Rock Something | Features | 3 Interview

Recently releasing their “Wake Pig” album, 3’s unusual musical style has caught the attention of many a music fan and rock critic. Spiralling off in all sorts of genres and favourably likened to Coheed and Cambria, “Wake Pig” was given a weighty 4/5 on RockSomething.com earlier this year, so we decided that the time was right to contact Joey Eppard – vocalist, guitarist and song writer extraordinaire – about the New York hailing quintet. Adam Harrold asks him about their unusual sound, the history of the band and their latest album…

RockSomething: What are the band up to at the moment?
Joey Eppard: Rehearsing, and preparing to hit the road for a while.

RockSomething: “Wake Pig” has been receiving rave reviews from many places – did you expect this reaction?
Joey Eppard: We had high hopes, there’s no denying that. It feels good to be appreciated especially knowing how much control we had over every aspect of this record. People say you shouldn’t produce yourself, and I’ve got to say it can be difficult, but in our case it was the only way to achieve our vision of what a 3 record should be.

RockSomething: How does it differ from your other releases?
Joey Eppard: “Wake Pig” is the record where we decided to take matters into our own hands. We set up our own studio and invested our money into equipment that we can continue to use rather than waste it on 2 weeks in a 'pro' studio. I mixed, engineered and produced almost the entire album myself. So in comparison to our earlier recordings, the band had a lot more control over “Wake Pig”. We set out to capture the frenetic energy and musical intricacies of the band, and counter balance them with strong, simple melodic layers, and lyrical depth with multiple levels of meaning. I also think of Pig as the record where we came full circle, making a matured return to the earlier progressive rock side of 3. For the first several years of the band's life we never released any of our recorded material. There are upwards of 30 songs that were never documented in album format from the early days of the band.

RockSomething: Do you worry that further success could distance you from your underground following?
Joey Eppard: No. Our fans are unique and actually want to see us elevate this project to its highest potential.

RockSomething: You’ve ‘double-dared’ music writers to try and describe your sound – have you found journalists’ attempts to do so amusing?
Joey Eppard: Yes its hours of fun, but seriously, we don’t think its some great challenge for a knowledgeable journalist to describe our sound. Our intentions were to suggest that one can’t rely too heavily on rigid genre classifications and “scene” rules to define this musical project.

RockSomething: How would you describe your sound?
Joey Eppard: We consider ourselves to be hybrids. We do what we love and it just happens to be a different combination of influences and abilities than many other bands. We end up in the progressive category mostly because it is a broad genre within which we can play intricate, melodic, musically and compositionally ambitious songs. We are not merely a collection of varied influences but rather the unified result of unprejudiced inspirations. Part of the vision for this project was to allow each band member to express their personality on their instrument. Our sound is very rhythmic. We have 2 drummers, one on kit and one on a large percussion set up. Joey also basically plays drums on his acoustic guitar. Billy covers a lot of ground on electric guitar between driving distortion and more subtle ambient textures. Daniel, the bassist is the glue that holds it all together. Part of what makes this band unique is that we all have very strong and very different personalities and we encourage them to shine through the music. The mixing of hard rock and flamencoesque sensibilities is one of the most unique aspects of 3. Also the combination of lyrics, melody and musicianship we offer is not exactly what you’d call common place.

RockSomething: What are your musical influences?
Joey Eppard: Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Yes, The Police, Peacebomb, The Minutemen, Primus, P-Funk, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Radiohead, Nirvana and Ojos de Brujo. My favourite singers include: John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega, Lyle Lovette, Stevie Wonder, Ben Folds, Elliot Smith and Ani Difranco. My brother Josh [first drummer for 3, current drummer of Coheed and Cambria] and I grew up listening to so much great music. Our father, legendary Woodstock guitarist and singer, Jimmy Eppard, allowed us access to his massive record collection as well as his instruments – anything from Zappa to Sam and Dave, but Zeppelin was most influential in our earlier days. There was something about them that made modern rock seem a bit anaemic, so Josh and I both were obsessed with the Zep catalogue as our own musical abilities began to take root.

RockSomething: Can you give us a little bit of band history?
Joey Eppard: 3 began in Woodstock in the mid 90’s. As teenagers, we turned quite a few heads when we began performing. We developed a small amount of notoriety for being so young and playing relatively progressive music, which led to our first deal. However, after a corporate merger left us sidelined at Universal Records, the first incarnation of 3 dissolved. I began assembling a new band, forging ahead with the project. Several years and 2 full length albums later, I had finally put together his dream line up including members of the seminal NY prog rock outfit; “Peacebomb.” With the new team in place we took matters into our own hands, setting up a studio and recording “Wake Pig,” our self produced Metal Blade Records debut.

RockSomething: How did you choose the name ‘3’?
Joey Eppard: It’s more like the name chose us. I’ve had a fascination with the number 3 all my life. We actually tried to change it several times for obvious reasons. In the end we always came back to 3. It is a reference to the construct of our reality as having predominantly 3 aspects. For example, we live in a 3 dimensional universe on the 3 rd planet from the sun, experiencing time as past, present and future in a form that consists of mind, body and spirit.

RockSomething: You’re going to Japan – how do you feel about this?
Joey Eppard: Ummm, excited doesn’t really do it justice. This is what it’s all about. When your music brings you to new places and experiences it is an incredible feeling.

RockSomething: What plans do you have for the future?
Joey Eppard: Touring, touring, touring, hopefully some European dates, and eventually more writing, rehearsing and recording for our next record.

RockSomething: Do you have anything to say to your fans?
Joey Eppard: Thank you, without you we could not exist.

