Interview with Ed Mowery (Tiwanaku)
Hail Ed, you are welcome to my humble blog Archangel’s Lantern. Tell the readers in brief the beginnings of Tiwanaku and introduce your bandmates please.
- Thank you for having me in Archangel's Lantern man. We appreciate it. I started Tiwanaku in 2003. I could see the writing on the wall. Nocturnus was on its way to disbanding again. The sale exact arguments were going on between us. I wanted to tour. They didn't. So I quit. I started thinking of a new band name and looking for new people to work with when I noticed what was going on in Nocturnus. It took me a few months and after reading about it in books and seeing the native spelling of Tiwanaku. Tiahuanaco is one spelling that is used mostly but Tiwanaku is the native spelling and looks much cooler and is more symmetrical. Tiwanaku makes for one hell of an awesome logo! Our Klingon Bat'leth logo by Christophe Szpajdel and Nino Mejia is our latest logo. I read it as Tiahuanaco in many places before. As soon as I saw the name Tiwanaku on paper I knew that was the name I was looking for. I wanted a one word name that had never been used in metal before. Tiwanaku is a magical mystical place with a lot of mysterious history, statues, megaliths, a pyramid, Sungate, Moongate, and more. There is a stone wall of faces that depicts humans from all over the planet and grey aliens. Its in Bolivia near La Paz just a quarter mile away from the mysterious megaliths of Puma Punku, Bolivia on the Altiplano. Puma Punku was the place space vessels would land and Tiwanaku was the place they celebrated together. The band is a group of guys that were meant to come together to make Earth Base One. I have had a lot of people come and go but now the guys I have are a solid group and all as hungry as I am and believe in the band as much as I do. All of us help with the different things a band needs. 3 of us live in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, our drummer in Orlando, Florida, and I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We are getting together in Pittsburgh in 7 days from today to finish writing the next album and work on our live set. We have some announcements coming after the holidays. We have versatile and very creative shred monster Sean "Hairy" Valentine on guitars, Wizard of the keyboard Ryan O'Neill on keyboards/orchestrations. The multi-instrumentalist and giant sound of Ian Spencer on Bass. Our newest member to the band is multi-genre playing bad ass hard hitting and kicking drummer Gabriel Lewandowski (xResurrection, xHellwitch, xEquinox) on drums. Gabriel and I were both close friends of Michael Estes who was trying to get Gabe and I in a jam room to see what would happen before he tragically passed away. Its better to be late than never at all. Michael may be gone but he is getting his wishes to come true and Gabe is now a permanent member Tiwanaku. Our first jam session we locked in on the first or second song. We played Giants Below Us off Earth Base One perfectly on the first run. I knew the first night playing with Gabe he was our new drummer. I think he did too.
Ryan and Liam Hurka were the drummers on the album. Then they had to do their thing and gracefully bowed out of the band. Ryan has a business to run and it eats up all his time. Not enough time to do music too. We are all still friends. I ran into Gabriel Lewandowski online just a couple days after they left. We got to messaging and that turned into talking on the phone that turned into me flying to Florida to hang out and play music with him. Gabe and I had a mutual friend, amazing guitarist Michael Estes (RIP). Gabe is an amazing drummer. Not taking anything away from Ryan and Liam Hurka on the album. They did their jobs awesome and we appreciate everything they did. I can't wait to get together with the band next month. Once I come home from this trip I'll start making guitar and click tracks for Gabe to record his drums with once we all decide the arrangements and riffs are all in the right place.
Our first demo line up.
Wade Black, Rick Renstrom, Ed Mowery, Richard Christy
Tiwanaku is:
Ed Mowery (xNocturnus) - Vocals/Guitar
Sean Valentine (Plague Rider) -Guitars
Ryan O'Neill- Keyboards/Orchestrations
Ian Spencer (Plague Rider) - Bass
Gabriel Lewandowski (xResurrection, xHellwitch, xEquinox) - Drums
Ryan Hurka - Drums on the album
Liam Hurka - Drums on Ghost War
Guests:
Michael Estes (RIP) (xTiwanaku, xBurning Inside) Guitar Leads and wrote parts of Today in Battle
Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) - Bass, Today in Battle
Daniel Heiman (Warrior Path, xLost Horizon)-Vocalist Interdimensional
Steven Martinez-Lead Guitar Interdimensional
Tiwanaku unleashed a fantastic debut LP, namely “Earth Base One” on the 4th of November. How went the recording process? Where did you recorded all the tracks? Who was the producer?
