Category Archives: Musical Musings

The Melvins take on Unsane in a “Cage Match”? Well, sort of

Since the early ’80s, the Melvins have been sludging through the metal underworld with monstrous riffs almost as big as front man Buzz Osborne’s signature afro. Though the band had some major label success in the ’90s (thanks mostly to its association with Nirvana), these guys

Photo by Mackie Osborne

have never been known for taking a traditional approach to music. Released for free through Scion A/V, the recent EP The Bulls & the Bees shows the band being just as heavy and weird as always, even while being distributed by the corporate arm of a major car company. As the Melvins hit the road with Unsane tonight for a week-and-a-half United States tour, Osborne talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about things that may or may not happen on this tour.

The Melvins recently released The Bulls & the Bees EP for free through Scion A/V. Did working with a car company as opposed to a record label affect the creative process at all?

The main difference is they’re not selling it. So it doesn’t go to stores or anything. It’s just free. Generally speaking, you don’t put out records unless you’re planning on selling them, and no one’s going to underwrite what you’re doing unless they’re going to get their money back. Usually record labels are a gamble, so this was certainly different than that. There’s no profit motivation on their end other than raising awareness of their car company. Whether that translates into auto sales remains to be seen.

For the band it could possibly expose you to people who may not have previously listened to you.

Heavy on the expose. We love to expose ourselves. How could you not? All we do is expose ourselves … constantly.

I’ve been listening to you guys since the mid ’90s, so I’ve been exposed to you guys a few times in concert.

Oh, you mean musically.

Yeah. I haven’t seen anything else. Have you been in Playgirl or anything?

Not me. No one needs to see that. Are you kidding? Surely you jest. We’ll just leave it at that. The unknown’s a lot of times better than the known.

You also have another album coming out in June called Freak Puke with a slightly scaled-down version of the Melvins called Melvins Lite. What can you say about that record so far? Will you be playing some of the new stuff on this tour?

Photo by Mackie Osborne

Melvins Lite is essentially us playing with Trevor Dunn, who plays a standup bass. Until people hear the stuff, they’re having a little bit of trouble getting their head around that. I don’t know why. They should, at this point, certainly expect us to do something a little weird. We always have. It sounds different sonically, but you can still tell it’s us. I got this idea last year. We did five shows with Trevor playing regular Melvins songs. But with all of our records and all of our songs, or any song in general – there’s really not a song in the world we couldn’t do a cover of, but that doesn’t mean we’d play it exactly the same – we’ve always moved forward with how it has to work in order for us to make it work. So I was never too worried about any of that kind of thing. It’s different, but it’s kind of an extension of what we’re doing already. We’re certainly not going to stop playing with the Big Business guys by no means. I think we’re going to play one song off this record [on this tour]. With us and the Big Business guys, we could play everything off this record. It might be a little different than it sounds with standup bass, but with a standup bass you could play every Melvins song. No problem. Essentially it’s still a bass. The same notes are on it, I guess. “I guess” is always a good answer for everything, don’t you think?

I guess.

Seems reasonable.

This tour kicks off tonight and you’re touring with another great underground band, Unsane. What a great pairing. Are there any plans for the two bands to collaborate or do anything odd on this tour?

We put out a 7-inch on Amphetamine Reptile with us covering an Unsane song and them covering one of our songs. That’s just out and we’re actually selling those on the tour. Cage Match, we called it.

Oh, so you’ll be in a cage. Will you be wearing luchador masks and things like that?

Yeah, totally. We’re going to kick their asses. It will be a severe beating. A series of beatings followed by a series of beatings. How about that?

I look forward to that. Do you need a referee or anything?

God, no. Are you kidding? For what?

Is it an unsanctioned free-for-all?

Well, if it’s a free-for-all it should be unsanctioned. Don’t you think? Unbridled mayhem is what we’re looking for.

Is that the name of the tour?

Why not? That sounds like a good tour. The Unbridled Mayhem tour.

So rather than having one band open for the other band, will you all be out there in cage at the same time?

Oh, yeah. Totally. We’re bringing a bunch of things like that and people pay extra at the door if they actually want us to cut each other up and see blood. If you want blood, you’ve got to pay more.

Are fans encouraged to bring weapons?

Absolutely not. It’s the same as a wrestling match. You’re not encouraged to bring weapons there. They want to see us inflict violence on each other. Let us do the talking. I am not encouraging people to bring weapons of any kind. I’m discouraging it.

Where does the music fit into all this?

