EATS: "BBQ anything, deer steak, sushi, Thai curry."
DRINKS (N/A): "Evian water, Arizona Green Tea, Mus-L Blast shakes,
Gatorade."
DRINKS (ALCOHOLIC): "Heineken, Jagermeister, Seagrams 7, Crown Royal,
Budweiser."
DRIVES: "I have a 2001 Pontiac Trans Am WS-6, fully loaded...I also
have a crotch rocket--a Honda Super Hawk."
FAVORITE SPORTS TEAMS: "Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Bulls, New York
Knicks, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Yankees...I'm also
a big fan of the Brazilian soccer team."
PERSONAL: "I'm Tim Sterling...what do you think?"
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING BARITONE GUITAR? Only since July of 2002, but I've been playing bass and guitar since December 25th, 1993.
WHAT KIND OF BARITONE GUITARS DO YOU PLAY? I use Schecter Tribal Scorpions. They come factory-tuned B-E-A-D-F#-B, but I prefer a tuning that's similar to a 7-string guitar with the high E left off of it. We tune down one half step, but I also drop the lowest string down another full step...so the Scorpions are tuned Ab-Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb. I'll also use my Dean Rhapsody 12-string bass and just pile on the distortion...the Rhapsody's tuned Db-Ab-Db-Gb.
HOW DID YOU FIRST START PLAYING BARITONE GUITAR? Well, I'll start from the beginning. Everyone else around was playing guitar...I didn't wanna be like everyone else, and my dad said drums were out of the question. So I was in my local music store one day getting saxophone reeds and saw that Ibanez Silver Cadet bass. I really loved the sound of bass in music, and I loved the fact that Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) and Cliff Burton (ex-Metallica) were doing something different with the bass other than doubling guitar lines. So I wanted to continue the tradition of doing something different with the bass...the effects I use can attest to that. When I left for the Marine Corps in 2001, the rest of the band recruited Drew Wendt for temporary bass duties, but when I came home on leave in July of 2002, I did only vocals, and Drew played bass, even though I was there. It sounded so fucking good, I just didn't feel that going back to bass was necessary. But since we always wanted to do new things to our music, we decided that we keep Drew as a permanent bassist, and have me do vocals and baritone guitar, just to make things even heavier.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC TO LISTEN TO? Lately I've been on the biggest death metal kick...
WHO ARE YOUR MAJOR INFLUENCES? I started my bass-playing life taking after Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, and Frank Bello (Anthrax) because they played fast and heavy without a pick. But probably THE person who made me want to play bass was Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica). It pained me deeply to hear about his departure from one of metal's greatest bands. Some other influences are Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), Paulo Pinto, Jr. (Sepultura), Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue), Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and too many more to mention. Baritone & low-tuned players that I follow are Max Cavalera (Soulfly/Nailbomb), Mike Mushok (Staind), Pepper Keenan (COC/Down), Kirk Windstein (Crowbar/Down), Shaun Glass (SoiL), Mick Thompson (Slipknot), and Derrick Green (Sepultura). Fuck 7-strings.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE BANDS? Metallica, Kittie, Soulfly, Sepultura, Factory 81, Pantera, Megadeth, Dream Theater, Burnt by the Sun, Pro-Pain, Life of Agony, Cradle of Filth, Slayer, Machine Head, Morbid Angel, Sinister, Fear Factory, System of a Down, Superjoint Ritual, Down, Corrosion of Conformity, Eyehategod, Pissing Razors, Necrophagia, Viking Crown, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Lennon, Drain S.T.H., Deicide, Pink Floyd, Dave Matthews Band, Weather Report, Korn, Motley Crue, Poison, Anthrax, Fu Manchu, Ratt, Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine, Staind, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, DJ Icey, DJ Skribble, DJ Kay Cee, Anthony Acid...anything and everything.
WHO ARE YOUR HEROES? My fellow Marines, along with all members of all the armed forces of this country; my parents; NYFD and NYPD.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST BAND? Sullivan's Shell, which lasted only a few weeks. It was me on bass, Danny Sullivan on drums, Kris Fischer on vocals, and Josh Repp and Chris South on guitar.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST GIG? My first gig was at the Williamsport Fire Hall in Williamsport, MD in February of 1995. It was with Fire on the Rocks, which consisted of Jon and Don Herrera (vocals), me (bass & vocals), Brian McClure & Chris South (guitar), and Tom Dean (drums). We kicked ass, and played a few great alternative tunes.
WHAT IS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE GIG? My next one...
OTHER BANDS YOU'VE PLAYED WITH?
ANY TATTOOS OR PIERCINGS? I used to have 7 piercings, but now I have only 3, and since the Marine Corps doesn't allow them, you'll rarely see me with them in. Both ears and tongue. I have 8 tattoos - the Metallica scary guy (left calf), the Sepultura Tribal "S" (left upper arm), a cross with a vine around it (middle of chest), the Japanese thunder symbol that means "power" (inner right forearm), Black Flag logo (right upper arm), Chinese symbol for "bullet" (inner right wrist), Soulfly blade (left upper arm), and the Dream Theater symbol (right calf). I plan to get full sleeves eventually.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? Well I don't have much spare time, since I'm in the USMC, but when I do, it's usually spent jamming with fellow Marines' bands on base, recording shit, working on websites, and partying. I also spend a good deal of time at the Driftwood, and when I'm home, I can be found hanging out in Tom's Dungeon (our studio), and I often spend a good deal of time (and money) at Voodoo Tattoo.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? Unpredictable, charismatic, ugly, anti-social, honest (sometimes too honest).
Click a member for their bio page.
TIM STERLING - BARITONE GUITAR & VOCALS
DREW WENDT - BASS
CHRIS SOUTH -
GUITAR
JOHN SOUTH -
GUITAR
TOM DEAN - DRUMS &
VOCALS
DissolutionTheBand@hotmail.com
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