Melbourne is one of the dark and mysterious cities of Australia, which is a place well known for it’s alt rock bands. Society Of Beggars are one of these such bands and their single, “Lick“, by the four piece, came out on the 28th of July. Yianni Michalopoulos (lead vocals), Jim Michalopoulos (guitar), Dibi (drums) and Nicoli Foulstone (bass) are the members making up Society Of Beggars.
The video for the track has band members and others wearing masks, as if they are in some otherworldly Greek tragedy, except for lead singer Yianni Michalopoulos, who is the story teller, leading you through this tale that Julie Leung, has wandered into. There is a deep melancholy to match the rich vocals and simple piano and guitar, as the music gradually builds and swells.
I think this is definitely one of those tracks that grows on you every listen. It is also going to mean different things to individuals, such as loss, lies, overcoming the seemingly impossible. The track is insistent that you listen carefully and soak up the ambiance bubbling up through the cracks. And remember folks…..once you lick it, it is yours.
The duo, Johnathan/Christian have released the single, “Talkin’ About The Wolf“. It is a track inspired by the Ukrainian resistance against a much larger foe, trying to take by force, their county. Johnathan/Christian is joined by The Legion Of Whom, a mixture of talented humans, whom appear in the order of Matt Vowles: Black Angel (guitar), Lee Meadows: The Glass House Museum (bass), AthanMaroulis: NOIR, Steven Archer: Ego Likeness/Stoneburner, Claus Larsen: Leæther Strip, Martin Bowes: Attrition, Alla Miroshichenko: Attrition/Alia Synesthesia (cello), Jeff Diehm: The Last Dance and AniaTarnowska: I Ya Toyah
Verbose gothic melancholy, wrapped in this wonderfully rich guitar and complimented by the electroincs in a most symphonic manner. Sliding between vocalists is a truly interesting experience, it drags you in to listen to the the words and marvel at the mixture of styles, accents and timbre. They ask what we want to know, ‘how many Putin?’.
“Since the Donbas Invasion in 2014, Ukraine has been telling the world the wolf is coming, and what have we done to help? As the battle continues, now is not the time to move on. Ukraine needs everyone’s help now more than ever” – Johnathan
The title of the track refers to a Ukrainian saying, ‘talking about the wolf‘, which basically means ‘speak of thedevil‘. All proceeds, from the single will be donated to the Come Back Alive Foundation in Ukraine, which was created during the War in Donbas. In return, you get a darkwave track of immense proportions, catchy and chock full of some legends in the business.. Mmmmm, very tasty and remember, you think you are safe until they are at your door.
With the release of the debut album, The Egg That Never Opened, on the 17th of June, with the record label Art As Catharsis, you may or may not have heard of High CastleTeleorkestra, but I can promise you, that once you have, you are very unlikely to forget. A core of six members, dotted around the world, whom have been associated with some big name musical acts, plus the ability to draw on other talented musicians to further enhance their sound. What is this sound you might ask? Constructive insanity comes to mind but it is more than that. These guys are the musicians that other musicians tend to get really excited about with their alternative, progressive, instrumental mixtures of tasty perfection. Crazy good at what they do and while there is an assault of all these different genres, they craft it into tracks that are seamless, occasionally haunting and more often than not, a lot of fun. There is a pervasive feeling of joy from this band that goes into bringing each piece to life and it translate into the music. Tim Smolens and Chris Bogen are the originators of the band, so who else better to talk to about this juggernaut that they have brought to life and how important castles really are in the alternative rock scene.
We at Onyx go to extreme lengths to interview creative people but storming the battlements is a first for us, so we bid thee welcome to our nightmare of siege weapons, cool pointy things and comfy pillows. Well met on the interviewing battlefield, Tim Smolens and Chris Bogen of High Castle Teleorkestra.
Professed as both recovering professional musicians…. I find this statement misleading, as I am sure that neither of you have ever been able to give up the music drug. How did you get sucked into this life of moody tunes and can you tell us about your former shady lives, as Tim you were in Estradasphere and I.S.S. to name a couple of bands and Chris in the snotty named Doc Booger.
Chris: The HCT bio tells lies! I have never been a full-time pro musician though Tim has a few inhabitants in his brain and he could technically be considered as two recovering professional musicians. I’ve mostly done a lot of extremely low profile, community and friend oriented music projects that are usually left unfinished. I’ve been persistently doing home recording stuff since the mid 1990s with a few scattered live band situations. Doc Booger was my first “commercial” release and this is my third. Every band needs a luckiest member sort of hobbit character and I guess that’s my gimmick.
Tim: Lies indeed! Given the fact that we are such small beans in this giant burrito game, it is necessary for us to embellish a bit just to help us feel like we have something to contribute to this world of interesting music, especially at our ripe old ages. Truth be told, I am not sure I ever fully made a living from music but I can tell you that I have made 1000s of dollars from music in the last 30 years!
We gather you became domesticated, settled down, had jobs and even spawned?
Tim: Living the life of a broke musician throughout my 20s, I was certain that I never wanted kids. “Somehow” my wife became pregnant and I just embraced it. It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me, saving me from the sad lifestyle that so many contemporary musicians must endure. There probably hasn’t been a worse era to be a professional musician given that most people don’t buy music anymore. I would venture to guess that a majority of the public doesn’t care much for music at all other than in the most superficial of ways. So I have been married for 15 years now, have 2 kids, and make my living as an ER nurse. Even though it is hard to work music into that busy schedule, and I certainly test my wife’s patience with how much time put into it, I am under no pressure whatsoever to make a living from music although it would be a nice goal to strive for.
