Interview With Nev

1.You seem to be quite a busy guy lately.What has been keeping you occupied?

Busy my good sir would be an understatement. As far as art goes , lots of stuff still in the camp. Cardiac Arrest Shirt, Gravehill shirt, Beyond Hell cover, a few logos, Think Again cover. I’m sure there’s more but my brains is fried right now! Ha!

2.Lets start off with your love of art. When did you start drawing? When did you realize you were gonna make something out of it??

Well I’m sure every artist says they have been drawing since they were little kids. I know when I started drawing and noticing “holy shit how did my hands do this?”, was in 5th grade. A few of my friends and I would draw Mortal Kombat characters killing each other haha! As soon as I got into junior high school I started taking art classes and really wanted to do art for bands. I was always the kid in the back of the class doodling. Teachers would try and catch me not paying attention but as listening.

3.Have you always drawn horror/gore stuff or would you say your ability far outreaches this style of art??

Well I’ve always been of fan of gore, horror, sci-fi stuff. But I leaned more toward like crazy mutants and cartoony stuff. I didnt really start focus on the gore till middle of high school. Well I can’t say that really. I’m sure I have plenty of sketch books from my junior high days in the basement with gore, boobs, sex, and alien bondage!!!

4.What was you introduction to extreme music.Do you feel like it was a natural vehicle for your talents?

The first metal record I ever heard was Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. Still, one of my favorite records of all time. My old man played it for me in his 93 firebird haha!! I was blown away. I would say that I got into the heavier stuff later that same year. Cannibal Corpse was the first death metal band I ever heard and the rest is chaos and history. I think music does inspire me quite a bit, especially death metal old and new. It’s one of the view art forms that’s pretty much un-supervised so you can create as you wish. Yes you do have the parent advisory sticker but who the fuck pays attention to that.



5.What is your prefered method when doing art,pencil,photoshop,paint?Do you usually stick with the same thing or do you expieriment with other ways of creation?

I do a pretty good mixture of both, computer and traditional hand stuff. I don’t really have a preferred method. I think it really depends on the band I do the art for. Some bands I think need that gritty, dirty, “sketchy” feel. Others I think need a more cleaner approach to their design. I don’t do much experimenting when I do a piece. However, I do learn a lot from each piece I do and apply it to the next.

6.I know you recently found out you are having another child.Congrats to you!!How do you balance your passions and family equally?

Thanks man!!! Um well to put it blunty..i don’t balance it very well at all. I pretty much live at my desk. Which does indeed suck at times. That’s why you have to love what you do because you will have to sacrifice something for it. During the summer months though I plan on cutting my work load to spend time with my ever growing family. I have a kick ass wife who does understand my love for the art and music, but even sometimes I get buried in a piece or just so tuned in to it, she has to pull me back out to reality! Haha!

7.Has your art been able to help you generate extra income,or does this really not interest you.Is this more of a passion then a job to you?

Well as I first started out a few years ago i did shit for free. Like free free. Not even for merch. It did open up a lot of doors for me for sure. But as my family grows and as money gets tighter I have started to charge. Its still not much but its enough. I started up a label that ive been pouring money into. That money comes from my freelance work. I’m slowly starting to make more and more where I can divide up my freelance income to bills and the label.

8.What artist really got you into wanting to do album art,logos etc?

Arthur Adams, Kevin Eastman, Peter Larid, All the artist that did the Garbage Pail Kid cards!!! Sam Kieth, Wayne D Barlowe. Those are the non-music artist! I would have to flat out say the man that got me wanting to do this was the one, the only, Vince Locke. Hopefully, one day I can meet the man and shake his hand.

9.What if you can,name you 5 favorite album covers ever!!

Arrrrggg only 5?!?!?! Hahaha! Cannibal Corpse-Eaten Back to Life. Nihilist-Collection. Autopsy-Mental Funeral. Deceased-Luck of the Corpse. Cradle of Filth-Cruelty and the Beast (sorry naked chicks in blood are awesome). There is a shit ton more, but those I consider my favorite.



10.I know you are also in the band Kaiju and you just released your first album.How is that going and what has been the response so far??

Nevermo….I mean Kaiju is doing great! A lot of people really like the songs on our page and a few have coughed up the bones to snag a disc(THANK YOU ALL). Joel and I are very happy with the way the disc turned out. Joel is an INCREDIBLE musician! We have (hopefully) a few splits coming up with some killer bands. SO we are going to keep on writing and recording. Maybe a label will pick us up for our next full length! Probably not ha!

11.Do you do the band just for fun,or is this something that you have big plans for?

