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(Fall 2004) by George Dionne
Dope is set to hit the road this fall to promote their forthcoming album
American Apathy. The appropriately titled American Apathy Tour will not only
showcase one of New York's most notorious underground metal bands, but along
for the ride are the unstable and furious newcomers Twisted Method, and the
thunderous and tribal stylings of Motograter. Guaranteeing more metal bang
for the buck, The American Apathy Tour will have Powerman 5000 and Mushroomhead
co-headlining on certain dates. I caught up with Dope, Motograter, and Twisted
Method before they hit the road.
RIL: You're touring in support of your upcoming album American Apathy, yet
it doesn't come out until February. Is this a little unorthodoxed?
ED: The funny thing about this band is that we're always
on tour. It's just how we've always done things. I think that the only thing
that's unorthodoxed about it is calling the tour the name of the album when
the album is not out yet. It just seemed fitting. We're going to play a lot
of the new material to create awareness to the fact that we're putting out
a new album early next year. We really haven't stopped touring since before
we put the last album.
RIL: Can you tell me a little bit about the new album?
ED: I think it's going to be what people want from
Dope. I think that the last couple of albums, my guitarist Virus and I
had a goal in mind to expand the sound of the band and continue to put
out a record that would always throw people for a loop. I think that this
record was the opposite of that. We loved the last few records, and our
fans really loved the records, but there were a few songs on each one that
really didn't play well live. They were made just for the record. This
record was written with the intension of playing every song from the record
live. So it's a little more raw, dirty, and brutal, but I think it's the
record we needed to make for ourselves and our fans. We're going to add
a few really cool extras to it. The record's going to end up being sixteen
or seventeen tracks long. It's going to have at least one or two live cuts
and a remix or two from the first and second albums. All kinds of cool
extra stuff.
RIL: Actually that was my next question. Group Therapy had a whole
DVD's worth of extras that ended up being videos for each song. I was going
to ask about the bonuses for the upcoming album.
ED: Not videos this time, just audio. "Die Mutherfucker
Die" is going to be one of the live cuts, another remix of the song "Bitch",
an updated 2004 version of "Fuck the Police", and they'll be a remix
of this song "Sick" off our first record.
RIL: You're taking Motograter and Twisted Method out on the road
with you, how did that come about?
ED: I've kind of taking Twisted Method under my wing
over the last few months or so. I started producing their new album and we
became really good friends. I love what they do live. They're really energetic,
hard, and just a really good band. They were kind of a guarantee. We've been
wanting do something with Motograter for a while now. We played some shows
with them and Mushroomhead a while back we really got a long. I love how entertaining
they are with their show. Them and Dope just seem to be a match made in heaven.
We did reach out to Adema to be part of the tour, but I guess their singer
left the band, or some nonsense. We ended up offering the entire tour to Motograter,
so they were excited about that. We've started to reach out to more bands on
the upcoming tour, bands that we're friends with. We have Powerman 5000 coming
out to do a couple of shows on the West Coast and Mushroomhead doing a few
shows in the mid-west. I'm sure as the tour gets started they'll be a couple
more additions to it. I think that the tour is going to be killer.
RIL: You have a lot of bands offered on the tour for a reasonable
ticket price. In fact, most of the package tours that you've been on have
had a nominal ticket price. How can you afford to do that?
ED: We're not greedy. I think that the whole idea is
to accept the fact that this isn't rocket science or brain surgery, we're not
gonna charge you an arm and a leg to come to a rock show. I've just always
been about trying to keep ticket prices down in order to make it a bigger,
better show. It's always been an independent way of thinking. Even before I
got a record deal my shows were five bucks. It's always worked for me, I think
it's important, and I think that the fans appreciate it.
RIL: Dope has done a couple of eighties covers in the past, Billy
Idol's "Rebel Yell" and Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me",
have you done any others?
ED: We have done a cover of Depeche Mode's "People
Are People" that will be on the new record. "Rebel Yell" was
never put on an album, but it was available on our website. We did "Fuck
the Police", but I think that's it. We've dicked around with a few ideas,
but nothing that stuck. "People Are People" came out killer though.
I was never really a Depeche Mode fan, but I loved the sentiment of what the
song is about with where the country is right now and the state of the world.
RIL: I saw Dope open for Alice Cooper during the Brutal Planet Tour
at The Orpheum in Boston. There were these two girls peeking out from behind
the stage curtain. They were scantily clad, feeling each other up, and
kissing one another. What was going on there?
ED: You know what that was? We were filming for VH1 that
night. It was for a show about the secret lives of sex and groupies or something.
