HardRockChick Interviews Chris Reifert of Abscess, Autopsy, and Death
by hardrockchick [about 24 days ago.]
It’s not every day that I’m given the opportunity to interview someone who is considered a founder of one of my core genres. Chris Reifert played drums on Death’s debut album, and has since gone on to form Autopsy and Abscess, among others (like the lovingly titled side project Eat My Fuk). I was supposed to chat with the Bay Area legend yesterday, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to- but he quickly answered my questions via email, in red, all caps letters. I don’t know how to turn the text red, but I left it all caps nonetheless as I imagined that he screamed all the answers. What lies below can basically be summed up by one sentence: it’s all about the music.
HardRockChick: In reading some of your other interviews about the upcoming Abscess album, Dawn of Inhumanity, you talk about how it was crafted to be listened to start to finish, and that each song is like a piece of a puzzle. It almost sounds like a concept album. What was the inspiration and what are the interwoven themes you are trying to communicate?
Chris Reifert: WELL, IT’S NOT REALLY SO MUCH ABOUT LYRICAL THEMES AS MUCH AS A LISTENING EXPERIENCE FOR THE EARS AND MIND. IT’S ABOUT GETTING LOST IN A WORLD THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN THIS PLACE WHERE WE ARE USUALLY FORCED TO LIVE. DON’T WORRY ABOUT PICKING OUT A SONG OR TWO FOR YOUR IPOD, JUST DIVE IN DEEP AND COME WITH US FOR THE WHOLE SICK RIDE TO A STRANGE PLACE.
HRC: What is sickodelia, the term you coined to describe Abscess’ genre?
CR: I THINK THAT WAS ACTUALLY PEACEVILLE’S WORD. WE HAVE CALLED OUR STUFF PSYCHEDEATHIC BEFORE, BUT JUST IN PASSING. THERE’S SO MANY WEIRD TERMS AND CATEGORIES FOR MUSIC NOW, I JUST SAY LISTEN TO THE ALBUM AND SEE WHERE IT TAKES YOU. BOTTOM LINE IS WE PLAY SICK, HEAVY BRUTAL MUSIC.
HRC: What is your philosophy behind album art?
CR: WE LIKE TO HAVE ART THAT CAPTURES THE FEELING OF THE MUSIC AS BEST AS POSSIBLE. THAT’S SOMETHING THAT CAN’T BE DONE WITH PHOTO SHOP STUFF OR SOULLESS COMPUTER ART OR WHATEVER. WE’VE ALWAYS PREFERRED IT WHEN AN ARTIST TAKES THE TIME TO UTILIZE PAINT BRUSHES OR PENS AND DIG DEEP DOWN TO FIND THE IMAGES THAT COMPLIMENT OUR STRANGE SOUNDS.
HRC: What does it feel like to be referred to as a pioneer of the death metal genre? What are your thoughts on the progression of the genre as a whole, especially since it’s become more mainstream?
CR: METAL IS METAL AND THAT’S THAT. OFTEN I GET INVITED TO DISCUSS THE RELEVANCY OR PROGRESSION OF THIS MUSIC AND I JUST CAN’T DO IT. REALLY IT COMES DOWN TO BANDS YOU LIKE OR DON’T LIKE. SEEMS LIKE METAL WILL BE AROUND FOR A LONG LONG TIME AND THAT’S WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO ME. BESIDES I’D RATHER PLAY IT THAN TALK ABOUT IT. HAHA!
HRC: Your music, artwork, and shows are laced with material that tends to be deemed shocking and controversial. Is it harder to be shocking these days? What do you think draws people to music that is provoking in this way?
CR: YEAH, YOU CAN’T REALLY WORRY ABOUT OR ANTICIPATE SHOCKING PEOPLE ANY MORE. IN A WAY, IT’S ALL BEEN DONE BEFORE. AT THIS STAGE IT WOULD BE HARD TO GO FOR SHOCK VALUE WITHOUT BECOMING OVERLY RIDICULOUS OR OBVIOUS WITH YOUR INTENT. THAT SORT OF THING HAS TO HAPPEN NATURALLY IF AT ALL ANY MORE. AS FOR ABSCESS, WE JUST STAY TRUE TO OUR VISION OF WHAT THE BAND SHOULD BE. AS FOR THE DRAW OF ‘SHOCKING’ MUSIC, I WOULD GUESS THE SPIRIT OF REBELLION HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THAT, WHICH IS WHERE THE HEART OF METAL REALLY RESIDES. NOT SETTLING FOR WHAT SOCIETY DICTATES AS NORMAL OR GOOD OR ACCEPTABLE.
HRC: Are the sources of anger that fueled your music earlier in your career the same things that do now, or does it come from a different place? I’ve seen a lot of metal artists mellow out a bit as they get older, but it doesn’t seem like that has happened to you…
CR: IT’S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT CHANNELING ANGER AS IT IS RELEASING THE HORRORS OF THE HUMAN MIND, OUR INCLUDED. THERE’S ENOUGH HORROR IN THE AVERAGE PERSON’S MIND TO FUEL AN ETERNITY’S WORTH OF BRUTAL METAL ALBUMS OR HORROR FILMS OR BOOKS OR WHATEVER.
HRC: I’ve read about your legendary performances….what is the craziest thing you’ve ever done on stage, and what is the craziest thing you’ve ever seen done on stage?
CR: THERE’S BEEN SO MANY THINGS. HAHA! THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THE MUSIC THOUGH. WITHOUT THAT, THE SICKEST STAGE SHOW OR ANTICS ARE NOTHING. THERE’S BEEN TONS OF BANDS WHO TALK ALL ABOUT THEIR INSANE SHOWS AND UNLESS THERE’S GOOD SONGS TO BACK IT UP THEY QUICKLY FADE AWAY.
HRC: There’s a lot of anticipation for the Autopsy set at Maryland Deathfest this year. How do you feel about it? Are there any plans for shows for either Autopsy or Abscess this year, particularly in the Bay Area?
CR: WE’RE EXCITED OF COURSE. THE PRESSURE IS ON TO DELIVER A CRUSHING SET WHICH IS WHAT WE INTEND TO DO. AS FOR OTHER SHOWS, WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MDF. AS FOR BAY AREA SHOWS, I’VE LEARNED TO NEVER SAY NEVER BUT THERE ARE NO PLANS FOR THAT AS OF NOW.
Check out the upcoming Abscess album, Dawn of Inhumanity, which hits March 9th. It’s great nightmare music.
Genre(s): Interviews
HardRockChick Interviews Threat Signal
by hardrockchick [about 27 days ago.]
If you haven’t heard of Threat Signal yet, well, you can thank me later. I chatted with them last night before their set opening for Epica. From mustard yellow couches in the sticker filled dressing room downstairs at Slim’s, the guys shared their thoughts on filming their recording process, dealing with the music business, the meaning of Twitter, metal vocals, and Lady Gaga.
HardRockChick: You’re from Hamilton, Ontario; how much does where you’re from affect your music?
Adam Weber (guitar): I’m from in the middle of nowhere, I grew up around not a lot of metal. There wasn’t many metal kids- they were all punk kids and pop punk kids, and I hated it all, I don’t know why…but I didn’t listen to anything. One kid moved to where I lived from Florida who listened to all metal- Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall- all that kind of shit, and I fell in love with it. And in my whole high school and pretty much the whole city, there was only my metal band, who was just a bunch of my friends who I made listen to it, and they started liking it. So there were pretty much just 5 dudes who listened to metal in my whole city. Now there’s a ton.
Jon Howard (vocalist): I remember there wasn’t much metal going on in Hamilton. I got into the whole grunge phase, you know- like all the West Coast, Seattle kind of shit…
AW: I didn’t even know that existed.
“And then I just wanted heavier and heavier and heavier, and it just went from there.”
JH: That’s what I got into, and it started me playing guitar, and my whole music career. And then I just wanted heavier and heavier and heavier, and it just went from there. But the metal scene now, it’s decent, man. Every show we play in our area is sold out every single fucking time.
Norm Killeen (drums): There are a bunch of metal bands from Hamilton now…..
JH: It’s picking up. I think metal’s a lot more accepted these days.
HRC: Yeah, for sure.
JH: You even hear heavier shit getting on the radio now, like Alexisonfire. They scream a hell of a lot. It’s cool to hear that on the radio.
NK: growl-growl-growl-growl….
HRC: When you were growing up, was there one album that really affected you and made you want to be a musician?
AW: Ashes of the Wake, 100%, Ashes of the Wake. It’s the reason I play guitar- the way I do now, anyway. I started playing guitar before that, but that’s why I’m a lot better now. But yeah, Ashes of the Wake, Lamb of God.
JH: Mine’s gotta be something like Pantera, Vulgar, or something. Like I grew up watching all of the home videos, and just fucking getting smashed and breaking shit…
AW: We still do that!
HRC: So I was reading about the beginnings of the band, and using garageband.com to promote yourself; can you talk about that a little bit?
“I was like, ‘fuck- we don’t have to play a show? Do we need a drummer? Fuck!’.”
JH: We basically had myself, and two guitarists, no drummer, no bass player. It was just like a side project. We ended up calling it Threat Signal. We were going to school, going to work, and we just recorded these demos in my cousin’s room. We just recorded them ourselves and threw it up on garageband. It’s a rating site- so fans come on and rate the songs. We put up ‘Rational Eyes’ and it went up to number one. There were like 8,000 other entries and it just went to number one. A lot of people paid attention to it after that. And that’s where we got our record deal. Nuclear Blast went on the site, listened to what was number one, what was on top, and they lost their shit. They were like ‘holy crap what is this Threat Signal band?’. So they hit me up and asked me for more demos. They just sent over a record deal right away. I was like, ‘fuck- we don’t have to play a show? Do we need a drummer? Fuck!’. So that kind of gave us the kick in the ass to try to do this full time. As soon as we signed the record deal I left college to do this full time. It’s like now or never, right?
HRC: What were you in school for?
JH: I went for architecture. I was in my third year of architecture. I wanted to build bad ass houses.
Pat Kavanagh (bass): Now he’s building a badass studio!
JH: Yeah! So I’m still using it.
HRC: I checked out most of the video that you guys did about your recording process…
AW: Oh yeah, it’s pretty long…a lot of party footage.
JH: Oh yeah, that was the basement! A lot of that drunken wrestling…oh fuck….
HRC: Was there any moment during that process that you didn’t capture on video that you think should have been there?
AW: I think there’s a lot.
JH: I think we captured a lot. We were filming all the time.
AW: Except for all the lead parts- we didn’t do any of the solos.
JH: Yeah, because we filmed it all ourselves, right?
AW: It’s kinda hard because sometimes you’re working away…
JH: You got two guys working and no one to film.
AW: So all of my guitar solos- there’s none of me playing.
JH: Yeah, we should have captured more of that. And Travis’ solos…we caught a little bit of them, but…
AW: Yeah, it was just me and Jon when we were doing my solos, and we were like working and concentrating, so we’re not gonna go, ‘let’s get the camera and film this’.