- Thank you! We really appreciate that man! We are now booking tours and appearances for 2023 and 2024. The recording process was an interesting one. Ryan, Liam, and I went into Cerebral Productions in Pittsburgh. Shane Mayer is a great engineer and has an absolutely amazing ear. We did the drums for the album in two days’ time. Then we used those tracks and my scratch guitars to record the keyboards which I recorded with Ryan O'Neill in his home studio. The rhythm guitars and my Vocals were recorded in my home studio. Alex recorded his bass parts in his home studio and Daniel recorded his vocals in his studio in Stockholm Sweden. We had our ups and downs during the recording process but the most important part for me is that we prevailed and got through it all to put this album out.
I like a lot art of Spanish painter, Juanjo Castellano, who created for Tiwanaku an awesome artwork, which totally fits to your music. How did you meet him? Do you plan to work with him again?
- Our label contacted Juanjo to do an album cover for us. I gave him a short description, some background, and photos of Tiwanaku and he accepted the job then grabbed the ball and ran with it. It came out so killer and blew my expectations out of the water. Look for the hidden things in the art. They're in there. I would love to work with Juanjo again. He is a professional and even helped promote Earth Base One quite a bit on social media alongside us. He didn't have to do that. He is a very nice guy and a gentleman. I do have a couple artists in mind for album 2 and he is in the mix of 3 artists. I can say we'll lean in his direction when the time comes which will be soon. It would be amazing to have him paint the concept I already have for album 2.
Would you be so kind to share your thoughts about “Earth base One” track by track?
- Visitor from Titan - This is a true story. It happened right here in Northern New Mexico. Michael Estes (RIP)was in town working with me on Tiwanaku. I had a gig one night filling in for my friends’ band End to End in Albuquerque New Mexico. It was opening for Goatwhore. Fun show! At the time I lived in the Northern New Mexico mountains so Mike and I loaded up my truck after the show and headed home. This was during the Perseid Meteor shower. The sky was lighting up night like day off and on the whole way back. After driving through Jemez Pueblo, we were near Virgin Mesa near Jemez Springs when we started seeing a light down the road off and on. I figured it was a light on a house or barn until we drove around a bend and it was hovering in the middle of the road. I had to stop the truck right in front of it. Then it’s kind of erupted and then doubled in size. I asked Mike three times "Are you seeing this?" About that time lightning bolts shot out from under the ball of light and then it shot up the mountain at lightning speed and disappeared. I then started asking Mike again if he saw it and I looked at him. He was in complete shock with his eyes and mouth wide open in surprise. He finally snapped out of it when I started driving again and said "Bro, what the fuck was that?" The next week the Jemez Springs newspaper reported UFO sittings at Virgin Mesa the same exact time we were driving through. We didn’t start telling people about it until after it was in the newspaper. So, we weren't the only ones who saw it. I think what we saw was a being made of electricity. Later I read if there was life on Saturn's moon Titan it would be electricity based. Right then was when I named the song.
Ghost War is about a dream I had about a war between human beings and our reality and ghosts and the paranormal reality. Something the human military was experimenting on was screwing with their reality so they found a way to start attacking humans from the paranormal side. Killing us just to join their side of reality. Gaining fighters as they kill humans, they won the war.
Swarm is about a flock of birds that mishap upon some tainted meat. They eat it and transform into a tornado of flesh-eating metal machines.
Nightmare Hall is a song about the story of Phil Schneider's adventure and escape from an underground military base in Northern New Mexico. Nightmare Hall is a level in the base where animals, humans, and aliens are experimented on. I've studied this base, have friends that live in the town above it. I agree. It’s a real thing. I think there are underground bases all over the planet. I've read about and now been told by Bolivian descendants of Tiwanaku that there is an underwater government/alien base next to Tiwanaku in Lake a Titicaca.
Closed Minds is about the wool that has been pulled over the human race's eyes by who is truly running our planet. Our leaders are all the puppets of the true leaders of the world.
