Category Archives: Interviews

Julianna Barwick offers and ambient chill on “Nepenthe” tour

On her previous releases, Julianna Barwick has composed ethereal soundscapes out of loops and other atmospheric sounds with little, if any, input from anyone else. While those works are definite explorations of Barwick’s imaginative look at the world, last year’s Nepenthe takes her away from her comfort zone, literally and figuratively, as she traveled to Iceland to work with Sigur Rós collaborator Alex Somers to create a more extravagant album that is simultaneously deft and deeply mesmerizing. Braving the winter climates once again, Barwick takes a moment during her current North American tour to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture.

On Nepenthe, you’ve gone from recording alone in your bedroom to traveling to Iceland to work with Alex Somers. How did that collaboration come about?

Alex Somers makes music with Jónsi as Jónsi & Alex to make Riceboy Sleeps and things like that. He also mixes and records and is heavily involved with Sigur Rós, but he’s not an official member of Sigur Rós. But I got an email three years ago from Alex and it said, “I really like your stuff. Would you ever want to do anything?” I immediately responded and said, “Yes!” We talked for about a year and made plans for me to come to Iceland and make the record. So that’s how it started, with an email. I went over there twice, in February for a couple weeks and in April for six weeks. I was finishing up touring for The Magic Place in 2011 and Alex and I were talking all year. Then we made plans to work on it at the beginning of 2012.

Speaking of The Magic Place, it’s about a tree from your childhood that, in your mind, had rooms and other magical features. Your work is dominated by themes of seeing more than what is physically visible, and the ambient approach you take allows the listener to do the same thing with your music, especially on Nepenthe. Is this a sense you’re trying to convey to your listeners or is that just the way your creative mind works?

Photo by Shawn Brackbill.

I’ve just always had a deep love of imagination and things that are magical, or feel magical, like that tree when I was a kid. Things that are full of wonder, I really like things like that. Maybe it comes from my love of things that are magical. I’ve always had a pretty good imagination and I think that comes in handy when you’re sort of tapped into your own world and making your own stuff.

Nepenthe is fleshed out a little more than your previous work, with a lot of additional musicians and the influence of your Icelandic surroundings. How much would you say this unfamiliar environment affected the sound of the album, given that you usually work alone in your bedroom or smaller studio?

It made a huge, huge difference. That’s why when I started work on recreating these songs live for the tour, it was pretty daunting. With the previous albums, I made them 100 percent on my own, basically bedroom style. With this record I had Alex producing, Amiina playing strings, Icelandic teenage girls singing with me and Robbie from múm playing guitar. So it was pretty much the antithesis from the way I’d made my other albums. It was completely different and it was a dream come true to go to a place like Iceland that I have always been curious about and work with someone like Alex, who just made the producer/songwriter relationship such a smooth and easy one. The record is music that I came up with while I was in Iceland. Everything was written there, so it’s very much a specific moment in time. Amiina and Robbie from múm contributed, but they improvised. We didn’t tell them what to play. It was almost like this magical collaborative thing. We had one day in the studio with Amiina doing string and they just listened and felt it and came up with the music right there. That’s just kind of the way this record was made. It was really intuitive for everyone. I could not have even come close to making the record sound the way it does by myself. It took all these other people lending their talents and their time.

On the song “One Half,” there are audible lyrics. I believe this is the first time you’ve released a song in this way. What was the reason for doing that on that particular song?

Photo by Shawn Brackbill.

“One Half” is actually the only caveat to what I just said about every single thing being made in Iceland. “One Half” is the one pre-existing song. I used to perform it in a different way. I made that song up years ago off the top of my head and those are the lyrics that popped out when I sang it. I just wanted to get that song on record somehow. I thought about changing the lyrics, but it’s not too lyric driven anyway. They don’t really have a meaning, or maybe they do. They’re kind of mysterious, so I just decided to keep them.

You’re playing at museums, churches and non-traditional venues such as the Goat Farm in Atlanta on this tour. Why is that? How did you go about choosing the venues for this tour?