JH: It would have been sweet to hire someone to fucking film it.
AW: Yeah, it would have been way easier. When I was doing the rhythm guitars, Pat and Jon were both there, and they were doing nothing but playing with the videocamera, so there’s so much footage of that shit. But, yeah, there could have been some more stuff. But it was a lot of fun.
HRC: Yeah, it looked like it was fun.
JH: That’s what we were trying to put across. It was a fucking blast. We just recorded until we got too drunk, and then we partied.
AW: Just the overdubs is what we missed mostly.
JH: Fuck it. We captured a lot of that shit. And it’s all edited by us, and filmed by us. I like it when bands do that. Some people say it’s too long, but I like when it’s long.
AW: It’s a long process
JH: A lot of fans like seeing everything that goes down.
HRC: It looked like a lot of people watched it. So, beyond using garageband to get a record deal and using youtube to show behind the scenes stuff, is there anything else that you’ve maybe seen other bands do or you’ve thought about in terms of social media and new, innovative ways to promote yourself?
AW: We’ve actually got a guy working for us that’s really good at all of that kind of stuff. He’s just wiring it all together, and we’ve been kind of taking a step back. We used to do a lot of that ourselves, and it’s kind of a lot. It’s way too much- especially on the road. I mean, we have internet today, but not very often. So he’s doing a really good job of making a fan club, an involved fan club, where you get exclusive videos.
JH: That’s one thing we’re really working on- the fan club.
AW: Yeah, news updates and stuff like that. You can win prizes and stuff. So he’s really good for that. We’re doing a lot of cool things that are going to be launching in the next couple months that we’re pretty excited about. So it’s not just myspace, replying to comments, and facebook.
JH: We started doing twitter now.
NK: We started twittering, but not that much yet.
JH: Almost every day.
HRC: Are you guys actually doing it or is your guy doing it?
JH: Oh no, we do it.
PK: I take a picture almost every day and put it up on facebook.
HRC: I’ll have to go check it out. We can follow each other!
JH: Yeah, twitter me!
AW: Tweet me!
HRC: That just sounds really dirty…
JH: What was that one you came up with, Travis? The meaning of twitter?
In unison: The space between your twat and your shitter!!!
everyone laughs
HRC: There’s a lady present!
JH: Oh yeah! Well that’s what bands talk about.
HRC: I know, I’m just kidding. So, you’ve gone through a few line up changes. Besides teaching new members the music, what else do you tell them about?
AW: I think it comes back to the whole garageband thing. When you get a band out of nowhere, it’s just a bunch of kids sitting in a basement. You tell them to get a band together, buy all this shit, and go on tour.
JH: We rushed into it.
“You have to be a really strange kind of a person to be in a band and go on tour.”
AW: You have to be a really strange kind of a person to be in a band and go on tour. I would say 90% of people who want to be in a band can’t actually do it. It’s fucking hard….it’s really really hard.
JH: It kind of slapped us across the face, like ‘oh shit, we gotta do this full time?’ We didn’t know what it was going to be like. Then we hired a drummer too fast, a bass player too fast, and you think everything’s going to be fucking great, everything’s paid for, you’re set. Fuck no. You’re broke, sleeping in a van.
Travis Montgomery (guitar): I think teaching us how the business actually works. Because people have no idea what it’s really like and how it actually works.
JH: A lot of people learn how it works and just quit.
HRC: People in the business don’t even know how it works.
JH: Well, that’s what we’re finding out. So with the new members, it’s basically, we know up front to tell them what’s going on and how the business works. These guys haven’t left yet- they’ve been with me for years and years…three years. Pat’s been around for fucking ever…
PK: Six? I dunno.
JH: He’s even got the Threat Signal tattoo on his arm- that’s a fucking lifer!
AW: I think we’ve all been in this band longer than anybody who started the band, except for Jon, of course.
JH: Yeah, this has been the line up for longer than anyone else who was in the fucking band. I don’t even consider that. This is fucking Threat Signal right here.
HRC: I first found out about you (Jon) through your other project, Arkaea. When I first listened to that, I thought, ‘he sounds so much like Chester form Linkin Park!’. Do you take that as a compliment or no?
JH: I definitely take it as a compliment, you know, Chester is a great singer. He may not be as metal as a lot of people want, but he’s a fucking amazing singer….great band. I’m not biting his style or anything…my voice sounds like it does, you know. I think it’s a lot heavier than Chester’s, that’s for damn sure.
HRC: Yeah, I agree.
NK: A lot of people think you’re trying to sound like Chester….they don’t get that Jon just sounds like Chester.
PK: It’s almost a vocal technique, like Jon doesn’t sing clean very often- like he does in ‘Rational Eyes’ and a couple of other songs- but the new album he doesn’t sing clean I think at all.
JH: No, not at all because I’m really pushing to put that rasp on it because I want it to be hard.
AW: There’s a thick rasp on it and I don’t think a lot of people understand what’s going on.
JH: I think it’s because I’m so high- I think it’s the range, because I’m up in the higher range.
AW: You’re fucking high, that’s for sure.
JH: Especially the Arkaea record- there’s a lot of highs on that shit.
AW: A lot of dudes do that now. Like Randy just started doing that in Lamb of God.
JH: Everyone’s trying to put it in.
AW: It’s exactly the same technique. Speed does it from Soilwork. The dude from All That Remains tries it sometimes, Phil. Not just clean singing. Killswitch does it, too.
JH: Melissa Cross is trying to teach it.
“Melissa Cross, the vocal teacher, she teaches people how to sing like Jon.”
AW: Melissa Cross, the vocal teacher, she teaches people how to sing like Jon. She met him once and goes, how the fuck do you know how to do that because I try to teach people to do that.
JH: Yeah, she’s like, Jon, you should teach my class. It was like a huge compliment from her.
AW: The dude from Shadows Fall is trying to do that now. Like those guys all get lessons from Melissa Cross, and they’re teaching what Jon already does. I don’t know how the fuck he knows how to do it.
JH: Yeah, she’s like ‘don’t do the death metal, and go to the straight singing’.
AW: Just low screaming, and la-la-la-la-la. I think it’s all from Pantera. Phil used to do that like a motherfucker. Always raspy singing and shit, after the Diamond Darrell phase.
JH: I’m influenced a lot by Phil, man. He did the raspy melodies.
AW: Yours is more trained, and I think you know what you’re doing.
PK: Even James Hetfield used to do it, not anymore.
JH: Yeah, that’s what I grew up on….Metallica, Pantera. Layne did it, too! Layne had some fucking balls.
AW: Chuck Billy does it in Testament. He’s got a heavy fucking voice, too. That’s what Jon does, he just sings it really fucking high! I dunno- it just seems like the metal thing…I just named, how many names in metal bands? People get pissed off because we’re not metal…..
HRC: When you’re not playing music, what else do you like to do?
AW: Drink.
HRC: Besides drinking….
TM: I don’t really do much else.
JH: Lots of music….recording….producing…
TM: All I do is work and play guitar.
AW: I ride my dirt bike.
PK: Videogames…
JH: He works at a videogames store. I used to build guitars for 10 years. I was building guitars from scratch, custom guitars. We’re DJing now- metal DJ night! Every Friday! Rock Hard Friday.
NK: Yeah, the rest of us show up and get drunk and go ‘play this song!’ and everyone gets mad at us. People want to dance!
JH: Gotta play the crowd.
HRC: What’s something you listen to that people wouldn’t expect you to listen to?
JH: Uh-oh.
NK: Lady Gaga!
AW: Norm listens to Lady Gaga, let’s just get that straight. Jon does, too. I do not.
JH: I enjoy it, I won’t lie. I like to dance while I drive.
AW: I listen to James Taylor a lot. I like to cry. What else….Andrea Bocelli….he’s a wicked singer.
TM: Lots of jazz stuff.
PK: A lot of people think I’m weird when I say I like the Foo Fighters.
JH: Foo Fighters are alright.
PK: Well you listen to Lady Gaga.
NK: We’re in a metal band, you know.
This is the point where someone makes a joke about sucking Lady Gaga’s dick….to which everyone laughs…..and I remind them that I have this all on tape.
HRC: After this tour, what else do you guys have planned?
JH: We have a European tour lined up after this supporting Hed PE. Hopefully that gets pulled together. We’re working on signing some last minute financial details. After that we’re looking to open more shows. We’re looking to be a support band…we’ve headlined for way too many years…and we need to grow our fanbase.
AW: Hopefully we get some sweet tours.
JH: We gotta find some hook ups, man.
Thanks to Jeff for setting this up and taking the pictures.
Genre(s): Interviews
HardRockChick Interviews Creature with the Atom Brain
by hardrockchick [about 1 month, 3 days ago.]
When the opening band for the Alice in Chains tour was announced, I immediately checked them out since I’d be seeing them a couple of times on the tour. Creature with the Atom Brain was not what I expected, but they fall neatly into my psychedelic rock bands: The Black Angels, Jesus & Mary Chain, Crocodiles, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols.
I got 10 minutes with the guys right before they went on stage. You know they are nice guys when they offer you a drink when you get to the dressing room. So while some of them stretched, I sat on a couch with Aldo Struyf- vocalist and guitarist- and Dave Schroyen- drummer- and chatted with them about Belgian bands, vampires, Chris Goss, and how they want their music to make people feel.
HardRockChick: How’s the tour going so far?
Aldo Struyf: Great. We have two guys who are not with us normally, so we’ve had to work them in.
HRC: How has the Alice in Chains crowd been receiving your music?
AS: Good, I think. The first time there wasn’t that many people there. But the last couple of shows there have been lots of people there, and they seemed to enjoy it. I think it’s weird music for them, different than what they’re used to…
Dave Schroyen: Exotic…
AS: I don’t know about that…
HRC: What’s the music scene like where you’re from? The only bands I know of to come out of Belgium have been very different from your music…like Front 242
DS: Good band!
HRC: Yes!
Michiel Van Cleuvenbergen (guitarist): Lords of Acid..
HRC: Yeah, Lords of Acid…
DS: That’s not so good!
HRC: There was about a year that I liked them…
AS: Do you know Deus?
HRC: No…
AS: They’ve been here a couple of times.
DS: (mentions something I can’t find anywhere!). Now that’s a good band.
MVC: Milk Inc.… do you know them?
HRC: It sounds familiar…
AS: There may be too many DJs. Soulwax is another example.
HRC: So is your music very popular in Belgium? It just seems so different than what I’ve seen come from there.
AS: Our music? It’s underground. They play it on the radio from time to time, but it’s not like Alice in Chains here or something. It’s different.
HRC: The name of your band comes from a Roky Erickson song. That puts a certain expectation on your sound because it’s inspired by that. Do you ever find that limiting at all?
AS: No, because I don’t care at all. We are not sounding like Roky Erickson, it’s different. Here and there it influenced us because we all love them. But it’s one of many things that influenced us. But we would be a great back up band for Roky! That would be a great thing to do. But I think there are other elements in our music.
