Last year I interviewed Dave Wyndorf of Monster Magnet. It was the second time I’d interviewed him, but for various reasons this interview has not yet seen the light of day. I will finish transcribing it and maybe even post it one day, but the most interesting part of the interview was when we discussed the issue of “rock star mystique” and the difficult that rock gods like Wyndorf now face in maintaining their god-like aura in this age of Facebook and Twitter and everyone wanting to know every last mundane detail about everything.

Dave has his own label with Monster Magnet guitarist Phil Caivano, focusing on short run limited edition vinyl releases. They’re releasing a limited edition vinyl EP with three reworked and re-imagined Monster Magnet tunes from Dopes To Infinity, their 1995 album.

Here’s the kicker though, and where I think Wyndorf and Co are working to make rock music a mystical, special experience again:  the Dopes EP goes on sale in November, but for the first month, you will only be able to buy a copy at a Monster Magnet show in Europe. Take that, internet!

I’m sure they would probably make more money if they released these songs on iTunes or sold the EP on CD and through their online store right away. But making it scarce makes it more coveted by obsessive compulsive collector fan. These kinds of releases will be popping up on eBay for years to come. This is how cult-like status builds.

The coolest part is that I will be going to at least one of those shows. Right now, I don’t even have a record player – but that’s not going to stop me from picking one up. I want to own a piece of the legend that is Monster Magnet.

It’s been all over the metal news sites in the last couple of days – Tori Amos said some dumb shit about heavy metal and all the metal people are getting all worked up about it.

I was going to ignore it, as jumping on controversial issues is not really my style. But, I think that some of the metal sites and blogs are saying even dumber shit about what Tori said and that’s kinda annoying me. So what the hell, here’s my two groszy (hey, I live in Poland now, that’s the local currency).

Firstly, a lot of metal people are huffing and puffing about “who is she anyway”. The best way I can think of to describe Tori Amos is as an alternative music icon. It’s ok for metal people to have never heard of her (I’m sure she’s never heard of Gojira) but I don’t think it’s ok to dismiss her as “some unknown pop singer”. She’s not popular and she’s certainly not a pop singer. She is a bit avante garde (Blabbermouth described her as eccentric) and she’s been at music-making for a very long time so she deserves some respect. I always thought of her as someone who was intelligent and educated about music, as well as someone who held views and attitudes outside of the mainstream, even if I’m not a big fan of all her work myself.

So, I am genuinely surprised by the comments that she made, that seem to imply that she thinks there’s no emotion in heavy metal music. From Blabbermouth, your source for all news controversial or banal:

Amos said, “Sometimes you don’t know how music affects people. I embrace that because I don’t think that just because I talk about emotional stuff that it’s not motherfucker stuff. I’ll stand next to the hardest fucking heavy metal band on any stage in the world and take them down, alone, by myself. Gauntlet laid down, see who steps up. See who steps up!”

She continued, “I’ll take them down at 48. And they know I will. Because emotion has power that the metal guys know is just you can’t touch it. Insanity can’t touch the soul. It’s going to win every fucking time.”

So there you go. Even someone you thought was musically educated and intelligent can spout dumb-arse mainstream stereotypes to grab a few headlines. I actually feel sorry for her more than anything if her musical experience is so cocooned that she thinks an entire style of music exists without emotion. Its actually kind of laughable, which makes me wonder if it’s just a publicity stunt.

A weird one if it is! What do you think? Dumb shit, right?

Earache Records have a blog – Ask Earache – and on it label staff are brutally no-bullshit honest in answering the queries they get sent. From reading it you can get a good idea of what being a metal label this millennium actually means. It’s highly recommended reading.

A post today got me thinking. The question was:

What is the audio on Earache’s vinyl re-issues cut from? Is it re-mastered from the original tape or is it the same lacquer used on the original pressing?

The answer may surprise you – it certainly surprised me.