Music? That’s the one thing we forgot about. I don’t know what we’re going to do. What is it the Meat Puppets say? “Who needs action when you’ve got words?”

I’m looking forward to the DVD release from this tour.

Oh, we should do that. That would be great. That’s a good idea. Don’t patent that before we get a chance to.

Oh, no. I’m expecting you guys to do it.

You’re a gracious man.

Photo by Jessi Rose

The Melvins and Unsane have influenced a number of bands over the years, ranging from Nirvana to Mastodon. You’ve also toured with some of those bands. What is like to see a band like Mastodon, who are still growing in the metal world, acknowledging the Melvins as an influence?

It doesn’t hurt. We’re always very gracious receivers of any kind of admiration. As well we should be. That’s all we do is sit back and let people admire us. It’s great. I’m glad bands are influenced by our band. It’s nice. Let’s just hope Mastodon doesn’t end up the way Nirvana ended up. That was a worst case scenario.

I think they’ve probably gotten past anything like that in their career.

I’ll take your word for it.

Oddly enough, Gabe Sapolsky from Dragon Gate USA was a guest on the March 28 edition of Ringside Rap and he used the comparison between the Melvins and Justin Bieber as an analogy between his wrestling promotion and more mainstream wrestling shows.

Wow. The difference between us and Bieber is we’ve written thousands of songs and play to three people and he hasn’t even written three songs and plays to thousands of people.

I’d say that’s a pretty accurate comparison.

Honestly, I’ve never heard a moment of his music. I have no idea what it sounds like. I can probably guess, but I honestly have no clue. He seems like a Logan’s Run-style performer, which means they die when they hit 30.

He still has a few years before he hits 30, I think.

As long as you believe what they tell you. Hopefully he’ll have it all worked out by then and won’t do anything stupid with his money. He should call me. I can tell him what to do. I’d be more than happy to tell him what to do.

The Sexual Side Effect herself hosts the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party

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As the androgynous front woman for the glammy post-punk band The Sexual Side Effects, Amber Taylor is known for her over-the-top persona, even when she’s not performing. Though her attention-grabbing antics certainly haven’t hindered the band’s success, The SSEs mission to bring back the showmanship of such ’70s rock bands as David Bowie and T. Rex, while throwing in elements of dream pop, ’90s college rock and hints of goth, has also helped the band make a bang over the past year or so. Having performed high profile slots at Atlanta Pride Festival, the East Atlanta Strut and it’s own Gilded Trash events at the Masquerade, the band recently caught the attention of award-winning TV director Michael A. Simon, who has worked on such shows as VH1 Storytellers, Rock Star: INXS and Survivor. Simon directed the video for “Aurora,” off the band’s recent High Maintenance EP, which is still in post-production.

Though “Aurora” isn’t quite ready to shine, the band has another video premiering at the Atlanta Film Festival Music & Film Experience March 29. But before that happens, Amber will be hosting the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party tonight, adding even more freak show spectacle to an event that already features Monstrosity Championship Wrestling, luchador body painting and the LEGO-headed Death is a Dialogue. Amber and I got drunk a few days ago and had this conversation in front of the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club.

Tell me about the video that will be premiering at the Atlanta Film Festival.

The “All She’ll Ever Hurt” is in the Atlanta Film Festival’s music video competition. It’s a really cool video that was partially filmed at the East Atlanta Strut and at Encyclomedia. It’s directed by David Joseph and it’s all about authentic rock ‘n’ roll and it’s a real video, unlike a lot of videos. It will play during our performance on Thursday, March 28 at the Goat Farm.

The event at the Goat Farm is all music videos with many of the band

Amber Taylor (front) of The Sexual Side Effects hosts the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party!

s performing. Tell me a little more about that show.

As far as I know, this is the first year the Atlanta Film Festival has had live musical performances involved in the festival. The event at the Goat Farm is going to be music day, where they’ll have two different stages and six or seven different bands. We’re the last band on our stage and there’s other stuff on the other stage, as well as an area that will be playing the music videos for each band that’s involved. We also did some interviews with Dubious.org about the video and that might be playing as well.

The night before that you’re hosting a pretty special Atlanta Film Festival event that will involve monster wrestling and other festivities.

There’ll be freaks and weirdos, thanks to me. Then there will be wrestlers and rock ‘n’ roll. After thinking about what wrestling and rock ‘n’ roll have in common with each other and what it relates to in our culture, I have surmised that it needs more freaks.

Wrestling was originally a sideshow attraction, which might be why you are part of this event.