Giants Below Us has two meanings. One is about how Giants used to walk this planet. I'm not talking dinosaurs. I'm talking Giant bipedal beings. The evidence has been found of giant human-like bones and giant graves. I have a theory that Bigfoot and these Giants are related and could be the same thing. For me. Bigfoot coming from inside our planet is much more realistic to me than them acting as interdimensional beings coming from another reality like some rumors say. But I am not 100% convinced on anything.
Vision Abducted is about when I had a total knee replacement surgery in 2009. While I was under I either had a vivid dream or a vision. I was walking around Tiwanaku Bolivia itself. I looked at the statues, the moon gate, and the sun gate. Then I found an opening behind some rocks. The door opened and there was a large stairwell. What I found is in the song.
Today in Battle was written by myself and Michael Estes. It is about the Mayan Apocalypse and different Mayan blood rituals.
Falling Stars is the piano piece that Ryan O'Neill wrote. It was something he used for warm ups some years ago. Him and I were roommates when I lived in Pittsburgh. I used to hear him get up for work. Right before leaving he would get on the piano and play those parts When I asked him if he had a piano type thing that could show how damn good, he is, he sent me this. As soon as I heard it I recognized it and said hell yea this is it! I suggested Falling Stars for the name and he agreed.
Interdimensional is meant to be a completely different animal as anyone who hears it can tell. My best friend Brian (Progcop) Goldsmith introduced Daniel Heiman and I through an email. We started talking about doing something together. Brian ended up passed away from complications due to diabetes in 2019 right before I was to go into major neck surgery. When I got out, I wrote and explained what happened to Brian to Daniel. That was when we decided 100% to do this song together and when I decided the song had to go on this album. Brian deserves it. I wrote every single note, lyric, and vocal throw to the song. I did it while I was grieving for my best friend. It chokes me up to write and talk about it over 3 years later. Brian believed in me when everyone had written me off to neck and back surgery. Interdimensional and the whole album is dedicated to his memory. I'll see you Interdimensional Brother!! 🤘🏼👽🤘🏼
Tiwanaku Sungate with alien ship/drone hovering above
Are you working with new material currently?
- Absolutely! I am always writing down lyrical ideas and writing guitar riffs. I have a riff bank I put all my new material into. It’s a protools folder on my hard drive. I have about 5-6 songs worth of riffs and I know Hairy, Ryan, and Gabe have song ideas too. We are getting together in January to work on our set and get the songs together for the next album. We'll start recording sometime next year depending on when our live appearances are confirmed.
What should we know about your live performances in the near future? (I really hope to see and meet you live in Hungary or Slovakia)
- Fuck yes man. We are in talks for some United States, European, and South American appearances in 2023. It will be great to meet you in person man. 🤘🏼👽🤘🏼
("In January 2019 I had the same surgery as my neck from L4-S1 and I have electronics in my lower spine. This is part of why I am able to get on stage again."- Ed Mowery)
When did you start to play the guitar, bass, keyboards and vocalizing? Who inspired you back in the day? What are your favourite musicians?
- I started on guitar when I was 14 years old. A friend of mine moved into town and he played electric and acoustic. I hung out with him a few times and I wanted to start learning guitar myself after he let me borrow a guitar. I was fuckin hooked! I fell in love with playing metal music very early on. It took a lot of hard work to be able to play like I do today. I was no natural. Haha. When I was 19, I joined Fallen Idols on Guitar. We started searching for a drummer and bassist. We got tired of being offered gigs and not being able to do them. We found a drummer pretty quickly but finding a bassist to play our stuff back then was tough. So that's why I moved to bass for a few years. So, we could move on as a band and start playing clubs. I was 19 and was only allowed into clubs if it was all ages. If it was 21+ I was sometimes allowed to play with the band only and then was escorted out by security right after our last note. I started doing backup vocals in Fallen Idols. We were a trio. I started playing the keyboard while I was in Nocturnus still. When Louis Panzer quit the Nocturnus I went out and bought a Korg Triton 76 key. Fell in love with that instrument too. Our keyboard player Ryan O'Neill is much better than I am at execution so I leave most of that to him now. He is a monster on the keys. When we started talking about putting Nocturnus together for Ethereal Tomb and I threw my name in the hat for vocalist. They went with me. That was my first time as Lead vocalist for any band, ever. Back in the day I was mostly inspired by Ronnie James Dio, Judas Priest, Metallica, and Megadeth. My favorite musicians right now would be a variety. Ronnie James DIO, James Hetfield, Dave Mustaine, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Mike Patton & Faith No More, Jaco Pastorius, Beethoven, Paganini, Michael Keene, and Bill Steer of Carcass off the top of my head.
