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Winterburn is a new project brought to you by Dubai-based lead guitarist and vocalist Naser Mestarihi. With a wealth of experience both live and recording, Mestarihi is a multi-instrumentalist who plays all instruments on Winterburn’s new album, Ivory Towers, with the exception of drums which were recorded by Grammy-award winning drummer Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta, Suicidal Tendencies). Naser was on hand to fill in in the blanks for us on our introduction to Winterburn.
Winterburn is the name of your latest project, you handle almost all of the instruments yourself, but you have the amazing Thomas Pridgen playing drums on the album, where did the connection come from? Also, who features in the line-up of the live band?
Thomas is a close friend and an ex-bandmate of one of my best friends in LA. Prior to starting pre-production, I was looking for a drummer to work with and specifically wanted someone with attitude, not just technique, someone who brought groove to the music and my friend mentioned Thomas so I reached out to him and he was totally onboard.
I’m still in final talks with the live band lineup, I can’t disclose names yet but all I can say is we got some stellar musicians coming into the band for the shows.
What should people expect when they check Winterburn out? How would you describe yourself?
True, unadulterated, kick-ass rock n’ roll music. This is the type of music I, as a fan, want to hear in our genre. Our sound is an amalgamation of traditional hard rock, metal, southern rock, and rock n’ roll.
New single ‘Dogtown’ has just been released, what was it about this one that made you choose it as a single?
“Dogtown” was one of the first tunes I wrote for this record and personally speaking it means a lot to me. I think it also best represents our sound as a band, as it covers all the areas of our musical influences stylistically.
Debut album ‘Ivory Towers’ is set for a December release, the gestation period of the album was full of setbacks, not only the pandemic but your own battle with MS. I believe that you had to relearn the guitar? That must have taken its toll on you, not just physically, but mentally?
Multiple Sclerosis is an illness that can really take its toll on a person as you said both mentally and physically. Facing the reality that I lost sensation in my hands was daunting and coming into the studio and struggling to play, while I had the clock running to get this album done was stressful. That being said, I’m very strong-willed so I got straight to working on figuring out how to play based on motion, I sort of developed a technique to play with loss of sensation and it worked. It took me a couple of weeks but I was back in the studio and determined to get the record done to the best of my playing ability and I can say that my playing is the best on record it’s ever been.
When you are that involved with a project, as you are, can you get too close? Did you ever find yourself having to take a step back now and again during the early stages?
Not really, to be honest, the only period when it started to wane on me a little was during the vocals tracking and that was primarily cause we had some issues in the studio with the air conditioning and tracking in 45 degrees celsius with MS was extremely tiring and frustrating. So there were moments where I would snap but generally, the rapport was really good.
What should we look out for upon cranking up ‘Ivory Towers’ come December 10th?
If I can pick highlights from the album I’d say “Dogtown,” the title track, “Sinner’s Swing,” and “Calijam.”
‘Ivory Towers’ is such a strong album title, is it aimed at anyone in particular?
Not anyone specific but the whole cesspool of corrupt politicians, dictators, and warmongers.
What is the Dubai underground music scene like?
It’s strong, we just need more backing and more venues to open up for live shows. There’s a strong rock fanbase and we’ve had many major festivals/concerts with an array of bands from rock and metal in the country.
What band out there at the minute do you feel that Winterburn would be best suited to open for?
Probably Mastodon, Mammoth WVH, or Dirty Honey.
What are your first musical memories? And what was the lightbulb moment that made you go “I want to do that”?
When I first heard “Appetite for Destruction” as a kid, that was the moment I knew I wanted to pursue a life in music.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
Watched my buddies Joyous Wolf at The Roxy in LA with the missus.
What current issue are you particularly passionate about?
The two things that I’m most vocal about are protecting children from predators, being a father myself and witnessing some horrific situations, and secondly advocating to control costs of pharmaceuticals for patients with chronic illnesses.
The album that you have in your album collection/Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
Ha! This is a difficult one as I listen to virtually all genres of music, probably Luis Miguel’s “Soy Como Quiero Ser.”
What new albums have you been enjoying in 2021?
I just picked up the new Mastodon record “Hushed & Grim,” the Mammoth WVH debut record, Dirty Honey’s debut LP, and Girish & The Chronicles’ “Rock the Highway.”
What are your plans for 2022?
Tour! We need to get out and play, it’s been too long, the longest we’ve been quiet and I’m feeling restless. And concurrently I’ll be working on the follow-up record, most of which has already been demoed out already.
How active are you on social media and where can people connect with you?
I’m pretty active on both Instagram and Twitter, the latter of which I post on the most. I post the band’s stuff both on my account and the band’s.
https://twitter.com/winterburnmusic and www.instagram.com/winterburnofficial