And that’s exactly what I hope to bring to it. I hope to beef out the freak side of things. I’d also like to announce right now, publicly, that I’m going to officially run for president. My campaign slogan is, “Amber Taylor for president: a sex change you can believe in.” We’ll definitely have campaign shirts going sometime near the election. I vote to not D) vote for none of the above but to E) vote for Amber, a sex change you can believe in. I’ve also been informed that we have direct competition within the band. Our bass player, who is unofficially known as Manwhore, is also running for president. Either of us could do a better job than anyone else.

Why don’t you run on the same ticket?

Eh. No. There can only be one lead singer. And we could only make one cool shirt, when there are two cool shirts in this scenario. There’s “Manwhore for president” and there’s “Amber Taylor: a sex change you can believe in.” If the drummer can come up with something cool, we’ll make a cool shirt for him, too. Running for president is all about the cool shirts.

For more information, go to www.thesexualsideeffects.com.

NeeDeep gets in deep with hard rock and wrestling

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Normally being knee deep in anything isn’t a pleasant experience. But when it comes to Atla’s NeeDeep, you can expect to be immersed in a mix of dual hard rock guitars, atmospheric keyboards and male and female vocals. The band has established itself as a top rock act in Atlanta, headlining club shows and opening for touring bands like Nonpoint and Sevendust. In 2009 the band won Project 9-6-1‘s Homegrown to Headliner competition, earning itself an opening slot on Mötley Crüe‘s Crüe Fest. NeeDeep won the same contest in 2010, this time getting to play the main stage at Project 9-6-1’s Family Reunion festival headlined by Shinedown. And last October the band got to play the Kiss Kruise. With Kiss. On a boat.

Photo by Matt Alexandre

Though NeeDeep has shared the stage (and a boat) with some rock monsters, the band has yet to share a bill with monster wrestling. Until now. But wrestling is not totally unfamiliar to NeeDeep as front man Brent “Jakl” Cloud competed in a Platinum Championship Wrestling show in December 2010 with bassist Lew “The Jew” Litzinger in his corner. Their opponent was the Rev. H. Billy Hicks, with NeeDeep front woman Valarie Santos in his corner as a sexy nun. Though they won’t be returning to the ring at the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party, they will be performing in between matches that will involve zombies and werewolves, which should be a perfect fit for NeeDeep’s showmanship. Jakl and Lew talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about this unique event.

NeeDeep has played some big shows, but also headlined its own club shows. How does opening for national acts compare to headlining your own gigs?

Cloud: The problem we’ve always run into with the Atlanta scene is people are always going to support the nationals. When local bands play a local show, it’s a lot of work because you’re doing all the marketing and promoting yourself. On a national show someone else is doing the legwork for you, so you feel more like a rock star.

Litzinger: I’d say the main difference with playing the national shows is you’re getting in front of 1,000 or 2,000 people that have never even heard your name before. That’s a killer thing. Playing the smaller local shows, everybody there knows who you are and they’re there to support you. It kind of weighs itself out because it’s awesome to play the big shows in front of that many people, but at your shows you’re playing in front of people who know you.

What was the Kiss Kruise like?

Cloud: It was a lot older crowd, man. There was a big generation gap. It was awesome for us to be part of it, but our style of music is a lot different than 99 percent of the bands that were on that show. But it’s cool because this is a band that my parents listened to. Just to be able to say we played with Kiss was probably the biggest thing from playing that.

Litzinger: I listened to Kiss as a child and it was like, “Wow! I’m playing with them on a boat.” I never would have ever imagined that we would playing with Kiss on a ship, so it was pretty amazing.

The two of you were also involved in one of the first Platinum Championship Wrestling shows at the Masquerade. What is your background in wrestling?

Cloud: My friend Grant and I always messed around with wrestling ever since the WCW/NWO days. I thought that was a killer time for wrestling. So we started learning how to do it and we got really good at it for two guys who had never really had the training to do it. Brian McNamara, the guy that owns the Masquerade, came to me and told me about this PCW wrestling event. So I got a hold of Stephen Platinum and told him I’d really like to do this one time as kind of a bucket list thing. So I went to his class and learned how to put together a match. Of course, I yanked Lew into it and said, “You’ve got long hair. You could pull it back and put some black glasses on. You’re going to be my manager.” Valarie, our singer, actually dressed as a nun because my opponent was the Rev. H. Billy Hicks. I was just a demon, a bad guy, and as I’m eye gouging him he’s saying he’s blinded by faith and he’s yelling out stuff like, “The power of Jesus compels you.” I was trying my hardest not to bust out laughing and I had Lew behind me yelling and stuff.