I’ve been working with my booking agent for almost five years. I was really interested in playing non-traditional venues for this record and she reached out to the right people and it worked out. I definitely wanted to not be playing your average medium-sized rock club. I wanted to play in unusual places. I thought it would be more interesting or me and for the people seeing the show.

www.juliannabarwick.com

SnellVillain is accomplishing heroic feats in the electronic music world

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Over the past few years, SnellVillain (aka Corey Herrin) has emerged from the Atlanta dubstep scene to become one of the most sought after electro performers in the Southeast. He’s constantly bringing his bass-heavy beats to Atlanta stages and recently performed at Alex and Allyson Grey‘s Visionary Arts Fair in Asheville. Come to think of it, Wrestling with Pop Culture and SnellVillain actually have a lot in common. While we won Best Local Blog in Creative Loafing’s Best of Atlanta voting in 2012 and 2013, SnellVillain was voted Best Local DJ the same two years. And even though I’ve seen him perform a few times, it was at a WWE event where I actually met Herrin, who happens to also share some of my enthusiasm for professional wrestling. But as successful as SnellVillain’s year has been, he’s heading into 2014 with even more momentum. He performs tonight at Iris Presents‘ Christmas party before returning for Iris’ New Year’s Eve event. With new music on the horizon (including a remix that’s, uh, a Pretty big deal), SnellVillain chats with Wrestling with Pop Culture about his recent ascent and where that is taking him in the near future.

Given the stage name you use, I certainly hope you’re from Snellville.

Yeah, man. I went to Brookwood High School and lived in the Oak Road and Five Forks area. I lived there until I moved to Athens to go to school at Gainesville State.

How did you get into performing electronic music?

I went to my first alternative bass show while I was in Athens. I saw Bassnectar at the 40 Watt. I saw how open it was, people were doing their thing and there were different styles of music. I was already into a lot of music, so it piqued my interest. That was probably in late 2010 or 2011.

So, you’re still relatively new to performing. But you’ve gotten your name out there in Atlanta really well and consistently perform at the top venues for electronic music.

Yeah. Definitely, man. It’s come together really quickly in the last six months or so, even though I haven’t been doing it as long as some people.

I’ve seen you perform and seen your name around, but you and I actually met at a WWE SmackDown event at Philips Arena. Are you a wrestling fan?

Yeah. My uncle used to really be into it, so I got into it through him. I used to love Stone Cold and all that stuff back in the day, so I definitely paid attention to it until I got a little bit older. I still know who some of the wrestlers are and stuff, but I don’t follow it as much as I used to.

You were recently voted Best Local DJ by Creative Loafing readers. Atlanta has a lot of well-known DJs and electronic musicians. What would you attribute your success to?

I actually won it 2012 and 2013. But I don’t know. Things have just been going crazy since my birthday last year. I’ve been playing a lot of big shows and my production’s gotten a lot better than it used to be. I learned new techniques and better mixing abilities. I got better at mastering, too. I wasn’t really good at getting a solid product together and putting it out there before it was completely done. I’ve just been taking my time on things.

You have, of course, made a name for yourself based on live performances. But do you have any recorded releases available yet?

I’m about to release a new EP on Beatport and iTunes in early February, and I have an official release coming out with Pretty Lights. He just got nominated for a Grammy and he’s been playing my remix on tour. That’s going to be officially released with him next month, then shit’s going to get really crazy.

How did that opportunity come about?

My buddy from Atlanta just moved out there and became Pretty Lights’ assistant and got him the song. He really enjoyed it and I actually ended up winning a remix contest for him. I don’t know the exact release date, but his engineer is mastering the song right now.

It looks like you have a bunch of big shows lined up to close out 2013. Where all will you be performing in the next few weeks?

I have some really awesome shows, actually. Tonight I’m playing for Iris with Protohype from California, who is a really big bass artist. Styles&Complete are also on the bill. The weekend after that I’m playing with Adventure Club on the main stage at Opera. The following Tuesday is New Year’s Eve and I’m playing with Ott, Mantis and lots of other people at Iris. Then I play with Archnemesis, which is a really awesome electro-funk group, in January at Masquerade. Then I’ve got a bunch of music festivals lined up that I can’t actually talk about yet.

