Horror film aficionadosMurderdolls present their horrific trailer for a brand new track off their upcoming effort Women and Children Last. Watch “Drug Me To Hell” featuring the previously unheard song by the same name over at murderdollsband.com right NOW! (Please note the clip contains material that some may find offensive.)
Women and Children Last is out on August 31st. Pre-order a special limited edition Murderdolls First Aid kit featuring the new album and some exclusive gruesome extras by going RIGHT HERE.
It is a summer of absolute mayhem for triple threat talent Rob Zombie. Never one to rest on his laurels, the superstar musician/director/writer is currently co-headlining the massive North American Mayhem Festival tour with bandmates John 5, Piggy D and Joey Jordison (see below for tour dates), and is also prepping for the special edition release of HELLBILLY DELUXE 2. Set to street on September 28th, this deluxe extra zombified version of HD2 will feature 3 brand new tracks called “Everything Is Boring,” “Michael” and “Devil’s Hole Girls And The Big Revolution,” as well as a reimagining of “The Man Who Laughs.” In addition, the package will include a brand new video for “Mars Needs Women” (shot during the Gruesome Twosome tour with Alice Cooper), a live version of Cooper’s classic “School’s Out” with Cooper himself and a DVD tour documentary entitled “Transylvanian Transmissions,” along with all-new expanded artwork. Drummer Joey Jordison, who has been touring with Zombie since April, will make his recorded debut with the new Zombie material. The new video for “Mars Needs Women” just made its premiere on AOL and can be viewed here.
Check out the album art for the special edition of ‘Hellbilly Deluxe 2′ below.
HELLBILLY DELUXE 2, Zombie’s first album for new label home Roadrunner/Loud & Proud Records, debuted at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart earlier this year. The LosAngeles Times declared “HELLBILLY DELUXE 2 is Zombie’s most consistently tuneful record to date,” while USA Today referred to the album as “masterfully crafted.”
In other news, Rob Zombie and Universal Studios Hollywood are partnering to recognize the nation’s top short-form filmmaking horror genre talent with the “Halloween Horror Nights – Rob Zombie Film Competition,” offering filmmakers an opportunity to have their scariest short film judged by a panel lead by the multi-media horror auteur. The winner will be rewarded with a premiere showing on Chiller TV, a posting on SyFy.com, a $1000 cash prize and a trip for two to the opening night of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Contest entries will be accepted from July 7th through August 14th and prospective filmmakers are invited to submit short films from 90 seconds to three minutes in length on DVD. For more information, please click here.
With more than 15 million albums sold, 7 Grammy nominations, the helming of 5 major motion pictures and dozens of music videos under his belt, Rob Zombie is a force to be reckoned with in today’s entertainment landscape. Zombie’s unique meld of horror and hard rock has influenced his sound as a musician, and more recently his vision as a director and writer.
ROB ZOMBIE co-headlining Mayhem Festival
JULY
27 Mansfield, MA Comcast Center
28 Holmdel, NJ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center
30 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
31 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
AUGUST
1 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre
4 Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach Amphitheatre
6 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
7 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion At Star Lake
Wednesday 13 is widely known for his highly successful solo career and as the lead singer of the horror punk rock band the Murderdolls. Alongside Slipknot drummer and founding member Joey Jordison, Wednesday 13 and the rest of the Murderdolls delivered one of the most brilliant debuts of any band in recent memory. “Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls” was phenomenal, but dysfunctional conditions hidden from the public eye and Jordison’s return to Slipknot lead to the quick dissolution of a band poised for greatness. Eight years later the band has reformed and are set to release their eagerly awaited second album “Women and Children Last.” That’s right, Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison are back and this time they are armed with the same “devil may care” attitude, new band mates, and a heavier sound that is sure to win them many new fans. Steve Johnson of Icon vs. Icon recently caught up with Wednesday to discuss his influences, how the Murderdolls initially formed, what lead to the dissolution of the band, why it took eight years to get the band back together, and of course their upcoming album “Women and Children Last.”
First off, I want to give our readers a little background on you. How did music first come into your life?
I guess for me it was mainly kind of watching movies. You’d hear like a theme song at the end or something like that. That was pretty much where I kind of started going, “Oh, that’s cool! I like the ‘Rambo’ music! That’s good!” So I was kind of more into music like that as a kid. I didn’t know what rock stars were. I didn’t care about that. I was mainly into G.I. Joe and watching movies and stuff like that. I guess my brother was the one that really kind of turned me on to music. He had a huge vinyl collection. He used to bring me into his room … I’ll never forget the time he put on “Shout at the Devil” on vinyl and we sat in front of the speakers. It was so loud it was making my hair hurt. That was my first kind of real introduction to hearing music at a volume that made you say, “Whoa! This is fucking awesome!” So my brother pretty much turned me on to music. The first concert I ever saw was Motley Crue. So I started off on a good path. I think … At least I didn’t see the Backstreet Boys first or something like that!
Thank God!
Yeah!
The music industry is often a hard path to follow. What has kept you inspired through the years?
I’ve said it in many interviews. When Murderdolls first started back in the day … That was eight years ago. I was really kind of closed minded to a lot of music. I liked what I liked and I hated everything else. I didn’t really have no bones about saying it. I was like, “Oh I hate everything!” Over the years I have come into so much different stuff. Joey has turned me on to so many different things. I used to be just a straight, nothing but glam-rock, hair metal fan. Now some of my favorite bands are Slayer, Killing Joke, Satyricon, and bands like that. That’s what I find myself listening to more than anything. That’s what has been inspiring me for the past couple of years. Those were bands that I never gave a chance. They may be old to some people, but to me they’re brand new. They brought a whole new, fresh thing that I am sure will influence the next thing I do or whatever.
For those who may not be familiar with the Murderdolls, how did the band initially form?
It was … I hate to say this, thrown together. It really was. Basically, I was living in North Carolina doing my own thing, playing every other weekend. I get a phone call from Joey out of the blue. I didn’t know him. I was never friends with him. I never saw Slipknot. I never saw anything. He called me and left a message on my phone. He was like, “Hey. My name is Joey. I play in Slipknot. I heard of your band. I’m doing a new band and I think you’d be perfect for it. So give me a call if you’re into it.” That’s pretty much how it started. He was on the tail-end of doing the second Slipknot record. We all had time to go do everything and it turned out great. It’s taken eight years to do a new record just because we’ve all been doing our own things. Everything is good now.
