Summer Welch: Vinyl ‘Is More Alive and Raw Than a CD’

Baroness will be heading to Australia to open for Metallica. In the meantime, the band will issue a limited-edition, one-time pressing of a seven-inch dubbed 'A Horse Called Golgotha.' Side A is the title cut, a song from 'Blue Record,' while Side B is a previously unreleased cover of 'Bikeage' by the Descendents. It will be available on black, red and pink wax.

Bassist Summer Welch checked in with Noisecreep about the seven-inch and other assorted topics before heading down under. "I think it goes without saying that we are all very excited to tour with Metallica," Welch said. "It's not every day you get to go on tour with a band of such extreme status. To be honest, I have tried not to think about it too much until it actually happens. It still seems a bit surreal right now. I think were pretty fortunate to have been given this opportunity. I am sure it will prove to be highly entertaining in many ways."

Welch revealed that the decision to cover the Descendents for the seven-inch was born in the studio. "When we were in the studio recording the 'Blue Record,' we had some time the last day of recording," Welch recalled. "We have always talked about a cover song, but never could seem to agree on something. The Descendents song was something that we could all agree on, and they are one of the bands that influenced us all at a young age."

While seven-inches are rare in this day and age, it transports people to a time when such special releases were the norm and something fans clamored for. "All of us grew up in a small town, and the only way to get our hands on underground music was through mail order zines and such," Welch said about the thrill of the pre-digital generation. "Since this was before the Internet was readily available and long before MySpace pages and the like, you could not preview a sample track of a band. You went off the description, and the s---ty black and white Xerox of the record cover. Sometimes it was a gamble, but when you received the package in the mail, it was a really exciting day."

Welch does concede that the digital age has helped level the playing field a bit for a lot of bands and that "the Internet has allowed everyone access to anything, anytime, I think that when mail order was the best way to discover bands that you couldn't see live. People had a deeper, more honest connection with the music that they acquired. I think vinyl is the best way to listen to music, and when you have a seven-inch or an LP in your hand, it is more alive and raw than a CD or a computer chip." Are your listening to Summer Welch, all you members of the download generation?

Once Baroness wraps up their current tour run in Oz, they will take some time off the road and focus on writing a new album.