People don’t understand that it takes a lot to hold it together in wrestling. The Rock, for instance. People were like, “The Rock’s going to be an actor.” I was like, “He’s already is an actor. This should be easy for him.” But we had a great time.

Photo by Matt Alexandre

Your wrestling gimmick was the Jakl. Why did you choose to spell it that way?

Litzinger: As Lew the Jew, the manager of the Jakl, he really couldn’t spell that well. He was a demon from hell, so he couldn’t spell.

Cloud: Yeah. I’m not really into the writing, man.

Have you guys done any wrestling since then?

Cloud: I’ve been so busy with the band stuff. Wrestling’s entertainment and a lot of people don’t realize the work you have to put in to stay in shape. You can get hurt out there really easily, so you need to be in shape and you need to be practicing your technique all the time. I knew I couldn’t put the time that I’d need to into it, so it wasn’t really worth it to pursue it. Hicks has done some MMA fighting, but he’s won some silver and gold medals in a bunch of different jujitsu events.

At the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party, not only will there be wrestling, but there will be monsters wrestling. You’ve played some unique shows, but what do you think about playing on a bill that includes PCW vs. Monstrosity Championship Wrestling, not to mention the walking freak show herself, Amber Taylor from The Sexual Side Effects?

Cloud: I think it’s a cool thing, man. Hard rock goes perfectly with wrestling and I definitely think it’s going to be an exciting event. We’re happy to be a part of it because we’re a different band. We’re not the same band you see where everybody’s wearing blue jeans and another band’s shirt. We wear jumpsuits and stuff, so we’re all about the entertainment. We want to get people off with the optic sensation as well as the ear. We’re all about showmanship and wrestling is driven by that. Us being a part of that is perfect for us.

Litzinger: I personally want to see if Jay Fury is going to be able to fight zombies and monsters.

We’ll see soon!

Death is a Dialogue is ready to rock with monsters and wrestlers at the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party

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Atlanta’s Death is a Dialogue is not only one of the most energetic bands around, it’s also one of the hardest working. The band’s punchy pop punk is laced with heavy riffs and just enough punk rock attitude to keep things interesting. Led by former Drownout front man Jason Lee, DIAD consists of guitarist Joe Galunas, bassist Chris Hein and former Hanging Francis drummer Randall Gregg. DIAD recently finished its first East Coast tour and has played high profile shows with the likes of Quiet Riot, Everclear‘s Art Alexakis, Live‘s Ed Kowalczyk, Naughty by Nature and Hawthorne Heights. The band also played the Atlanta date of last summer’s Warped Tour by winning the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands (Lee also won the same contest the two previous years with The Drownout, and you can vote for DIAD to play this year’s Warped Tour).

Having taken its name from an Emily Dickinson poem and recorded a song inspired by Edgar Allan Poe (“Low Lies Lenore”), the band has also been know to perform while wearing lifesized LEGO heads. DIAD has also been known to play some pretty rockin’ covers of songs by Queen, Rancid, The Offspring and other popular rock bands. So even though these guys may not know much about wrestling, they definitely know a good bit about pop culture, which is why they will be performing at the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party on March 28. Coincidentally, this show will also be the band’s first anniversary performance. As we all prepare for the monsters, wrestling and rock ‘n’ roll, Lee and Hein take a moment to talk about this and other upcoming shows.

You guys have played a lot of big shows, but I don’t think you’ve ever performed at an event with wrestling or monsters.

Lee: That’s true. When I think back, I don’t think there’s been any wrestling or monsters, and definitely not the two combined, which is awesome. I’m looking forward to Monstrosity Championship Wrestling, though. That’s going to be badass.

Photo by Kevin Griggs

Why did you guys agree to play this type of show? Are you wrestling fans?

Lee: I haven’t been to a wrestling event since I was a kid, but my favorite ones were Hulk Hogan and the battles between him and Andre the Giant were always totally epic. And the Steiner Brothers. You don’t really hear about them much anymore, so I think those guys are kind of underrated. I think as a kid my favorite wrestler was the Ultimate Warrior because he dressed kind of like an Indian and I’m part Native American, so I guess I could relate to him, minus the hot pink tassels.

Hein: I think it will be cool just to have that ring in front of the stage. And putting rock and wrestling together is going to be cool.

Lee: Yeah. Anytime people are fighting and there’s a rock show going on, it’s going to be a good time.

I didn’t realize when I asked you to play this show that it’s not only the anniversary for Wrestling with Pop Culture, but it’s also the first anniversary for Death is a Dialogue.

