Dub Trio.

DUB TRIO IS PROOF once and for all that you should never judge a book by its cover. The group, which includes guitarist DP Holmes, bassist Stu Brooks, and drummer Joe Tomino, are indeed dub buffs, but also have a thing for noise thrash a la Dillinger Escape Plan and progy excursions a la Tool. While they don't currently have a full-time vocalist, Mike Patton offers his talents to a track on their just-released ROIR album New Heavy. In fact, why don't we let Patton himself take it away for a second? "These guys are true originals, hijacking the studio-based phenomenon of dub and bringing it into a confrontational live environment," he says. "It is fantastic to witness the alchemy of the private studio world being brought to the stage--and one can't help but be fascinated when watching the magic unfold before your eyes."

How did the band come together?

Joe Tomino: Dave and Stu met at the Berklee College of Music; they were in a band called Actual Proof. The band moved to New York, and I moved to New York at the same time. That was the fall of 2000. I joined Actual Proof and we were in that band for a while. I basically turned those guys on to dub music. We listened to a lot of the same music--we were friends, a really tight rhythm section. We decided to start playing improv gigs, not really doing dub per se, but doing groove-oriented improv, with electronics. We did a show somewhere and one of the label mates for ROIR heard us and called up Lucas [Cooper], the head of the label, and was like, "You've got to check these guys out. They're doing live dub." He came out to the show and we signed a deal with ROIR.

How did Mike Patton get involved in the track "Not Alone"?

Stu Brooks: It was an idea by our label friend, Lucas. It was a perfect idea, because we were brainstorming who would sing on the song.

We recorded the song and mailed the ProTools data. He had it for about a week or so and sent it back.

Have you played it live with Patton yet?

Stu Brooks: On December 28, 2005, we played with Patton and performed "Not Alone" in Brooklyn, NY, the day that we met him. Finally met him, rehearsed it, performed it--it was magic. It was just a surprise to have Patton jump out, because nobody knew that we'd done the collaboration.

Favorite tracks?

Stu Brooks: I love the one that Patton's on. "Cool Out and Coexist," the double bass drum one, that has the extended outro. And then I'll say for a slow one, "Table Rock Dub." We've played almost all the new material live, but we're saving "Cool Out and Coexist."

How does the new album compare to the first [2004's Exploring the Dangers of]?

DP Holmes: When writing this album, we had no inhibitions. We started writing whatever we wanted. The first album was definitely more reggae/dub. On this album, the time leading up to it, we opened it up a little bit and started putting more rock and metal into it, but keeping the dub still within every song.

What can folks expect at a Dub Trio show?

DP Holmes: The live show is a pretty visceral experience, because we all have a lot of different things that we play. We're not just drums, guitar, and bass. All three of us each play keyboards, and we all have a bunch of pedals, effects, and gadgets. When going to see us, it's not like some guys standing there playing their instruments. There's a lot of moving around, tweaking, and stuff like that.

What's in store for Dub Trio in the future?

Stu Brooks: Currently, the next couple of weeks we're concentrating on writing for the next record, with keeping in mind there may be vocals with Patton to collaborate. I think it's definitely evolving in the same direction. I guess it's a little more hip-hop, a little more metal, a little more vocals. The only person we have in mind is Patton. The goal is to definitely do a whole album with him.

All you gentlemen are skilled session musicians. What was a sick session that teetered on the brink of insanity?

Joe Tomino: We demoed a song for Bo Bite and a girl ... we don't remember the name. It wasn't Kelly Clarkson.