# GWAMBA TURMOIL: MAD REIGN AND OKRA PICKLES VETERANS COLLIDE ON “GODDESS OF MERCY” AND UPCOMING ALBUM *OVERDRIVE*
### Brent “Turmoil” Turner and Brian “Gwamba” Wenzel unite decades of West Coast hard-rock history for a new project that moves freely between heavy metal, punk, acoustic music and everything in between
When **Brent “Turmoil” Turner of Mad Reign** and **Brian “Gwamba” Wenzel of Okra Pickles** finally decided to put their musical ideas together, neither veteran musician seemed particularly interested in establishing boundaries.
That freedom has become the foundation of **Gwamba Turmoil**, a new West Coast hard-rock and heavy-metal collaboration whose debut single, **“Goddess of Mercy,”** was released September 7, 2026, through **Red Seed Records**.
The song serves as the first introduction to the band’s forthcoming 10-track album, ***Overdrive***, currently expected in mid-December.
Joining Turner and Wenzel in the band is bassist **DJ Nicholson of The Mimes**, while **Brad Brooks of MC5** has joined Gwamba Turmoil onstage and contributes to the upcoming follow-up single **“Crush.”**
Although Gwamba Turmoil may technically be a new name, the musicians behind it bring decades of experience.
Turner formed **Mad Reign** in San Francisco in 1982. The band released its debut EP, ***Salute the New Flag***, through Iron Works Records and toured the United States. Turner later became part of San Diego’s **O.D. Posse**.
Wenzel founded Sacramento alternative-rock outfit **Okra Pickles**, known for releases including ***No Lifeguard on Duty at the Genepool*** and songs such as **“Dashboard Jesus.”** He has also played lead guitar with **Defiance** and is part of the current lineup of **Black Oak Arkansas**.
Those histories now collide in Gwamba Turmoil.
As Turner describes it, the results are deliberately difficult to categorize.
## THE INTERVIEW
### For people discovering Gwamba Turmoil for the first time, how would you introduce the band, and what happens musically when the worlds of Mad Reign and Okra Pickles collide?
**BRENT “TURMOIL” TURNER:**
I would introduce the band as a multitude of divergent forces resulting in a hard-rock/heavy-metal think-tank soup.
The combination of Okra Pickles with Mad Reign creates a unique sound that is continually evolving.
Mainly, I would encourage the recruit to take a listen and **“let the music do the talkin’.”**
### The story of this project apparently began after the two of you kept crossing paths, followed by Brent calling Brian and saying he wanted to “exploit my brain for selfish musical purposes.” Take us back to that conversation. When did you realize this was becoming an actual band rather than just a one-off collaboration?
**TURMOIL:**
Gwamba and I had known each other from the Sunset Strip and had many common musical friends.
I lived in the Houdini — now Rick Rubin — mansion in Hollywood in the ’80s and knew Gwamba’s wife from the Rainbow world.
Then my lifelong pal and former Mad Reign guitarist **Al Teman** tipped me off about Gwamba’s level of talent.
From there, we started recording, and eventually the band formed.
The official story from Gwamba’s perspective is equally memorable.
As he explained when the project was announced:
> “Turmoil and I kept running into each other — then he called me and said he wanted to ‘exploit my brain for selfish musical purposes.’ I was thrilled at the proposition, so we hit the studio and spit out ten fresh tunes.”
### You went into the studio and came out with ten new songs. Did the material arrive as quickly and naturally as that story makes it sound, or was there a point during the sessions when you had to really figure out what Gwamba Turmoil was supposed to sound like?
**TURMOIL:**
The sound has never been preconceived, but rather intentionally flowing without restriction.
Some of the tunes, like **“Despair,”** are acoustic, while others, like **“Crush,”** are brutally punky metal.
They have been developed over the past six months, which is fairly quick for some artists but feels slow to me.
Both Gwamba and myself write music continuously. When we are not writing as Gwamba Turmoil, we write with other folks.