Lee: Yeah. It’s a dual anniversary party. And our CD release is April 21 at Vinyl.

I know about Jason’s former band The Drownout and Randall’s band Hanging Francis, but how did the four of you come together to form Death is a Dialogue?

Lee: When the Drownout broke up, I put out ads on Craigslist. Me and Joe had already had in mind that we were going to put together another band. He used to play in a metal band called McClane, which was a very heavy, dark band. I always liked his guitar playing in that project, so we just talked about working together. Then we started putting up ads on Craigslist and auditioning people. We got Randall first, then we auditioned several bass players and some were very entertaining, but not in the right way. Eventually Chris walked in and…

Hein: …owned it!

Lee: Well, I think it was a good start when you actually knew how to adjust the volume on your amp. There was a girl that came in and auditioned and she didn’t know how to do anything. She didn’t know how to tune her guitar, turn up her amp or any of that stuff.

Hein: I’ve always been in bands since I was 13. I moved to Atlanta to go to Georgia State and had to leave the band I was in in Buford, where I went to high school. So I was looking, but I don’t think I was actively looking. But Jason hit me up on Facebook after I saw the ad and I came and tried out and got the gig that day.

Lee: It was funny though because some guy replied to the Craigslist post and I messaged this other guy, whose last name was Heim, saying, “Hey, man. You still coming to audition?” And it was so weird because he was just like, “Yeah, sure!” But it was just some random dude and he didn’t even know what the audition was for because I was messaging the wrong person on Facebook.

Photo by Kevin Griggs

You guys released an EP just a few months ago. Will the new CD be all new material?

Lee: At first we were going to release another EP with all new songs. The time frame of everything got pushed back a little bit, but we also thought, “Why do just another EP like that?” So what we’ve decided to do is release three songs at a time and do that three or four times this year, then at the end of that come out with a full album where we can put all the songs on there. I love EPs, but when I’m listening to EPs in my car I feel like they’re too short. If you’re driving somewhere, especially in Atlanta traffic, you’re in the car for at least an hour and I feel like people might get tired of it repeating over and over again. That was the only complaint we got on the last record was that it was too short. So we’re going to take our time with this and we’re going to release three songs at a time digitally and do some limited presses of signed copies for our fans and stuff. But at the end of all that we want to put all those together and do a full length that is pressed professionally so we can actually sell something that will be a complete piece of work. So on April 21 we’re releasing a disc of three songs and we’re only making 60 copies.

Since you’re having your CD release after this show with monsters and wrestling, are you concerned about having all that kind of chaos going on around you?

Hein: I think it will make it better.

Lee: Yeah, the more chaos the better. It just adds to the show. I’m really excited about playing a show where there’s a wrestling ring in the room, like Chris was saying earlier. It’s something we haven’t been able to do before because it doesn’t happen very often. Especially the fact that there’s going to be monster wrestling. I can’t wait to see that. It’s going to be great.

For more information, go to www.deathisadialogue.com.

Pat Young becomes a true “Guitar Hero” with Hero for the Heart

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By Jonathan Williams

For the past few years, many video gamers have wasted countless hours living out their rock ‘n’ roll fantasies on Guitar Hero. But for Atlanta-based improv actor Pat Young, his heart is really in it when it comes to playing this game. In fact, Guitar Hero was one of the many things that made his relationship with his father that much more special.

Pat Young channels Axl Rose in Guitar Hero

Originally from Connecticut, Young moved to Atlanta after earning a theatre degree from Florida State University. The aspiring actor chose Atlanta over Orlando (“where I would have been owned by a big giant mouse”) as a stepping stone towards eventually pursuing a career in film and television in New York or Los Angeles. But after moving to the unfamiliar city, Young soon found himself once again turning to his father for reassurance.

“I was very close with my dad,” Young recalls. “He was very supportive of me and everything I did. I moved to Atlanta in 2006 and I didn’t have any friends or a job. I was doing OK until a week later when my car died. He ended up coming down to help me and a few months later came down to visit again. I was telling him about Guitar Hero, which had just come out. I told him it was the coolest video game I had ever seen. The next morning I found him playing ‘Smoke on the Water.’ I thought it was hilarious. It was just like the South Park episode.”

Over the next few years, Young got some of the acting and improv opportunities he was looking for. He’s been in Relapse Comedy Theatre productions such as History of the Devil and regularly appears in Stone Mountain Park productions like Dr. Busybody’s Boogiebot Blast, Wake the Bear and A Crossroads Christmas Carol. But while he was hitting high scores in his professional life, he was hit with a personal whammy when his father was stricken with a heart disease.