What is the origin of the band’s name? Is there any story behind it?
Oh yeah! I remember Joey had the name written down in a notebook. He had the logo drawn out. The logo that you see on the albums or whatever was a logo Joey drew himself on some notebook paper. He had a bunch of names on the papers. I was looking through different band names and things like that. When I came upon Murderdolls, I saw that and I was like, “That’s a killer name!” He’s like, “You really like that?” I was like, “Dude that name rules!” He goes, “Ehhh!” Then we started talking about it … At the time of the band, our sound was a little more punk rock and more kind of in your face than what it turned out on the new album. We always considered ourselves a cross between The New York Dolls and The Murder Junkies. GG Allin’s band. That’s kind of how the Murderdolls … The Murder Junkies, The New York Dolls slammin’ together. That’s where it came from. We were as equallyinto The New York Dolls as we were into the aggressiveness of GG Allin’s band.
We actually just saw David Johansen at a local coffee shop last weekend.
Oh great man! I finally got to see The New York Dolls last year. I never, ever thought I would see them on stage live. Just seeing Johansen walk up to that mic and go, “When I say I’m in love. You best believe I’m in love. L.U.V.” I was like, “Yes! Finally!” I never thought I would see that in my life. That was just a great thing.
For those people not familiar with your music, how would you best describe it?
It’s like the devil with a microphone making a lot of noise. That’s a good way … [laughs] I don’t know man. I don’t try to put us into a category of music or what. We’re all over the place. We kind of go from a classic kind of sound like Cooper and KISS. Kind of a more modern version of it. The new record gets even heavier. A lot of people are saying it has hints of the Slipknot sound in it as well. Of course that’s because of Joey. It’s all over the place. I don’t know how to explain it. I just say it’s loud, it’s fun, you’ll love it, and your parents will hate it.
That is the truth. I was just listening to the first album the other day and I was like, “Jesus. If I had played this in front of my parents when I was 13 they would have killed me.”
Exactly! That was the first one! I think the new one is worse! We actually have two warning labels being put on our CD on purpose. We actually demanded it just because we’ve never heard of any band ever putting two warning labels on their CD. There is almost a motherfucker on every song on the album and there are 15 songs.
I heard it man! It’s good! I enjoyed it!
Cool.
The Murderdolls’ first album, “Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls,” was phenomenal. What lead to the dissolution of the band after such a successful beginning?
It was a thing … When it was put together, nobody in the band was known or anything. It was Joey’s kind of fun side project that he did. That’s kind of what it was in the beginning. We knew he was going back to Slipknot. We didn’t know how long he would be back. He didn’t know how long he would be doing Slipknot either. At first we heard Slipknot is just going to do a six-month tour. Then it turned into a two-year tour. That’s sort of what happened with it. I started doing my own stuff. The other guys started doing their own things. It just became a thing where every time Joey became available after Slipknot … Right before he would be able to tour he got offered to go play with Korn, he got offered to go play with Ministry, he got offered to go play with Satyricon. Those were all bands that he had looked up to and had a great deal of respect for. For them to call and ask him to do it, he wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to play in band that influenced him. That’s basically … To a lot of people it’s been eight years since the last record, but for us we’ve been so busy it does feel like a long time, but it doesn’t feel probably as long to us because we tour 10 months out of the year. Whether Joey was doing Slipknot or I was doing the Wednesday 13 stuff, we’ve just been so busy. When it came time to do this new record, Joey wasn’t doing anything and plus we had the spirit of doing it. I don’t think we could have made this record a couple of years ago. There’s no way it would have turned out the way it turned out.
You mentioned your solo career. Is there an album that you feel is your best solo work?
I like everything I put out. I don’t write for people. I write for myself and I hope the fans like it. I’m pretty proud of every record I have done. My first record, “Transylvania,” was pretty cool. Probably because it was my first record. I never intended to be a solo artist by any means at all. I always felt like, “Oh! I’m coming off too cocky doing something like that.” The reason why I did Wednesday 13 was because Murderdolls went on hiatus. That was the only reason that ever happened. I think I put out a couple of really cool records. If I had to pick … I would say … I don’t know man … [laughs] I kind of like my second one, “Fang Bang,” a lot. That was really fun. That was a real fun, easy record to do.
The newly reformed Murderdolls are without a few of the original members. Why didn’t those guys return and who will be stepping into their shoes?
The thing was … Not to discount anything from the older guys in the band from the first lineup. It’s like I said earlier, the band was really kind of thrown together. We did our first video for “Dead in Hollywood” and the photo shoot when we never played in a room as a band together. It was basically, “Yeah! Alright guys! You have five days to rehearse. Learn these songs as a band and get on a bus and tour for a year!” If you put five guys that are pretty much strangers to each other and then you bring in a road crew, which is more strange even on a bus. You’re in a mobile morgue, which is what we called it. Our first lineup was really dysfunctional, but that’s what made the band work. No one knew it, but backstage we were just fucking at each others throats. We were throwing bottles at each other, but that’s what made the band work at that time. When it came time to do it again, Joey and I were older and at different places. We just wanted fresh blood in the camp and we wanted something that wasn’t going to be the way it was before because going back and thinking how that was, the life on the road part of it, was just something we couldn’t return to. So we wanted to get new guys. New guys on board … We have Roman Surman on lead guitar, Racci Shay Hart on drums, Jack Tankersley on bass, and of course Joey and myself.
Your new album “Women and Children Last” is due to be released on August 31. Have there been any challenges to making that album?
I don’t think it was a challenge. I definitely pushed myself harder than I ever have on any album before, lyrically and vocally. I wanted to step out of the shadow I felt like I created for myself. Plus, Joey and I wanted to take the band beyond what anyone thought we could do. Everyone would expect us to do “Beyond the Valley Part 2.” That would have been so fucking easy to do, but we didn’t want to do it this time. We really just kind of went in with these songs … We didn’t really think about the last record. We didn’t think about anything outside of those four walls we recorded in. We just made the best record we possibly could and I think that’s why the record sounds so diverse. There’s hints of the old Murderdolls’ sound in it, but it’s a whole new breed of monster this time.