The Joy Kills are ready for Friday the 13th performance with Monstrosity Championship Wrestling

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The Joy Kills are no strangers to monsters or wrestling, and the band seems to embrace the superstitions surrounding an unlucky date such as Friday the 13th with punk rock abandon. So it only makes sense that this garage rock act join forces with Monstrosity Championship Wrestling on Dec. 13 for a high-energy holiday horror show involving demented elves, racist wolfmen, a zombie football player and other undead grapplers. Having contributed the synically seasonal “Black Friday” to Blood Drunk Records‘ Family Dinner: A Holiday Compilation, The Joy Kills’ idea of the Christmas spirit is clearly not all that different from that of MCW, which has already featured monstrous Santas in action. To preview the event at Club Famous, Wrestling with Pop Culture talks to The Joy Kills front man Eric Haugh and guitarist Mike Westberg about wrestling, the holidays and other subjects ranging from high school football accolades to potentially satanic messages being hidden in their next album.

Von Hesseling sings the “Tomorrowland Blues” with Star & Dagger

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Photo by James Culatto

Star & Dagger is a hard rocking project created by former White Zombie bassist Sean Yseult and former Cycle Sluts from Hell guitarist Dava She Wolf. That’s really all I needed to know to want to hear more. After I got my copy of the recently-released Tomorrowland Blues, I was equally impressed by the soulful vocal talents of Marcy Von Hesseling, who sounds like a cross between Johnette Napolitano and Ann Wilson after several shots of whiskey. Turns out Von Hesseling is a busy woman, running the famous New Orleans wig and makeup shop Fifi Mahony’s, creating costumes for the band’s latest video for “In My Blood” and singing for a band quickly developing a hardcore following in the rock ‘n’ roll underground. As Star & Dagger prepares for a performance at this weekend’s Housecore Horror Film Festival (and a generally chaotic week or two for New Orleans), Von Hesseling talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about horror films, hard rock and more.

You recently performed in and did costumes for a video for your song “In My Blood”. How did that turn out?

We love making videos! It’s so much fun. We always have our friend Art Haynie direct for us. He’s really good. He did our video for “Your Mama Was a Grifter”. Dava is such a huge [Stanley] Kubrick fan and we really wanted to take a lot of pages from The Shining and recreate a lot of scenes. Sean and Dava played the little girls in the blue dresses, we have the kid on the Big Wheel coming up to them, then you see a flash and you see them rocking out with their guitars and head banging. We built a maze for the maze scene and we have a frozen scene where people are frozen at the end. We did a CGI elevator scene with the blood coming out of it. We got covered in blood, which was awesome because the song is called “In My Blood”. We busted ass to get it ready for Housecore Horror Festival where we’re playing Oct. 26. We’re going to show [the video] at the film festival. It was so much fun, then we partied when it was over. Sean had a big feast for everybody at her house with tons of food and her swimming pool.

How did you get involved with the Housecore Horror Film Festival?

Photo by James Culatto.

Phil Anselmo puts it on every year and he’s a local New Orleans dude. He’s a friend and a fan, so we’re going to play Saturday, which is a great day to play because the Melvins play that day. It’s going to be lovely. It’s really built around the film festival, but there are so many horror fans out there that it’s going to be an insane weekend. We’re really happy to be there and we wanted to have the video done for submission just for fun. The Shining is one of our favorite movies and I really wanted to do the Wendy Torrance scenes. Finding Wendy Torrance clothing is impossible because nobody wants to dress like that. She’s got a corduroy overall dress, a flannel shirt, a turtleneck and a blue vest. Of course we had to have every little detail right. Dava was like, “We have to have the Calumet bottle and the exact typewriter.” So it was a lot of work, but definitely work that I think is going to be really cool.

In addition to helping with the costumes for the video, you also work at a wig and makeup shop called Fifi Mahony’s. What do you do there?

It’s my shop and Halloween is a crazy time of year for me. We have really wacky wigs and awesome makeup and crazy people that come in and shop with us.

It sounds like Halloween is a big time of year for you for many reasons. What do you have planned for Halloween this year?

I like when Halloween night is on a weeknight because we get so many tourists that come for the weekend, then leave Halloween for the locals. That’s kind of amazing because then you don’t have to fight for a seat at the bar. We played the Voodoo Festival last year, which was fun. This year we decided to do the Housecore Horror Fest. So now we’ll have the weekend when all the tourists come, then we’ll have Halloween, then I think we have Voodoo Fest after Halloween. So it’s a long month!