“He ended up passing away in November of 2009 from atherosclerosis,” says Young. “Before he died, we talked about making bucket lists and doing stuff we’d always wanted to do. I’d always wanted to break a world record [and] I wanted to try and do something that combined those three ideas: Guitar Hero, my dad and breaking a world record. And I wanted to maybe help other people who are going through or have experienced heart disease.”

Hero for the Heart logo by Joanna Davidovich (www.cupojo.net)

Beginning at noon on Feb. 23, Young will attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for playing Guitar Hero with an event called Hero for the Heart, a benefit for the American Heart Association. The current record is a little longer than 50 hours, but Young plans on playing for 72 hours on the stage of the Horizons School‘s theater, with a goal of raising $5,000 in the process. And the timing couldn’t be better – Young’s father’s birthday would have been Feb. 26, and February is American Heart Month.

“I will be playing Guitar Hero the entire time,” he says. “There will be other people jumping in from time to time and there will be people playing online as well. But I’m the only person that is going to be playing for 72 hours.”

But even if you aren’t into Guitar Hero, there will be other ways to help the cause. Hero for the Heart will also include a silent auction featuring art by the likes of Stephanie Anderson of Neon Armour body painting, and there will be different contests throughout the event with prizes such as Guitar Hero bundle packs, DJ Hero items and, for the person who donates the most money to the cause, the Golden Fiddle Award, a Les Paul controller custom painted by Young, who is becoming a true Guitar Hero over the next three days.

Emilie Autumn teaches us how to “Fight Like a Girl” on new album and tour

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By Jonathan Williams

It’s often the crazy ones that grab our attention most, right? Especially when said crazy one is also quite a talented musician. And that’s not even mentioning her visual appeal, which is equal parts Victorian femininity and a brash glam rock aesthetic.

Emilie Autumn is admittedly rather odd. Actually, odd is an understatement when describing her pink-haired eccentricities and openness about the time she has spent in the modern-day equivalent of a Bedlam-like insane asylum. But rather than remain in a Girl, Interrupted-like state of depression, Autumn has been able to parlay her troubled experiences into an imaginative musical production that has evolved into something that is just as much a theatrical burlesque revue as an industrial rock concert. Along the way, her corsets and violins have appeared alongside Courtney Love (how fitting), Metalocalypse and Resistance Pro‘s Billy Corgan (you might also know him from his work with a little band called the Smashing Pumpkins).

Currently on the Fight Like a Girl tour with her backing band the Bloody Crumpets, Autumn is introducing her fans to material from her upcoming album (also called Fight Like a Girl) with an even grander theatrical performance than you may have previously seen from her. Using her 2010 autobiography The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls as inspiration, Autumn’s conceptual album is being brought to life on stages across the country through Feb. 26. Amidst the insanity of this demented touring tea party, Autumn takes a moment to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about the tour, the album and how her bipolar disorder sometimes blurs the lines between fantasy and reality.

When I saw you in Atlanta a couple of years ago, it was your first United States tour…

Oh, that was quite a scandal. They apparently called the cops on us at some point, which was ridiculous. I think you’ll be quite surprised with our new show, not just because of how far we’ve come, but how awesome it is when we’re in a venue that isn’t being awful. When I’m not having to scream at the venue for being an idiot, everything is pretty magical.

We’ve done several European tours, where we’re much better known and much more successful. Because it’s a little bit eccentric and different, people there are quite a bit more open to it. You’re allowed to be a little bit more creative there, which is why when the Opheliac record hit, it hit in Germany and it happened very, very fast. So we did a couple of tours in Europe and the U.K. before we ever set foot back in the States. And we kind of ended up being an import, though we are from here. Of course, it’s grown a great deal since that time. But even in South America we’re far more known than we are here. It’s a very different world and that last tour was definitely a new experience for American audiences.

You’re often described as being “famously bipolar,” so I wasn’t sure if all the drama was just part of the show.

No, that was all completely legit. It is kind of funny – and I’m not ashamed of this in any way – that a large part of what I’ve fortunately been able to figure out and build a career around (so I don’t have to hide that stuff and can make use of it, not only to myself, but also to other people), is also something beautiful. That’s my ultimate revenge against the experimenting, sexual abuse and things like that is to actually make into something that is artistic and beautiful. So everything is very real, but able to be used to tell a good story.

Most people who are bipolar don’t necessarily want that to be known about them, but you choose to almost celebrate it in a lot of ways.

