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(Winter 2006) by George Dionne
Ben Schigel is the frontman of Switched. Switched recently released a collection
of B-sides and demos on Corporate Punishment Records entitled Ghosts
in the Machine (read CD review). The bulk of the album focuses on material
that Switched was working on for their sophomore album via Immortal Records
around
'01-'02.
That album never materialized as the record company and band decided
to part ways. For the most part, Schigel and his bandmates have moved on
to other projects. Switched will reunite for a few select shows to help promote
thier latest offering, but that will be the end. Rock-Is-Life caught up with
Ben Schigel to find out what happend to Swtiched, what's going to happen,
and what life behind the producer's board is like. Be warned, Ben is a man
of few words.
RIL: If I knew absolutely nothing about Switched, how would you
describe the band’s music to me?
BS: Just fucking rock and roll; hard rock, you know? Smart, good old rock
and roll.
RIL: How and when did Switched form?
BS: How long ago? Maybe like 2000 or 1999, somewhere around there.
RIL: How did you get together?
BS: Well I’ve known my brother my whole life.
RIL: Of course…
BS: My brother and I have always been jamming. The
guitar player Brad, he went to my high school. He graduated a couple of years
after me. He was
always playing guitar, so we just kind of got together. Originally I was
the drummer, and we couldn’t find a singer. I ended up moving to
vocals and we picked up Chad, our old drummer. We just went from there.
RIL: Your debut album Subject to Change was released on Immortal
Records/Virgin Records in 2001. Despite selling 100,000 copies & touring
relentlessly, you ended up leaving the label. What happened?
BS: I started producing records and I just kind of moved on to doing that,
rather then the band.
RIL: Did you produce the first Switched album?
BS: No.
RIL: We’re [Immortal/Virgin] not willing to give you the opportunity
to produce the second album?
BS: We were in the middle of writing the second album,
but that’s where
it all fell apart. It never really got far enough for me to record it.
RIL: Was it an amicable split from the label?
BS: Yeah, we we’re cool. They weren’t doing
much anyway.
RIL: Is Immortal Records still around?
BS: I think so.
RIL: Your latest album Ghosts in the Machine is a release of B-sides and
rarities. Why did you choose to go with that material, rather than recording
something new?
BS: That was all the stuff that we wrote when we were
going to put out [the second] record. We figured that we should just release
that, instead of re-recording
it. It’s too much work.
RIL: So those songs are in their original form? None of them were redone
for this recording?
BS: Nope. They’re all in their original demo
form.
RIL: They sound good for being demos.
BS: I’ve had [my own] studio for a year, so they
were able to come out decent for demos.
RIL: Do you have the studio in your home?
BS: Yes.
RIL: What was it about Corporate Punishment Records that attracted you to
the label?
BS: I knew [Thom Hazaert] who runs the label. He was the one who originally
got us our record deal [with Immortal]. He liked the tunes.
RIL: Did you shop these demos around to anybody else?
BS: We did originally, and we had some interest from a couple different majors.
This was three years though.
RIL: Are all of you producing gigs for Corporate Punishment Records?
BS: No. I’ve done stuff for Wind-Up, Roadrunner, Trustkill, Century
Media, and bunch of different labels. I’ve done some stuff for Corporate
Punishment as well.
RIL: You did the Rickets album and Allele albums, correct?
BS: Yeah. I did the Allele record; we did that record in like twenty days.
RIL: Has Thomas Dolby heard Switched’s version of “She
Blinded Me with Science?”
BS: I don’t know, but I think Thom said [Thomas
Dolby] wanted a copy. I don’t
know if he has ever heard it. If he has, I don’t know what his thoughts
are on it. We recorded that several years ago. It would be funny to hear
his opinion.
RIL: I don’t think that song has been covered before. If it
has, it was probably by some obscure band.
BS: Yeah, we did that in probably 2001, 2000. At the time it was cool.
RIL: Corporate Punishment will be re-releasing Subject to Change soon. How
will this version be different from the original?
BS: I don’t think it will be.
RIL: No bonus tracks?
BS: They might put a bonus track, I don’t know. That’s what I
like about signing with [Corporate Punishment]; I really don’t have
to do anything.
RIL: Really? You just give them what you have and they put it together however
they want?
BS: Yeah. I don’t have the time for that shit.
RIL: Do you have the final say on everything?
BS: I could. They usually show me the final product.
RIL: You’ve toured with several notable bands over the years
such as Sevendust, Fear Factory, and Nonpoint. Who would you love to hook
up with
again, either in the live arena or from a production aspect?
BS: We played with Tommy Lee; that was fun. It would be fun to play with
him again.
RIL: Did you get to hang with him afterwards?
BS: Yeah, he was cool…partied a little bit, but
it was a good time.
RIL: Was there anyone that you toured with that was a disaster?
BS: It’s hard to say really. There were a couple of tours that we did
that were kind of going disastrous, but the bands were actually pretty cool.
It wasn’t the bands fault.
RIL: For the most part Switched is no more, right?
BS: Yeah. We’re just pretty much doing [a few
shows] and going from there.
RIL: How many shows are you going to be doing?
BS: I think were doing fifteen to twenty.
RIL: Is it going to be a regional thing?
BS: Yes. We’re going to go south in the U.S.
and some east coast dates.
RIL: Do you prefer doing production work over performing?
BS: Yes. When I do the production stuff I get to make
the music too. I’ve
co-wrote a lot of songs with the bands that I have worked with. It’s
almost like your trading being in one band to being in twenty bands. You
get to be in everybody’s band, plus you get paid.
RIL: That’s always a good thing.
BS: You know, when you’re in a band you might
make some money, but when you produce records you always make money. It works
out better for you
in the long run financially.
RIL: Are you comfortable enough that you can just do the production and
not have to do anything else?
BS: It depends. You still have to make your money month
to month. You’ll
have some good months and some bad months.
RIL: What’s up next for you?
BS: I have those shows with Switched in April, and
I’m pretty sure
I’m doing the Walls of Jericho record for Trustkill. Then I’ll
just have to wait and see. I’ve got a bunch of other little things
in the pot; it’s just a matter of which one breaks first.
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BEN
SCHIGEL