HRC: What are some of your other influences?
AS: Lately, it’s been rock music from Turkey, Pakistan, and Cambodia….Bangkok. There have been a lot of new compilations and reissues coming out on a few labels for all that music. We all have been listening to that, because, you can only be listening to like, 5 Foo Fighters albums and the sixth one, well, it’s another Foo Fighters album. I like the Foo Fighters but by the sixth one, I was a bit bored of it. So I wanted to go listen to other stuff. And also, that came into the solo-ing of the album and stuff…
DS: Percussion.
AS: It can go on for a long time without changing…I don’t know the word for it.
HRC: Your first album was called I am the Golden Gate Bridge. Since we are near San Francisco, I was wondering what the significance of that is?
DS: I don’t know where it comes from. I made a song once- ‘I am the Golden Gate Bridge’ – and Mark Lanegan was at our place in Antwerp for a few weeks. And we were listening to each others’ music. I had just written it down and said this is a solo album. And he said, ‘that’s a great album title- you should use that!’ And it’s just something- I don’t know where it came from. I was maybe also a bit inspired- I saw The Bridge movie.
HRC: Oh, the documentary?
AS: Yeah…
HRC: That’s a pretty depressing documentary.
AS: It is. So, he said it was a good album title, and that was that.
HRC: How about Transylvania? What was your inspiration there?
AS: Well, when you hear ‘Transylvania’, there’s lots of stuff that comes to your mind. You think of Dracula, murdering lots of people…
HRC: Where you reading Twilight when you wrote that? (note to self- no more Twilight jokes…I think they found that offensive…)
AS: No!
DS: Twilight sucks!
HRC: That was a joke…
AS: Most of our music is music you could use for a movie or something. It’s a word that says a lot- it’s a very visual word. And there also ‘trans’ in the title..which is what we do. We can’t do it tonight, but normally we play 15 minute songs. We like to get people into the music.
DS: Did you see that movie Let the Right One In? It’s a Swedish film.
HRC: Yes! They’re remaking it here- it’s going to be terrible I’m sure.
DS: No! That’s blasphemy!
HRC: The ending stuck with me for days after…
DS: Great movie.
HRC: How was working with Chris Goss?
Jan Wygers (bassist): Don’t go easy on him!
AS: I worked with him three years ago when we were doing the Bubblegum album. I was there for a few days. So I knew him…we were communicating good. He was nice…he’s a sweet guy. So I asked him, and I needed someone who does great stuff and knows what to do. He was a friend, and I thought, ‘damn, I should ask him’, and he did it right away, which was really nice of him. And then, he started doing it, and in the beginning because we’re used to one way of mixing, I was thinking, ‘damn, this is not working out’. Thinking it but not saying it. It was just weird. And, that was the great thing about it. He just did his- whatever he had to do- and in the end it came out great. So it was weird working with him because I couldn’t follow his….and sometimes I was just like, ‘damn, this is wrong’. It was really good but weird.
HRC: That’s usually the word associated with Chris Goss- weird..but in a good way. How do you want people to feel after listening to your music?
AS: (deep pensive silence) Dave?
DS: Umm…angry.
AS: No…I dunno.
DS: Maybe we can inspire them if they are musicians, or something like that. I like watching bands if they’re creative. It really inspires me and gives me motivation to play myself.
AS: Especially when you see a show…it often makes me think of making music. Good answer, Dave.
HRC: What are your future plans? Do you plan to come back and do a headlining tour?
DS: We’re doing SXSW , that’s great…
HRC: Oh, I’ll be there!
DS: A few weeks after this tour. Looking forward to that.
AS: I’m looking forward to going to Texas.
DS: We’ve never been there.
HRC: And Austin- home to Roky Erickson! Great city- I lived there.
DS: Cool, I hear lots of great things. And then we’ll do Europe and stuff.
AS: We’ll be back for sure.
Check out my review of the show here.
Genre(s): Interviews
HardRockChick Interviews Arthur von Nagel of Cormorant
by hardrockchick [about 1 month, 21 days ago.]
Cormorant flew onto my radar late last year, after reading the articulate writings of lead singer and bassist Arthur von Nagel on MetalSucks. When it came time to assemble end of year lists for 2009, Dan from Bay Area Metal Scene and I agreed that Cormorant’s Metazoa should be one of the Loudest Bay Area Albums of 2009. Arthur recently answered some questions for me; read below to find out his fascinating thoughts on the SF metal scene, working full time and being in a band, Camus, and success in today’s music industry.
HardRockChick: What do you think about the current music scene in SF, and where does Cormorant fit into it?
“Being weird is more fun.”
Arthur von Nagel: I love Bay Area metal. I know the rest of the country associates the region with thrash, but there’s so much more on offer here. In the early 90s bands like Neurosis, Acid King, and Sleep were teaming up with producer Billy Anderson and pushing doom into exciting new directions. Black metal has been a constant here, dating back to the infamous Von (the first American black metal band), to the brilliant and tragically brief experimentations of Weakling, and now it seems Ludicra are finally receiving some of the attention they so richly deserve nationally. Death metal was arguably invented here with the Seven Churches album from Possessed, and great bands like Impaled and Hacksaw to the Throat helped keep the flame alive. The likes of Brocas Helm, Hammers of Misfortune, Slough Feg and Saviours mine old school heavy metal, folk and 70s prog for some truly incredible material.
The current crop of bands draws from this rich history. Amber Asylum, Giant Squid (whose vocalist, Aaron Gregory, guests on our new album Metazoa), Judgement Day (cellist Lewis Patzner also plays on our record), Grayceon, Saros and now Worm Ouroboros utilize non-traditional instrumentation and classically influenced song structures to expand outside the reaches of metal into progressive rock, ambience, and even chamber music while lightly touching upon Neurosis at their most experimental, or black metal at its most delicate. Chris Bruni of Profound Lore Records deserves many thanks for fostering this movement when larger labels dropped the ball.
As to where Cormorant fit into all this madness? We don’t. We gig with everyone from black metal bands (Wolves in the Throne Room, Velnias) to stoner doom (Black Cobra, Saviours) to trad (Slough Feg, Hammers of Misfortune) to folk (Primordial, Moonsorrow). On February 6th we’re playing alongside cinematic atmospheric sludge nutsos Atomic Bomb Audition, quirky old-school grinders Times of Desperation, and electronic one-man soundscapist Fights Monsters at the Stork Club in Oakland. Sometimes I wish there was some kind of scene we could assimilate into for marketing and touring purposes, and other times I’m glad we’re difficult to categorize. Being weird is more fun.
HRC: How do you balance working full time and being in the band?
“When you’re independent and self-funded, your music is a labor of love rather than a contractual obligation.”
AVN: Here’s what my average weekday itinerary looked like back in September and October of 2009, around the release of Metazoa…
7AM: Wake up, throw on work clothes, pop a couple waffles in the toaster, give the guinea pig a carrot, kiss my girlfriend (still asleep), and then shove a half-dozen or so Metazoa order packages in the backseat of my beat-up ’97 Ford Escort with the Bathory and Motorhead stickers on the bumper.
8AM: Work. I’m a program coordinator for developmentally disabled workers at a recycling center, an occupation I find very rewarding. I have a million and one crazy stories regarding this job, some of which would likely get me in hot water if discussed publicly. At this point in the morning I’m probably cruising around on the forklift setting up training stations for my work crew and trying not to run over any customers, who seem to display an unnatural attraction to dangerous moving machinery.
10:30AM: Break time. I run to my computer to answer as many Cormorant-related e-mails as possible in 15 minutes.
Noon: Lunch. I speed off to the post office since they close the same time my work does. While driving I pray there isn’t a line and that they didn’t run out of international customs forms. While in the queue I’m filling out said customs forms. Then I sneak in some lunch and try to power out some more e-mails or publicity before I start work again at 1 in the afternoon.
5PM: Get off work, head to the bank to pay off the band’s credit card bill from the previous USPS visit, drive home and shower. Then back to the computer to check for new orders. Spend the next hour or so packaging the new orders. Then back to finishing up the e-mails and questions from metal message board posters. I likely have an interview to answer or an article to finish writing. Eat dinner. By then it’s probably 8:30 and I try to sneak in a movie or gym visit with my girlfriend or some reading or computer game time if she’s out working. I’m usually in bed around 1AM. That was my life for two months last year and I loved it.
I like having an 8 to 5 job. It keeps us honest. I wouldn’t operate this way if I didn’t enjoy it. In a way it’s like having two jobs, except you have one to fund the other. Working full-time affords us the freedom to bypass all the hoops of the music industry. When you’re independent and self-funded, your music is a labor of love rather than a contractual obligation.
HRC: What inspires you?
“Looking over the lyrics, the recurring themes are social injustice, nature, suicide, history, and mythology, but those are just my general areas of interest rather than any particular muse.”
AVN: In terms of our lyrics, I wish I knew. The words to songs would come easier if I did. Looking over the lyrics, the recurring themes are social injustice, nature, suicide, history, and mythology, but those are just my general areas of interest rather than any particular muse. Doing a little more self-analysis, I’ll say I’m fond of writing lyrics where a prideful individual challenges society/nature/god and then fails miserably. The idea is nothing new; in fact Greek tragedy is founded on this very concept. In the end I just try to write good stories.
As to what inspires me in my life, my mother inspires me. I don’t think I’d have the willpower to raise a child on my own while juggling 3 jobs and going to school. As an immigrant no less. That’s a special sort of selflessness where you sacrifice everything in your own life to help another human being get through theirs. And yet millions of women do exactly that under worse circumstances than mine. So any single mothers reading this: thanks.
HRC: You’re a really smart, well-read guy. If you could suddenly expose everyone to one thing, whether it be a piece of literature, art, or music, what would it be and what would it teach them?
“When the only meaning is the search for meaning, why not enjoy life’s journey?”
AVN: You’re very kind but I wish I had the time to be well-read these days. I’ll pick a book that changed my life when I first read it in my early teens, and then changed my girlfriend’s life when I introduced it to her years later: The Myth of Sisyphus.
The Myth of Sisyphus is an essay by Algerian philosopher/novelist/playwright Albert Camus first published in France in 1942. Its subject is the philosophy of Absurdism, as illustrated by the story of the Greek tragic hero Sisyphus. In one of his misadventures, Sisyphus chained Death itself to a rock, for a short time ensuring immortality for all men. For this crime (among others) he was sentenced to an eternity in Hell rolling a boulder up a steep hill, only have it roll back down again right when he reached the crest. Such, offers Camus, is the state of man.
If there is no higher power, and life offers no meaning that man is capable of understanding, why then, Camus asks, do men not commit suicide? Throughout the course of the 120-page essay, he explores different philosophical interpretations of man’s hopelessness, from Nietzsche to Husserl to Dostoyevsky to Kierkegaard, refuting these conclusions as resorting to either an ultimate capitulation to the existence of God, or opting to falsely deify Reason. Instead Camus posits that it is precisely the struggle, the revolt against a knowing meaninglessness that offers each life its individual value. Sisyphus, Camus concludes, must be happy.