I’ve had the pleasure of hearing the album and I have to say it is much heavier than the last album. In your own words, how does it differ from the band’s first album and do you think fans will be receptive to a change in your sound?
What I try to tell people or try to imagine … It was eight years ago that the first record came out. We had a lot of really young fans at the time. I imagine a lot of them have moved on. They were teenagers. You’re 14 or 15 years old, of course you’re going to change in eight years. There’s a lot of fans who have stayed around. My whole thing with the new version of Murderdolls and the whole new record is … You can sell your fans all day, they’re going to be there and that’s great and we love them, but for me I want to step out and I want to bring in new people that never gave us a shot before. Having a heavier sound, I can hear some of the old fans going, “I don’t like it. They’re too heavy.” I think the real fans are going to stay there and I think there’s a whole new army of people that have no idea who we are and we’ll be their favorite band by the end of the year. You can’t write for eight years and go, “I hope they’re still going to like it!” You’ve just got to write for yourself, make the best album you can, and hope that the fans are there for it.
The album features guest appearances by Mick Mars on the tracks “Drug Me to Hell” and “Blood Stained Valentine.” How did his involvement with the album come about and what was it like working alongside a legend of the hard rock universe?
It was a really quick way it happened. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t really anything at all. Basically what happened was … Our tour manager … We have these video things online called Mad Manager. We had this guy, our manager guy, who basically took care of us at the studio. He overheard me and Joey talking one day. We had just got through tracking those two songs you are talking about. Those are the ones Mick played on. We had done some of the basic tracks and vocals. We were getting to the solo part and they overheard me. I was like, “Yeah, this has really kind of got a Mick Mars kind of vibe to it to me.” Our manager was like, “Well I know him. Why don’t we just get him to come up here and play on the record. He lives down the street.” We were like, “Alright! Well call him!” He went outside, smoked a cigarette, and called him. He said, “Mick will be here on Saturday at 7 o’clock. Send him the songs.” We were like, “Alright!” It was great! It wasn’t like that when he came into the studio. He came in and he was one of the nicest, down to earth, and one of the most underrated fucking guys on the planet. He came in a total pro. He had four inch platforms the entire time he tracked everything, which I thought was amazing. It took a while. It wasn’t about money to him. It wasn’t about him just coming in and going, “Let me plug in and play.” He wanted his fucking stamp on it. He made sure he had the right sound. He had his right pedals and stuff. It was cool watching him work. He was telling us stories about working with Bob Rock and things like that. It was kind of surreal. I was sitting there going, “Wow! I have this guy from one of the first albums I ever heard in my life and he’s here playing on my record, telling me studio secrets from other people!” I was just like, “Wow! This is bizarre!” It was great man! He nailed it and I think you can definitely tell that’s the Mick Mars stamp on it for sure!
Is there anyone else in the music industry that you would like to collaborate with?
I keep meeting different people and stuff. I could always say Alice Cooper or something like that. I have been a fan of that guy for a couple of years now. I think that’s eventually going to happen down the road. I hope somewhere down the road. As far as working with any other people, I don’t have a list. If people mention stuff to me and I’m into it, I’ll do it. I really don’t have a set list of people I want to play with.
Is there any significance to the album’s title? How did you come up with it?
It was a complete drunken idea. The album was actually going to be called “The World According to Revenge,” which is the intro on the album. We had that and we were set on that for almost a month. Then one night I called up Joey, it was super late and I woke him up. I’m like, “Hey! I just wrote down this really funny title! What do you think about Women and Children Last?” We both just started laughing because it was a parity on the Van Halen album “Women and Children First.” Plus it just sounded like old school Murderdolls. It’s still kind of got that sense of humor and of course we thought it would piss off some people. That was the whole point of the title. If it made you laugh we did our job. If it pissed you off we did our job. That’s us still being snotty.
We hear there may be a special edition of the album released. What will be included on that version of the album?
From what I understand … I get these e-mails every day and I have to approve shit. I’m not quite sure what comes in it. We had to approve some kind of special edition in a box. There might even be two versions that come out. There are three versions. There is the original version. There’s a special edition that has a DVD that has five or six songs from our Key Club show we did a few weeks ago. It also has, I think, three bonus tracks on it. There’s also a special edition that comes in a first aid kit. I don’t know where that’s going. It has special stuff inside of it like bandages and all that kind of stuff. So it’s some other special edition version we’re working on. I’m still seeing the pictures of it and approving it.
Are you guys currently doing shows?
No. Actually I’m on the Mayhem Fest right now. Joey is playing with Rob Zombie. Roadrunner put me out on this tour for six weeks. Basically I do signings at the Roadrunner tent every day with Joey. Then I go and do press on the phone or in person at the venue for a few hours. Then I basically just hang around all night, meet people, and drink. Stuff like that. It’s a six week press tour. I just came from Europe, so by the time I’m done it will be nine full weeks of press I have done for this album.
Good god! That’s a lot of talking to people! I don’t know how you do it!
It’s a lot of talking about myself. Talking about the record. How much I like it. [laughs] Mick Mars questions. You get clever on your answers every time, but it’s great. People want to talk about it and I love the record, so I’m here to do it. I’m not complaining.
Are there any plans for a extensive tour after the record is released?
We will be on tour the day the record comes out. We will be on tour from that point on for probably a year-and-a-half straight. That’s what I try to make people understand … The last record … We put it out, we took a eight year break, we toured for a year on it. I keep telling people we are going to play everywhere we did last time and everywhere we didn’t last time. There won’t be eight years between the records this time. We made this a real band this time. It’s not a side project as it was before. As far as we’re concerned we consider this to be the first Murderdolls album. We just put so much into this record. So much thought. So much planning into the band and everything about it. So that’s where we are right now.
What should people expect from a Murderdolls live show?