Chris: I was a semi-pro/amateur domesticated human for years which is probably why it took me so long to finally release some music commercially. I became professionally domesticated over a decade ago. Now there are three other people in the house that look just like me. My wife and kids are very supportive of the music project and aren’t at all sick of hearing me play the same parts over and over and over again to perfection. And yes, full-time jobs outside of music since 2004 in the Computer Science field. I have a Ph.D. in Comp. Sci. and it has afforded me a lot of great opportunities to do interesting work and live a balanced life. I am currently a full-time family dude, a full-time cyber security architect, a part time instructor, and a part time music dude. See. Balance!
Obviously, at some point you thought stuff this normalcy and had the idea to create some monstrous amalgamation of musical talent, calling it High Castle Teleorkestra. WHHHHHYYYYY?
Chris: I think we both hit a point in time when we were itching to create something big and prove something to the world. We knew it was time when some dramatic montage music played in the background of one of our thousands of Facebook chats.
Tim: The fact that Chris and I have stable jobs and families afforded us the luxury of having a man-cave project that our spouses would be in favor of, at least initially until they realized the depths of our obsession. During the pandemic it dawned on me how many super talented musicians I knew around the world and I didn’t see anything stopping me from forming a novel “band” with some of them.
Did covid influence this decision and maybe wanting a castle as well?
Tim: Covid was a good excuse and false pretense for making the band. A group of international talent forced to collaborate remotely due to restrictive lockdowns makes for a great narrative but the truth is we would likely be working this way regardless of the current situation on the global chessboard.
Chris: I’m going to be that annoying music snob guy that says that I’ve always wanted a castle even before everyone else wanted a castle. COVID had nothing to do with it though because we were already working together remotely having never met one another face to face.
Also, why a High Castle? Why not just a normal level Castle with a regular moat?
Chris: A high castle offers the best defense in depth strategy and you have a pretty damned good view. It’s like having a belt with suspenders. And who said we didn’t have a moat?!
Tim: It is good to have a lofty goal even if you only realize it partially. Plus with a higher castle you can see your enemy encroaching and give you ample time to prepare to fight or run for your life like a coward.
For those unfamiliar with the composition of the band, could you give us the lineup of the members and the associated acts?
Chris: Stian Carstensen is from Farmers Market and he is our resident virtuoso. Stian always raises the stakes on our songs and makes us want to quit trying to play musical instruments. Timba Harris is from Estradasphere, Duo Probosci, Ultraphuana, and a former Secret Chiefs 3 collaborator. Timba has a unique way of arranging and performing the perfect sort of provocative and rich string parts to our already dense tunes. Dave Murray (Estradasphere, Traun) is our resident metalhead and polyrhythmic guru, and he’s managed to get some amazing drum tones in his humble home studio setup. Bär McKinnon (Umlaut and Mr. Bungle) is one of the most unique songwriters around and is a songwriting gemstone of our band, and he also covers much of the woodwind work and vocals on his tunes. I play guitar and some other stuff sometimes (noise collages, synths) and do my imposter syndrome undistinguished member routine with expert precision. Tim (Estradasphere, ISS, former Secret Chiefs 3 collaborator) plays bass, piano, sings, is the chief producer, and he’s a pretty damned good cook (sorry, had to talk about food after so many words about music).
Tim: Yeah, what he said.
How the heck did you manage to gather this bunch into agreeing to being a part of this?
Tim: It is funny because when I first had this idea of forming a remote band and Chris and I set to work on a few songs, we had these guys on the roster in mind. We really took our time in asking them to officially join the “band” (courtship) because we wanted to have them play on some tunes first and be impressed and intrigued; sort of a proof of concept of the “business model.” We finally popped the question and they all said yes and we set out making more kids. This wedding night still goes on and on.
Chris: Tim and I prepared a demo of Klawpeels and Tim shopped it around to his well-established friends. I did my part by sitting back and pretending it was completely normal to be in a “band” with this roster of musicians.
A lot of these guys have been in some pretty bizarre projects, even you Tim playing live with Mr Bungle (all hail Chris Patton, Lord of the Bungle). Did you guys’ ever think…’what the fuck have I got myself into’ or was it like a comfortable set of shorts where the arse is not completely worn out yet?
Chris: I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing with these guys in HCT so I am just gonna stick with that Hobbit thing I said earlier.
Tim: To clarify, I have not played with Bungle. I did program a majority of their complex multi-keyboard setup for their California tour and they did open for my band Estradasphere as a secret warm up show for that tour. I have played live as the bassist for Bungle side project The Secret Chiefs 3. I have definitely soiled my shorts before but at this point they are pristine untl the upper thigh chub rub stench sets in.
As the name suggests, Teleorkestra, the music, is a mash of electronic and modern instruments mixed with traditional instruments plus also incorporating a vast array of styles…. sometimes all in the same track, which is bloody impressive. How did this all come about?
Chris: Our influences and interests are all over the map and combining them under one banner doesn’t seem so unusual to us. I think we just focused on each song and did our best to serve each one sonically. Somehow the track sequencing (which was sort of decided by chance) works as a satisfying progression of moods and sounds.
Tim: By the prefix “tele” is meant “at a distance” which is how our band conducts its activities.
Be honest, is it easier having your band mates as far away as possible and do you sometimes ignore their text messages and emails?
Chris: It probably makes it easier being apart because we would end up spending hours and hours together in person slaving over these mixes and parts. Tim and I did have a few days together in person like that midway through the project when I visited him in Colorado. I’m looking forward to some more days like that because there’s nothing quite like nerding out over some music you’re excited about with a good buddy. I never thought to ignore his messages though..
Tim: By keeping these egos at a distance we avoid the drama that close-quarters band activities inevitably brings forth. Although that was not the rationale for the genesis of our group it is a pleasant side-effect. In seriousness, bands usually do end up fostering interpersonal drama and our way of working remotely is a good way to filter a lot of that out.