When I first read this essay and Camus’s novels The Stranger, The Plague, and The Fall, I must have been 13 or 14 at the time, and I suddenly felt hope in the strangest way. Around this time my father was piling up legal and money problems at a ridiculous rate, so a philosophy that celebrated life’s absurdity by championing human struggle and hard work was exactly what I needed then. I feel very liberated when I read this book, and I imagine it would offer others a great sense of freedom as well. When the only meaning is the search for meaning, why not enjoy life’s journey?
HRC: It sounds like some really dark times in your life have inspired your lyrics. Do you think you always need dark times like that to inspire art, or can it come from a happy place as well?
“So I need the dark times to inspire the subject matter, but I only do the actual writing when I’m in a good mood.”
AVN: I need both. I’ve found that when I try to write lyrics in the midst of a strong negative experience, they turn out to be garbage. No one wants to listen to horrible, self-pitying, diary-level solipsism. What I do instead is wait until I’m in that happy place you mention, and then channel the negative emotion into a narrative poeticized with abstraction or historical parallels. So I need the dark times to inspire the subject matter, but I only do the actual writing when I’m in a good mood. But you’re right: when you strip the metaphor from the lyrics, they’re all very directly about my own life.
HRC: How important do you think aesthetic is to a band’s success? What I mean by aesthetic is anything from what is worn on stage to album art.
“Beautiful presentation is even more important as an independent band, because there’s still a stigma attached to self-publishing.”
AVN: The philosopher Roland Barthes wrote, “Language is never innocent.” Within the umbrella of language he includes all means of communication from our wardrobe to our handshakes to the material objects we’ve acquired as representations of status. All acts, conscious or not, are symbolic. So while in an ideal world artists would be judged by the merits of their music, the actuality is that seemingly benign choices like clothing, choice of band name and artwork, responses to interview questions, etc. all contribute to the perception of the band as a whole, and will reflect positively or negatively on the music. Metal, despite claims to the contrary, is no exception.
The most striking examples of the importance of aesthetics in metal are of course Metallica. Throughout the 80s and their first four albums, Metallica portrayed themselves as the anti glam rock. In contrast to their Los Angeles contemporaries, Metallica wore ratty jeans and high tops, left their hair an oily mess, and didn’t bother masking their adolescent acne scars with makeup. As everyone reading this knows, they broke into the mainstream with The Black Album. At its core The Black Album was a straightforward hard rock record, a major change from the winding progressive song structures of And Justice For All, and yet was celebrated by both the mainstream and most metal heads (with reservations). The change in sound from The Black Album to Load was not nearly as significant. Load likewise fell under hard rock, but prompted a massive backlash, not so much because of James Hetfield’s newfound love of country music, but because the band members cut their hair and were pictured wearing eyeliner and tailored suits in the album art. What Metallica didn’t realize was that, simply by being idiot drunken 80s thrash kids, they had defined a lifestyle choice for an entire generation. The deafening negative fan response was thus prompted not by a major simplification of the sound, but by a change in aesthetics, marketing and most importantly, branding.
So with that said it’s clear how important aesthetics are. Since we’re not very interested in defining ourselves by our attire, we instead go all out when it comes to album artwork. Beautiful presentation is even more important as an independent band, because there’s still a stigma attached to self-publishing. For Metazoa we enlisted the skills of Sacramento-based artist Julie Dillon, and she was an absolute godsend. I was first attracted to her work by its vibrant colors and tendency toward circular, spiraling shapes. I felt her designs would contrast nicely with the muted hues and angular forms common in metal album design. Julie delivered an incredible three-panel mural piece of truly mythic proportions that we couldn’t be any happier with. I know of a lot of fans who pirated our record, and then decided to buy it later because they wanted to own a piece of artwork. So we have her to thank for that.
HRC: What does it mean to be a successful musician in today’s industry?
“I feel bands should take great pride in their autonomy.”
AVN: It means you’re enjoying yourself. If you’re writing honest metal music, you can’t possibly be in it for the money because there is none. Not anymore. You have to love what you’re doing. I feel bands should take great pride in their autonomy. We’re not well known by any stretch of the imagination, but we’ve carved out our own tiny niche on a completely independent basis, and our album releases are self-sustaining. We’ve earned enough from Metazoa to record our next album, and hopefully we can continue in this manner. I’m not so worried about success. I worry about putting out the best music possible.
On the note of too much success, the concept of metal bands “selling out” is an amusing one. Sure, some drastic and deliberate changes in sound seem suspect (Cold Lake, Reroute to Remain and The Unspoken King come to mind immediately), but most of the metal musicians suckling at the corporate teat could earn a more consistent living working at McDonald’s. And then they’d probably even have health insurance! The majority of bands “selling out” do a terrible job of it anyway, because they’re still broke and drowning in debt to their record company. The fact is there are a couple dozen metal bands at most who have built a sufficient following to sustain a living that lasts their career. The word career is important, because you’ll see a lot of young groups riding some unfortunate trend and earning a lot of money for a few years. Then they go down with the ship when their label inevitably manufactures the next hot zeitgeist. It’s a ridiculous cycle I’m all too happy to ignore.
HRC: What’s the best and worst thing about the metal genre?
“When I first heard those early Slayer and Sepultura records, I discovered the soundtrack to my discontent.”
AVN: The best and worst things about metal are one and the same: excess. I was first attracted to metal because I was an angry stupid teenager who dropped out of high school at 16. When I first heard those early Slayer and Sepultura records, I discovered the soundtrack to my discontent. The power, honesty and rawness of an album like Celtic Frost’s Morbid Tales still awes me to this day. The bands I love were so experimental, pushed so many boundaries. Groups are always getting faster and faster or slower and slower, all ideas taken to their most extreme. The best metal is played un-ironically, will all emotions in full view, no shame. Primal. It’s a beautiful thing.
But looking at metal critically now at age 23, the genre’s same glorious, over-the-top, spiteful tunnel vision I loved then and still love now brings me some pause. While metal borrowed heavily from hardcore punk in terms of speed and rage, as a whole, it ignored punk’s sense of social obligation, its heart, and its message. In its place it offered mostly fantasy, gore, or satanic themes — essentially escapism. This is fine: sex, drugs and Satan are the cornerstones of rock n’ roll after all. But I’m getting old and I can’t relate anymore. What I can relate to is waking up cold and sore in the morning and busting my ass so I can have health insurance and pay the water bill. I can relate to out-of-touch politicians on all sides wagging their dicks around pretending to balance the state budget while my workers are forced into furlough days. I can relate to hearing racial slurs slung at African-Americans and Latinos on the street. I can relate to homelessness, to cancer, to broken families, to sexism, to spousal abuse, to homophobia, to suicide, to murder in my neighborhood. These are not themes that metal tends to explore with much seriousness. It’s an id without a super-ego.
HRC: Cormorant’s sound incorporates several subgenres of metal- is this a formula you can see the band sticking to?
“It’s not a conscious formula, really more of an anti-formula.”
AVN: It’s not a conscious formula, really more of an anti-formula. We’re simply integrating music styles we enjoy into our palette. We don’t just limit ourselves to metal subgenres either: we borrow a lot from jazz, 70s prog, neo-folk, jam bands, classical and post-rock among others. Because we aren’t pigeonholed in any particular style, it offers us greater freedom in our writing. We like it that way. I have tremendous respect for bands like Ulver, Manes, and even Darkthrone who never settled on a sound and kept evolving and experimenting. So will we keep referencing all the formative genres we love and grew up on? Of course! But the proportions and chemistry of the styles we employ will change.
HRC: What are future plans for Cormorant?
“There’s always that delicate balance to strike between music and real life.”
AVN: We’re writing a follow-up to Metazoa right now. I’d estimate we have about 30-40 minutes of music so far, with no sign yet of the well drying up. We’re excited for these new songs and we’ll be playing some at upcoming live gigs. I won’t divulge too much yet about the direction or format of the new record, except that I feel it’s notably more progressive than Metazoa, but in the old Fates Warning sense rather than the Dream Theater sense. So we’re focusing on writing right now. We would love to do a west coast tour this year, but it’s difficult scheduling-wise with work and rent to pay. And of course we have to ration our vacation time so we can afford the two weeks in the studio we’d need to record the next album. There’s always that delicate balance to strike between music and real life. Rock stars we are not.
Catch Cormorant at The Stork Club in Oakland on February 6th
Cormorant links:
myspace
twitter
Genre(s): Interviews
HardRockChick Interviews Dez Fafara of DevilDriver
by hardrockchick [about 2 months, 7 days ago.]
Dez Fafara, formerly of Coal Chamber and currently of DevilDriver, is one cool guy. Before the second date of the Bound By the Road tour at Slim’s, I sat down with Dez in the smoke-filled back room of the tour bus to discuss life on the road, upcoming DevilDriver material, and Twitter.
HardRockChick: So last night was the first show of the tour- how was it? How did you feel about it?
Dez Farfara: Killer. Last night was in Pomona- it was amazing, you know, for a Thursday night there was 450-500 kids. It was amazing- a good time.
HRC: What makes a good show good for you and a bad show bad?
“We put this tour specifically together so we could hang out with people.”
DF: If you’re having a good time with the band, and the band is locked in, and it’s a loose show- and I mean it just flows- then that was a good show. And that was last night. People are coming over the barricade and circle pits are huge, and then it’s good- it’s a good time. And plus the bands you play with. We’ve got a lot of friends on this tour- I’m sitting with Jay Costa right now from Thy Will Be Done. We like all the bands on this tour. We put this tour specifically together so we could hang out with people.
HRC: You tour very extensively, yet, you’re a family man- you have a wife and kids- how do you manage relationships while you’re on the road so much?
“When she met me she kinda knew she had the life of the wife of a sailor.”
DF: I’ve been with my girl for almost 13 years. When she met me she kinda knew she had the life of the wife of a sailor. So, that’s that. But, she’s my rock, you know, I couldn’t go on without her. She’s behind everything I do. And the minute she’s not, I’ll fall right off the tracks and come home. She pushes me to do what I do, and she’s a huge part of my life.
HRC: How do you teach your kids about metal?
“I didn’t teach my kids about metal- I taught my kids about music in general.”
DF: I didn’t teach my kids about metal- I taught my kids about music in general. My youngest, who’s 12 and has got long hair and Slayer shirts- I wake up to heavy shit that I’ve never even heard of coming out of his room at 6:30 before school- it’s killer! (One of the crew interjects- “He teaches us about metal!”) He knows his shit. I’ve got three boys- the youngest being 12. I started kinda early in life.
See Dez’s kids star in the DevilDriver video for ‘Clouds Over California’
HRC: Metal and mainstream have always been at odds with each other, yet metal is becoming more mainstream right now. What do you think about that and where does DevilDriver fit into it?
