVE IT!; Shudder to Think -- PONY EXPRESS; My Bloody Valentine -- ISN'T ANYTHING; etc.

DA: As I mentioned earlier, you've done quite a bit of touring since the s/t record came out. Have any of the bands you've played with grabbed you?

SB: YES!!! Gil Mantera's Party Dream (who, without a doubt, are my favorite of them all), Pelican, High on Fire, Theory of Ruin, and Unearthly Trance are probably the most memorable bands we've played with.

DA: Any shout-outs / last words?

SB: I'd like to take this moment to give much respect to Scott Jernigan (late drummer of Karp / The Whip) for his talent and inspiration. He will be missed and not forgotten.