We recently re-issued the first 4 Morbid Angel albums on gatefold LP wax, and the audio for them simply comes from the CD.

They go on to explain – on old recordings, mastering from the original tapes isn’t practical (presumably economical) for producing new vinyl. Additionally, unless the same type of player is available and all the EQ settings etc are identical, the recording may sound very different from what people are used to hearing on CD. New recordings don’t suffer from the same problem so the vinyl version IS the analogue version of what was recorded.

Still – when I see a reissue of a classic album on vinyl, the assumption I have is that it comes from the analogue originals and it will sound superior to the digital version. As much as the fancy packaging, that’s what I think I’m paying for. But as it turns out that’s not the case. Given the reasoning supplied in the post, I would assume that would be the same for other labels as well, not just Earache.

I think I’d better start reading the fine print and scouring second hand shops for my vinyl. Am I the only one surprised by this?

Note: this post was written in a hotel in Hamburg, ahead of Wacken Open Air. I don’t know why, but I seem to be able to hammer out posts when I’m away from home. Don’t question it, just run with it…

It’s well established that when it comes to Fear Factory I’m a major nerd. Just love ‘em. I’ve interviewed Dino no less than three times for Metal As Fuck, including once on video with Burton. Dave and I are in the video for Cyberwaste which was filmed in Fremantle, Western Australia, near where we lived at the time. I’ve seen them live at least four or five times – I keep losing count.

Of course, City of Fire’s music is about as far from Fear Factory material as you can get. But I only heard of them because of Burton’s involvement, and as it turns out they’re pretty awesome too. We listened to their debut self-titled disc a lot in 2010 – given that it was a lot “lighter” than some of the stuff we listen to, it was a good candidate for “office music” where non-metalheads were present. I saw them live in Perth when they supported Soulfly – an odd pairing, and although I do have a soft spot for Max Cavalera I’ve seen Soulfly like a million times and it was only a few days after getting back from Europe so I probably wouldn’t have gone had it not been for City of Fire’s inclusion in the lineup.

So, it was with some interest that I read that the band wanted to record a second album, and were using PledgeMusic to finance it. Essentially fans pre-purchase the album, merch packages etc and the money for these purchases is only taken if the band reaches their funding goal. It’s a novel idea and the principle is good, so I ponied up for the album, a tshirt and a handwritten lyric sheet.

I was going to post about it sooner to encourage more people to throw some cash in, but before I got the opportunity I was notified that the goal had been reached. I just checked out the site and it’s actually at 113%, with 44 people chipping in, and presumably more still coming on board to pick up some of the rather unique packages (including dinner with the band, the opportunity to come to a rehearsal or have City of Fire play your house party).

This is the new music industry – bands finding ways to connect with fans directly and fund the cost of recording in different ways. To all those people who say that the internet is killing music – you’re looking at it wrong. The internet has changed the way people think and how they spend their money. The old music industry model doesn’t work anymore. Stop bitching and find a new way.

Rant over. Now I just have to wait until 2012 to hear the new City of Fire material that I helped finance. Can’t wait!

I guess it’s not really metal, but I’ve always loved Skunk Anansie – something about their songs just sticks with me. I’ve always thought they are at their best when the songs are angry.

It’s been almost a decade since they broke up – damn, I must be getting old – so news of a new album following their reunion shows last year is big news. Apparently it will be called Wonderlustre and will be released in September.

For a sneak peak at the new stuff, the compilation album released late last year – Smashes and Trashes – has three new songs. I heard the song embedded below for the first time today. Does it have potential? I think it may. It’s an odd video – am I the only one who thinks the CG looks like a trippy educational video on conception? – but it’s pretty heavy and it definitely has hooks.

I’m hoping the new album will have some angry songs. It’s hard for bands to keep that kind of attitude up, especially after so many years, as everyone mellows out and matures – but that’s what I want to hear: rage coming through my speakers that makes my spine tingle and my hair stand on end.