For obvious reasons, Dope became a poster child for sex, drugs, and rock and
roll over the last few years. So many bands are wound up tight and don't really
embrace the lifestyle of what rock and roll used to be about, and should be
about. We really embrace it, and all the excess that goes with it. VH1 featured
us on that show, and they've done a few other things with us since then. We
just seem to be that band that gets the call whenever VH1 or MTV want to do
some craziness with a bunch of girls and rock and roll. What better band fits
that bill that's still young enough to be considered to be a new band? It seems
to be Dope, and we have no problem with it.
RIL: I have a couple of rumors I've read about you that I want you
tell me if they're true or not. Did you really finance your first album
selling drugs?
ED: Yes, sir.
RIL: What kind of drugs?
ED: You name it man. We had a delivery service. We
were like a one-stop shop of goodies in New York City back in the day.
It just seems to make sense. We were able to put together the money we
needed to make to promote the band and buy recording gear. We knew what
we had to do to support ourselves. We weren't greedy. Everything we made
went back into the band. The day that we knew we had a record deal, we
quit.
RIL: The other rumor was that a fan was collecting money to buy
you a new tour bus, because you had a tour bus that was always breaking
down. Were you aware of this?
ED: I heard a rumor about it as well. Contrary to what
people out there know or don't know, you don't actually buy tour busses, you
rent tour busses. We had an unfortunate experience with a bus company that
we were working with where a bus broke down on us. They sent out another bus
and that one broke down. It was ridiculous. Just a streak of bad luck. I guess
there was a fan or fansite out there that started this crazy idea of trying
to buy us a new tour bus. It obviously a beautiful thought and we appreciate
the fact that someone appreciates the band so much that they're willing to
try that, but we're back in business. We found a new bus company and everything
is good now.
RIL: Jagermeister is the sponsor of the American Apathy Tour, what's
you favorite way to enjoy Jager?
ED: I just like it straight up baby! I'll take it right
out of the bottle. Preferable fed to me by a chick with big tits. That's always
good too.
RIL: How long has Twisted Method been together?
T: About seven years, ever since we were like fifteen.
We all met together in high school and just started jammin together. We stuck
through the whole thing.
RIL: Your major label debut album is out now entitled Escape From
Cape Coma, how did you guys get signed?
T: Our [current] manager saw us play one night opening
for another band. He really liked us and said if we signed with him, he could
guarantee us getting signed. He thought we had it. We had a couple labels fly
down, we played for MCA in a closed club, and that's how we got the deal. We
got signed without a demo. They just saw us play and signed us based on that.
RIL: Isn't the title of your new album a reference to the Florida
town that you grew up in?
T: Yeah. The town is called Cape Coral, and its all retirement
folks. There's not a lot of young kids around, and if there is they're all
fighting for the same thing, to have fun and kind of stand out. Because of
all the retirement things around here, they're always looking to shut you down.
They don't want you to have any fun around here. We just kind of band together,
play shows, and kind of get crazy. So we call it Cape Coma because there's
so many old people here.
RIL: I can relate. I live in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and there's
a lot of older people here as well.
T: Anything with Cape seems to draw the whiteheads.
RIL: There's a lot of heavy, angry stuff on your new album. Is there
a motivation behind that?
T: I guess you could say that. We wrote the album while
we were in high school. We were kind of the outcasts of the school. We were
having a tough time and I started getting angry. Then I just started to let
it all come out. As far as the softer songs go, like "Shine" and "Softer
Silence", that's just the softer side of thinking about the stuff that
set me off. Most of the anger came from trying to be heard.
RIL: You’ve opened for a lot of mainstream acts over the years,
who was your favorite?
T: Ozzfest was really cool, but I would probably say
Dope as well. We get along with those guys really well. We have a lot in common.
Every time we go out with them we have a blast. I've gone up on stage to sing "Fuck
the Police" with them a couple of times.
RIL: So in addition to this years American Apathy Tour that your
doing with Dope, you’ve toured with them before?
T: We toured with them and Mushroomhead a few years back.
They liked our show so much that we ended up sharing a bus with them. It sort
of became like a family thing.
RIL: Is this the same Dope tour bus that kept breaking down all
the time?
T: I don't think so, but we had a tour bus that kept
breaking down all the time. We called 'Black Betty'. That thing has been
through some tours, but it's been retired now. I think between us and Dope,
we can get around this gig.
RIL: Why do you call your fans 'inmates'?
T: It's like the whole Cape Coma thing, it's like
being trapped somewhere. There's a Cape Coma in every state; a place that
doesn't have a lot going, you feel like you're there by yourself, and you
just want an outlet. We're all inmates in our own towns. I don't care if
you're in L.A., if you’ve been there your whole life, you want to
get out.