“But if they crossover naturally and organically then it’s really cool to see that happening.”
DF: As far as metal going more mainstream- you’re only seeing some bands maybe do that, and they’re going to fall to the wayside if they don’t stick to their core. But if they crossover naturally and organically then it’s really cool to see that happening. As far as DevilDriver fitting in- I don’t think we really fit in anywhere, really. We have our own sound completely. We try to make sure that we keep that- our own unique gig, you know?
HRC: How about the live DVD that you have coming out- what’s going on with that right now?
“It’s not going to be your average DVD where a guy flies out for 19 days and makes it look like he’s with you for a year.”
DF: We’ve been recording this band on video since day one- since the first rehearsals. So it’s going to be something special. It’s not going to be your average DVD where a guy flies out for 19 days and makes it look like he’s with you for a year. We’ve really been filming for like 8 years. So, it’s gotta be something special. We’re talking to the label to try to figure out what’s really gonna happen and how we’re gonna do it. We’re in conversations right now. I’ll know in about 2 weeks really what’s going to happen and what the format’s gonna be.
HRC: And the new album- how’s that going?
DF: Well, we’re writing- we’ve got 6 tracks…
HRC: So you guys write on the road?
“I think 2 years is too long to wait for somebody’s tunes.”
DF: Yeah, we write on the road as well. We just started last night- the tour- so, you know, no one’s gonna start writing for 3 or 4 days- we’ve kinda got to get our sea legs on. But, we’re going in in April and May. It’s gonna be a good time. We’re definitely gonna record in Los Angeles. Picking producers right now. We try to get a record out every 20-21 months if we possibly can. I think 2 years is too long to wait for somebody’s tunes. I don’t know how old you are, but when I was coming up, you got a record a year or you really got pissed off at the artist. We’re trying to be that for our fans, and give them tons of tunes.
HRC: Speaking of fans, what do you think about social media such as Twitter and Facebook as far as keeping in touch with your fans?
DF: It all works real well. I just got on the Twitter thing about a month ago…
HRC: I saw!
“It’s good, I mean, it’s almost like the less words, it’s more personal.”
DF: Yeah, which is funny, you know, so I can be like, ‘I’m in Wal-Mart’…’I love Captain Crunch’ or whatever, you know. It’s good, I mean, it’s almost like the less words, it’s more personal. I don’t know how that works, but it’s working. So I twitter, and I blog and stuff. Our manager has to remind us, you know, to get out there. But it’s a good way to get in touch with your fans, definitely. And to get feedback as well. I’ve heard somebody say, ‘oh- you should play this song!’ And then after you hear it 20 times, you add the tune.
HRC: Do you have any new year’s resolutions?
“But I’ll stay resolute to that til the day I die.”
DF: Haha, no! I fall so short of any resolution I’ve ever made. Nah. To be a strong man out on the road. Good for my woman and my family. And to keep on rockin’. That’s my resolution. But I’ll stay resolute to that til the day I die.
Did you notice several sailor references throughout the conversation? I think I shall now refer to him as Captain Dez.
Read my write up from the show here.
Genre(s): Interviews
HardRockChick interviews Jeff Friedl from ASHES dIVIDE, Puscifer, and Devo
by hardrockchick [about 2 months, 21 days ago.]
I first became aware of Jeff Friedl when I went to see Puscifer early last month, and was particularly moved by his performance. It was after the show, when I was researching for my write up, that I realized he looked vaguely familiar because he’s also the drummer for ASHES dIVIDE. And then I discovered that he’s also done some work with Devo, who I saw a couple days after that Puscifer show. My favorite interview subjects are the up and coming musicians. Jeff took time out of his very hectic schedule to chat with me before the holidays. Turns out, not only is he a very talented drummer, but he’s also extremely hardworking, loyal, and diverse.
HardRockChick: When did you first start playing music and decide to go with drums?
“I would witness that year after year and thought, ’shit- I want to do that!’”
Jeff Friedl: I decided to play drums at a really early age- 9 or 10 years old- maybe even before that. I grew up on the East Coast in West Virginia, and all of my family would get together- my father and his brother and my cousins. They all played drums, and a couple of my cousins played keyboards and bass. So our families would get together and drink beer- well I wasn’t drinking beer at that time- I was watching them drink beer, shoot pool, play drums, play keyboards and bass- blues and jazz. I’d listen to that, and they’d just get together and have a gay old time. I would witness that year after year and thought, ’shit- I want to do that!’. They’d leave the room and I’d hit a drum and run away real fast so nobody heard. I was pretty shy at first about it. I kinda warmed up to the instrument I think by 10. I started playing in the school band and convinced my uncle to send me the drum set which was my dad’s first kit to Arizona, which was where I was living. I loved playing rock music and pretty much anything blues and jazz. There was a local scene in Tucson at a venue called the Downtown Performance Center- or the DPC as they used to call it- and a lot of underground bands used to go in and out of there. My parents or my friends’ parents would drop me off there and I would catch shows like Green Day and The Offspring before they got big, and Pennywise. All kinds of different bands would roll through there and it was a pretty huge influence on me.
HRC: What were some of the first bands you were in?
“I was a confused young man.”
JF: I was in some pretty shitty bands at an early age, just kind of experimenting and covering- well- trying to cover Danzig songs, and Alice in Chains, Metallica, and Zeppelin songs and stuff. It wasn’t really until high school when I started getting into bands that were good. I joined a punk band when I was a freshman with a bunch of seniors and we actually started playing at the DPC and going around Arizona and playing. I couldn’t even drive yet, so the bass player would pick me up and throw all my drums in his car and cart me around everywhere. That was cool for me, to be amongst older musicians who were lifting me up and experiencing the life of being in a rock band at a young age. I played with some metal bands as well in high school, and a rock band that experimented in reggae. I played in a bunch of school bands like the jazz band and I was in the drum line in marching band and the wind ensemble. My junior year in high school I joined a Cuban band and that set me off in an entirely new direction. At that point I didn’t know what I preferred playing most- whether it was Cuban music or rock or jazz. I was a confused young man. It turned out being a good thing, but at the time I wondered if something was wrong with me. At that age, you don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not. You look around and most musicians have their one thing that they do. They have their niche and they kind of stick to it. I seemed to not exactly have that- or I had it and something else would come along and that would appeal to me.
HRC: What kind of music did you listen to growing up?
“That was my life as a kid.”
JF: I was listening to a lot of rock stuff- that was the majority of it. But, because of my dad and my uncle and my cousins, I was still listening to blues and jazz- Albert Collins and B.B. King. My dad showed me the funk band Tower of Power. I was also really into Slayer and Metallica and Guns N’ Roses- you know, heavy bands. Instead of going out with friends on a Saturday night, I would make a shitload of Top Ramen and wait until midnight and watch the Headbanger’s Ball. That was my life as a kid.
HRC: Is there any person in your formative years as a musician that was particularly influential on your career?
“He just pushed me so much- so much so that I thought I was gonna cry a couple of times.”
JF: There were multiple people…I had some really great teachers growing up. There was a teacher named Dave Jeffrey that I had- and he turned me onto playing big band jazz music, and really got me reading music very well. I was preparing in high school to move on to the collegiate level and play big band music and record jazz and do that kind of stuff. He was super influential on me- like teaching me old school dance and ballroom beats and stuff so I could play in old school jazz orchestras. He hooked me up with a couple of groups he was playing in in Tuscon to sub for him which was awesome. There was also a guy names Mike Eckroth – a piano player. He was the piano player in the Cuban band that I was in in high school. We actually traveled to Cuba and spent a month there, playing in the International Jazz Festival. We played the wrap up party for that, hung out, and took a ton of lessons. We saw probably 20 shows in 30 days. Mike was well immersed in that music and well educated- he’d already graduated and I was just a freshman in college by the time we went to Cuba. He just pushed me so much- so much so that I thought I was gonna cry a couple of times. I probably did, though I’m trying to push the saddest part of that out of my memory. He was huge into Brazilian music and funk and soul and Cuban music and he demanded excellence. It really pushed me and made me really strive to find the true spirit of Cuban music and anything that I was playing with him. He was a big influence on me. His musicianship and his drive to be authentic in whatever style he was playing rubbed off on me quite a bit. I’m sure I’m missing so many people as far as influences are concerned – there are tons of Cuban musicians and rock musicians as well.
HRC: Let’s go to the moment when you decided to move to LA from Tucson- how did that all take place?
I went through high school just kind of hating it and wanting to leave, longing and dreaming of something bigger and better.”
JF: It had really been building up in my life for quite some time. I think I knew at a really early age – probably by like 12 or 13- that I wanted to move to Los Angeles to play music. Even back then I knew that the music scene in Tucson and just Arizona in general or any small town for that matter was limited. I even remember showing my folks registration stuff for Los Angeles Music Academy, which it wasn’t accredited at the time, and they saw the paperwork and were like, ‘I don’t know if we can do this. It’s just a year. How about college, college?” I kinda had to wait a little while. I went through high school just kind of hating it and wanting to leave, longing and dreaming of something bigger and better. But those were formative years anyway- I’m glad that things ended up the way that they did. I went to college at the University of Arizona and attended that school for three years, and spent a couple years in Arizona just hanging around and playing. I had a full teaching studio and just hung out and played in a ton of different bands and recorded and what not. I decided when I was 25 that this was the right time for me to leave. A close friend of mine- Rene Camacho- an incredible bass player that lives out here that’s from Tucson- had a vacancy in his apartment and he invited me out. I visited a couple of times and just kind of fell in love with the idea of being here just like I had been all along really. At that point it just became a reality. It overtook me – I just had to come out here and that’s what I did.
HRC: On to ASHES dIVIDE- were you involved in the recording process for the record or only the touring line up?
To be a part of it in some small way was an honor.”
JF: I was mainly a part of the touring lineup. When I heard of the auditions, the record was already finished. Billy (Howerdel) for the most part did the entire thing, and Josh Freese recorded drums for it. I went through pretty much on and off a half of a year’s worth of auditioning- a couple rounds of videotaping and an in person audition. Then on New Year’s I got a call for it. At that time I think the record was mixed and ready to go, and I think a couple months later it was released. I did record some stuff after I started playing with Billy and we were auditioning the rest of the band- guitarists and bass players. One day he said, “Hey- I recommended you to Danny Lohner to drum on some remixes that he’s doing for the record that are either going to be released on iTunes or overseas or whatnot. He’s under a time crunch- would you be able to come over to my place- the studio- tonight after we are done playing today and record?’ And I said, ‘Well, hell yeah!’ So, that night, we recorded 2 songs- a remix of ‘Sword’ and ‘Forever Can Be’. I don’t think they did anything with ‘Forever Can Be’- but ‘Sword’ released with the European release of the record. So one way or another I was a part of it. It was really cool to at least do that because the record was already done. To be a part of it in some small way was an honor. Especially at that point when I just joined, and was just joining as the tour line up- to be able to record something for it was something special to me.