We even wrote a song for **Jim Dandy to do with Black Oak Arkansas called “Vigilante”** that we will be including on our upcoming release, ***Overdrive***.
### “Goddess of Mercy” is your debut single and the first introduction most listeners will have to Gwamba Turmoil. Why was this the right song to introduce the project, and what is the story or meaning behind the title?
**TURMOIL:**
“Goddess of Mercy” was the first song we wrote together, and we felt like we should release the first one written.
My lyric is hopefully reflecting a desire to expand consciousness while confessing vulnerability regarding the need for time.
It also expresses the desire for love and mercy from a personal goddess.
Hopefully, the lyric projects a sense of faith and healing.
### What can you tell us about the writing of “Goddess of Mercy”? Did it begin with a guitar riff, a lyric, a rhythm or something completely different?
**TURMOIL:**
As is common with our process, Gwamba initiated the tune with guitar riffs, and we cobbled together an initial arrangement.
From there, I listened to the riffs for any particular imagery conjured up from the feel of the music.
I wrote “Goddess of Mercy” fairly quickly, with words and melody coming to me in about one or two hours.
I often utilize the **Steven Tyler method of writing while in my car**. I replay the music over and over while singing out random lyrics and vocal arrangements.
When I found what I considered a good start with “Goddess,” I recorded it on a handheld, and then we started our back-and-forth process.
Gwamba and I work with each other on a comfortable level artistically, so from there it moves quickly.
### Your upcoming 10-track album *Overdrive* is expected in mid-December. How well does that title describe the record, and what should listeners expect once they move beyond the first single and hear the entire album?
**TURMOIL:**
The songs are hopefully musically interesting and lyrically compelling.
The audience can be enraged and/or comforted track by track.
As **Andy Wood from Mother Love Bone** said, **“We’re like soup,”** and we hope to be good for consumption.
Obviously, there is a common lyrical theme of anxiety, and the music is often best played loud.
### Brent, you formed Mad Reign back in 1982 and have lived through an extraordinary amount of musical history, including some very difficult losses along the way. How have those experiences changed the way you approach writing, performing and being part of a new project today?
**TURMOIL:**
My path of survival heightened my writing skills, though the tragedies of my previous bands have given me a bit of undiagnosed PTSD.
Mad Reign was notorious for the amount of band deaths and carnage attached.
O.D. Posse was worse, with the murder of a civilian by one of our roadies.
Gwamba has been a pleasure to collaborate with, as his style is real laid-back.
Turner’s history includes the deaths of Mad Reign vocalist **Frank Starr**, drummer **Bill Gagliardi**, guitarist **Greg Spellings**, as well as members of the band’s road crew and management circle.
After Mad Reign disbanded in 2000, Turner joined O.D. Posse, another chapter of his musical career that ended under tragic circumstances.
Those experiences are a significant part of the emotional history Turner now brings into Gwamba Turmoil.
### Brian, your background ranges from Okra Pickles to playing guitar with Defiance and being part of Black Oak Arkansas. How do those very different musical experiences influence the guitarist and songwriter we hear in Gwamba Turmoil?
**BRIAN “GWAMBA” WENZEL:**
I believe all those experiences shaped me and have provided a heavy foundation.
My chops are derived from the roots and other investigated places.
I dig metal and also our acoustic pieces.
For Gwamba Turmoil, I just **rev it up and let it fly.**
### There seems to be a lot of personality behind this band in addition to the heaviness. When the two of you work together, where do you challenge each other the most, and where did you discover that your musical instincts were surprisingly similar?
**GWAMBA:**
We share musical similarities and coincidence on many levels, from **Randy Newman to Rage Against the Machine**.
Turmoil has an ability to flow with whatever I throw his direction.
He knows Big Band and the history of rock.
That broad musical vocabulary helps explain why the band appears perfectly comfortable moving from acoustic material to aggressive metal instead of attempting to force every song into the same stylistic box.
### Brad Brooks of MC5 has joined Gwamba Turmoil live and appears on the upcoming song “Crush.” How did Brad become involved, and what did his voice and personality bring to that song that changed or el