Your debut album is “The Egg That Never Opened,” a title that implies the loss of something important or I could be completely wrong, and it is all about the Castle dragon. What inspired you to name the album after the epic first track (which is this quasi metal, confused French/German oompha band with a sea shanty singing barbershop quartet, on a Hawaiian holiday in space inspired piece)?
Chris: Dragons are cool though I did make one very angry once near Lonely Mountain. That’s another story though.
Tim: The album is indeed based on the Philp K. Dick Book “Radio free Albemuth.” The book is 30 chapters and we decided to take it linearly so it will be a trilogy and the 10 songs on this record represent the 1st 10 chapters. The phrase “The Egg That Never Opened,” is taken directly from chapter 1 and seems to imply a main character, Nick, whose life is in a rut, stagnating, with no obvious hope on the horizon for working his way out of it. But he has lots of positive qualities and interests that could have indeed led to a more colorful life; potential that was never realized.
Chris: Damn you, I was trying to be cagey and mysterious and you gave away the keys to the castle.
Is it true the album is an exploration of a Philip K Dick novel and have you recovered from this?
Tim: Yes, it is an adaptation of Philip K Dick’s discarded novel “Radio free albemuth,” which he ended up rewriting to become “Valis.” We have not yet recovered because we are still in the throes of it with the next two parts of the trilogy.
Chris: Yes and No.
Each track has a myriad of influences, that come together and just seem to work. With the members of the band being so far flung, how do you manage to write these grandiose pieces?
Chris: There’s typically a very strong vision for each song and a good template set forth before individual band members start tracking parts. There is some cross collaboration on the songs and arrangements early on though typically one member begins with a very firm idea and we work hard on firming up the foundational aspects of a demo – tempo map, mockups of essential parts, etc.
Tim: Most of the projects I have ever done have involved mixing and matching genres that usually are not found in the same song or even the same album. It is something I have gotten better at over the years and I feel is finally really clicking in a fluent way. You wouldn’t think that some of these mixtures would work well but on this record they feel natural and not contrived. European metal waltz. Romanian folk metal. Doo-Wop surf, and so on.
Technology now allows musicians to remotely record and share. Which member has the job of sewing it all together?
Chris: Tim does. And then me and the rest of the peanut gallery bust the seams and Tim has to do more sewing. I tend to eat a lot and not get enough exercise, so bursting seams comes naturally to me.
Tim: In general it is me that hosts the master files and I do the majority of editing and production but I am in daily contact with Chris on all the specific details. I am someone who loves teamwork and collaboration so having him to bounce ideas off is huge for me. I may be doing a majority of the grunt production work but his influence on this record cannot be overstated. Him and I rarely disagree and if we do it is in a friendly manner. The other guys will chime in if they have a suggestion. Bar is pretty specific related to the songs he wrote, so dialing that in on his 2 songs was a bit of a challenge to suit his fancy, but I think it all worked out really well.
“Mutual Hazard” was released as a single and it is a whirling dervish, magnetic and alluring, will probably drunkenly stab you later with a goose sort of thing. Who was the mastermind behind this track and what inspired you, as it is brilliant?
Chris: Dave Murray is the mastermind behind the metal aspects of the song which also contain the unorthodox polyrhythms. He arranged the guitar parts and I performed them with very slight modifications. Timba wrote and recorded the stunning string parts. As said, Tim was the mastermind of fitting all these disparate pieces together and making them work – with a little help from me and others in the peanut gallery. Most of the rest of it is in letting the performers and the melody shine.
Tim: I will add that the song is a traditional Romanian folk song and Stian is master of that style so he was very helpful and played some mean accordion parts as well as rhythm guitar (a nuanced rhythmic style that fall squarely outside of Chris’s wheelhouse). Stian brought in 2 guest players a Bulgarian violinist and a cimbalom player which really added to the authenticity of the folk aspect.
Interestingly, you are on the Art As Catharsis label, who are Australian, which leads us to ask why an Aussie label and how has that worked out for you?
Chris: We saw Crocodile Dundee and Young Einstein when we were kids and it inspired us to go buy boomerangs, big knives, and score an Australian label contract. When our music reaches the masses in Australia we are hoping to star in our own American-in-Australia wacky rom coms. I’m from Louisiana so I’ll be in Alligator Yankee. Who knows what Tim will do. But for real, we really dig Lachlan Dale (label manager) and his mission at Art as Catharsis. I’m proud to be a part of the AAC family.
Tim: Australia has been a great supporter of interesting music over the years. Mr. Bungle was very successful there and Estradasphere has many fans down under. It seemed like a natural fit to us. Art As Catharsis is a great label that has been a launching pad for many creative acts.
What bands and acts influenced your music insanity?
Chris: Chet Atkins, Arthur Lyman, Dick Dale, Martin Denny, Les Baxter, Esquivel, Perrey and Kingsley, The Three Suns, Luiz Bonfa’,Taraf de Haïdouks, The Shadows, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Santo and Johnny, Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3, The Ventures, Brian Eno, My Bloody Valentine, Harold Budd, Beach Boys, Slayer, Metallica, Death, Meshuggah, Steely Dan, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Mancini,and on and on.
Tim: to add to Chris’s nice list I would nominate Ennio Morricone and a variety of Italian film luminaries (Piero Picciono, Piero Umiliani, Bruno Nicolai, Nino Rota, and many more.), Joe Meek, The off kilter “world music” explorations of the label Sublime Frequencies, the harmonic mastery of Jacob Collier, Sam Cooke, a huge variety of Doo-Wop artists and so much more.
If you could have a guest musician or two, join you and it could be anyone, re-animated or living, whom would you dearly like?