Well I always wanted to hear a band that did songs about giant monsters. Everything else is done, zombies, gore, porn, violence, robots, relationships etc….. Oh I’d say a year maybe a little bit more ago, I got in contact with the drummer of Decrepitaph. I asked him if he would like to help out with the band. He was all for it even had a song he thought would work great! I started doing lyrics and working on vocals, but it never came to be. I was really busy with art and family life and he had many projects in the works at that point. So I put the beast in the grave.

Fast forward to a few months ago and I got in touch with Joel from the killer band Monument of Bones. Told him what I had in mind he thought it was a great idea. And he just started puking out these killer songs. And after all that work here we are with our first full length. “Big Plans” might be a stretch. We have some splits planned that we would like to see on vinyl, and we most likely will do another full length if a label picks us up. But no world tours with Nevermore or Ace of Base are planned. So all in all, its for fun.

12.You also are the founder of sheperd of rot records.When/how did you conceive this idea and how are things going with it so far?

Shepherd of Rot started around the same time as Kaiju did. I wanted to work with bands that I really dug a lot. I wanted to release their album or ep and bring it to the masses. Basically, I wanted to release bands that I listened to. Not that fit in a niche or had 8million plays. And I think I’ve done that. As of right now the label is doing….well its doing. Its pretty shitty out there now. The economy blows. Lots of people trade, which is fine and awesome! But the $ is coming in fast enough for labels (SOR included) to keep churning out the releases. I was never in this for the money, but I also didn’t start this to set money on fire . Godspit’s “We are Godspit” is the next release on SOR. A fucking ridiculous band that worships motorhead. Check them out please!!!! After that, the label will go into the crypt for an undetermined amount of time to regain some the money I put into it. I’m not dying, I’m not going bankrupt. I’ll still be promoting/trading/selling all of the SOR releases. SOR is just going into a deep slumber for a while to focus on my art and family.

13.What are your future plans for the label?Are you in this for the longhaul?It has to be tough nowadays with the current economic setting.

Haha guess I answered that already. It is hard. Really hard. Shipping is stupid expensive. Lots of bands are pricks. Lots of labels are pricks. There are still a few great people out there that are willing to help you out. And I have no problem returning the favor! The metal business isn’t really for metal fans. It seems now a days everybody is in a band or has a label. Which is fine, but I think I enjoyed being a fan more.

14.You are obviously a very busy dude.How do you make time for normal life,if you have one.Is there anything you enjoy outside of art and metal?

Normal?!?! Haha whats that? My life consists of living on the damn computer at my full time job. Come home, eat, play with my kid and dog. Put the kid to bed, grab my wife’s tits for a bit, go to work on band art, then sleep. Before I became an “adult” I would go to local shows a lot. Going to local show is great! A fun time is always had even if all the bands suck except for one. I highly suggest supporting your local metal bands, because you never know what could happen. I used to watch horror movies, scifi flicks, monster movies. I used to breed reptiles for a while too. I did saltwater fish for a while too. I’m kind of an animal nerd.



15.What if you can think,is your proudest accomplishment from the the standpoint of being an artist.What is your hands down favorite piece of work?

Damn another tough question haha! One of the first full layouts I did was for the hardcore band Hammer Bros. That was one of my proudest moments. Actually doing something I had dream of doing for years. That was a great feeling. I guess doing art for bands is like screwing women. The first one is fucking awesome, the rest are great too. Some not so much, but still better than jerking off into a fleshlight.

16.If you could do art and layout for one band,who would it be?

Cannibal Corpse or Danzig. If I ever got to do art for either of those two, I would retire.

17.What do you have in the works.What art and bands are you working with currently?What can we expect next from Nev?

Well I got the Cardiac Arrest shirt just about done. Gravehill shirt is coming to a close. Beyond Hell cover still working on. I’m finishing up the back tray for the upcoming album from Scaremaker. Theres lots of logos in there too.

18.Ok last question,5 favorite albums of all time...GO!!!!!!!!

Arggggg!!! Another killer question!!!

Cannibal Corpse-The Wretched Spawn
Black Sabbath-Paranoid
Cardiac Arrest-Cadaverous Presence
Danzig-Danzig
Deceased-Luck of the Corpse

I can listen to those disc for the rest of my life and not get tired of them.



19.Ok thats it man.Thanks for taking the time to do this,i appreciate it alot.Any final thoughts.Tell the readers how they can find you and get in touch!!!

Hey thank you man!!! Keep up the great work!! I really enjoy what you are doing!!
Support your local metal. And FUCK Godzilla 1998.
Anyone can get a hold of me at the following:

www.myspace.com/nevfuck
www.myspace.com/shepherdofrotrecords
www.myspace.com/kaijumetal

thanks again!!!!

Cheers
Nev
Shepherd of Rot Records
www.myspace.com/nevfuck
www.myspace.com/shepherdofrotrecords
www.myspace.com/kaijumetal

Interviewed by B.S.O.G.