Mudvayne’s Chad Gray shared his take on bands using backing tracks in an interview with Metal Roos. The singer shared how they were able to enhance their own live sound without the use of any pre recorded tracks. He explained:
“We brought in a utility player — literally — somebody just to help us. But he’s really singing, he’s really playing guitar. We don’t have any tracks. We don’t do that shit. Our music is f*cking honest and our music has to be played that way.”
To avoid using backing tracks, the band hired guitar tech Marcus Rafferty, to join them onstage. The singer shared that Marcus plays guitar and also helps out with backing vocals, in costume and face paint like the rest of the band. Chad added:
“And I don’t give a shit if anybody says any negative shit about us having Marcus [Rafferty]. That was our answer to trying to be like other bands that just aren’t doing it anymore.”
The singer mentioned that his favorite bands like Slipknot and Metallica don’t dabble with backing tracks however he also shared that he doesn’t understand how bands use them for everything nowadays. He expressed:
“With the whole track thing, I’m just, like, at what point are you ripping off your fans? Because people work really hard to buy tickets to concerts. And if they go there and you’re not f*cking playing your music, which is what they’re paying to see, then… You know what I mean? It’s become too much.”
Although the band is not currently touring for fans to experience their live performance without the use of any backing tracks, the frontman recently told Revolver that they have four brand new songs ready to go. But Gray also said that they weren’t sure if they wanted to release new music without knowing whether their fans actually wanted to hear them.
You can listen to Chad Gray’s interview with Metal Roos below.
