|
BEHIND THE VEIL
EZINE
Christine (Greece)
1. FIRST OF ALL CONGRATULATIONS ON “RISE”! I LOVED IT! HOWEVER I’D LIKE
TO KNOW THE CREATOR’S POINT OF VIEW. SO, ARE YOU CONTENT WITH THE FINAL
RESULT?
Hello Christine and all the people who read Behind The Veil Ezine, this
is Kenny the Gardener, lead singer and creator of Lunatics On Parole.
Thanks so much for the great review and a chance to do an interview so
everybody can get to know more about us. As far as the RISE CD goes, yes
I am content with the final results, however like most musicians and
producers, there’s always the feeling of ‘if I only had more time and/or
money I could have done this or that’. The band went through many
changes during the recording and considering the circumstances I am very
pleased with the outcome.
2. PLEASE GIVE US A SHORT BAND BIO AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES TO THE
READERS…
Lunatics On Parole began in 1998 as a psychedelic/punk/metal band and
through constantly changing members has evolved it’s sound into what it
is today, a combination of all kinds of metal and punk. The lyrical
content has gotten the band notice for its political content as well as
the party songs they write. The current lineup as of today- 3/20/06, is
myself doing vocals, Mike Brickman on bass and Jorge Iacobellis on
drums. Mike and Jorge are former Hirax members (2003-2004) who
have played in Europe. Rusty Reens of Watch Me Burn played drums on the
half of the CD and the guitars were done by Bryce Waring and Zeke
Truman. Mathias (Schneebie) Schneeberger played the keyboards as well as
engineering everything.
3. BY THE WAY, SINCE I WROTE IN MY REVIEW MANY THINGS ABOUT WHAT MUSIC
REALLY MEANS TO ME, I’D LIKE TO KNOW YOUR POINT OF VIEW ON THE SUBJECT…
Music has always been a big part of my life and now basically is my
life. Everything I do revolves around the band, unfortunately it’s not
all music. I listen to music all the time, different kinds at different
times of the day. It’s so much a part of me now, with writing,
recording, performing and producing, that I really don’t know what I
would do without it. Music fulfills an important part of everybody’s
life nowadays, regardless of the kind you listen to. It’s an emotional
release for coping with the modern world.
4. NOW LET’S SUPPOSE THAT YOU WERE ASKED TO WRITE A REVIEW FOR “RISE”.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TRYING TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE? WHY SHOULD THE
METALLERS CHECK YOU OUT?
Oh boy, try to be objective huh? That’s hard when you’re totally
involved with something like I am with this. Ok here goes,,, The RISE CD
is like nothing you have ever heard. The band’s sound is impossible to
categorize because there are so many different styles of metal
mixed with punk. The songs have catchy riffs, good melodies and solid
musicianship. The unique death metal yet comprehensible vocals are
belting out their dissatisfaction with American politics and society of
today. This CD is for those that like different kinds of metal and/or
political lyrics.
5. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WHAT’S THE WORST PART OF YOUR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO
YOU?
The same thing, we don’t sound like anybody else. It’s the best because
I want to have a unique band that does not sound like anybody else. When
they hear one of our songs, regardless of what style we are doing, they
know it is Lunatics On Parole. The worst part is that bookers and
promoters don’t know where or how to book us. We’re ‘too heavy’ to play
punk shows and ‘not heavy enough’ to play metal shows. And that’s
actually changed over the years from us being ‘too heavy’ to ‘not heavy
enough’ in the metal scene. It doesn’t matter who they book us with
though, we always get a good response from the crowd.
6. HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO CREATE SUCH UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL SOUNDING SONGS?
IT’S REALLY HARD TO FIND SUCH A QUALITY NOWADAYS. WHAT KIND FO PROCEDURE
DO YOU FOLLOW WHILST COMPOSING?
Thank you, my objective has always been to make original music. RISE is
our third CD and each one has a theme or story. I start with that,
deciding on what the CD will be about and then what kind of songs
I want. The band jams to come up with riffs and ideas, somebody will
have an idea and we go from that. Although I don’t play an instrument, I
can sing guitar parts when I have an idea. After we arrange the music
into a song, I write the lyrics, sometimes while we are recording the
song.
7. ARE YOU SATISFIED BY THE FEEDBACK? WHAT WAS THE MOST FLATTERING AND
WHAT THE WORST COMMENT YOU RECEIVED?
The feedback for RISE has been great! We have not gotten any negative
responses, everybody seems to like it. The most flattering would the
review we got from you, especially about the vocals. I liked that part.
