“Like many kids, my first experience with vinyl was raiding my parents’ record collection. They had much more commercial tastes and it being the ’80s, there were some shockers in there, but there were also some gems. Hunting through and finding these little sonic nuggets was one of the most exciting times listening to music.”
“Not having any preconceived idea on what’s cool to listen to or what’s not, you just make a total unbiased opinion. I loved things like Cat Stevens and The Rolling Stones—just playing these records and checking out the artwork trying to discover more about the bands.
Finding those records was my magical entry into listening to music, and making that bond with records just sets up a relationship that lasts. The album that really got me in those early stages was the Rolling Stones’ live album Got Live if You Want It. “Gimme Shelter” is just the most amazing song ever written. I can’t say I listen to them much these days, but I loved them. I’d take tapes into school and play these tracks on my Walkman. Nobody was listening to that stuff at my age.
My love of raiding people’s record collections didn’t stop at home. My uncle had a huge collection and it was where I found Pink Floyd’s The Wall. This, to me, was a revelation and part of my musical evolution that is with me today. It was the start of becoming a big Floyd fan—I just went a bought every record of they ever made. Each week I would save my school dinner money and hit the record store. I’d love the crazy experimental shit like Ummagumma. It’s almost unlistenable now, but it was such a discovery—these experimental albums—just so out there and fit where my head space was as a kid.
For all of my progressive tendencies, when I discovered the Low Rumblings of the Wretch from Kyuss, it basically opened up how simple things can be done, how heavy things can be done, no bullshit rock ‘n’ roll without the frills. I fell in love right there and although Wretch is not their best album in my opinion, it was the magical moment that sparked something much bigger for me and turning music to a career.
For me when I heard Tool it was another amazing moment when you just discovered one of the greatest bands in the world. Combining the progression and creativeness of Floyd, but adding a whole load of heavy. The album Lateralus just blew me away and those Tool albums still get so many plays now. For a Pink Floyd fan who was listening to heavier stuff, finding Tool was the real deal.
Somewhere between all of these just about sums up my musical influences when playing guitar—the balance between progressive work, but keeping it simple and heavy, is the most important thing to get right in the band.”
—Reece Tee
Steak’s brand new release, Slab City is in stores today (9/9) in the US via Napalm Records.