Given who is in your band and the things that interest you, it seems like wrestling might also be something Star & Dagger has been involved with in some way.

I’m surprised we haven’t gotten any kind of calls for that. Our last video was a total takeoff on Russ Meyer films and we had an epic wrestling scene in the desert where we wrestled this girl to the ground. It was fabulous. Then we put her in a trunk. I guess it looked so real that we had these guys who were dirt biking up on these hills while we were in the valley. We were out in the middle of nowhere and when we get the girl in the trunk I shoved a wig on her head and smeared lipstick on her (very Fifi Mahony’s) and these guys come zooming down out of the hills because they really thought we were hurting her. They asked her if she was OK. I don’t know what they thought we were doing, but it was hilarious. We were convincing enough with our fake wrestling moves!

We know a good bit about where your bandmates came from, but how did you get involved with Star & Dagger?

I lived in San Francisco for a long time and was in a hard rock band out there called Hate Holiday for about ten years. We played every weekend, played every New Year’s Eve, but there was so much music going on in the ’90s in San Francisco it was awesome. I remember seeing Sean and Dava play. I didn’t know them, they weren’t friends of mine, but I was a fan of White Zombie. Sean moved to New Orleans in 1996, I moved here in ’97 and we just met one night out at a bar. She knew I sang and that I had done rock ‘n’ roll before. Her husband’s in a band called Supagroup and I did some backup stuff with them. When Sean started this band with Dava, they were in New York at a party and met Lenny Kaye. Lenny Kaye was like, “You guys should do a band together.” They were like, “Yeah, why don’t we do a band together? Let’s see if we can play together.” They played together really fast and wrote five songs really quickly. Neither of them really wanted to sing, so they called me over. You’ve got to really want to be in a band because it’s a shitload of work. It’s like joining a gang. You can’t just be like, “Oh, yeah. Let’s just fuck around and do it every once in a while.” It’s all or nothing. So when I heard the music I said, “I like this. I love you guys.” I’m great friends with them. We travel a lot together and we get along really well, so it just fit. We have a great time together. We’re writing a lot of new stuff. We wrote that album pretty fast and recorded it really quickly and just got out there and started playing. And it doesn’t hurt to have Sean in your band. She’s a really great performer, she’s a professional and she knows a lot of people. A lot of people love her because she is professional and easy to work with and fun to be around. That helps us get things like Housecore; Phil and she are great friends. People like our music, too, and that helps. But honestly, she gives us a platform that we probably wouldn’t have otherwise. We really just want to make music and have fun and there are so few women who do rock ‘n’ roll anymore that it sets us apart. That wasn’t really our impetus because none of us are super chick-like. But it just works and it’s easy to be with each other. So that’s how it started.

As the singer, do you write most of the lyrics?

Photo by Leslie Van Stelten.

I write some of them, but Dava writes most of the lyrics. She’s definitely got a more bleak world view than I do, which I love. She’s a born-and-bred New Yorker from the Bronx and she’s a misanthrope. But she’s also really witty and smart and she writes songs that are moody and cool. I like her lyrics a lot. I write lyrics every once in a while, but honestly, mine are a little pedantic compared to hers. Hers are almost like poems. Sometimes it just comes out of you and you write a song and the lyrics just work. But the way we do it is those guys write the riffs then I hear it after they record their parts. I come up with harmony and all of the melody, and I really just sing gibberish just to get a melody line down. Then I send it back to Dava and she’ll write lyrics. It’s kind of a weird way to do it. I don’t know anyone else who does it that way. But it works for us because none of us live in the same town very often – Dava’s in New York, Sean and I are in New Orleans, but Sean kind of goes back and forth to New York a lot. Writing with computers has been really liberating. I didn’t know if I’d like it or not, but I actually really do like it because you can just sit around in your house and have the freedom to sound like an idiot and work on stuff. I love to perform live. It’s so much fun to get onstage, have the camaraderie backstage with the other bands and make people perk their ears up. For some people it’s writing and getting in the studio, but I think playing live is super fun.

The Icarus Line continues to cross boundaries with “Slave Vows”

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Photo by Ward Robinson.