We don’t really rely on anything other than our energy at the moment. We’re still a baby band. We don’t have a huge production. So we can’t come out and blow the fucking roof off the place like we want to with pyro. Since day once we’ve made it a point that we are the show. We didn’t need backdrops. We didn’t need fancy shit. We just came out and just fucking went completely insane for an hour-and-a-half every night. We relied on our energy to be our show for the most part. That’s kind of where we are coming from on this record. We’re going to start off that way. If things go great and we can work a budget, you’re going to still see us fucking go crazy on stage except we might have a little bit more fire involved.
Have you ever had a “Spinal Tap” moment on stage, where something totally unexpected has happened to you?
Oh! Absolutely! I really had a “Spinal Tap” moment. The scene where Nigel leans back and he can’t lean back up so his roadie has to come back up and lift him up because he leaned back too far on the ground. I did the same thing opening for Alice Cooper in 2006. Prior to the show, a friend of mine was on tour, we were wrestling in the hotel room and I fractured my ass bone. [laughs] Or whatever you call it … So I had a hairline fracture and I leaned back on my guitar. The pain got so intense I couldn’t get back up. So he had to run out on stage and actually lift me up from my back exactly like it was on “Spinal Tap,” except I actually had a hairline fracture in my fucking ass bone.
That’s hilarious! [laughs]
[laughs] That was as “Spinal Tap” as it gets. It was verbatim. I was looking over at my tech going, “Help! Help! Help! I’ve got to sing this next verse! Pick me up!”
That’s probably one of the best answers we have ever gotten from the question! [laughs]
Do you have anything that you consider the defining moment of your musical career?
Every band that puts a record out thinks that the last one they did is their best. I don’t want to be cliche, but the energy and everything that was put into this record is without a doubt my favorite. I’ve never put so much into a record in my life. Just the anticipation of it coming out next month and the reaction we have gotten from the press so far … It feels like we are sitting on something good. It feels better than it did last time. I really hope this record defines me. Hopefully people will learn who Wednesday 13 is off of this record.
What is the biggest misconception about yourself?
I guess the horror movie tag-line, which is great. I pretty much painted myself into that corner and I’m proud of it. People just think I am constantly do nothing but watch fucking “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” because I’m covered in tattoos of horror movies and all of my songs in that past have been about movies and things like that. I just think people think that I do that 24/7, when 90 percent of the time I’m watching comedy movies. Old stuff like “The Jerk,” “Airplane,” and “Raising Arizona.” Movies like that. People think I come on the bus, I sit in a dark corner, and I play Gothic music. I actually go on the bus, make a drink, crank up fucking KISS, and watch “Airplane” in the background. [laughs] I feel that’s the biggest misconception, that I’m this goth guy. I didn’t know what the fucking word goth meant until The Murderdolls came out. Then I was like, “OK! I guess we’re goth!” I thought it was punk, rock and roll. I don’t try to give stuff a label.
What is the best piece of advice someone has given you along the way in your career?
Ugh! I’ve gotten a lot of great advice from people. I don’t know if I could pick out one single thing. I think just for myself, I’ve been the best coach for myself over the years. I’ve been through every fucking thing. I started playing music when I was 13 and I’ll be 34 next month. I’ve scummed it out in the clubs for years. I’ve been fortunate enough to play on stages with some of my favorite people ever. I’ve been a great coach for myself. I never gave up, no matter how dark or how low it got. Believe me, it’s been a roller coaster. I’ve made money. I’ve lost money. I’ve been through it all. Married. Not married. Kids. You know, everything! I think just me coaching myself and going, “You know what? Dude, you’ve got to plow through this! Troop on!” That’s my thing. Just keep going. Don’t let anything ever discourage you.
Is that the advice you would have for someone who is just starting a career in the music industry?
Absolutely! You’ve got to fucking believe in yourself more than anything. I’ve been a believer in what I do for many, many years. That’s how I believe I got here. I’ve had help along the way, but I never gave up. In the middle of the darkest hour I was like, “Nope!” I’m an optimistic guy. If something breaks down, I don’t sit there and complain about why it broke down. I try to figure out how to fix it. That’s how I’ve been my whole life. For anyone getting into the business … I try to tell people, “If you’re not into this for the fucking long haul. If you’re not willing to live out of a suitcase for the rest of your life and probably lose everything and gain everything you’ve ever wanted all at the same time, then stay away from the music business.” It’s a circus, but it’s all I know and I love it. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I have no backup plans at all.
Is there anything else you want to add or let your fans know before you go?
I’d like to say thanks to all of the fans for the years of support. It’s been a while since the last Murderdolls record, but I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised with it. We’re back. This is not a side project anymore. I just want to tell people this is a real band. Look for us everywhere. We’re coming for you!
Thanks for taking so much time out of your day to talk to us. We wish you all the best.
Head over toARTISTdirect.com now to see the premiere of Murderdolls‘ brand new video for “My Dark Place Alone”, the lead single from their upcoming August 31st release Women and Children Last. The darkvideo features Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison, with their new band members (guitarist Roman Surman, bassist Jack Tankersley and drummer Racci Shay Hart) covered in sludge with spinning cinematography by acclaimed director Paul Brown. Women and Children Last is available for pre-order at here.
The charismatic and complex singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig is set to unleash his first new Danzig studio album in six years. Deth Red Sabaoth, produced by Glenn and recorded in Los Angeles over the course of 2009, will be released on June 22, 2010 (Evilive/The End Records).
The 11-track collection, penned by Danzig, is laced with Glenn’s lycanthropic growls and blues-infected wailing. Tracks including “Black Candy, “The Revengeful,” and “On A Wicked Night,” emit a spectral glow to rival the highest points in Danzig’s colossal discography. Part I of the exquisite two-part “Pyre of Souls” opens with acoustic guitar, haunting piano, Glenn’s plainsong vocal, and an almost dirge-like feel; Part II explodes with electric guitars and a driving, mesmerizing cadence.
“I think that fans will really dig this new album,” said Glenn. “I’ve been told several times that the album has a cool vitality to it, that it sounds energized, and I got that feeling when I was recording it. I wanted to have an organic sound, bigger and thicker, so I went out and bought some 1970′s Kustom tuck ‘n roll bass amps to play some of the guitar parts through. You’ll hear real reverb, real tremolo on this album, which sounds completely different than the stuff that’s done with computer chips.”
