It feels like everyday another traditional heavy metal band trying to keep the 80s spirit alive is born. Most of these are decent but only on very rare occasions does one of these retro styled bands manage to leave a lasting impression with their first record. Skull Fist managed to do that back in the day and Enforcer also made quite an impact on the scene. Arizona’s SHOW N TELL seem to be another old school metal band destined for greatness as their recently released debut „The Ritual Has Begun“ is a downright phenomenal record. We spoke to band leader David Rodriguez about his band’s past, present and future.
Hi and thanks a lot for taking time for this interview! How are you doing?
Thank you for your interest in our band! I’m doing well! Working hard on pushing our newest release ‚The Ritual Has Begun‘ and trying to climb that mountain!
Since „The Ritual Has Just Begun“ is your first album, we don’t know much about you guys yet. Tell us a bit about the band’s history!
Yes! In 2019, I released our 3 song Demo. I wrote and programmed everything by myself, then sent it out into the internet. The current lineup, which I would consider the official first lineup, consists of: myself on vocals / 
guitar, Cade Gardner on bass, Mike Thomas on drums, and Daniel Dobbs on lead guitar. We had a brief moment of lineup changes in the beginning, but it sl owly worked itself out. Cade has been in the band pretty much since the beginning after I released the Demo. Cade and I went into the studio to track the album, and we had Michael Ohlson track all the drums for us. Which then turned into him introducing the band to Mike Thomas who was happy to offer filling the drum position. It would have been a bit too much to have the drums re tracked with Mike, so we stuck with the original performance by Michael. We then had a small run around finding another lead guitarist and luckily we came into contact with Daniel Dobbs who completed the lineup.
SHOW N TELL is a really cool band name with a very 80s ring to it how did you choose it?
Thank you! It’s the kind of band name that people either really enjoy or think it’s the stupidest thing they’ve ever heard. Out of every decision I’ve ever made in the band, the name was probably the thing I was most sure of. I picked the name after sitting in a financial advisory meeting (not very rock n roll). The guy leading the meeting was explaining how their business model worked, saying “We work in a show an d tell business”, meaning, they need to show people a product that is so great that they will be telling everyone they know. Which translated to me, the exact way I would want my band to be portrayed. Thus, Show N Tell was born.
Your first full album was just released. How would you describe the record to someone who has never heard it before?
I would say you’re gonna either love it or hate it. The opening of the album is gonna hit you like a freight train and you’ll know within about 30 to 45 seconds whether or not it’s for you. The writing process has changed a lot and still is. It began with me writing and programming everything, which then turned into people now playing these songs live, and now everyone is pitching in riffs/id eas.
What’s the songwriting process in SHOW N TELL like?
The writing for the new album was done by myself and our bassist Cade Gardner. Mike Thomas and Daniel Dobbs were not in the band yet during the writing process. Daniel was able to get his leads in for the whole album and we had Michael Ohlson track drums. For the next album, we’ll definitely be exploring different avenues together to make an album even more memorable!
Which band(s) would you name as your biggest influences?
Some of my personal influences that impacted me the most are bands like Skull Fist, Enforcer and Cauldron. In the last 5 – 6 years, I feel these guys have had the most influence on me. Of course, I have a wide variety of 1980s metal bands that have influenced me massively such as Megadeth, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P., Dokken, etc.
„The Ritual Has Begun“ is a very raw and authentic sounding album. How do you guys work in the studio? Analog or digital equipment?
The album was tracked digitally in Tempe, Arizona, with studio engineer Joe Asselin. He did an amazing job tracking everything in the studio and ensured that everything we did was performed to the best of our ability. We then had Jeffrey Robens mix the whole album and then Bart Gabriel mastered it. The sound is rather raw and unique, but I think it goes back to what I said earlier: you’re either gonna love it or hate it.
For your first album you signed to No Remorse Records. How did that come to pass?
Our signing with No Remorse Records was truly an incredible moment for me. When I released our Demo, I was able to get it featured on the NWOTHM Full Albums page, which led it to getting lots of attention from the community. I was contacted by a few people who wanted to sign us but “No Remorse Records” was a clear win!
Traditional metal is really en vogue at the moment, but recently the scene seems to be dominated by European bands. What’s the American scene like?
Out here in Arizona specifically, there might be 2-3 traditional metal bands hat I can think of in the entire state. In the whole country, I think it might be the same situation in every state. Each state has a handful of Traditional Metal Bands and that’s it. I’ve been seeing it grow more over the last few years, but it’s nothing even close to going on outside of the US.
Any chance to catch SHOW N TELL in Germany soon?
Nothing planned yet! We are extremely eager to break out of the US and go play in other countries! If you’re outside the US and reading this, please pitch our name to the local promoters in your area!
Thank you for the interview! Please let us do a short brainstorming in the end of this interview. What comes in your mind first reading the following terms:
Winged Assassins: Winged Assassins would be a super rad band name. It also makes me think of the Anvil song; Robb Reiner kills the drums on that track.
Merch Cut: Merch Cut makes me think of some of the Hollywood venues in California that were notorious for the sunset strip metal days. I suppose if the festival or event is large enough, they will want a cut.
Festival Season: It sounds like something I want to be a part of! We don’t have too many traditional metal festivals in the US. One of the best ones here is definitely “Hells Heroes”!
Touring abroad: Another phrase I want to see come to life. Touring outside of the US is pretty high on our priority list.
SHOW N TELL in 10 years: When I think of Show N Tell in 10 years, I’m hoping we have a couple more records under our belt and have proved ourselves to be a serious part of the NWOTHM movement.
Once again thanks for your time. The closing words are yours – is there anything left you want to tell our readers
Thank you so much for reaching out and taking the time to get to know us! We hope to see all of you soon! Cheers!
18. Februar 2024 Thomas Meyns
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