As The Icarus Line‘s somewhat endearingly aloof front man Joe Cardamone describes it, the band’s latest release Slave Vows “kind of slithered out over the last couple months” and “didn’t really have an official release.” From his infamous association with celebrity gossip site/record label Buddyhead to his volatile onstage antics, Cardamone embodies the underground anti-establishment attitude that has defined rock ‘n’ roll since its inception. And with the psychedelic leanings and aggressive sounds of Slave Vows (actually released in August), The Icarus Line finds itself defying categorization and being even more unorthodox than ever before. As the band embarks on a brief West Coast tour, followed by a longer European tour, Cardamone talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about the new album.

The Icarus Line has continuously been compared to Iggy and The Stooges, yet Slave Vows has a decidedly more psychedelic sound. Was that an intentional direction with this album?

I take my shirt off sometimes when I’m onstage, so I guess that makes people think we sound like The Stooges. I love The Stooges, but I don’t really think we sound like them that much, to be honest. We kind of maybe feel like them, that’s probably closer to what’s going on. So people will draw comparisons based on a feeling more than a sound a lot of the time, or at least in our case. A lot of the time finding parallels isn’t that easy. We’re not really a genre group, so sometimes they just don’t know what to make of it. Hey, I’ll take The Stooges. I don’t care.

It could be worse.

It could be way worse.

You played most of the guitar parts on this album. Was that a big difference in the writing and recording process with you handling the main guitar parts?

The only real difference with this record, more than previous records, is that my true intentions were actually committed to tape. I’ve always kind of relied on other people, or should I say delegated to them because I want everyone to share in the experience and have some sort of romantic ownership over the music because we don’t make a lot of money. By virtue of diplomacy, that’s one way to keep people involved and emotionally invested in a project if they feel like they’ve put in. But for this record there was no one around that could really do the job that I wanted done, and I was kind of sick of having to translate my ideas to people. So I just did it myself. I’m glad I did. I should have done it a long time ago, to tell you the truth.

Why is that?

I don’t know. Because I’ve just been kind of getting a Xeroxed version of my ideas for a long time, sometimes with desirable results and often with results that left me wanting. I’m pleased in the sense that exactly what I wanted to come out of the speakers is happening that way.

So that’s the case with the new album?

Yeah. That hasn’t always been the case.

Have you toured in support of this album yet or is that something that is coming up soon?

It’s coming up. We’ve played some shows and did a release celebration sort of thing and a couple of small festivals around the L.A. area. But we’re going to hit the road later in October. We’re doing the West Coast, then we’re going to the U.K. and Europe directly after that. We’re playing All Tomorrow’s Parties with Television, which will be cool. We just played a show with Primal Scream in L.A. We were actually the first and only American band that they ever took on tour in the U.K.

You’re also toured with bands such as A Perfect Circle and Killing Joke. How do these bands find out about you guys? Are they just fans of their own accord or do you have mutual friends that made those connections happen?

Fuck if I know, man. However anyone finds out about anything, I guess. Probably Facebook.

Although you don’t seem like the type of band to do very much licensing of your music, you do have an aggressive and confrontational aesthetic that might work well in certain settings. Has your music ever been used as entrance music for wrestlers/fighters or anything like that?

Photo by Ward Robinson.

Not that I know of, but it should be. I like boxing. I was always a fan of Mike Tyson in the ’80s and thought he was fucking badass. I’ve even watched some Ultimate Fighting Championship that can be entertaining to a certain extent. And I even like Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and stuff.

After the tour dates you mentioned, what’s next for The Icarus Line?

We might try to record a new record over the holidays. We’re not going to be touring then, so we can just make a new record. I mean, we made Slave Vows in about a month from start to finish. So I don’t see why we wouldn’t just do another one.

Your former guitarist Aaron North joined Nine Inch Nails a few years ago, then just kind of disappeared. Do you have any insight into his whereabouts? Is there any chance he might return to The Icarus Line at some point?

I don’t know anything about anything.

Piggy D helps bring Rob Zombie’s musical nightmares to life

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Piggy D was a gruesome presence on this year's Mayhem Festival. Photo by Jesse Pollak/Dizzy Focus.