Chris: If I had that kind of power then surely I could get more than one or two! Though there was one time where I had that wish while making the album: I would have really liked to have brought in Jean Jacques Perrey to do some crazy tape splicing stuff on the title track of our album. I would also have loved to have had Arthur Lyman play vibes on Placentia.
Tim: I would love to have Jacob Collier,whom Stian has collaborated with, guest on a track. I would bring back Joe Meek to produce surf songs for us, and a guest appearance from legendary studio drummer Bernard Purdie would be swell. (Chris: aw hell yeah!).
What is in the future for the eclectic High Castle Teleorkestra?
Chris: A short stack of filthy stinking $10 (USD) bills to divide amongst the band members so that we can take our families and significant others out to pick out their favorite pack of chewing gum or single serving hard candy piece!
Tim: We can hopefully finish off these next 2 albums to complete the trilogy before our bodies become infirm, we are wearing depends, ambulating with a walker, and falling frequently in our low-income nursing homes before we finally break that hip and the trials rehab prove to be the final blow. We will keep plugging away as quickly as our busy family lives will allow.
We thank you kindly for your parley, Tim and Chris, and we also know this album is going to knock some boots off!
Chris: Thank you, it was a gas!
Tim: Yes indeed, we loved this unorthodox interview.
Have you experienced High Castle Teleorkestra yet? If not then let me draw your attention to a good time. Signed to Art As Catharsis records, with members flung across the globe, who have been involved in many bands like Farmers Market, Mr Bungle and Estradasphere, and they are about to fling apon the world their new album, The Egg That NeverOpened, on June the 17th. So, to whet one’s appetite for the onslaught, here is their first video single, “Mutual Hazard“.
There are classical overtones that rapidly breakdown into a cacophony of metal fused with amazing traditional folk music and drumming that only enhances this brilliant piece. And if that is not enough, there is also the wonderful satire video, as it incorporates the televisual component of the band, while the music spirals in it’s dervish whirlings. High Castle Teleorkestra, utterly bonkers and loving it.
In 1996, History Of Guns started their musical adventure and now in 2022, they continue that quest to create music after a hiatus, with the release of a new single, “You Wanted To Live” on the 25th of May. The currently incarnation has original members Del Alien (vocals) and Max Rael (keyboards, programming), plus adding newest member Jamu Knight (guitars).
Fuzzed out beats meet chiming keyboards, in a building vortex of emotions, all the while Alien’s vocals taunt you with the question of if you want to live, then why don’t you live. The angst is high and the guitar goes from strained to decimated complacency, though the electronics never stray from adding an extra layer of weighted darkness.
The band were helped out in the studio by Daniel Vincent (programming), Jason Knight (drums), and Gary Hughes (additional instrumentation). It is a great starter single, for the new album, that History Of Guns is threatening us with. Gothic, deep vocals and guitars that singe the air, all the while the electronics/synths give the track that harder industrial quality. In the end, you have this one life, so you can choose how you live it because “YouWanted To Live“.
The project, Beauty In Chaos came to fruition in 2018 with the first album, Finding Beauty In Chaos, which was an amalgamation of friends around the core instigator, Michael Ciravolo. Having been in the music business for a while, lends itself to having friends such as Wayne Hussey, Al Jourgensen and Michael Aston, to name a few, help you out in recording. Now in 2022, the latest adventure, Behind The Veil, is a full female fronted affair, with voices that that are beautiful, bold and bring a new dynamic to the project. In essence, Beauty In Chaos (BIC), has become a family of musicians which includes Ciravolo’s friend Michael Rozon, as well as his wife, Tish Ciravolo, both whom have been involved with the project since the first album. The latest single off the new album, “Afterlife“, is sung by Tish, who also wrote the lyrics, so we decided to have an interview in two parts. The first part is with the lovely Tish, while the second half is with the man behind the guitar, Michael. Excitingly, we get to find out about the up coming documentary and personally, I love that history of the scene they candidly talk about in the 80s and 90s. So, what are you waiting for?!
PART 1 – THE BEAUTY – Tish Ciravolo, welcome to the beating heart of Onyx.
Tish, you also started your musical career in the 80s as a bass player at the tender age of 16 playing in bands, though you also did a degree in journalism. Hearing stories, such as the way Joan Jett was treated, as female musician, how was were you received due to your gender in the scene back then?
Of course, horrible! The first music store I went into in LA, I was asked if I was picking something up for my boyfriend and that was the nicest comment I got. Girls didn’t work at music stores and most female musicians were treated like they sucked, whether they did or not. And this was almost 10 years after The Runaways started kicking open doors. The guys at sound check basically just had the girl bands plug in, play a note and unplug. That was the normal reaction from men in the business but I have to say, there were guys out there who helped and understood the struggle.
Lypstik was a big hair metal band you were in Tish…. how much fun was that and is this about the time you contributed vocals to a Human Drama track?.
LYPSTIK was a blast until it wasn’t. We were playing Battle of the Bitches type events all the time, pitting the girls against each other for a show. The Sunset Strip was a sight to behold. You never know what the memory is when you are living in it and you don’t think it won’t be the same in the future. But the entire scene did change. At the time, we had a billboard on the side of The Roxy facing The Rainbow so we really felt like we brought the “girl” side to a very dominated metal scene, along with some very cool other girl bands at that time.
Having a band like Human Drama ask for a simple vocal was a dream come true! But my name gets misspelled during interpretations… its not Trish, but Tish 🙂
Many people might not be aware that you, Tish created the company Daisy Rock, which makes bass/acoustic/electric guitars for girls and it has been really successful. What prompted you to create guitars for girls and what makes a guitar more for girls?