Yeah. Celebrate is a bit of strong word, but in a way I see why you would say that. It’s not a celebration because, God knows, like I say in my book, “no high is worth this kind of low.” It’s more about not being ashamed of it, because I’m not. Depression is serious business, but it’s something you can develop through life. Bipolar disorder is completely genetic. You’re either born with it or you’re not and there’s no getting rid of it through any amount of medication. It’s always going to be there, but it’s a matter of deciding after so much incarceration and suicide attempts, if you’re going to die or if you’re going to fight and live. What this is about is not being ashamed of it and also taking advantage of my job as an entertainer, which is one of the only jobs I could have where I wouldn’t have to completely be in shame and hide my psychological medical history.

Even though it shouldn’t be this way, once it’s on the books that you’ve been locked up in an insane asylum, any legitimate job background check would find this and one would have a difficult time getting certain positions because you’re seen as mentally unstable. In the medical world, one has an extreme mental illness. That’s how’s it’s seen, so I just wanted to use my own luxury of being creative and artistic and being able to turn this into something that could help other people. I get to run around with crazy hair and paint a heart on my face every day and get away with it. As long as I’m a good entertainer, I can incorporate this into a story. The same way you didn’t know it was real or a storytelling thing, a lot of people won’t and that’s OK. But for those that do and end up identifying with it, everybody needs some compassion and something to make them feel like they are not bad because of life situations.

A lot of people are, in fact, made to feel like they are evil for a lot of the side effects of these things. Or just for being really individual and not the social status quo. It’s shocking that in this day and age we would even be talking about this, but it’s very, very true. There’s super scary stuff we still don’t talk about and being in this position to be this ridiculously open about it – writing a book, talking about it, singing about it – and yet not to be woefully dwelling on it. Not everything is about this. It’s more about situations and telling a good story, and the story happens to include me and my life. But it’s about something so much bigger now, this Asylum World, which is something that a lot of people have been able to come to see as, not only my sanctuary, but theirs as well. Especially when they come to the shows because it’s understood and I say, “This is a night that you come and celebrate your absolutely crazy individuality and realize how beautiful it is and don’t apologize for anything.” It’s come really far to clearly be able to send that message in a really entertaining Broadway sort of way.

That was exactly what I thought when I saw you before. It reminded me of something that might be seen on Broadway, in Las Vegas or even at Disney World.

It has become like a Broadway musical and that is actually the goal within a few years is to have a cast of 40 and have this be legitimately on a Broadway stage. It just can’t fit into rock venues any more, so this is all kind of rehearsal for that.

It’s definitely much more of a rock opera and I’m really pleased that even in that setting, which was far from ideal, that you saw that. It makes me really happy that we were able to convey that, and it’s just gotten more massive and epic, along with the new record, which was built to be part of the ultimate Broadway show that this is becoming. It needs a residency somewhere to where it isn’t just traveling around in various theaters. It’s a wonderful experience to go to all these different places, but ultimately it won’t be able to fit into a lot of the places we play. In order to have the massive sets every night and be able to do the complete show with all the fire and the aerials and all that, it’s going to need to be in a place that is at least a similar size and setup each night. It is a rock show, especially now because we have some serious rock and metal songs on the new album. But it’s all meant to be a rock opera and it’s become very evident. This tour is to be part of the three-hour musical and the record was written to be the soundtrack. It’s epic and cinematic and not meant to fall into any particular rock or industrial format.

What else can you tell me about the new album and when it will be available?

We’re performing the music on this tour and the album will come out right after this tour. I actually wanted to do this a bit backwards and I think it’s been working in a really cool way. In the past, because the Opheliac record’s been available, anywhere I’ve gone everybody has known every word to every song. So they’d sing along with us from the time we walked out. I wanted to see what it would be like if that were not the case. Like any band, we include the old favorites from the previous record, but a majority of the songs are new. So I wanted to experiment with what it would be like for people to go into a show and not know the music yet, not necessarily scream and sing along and for people to actually have to listen and learn the story along with everyone else. Of course, after the first show that wasn’t the case thanks to YouTube, but it was a nice try.

What’s the story that’s being told on the new album?

It’s called Fight Like a Girl. A lot of people abbreviate it to FLAG, which is kind of cool in its own way. It tells the story of a particular part of my book, which is like the bible of the Asylum World and me and everything I have to do with. The album and the show begins with that amazing moment when all the inmates of this Victorian insane asylum for girls, through some really extraordinary circumstances, find that they, in fact, have the power to open the main cell and release each other. So they’re all standing there realizing, “Holy fuck! There’s, like, a thousand of us and maybe 50 members of the staff. If we break out of here right now and get a hold of the weapons and tools they use on us, we become the scary ones. There’s power in numbers and the numbers are on our side.”