As the longtime bassist for Rob Zombie and former guitarist for Wednesday 13, Piggy D clearly has a fondness for the type of metal that can raise the dead. But like Zombie, this little Piggy’s creative talents go far beyond the musical realm as he his creepy creations also include video and musical collaborations with Alice Cooper and album artwork for Zombie guitarist John 5. After a summer headlining the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and a performance at the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil, Piggy and the rest of Zombie’s band are in the midst of a Halloween season headlined by Zombie’s own haunted attraction the Great American Nightmare, where the band will perform on Nov. 2 before hitting the road with Korn for the Night of the Living Dreads tour. Halloween is obviously a busy time for Piggy D, which is why it’s the perfect time to hear what he recently had to talk about with Wrestling with Pop Culture.

This year was your second Mayhem Festival with Rob Zombie. How would you describe your tenure with Zombie?

It’s been seven years with Zombie, so I consider myself fairly knowledged, learned and edumacated.

On Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor you received a writing credit, plus you made a cameo in Zombie’s latest film The Lords of Salem. How does it feel to be more and more involved with Zombie’s creative process?

I was in the movie, once credited and once uncredited. I’ll give anyone a hundred bucks if they can figure out where I am. I’ve been the bass player for seven years, John 5’s been in the band for eight years and we’ve had three drummers in the last eight years. We’re hoping this one sticks around. I’ve done two studio records so far. Everybody writes songs and puts their riffs down. I think I submitted 18 songs, John probably had twice that and the song that actually made it to this record, “Lucifer Rising,” was actually written for Hellbilly 2. I had another song on that record called “The Man Who Laughs”. There are songs that’ve been kicking around for ten years. They just go in this massive catalog and sometimes we pull stuff out and dust it off and see if it fits the vibe of the record. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. So don’t throw anything away because you never know when you’re going to need it. It’s like hoarding, only it’s not Styrofoam cups and cat food cans. It’s songs.

Like Zombie, you are multi-talented when it comes to your creative endeavors. You’ve provided visual art for John 5’s albums, worked with Alice Copper and done various other creative things. How did all these collaborations come about?

Photo by Jesse Pollak/Dizzy Focus.

I try to do everything I can. I’m a horrible cook and I can’t fold clothes. I might as well have flippers. It’s just awful. But I like painting with different brushes. Videos and graphic design is stuff I’ve always been into and Alice has been a great outlet for that. I’ve studied Alice since I was a kid and probably know more about Alice Cooper than he knows about himself. I’ve done art for him, I’ve made clothes for him, I think I mowed his lawn once. So I just kind of do whatever needs to be done. It’s an easy place for me to go to. We’ve written a lot of music together, actually. Some of it’s been published and some of it hasn’t. He gives me a lot of outlets for that stuff, so it’s great.

As long as he doesn’t ask you to cook or fold laundry.

As long as he doesn’t ask me to cook or fold laundry. Them I’m going to have to call for backup.

Rob Zombie has done music for WWE, did an animated film about a luchador named El Superbeasto and has worked with wrestlers on some of his movies. Outside of your work with Zombie, have you ever done anything within the wrestling world?

No, but I wear tights. Does that count? I have a whole wardrobe case full of tights.

You used to play with Wednesday 13, who is a big Ric Flair fan.

Huge Ric Flair fan. Oh, my God.

Did Wednesday’s love of wrestling rub off on you at all?

You know, it’s a nostalgia thing for me. When I was a kid the closest I got to wrestling was Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling – GLOW, if you’re in the circle. What’s better than chicks in tights rolling around kicking the shit out of each other? Dudes in tights is great – not that there’s anything wrong with that. Did they ever make GLOW action figures?

No. But there was a GLOW documentary released recently.

I did see that. But that’s the closest I got to wrestling.

It’s been a few years since you put out a solo album of original material. Are you working on any new solo stuff?

Photo by Jesse Pollak/Dizzy Focus.

I started a project five years ago called the Haxans with a girl in England. As fate would have it, it took us five years to write a song. We’re now up to five songs in the can. What I’m hoping to do is go finish that up and put out a little EP [in between tours]. It’s different. Nothing I do sounds anything like anything I do with Zombie. It’s great because it’s just me being me, but it’s also hard to find an audience. Rob Zombie fans won’t get most of what I do, and that’s fine. Without even trying, I kind of operate a little bit outside of the system. I run my own independent label and company and when duty calls with Rob I have to put everything on hold. But I’ve been doing more producing and more writing with other bands and trying to get more into that. The Haxans has kind of trumped my solo stuff right now because it essentially is [my solo stuff]. It’s a little more mellow, a little more moody, a little more folky, I guess. It’s like dark folk, satanic folk.