Daisy Rock Guitars came about organically. After my experience as a female musician with all the discrimination I experienced, I happened on a way to change that for my daughters and all female musicians. Our daughter, Nicole did a drawing when she was 1 1/2 years old and I turned that daisy drawing into a guitar drawing and showed it to my husband explaining that if we made guitars that girls would want to play, that maybe, just maybe, we could get more girls to play guitar. With Michael’s expertise, we created a “girl guitar” – lighter in weight, slimmer neck profile, in super fun designs and colors. Daisy Rock Guitars were born. Fast forward ten years and I’m training 600 men on how to treat women in music stores….
Tish, you play the guitar with a plectrum (pick). Why does this weird people out and who are your guitar heroes? (mine admittedly are John Taylor of Duran Duran and the late Mick Karn of Japan, both fretless players)
I love Simon Gallup of The Cure and Tim Butler of The Psychedelic Furs. I absolutely love Mick Karn and adore what Japan did way before Duran Duran, but fretless is not my forte 🙂
What is in the works for Beauty In Chaos as well as Tish and Michael Ciravolo, for the future?
I believe my husband already touched on the 5 year retrospective album he’s started putting together. Also, I filmed my segment for the “Unveiled” documentary that should come out later this summer. We have some live shows coming up with Gene Loves Jezebel where I will dust off the old bass guitar and get back on stage. And there are some rumblings of trying to put BIC on stage playing live. The future is so bright, I gotta wear shades!
Beauty can be found in the darkest of places, so what is your beauty in chaos?
One person’s chaos is another person’s beauty. My beauty comes from a place of being a mother, being a wife and being a creative artist. All those things comes with its own chaos no matter what stage you are in. Toddlers to teenagers has its own chaos and beauty. Loving my best friend, my husband for over 30 years now carries its own beauty and chaos. Continuing in life to create, to bring my dreams to life, to continue to dream, to not give up. That is my Beauty. That is my Chaos.
PART 2 – OUT OF CHAOS– Welcome Michael Ciravolo to the darkness within the heart of Onyx.
Michael, your career spans back to 1980, in New Orleans, with The Models. When the band moved to Los Angeles, in 1985, there was a name change to Human Drama. What was it like playing goth rock, in those cities, in the 80s for you and especially at the (in)famous Scream Club in LA?
Looking back, the mid to late ‘80s scene in Los Angles was truly magical. There was certainly the Hollywood’s ‘hair-meta’ scene happening in a big way. GnR, Van Halen, Motley Crue and the dozens of 2nd and third tier replicas ran rampant on the Sunset Strip. Many getting massive record deals. But there was also a cool darkwave scene, with its focal point being Scream. So many great nights playing and hanging there; especial when it was at the Park Plaza location. Not to be outdone by the strip scene, A&R types flocked there, as well as a few other clubs… not only signing Human Drama, but also Kommunity FK, Caterwaul, Jane’s Addiction to name a few. Another cool thing was there was sort of a comradery between bands… even with the goths and big hair metal kids. It was not uncommon for us to be hanging flyers on the strip besides guys from Poison and Faster Pussy Cat.
At that time, America was in the grips of hair metal. What made you take to the gothic rock style?
As a kid in New Orleans, I gravitated to glam and punk when I picked up the electric guitar. Marc Bolan, Mick Ronson and Johnny Thunders were my heroes. When we formed The Models, we were a bit more power-pop, but got heavier and darker as Johnny’s writing matured. Before we made the move to LA, we were listening to The Mission, The Cure, Joy Division and The Sister. I guess we sort of ‘absorbed’ that into our look and sound.
You are also a member of Michael Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel. What is it like for you to be a part of this iconic band?
When I rejoined Human Drama to record the live album at The Troubadour, Michael Aston had just released his solo album on Triple-X. With that being our label too, he was opening the show. After our set, a mutual friend, who ironically booked Human Drama’s first LA show, introduced us. He told me that he and Jay (Aston) were going to reform to do a reunion tour and would I be interested in being the guitarist. I had a few of the early post House Of Dolls Gene Loves Jezebel albums, which I though were quite good. I learned a few of the songs and I hit if off well with the twins. This lead to a 20+ date USA tour. I got to witness firsthand the old wounds Michael and Jay had, had burst open… which lead to us doing the last few dates with them not speaking to each other! The attempted to record an album with some of the ‘original’ line-up… but Michael left or got booted, depending on who’s version you believe. It is truly a cluster fuck, sort of like Oasis without the fame and money!! Michael again approached me about writing an album … which lead to two. “Love Lies Bleeding” and “Exploding Girls”. I have probably played over 100 shows with Michael’s ‘version’ of GLJ and there is talk of both Tish and I joining for some shows in support of The Mission. I guess we will see. I am proud of those two albums … but it is a shame as it could and should have been so much more.
Your latest project is Beauty In Chaos, where the debut album, “Finding Beauty In Chaos” was released in 2018. When did you originally decide this was a project you wanted to take on?
After Human Drama’s ‘final show’ in October 2015, Johnny had released a few solo albums … sadly with little notice, except to hard core Human Drama fans. I guess I am credited to talking him into doing another Human Drama album, which began to take shape in early 2017. In my head, I had hoped we would return more to the darker, edgier sound of the band; but it was really not what Johnny was into. In the recording process of what became “Broken Songs For Broken People”, I grew frustrated and probably tried to force a more aggressive guitar approach than really fit these songs. Looking back, I am happy with the album and what I added on guitar. I was never a big David Gilmore / Pink Floyd fan … and that is what Johnny continually referenced for the guitar parts he envisioned. In the end, it made me delve a bit into it … and now I truly appreciate how great Gilmore is. Michael Rozon, was recording my guitar parts for the album, and certainly could sense my growing frustration … which lead to him turning to me and saying “why don’t you just do your own album?”. I quickly blurted our ‘YES’! Then the stark realization crept in that now I had to do it. Not being a real singer, I decided that I could ask some friends to sing. Luckily two few friends … Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) and Al Jourgensen (Ministry) jumped in quickly .. and thus Beauty In Chaos was born. Thankfully, what for a few moments was my ‘solo’ record (which I find most solo records by guitarists to be quite boring) quickly morphed into this revolving / evolving entity we call Beauty In Chaos.