Joining Glenn in the studio for the recording of Deth Red Sabaoth were guitarist Tommy Victor (Prong, Ministry), a Danzig cohort on and off since 1996, and drummer Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Seventh Void). While Kelly has toured with Glenn intermittently since 2002, this is the first time he has recorded with the band. Glenn handled the bass chores for most the album, and played drums on “Black Candy.”
As with all of Danzig’s releases, the CD cover artwork for Deth Red Sabaoth is provocative and ominous. The cover is an original piece created specifically for the CD by the award-winning artist Joe Chiodo, whose work has graced not only Danzig’s Verotik publishing line, but also the covers of numerous graphic novels and comic books, including “X-Men Unlimited.” Deth Red Sabaoth isn’t the first time one of Chiodo’s paintings has been part of a Danzig package – one of his erotic “good girl” pinups was part of 2007′s The Lost Tracks of Danzig.
Deth Red Sabaoth marks Danzig’s ninth studio venture that began back in 1988 with the Rick-Rubin produced, Platinum-certified Danzig. A live version of his oedipal projectile “Mother,” was a major hit, and added to his iconic status that began a decade earlier when he founded the near-mythic punk band Misfits and then Samhain. Sales of ten-million albums later, and having been dubbed “goth-punk’s godfather” by SPIN, Glenn Danzig is arguably the most versatile talent to emerge from hardcore’s first wave, and truly is a renaissance man – a graphic designer, photographer, comic book publisher and composer. His venture into composing and recording classical music yielded Black Aria, that debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Classical charts, and Black Aria II, that had Glenn sharing the Billboard/Classical’s Top Ten with Itzhak Perlman and Andrea Bocelli. His indelible stamp is on artists like Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails, and he has written songs that have been sung by a diverse array of artists, from Metallica to Johnny Cash.
Over his decades-long career, Glenn Danzig’s intense musical and lyrical statements have left a permanent mark on rock music, and continue to do so going into the 21st century. Danzig’s song, “13,” originally written for Johnny Cash and then recorded for Glenn’s own Satan’s Child, was the opening song in last year’s box office smash and Golden Globe winner, “The Hangover.”
Danzig – Glenn, guitarist Tommy Victor, drummer Johnny Kelly and bassist Steve Zing – also an original member of Samhain with Glenn – plan to tour extensively to support Deth Red Sabaoth; dates will be announced shortly.
Often described as “the best kept secret in modern country music,” Jesse Dayton has achieved a level of success that most people can only dream about. Armed with an eclectic musical background and collaborations with artists such as Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and The Supersuckers, Jesse has truly made a name for himself in the music industry. The Austin, Texas-based guitar slinger has also found further musical success in the film and television industries. Directors and producers have been knocking on Jesse’s door for years, asking him to be a part their projects. Rob Zombie took notice of Dayton’s talent and recruited him for two of his films. Jesse is responsible for creating the music of Banjo & Sullivan in The Devil’s Rejects and most recently took on the role of bringing Captain Clegg to life in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II. Humbled by his success, Jesse believes that his career is the result of proper timing, a little bit of luck, and the support he has received from his cult following of fans. Steve Johnson of Icon vs Icon catches up with Jesse to discuss his long career, the current state of country music, the creation of Captain Clegg & The Night Creatures, his upcoming tour with Rob Zombie, and the fact he may be booked up solid for the rest of his life during the month of October! Are you phantom jammers ready to begin? Yes? Well then, I give you Jesse Dayton!
Where did you grow up?
I was born down in Beaumont, Texas. On the Texas, Louisiana border. A big Cajun music kind of scene down there. It was a great place to grow up. I have been coming to Austin all my life. So I live in Austin, Texas. That’s where I live because there’s such a burgeoning music scene. It’s kind of a liberal hub of the south, if you will.
How did music first come into your life?
Man, all kinds of stuff happened. My parents are big music fans. My whole family went to the University of Texas. They used to take me to these incredible concerts in Austin when I was a kid. It was very much like San Francisco was. We’d go to The Armadillo Palace when I was a little kid and see Willie, Waylon, Miles Davis, and Frank Zappa all on the same bill. I grew up on big doses of honky tonk music, Cajun music, and rhythm and blues. Stuff like that. Then when I got older, of course I got introduced to punk rock. I just had to immediately start rebelling against the family. [laughs]
How did you get your start in the music industry?
Man, I did all kinds of stuff. I got a record deal when I was pretty young. One thing that really helped me tremendously was a fluke. I was in Nashville and I was doing this TV interview that Kris Kristofferson was on. Waylon Jennings and his wife Jessi Colter were watching the show that I was on because they were watching for Kris. They were good friends with Kristofferson. They saw me on there and while they were watching the show, Waylon cut his finger in the kitchen while he was cooking. The next morning as I was leaving my hotel, I got a phone call saying Waylon Jennings saw me on the television show, would I come down and play guitar for him. So I started playing guitar for Waylon Jennings. That led to a whole bunch of stuff. The day that I got to the studio, Johnny Cash opened the door to the studio. He hung out with us all day, so I played with him. I played with Waylon. I got a job playing with Ray Price. I played on some Willie stuff. It just kind of snowballed after that. I was this young kid who played guitar, who was from Texas. I just got introduced to everybody in a real cool way.
Your music has been described as everything from honky tonk and rockabilly, to Americana and speed-country. For people who aren’t familiar with your music, what would you classify yourself as?
Aw man, I hate to classify. It’s really hard for me and always has been for me to put a label on it. It’s so many things from American music and I just kind of make them into hybrids. It’s just got a lot of different stuff. Honky tonk, blues, punk, psychobilly, and all kinds of stuff.
You are often referred to as “the best kept secret in modern country music.” What are your thoughts on that statement?
Well it’s kind of interesting. I never really tried to appeal to the mainstream country radio people. I think because of that, that’s where I kind of got that response. A lot of those people end up liking me after they hear me. To lump me in with whoever is on modern country radio would be a huge mistake. My music is just way more gritty and more hardcore. It kind of freaks me out when people call me country because people immediately think of who’s on country music today. I think modern country music today sucks. It’s Nashville factory. Real safe, middle of the road, pop music that has very, very little to do with country music.
What do you attribute the longevity of your career to?