Can they deliver? We’ll see.

Just read the news on Blabbermouth that after their tour in August, The Black Crowes are taking an indefinite break.

I’ve loved The Black Crowes ever since I heard Remedy in 1992. Being 14 and broke at the time and seeing as this was well before the age of internet downloads, I didn’t actually get my hands on the album until a few years later, when I found a second hand copy in the now-closed CD Library in Wellington St, Perth. I was there to buy something else and totally spun out that I’d found a copy of The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion because I hadn’t seen it anywhere for years. The CD Library dude was enthusiastic about the album too, and after raving with me about it for ages while Dave wandered around bored, looking at other stuff, he ended up not charging me for it because the CD surface was quite scratched. It plays fine though. Thanks CD Library dude.

I got to see them when they were in Perth last, but because I didn’t end up writing a review, my memories are a little hazy. Google informs me that was March 2008. The show was at Challenge Stadium and we were in the front area, but they’d put rows of plastic chairs in there for some unfathomable reason. At the beginning people tried to stand up and move forward but security tried to keep everyone back – that didn’t last long though. I do remember being quite annoyed at a large drunk man close to us who was quite obnoxious but generally, it was very groovy and chilled, and everyone just rocked out kinda sedately and it was a really awesome show. They played some songs from Warpaint, their current album at the time – I remember Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution particularly – and all the old stuff that everyone was dying to hear.

Hmm, seems I remember more about it than I thought. Google has provided me with a setlist on setlist.fm too.

There’s a new album out – Before the Frost…Until the Freeze – which I don’t have yet but will definitely pick up. This band has been around in one form or another since 1984 so I guess they’re entitled to call it a day.

So for now, I’d like to say “thanks for the beautiful music” to Chris and Rich Robinson, and all the other people that have helped these two make The Black Crowes great over the years. Cheers!

In 2005 Type O Negative kinda faked Peter Steele’s death – as it turns out, he had been in jail, in rehab and in a psychiatric hospital prior to release of the Dead Again album. So when I started to see rumours on Twitter last week that he had died of heart failure, I refused to believe it was true until solid news came through.

Sadly, a few hours later it was confirmed: Peter Steele, dead at 48, from causes as yet unknown, apparently after a short illness. As outpourings of grief and sympathy swept across Twitter and the online metal networks, I couldn’t help thinking what the frontman would have thought of all the fuss. I’ve read that people who knew him said his famously dark and self-deprecating sense of humour hid a lot of insecurity. It seems sad to me that he would never see the impact he had on so many fans and so many of his fellow musicians. I wonder if he’d ever had any idea how massive his legacy is.

I was late to the Type O Negative party – Dave introduced me to them in about 2001, when we first started going out. He played me Love You To Death and it’s still one of my favourite Type O songs. “Her hips move, and I can hear what they’re saying, swaying… they say the beast inside of me is gonna get ya, get ya, get…”

And then of course there was the infamous Playgirl centrefold, where Pete changed the game by only agreeing to pose if he could do so erect. He talks a bit about it in this Ink interview from 2003:

‘I said to myself, "How come these guys are flaccid? Who wants to look at this?" So I said to them, "I’d like to be hard, do you have any problem with that?"’

Now that’s metal.

Check out this segment on the Ricki Lake show in 1996, where he reveals he did it for $2000:

And then there’s this bit on the Jerry Springer show.

Jerry; Are you happy to be here Peter?
Peter: I’m less miserable.

I never got to see Type O Negative live, and that really sucks.

I love the video for Black No 1 – not only for the delicious pronunciation of words like “trick or treat”, or for Pete’s awesome stand up bass (that he slings over his shoulder like a regular guitar – man that guy was huge), but because it’s a song written about hair dye. Cos that’s serious shit:

After his prison sentence and stint in rehab, Pete found God and got religion. He wasn’t preachy about it though, which makes it ok by me. And of course, I’m sure that Pete’s idea of God was one that was ok with him having two girlfriends:

RIP, Pete. We miss you already.

