A Dirty Dozen with MARK X PLOG from RIVETSKULL – May 2024

Photo credit: Mike Savoia

According to a recent press release: “RivetSkull is stoked to announce that their new album, Absence of Time, will be released on June 14th! To kick it off, the band is sharing the album’s second single “Eyes of a Fallen Angel.” The track is accompanied by a new lyric video and follows up the first single, “Hellbound.” In the fog-choked streets of Seattle, in 2009, a molten riff echoed – a thunderous ode to the fallen king, Ronnie James Dio. United by their reverence for the metal legend, four souls – Mark Plog, the riff-slinging guitarist, Chad McMurray, the voice that could shatter the sky, and Michael Robson, the drummer whose beats hammered like a foundry’s heart, locked into a sonic exorcism they called Rising. This wasn’t just a tribute, it was a baptism by fire.” We get Mark to discuss new music, influences, and more.

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

This album is a great representation of the varied influences and musical tastes that each of us brings to the band.  It is natural that when people hear new music that they compare you to other bands they know and love.  We get people comparing us to everything from Judas Priest to Dream Theater. While we are just who we are, we think those comparisons are valid depending on the song or part of the song that triggers the comparison. When you listen to “The King is Dead” you’ll get to hear some of Chad’s off the wall creative influence. He saw an electric sitar hanging in the London Bridge Studio and couldn’t resist. He started playing the cool sitar riff that made it into the song. Same goes for the Hammond B3 that kicks in behind the solo. That was also added because it was just sitting there in the studio waiting for us to discover and include.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

When I lived on the East coast as a youngster, there was a band in the neighborhood that practiced in their garage. They were in high school and I was in grade school at the time.  I used to hang out there and I can remember them jamming to “Roundabout” by Yes and some Bad Company songs. One of the guys in the band introduced me to more music and I was hooked on everything from Thin Lizzy to Black Sabbath and Aerosmith. It wasn’t until I saw Van Halen open for Black Sabbath in 1978 that I said to myself – I want to play guitar! I didn’t know at the time what an historic tour that would be, but it was also instrumental in me picking up a guitar for the first time.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I went to concerts constantly as a young guitar player. I’d have to say that seeing Dio with Black Sabbath on the Heaven and Hell tour in 1980 tipped me over the edge. That’s when I became a full member of the “heavy metal family” that embraced me and gave me the musical home I was looking for.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

It’s tough to think of writing with anyone other than my RivetSkull brothers, but if I had to think of one person it would have had to have been the late and great Ronnie James Dio. The dude knew how to craft a song and his lyrics always resonated with me.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

Believe it or not, that would be traveling. I love exploring and meeting new people and experiencing different cultures.  I’ve been very lucky in my life to get to travel and live abroad.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We are just plain “Heavy Metal” just like before there were any sub-genres.  Some people might say “Traditional Heavy Metal” or “Old School Heavy Metal” but we don’t see ourselves that way. Just like many of the bands from the 70’s and 80’s that are still putting out new music that reflects their own growth musically, we see ourselves as a band that could have existed at that time, but that has grown and morphed into what is currently called “Heavy Metal”. We do get compared to lots of bands. Commonly, it’s Judas Priest, Queensryche, Dio, and Dream Theater. Our initial reaction to that is a Wayne’s World chorus of “We’re not worthy.” But otherwise, I don’t feel like most comparisons are so far off the mark as to make us cringe.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Chad is the band foodie. Hopkins and Michael are the ice cream hunters after a gig.  Chad and I are fond of good brews and I will often seek out the best local refreshments.  Hopkins will be the first to grab an instrument for sure.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

That would be about 10 years ago when I got to meet and hang out with one of my big influences – Michael Schenker – and the rest of the band after a gig. He’s an odd dude but was very nice and easy to talk to.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

That’s easy – it’s meeting all the music fans and other people that surround this endeavor along with the traveling.  Metal music fans are the best people on this planet. If I had a dream job, it would probably be working at the towel hut on the beach in Bali.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

Do you listen to anything other than metal in your free time? I listen almost exclusively to non-metal music. I’m a big fan of funk, SoCal style punk, reggae, and old country. After growing up immersed in metal, I find that listening to metal puts my brain into “analyze the music” mode.  That’s not very relaxing. Music that I have no interest in playing or learning does not do that to me, and I can just enjoy it as a whole rather than picking out all the pieces and parts like I do while listening to metal. I love questions even if answered 1000 times :-).

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

When I was a youngster playing stages in Houston, I was so focused on the fun and music that I didn’t bother to learn how this crazy business actually works.  I thought if you were good you would get discovered and everything would magically fall into place.  Clearly, that was not the best way to get anywhere worth going.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Dio’s Holy Diver – Vivian Campbell’s playing on that album was lightning in a bottle.  That album resonated with me both musically and lyrically at a time in my life when I felt lost. That album’s connection to who I am as a musician and who I became as a person is undeniable.

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Category: Interviews