RIL: You stream your whole album on your website, does this make
you pro-downloading?
T: Not necessarily, it's just a player, not a downloader.
They can come to our website and listen to the album all they want, but
as far as downloading it and passing it around, that doesn't really help
us out much. If we were like a big band and selling millions of records,
then it would be a big deal. We're struggling hard and it doesn't help
when people download it. I like the internet because we wouldn't be where
we are without it. It spreads to so many people, and it gets us out there.
RIL: Do you guys ever get confused with the evil monster group Twisted?
T: Not really. When we came up with the name, we
were fifteen. We thought it was the coolest name ever. We kind of grew
out of it, but stick with it because it's been with us forever. We've been
confused once in a while, but it's not like everyone is coming up to us
and saying it. I think if we stick with it, it will stand on it's own in
the end.
RIL: You're probably right, I don’t see Twisted going anywhere.
Now, Jagermeister is the sponsor of The American Apathy Tour, what's your
favorite way to have Jager?
T: Straight up! I don't even deal with the bomb.
RIL: I apologize in advance that I'm not that familiar with Motograter.
G: That's okay.
RIL: How long has Motograter been together?
G: The band itself was formed about eight years ago.
I've only been in the project for two years now.
RIL: How would you describe the sound or concept behind your self-titled
major label debut?
G: We didn't want to pigeon-hole ourselves in any way.
For an initial album we really wanted to put in a little bit of every spectrum
that we've enjoyed in our lies. We were never asked to do one or the other.
A lot of bands come out with either a really heavy album or a really soft album,
and have a hard time making the medium. So we wanted to hit that medium and
just be really proud about what we did on all sides of the spectrum.
RIL: Motograter was recently dropped by Electra Records, was this
a result of the merger?
G: It was, also the passing of the president of No Name
Records, Steve Richards had passed away. He was a good friend of ours and a
real visionary. Once he wasn't there, I don’t think [Elektra] knew what
to do with us so to speak. It just became real difficult with the mergers and
all the things going on in the music industry. You know, it was probably a
blessing for us. We have a chance to move forward and do something on a whole
different side of it. I'm actually working on a project with my drummer that's
utterly amazing. We're working with John Stevens from XM Radio and talking
to Nadia from Coal Chamber. We're really looking to go forward on that.
RIL: Do you have any plans for a follow-up Motograter album?
G: We do, but with all the logistics with what’s
going on with the label situation and within the band, it's really difficult
to get a grip on it right now. So we decided to work on a DVD to put out
for this American Apathy tour. Then we have a couple of new singles that
we're going to put out. Besides that, we just going to push forward on
different things.
RIL: What's going to be on the DVD?
G: We're going to have footage from everything from
the Ministry tour, Ozzfest, Kittie, and Chimira tours. There’s a
whole bunch of stuff going on. We're going to have a lot of photo work
with the fans. It's being put together right now. I can't wait to see how
it comes out.
RIL: Have you played with Dope and Twisted Method before?
G: We played with Twisted Method on Ozzfest 2003.
We played with Dope and Mushroomhead on a few shows last year. This tour
should be really exciting. Edsel's always been a really cool guy, and Twisted
Method are cool too. We'll see how it goes. We always throw down no matter
who it is.
RIL: How did you guys settle on the name Motograter?
G: That's actually the instrument itself. Moto was
the name of the band and the Grater was the name of the bass percussion
machine that Bruce created. They just combined it from there. I think it
might have been a good bag of mushrooms to be honest with you.
RIL: What's the deal with the body paint?
G: It's a tribal unity that we've always taken pride
in. They painted themselves as post-apocalyptic tribe members before I
joined them. I had actually gotten deep into theatrics with my previous
band Toys. We used a lot of neat stuff on stage to enhance the show, and
I thought it was pretty cool that Motograter was doing the same. The tribal
thing it self is to join us together. We become a family. The paint was
a good way to commit to unity, as soldiers.
RIL: How long does it take to put the paint on every night?
G: A lot less time than it takes to get off. It takes
between and hour and two ours for the preparation, and to get it off takes
a day or two.
RIL: Do you keep the make-up on for the groupies?
G: No. You gotta be kidding me. That would be artificial
and fake.
RIL: Some of them like it, ask Gene Simmons of Kiss. He'll tell
ya.
G: You know what? We've been approached, but sorry,
that persona stays on the stage.
RIL: Is there anything else you wanted to say?
G: If you haven't seen us yet, come on out. I don't
think we'll not impress you.
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2004
AMERICAN APATHY TOUR