• Pete’s band mates have posted touching and sometimes quite funny statements about him on their official web site.
• Metal Underground dedicated this week’s Sunday Old School column to Petrus T. Ratajczyk.

The first Soundgarden show since 2007 took place last Friday in Seattle, under the name Nudedragons. Being there would have been something, right?

Metal Hammer have posted the full set list and there are some notable omissions.

Spoonman
Gun
Searching With My Good Eye Closed
Rusty Cage
Beyond The Wheel
Flower
Ugly Truth
Fell On Black Days
Hunted Down
Nothing To Say
Loud Love
Blow Up The Outside World
Pretty Noose
Outshined
Slaves And Bulldozers

Encore:

Get On The Snake
Big Dumb Sex
Waiting For The Sun (The Doors cover)

No Black Hole Sun, possibly their biggest mainstream radio hit. But more disturbingly, no Jesus Christ Pose (my personal favourite).

Blabbermouth have audio recordings of the entire set – not sure how they managed to pull that one off, reports were that security was unbelievably tight to make sure no photos were taken. The quality is excellent, so I guess it was through official channels not sneaky ones.

The band has been confirmed to headline Lollapalooza in August. I’ve never seen them live – Dave was lucky enough to be at one of their last few shows in 2007 (and he still has the tour tshirt, although it’s more hole than shirt now). I wonder if touring further afield is on the cards? We can hope.

Nashville Pussy left to right: Blaine Cartright, Karen Cuda, Jeremy Thompson, Ruyter Suys
Photo credit: Frank Mullen/Matteblack

I interviewed Nashville Pussy guitarist Ruyter Suys for FasterLouder a few weeks ago, and she was an absolute riot. Unfortunately, due to length constraints, not all of our conversation made it into the final article, so I thought I’d share some “deleted scenes” so to speak.

Read the published interview here: Nashville Pussy’s Ruyter Suys

I know Ruyter and in fact the whole of Nashville Pussy are massive Bon Scott fans, and while they’ve been to Australia a few times, they’ve always stuck to the east coast. We got to see Nashville Pussy at Wacken 2008, and they are a ton of fun live. I thought it worth mentioning the fact that Bon Scott is buried in Perth, so that perhaps they’ll include the west coast next time they come down under so we can see them again. What I found out was that the band desperately want to make the trek, but keep getting told by booking agents that it’s too far off the beaten track.

As well as the bits about the Bon Scott experience that made it into the article, Ruyter also shared this little gem:

‘For years our drummer has been using this line, it’s supposed to be like a pick up line for girls. He’s like “I got a go-kart, let’s go to Perth”. And if a girl actually gets his little joke, his reference to Bon Scott in “I’ve got a go-kart that will take us all the way to Perth” – I don’t think any girl has laughed yet, but when he finally meets the one that does, she’ll be a keeper. ‘

I also asked Ruyter about road stories.

Given the band’s reputation as rock and roll partying machine, I wonder if Ruyter has any road stories from Australia to share. She pauses to think for a moment, but it turns out she has plenty of material.

‘We tried to buy cocaine once, that was really expensive. I was like, we thought they were lying! You’re kidding me that’s how much it costs! What kind of money is this you’re talking about, it can’t be Australian dollars! That’s a good story.’

Fortunately that incident wasn’t the only memories Nashville Pussy took home from the land down under. ‘We played with [the late] Pete Wells one time, from Rose Tattoo, in Melbourne. That was fucking awesome. He came up on stage and just went up to my amplifier and rolled his hand across all the dials so everything went up to 10. And then, I think it was the same night, that we wound up partying with the bass player from Rose Tattoo, we didn’t even know he was in the band. He was just some really cool guy that we met. And we managed to get him kicked out of a pub in Melbourne. And he got kicked out of this really square sportsbar pub, with Nashville Pussy, and he was like “I haven’t been kicked out of a pub in 25 years” and I’m like “you’re partying with Nashville Pussy now!” That was pretty good.’