What’s next for Piggy D?

We have Rob’s haunted house, the Great American Nightmare, going on for two weeks. We’re going to play the last night of that. Next year we’re probably going to start making new tracks and going to see our friends overseas.

Are you involved with the Great American Nightmare at all?

No. I’ll go, though. I’m pretty excited about it. Maybe I’ll put on a costume and scare somebody.

www.piggy-d.com

Fall Out Boy front man tries to “Save Rock and Roll” and talks pop culture

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In 2003 Fall Out Boy reached into our adolescent hearts with Take This to Your Grave. The band then took us on its musical evolution from From Under the Cork Tree to Infinty on High to the strongly debated Folie à Deux. Now, after a grueling four years, the band has returned with its newly rejoiced, long-awaited album, Save Rock and Roll, which is influenced much by the band’s desire to leave more room for the vocals and lyrics to shine through. With songs like “Young Volcanoes” screaming youth power, or the title track that preaches dedication to the legends and the force of real music (and also fittingly features the great Sir Elton John), the band enamors us once again with its metaphoric lyrics and intricate ariose melodies, treasured by the bands diverse, very passionate fan base of Diehards. And the name most definitely fits.

Before the band’s recent Atlanta performance, the back half of the stage was draped by a thin white sheet, leaving only three microphones on the front half. The lights go down, followed by an incredible roar from the crowd, and heavy strobing of colored lights revealing four familiar silhouettes. With a ready thud of bass, the curtain drops and the band opens with heavy guitar riffage. Jumping in to Infinity on High’s “Thriller”, front man Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz and guitarist Joe Trohman storm to the stage’s edge, with Andy Hurley striking the drums like a maniac. As always, the crowd goes barbaric, welcoming them back with open arms. The band performs a medley of hits fro its five albums, ending the encore with the ballad “Save Rock and Roll”, with Stump soulful on piano and the crowd chanting along with him as music legends flash across the screen behind him. “Thanks For The Memories” is next, then the show closes with “Saturday”, in which Wentz ritualistically ascends into the front row for the final chorus. With the band back on tour, Stump talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about the new album, his influences, and answers some fan questions.

The new album features all these new ideas to improve FOB’s sound. Why was now the time to change your sound instead of earlier?

I think we make a point to change up between every album. I never want to repeat myself as a writer/performer. It’s hard, too, because when you succeed one way, it’s even harder to surpass that success by doing the same thing. In that way I think I’d always prefer to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch every record.

Obviously your solo work influenced Save Rock and Roll. What else would you say influenced this album?

It’s very fascinating to hear people say that. I don’t think Save Rock and Roll was influenced by Soul Punk much at all. If anything Folie had more to do with it but Save Rock and Roll is pretty devoid of any funk influence or ’80s R&B influence. Even the synthesizers, I think people perceive the album to be more electronic than it is. Plus, the majority of the synth stuff was Joe or [producer] Butch [Walker]’s influence on this album. At it’s core this is basically a drums, bass and guitar record. I think we were trying to make something more simple. More built on leaving space for the vocals and lyrics to have their moment.

If you could be any superhero, who would it be and why?

Dark Claw because he barely exists. Look him up. Holy smokes.

What’s your favorite part about Atlanta?

My aunt Ginny lives here. She’s pretty much the coolest person I know.

What’s your favorite Save Rock and Roll song to perform?

I love playing the title track. I look forward to it every night. I feel like most of the show is me waiting to play that.

Do you think you’d be a Sith Lord or a Jedi?

Come on. Anyone who’s met me knows I’m, like, way Jedi. I think that’s probably my lot in life; I’m not cool and loner enough to be Han, or dark and brooding enough to be Anakin. I’d be like Luke – heart of gold, pretty good at what he does, but soooooo whiney. Seriously, Luke. Chill out, man.

What do you have to say to your Diehards?

It’s pretty awesome to be able to come back, but it’s even cooler to have an audience waiting for us when we did. So I’d just like to thank everybody for coming out and caring still. We love making music and we owe so much to you guys.

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