("On my way home from C3-T1 fusions and disc replacements. This surgery saved my guitar playing and having normal use of my arms and hands" - Ed Mowery)
How do you describe your past activity in following bands as Fallen Idols, Nocturnus and Leash Law?
- I joined Fallen Idols as guitarist. I moved to bass and backup vocals because we wanted to play gigs and we REFUSED to be unprofessional and go out without a bassist. We got tired of looking for one and I picked it up one night just to see how we would sound and we sounded AMAZING and we were a 3 piece. When I joined Nocturnus as bassist just 3 months before the European Thresholds tour. We broke up after we recorded the Possess the Priest/Mummified EP in 1993. Mummified was the first song that I had a hand in writing. Fast forward to 1999 we regrouped Mike Davis, Sean McNenney, Lou Panzer, and myself. That was when I stepped up and said "I'll sing!" I had to prove myself in rehearsals first then the studio and I did. Finding out I was a lead singer really helped me finish blooming as a musician. I love it.
Ed, 22 years old on tour playing bass in Nocturnus with Confessor as direct support 1992 European Thresholds Tour
- Lonehunter are awesome! I am friends with Juliano Bonacini who played keys with the band. I have their latest release on cd. Great fucking band man! From the States? They recently signed to Unique Leader Records. I played some shows with them while filling in for a friend’s band. I really liked the band. Embryonic Devourment.
Are you having some special hobbies? What are your most preferred books and movies?
- Most of my special hobbies are centered around the band Tiwanaku. I have love for Ancient Archaeology, Ufology, Ancient Aliens, and the Paranormal, Science Fiction, and Science Fact. Anything that causes mystery in our world, and beyond, fascinates me. When I was younger, I loved playing Football/Soccer, rock climbing, and was a dart and extreme jumper on snow skis. Adrenaline Junkie kind of stuff. I stopped doing it all after my first knee surgery. That was right about the same time I started playing guitar.
Name us your eternal favourite top 10 albums, please.
- 10 is too short of a list. How about 20 instead brother? Haha!
Metallica: Ride the Lightning
Metallica: Master of Puppets
Black Sabbath: Mob Rules
Black Sabbath: Heaven & Hell
Judas Priest: Screaming for Vengeance
Judas Priest: Defenders of the Faith
Megadeth: Rust in Peace
Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction
The Faceless: Autotheism
Pink Floyd: Meddle
Yngwie Malmsteen: Rising Force
Dimmu Borgir: Spiritual Black Dimensions
Dimmu Borgir: Puritania
Deicide: Legion
Death: Individual Thought Patterns
Carcass: Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious
Carcass: Symphonies of Sickness
Carcass: Heartwork
Emperor: Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Faith No More: Angeldust
Primus: Sailing the Seas of Cheese
Jason Becker: Perpetual Burn
That’s more than 20. I know there's many more. 🤘🏼👽🤘🏼
Thank you very much Ed, wish you and Tiwanaku all the best. Send your message to the readers to complete the interview.
- The band is planning our live appearances for 2023 and 2024. Right now, we have a large concert in Florida we are being considered for. Two European tours and a South American tour. Hopefully they'll be confirming us for all of them. We are looking forward to bringing Earth Base One to as many corners of the planet we can. We are ready to see all your metal faces, throw horns, and fist bump you all! Thank you for having me in Archangel's Lantern, Georgius. 🤘🏼👽🤘🏼
Important links:
tiwanakumetal.com/?fbclid=IwAR1zGB4SqgS6zgGjMxEwRGIYI3Om6jrZmBHXQeEvNj--jwyXuVnrCEAvwpE
youtube.com/@tiwanakumetal7469