Man I don’t know. I somehow built a cult following of fans and I really attribute my career to them. I could somehow go on tour and play and people show up. I’ve never had to do anything super mainstream. I think a lot of it is just me going out and playing for all of those years and building up that cult following. It was always something that no record company or radio station could ever take away from me.
Being in the music industry as long as you have, are there still surprises?
Yeah. The music business is about the most cutthroat business I can think of. The thing that surprises me is the lowest depths of misery that these labels will go to prefab some artist and put them out there, and then people buy it. That is what surprises me.
What do you consider the defining moment of your career so far?
Man, I don’t know. I’ve had a lot of good things happen to me. When I made records with all of these legendary outlaw country guys, I think those will probably go down in history. Somebody will probably pick up that Jesse Dayton played guitar on that. That was a big deal. There’s been all kinds of deals. I played at the inaugural ball. I met the president. I don’t know… There’s been so many great things that have happened. Somehow people in the film industry have really taken to me. That has always given me kind of a leg up. I’ve had a lot of songs in a lot of films, TV shows, and stuff like that. One thing that happened with me is that I was one of the first artists seven or eight years ago to go to a major label and ask to be let off the label so I could start my own record label. They all thought I was crazy. Of course the house of cards totally fell and the record business went under. It helped me pin point who my audience was and who I wanted to play for. I think the defining thing of me and my career is probably when I took a hold of my career and started doing what I wanted, instead of doing what labels wanted me to do.
If someone were to go out and pick up just one of your albums, which one would you recommend and why?
‘The Country Soul Brother’ record is probably a pretty good starter kit. It’s got all of the stuff in it that I think appeals to different fans. We have a lot of rock n’ roll fans, in the same way that Waylon sold to a lot of rock n’ roll fans. We have such an edge to our music. ‘The Country Soul Brother’ record has that edge throughout the whole thing. It’s got some real aggressive guitar playing. I appeal to a lot of different people for different reasons. There are some people that come out just to listen to my guitar playing because they are guitar freaks. There are some people that come out who just want to hear that outlaw, crazy country, something different than what they hear on the radio. Then there’s the girls. [laughs]
You recently released a Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures album. How did that come about?
It was such a cool deal. I had done the Banjo & Sullivan record for ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ movie. It came about in a real wild way. Rob called me and said, “Hey, we’re making this crazy white trash horror movie called ‘The Devil’s Rejects’. We think your music would be perfect. Would you be interested in doing this fake CD for Banjo & Sullivan?” I was like, “Yeah! Sure!” So I flew out to L.A. and I wrote a bunch of songs. I took them to Rob. I went into his office, it was the first time I ever met him. He died laughing listening to all of the lyrics. He just thought it was really cool, so we put out that record. The record did pretty good. Then he calls me when I am playing with Social Distortion in a theater in Hollywood. He calls me and he’s like, “Are you in L.A. right now?” I’m like, “Yeah.” He goes, “Me and Sheri are going to come down.” I was like, “OK!” It was kind of a big deal. The show I was playing with Social Distortion was real cool. Everybody was kind of freaking out because Rob and Sheri were coming backstage. Rob and Sheri come backstage and we hang out for a while. He’s like, “Hey man, I’m doing this new movie and I think I want to put you in it.” I was like, “Great!” I was like, “Sign me up man!” He watches the show and when he saw that show, that must have been where he got the idea to do the Phantom Jam scene. It was a really cool show that night. We had tons of people there just freaking out and singing along to our stuff. It was a very edgy, kind of punk rock crowd. Anyway, he called me later and said, “Hey. I want you and your band to be in the movie. I want you to play this new character. The movie is going to be ‘Halloween II’.” I was like, “Holy shit!” I was like, “Right on man!” Immediately we started to email each other song ideas back and forth. Rob was very much the person who came up with all of this. He came up with the idea for the name of the band, which he took from an old English horror movie. We started talking about hybrid music ideas. What would it be like if Buck Owens did an Iggy Pop song? What would it be if we mixed The Misfits with The Cramps? There were all of these different ideas. I just wrote all of these ideas down and I got in the car and drove to New Orleans. I checked into this haunted hotel called the Lamothe House on Esplanade Avenue and I wrote all of these songs in like two days.
What has it been like working with Rob?
Rob is the greatest. He’s a sweetheart. He’s a real nice guy and he’s very much all about ideas and art. Things don’t really turn him on. What turns him on is ideas and art. You talk about somebody who’s got some integrity. When it comes to his vision, he won’t back down for anything. Working with him… He creates a really nice vibe on the set. We did two days that were over fifteen hours long when we filmed the Phantom Jam. We went and filmed other stuff besides that that didn’t make it in the movie, which will probably make it on the DVD. The two days we did the Phantom Jam, we’re out in the middle of Georgia in this super hot barn. He’s got it all decorated like it’s a club that’s in hell. It just looks unbelievable. There was me and like four hundred extras and the crew. I didn’t hear anyone bitch the whole time. That’s just unbelievable. That’s just unbelievable man! I mean we’re in there sweating our asses off dude. It is like one hundred and five degrees in the place. We’re all made up, perfectly coiffed, with these incredible costumes on. The vibe that Rob creates on the set, it’s like no one wants to let him down. He’s just a good dude. No one bitched the whole time. I thought about that afterward and I was like, “Wow! That’s unbelievable!”
Are there any noticeable differences between Rob Zombie the musician and Rob Zombie the director?
You know, I don’t really see any differences. I think for him, it’s probably all just art. Rob’s a multi-level kind of guy. He does art and shit that’s incredible. He whipped out the artwork for the Banjo & Sullivan record himself, like it was nothing. I don’t think he sees a difference between making music, directing, drawing, and producing. The guy is a multi-talented guy and he just tries to go for what’s honest. That usually ends up being very cool. You know what I mean?
Definitely! I enjoy his movies a lot. I definitely liked this new one even though the so-called critics panned the hell out of it.
