Ordinarily, this particular featurette is the domain of our esteemed associate editor Corey Schmidt. However, Corey was willing to let me take over just this once, so I took a moment to check in with Savannah, GA’s BARONESS. Bassist Summer Welch was gracious enough to answer some of my burning, itchy questions.

Pastepunk: You guys recently did a pretty extensive tour of Europe with TORCHE. What were some of the highlights from that tour?

Summer: There are too many to recall…However, we did hang out with DJ One Love and the drummer for

Arrested Development in Ireland.

Pastepunk: Now that you’re back stateside, can we expect any new releases from you? Perhaps an LP?

Summer: Yeah, we’re actually going to record a full length LP in a couple weeks at the Jam Room in Columbia, SC. It should be out in late August on Relapse for the CD and Hyperrealist for the vinyl.

Pastepunk: I’ve noticed that there are a ton of great stoner rock/metal/punk bands coming out of the South like you guys, TORCHE, KYLESA, WITHERED, RWAKE, etc. What is it about the South that you think inspires this and what are some bands you think we should be looking out for?

Summer: I think the climate and the scenery of the South have a big impact on bands both consciously and subconsciously. It’s hot and heavy. It’s beautiful and dismal at the same time. BLACK TUSK is another band from Savannah to check out.

Pastepunk: What does the rest of 2007 hold for BARONESS?

Summer: As I said, we’re about to record our first full length. We’re all really stoked about that. We’ll be in the studio for two weeks which is a lot for us. I think First and Second were recorded in three or four days. We also have a split EP with the UNPERSONS (also a Savannah-based band worthy of checking out) that will be out on At A Loss Records sometime in May. The material was recorded well over a year ago with our original guitarist, but due to many unforeseen obstacles, it’s taken a while to see the light of day. We should be hitting the road for a three to four week US tour in September, followed by a European tour in October.