Feb	MAR	Apr
	14
2006	2007	2008


			3 Interview: Joey Eppard by Adam Harrold www.theband3.com Review of Wake Pig

	Recently releasing their “Wake Pig” album, 3’s unusual musical style has caught the attention of many a music fan and rock critic. Spiralling off in all sorts of genres and favourably likened to Coheed and Cambria, “Wake Pig” was given a weighty 4/5 on RockSomething.com earlier this year, so we decided that the time was right to contact Joey Eppard – vocalist, guitarist and song writer extraordinaire – about the New York hailing quintet. Adam Harrold asks him about their unusual sound, the history of the band and their latest album… RockSomething: What are the band up to at the moment? Joey Eppard: Rehearsing, and preparing to hit the road for a while. RockSomething: “Wake Pig” has been receiving rave reviews from many places – did you expect this reaction? Joey Eppard: We had high hopes, there’s no denying that. It feels good to be appreciated especially knowing how much control we had over every aspect of this record. People say you shouldn’t produce yourself, and I’ve got to say it can be difficult, but in our case it was the only way to achieve our vision of what a 3 record should be. RockSomething: How does it differ from your other releases? Joey Eppard: “Wake Pig” is the record where we decided to take matters into our own hands. We set up our own studio and invested our money into equipment that we can continue to use rather than waste it on 2 weeks in a 'pro' studio. I mixed, engineered and produced almost the entire album myself. So in comparison to our earlier recordings, the band had a lot more control over “Wake Pig”. We set out to capture the frenetic energy and musical intricacies of the band, and counter balance them with strong, simple melodic layers, and lyrical depth with multiple levels of meaning. I also think of Pig as the record where we came full circle, making a matured return to the earlier progressive rock side of 3. For the first several years of the band's life we never released any of our recorded material. There are upwards of 30 songs that were never documented in album format from the early days of the band. RockSomething: Do you worry that further success could distance you from your underground following? Joey Eppard: No. Our fans are unique and actually want to see us elevate this project to its highest potential. RockSomething: You’ve ‘double-dared’ music writers to try and describe your sound – have you found journalists’ attempts to do so amusing? Joey Eppard: Yes its hours of fun, but seriously, we don’t think its some great challenge for a knowledgeable journalist to describe our sound. Our intentions were to suggest that one can’t rely too heavily on rigid genre classifications and “scene” rules to define this musical project. RockSomething: How would you describe your sound? Joey Eppard: We consider ourselves to be hybrids. We do what we love and it just happens to be a different combination of influences and abilities than many other bands. We end up in the progressive category mostly because it is a broad genre within which we can play intricate, melodic, musically and compositionally ambitious songs. We are not merely a collection of varied influences but rather the unified result of unprejudiced inspirations. Part of the vision for this project was to allow each band member to express their personality on their instrument. Our sound is very rhythmic. We have 2 drummers, one on kit and one on a large percussion set up. Joey also basically plays drums on his acoustic guitar. Billy covers a lot of ground on electric guitar between driving distortion and more subtle ambient textures. Daniel, the bassist is the glue that holds it all together. Part of what makes this band unique is that we all have very strong and very different personalities and we encourage them to shine through the music. The mixing of hard rock and flamencoesque sensibilities is one of the most unique aspects of 3. Also the combination of lyrics, melody and musicianship we offer is not exactly what you’d call common place. RockSomething: What are your musical influences? Joey Eppard: Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Yes, The Police, Peacebomb, The Minutemen, Primus, P-Funk, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Radiohead, Nirvana and Ojos de Brujo. My favourite singers include: John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega, Lyle Lovette, Stevie Wonder, Ben Folds, Elliot Smith and Ani Difranco. My brother Josh [first drummer for 3, current drummer of Coheed and Cambria] and I grew up listening to so much great music. Our father, legendary Woodstock guitarist and singer, Jimmy Eppard, allowed us access to his massive record collection as well as his instruments – anything from Zappa to Sam and Dave, but Zeppelin was most influential in our earlier days. There was something about them that made modern rock seem a bit anaemic, so Josh and I both were obsessed with the Zep catalogue as our own musical abilities began to take root. RockSomething: Can you give us a little bit of band history? Joey Eppard: 3 began in Woodstock in the mid 90’s. As teenagers, we turned quite a few heads when we began performing. We developed a small amount of notoriety for being so young and playing relatively progressive music, which led to our first deal. However, after a corporate merger left us sidelined at Universal Records, the first incarnation of 3 dissolved. I began assembling a new band, forging ahead with the project. Several years and 2 full length albums later, I had finally put together his dream line up including members of the seminal NY prog rock outfit; “Peacebomb.” With the new team in place we took matters into our own hands, setting up a studio and recording “Wake Pig,” our self produced Metal Blade Records debut. RockSomething: How did you choose the name ‘3’? Joey Eppard: It’s more like the name chose us. I’ve had a fascination with the number 3 all my life. We actually tried to change it several times for obvious reasons. In the end we always came back to 3. It is a reference to the construct of our reality as having predominantly 3 aspects. For example, we live in a 3 dimensional universe on the 3 rd planet from the sun, experiencing time as past, present and future in a form that consists of mind, body and spirit. RockSomething: You’re going to Japan – how do you feel about this? Joey Eppard: Ummm, excited doesn’t really do it justice. This is what it’s all about. When your music brings you to new places and experiences it is an incredible feeling. RockSomething: What plans do you have for the future? Joey Eppard: Touring, touring, touring, hopefully some European dates, and eventually more writing, rehearsing and recording for our next record. RockSomething: Do you have anything to say to your fans? Joey Eppard: Thank you, without you we could not exist.