Watch this video interview on Hollywood Drum about Jeff’s long interview process for Ashes. (click on ‘Ashes Divide’ below the video screen)
HRC: What’s going on with the band right now?
“I really feel like we had something special in that band.”
JF: We’re pointing back in the right direction. We’ve taken a lot of time off. It’s been a little over a year since we’ve played a show. We had a really good time playing- I really feel like we had something special in that band- and I guess we still do- it just feels like we haven’t done anything in about 10 years even though it’s only been one year. We’re writing some material right now. I’m not sure how we’re going to release it- whether we’re going to do single songs or an EP or a record- but we’re kind of in the middle of the writing process. We’re probably going to be playing some shows next year in January/February, West Coast style, at least around the LA area as much as we can, until Matt and I go out with Puscifer again in March.
HRC: And that’s a perfect segue for Puscifer. How does the prep process go for those shows since you change up things from night to night and have a lot of transitions on stage?
“That’s kind of the vibe of the band and the thing I dig most about it, is there’s that aire of improvisation each night.”
JF: There’s a lot of work that goes into each show. There’s definitely a rotation – a small handful of shows- from night to night. So if you were to come- if we had three or four shows in San Fran, each night would definitely be different. That’s kind of the vibe of the band and the thing I dig most about it, is there’s that aire of improvisation each night. There’s structure- there kind of has to be with the video clips and some comedy sketches and what not, but the music changes, the vibe of the music can change at any given moment. Maynard could say, ‘ok, well, you know how we did Rev 22:20 last night? Well tonight let’s not do it like this, why don’t you think of doing it like this- like a more sinister version of it. See what you can come up with.’ And a couple minutes later, we’ve kind of recreated how we’re going to play the song. We might not even play the whole thing and Maynard will be like ‘OK, I like that, let’s just do it like that tonight’. And we’ll just get on stage and play it that way. And that’s the nature of that band. It sounds like it’s super loose- it’s not. Because everybody really is firing on all cylinders and is on the same page and the same wavelength with each other, it allows us all to be comfortable with playing and to be able to do those kinds of things on a whim. And there’s the behind the scenes production- we have great people working for us that really help make the show a success and keep it up and running. But musically speaking- that’s kinda the vibe of it-things are prepared but you never know when something’s going to change.
HRC: I read some reviews of the show that weren’t positive- especially a Houston review- talking about how they didn’t ‘get’ the show. Are you affected by any of the more negative reactions to the show from the stage or perhaps from reading a review afterward?
“It’s like a Broadway show on acid.”
JF: For the most part, I don’t really know when people are affected negatively unless they are yelling and screaming. I remember hearing a heckler or two in Houston and you know, I’m not going to chalk it up to- ‘OK, well that’s an aggravated Tool fan’. I think I remember hearing about somebody giving a bad review in Houston, and saying they got up in the middle of the country night. And that’s probably why that person got pissed off, because they thought the whole show was going to be country. But the reality of the situation is that was just a part of the show, and it eventually kind of morphs into something different, so if anybody gets pissed off enough and takes off, well it’s their fault for paying good money to see the show and taking off and not seeing the entire thing. That specific night evolved into something different, something special, and it’s like basically two shows packed into one on that night. You have to go into Puscifer shows with a very open mind, knowing that it is a show, it’s a performance. It’s not a rock concert where you just sit there and chug beers and push each other around and yell and holler and scream and get rowdy. It’s more of an experience that you have to absorb. If I saw a Puscifer show not knowing what it was, I would be taken aback by it no matter what just because it’s something pretty unique. It’s nothing like I’ve ever been a part of. That’s one of the things that I will always take away from being in this band. It’s something I’ll always cherish- the fact that it’s something very unique and I’ll probably never be a part of something like this ever again. It’s like a Broadway show on acid.
HRC: What exactly was your involvement with Devo and are you still doing work with them?
“So, of course I jumped on the opportunity.”
JF: I play with them just occasionally- pretty much whenever Josh Freese can’t do it. That’s really his band- so I kinda keep the seat warm for him whenever I’m asked to. I have a friend who works at Mutato Muzika, and is involved in that camp, and I would just hang out with him every once and a while, going back three or four years. So I’d say hi to some of the guys in Devo just in passing, and go hang with my buddy, who kind of put a word in for me to do some studio work when one of their drummers couldn’t make it or what not. And when I was on the road with Ashes, I found out that Josh had recommended me for a Devo tour that they were going to do that actually got canceled. But I thought it was cool that he recommended me anyways. I think my friend had as well- but I was on the road with Ashes and was absolutely staying loyal to Billy and the guys- we had a good thing going and I wasn’t just going to jump ship- even if it was Devo! As much as I love Devo- it could have been Eric Clapton or somebody like that and I would have stuck it out. But it ended up being canceled. Later on in that tour- at the very end of it, Josh was finishing up with Nine Inch Nails at that time, and he wasn’t going to be home until the middle of December of ‘08, so I got another call asking me if I had any availability to do some studio work for them, because they were recording a new record that’s going to be out in April of 2010 I think. So, of course I jumped on the opportunity. I knew we were coming home and I also knew that we weren’t going to go back out for the rest of the year and I wasn’t really sure what the future held for us so I said ‘Hell yeah I’ll do it!’ I ended up camping out with them for a couple months straight working every week and recording a bunch of stuff for the record, and Josh had already recorded a bunch, too. I didn’t know what they were going to do with it- it was just an honor to be involved regardless. And every once in a while I’ll get a call to do something for them.
HRC: When you’re not playing drums, what else do you like to do- or do you have time to do anything else?
“I think I tend to gravitate towards peace and quiet when I’m not drumming.”
JF: Most of the time I don’t, you know. I think I tend to gravitate towards peace and quiet when I’m not drumming. I spend the majority of my time during the days of the week making a lot of noise- so when I’m not making a lot of noise I definitely- I wouldn’t say that I’m reclusive- but I try to find peace and solitude in whatever. I really love sports, so I try to follow sports the best that I can and I read when I can, or go to the beach and relax. I hang out with friends and family as well. When I’m not traveling, I usually come home and I end up recording with a band or going to catch shows. So just hanging out with friends at coffee shops or whatever.
HRC: Are there any musicians or bands that you are interested in working with in the future?
“I’m a huge Nine Inch Nails fan, too- always have been since I was a little kid- so working with Trent Reznor would be amazing.”
JF: There are a handful of artists that I’ve always wanted to work with for sure. One guy that’s always been way at the top of my list is Sting. I’ve always really liked Sting. I don’t know if that would ever happen, but I’d love to play with him one of these days- that’s for sure! There’s a band called Los Van Van- from Cuba- I’ve always had a huge dream of playing with them. That will probably never happen either, but it’s a dream and I’m allowed to dream. I’m a huge Nine Inch Nails fan, too- always have been since I was a little kid- so working with Trent Reznor would be amazing. I have a lot of respect for him and how hard he works. He’s quite an amazing individual. There’s a jazz piano player, too, named Brad Mehldau. I’ve always really loved his playing- he’s a very innovative player that mixes together all kinds of modern rock influences with classical and traditional and modern jazz influences. He has a trio that he plays with that just blows my mind. I’d love to play with him one of these days.
HRC: So you have upcoming Ashes shows in January/February, then Puscifer in March….what can we expect from you in the near future?
“I kind of hit the ground running after the Puscifer tour.”
JF: I kind of hit the ground running after the Puscifer tour. I’ve been home for a couple weeks now. I’m reuniting with a hardcore band that I used to be in that I started with some guys in Tucson. I guess we were all about 21 or so. It’s a band called Is To Feel. There’s a couple records that the band has put out. I think the last one was put out like 3 years ago. We recently decided that we were going to reunite. That’s pretty much the last rock band I played in before I moved to LA. That was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make in my career, too, because those guys are really close friends of mine. They are really talented and I loved playing in the band, but I had to make a decision to detach myself form Arizona slowly but surely and get myself out here. But we are getting back together to do a record sometime this year. Right now I’m working on that stuff- it’s really challenging music and the last thing that most people would be wanting to do around the holiday season is play crazy hardcore music. I’m playing a shitload of drums right now working on this material and really enjoying the challenge of it, especially at this time of year. Instead of getting drunk and drinking eggnog and opening presents, I’m thrashing around on the drums playing this stuff and it’s fun. So that’s something people can expect sometime this year- a new record from Is To Feel. I’ve been camping out working on some material with a couple guys- this guy Bryce Soderberg from Lifehouse and another guy names Pelle Hillstrom who’s in ModWheelMood with Allessandro who used to be in NIN. So the three of us have been working on some new material that’s really fun- more of a straight ahead rock vibe. Other than that, there’s some other things going on, but definitely at least those things and Ashes and Puscifer. And anything else that comes my way- I’m sure I’ll clamp onto.
For more on Jeff:
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Genre(s): Interviews
HardRockChick Interviews Jesse Dayton / Captain Clegg from Rob Zombie’s Halloween II
by hardrockchick [about 4 months, 19 days ago.]
Continuing on with part 2 of what should be 4 entries in my Zombie week, I recently had the opportunity to interview Texas singer/songwriter Jesse Dayton. Dayton’s Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures will be opening for Rob Zombie on his tour, set to kick off today in Phoenix. Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures is the fictional band in Zombie’s Halloween II.
HardRockChick: Having lived in Austin for 7 years myself, what is it about the city that makes it such a haven for musicians? What are your favorite places there?
Jesse Dayton: Austin has always been a magnate for musicians, because it simply has always had more clubs to play than any other town you can name…Austin has bands everywhere all the time….I walked off an airplane the other day at the airport and there was a killer western swing band playing IN the airport…only in Austin…my fav joints? Antones, Broken Spoke & Continental Club are best for music and you can’t throw a stick without hittin a great BBQ or Mexican food joint!
HRC: You’ve been described as having a cult following…what does that mean to you?
JD: A “cult following” is kind of a weird concept these days, isn’t it? I mean, the whole business model has changed so drastically you have to go to alternative sources anyway to enjoy real music…I would like to think that by touring and making records all this time that I have fans who love what I do and no radio format or label can take that away…yep, it’s a hardcharger cult!
HRC: What makes you tick besides music?
JD: New experiences make me tick….I’ll try just about anything once….I’m a Gulf Coast paddle boarder…I love the smell of gasoline running through a flat-head Ford…I love the Astros….I love cooking gumbo and drinkin’ wine w/ my family….other cultures really do it for me as well, so I’m a travelin’ man…I’ve really been working a lot outside of music in the film scene lately…film is a whole new language to learn.
HRC: What is going on with country music right now?
JD: Country music doesn’t really exist on a popular level….I mean , the stuff they call country today is just bad pop music for soccer moms who like to have crushes on famous people….my grand-dad is rolling over in his honky-tonk dancin’ grave when people call it “country” music….there’s a lot of great contemporary folks, but you’re never gonna hear that on mainstream radio…I personally listen to Willies Place & Mojo Nixon shows on Sirrius/XM for better programming.