Did you ever envision that you would create your first album with such people as Wayne Hussey (The Mission, ex-Sisters Of Mercy), Simon Gallup (The Cure) and Aston Nyte (The Awakening)….in essence an amalgamated super group?
While I never set out for this to be a ‘supergroup’, as I hate that term, as to me, it sounds a bit pompous. I am certainly blessed to have a lot of friends that also happen to makeup a big part of my record collection. I never take any of the artists that contribute to BIC for granted. Whether well-known or lesser known, each of these artists put their heart and soul into the song(s) we created together.
But the ‘kid’ in me sometimes must pinch himself when I look at who has been part of our BIC family. Even the artists that are ‘platinum’, iconic or even in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame treat the entire concept of what BIC is with complete respect, and myself as a contemporary. Yes, still all more than a bit surreal.
Michael Rozon has been there, recording, mixing, and producing, not to mention playing instruments as well. Could you please tell us about this relationship/friendship?
Michael is one of my best friends in this world. I could not and would not do BIC without him. Far more than just suggesting I make my own album … he allows me to play my guitar while he focuses on the tech side of recording. He is also amazingly talented. Like our records or not … they do sound great and that is due to him. He has a talent to push and encourage me at the same time. He sure as hell has made me a better musician. And we have a fucking blast being in the studio together!
We met back in the mid ‘90s. I was in a post Human Drama (pre GLJ) band that was getting label attention, but our singer had a drinking issue. I could see that we had hit a dead-end. My then girlfriend and now wife, Tish, saw a ad on a telephone pole of a band, Drain The Doves, looking for a guitarist. She actually called Michael and invited him to a show, which ironically ended with me smashing my guitar against the wall on the stage out of frustration. I walked off stage, out to Sunder Blvd. and Michael walked up to me as I was probably screaming ‘fuck this I quit’ and said you are our guy. We have been great friends ever since.
Since that release, there has been the release of the album “The Storm Before The Calm” and two remix albums, which brings us to the 2022 unleashing of “Behind The Veil”. This release is a little more special as it features only female vocalists. What was the inspiration behind going in this direction for the album?
When we were finishing up ‘The Storm Before The Calm’, I was having an internal debate with myself if we should include “Stranger” (featuring Holy War’s Kat Leon) on this album or if we should write an additional gloom-rock track. While I absolutely love “Stranger”, I knew it was a bit of a departure from the rest of the album. In the end, I went with my original thought and ended the vinyl with it.
After hearing the album in its entirety, I thought it “Stranger” would be a cool lead-in to what came next for us. I do love all three female featured songs on ‘FBIC’, and what Kat and Cinthya had done with us … there is the genesis of ‘Behind The Veil’.
The latest single is the slow burning and dreamy “Afterlife” sung by your incredibly talented wife, Tish. What has it been like for both of you working together on this track for Beauty In Darkness as best friends and lovers?
“Afterlife” is a great song and a perfect opening song for this record. I could not be prouder of what my wife did. I love what she did on “Lookup” on our first record, but this tops it and is easily one of my top 5 BIC songs. When Michael and I wrote the music, I knew her voice would work well on it, but it is a bit of a different, linear song … there’s not the big obvious chorus section. She took the music and made it into a great song. Honestly, I am probably a bit more demanding on her because she is my wife and best friend … and I am sure she feels the pressure to prove she is on this because of her talent, not because she is my wife. I defy anyone to doubt her talent after what she delivered on this song … lyrically and melody , and the video. I think her ending line ‘love is all there is’ will live alongside Ashton Nyte’s ‘there is always a light (from ‘Storm’) as seminal BIC lyrics.
Having Elena Alice Fossi of the legendary Kirlian Camera sing “Kiss Of The World” must have been a bit of a coup. How did you end up getting the beautiful Italian singer to become involved?
I tried to remember how I became aware of Elena while doing press for “The Kiss Of The World” video. I think my press agent, Shauna (from Shameless Promo) was promoting something Elena was part of. No denying her beauty, but it was an interview I saw with her. Far more than a pretty face, she is extremely intelligent and I loved her courage to stand up for some social issues that plague the world. Plus she has an amazing voice. I got her email, and just introduced myself. I tuned out we had a mutual acquaintance in John Fryer, who had has done several BIC remixes and I am of Italian decent! I just straight out asked if she would be interested in working together at some point. Thankfully, she said yes and then fast-forward at least a year and we sent her a music track that she turned into “The Kiss Of The World”. I also love the video we did for this song, which she shot all her parts on a green screen in Italy. Industrialism Films, who have done most of our videos, did an amazing job of melding her into the dystopian sets we created. I must add that her Kirlian Camera fans have been so gracious towards Beauty In Chaos.
There are three more extremely talented women on the album, so were they acquaintances or professionals you felt you needed to have sing on the album?
Yes, Cinthya Hussey, Betsy Matin, along with my wife, Tish, are BIC alumi … appearing on songs on previous albums. Besides Elena, Whitney Tai and Pinky are new to our BIC Family. I knew Pinky Turzo from the early days of Human Drama; and loved what she had done vocally in Silver Ghost Shimmer. “Not Your Fault” is a different song for us … but I love everything about it. She channeled the ‘chaos in her beaut’ in the song’s lyrics, but in a way that most of us can interject something from our life into. To me, that makes a great song.
