Doomed Confessionary: Hugo Echeverría & Mario Hospital “Pitu” (Grey Giant)
Grey Giant is a stoner rock band originally from Cantabria, on the northern coast of Spain, and is made up of Mario Hospital (Pitu) on bass and vocals, brothers Javi and Hugo Echeverría on guitars and Pablo Salmón on drums.
They debut with the EP »Turn To Stone« which is made up of four songs, recorded mainly live in March 2022 at OVNI Estudio in Bonielles, Asturias. Dani Sevillano (Warcry) was jointly responsible for the production as recording technician and Pablo Martínez (Desakato) for mixing and mastering.
In November 2023 they recorded new songs at La Coneja Studios in Pontones (Cantabria) with Mario Toca as sound engineer and the mixing and mastering process began so that their second second release would be published in early 2024. New album »Conversus In Lutum« dropped on May 22nd, 2024.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Hugo: Pitu, it’s your turn
Pitu: We are Grey Giant, a stoner rock band, although we are also mentioned as stoner doom, heavy psych or even some heavy blues. We are from Santander (Cantabria) on the northern Spanish coast where our desert has big waves that crash against long beaches, green meadows and high mountains, but as soon as we press a fuzz everything “Turn To Stone” or “Conversus In Lutum” (Turned Into Mud).
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Hugo: The beginnings were hard when we were looking for a singer and drummer because we spent at least a year trying out people and teaching the same songs over and over again.
Pitu: Yes, the biggest challenge was finding Pablo as a drummer and giving up on finding a singer, because there came a time when we needed to leave the rehearsal room, record and give concerts because the routine of trying out people was becoming an unfun loop.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Hugo: We are very excited to be ranked 15th in the May Doom Charts out of 199 bands that received votes.
Pitu: Yes, the Doom Charts are the result of the opinion of many of the best media dedicated to underground rock, in which they listen to everything from QOTSA’s latest album to the first EP of a band that “no one knows” yet and that first EP can get more votes, so appearing means that many people who listen to many good albums have liked your album, but if we had not appeared on the Doom Charts, we would also be happy because we have received many very good comments from fans around the world, such as the reception we have received from Bandcamp’s fans that immediate feedback also makes us feel very proud.
What was your biggest regret?
Hugo: I don’t regret anything, all the things that have gone better or worse have brought us here and there is nothing I would have done differently. I sleep well.
Pitu: With what I know now, I would have liked to have a band many years earlier, from the age of 20 to 30, but it is also true that at that time I did other things like playing soccer and although I have been listening to heavy music since I was 6 years old and I have I’ve been to a multitude of concerts and festivals, I never dreamed or even thought about being in a band, composing, playing, singing… Starting to play with Javi and Hugo was something that found me without me really looking for it, but I would like to see what would have happened if it had happened 20 years ago.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Hugo: Could one of the last ones like the one we offered in Logroño have been the best?
Pitu: Yes, I would also choose that one because of the great response we had from an audience from another province that until then did not know us, also Kverna, the band with which we shared a concert, also gave a very good concert before, the Stereo Rock & Roll room has very good vibes, great sound… so everything together worked very well, although that has also happened to us in other concerts with Lunatica in local venues like Rock Beer The New or with Criaturä dressed up at carnival in Niagara, but the fact that it was outside from home makes it a little more special and worthwhile.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Pitu: When you start buying instruments and amplifiers you go into musician forums and you find musicians who speak badly about sound technicians and vice versa, but we have never had a discussion with any technician, quite the opposite, we have created good relationships in that regard.
Hugo: Yes, when you have a good sound technician at a concert, you can notice on stage how he almost becomes another musician and it is very appreciated.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Hugo: Lately All Them Witches and Wo Fat have caught me more than usual.
Pitu: Some bands I didn’t know from the last Doom Charts like Huanastone, Black Pyramid or The Hazytones. The latest from High Desert Queen, High On Fire, Fu Manchu. The last year, Wet Cactus, Slomosa, the new album from Graveyard didn’t convince me at first but now I love it, although I think the best of 2024 goes to Slift. In the car right now I have Rush’s first live CD, and Megadeth and The Hellacopters are my two fetish bands that I can’t stop listening to for a long time.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Hugo: Has anyone ever given us any advice?
Pitu: In the band we have always told each other that less is more, but then we come up with 7, 8 or 11 minute songs.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Pitu: I have to admit that when I am stopped at a traffic light and a child stares at me, I like to look at him for a moment, give him the finger, continue as if nothing had happened and let the car pass me to see if the child is now looking away, if he points at me talking to his parents or if he gives me the finger back and makes faces at me.
Hugo: Mmmm…
Pitu: Wah, wah…
Hugo: During jams in rehearsals they like to force me to finish the solos by hitting me with their elbows. It is evident that the victim is me.
Pitu: I am crying for you.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Cantabria / Spain?
Hugo: Lately there has been a lot of talk about the Spanish Stoner rising in popularity, Toundra is a band with a lot of recognition and others like Wet Cactus, El Altar del Holocausto, Rosy Finch, Kabbalah, Bala… are growing a lot, coming out and each looking more towards Spain is good for the whole scene.
Pitu: Cantabria is a small region, but we have high quality bands like Wet Cactus, Medussa, Criaturä, Lunatica, Voltaje Cadaver, Bifäz, Granada Goblin, Soulbane, Bifrost… I like the authenticity of the underground scene, what I feel is that the audience is increasingly less young, there are many fewer teenagers listening to rock and metal than when I went to concerts when I was 16 years old.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Hugo: The most immediate concert that is confirmed and will be announced soon is on August 1 when we perform in Tanos, a town in Torrelavega in Cantabria together with Amia, Cason Brena and Emulsion, local metal, black, death, punk bands with a lot of energy.
Pitu: We have a concert confirmed in Santander for September, but it is difficult to find free dates in the short and medium term in small Spanish venues. We are also clear that we have to continue traveling kilometers outside of Cantabria, so we are going date by date and we hope to be able to announce some concerts more this summer.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Hugo: We want to start playing at festivals, we are taking steps towards it, so we hope to have the opportunity at some point to see Grey Giant in a line up with many other bands and enjoy that experience.
Pitu: Yes, we are a fairly new band and we have many things left to do, such as playing at festivals, we still have to visit many venues in Spain, take our live show to Europe, compose a third album that exceeds the expectations that Conversus In Lutum has created… We dream step by step and real things that we know we can achieve. Grey Giant is a project that I am sure will last many years and immediacy is not something that will overcome us.
How can people best support your band?
Hugo: Concerts are the best place for the band and seeing more and more people come to them is the best support we can have, although the followers we have from a distance also give us a lot of energy with their recognition and of course the media as bloggers, webzines, radio and podcasts with that diffusion that makes us reach an increasingly larger audience.
Pitu: I like to remember when a friend left you a cassette to discover a band, you recorded it, followed that band for when they played live or released a new album. That work is done by webzines, bloggers, radio podcasts… or even a logarithm, but when a friend you trust hands you a record and says, listen to this, at least you listen to it and that word of mouth works, so tell your heavy friends that Grey Giant has a new album and if they like it they will surely come to the concert, which as Hugo says, is the main reason for the band.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Pitu: Thanks again for the wave of support from followers and media. To all those who are far away, I hope we will be very close at some point and to those who are close, come and see us in concert because that is where the vibe of our songs is most energetic.
Hugo: Stoner Rock baby!!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well