HRC: Were you a fan of Rob Zombie before entering into this collaboration?
JD: When I was younger I only remember the White Zombie songs on the radio…I always thought Rob was like Ozzy or Alice Cooper and ya know what? HE IS! Rob is the coolest….I mean, he listens to Otis Rush and Buck Owens just hanging out!
HRC: What served as your main inspiration for the Captain Clegg material created for H2?
JD: Rob and I talked at length about Clegg….he came up with the idea because he loves those old English horror movies….we had extensive conversations about the songs and the influences of the songs….in the end, he cut me a check and said now go to Austin and record whatever you want….he’s all about framing an idea and then letting people do what they do and leaving them alone…I wrote all the songs in suite #2 at the LaMothe Hotel on Esplinade St. in the French Quarter in New Orleans in 3 days…it was a very paranormal experience.
HRC: What is it about the horror genre that makes music such an important component?
JD: I’m 40 man…I came up w/ all the classic 70’s & 80’s horror stuff….of course I love Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series and really dig the Italian stuff like Black Sunday with Barbara Steele…but all that music from those early movies influenced all popular music….people like Iggy Pop and Roky Erickson we’re totally into it…even Buck Owens had a great song out called Monster’s Holiday…eventually it morphed into a genre…I’d like to think we’re doing something fresh in this genre….Fangoria seems to think so.
HRC: Regarding the upcoming tour with Rob Zombie, are you worried at all about the reaction of the fans that are more of the metal crowd?
JD: I’m not really worried about the reaction from the Rob’s metal crowd….I went out w/ Mike Ness of Social Distortion all last summer and we killed the audience….besides, this time I’m Clegg so we have license to rock those little bastards peckers off!
HRC: I’ve seen John 5 play some mean honky tonk tunes…any chance we’ll see any collaboration on that front?
JD: Hmmm….I know John 5 is a shredder, but never heard him play “honky-tonk”….would love to though….he’s a brilliant player by any stretch and we’ll be glad to get out on the road and hang out…we come from 2 totally different worlds….sometimes that makes for the best hang when you’re apples and oranges….gotta feeling we’ll be doin some genre bending guitar picking backstage.*
HRC: I’ll be going to the San Jose show and the LA Halloween show….should we expect something special for the holiday?
JD: Let me think, something special for the holidays. huh? The Night Creatures have been playing Hollywood Babylon by the Misfits, so we might have to break into that in LA….we’ve got a ton of weird covers worked up for this tour and wouldn’t you like to know what night we’re gonna shoot’em all over the crowd….beware: we’re killers…we wanna murder the first 5 rows of people** and at least mame the rest….all I can say is, get there EARLY to see the most white-trash guitar shredding rock n roll revival held under the Pentecost…let the conjuring begin!
*Um, HRC would LOVE to see this…..INVITE ME PLEASE!
**looks like I’m getting murdered!
Genre(s): Interviews
Rob Zombie: Tour and Album updates….and HRC’s one little question
by hardrockchick [about 4 months, 20 days ago.]
So I got to participate in a teleconference with Rob Zombie yesterday. It’s kind of a weird concept- a bunch of interviewers call in and are allowed one question with the man himself. I get it- they want to kill a bunch of interviews with one stone, but I also kinda don’t- there’s no flow or opportunity for follow up questions. But still, I TALKED TO ROB ZOMBIE ON THE PHONE YESTERDAY. But I don’t think he liked my question.
The teleconference would last one hour. For the first 20 minutes, he seemed happy to give rich answers to some not so deep questions. Then, answers started getting shorter, and delivered with a less pleasant manner. Mine came at the 45 minute mark.
It was funny that Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails were cited in two different questions regarding record companies and developing a TV show- AND NEITHER WERE MY QUESTION! Both times, RZ was like ‘I was not aware that he was doing that’. My takeaway from this interview, and he even said it himself, was that Rob Zombie lives in “a bubble”, albeit a very cool, creative one.
So what was my question? Well, I was starting to tire from tour and album and film news, and I could tell he was, too. So I asked him what the last thing that scared him was and why.
Looonnnnggg pause. I thought he wasn’t going to answer! I think I heard him roll his eyes. And then he gave a ‘dude answer’: nothing. He said that people ask him if he has any phobias or anything and he doesn’t, and that being scared means that your life is out of control, and apparently he never feels like that. The only example he could cite was the Northridge Earthquake…..which happened in 1994….ROB ZOMBIE HASN’T BEEN SCARED SINCE 1994! He leads a charmed life…..I dunno, I guess I thought in the spirit of Halloween that something interesting might come out of this…..I mean, I could list about 10 societal things that scare the hell out of me right now: global warming, nuclear threat, healthcare, genocide, etc…..but that’s just me I guess. OH YEAH, AND I FORGOT, ROB ZOMBIE IS A DUDE AND DUDES DON’T GET SCARED.
Anyhoo, here’s a synopsis of what I learned from listening to everyone’s questions on the upcoming album and tour:
The HBD2 Tour:
-He’ll play a couple of new songs, specifically calling out ‘Werewolf Women of the S.S’.
-There will be songs played from his back catalog that have never been played before
-The tour will utilize some digital technology that wasn’t around the last time he toured
-The LA Halloween show will be different from all of the other shows. It’s the closest thing to a hometown show for them. The Art Director from H2 will be art directing the venue. They will be utilizing pyro and will recreate the club scene from H2, complete with the house band and host. It will be an “event”.
-This is just a warm up tour. Once the album releases, they will tour for most of next year
-Don’t expect to see the guys sightseeing while they are on tour- between shows they “do nothing”.
Hellbilly Deluxe 2:
-It became a sequel, or “companion piece” to the 1998 album because it made sense with the content
-It took 3 years to make
-The delay was really “just a few weeks”. It sounds like more of a record label issue- there was no time from when it was finished to when tour rehearsals started to promote it properly and make a music video. They felt like they were “cutting corners”. The big announcement that was promised with the delay announcement should be coming any minute now…
-This is his last album obligation with Geffen, who he has been tied to since ‘91 with White Zombie, renegotiating in the late ’90s when he went solo.
-His other band members are “fast on their feet” and were able to write and record quickly. For instance, the single ‘What?’ was completed in a few hours. No one expected it to be the single since it happened so fast, but after listening to everything it was always people’s favorite or second favorite track.
-RZ and John 5 remain the main song writers for this album. RZ comments that you will hear some of John 5’s playing on the album and will think it is a sample or sequencer until you see him play it live- comparing this to Morello’s work in RATM.
-They don’t have a writing process- but RZ used this question to make some interesting comments on the heavy metal sound. He said that sometimes low production sounds good- when you clean things up too much it sometimes loses something. Also, he commented on how some bands set out to sound “heavy”, which is “limiting”.
-While he hopes this won’t be his last physical album, he believes things will move to a focus on singles, citing iTunes stats to back this up.
Film:
-The H2 Director’s Cut should be available by Xmas. He likes this version much better. It has a different ending.
-There’s “some truth” to The Blob remake rumors
-He has no doubt someone will remake his films, especially House of 1000 Corpses. He imagines it will be like when someone covers one of his songs- “fun even if you don’t like it”
-His next film will be outside the horror genre, and people “will be shocked as to what it is”.
Random:
-He like Candy Corn, but apparently feels bad about eating it
-Did he ever in his wildest dreams imagine that he would be doing what he’s doing? “Yes, absolutely”. He talked about how every kid paints and draws, but drifts away from it at some point. Two of the quotes of the interview were made here: “The definition of being miserable is being an adult” and “If you don’t have a vision for your life, you’ll be working for someone who does.”
-Band documentaries: he likes them, but don’t expect to see him direct one or have one made about his band. He prefers for some things to remain “behind the scenes”.
-If he had extra time to take on another project, he would essentially want to curate a theme park attraction around Halloween.
I’ll be covering the LA Halloween show and the San Jose show- so stay tuned for my adventures with Rob Zombie over the next week!
Genre(s): Interviews
HardRockChick Interviews Carl Restivo aka The Wizard from Street Sweeper Social Club
by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 24 days ago.]
Carl Restivo might think I’m stalking him. First, I saw him play in Satellite Party. Then, The Justice Tour. And then, I went to one or two or six NIN/JA(SSSC) shows. And then there’s Outside Lands this weekend….
Carl was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to let me ask him a few questions about all of the amazing things he’s involved in.
HardRockChick: So, Carl- you have your hands in so many things, I feel like the appropriate question to start off with is what do you NOT do?
Carl Restivo: I don’t play any horns (at least not well). I don’t eat pine nuts ’cause I’m allergic.
HRC: How did you get involved with Perry Farrell and join Satellite Party?
” This was a chance to meet Perry Farrell for the first time. I worshiped that man since I was 13!”
CR: Through Nuno Bettencourt, who had been collaborating with Perry for about a year or so. I had met Nuno through Wyclef Jean in NYC, and we hit it off (as I was a big Extreme fan) and we kept in touch. I moved to LA a year or so later and the first night I was there he took me to a club with Paul Geary and showed me what LA had to offer. HA! One month later he called me and said “do you want to come with me to the studio?” This was a chance to meet Perry Farrell for the first time. I worshiped that man since I was 13! I had every Jane’s album, bootlegs, live shit, VHS tapes, Porno for Pyros albums, singles, maxi singles, etc. Perry was a major influence on me, and on top of all that, I truly believed that Song Yet To Be Sung was his best work to date. I met Perry in the studio, told him I have been admiring his work for a number of years. Nuno said to him, “this is Carl, he plays all instruments and has a great voice and also played the guitars on “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira and Wyclef” (true). He was impressed. I listened to a rough mix of his new songs Dogstar and Awesome; I was blown away at how amazing and clear and focused his vocals were, and I was digging the beats of ‘Dogstar’. Truth be told, I had heard that Nuno and Perry had started a new project called Satellite Party the year before I moved out to LA. I found a bootleg video from their surprise show at the Key Club and was like WOW this shit is awesome! The thought I had in late ‘05 was, ‘what happens when No Doubt goes on tour again???’ Meaning (what happens to) Tony Kanal who had played with them for that show? Then I never thought about it again. Later that night after leaving the studio (it was at Henson studios, where Audioslave were recording their last album), we got in to the car, and Nuno said ‘Tom just texted ‘let’s get some lobster tail at the Rainbow”. Sounds good! But Tom who? ‘Morello’. Cool, let’s do it. So in the same night, Nuno introduced me to Perry and Tom.
HRC: I saw the Justice Tour and am always enamored with the spontaneous feeling from those performances. Can you tell me a bit about how you prep for a show, considering you are dealing with new performers almost every night?
