INTERVIEW: Pat Harrington of Geezer on “Stoned Blues Machine” – and More!


Kingston New York’s perfect power house trio Geezer returned in 2022 with one of the most rewarding rock releases of the year, Stoned Blues Machine. The band has become arguably the backbone of the small surviving scene of hard rock torch bearers in their Upstate, New York locale and are due mad respect for their latest achievement within the wider underground. Think no nonsense frills, mind-bending solos and huge stoner riffs with equal parts fun groove and heavy execution. That still will not prepare you for the brotherhood of Geezer’s tones, presence or general big feel vibes. If you are a fan of Corrosion of Conformity’’s Deliverance (Columbia) era or classic Fu Manchu stuff, this band is a no brainer for you. If lightning can strike twice and another stoner band ever win besides High On Fire, give these hombres a Grammy!

 

It was terrific to catch up with Pat Harrington about the new album (out now on Heavy Psych Sounds), and life in general the last few years.

 

How does it feel to have reached the milestone of your new record? You’ve got an arsenal of songs now between all the albums! You guys sound more confident than ever. Stoned blues, sure. But there is also a Machine-like consistency and forward momentum to the sound.

 

Pat Harrington (guitar/vox): Thank you! We are really excited about the new album, we feel it’s our best yet. I think the consistency and momentum you speak of is due to the fact that this lineup of Richie, Steve and myself have been together for about five years now. This is the most consistent lineup Geezer has had. In addition, coming off of the European Tour this past summer, we feel we are tighter than ever.

 

A lot of people have been saying this one feels a touch grittier. I mean, hard to go through the last few years and feel as ‘Groovy’, right? But it is a killer balance of stuff that lifts your spirit, packs a punch and has more sly commentary than you might think. It was really rad after all this time not seeing that many folks where we live to see a bunch of friends and all of us bathe in the massive sound you guys put out at your album release show! Seriously, the band is on fire!

 

PH: So glad you dig it! Many of the riffs that the songs were built around came to me during the initial lockdowns in the spring of 2020. I think they reflect the anxiety and uncertainty that I felt at the time. We didn’t deliberately set out to make a heavier album, things just came together that way. Lyrically , however, I didn’t want it to be all doom and gloom. I also didn’t want to be preachy, but it was impossible to ignore all the crazy shit that has been happening for the last few years.

Logan’s Run. Great fuckin’ movie. Lends itself well to heavy music. The Necropanther dudes have a concept record about it you might dig. I feel like the plot of that movie also sort of vibes with the gentrification of Upstate, New York through the pandemic, lol. But anyway, what made you inspired to write one of your most powerful songs yet about it?

 

PH: My phone is filled with hundreds and hundreds of voice memos of me laying down initial riff ideas, arrangements, etc. When it comes time to label them, I sometimes just throw a few words together that may or may not make sense. For whatever reason, when I came up with the main riff for Logan’s Run, I just happened to name it Logan’s Run. It was one of the movies that I would watch as a kid on Saturday afternoons on some local channel. They would play the weirdest and coolest movies, that’s what it was like in the 70’s! So after the song took shape, I rewatched the movie for the first time in decades and was able to come up with the lyrics. In retrospect, it is a pretty goofy movie with primitive and campy special effects. All the more reason to write a song about it!

 

Every time I mention you to someone in the heavy scene people say ,”I love that band.” They gush. I hope you realize that. Do you feel like a best kept secret or pretty established now among real heads or do you feel like the full horizon is yet to be seen?

 

PH: I feel that in a lot of ways, we’re kind of a known entity. Whether you follow the band or not, we’ve been around for long enough where I feel like a lot of people have heard of us. For that reason, we keep trying new things. We never want to feel like our best music is behind us. I also think we still have a lot ahead of us, so in that respect we’re just getting started!

 

How was it working with Chris Bittner (Weerd Science, Medeski Martin & Wood) at Applehead? You got some amazing sounds on this one. He is a master. Also, did anything funny happen there? Such a beautiful setting. I remember when my old band Divest recorded there years ago he pranked our drummer Bodie by switching all his snare hits to farts, hahaha. But for real, how was it realizing your vision for this record at that studio?

 

PH: Working with Chris was amazing! As you say, he’s a master. Steve had worked with him on another project and he was the one that was really pushing us to record at Applehead. The studio itself is amazing, but that don’t mean shit if you don’t vibe with the person behind the board. Within minutes of meeting Chris, I knew it was gonna work. We had a lot of the same ideas about music, recording, etc… so it was a great match for us. We needed to get a lot done in a very short amount of time so there wasn’t much time for shenanigans, but JJ Koczan from The Obelisk came down to hang with us, take photos and write a studio diary type thing. It was great to have him there and for someone to document the experience in that way. As far as the vision of the album goes, we knew what we wanted, we knew we wanted it to sound huge. Chris took that ball and ran with it and really created something that was beyond all our expectations.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but you just finished your first European tour? What did it feel like being over there with the songs of your soul erupting from the stage? What were some highlights? Steve told me the venues were really supportive.

 

PH: It was actually our second European tour (first was in 2017), the first one with Steve behind the drums. It was an amazing experience. Frankly it was nice to get away from all the American noise for a while. The crowds over there are so supportive and welcoming. Some folks even followed us around for a few shows (thanks Thorston!). We played a few Heavy Psych Sounds Fests in Switzerland and Austria and it was great to finally meet Gabe (the head of HPS Records) and to feel the sense of family that he has created firsthand. We caught up with the dudes in Elder, got to see High On Fire soundcheck, saw Black Rainbows for the first time and we did multiple shows with Duel who are an amazing live band and rad dudes. The highlight had to have been Freak Valley Festival. We got to play on a big outdoor stage, in front of an amazing crowd with a lineup of killer bands. The backstage area is always fun, you never know who you’re gonna run into. We had our ups and downs and the gas prices killed our budget, but overall it was a total blast!

 

“Broken Glass” might be my favorite. It is so propulsive and the drums are crisp behind your perfect tone. It also has some of my favorite lyrics from you and really just is all win. Stood out live as well. How did that one come about?

 

PH: That one started as one of the riffs from the initial lockdown. I had an idea that it would be our Deep Purple “Highway Star” kind of jam. It was one of the first riffs that I showed the dudes when we got back together and they jumped right in. Steve set the tone with the drum hits and we were off to the races. Around that time, I read an article that basically used “broken glass” as an analogy for what was happening in America politically, socially, etc. and I liked how that worked. I thought it was accurate as well as an interesting angle so I kind of took that idea and ran with it. By the way, this was all before January 6th 2021, so I guess I’m clairvoyant now.

 

Buy Geezer music and merch here:

https://geezertown.bandcamp.com/album/stoned-blues-machine

 

INTERVIEW BY MORGAN Y. EVANS