The thing is, it’s real easy to beat up on a horror movie guy. Let’s face it man, Rob’s movies are really about escapism. Rob doesn’t just make movies, he makes whole worlds. No director goes to the plane of being that elaborate to where you make your own fake TV commercials, fake TV shows, and you invent fans. Directors don’t think like that. The difference between Rob and most directors is that most directors are usually super geeky film guys, where as Rob Zombie is a cool guy that chicks are crazy about! [laughs] When people pan his movie, I think there’s got to be some kind of jealousy in there for that guy. He’s an animal man. He’s non-stop, constantly inventing and doing shit. I think people who pan his movies are just kind of jealous of him.
Did you have any input into the look of Captain Clegg and the rest of the band or did Rob have that laid out for you?
We talked about it. He had the idea. I was like, “Yeah, that’s cool man!” When we first came out with pictures of the band, a lot his crowd said, “You look like The Ghastly Ones.” Rob was like, “No! They look like The Damned!” Rob was like, “That’s where they got that look dude, The Damned. OK!” If anybody took the look from anybody, it was from The Damned. He just wanted something that was totally creepy and kind of like grave digger. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the background bio that he wrote for Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures. Rob Zombie actually sat down and wrote that shit out man. That’s just crazy. We’re four grave diggers from Sherman, Texas who decided to start a band. It’s crazy. I read it and I just busted out laughing. Everybody in his movie has these incredible back stories.
I do enjoy the fact that he takes these characters and gives them these huge back stories that you’ve never had before, especially in this new ‘Halloween.’
It’s cool. It helps actors. It helps people realize who they are. It gives you a sense of what he wants. There’s nothing worse than working with somebody who doesn’t know what they want.
Whose idea was it to come up with a full album of material and release it separate from the film’s soundtrack?
It was Rob’s idea. We didn’t know how we were going to do it. We didn’t know if we were going to get a big label to put it out. Universal put out Banjo & Sullivan. Rob was like, “How are you doing on your own label?” I said, “Man, my label is doing great!” He goes, “Why don’t we resurrect my label Zombie A Go-Go.” I didn’t know the name of it until after I wrote the song by the way. It was totally a fluke. So we made a deal. Rob let me put it out on my own label imprint with his label, which shows you how cool he is. He didn’t have to do that. He really gave me a piece of the album. If the record goes good, I’ll do really well. The record has been doing really well.
I actually downloaded it last week off of iTunes.
They’re playing it a lot on satellite radio. The buzz is spreading. Every day I jump on my Facebook or MySpace and somebody talks about how they just heard it on the radio.
Were there any challenges to making the music/album?
Yeah, there were. Like I said, it’s only difficult doing stuff like that when you don’t really know what your director wants. Rob gave me all these ideas. He would text message me. We made the video for Zombie A Go Go. Rob would text message me back, “Just saw some of the footage from the video. Needs more blood and gore! Ha Ha Ha!” Then he’d text message me later and he’d go, “What do you think about a bouncing skull, like a bouncing ball following the bouncing skull for the chorus?” Just hilarious stuff. I just made it happen man. I called some friends of mine here that are in the Austin film scene and said, “Hey! Rob Zombie wants a bouncing skull. Can you animate that for me?” It was just all fun man. The thing that you can see with Rob and his fans too, is that little inner kid inside of you gets to come out and really get mischievous and really have a good time. We’re hoping the record does that. The big news that we got and I can’t release any dates, is that Captain Clegg is going on tour with Rob Zombie. It’s going to be amazing bro. We are going to go out as Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures and play these big huge places every night and open up for him. It’s going to be amazing.
Speaking of your tour, are you going to have the go-go dancers up there with you?
I am! I’m bringing the go-go dancers with me. I’m bringing a pedal steel guitar player and The Night Creatures, the three guys backing me up. We’re doing all kinds of crazy shit. Since we only have one record of material, in the middle of certain songs we put in other people’s songs. In the middle of ‘Creeps For Cushing’ we bust into ‘War Pigs’ by Black Sabbath. Then on another song, in the middle of ‘Zombie A Go Go’ we break into ‘Hybrid Moments’ by The Misfits. It’s just a fun set. It’s like a whirlwind set. I’m excited.
You mentioned the ‘Zombie A Go Go’ video. Can we expect anymore videos from Captain Clegg?
I don’t know if you knew this, but before we did the Phantom Jam scene Rob flew us to Florida and we made videos for every song on the record in a civil war graveyard. Rob is telling me that he is going to have all of this footage of Clegg and the Night Creatures on the DVD. We’re talking about actually doing a Clegg and the Night Creatures Psychobilly EP for Christmas. Like the most fucked up Christmas album you’ve ever heard in your life. I think the world could use one right now. Really, just totally unchristian Christmas record.
Do you think you will have time to breathe for the rest of your life during the month of October?
Oh man! I know we’re playing with Rob on Halloween night. As soon as the movie came out the Halloween offers started pouring in. I hope I don’t man. I hope I am swamped every year in October with Captain Clegg stuff. The cool thing about the Clegg music and the record is that it’s such a party record. It is a record to just get down and dirty and drink and party. That’s what kind of record it is. I think we’re going to be pretty much booked on Halloween for the rest of my life bro. [laughs]
What do you hope that people come away with after listening to your music or seeing your live performance?
My favorite thing that happens is when people come up and they go, “You know I’m not really into country or rockabilly, but I like this guy because he was edgy and different and he put on a good show.” That’s the highest compliment I could ever get from anybody. Like somebody who wouldn’t necessarily be into that music, but saw us and just converted.
Ever had a “Spinal Tap Moment” on stage?
Oh yeah man! One time I was playing in Hollywood and I fell off the stage and I fell into a box that held a bunch of microphones and it got stuck perfectly on my ass. When I stood up I had this box on my ass. Quentin Tarantino and Warren G were in the crowd in the front row. A musician named Dave Alvin actually pulled the box off of my ass. It was one of those devastating moments. I was like, “Oh well! I can’t do anything about it! I guess I’ll have a shot and keep rocking out!” Dude when you play thousands of shows, when you play two hundred shows a year, there’s going to be shit that goes wrong. It’s all in good fun man.
Other than the tour with Rob, what’s next for you and your band?
I’ve got some more stuff coming out in Rob’s animated movie. Supposedly they animated me as Adam Banjo and I get to sing ‘Dick Soup’ in the movie. What we’re talking about doing is a Captain Clegg versus the Zombies grind-house b-movie in New Orleans. This will be a thing that me and a buddy of mine, who is a film guy here in Austin, are working on. I’m going to have another Jesse Dayton record coming out at some point. Right now I just need to focus on getting ready for this tour because it’s going to be a humongous tour.