CR: Well, it starts with a text or a phone call from Tom, usually the day before the benefit show. “Songs for Axis Show tomorrow: Kick out the Jams, Wake Up, Feel Like Making Love, Vertigo, Get Up Stand Up, Dr. Feelgood, Brand New Cadillac, This Land is Your Land, and about 4 Cypress Hill Jams”. Usually I already know half, if not most, of the songs, so I learn the tunes and am basically responsible for not only being able to perform and sing either lead or background on any song, but teach all the performers the songs 1 hour before show time in the ol’ smoking piano room at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA.
For the Justice ‘tour’ that is becoming an amazing yearly thing that we do, a gaggle of songs are learned prior to leaving for the tour (usually about 4 -8 dates across the country). And more often than not, half the set is comprised of brand new songs ‘learned that day’ because of special guests added either the night before or the day of…such as: Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Lemmy from Motorhead, Stewart Copeland, Steve Vai…just to name a few.
HRC: I had the pleasure of following around the NIN/JA tour featuring Street Sweeper Social Club earlier this summer. What’s your favorite memory from the tour?
“One time I jammed with Stephen on drums while I played Eric’s bass and we did Porno for Pyros songs”
CR: There are a couple: Watching Jane’s Addiction every night (out of about 30 shows I think I missed 2), the catering department Jake and Ali (whom we all had middle school-like crushes on), Trent joining us for Kick Out The Jams in San Diego – that was truly INSANE! And probably watching Jane’s soundcheck – towards the very end of the tour when Jane’s would opt out of a full soundcheck, Stevo (Stephen’s tech), Tracey (Eric’s tech) and Dan (Dave’s tech) and me on lead vocals (i’m actually mainly a singer!) rocked Jane’s songs for soundcheck, usually Mountain Song or sometimes a Cult song. One time I jammed with Stephen on drums while I played Eric’s bass and we did Porno for Pyros songs: Packin’ 25, Porno for Pyros (the song), Cursed Male, Tahitian Moon, and Black Girlfriend were rocked. Boy does he kick ass on drums. Hmmm what else…oh yeah, we (SSSC) would try every night to have a dance party in our dressing room. It worked 50 percent of the time. Etty was our partner in crime and sometimes members of NIN (not Trent) and occasionally Stephen. Members of the crew (when they were done working) would come and drink, and me and Tom would trade ipods and basically put on our own mixes of Dirty Hip Hop to GTBITM… I’ll let you figure out what that stands for.
HRC: As you mentioned, one of my favorite moments was SSSC doing ‘Kick Out the Jams’ with Trent…how did that come about?
CR: Basically Tom and Trent had been texting about doing something. He (Trent) was either going to perform on one of our songs that we hadn’t played yet, or a cover. I suggested a bunch of things, like War Pigs, Get Down Make Love (’cause he covered that back in the dizzay), and more really show-stopping songs but it was agreed that KOTJ would slay, and boy, it did.
HRC: How did you get your name ‘The Wizard’?
CR: It is an inherited nickname. My Great-Grandfather was a professional accordion player back in the early, early 1900’s through the 60’s. Mostly vaudeville places…he died in 1980. He was billed as Carlo Restivo, Wizard of the Accordion.
HRC: You’ve been involved in so many collaborations: Wyclef Jean, 50 Cent, Shakira…is there anyone who is on your wishlist of people to work with?
CR: Wishlist? Hmmm…Jay-Z, Stephin Merritt, Britney Spears, Rick Rubin
HRC: Tell me about your work with the School of Rock.
“I love working with kids and inspiring them to get really good and take it seriously while having a ton of fun.”
CR: I am the Music Director of the Paul Green School Of Rock in Los Angeles, CA. Currently, the school is in Hollywood and I opened it in 2006 when I moved out here. I love working with kids and inspiring them to get really good and take it seriously while having a ton of fun. We opened with 12 kids, and the first show was Pink Floyd: The Wall. Out of those first 12, six are still in the school and we are up to about 100 kids. This season, we are doing a Jimi Hendrix Tribute (Aug 29/30 in Hollywood), Metallica in September, Funk in September, and Women Who Rock at the end of September. Next season we are doing Aerosmith, Best of 80’s, Prog Rock, and Alice In Chains vs Soundgarden.
HRC: What can we expect to see in the future from you?
CR: A new album that I have been working on for a while – either a solo or band project. Not sure which yet, but sooner than you think.
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Read Carl’s touching piece he wrote regarding Les Paul’s death.
See Carl in Street Sweeper Social Club with Boots Riley and Tom Morello this Friday at The Independent, and Saturday at Outside Lands.
Genre(s): Interviews
Interview with Chris Corner of IAMX
by hardrockchick [about 10 months, 7 days ago.]
I’ve been a fan of Chris Corner and IAMX for a long time. He writes great lyrics, and puts on amazing live performances.
Below is my interview with Chris regarding his latest album and his upcoming US tour.
HardRockChick: What was the creative impetus behind ‘Kingdom of Welcome Addiction’? What mood were you in when you wrote it? Is there a message?
“This record is particularly about the escape from the things that people accept and the rules they live by.”
Chris Corner: There is always a subconscious message. I am at a point where being in the mess of the world concerns me.
There is so much noise and junk floating around. We are so underdeveloped mentally and un-evolved that this kind of input can only be destructive. This record is particularly about the escape from the things that people accept and the rules they live by. Every move with IAMX is a reflection of an alternative way to exist. Feeling like this puts me into a very emotional place. I would say that I am always deeply moved when I am working.
Even if am using black humour or writing about sex or power I still feel brittle. It is difficult to put into words. I decided again to lock myself away and create. I find it a scary but cathartic way to work. Solitary and monk-like.
Kingdom of Welcome Addiction was no exception.
HRC: I read that you put together a new studio for this album. How did it turn out?
CC: Something I have fantasized about for years is bringing together a group of people that work for some artistic higher purpose. Something like the Bauhaus movement that came out of Dessau in the early 20th century, but a little less structured. So many things concern me about the world. I want to find people to get involved. Being part of driven, independent concepts, art pieces, films, music. A collection of bright and open minds.
I now occupy an old GDR water factory just outside Berlin. I already have two artists working there and this where I have set up my new studio space. It is rough but functioning. I think somehow I get off on the chaos of it and also the fact that I look into nature when I work.
If I ever have lots of money and some spare time, I will put some more heart and soul into the space.
HRC: How did the collaboration with Imogen Heap come about?
CC: She was an acquaintance from my days in London who became a friend and is really enthusiastic about IAMX. She turned up to the live performances when we played in England and I think we both knew something would come to fruition in the future.
Even though I am usually shy with collaboration, I always wanted to do a duet. It has so far eluded me.
I wrote the song ‘My Secret Friend’ at the very end of the recording process and it felt like it was lacking something. I then developed it a little with the idea of a duet in mind. I put together a rough demo and sent it to her. She said yes to getting involved, added her lovely parts and vocals and we threw the track back and forward over email for a week. She was so pro and quick I was really impressed. Beautiful vocals and harmonies.
When I wrote it, I imagined some kind of psychotic brother/sister relationship, perhaps romantic, dependent, incestuous. I imagine her as the boy and me as the girl.
HRC: How will the album come alive on this tour? Who is part of the live band?
CC: The integration of the new tracks is a little harder this time due to their more melodic relaxed orchestrated nature. But, I have developed them to fit in with the aggressive live set. A little heavier and more electronic.
It will be the same line up in the band: Janine on backing vocals, keyboards and bass, Dean on guitar, bass and backing vocals and Tom hitting things hard in the background. We seem to have a good thing going and I want to nurture that.
It is very easy to destroy bands with the ego disease and being socially retarded. This is a tight knit, quiet and calm bunch of people. We need to be like that to conserve the energy for the stage performances.
HRC: Will the tour be mostly new material, or will we get to hear some of our old favorites?
“It is not just a blazing inferno of flesh and rage. It has more dynamic. Light and dark.”
CC: It will be a mixture. Some of the old material is completely different live and it is a lot of fun for us to play them. We enjoy the spontaneity of all the tracks. When you know them so well, like the old ones, you can also let go a bit more. The new tracks are still forming and we have to concentrate. But the balance is nice at the moment as it adds another dimension. It is not just a blazing inferno of flesh and rage. It has more dynamic. Light and dark.
HRC: Should we expect another strong visual element for this tour? Costumes? Video backdrops?
“It is so disappointing when I go to gigs or music events and there is such a lack of hope and inspiration.”
CC: Always. I am a big lover of theatre, film, music and art. Somehow I see IAMX in the middle of all those. I feel best when I am experimenting with all the forms. Painting a bigger picture. There is so much beauty to be explored.
I shoot and edit the visuals for the live shows. Adding vision to sound is such a powerful tool to bring another level of meaning to the music. It is amazing how they work so well together.
It is so disappointing when I go to gigs or music events and there is such a lack of hope and inspiration. I want to live my life with veracity and colour and intensity. To paint my face and wear costumes, to scream and cry and shout and shit and sweat and fuck and think and love. Life is a game and we have amazing eyes to see. Why the fuck not?
HRC: How on earth do you present such a high energy performance and keep your vocals intact?
CC: I bring the most important of my possessions along with me: the nose shower.
I guess I am in someway trained enough to know how to control my voice. At least to know the things I can’t do, but the thing that affects the throat and develops the infections is the dirt and germs. I suck in a whole room full of germs every night so it is really essential that I clean it out before I go to bed.
It is a constant battle to keep on top of it, because often I get drunk or have a fabulous show and forget myself. Actually that is when I push it too hard as I am so hypnotized.
That is when it catches you out.
HRC: I’ve read that IAMX is your alternate identity, yet the lyrics always seem very personal. How does this work?
“The character you see is an exaggeration of the real person – a mutant version but real.”
CC: A playwright can write from self-experience and give across a very personal message through actors. Look at a writer like Dennis Potter and you see that his plays are totally autobiographical. It is not quite the same thing but it is still relevant expressing through others.
IAMX is definitely not “as constructed.” It is more of an attitude to life. The character you see is an exaggeration of the real person – a mutant version but real. I think in some way that is what audiences respond to. They can see what I mean, even if I dress up and play the rabid neurotic Peter Pan. I do sometimes look at the person I am on stage and in pictures and feel distant, but that is very normal for any human struggling with the past, present, future and, sometimes, the disconnected blank feeling of being alive.
HRC: You always have your hands in lots of things- what can we expect to see from you in the near future? I’ve heard that you’re interested in film.
CC: Actually just before answering this interview I saw an online piece which showed a little live IAMX footage and I sang like a dying dog! Therefore I have decided to give up and start making films! But, seriously, my intention is to make a small film next year with a small budget. One actor one location. Based on the poetry of Hesse and Brecht.
In the meantime, I am experimenting with the IAMX online activity and developing a website. I need lots of content, so I am constantly doing remixes and alternative versions of the new tracks plus writing B-sides. All will be revealed throughout the year as we promote the new album.
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My review of the upcoming album, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction.
You can, and should, catch IAMX at Slim’s on June 9.
Genre(s): Interviews
Jamie, a self-proclaimed live music addict, chronicles her musical adventures in San Francisco and beyond.
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