So they go on this rampage and have this thing called the Tea Party Massacre where they just slaughter everyone in order to gain their freedom, take back the asylum and end the years of torture. That’s how it begins, and we start with the song “Fight Like a Girl,” which really just says, “This is what’s about to happen.” Then we have a song “Time for Tea” because the clock strikes four, it’s tea time and time to go. Then they go on the warpath and take down everyone. After that we go to a flashback – in the show and on the record – of how all of this began and how this really started for me. Then my Victorian counterpart and I switch back and forth. The book is made up entirely of diary entries between myself in the modern world and my counterpart experiencing the very same things in 1841. Then we bring ourselves up through the show and the story right back where we started at the fight. That brings us to the end, after we’ve taken back this prison and tried to make it a sanctuary, the question is, “Where do we go from here? Just because we’re alive doesn’t mean that we’re living. Now that we have no one left to fight, how do we know who we are? We’ve identified with being prisoners for so long.” So it comes down to the song “One Foot In Front of the Other,” which is the answer to “How do you fucking go on with all this stuff in your head and the horrors that have happened?” The answer is that there is no answer. It’s simply one foot in front of the other foot in front of the one foot in front of the other foot. It’s a sort of march into the future that happens.

For more information, go to www.emilieautumn.com.

Puppets, music and dance tell the tale of “The Fabled Cinderella”

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The enchanted tale of Cinderella is familiar across many cultures and age groups. Having been retold in many different ways, this folk tale about a young beauty who is oppressed by her stepmother and stepsisters until a charming prince returns her magical glass slipper has become one of the most iconic of pop culture mainstays. Following in the slippered footsteps of Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet, the Enchantment Theatre Company‘s interpretation transports the viewer to Cinderella’s fabled realm by using puppets, elaborate costumes and extravagant set pieces.

Jere Flint

With an established collaborative relationship with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra that dates back to the ’80s, the Philadelphia-based troupe returns to the Woodruff Arts Center‘s Symphony Hall on Feb. 12 for two performances of The Fabled Cinderella with the ASO and staff conductor Jere Flint.

Featuring music from Prokofiev’s ballet and other folk music, The Fabled Cinderella tells this magical tale with little dialogue (other than narration between each act), letting the story unfold through music and dance.

“We use different things to tell the story,” says Enchantment artistic director Landis Smith, who also plays the prince. “The stepmother and stepsisters are big body puppets that some of our actors wear over their shoulders and operate the arms and the head. The stepsisters are really just ridiculously funny. The first time they come on stage, the audience just starts to laugh. Most fairy tales have a dark side to them. The way we handle it is with humor. The stepmother and stepsister are very exaggerated and funny.”

In order to keep the audience fully immersed in this fantasy world, the rest of the actors wear equally over-the-top costumes and masks.

“It’s fun telling the story the way we do,” says Smith. “Sometimes a puppet or mask is better at portraying a larger-than-life part like the wicked stepmother or the nasty stepsisters. It’s easier to have those kinds of tools and in some ways more convincing than trying to do it realistically.”

Though The Fabled Cinderella is similar to the Cinderella tale most of us know, there are some subtle changes to some of the characters.

“The prince in this show does parlor tricks,” says Smith. “That’s how he breaks the ice with the girls. He’s very shy and gradually gets his nerve when he sees Cinderella. Another thing that’s different in this story is you don’t get to see Cinderella’s mother or father. You do see how they were a family together, but the mother passes on and the father remarries and brings home the stepmother and stepsisters. They’re not too nice and they subjugate Cinderella to the hearth and make her do all the dirty work because they’re selfish and mean.”

Smith also says that, despite its childlike whimsy, The Fabled Cinderella has been known to delight audiences of all ages.

“Part of our mission with the Enchantment Theatre is to bring people together of all ages and all backgrounds so they can enjoy a story that everybody can understand,” says Smith. “I’m 60 years old and still get to do what I enjoy doing. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to play the prince, though. I think I’m getting a little old for that, but I hope it’ll work this time. I’m not as skinny and young looking as I used to be, but I do wear a mask, which helps me cheat. My wife used to play Cinderella, but now she’s the puppeteer for one of the stepsisters. Maybe next time I’ll be one of the stepsisters and one of the younger people will play the prince.”

For more information, go to www.atlantasymphony.org or www.enchantmenttheatre.org.