Do you have an advice for anyone who would like to get involved in the music industry?
Yeah man! The best advice for people getting involved in the music industry is to just treat it like you treat anything else. Just be honest with yourself. If you work and you play a ton of gigs, all this other success stuff will come. I’ll tell you one thing, being in the music business, you’ve got to be a lifer. It ain’t for the weak of heart.
That’s good advice. That’s basically what I have been hearing from everyone that I have interviewed. You’ve got to go balls out or go home!
Yeah! Same thing with acting or anything. One of my best friends in the world is Lew Temple. He was the guy that puked on the bed in ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ and he was the guard that raped the girl in the last ‘Halloween’. Lew calls me the other day and goes, “Man, you’ll never guess what happened.” I said, “What?” He said, “I met Tony Scott. I just got cast in a big character actor part opposite Denzel Washington in the new Tony Scott thriller.” I was like, “Wow!” Lew’s been at it in acting as long as I have been at it in music. He just never gave up man. Now he finally got this big, huge part in this movie. It just pays off man.
Is there anything else you want to add or let your fans know?
Be sure to visit www.captainclegg.com. You can go on iTunes and get the record now. The record will be in stores any day now. It can be found at most of the independent music stores and Hot Topic.
Thanks for your time and best of luck!
You got it man! Thanks a lot!
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For all the latest information on Captain Clegg And The Night Creatures, be sure to swing on by the official site at www.captainclegg.com!
We actually just saw David Johansen at a local coffee shop last weekend.
Your new album “Women and Children Last” is due to be released on August 31. Have there been any challenges to making that album?
It was a really quick way it happened. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t really anything at all. Basically what happened was … Our tour manager … We have these video things online called Mad Manager. We had this guy, our manager guy, who basically took care of us at the studio. He overheard me and Joey talking one day. We had just got through tracking those two songs you are talking about. Those are the ones Mick played on. We had done some of the basic tracks and vocals. We were getting to the solo part and they overheard me. I was like, “Yeah, this has really kind of got a Mick Mars kind of vibe to it to me.” Our manager was like, “Well I know him. Why don’t we just get him to come up here and play on the record. He lives down the street.” We were like, “Alright! Well call him!” He went outside, smoked a cigarette, and called him. He said, “Mick will be here on Saturday at 7 o’clock. Send him the songs.” We were like, “Alright!” It was great! It wasn’t like that when he came into the studio. He came in and he was one of the nicest, down to earth, and one of the most underrated fucking guys on the planet. He came in a total pro. He had four inch platforms the entire time he tracked everything, which I thought was amazing. It took a while. It wasn’t about money to him. It wasn’t about him just coming in and going, “Let me plug in and play.” He wanted his fucking stamp on it. He made sure he had the right sound. He had his right pedals and stuff. It was cool watching him work. He was telling us stories about working with Bob Rock and things like that. It was kind of surreal. I was sitting there going, “Wow! I have this guy from one of the first albums I ever heard in my life and he’s here playing on my record, telling me studio secrets from other people!” I was just like, “Wow! This is bizarre!” It was great man! He nailed it and I think you can definitely tell that’s the Mick Mars stamp on it for sure!
We hear there may be a special edition of the album released. What will be included on that version of the album?
Have you ever had a “Spinal Tap” moment on stage, where something totally unexpected has happened to you?
What is the biggest misconception about yourself?
The charismatic and complex singer/songwriter 
Where did you grow up?
You are often referred to as “the best kept secret in modern country music.” What are your thoughts on that statement?
It was such a cool deal. I had done the Banjo & Sullivan record for ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ movie. It came about in a real wild way. Rob called me and said, “Hey, we’re making this crazy white trash horror movie called ‘The Devil’s Rejects’. We think your music would be perfect. Would you be interested in doing this fake CD for Banjo & Sullivan?” I was like, “Yeah! Sure!” So I flew out to L.A. and I wrote a bunch of songs. I took them to Rob. I went into his office, it was the first time I ever met him. He died laughing listening to all of the lyrics. He just thought it was really cool, so we put out that record. The record did pretty good. Then he calls me when I am playing with Social Distortion in a theater in Hollywood. He calls me and he’s like, “Are you in L.A. right now?” I’m like, “Yeah.” He goes, “Me and Sheri are going to come down.” I was like, “OK!” It was kind of a big deal. The show I was playing with Social Distortion was real cool. Everybody was kind of freaking out because Rob and Sheri were coming backstage. Rob and Sheri come backstage and we hang out for a while. He’s like, “Hey man, I’m doing this new movie and I think I want to put you in it.” I was like, “Great!” I was like, “Sign me up man!” He watches the show and when he saw that show, that must have been where he got the idea to do the Phantom Jam scene. It was a really cool show that night. We had tons of people there just freaking out and singing along to our stuff. It was a very edgy, kind of punk rock crowd. Anyway, he called me later and said, “Hey. I want you and your band to be in the movie. I want you to play this new character. The movie is going to be ‘Halloween II’.” I was like, “Holy shit!” I was like, “Right on man!” Immediately we started to email each other song ideas back and forth. Rob was very much the person who came up with all of this. He came up with the idea for the name of the band, which he took from an old English horror movie. We started talking about hybrid music ideas. What would it be like if Buck Owens did an Iggy Pop song? What would it be if we mixed The Misfits with The Cramps? There were all of these different ideas. I just wrote all of these ideas down and I got in the car and drove to New Orleans. I checked into this haunted hotel called the Lamothe House on Esplanade Avenue and I wrote all of these songs in like two days.
Are there any noticeable differences between Rob Zombie the musician and Rob Zombie the director?
Whose idea was it to come up with a full album of material and release it separate from the film’s soundtrack?
You mentioned the ‘Zombie A Go Go’ video. Can we expect anymore videos from Captain Clegg?
Ever had a “Spinal Tap Moment” on stage?
That’s good advice. That’s basically what I have been hearing from everyone that I have interviewed. You’ve got to go balls out or go home!