Whitney Tai was introduced to me by our mutual friend and BIC alum, Kat Leon of Holy Wars. Whitney and I immediately hit it off musically and she has become a really good friend of Tish and I. I heard some of what she had done on her albums and could hear the Bjork influence. I told her I wanted to do a song with her that fell between Bjork and Bauhaus. Wide net I know … but it rolled off the tongue nicely! What became “Orion” evolved so easily … almost effortlessly. To me, it encompasses all of the elements of BIC. Lots of ethereal guitars, but with blasts of chaos and sonic interference. Love the video too!
Remixes were a huge thing in the 80’s (hence all those wonderful 12-inch singles), though they seem to fall out of favour with the era of CDs and now there seems to be a renaissance. Half the album is remixes, so what was the reason behind this decision plus tell us about the newest remix album as well?
I was certainly a fan of the great extended 12” singles, however I never cared much for a remixer just replacing the drums with a ‘dance beat’. In BIC world, the remix concept happened really by accident … but I am a believer that things happened for a reason. When we were making our debut album, ‘finding beauty in chaos’, I had imposed a ‘no synth’ rule. Meaning every sound on that album came from manipulating my electric guitar. Wayne (Hussey, The Mission) introduced me to Tim Palmer.. who has always been one of my absolute favorite producers.
I was in Austin with he and Wayne, as Tim was mixing The Mission’s ‘Another Fall From Grace’ album. We were out having a few libations so I said what the fuck and asked Tim if he would mix a BIC song that Wayne was featured on. Amazingly Tim said yes. I sent him both “Man Of Faith” and “The Long Goodbye” to mix. In my excitement that he was doing this, I failed to tell him about the ‘no synth’ rule. See where this is going? So I get back “Man Of Faith” and is brilliant … but Tim added so cool keyboards and some nice guitar bits. So how do you tell your favorite producer “Great mix mate, but can you take those keyboards and guitars out!!!” . The answer is you don’t! Thus the idea of ‘Beauty Re-Envisioned’ was born. Thankfully, I am blessed with a lot of very talented friends that were eager to jump in and do some amazing reinterpretations of songs from ‘FBIC’. Since this worked well, at least in my opinion, we again followed up ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ was ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’.
I really enjoyed turning the keys over and hearing how other treated these songs. When it came to ‘Behind The Veil’, I was adamant about releasing it before the end of 2021. My BIC cohort, Michael Rozon, was working on a Ministry album at the same time, so our studio time was a bit limited. We created these six songs, which worked in the confines of vinyl, both left a lot of ‘time’ remaining with the 75-minutes+ available on a compact disc. I thought it would be cool to change what we had done previously, and include remixes on the CD version of ‘Behind The Veil’. In typical BIC fashion … the idea expanded, and we had so many creative and diverse remixes that it lead to 25 tracks, and ‘Further Behind The Veil’ !!!
Who or what music inspired you to become a musician?
Watching those great late-night music shows… The Midnight Special and Don Kirscher’s Rock Concert. Seeing T. Rex and David Bowie was a life changer for me. Until then, I wanted to play pro football. I quickly realized that girls, especially cute ones liked guys in bands more that jocks! Watching Marc Bolan pout and prance and seeing Johnny Thunders with has big mane of hair and low-slung buzz saw sounding guitar sealed the deal for me. One of those surreal moments in BIC, and there have been a few, was getting to record and do a video of T, Rex’s classic, “20th Century Boy” with Marc Bolan’s son, Rolan. Yeah, doesn’t get much cooler than that.
Do you find yourself listening to new acts now and what gets your creative juices flowing?
Sadly, I don’t find a lot new or very ‘inspiring’ in new music. Maybe it’s showing my age …. but I am looking far more forward to the next Cure record than anything I have heart of late. I am sure I am missing something, but I got more inspiration from sounds, and new musical ‘toys’ as opposed new acts. I just don’t see much longevity in what I hear.
Beauty can be found in the darkest of places, so what is your beauty in chaos?
Life is indeed filled with both beauty AND chaos. Sadly our world has fallen more into the latter as of late. For me personally, my beauty is my family. My wife and two beautiful, healthy, strong-willed daughters. I am beyond blessed for them.
Now, if you were given the chance to record a track with any goth rocker from the past or present, dead or alive, who would you pick and more importantly, why?
To me, and something I carry into Beauty In Chaos is lyrics. I want our singers to write from the heart, songs that have a deeper meaning, even and especially not overly obvious. To be clear, all of the singers in our BIC write their own lyrics and melody. Michael and I don’t give any verbal-guidance, but I think the music we send them sends them down a path to turn it into a song. As for your question, I think in the goth/darkwave world … most of the great singers do write wonderful lyrics. I would love to work with Robert Smith and Peter Murphy. I do know both and have approached them both. Each was kind and did consider, but at the time, each was very deep into writing for The Cure and Bauhaus. Maybe one day! Siouxsie would certainly be someone I would love to work with. I know you question was ‘goth’ specific, but there are other amazing, influential singers I would to have had, or have the opportunity to have as part of our BIC Family.
Having the chance to work with David Bowie, Marc Bolan and Michael Hutchence would have been amazing. Shirley Manson, Bjork, along with several of fantastic ladies of shoegaze … Elizabeth Fraser, Rachell Goswell, Lisa Gerrard and Portishead’s Beth Gibbons would be on my ‘want list’. Can’t end this hypothetical list without adding The Furs Richard Butler, who has always been one of my favorite vocalists.
What is in the works for Beauty In Chaos and Michael Ciravolo, for the future?
We are working on a behind-the-scenes look at ‘Behind The Veil’, cleverly untitled ‘Unveiled’. This is being done by the great people at JammerDirect. This documentary will include some great insight from the six amazingly talented ladies that make up this album, along with some thoughts from a few of the remixers involved. This should be premiered before the end of summer.