8. I REALLY LOVED THE VOCALS! YOU HAVE A REALLY UNIQUE, STRANGE AND
EMOTIVE VOICE INDEED! SO, WHAT DO YOU FEEL OR THINK OF WHILST
INTERPRETING THE SONGS?
I wrote all the lyrics so I’m basically singing what I feel. Each song
is an expression of what I am thinking about on a particular subject. By
the way, there are no FX on the vocals, everything you hear on the CD I
can do live and in person.
9. YOU’VE CREATED THE BAND IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO EXPRESS YOUR INSIGHTS,
BE THEM POLITICAL OR OTHER. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? WOULD YOU
LIKE TO STATE SOME OF YOUR VIEWS ON NOWADAYS SOCIETY?
That would take 5 pages at least to state how I feel about today’s
society! Basically, I’m pro-environment, we only have one world;
pro-education, it’s the most important thing a person can have;
pro-marijuana legalization, it’s stupid to jail people and ruin their
lives because of pot-nobody has ever died from smoking weed; pro-choice
on everything, if I’m not hurting anyone then leave me alone! I’m
anti-corporations, they are turning working people into robots while the
bosses running them get rich; the $$$ is more important than anything
else. I’m against people telling me what I should believe in and trying
to force their religion on others. Like I said, I could go on for
awhile.
10. SO, CONTINUING ON THE SAME ISSUE I’D LIKE YOU TO TELL ME IN A FEW
WORDS, THE MAIN TOPICS YOUR LYRICS DEAL WITH AND YOUR SOURCES OF
INSPIRATION…
The RISE CD was written over the past 4 years reflecting the current
situation in American politics. The general theme is that the current
political leaders are working with the corporations to control the world
and dictate to people how they should act and think. I get my
inspiration from watching what is going on, through computer news tv
news, public radio and reading. The Daily Show is a great place because
the truth can often be found in humor.
11. NOW SINCE YOU ARE A
POLITICALLY DRIVEN PERSON AND BY READING YOUR ALBUM TITLES AND LYRICS, I
UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE AGAINST WARS AND THIS WAR AGAINST IRAQ IN
PARTICULAR. AM I RIGHT? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT AND ABOUT GEORGE BUSH
BEING YOUR PRESIDENT?
Actually I have always been interested in warfare and have studied it in
great detail-I was a history major when I was in college and still read
and watch television shows about it. It is a terrible thing, a horrible
waste of human life, but as long as there are people who want what
others have it will be there. I believe it should be used as a last
resort. I’m against the war in Iraq because it was started on false
pretences, done for political reasons and there were no plans for what
is happening. I think that George Bush stole the 2000 election and is
one of the worst presidents in the history of the United States. He used
the war to get re-elected and personal gain. Haliburton, the company
Dick Cheney worked for before becoming VP, is the company making money
from military contracts and rebuilding Iraq. Bush will have the most
corrupt administration in history, beating out Reagan. His
cabinet-Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Gonzalez, Ashcroft etc are people that I
despise.
12. WELL, I COULD ASK A THOUSAND THINGS ON THAT ISSUE, BUT ANYWAY LET’S
MOVE ON TO THE COVER ARTWORK. WHOSE WORK IS IT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY
THAT? THE DOLLAR SIGNS ON THE AMERICAN FLAG IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND,
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE WOMAN? HAS IT GOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH FEMALE RIGHTS?
J
The picture of the woman came from a WW II recruiting poster encouraging
workers to keep up production. The idea is for people everywhere to
stand up to the corporations and political bullies. No, it wasn’t about
female rights, personally I look forward to the time where no one talks
about rights because they are a natural part of life for everyone.
13. HEY YOU ARE 6’8’’ TALL (HOW MUCH IS IT IN METERS BY THE WAY?) AND
YOU WANT YOUR VOICE TO BE HEARD. SO, CAN YOU DO IT? DOES EVERYONE LISTEN
AND PAY ATTENTION TO YOU? J
I believe I am about 2.2 meters. When I duck through the doorway and
enter a room, just about everyone looks at me so it’s easy to get
people’s attention. When I am on stage, I have everyone’s attention and
those that like metal and/or hate Bush will cheer for us. The others
leave. (L.A. often has shows with mixed kinds of music.)
14. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS? WHAT SHOULD THOSE ATTENDING
YOUR SHOWS EXPECT TO SEE?
We have done several American tours over the years and working on going
to Europe this summer or next. And of course we will be playing
shows all over California. People can expect to see and hear a tight
show with songs that make you cheer and think. And one of the tallest
people you will ever see on stage.
15. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO INVITE A FAMOUS MUSICIAN TO PLAY IN ONE OF
YOUR LIVE SHOWS, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
Wow, that’s a tough one. And if you include dead people, it would be
even more so. Hmm…in a fantasy world, Jimi Hendrix and Dimebag, to be on
a stage with either of those two would have been incredible. Shannon
Larkin, Godsmack’s drummer, would be my choice. I think he is one of the
greatest drummers I ever saw-see WCA and Souls at Zero, and he is an old
friend who is an “original” Lunatic.
16. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THERE WAS NO MUSIC IN THE WORLD? HOW AND WHERE
WOULD YOU CHANNEL ALL YOUR CREATIVE ENERGY?
I would be curled up in a ball in a dark room or ripping people’s heads
off with my bare hands. Seriously, I would be writing poetry, I did that
before I ever though about singing. I don’t know what I would be doing,
probably would have finished college and would have liked to have gotten
a job as a history professor.
17. IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD IT BE? IF IT WERE A
PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
If it were an emotion, it would be hope, hope that things will get
better, that truth will win out in the end. If it were a painting it
would be a ragged black and white war cartoon drawn with heavy lines.
.
18. WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE? A TITLE THAT WOULD
SUM UP THE WHOLE LUNATICS ESSENCE.
A Madman’s Sane Look at American Politics Through Metal Music
19. BY THE WAY HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS STRANGE BAND NAME?
I had the name before the band. I was talking with a friend and who said
my first jam sounded like a bunch of lunatics and I said “yeah, on
parole. Hey Lunatics On Parole would be a good band name.” I kept that
in mind when I formed the band.
20. THANK YOU! IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION AND I FORGOT
TO ASK YOU?
No, I think you just about covered everything, lots of good questions.
Thanks Christine for the interview and review. You can find out more
information on the band along with pictures and music at
www.lunaticsonparole.com and www.myspace.com/lunaticsonparole
Hola Kenny!!!!! Guillermo from
Santa Fe city (Argentina) again.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH for "Rise"!!!!!! Thanks for these faboulous records
that you sent me. I hear it everyday and I like it more and
more!!!!!!!!! I like all the LUNATICS ON PAROLE songs!!!!! The songs are
powerful and spectacular!!!!!!!!! The band sounds fantastic!!!!!!
I'd like to ask a few questions:
1. The original question, ¿what's the meaning of LUNATICS ON PAROLE?
There's no real meaning to the name, I came up with it after jamming
with Shannon Larkin and Kevin King while writing the first six L.O.P.
tunes. Two of the songs, "Don't Forget" and "I Feel Hate!", ended up on
L.O.P. cds. We were partying and joking about being a bunch of crazy
guys, a bunch of lunatics and I added "on parole, Hey that should be the
name of the band-Lunatics On Parole" and it stuck. It gets a laugh from
everybody who hears it.
2. Before LUNATICS ON PAROLE , ¿did you play in other bands?
Lunatics On Parole
has been my only band. I sang as a guest with Slack Babbath, a legendery
Hollywood Black Sabbath tribute band that had a lot of famous guests
playing like Chris Holmes and Dave Lombardo.
3. When did start
the band?
I started the band
in 1997 with the members of Kluster, a psychadellic-punk band in L.A. We
recorded our first cd, Welcome the the U.S.S.A., the next year.
4. What's the influences of the band?
The influences are
many and range from Black Sabbath, Slayer and Motorhead to Plasmatics,
Ramones and The Dwarves to Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa. Becaus of the
many differnt members, the band has evolved from a psychadellic-punk
sound to a more metal sound. The last cd has a sound that crosses
Sabbath, Pantera, Slayer and Rammstein.
5. Did you play
cover songs in your shows?
We have a cover of Frank Zappa's "I'm The Slime" on our first cd and on
RISE we cover "Open Your Eyes" by Lords of the New Church. We have done
live covers of "Light My Fire" and "Ace of Spades" in the past.
6. Where are you
from?
The band is from Los Angeles.
7. How many
records, EP's and demos did LUNATICS ON PAROLE record?
RISE is our third cd plus we did a techno remix of the Life Sucks cd.
8. When and where
did record this album?
We recorded the cd in 2004-2005 at Donner Blitzen Studios with Mathias "Schneebie"
Schneeberger. The cd took awhile because we had changes in the lineup
while we were recording it.
9. What's the next
projects of the band?
We are working on our next cd, writing songs and getting ready to play
shows and tour. |
