Doomed Confessionary: Mike Mason (Old World Astronau)
Old World Astronaut is a heavy psychedelic rock band hailing from Bellingham, Washington. Mind-melding psychedelic soundscapes, crushing riffs, melodic grooves, captivating harmonies, and lyrics which weave stories and themes across space and time.
The trio released their self-titled debut EP independently on June 17th, 2023.
Old World Astronaut are Mike Mason (guitar, vocals), Graham Johnson (bass, vocals) and Tom White (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Old World Astronaut plays heavy psych rock with influences that range from heavy and groovy Sabbath, Sleep and Kyuss riffs to ambient soundscapes influenced by Pink Floyd.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Getting started is difficult. In our local Seattle-area scene, you need to have a presence to make a presence, and it has been hard getting our foot in the door. We are overcoming this by booking our own bills and developing our own nights, so hopefully we can share our music with more and more people. You can’t let people come to you, you have to get in front of people however you can!
What can you be most proud of so far?
We self recorded our first EP and it’s something we’re really proud of. We’ve been working on new songs that we’re really excited to share in a follow up full length. We have studio time booked in early June, and we’re looking forward to sharing our new music with everyone who has supported us so far.
What was your biggest regret?
I don’t think we have any regrets just yet, thankfully. Though, if we could time travel, we’d love to get an earlier start on booking our own shows.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
We had the opportunity to play the first ever Psych! festival in our hometown of Bellingham, Washington. It was really great to be part of such a great festival and share the stage with so many great local bands.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
As we’ve been reaching out to some of the doom, stoner, and rock bands in our scene, we’ve been surprised at how willing they are to book with us. Since we’re a pretty new band, it’s encouraging to see some of the more established bands in the area be so willing to work with us.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
We all listen to a lot of different styles of music, which is something that I think makes us unique. We don’t JUST listen to heavy music, and our influences show up in what we do in ways that I think gives us our own voice. That being said, here’s some of the heavy bands that are in rotation for us: Elder, Glossa, Wyatt E., High On Fire, Lowrider, delving, Skraeckoedlan, All Them Witches, The Black Angels, Here Lies Man, Rezn.
And a few non-heavy bands that are still heavy: Fela Kuti, The Meters, Junior Kimbraugh, The Budos Band, The Re-Stoned, Merry Clayton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Play with other people. If you want to get better as a player, find other people to play with. You learn by listening and you learn by making mistakes, so get with others, suck a bit and find yourself getting better, writing better, and being a better musician.
What are your guilty pleasures?
We all listen to Yacht Rock. Michael McDonald is the shit. Tell me »I Keep Forgettin« isn’t slick as hell and I’ll fight you.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Bellingham / Washington?
We’re in the Seattle Area. There is still an incredible heavy music scene in the area. If you like doom, sludge, and stoner rock with some ambience and shoegaze influences, get to Seattle and check out some of the bands here like Witchripper, Serial Hawk, Energy Pyramid, Sorcia, and Dryland to name a few.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’re playing north of Seattle pretty often, and we’re working on some dates in Seattle and beyond for later in the year. See you there. Check out our socials for updates on shows and releases.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’re really excited to be recording at Soundhouse studios in Seattle early June. If you haven’t heard of that studio, go to their website and see what they’ve done before. Nirvana’s »Bleach« was just the start, and they’ve recorded everyone from Windhand to High On Fire and Year Of The Cobra. Hallowed halls over there, and we’re excited to be allowed in the doors to capture our new music.
How can people best support your band?
Come to shows, follow us on Instagram, buy records and merch on Bandcamp. The best possible thing you can do to support any band is go to their show.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you for listening. Musicians like us put a lot of energy into writing and recording music we love, and we appreciate you giving us a chance. Hopefully what we have to say is what you like to hear.
Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well