Interview: Pam and Mark Schaff
Photos: Pam and Mark Schaff
MGM : So do you guys have any plans for a new album?
Victor Grifiin : We do, yeah we’ve been working on some new material for the past nine months or so. Some of it’s kind of fragmented right now, we have a few complete songs, and then some bits and pieces or parts that we’re still working on. We kind of hit a snag, our original drummer, Tim Tomaselli we’re not with him anymore, the guy that’s playing with us tonight, came along with us on this little short run that we’re dong. His name is Russell lee Padgett and he’s from Charleston, SC. I’ve recorded some stuff with him in the past, that’s how i got acquainted with him. So we’re not sure what’s going to happen with that down the line, but we’re working on some new material and hopefully have a new album sometime next year.
MGM : What’s it like being part of this legendary Maryland/DC scene for so long?
VG : Yeah, I moved up to kind of the DC, Maryland area, initially in ’79 and met a couple people, and then went back down to Tennessee, where I’m from, and then moved up here in ’81 with a band I formed in Tennessee called Death Row, which eventually you know around in ’84 we changed the name to Pentagram. Bobby and I are playing together again now, so we’ve played together and known each other for over 35 years.
MGM : How do you find time to do both Place of Skulls and Pentagram?
VG : Well I like being on the road you know, and before I got Place Of Skulls sort of functional again, between the Pentagram stuff I found myself pretty bored. So it was like I’d really like to be doing something else since Pentagram can’t stay on the road all the time. And the stuff with Place Of Skulls is a little spotty right now, but more things are starting to happen. So I just want to stay busy playing, you know I’ve put a lot of years into it, and coming off tours and things like that, I find myself depressed if I stay at home too long. Place Of Skulls is a good outlet for that. The guys in Place Of Skulls can’t be on the road for long periods of time, so it’s good just to have some short little runs. Maybe like a long weekend run or some one off stuff here and there. So I kind of schedule all that so it doesn’t conflict with Pentagram.
MGM: Does Pentagram have any plans to record new material?
VG : Well, since curious Volume came out we’ve been on the road supporting that. We’re about to finish up basically our touring for that album. We’ve got a couple things coming up like the Psycho Las Vegas in August and we’ve got a New York show in September. And then in October/November we’re going to be over in Europe again. And that will kind of be the end of the Curious Volume tour. Then we’re hoping to get in and record a new album right after that. Sometime probably after Christmas we’ll record a new album and have a 2017 release for it.
MGM : Once Place Of Skulls complete’s the new album will there be any plans for a tour to support it?
VG : It would probably be short stuff. It depends on how much everybody else wants to stay involved. If it came down to where the album needs to be supported with more touring, and people couldn’t do it, we might have to look into some alternative stuff. Not that I would want to play without those guys. The thing is, with Place Of Skulls, there’s been so many of people in the band and out of the band, I don’t see it as that’s big a deal. So it’s almost like an ongoing project, I mean it’s always been a band, there’s been a lot of albums and touring, so it’s not really a project band. But everybody that played in Place Of Skulls always seems to come back to it at some point or another. So I would love to go on the road extensively, so if that could happen man, it would be hard for me to turn it down.
About Author