We talked a bit about Ruyter’s inclusion in Elle magazine’s top female guitarists list, and I asked what she would be doing for a crumb if she wasn’t a rock and roll guitar goddess.

‘I dunno man. When my husband met me I was doing bronze casting and driving a tractor.’

Driving a tractor?

‘Yeah, driving a tractor in Canada. You know, on a boring old wheat farm.’

Wow.

‘And uh, quite enjoying myself to tell you the truth.’

Ruyter laughs at the idea that tractor driving is always a skill she can fall back on. ‘Yeah exactly. As long as I can still drive in circles at 9 miles an hour, no problem.’

One of the coolest insights into the band came when Ruyter mentioned that they’d recently played a show for their 17th anniversary as Mr and Mrs Nashville Pussy.

As testament to that, they played a show in Denver on their 17^th anniversary in January. ‘I saw some video from it, and it was really cool to see what a good time we have on stage,’ she says. ‘It was really nice to see both of us smiling at each other, having a really good time, and you know it’s kind of a relief that wow, 17 years and we’re still going, we still really like this, and we like each other too.’

I mention that it seems a bit odd that she has to watch a video of the show to see how it went, but Ruyter says that on stage, she goes into her own zone. ‘When I play I barely even see what’s going on around me.’ She tries to explain further. ‘It’s like I’m hypnotizing myself or something like that with the volume, and I’m just breathing in really deep and I just fill myself up with the volume. I have my eyes shut half the night and I basically see obstacles if I’m lucky, like “don’t hit your head on this” and like “don’t step in this hole in the stage” or whatever. I know where things are, but usually I just “go away”, I just disappear into the music, I don’t know what the fuck is going on while I’m up on stage, I just kinda like to… yeah I dunno what the word for it is.‘

It sounds almost like a religious experience.

‘Oh yeah. I would assume a religious experience should hopefully be as good as this.’ She laughs. ‘From what I’ve been led to believe! It’s up there with like really good sex, you know.’

Nashville Pussy were in Australia do a handful of shows on the east coast, including one at the famous Gershwin Room at the Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne, where Melbourne-based photographer “Carbie” got a ton of fantastic shots.

When I was about 11 or 12, I found a compilation tape amongst the family stereo equipment called New Wave, from 1977 (the esteemed year of my birth). I don’t know who owned it originally or how it came into our household’s possession, but I took a listen and got my first dose of punk: Ramones, The Dead Boys, New York Dolls, The Runaways, The Damned, Talking Heads, and a whole ton more. There was also Patti Smith’s awesome Piss Factory which was a bit of a head trip for me at the time. [After writing this post I found it on ebay UK, on vinyl, so of course now it’s on its way home to me. This infernal web of distractions will one day be my undoing.]

Looking back, most of the bands on the New Wave compilation are not what is now generally accepted as "new wave" but anyway, it was a fantastic introduction and I love all those songs and bands to this day – especially The Runaways, who had a big influence on chicks in metal in the ‘80s. They were very cool and had this really raw teenage sexy vibe that was obviously appealing to someone of my age at the time.

So what I want to know is… how did I not hear about the movie they’re making? I read about it today on Reverb (which I mostly read for Duff McKagen’s posts). I checked out the official web site, the IMDB entry, the trailer (embedded below), the soundtrack and GODDAMN it looks good. I’m a little surprised at the casting – I don’t know much about Kristen Stewart playing Joan Jett) apart from the fact that she’s in Twilight, but I’ve never watched or read any of that tripe so I don’t know what kind of role she plays in that. And Dakota Fanning (playing Cherie Currie) has had, up until now, a very squeaky clean child image, so I’m sure that she’s trying to do something about that with this role.

Hoping this one gets a cinema release in Australia!