We are also planning a video from “Open Would Heart”, which features the lovely Cinthya Hussey. I really love this song, and her lyrics are beautiful. With her in Brazil, it has some challenges, but we managed with Elena, so I am confident that we will create something special that fits this song.
With Michael Rozon currently on tour with Jerry Cantrell, our studio time is a bit hard to come by, but I think it gives me a writing break that I probably would not have! That said, we are looking at releasing sort of an anthology CD…. BIC 2017-2022 type of thing. I am going thru all of our tracks, including the remixes and trying to pick the 13 or 14 songs that give the best sonic overview of what we have done to date. I have both a title and a photo in mind … so that’s half the battle. I am thinking of adding one new song to this…. Which may indeed by a cover song that stuck in my head during my recent visit to my hometown of New Orleans. We will see.
Thank for indulging us Michael and Tish, and we can’t wait to hear what you do next.
July 15th with see the release of the new Kill Shelter album, Asylum, which is a celebration of over 40 years of the dark scene, but for a taste now is in the form of the new single, “Necklace:, featuring Sweden’s Agent Side Grinder. Edinburgh’s Pete Burns (Kill Shelter) composed the music while Johan Lange (Agent Side Grinder) wrote the lyrics.
From just the beginning, you know this is going to be good, the way the guitars collide and resolve, only to be subsumed by the drum machine and electronics, that play host to the vocals. It makes you want to move and dance to the thrum of the beat and guitar, whilst caught within the vocals of Emanuel Åström. It’s simply brilliant.
Such a breathtaking use of instruments, highlighting the darkness between the light. The vocals wash over your senses, not only sonorous but also pulling at your subconscious with the lyrical content because “Necklace” is about finding solace within one’s self when faced with daily abuse, be that physical and/or mental. This all ties back to the album, Asylum, which is all about the different types of havens people seek to survive.
New Zealand’s post-punk purveyors, Vietnam, have released their third single off the album, This Quiet Room, accompanied by a video. Many of the members have, since the 80s, moved across the Tasman, to the shores of Australia, so with that in mind, some of “In Another Desert” is filmed in Sydney and other pieces, in their home town of Wellington.
There is the high paced jangle of guitars, matched by the drums. The vocals remind you, you have been to places you never thought you would be, left for greener pasture and ended up in another desert. The lead guitar gives us these most beautiful flourishes, whilst the adjoining guitars build and drop the tension so deliciously with the aid of the synths.
It is such a good single off the album, as it fare flies from the instruments with those gorgeous hues of tone. Shadows from the past, mixing with the reality of the present, incorporating a live sample of a stick countdown, by original drummer, Leon Reedijk, who sadly is no-longer with us. Every time I hear this track, it just gets better and Vietnam are kindred spirits to bands such as The Church and The Chills, and as such, masters of evoking sentiment and memories.
The label Blue FX Records, released on the 13th of May, the album Dying World by Boston project, WrongPath. The previous releases for Wrong Path, have all been instrumental, however, this album comes with the bonus of vocals!
Kicking off with the title track of “Dying World” with the driving guitar and deep vocals that tell you no one cares and are insincere because the world is nightmare. “Transparent Man” has echos of Soundgarden in the guitar work and the low tone is almost akin listening to throat singing. I can hear the resemblance to Motorhead in “Mankind“. Could be in the drums or guitar work but there is definitely something as the vocals roughly grind against the music. You have heard “My Way” and now there is “Fight My Way” and Wrong Path are fighting dirty.
Layered vocals echo over each other, in some psychedelic induced episode in “Break Me“. The change in drums grabs your attention in “My Misery” and the whispers wrap around you, trying to weigh you down in the mire of despair. “Breaking The Void” honestly sounds like a belching demon but then progresses into a black mass seance. The 70s is strong in the “The Truth” with those guitar riffs that Black Sabbath could deploy and there is a general fuzzing tone over the top of it all.
Like Rambo,”Meth Itch 2 (The Return)” is on a mission with rumbling rhythms, fuzzed out and clean guitars. When “Death Is Certain” then breakout the Buddhist ohms because that is going to work a treat in this dirge. Oh, the guitar work hear does remind me of Type O Negative in “Hate Within” and a news report from a British broadcaster which is about riots in Russia and it works together very well. “New Horizons” is the final track at a minute long and unlike the rest of the music, this seems to far more electronic and brighter. so maybe there is hope.
The deep rumbling vocals definitely bring something new to the table and possibly is part of the reason this album has a Type O Negative sound, though for me, it is more so in the guitar work. So bring on the doom and gloom of Wrong Path and a Dying World.
New Zealamd’s System Corporation, first started in around 2012 with Scott Newth, whom happens to be the live sound engineer, and music producer for The Datsuns. He was joined by The Datsuns’ drummer, Ben Cole (The Joint Chiefs), then Andrew Newth (Southern Tribe) and Kent Newth (Rumpus Room). They have a new single that came out on the 18th of April, titled, “The Zombies Walking“.
There is a despair that hits you in the guts. Maybe it is the simple drumming or the strumming guitar or the imploring vocals of Scott, who is asking, why are people being lead astray willingly by those in power?…no will power of their own to fight back because they are following the system. Underlying, you hear the synths wailing slightly for a little before they give up to the guitars and piano in a rising fervour, before the synths return to wind down the track.
Seems to be a lot of Newth in this band but it works for them. I have to say that in a way, they remind me a lot of Midnight Oil or Spy Vs Spy. It could be the whole activist, stirring people up to motivate them out of a stupor or it could also just be that wonderful use of guitars and drums to evoke feelings with a vocalist that is truly singing from his heart. Every time I heard this, I found myself liking it more, so wake up zombie people and join the System Corporation.
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