Music Exclusive: Christophe Murdock! Oct 8 2018
Photos courtesy of Christophe's Facebook!
 
Written by Will Harrison
Hey guys and gals! It’s that time of year again, where the leaves fall and the pumpkins rise! So Happy Octoberween! So as a special treat this month I have an interview from an old friend of mine, in fact we grew up in the same home town of Shawnee! He’s a tall drink of water and well known in the local Halloween scene/music scene. It's Christophe Murdock! He has a few big shows coming up and asked us to be a part of the promotion area, I was down to help out an old friend. So here you go, enjoy! Will: First of all, tell us drives you as a musician, and what keeps you going? Chris: Well, pardon me for getting real here right off the bat, but what really drives me and keeps me going is just the constant battle with my own personal demons. Fighting against depression and mental illness. That's what keeps me going. When I slow down too much or stop is when things are getting really bad. As long as I have shows to play, promises to keep, I'm doing okay. I also have a lot of songs about the subject too, not all of them have been released or get played that often... but I do sprinkle them in from time to time. My stuff is always dark and I like to try to keep it from getting too emotionally heavy all at once, not just for the audience, but for myself. Will: Do you have anything special planned for your next show? Chris: My next performance is a special one. I have not done a full on rock show in years. I've been mostly playing my country stuff with just a few of the rock songs sprinkled in. So, when I open for Doyle I'm doing the full on rock show. I have the guys that have been with me for the past year backing me up with Keith from Kinda Creepy filling in on drum duties. We will be playing a few classics from my back catalog, a few no one has ever heard live and a couple of my newer ones from the country set... but punked up. Will: Tell us about your upcoming shows? Chris: This month we have two great shows. I will only be performing in one though. 10-17-18 will be The Independents 25th Anniversary Tour. I helped get this booked with Big Bill & Knots Productions. We will be hosting this at the new Your Mom's Place 919 N. Virginia Ave. OKC. The Independents (www.theindependents.net) are an amazing Horror-Punk meets Ska band from South Carolina that have been touring for years. They used to be managed by Joey Ramone and even played with him a few times. They are bringing with them another Horror-Punk band from Pittsburgh called Children Of October (www.childrenofoctober.bandcamp.com) We will have local monster rock band Fire Bad (https://www.facebook.com/firebad666/) opening. 10-27-18 I will be opening for Doyle (http://officialdoyle.com/) of the Misfits. This will be held at the 89th Street Collective 8911 N. Western in OKC. Doyle is legendary in the punk field. With his new side-project he leaves behind the sound he helped create in the Misfits with new Heavy Infectious Riffs brought to life with Alex Story from Cancerslug on vocals. Truly an amazing band to see. Aside from my band openers also include Paid In Spades (https://www.facebook.com/paidnspades/), Justice Keeper (https://www.facebook.com/JusticeKeeper359/) and Arkhon (https://www.facebook.com/ok.arkhon/). I have a few other gigs on the horizon. Starting in November I will be doing a monthly acoustic gig at Kendell's in OKC. December 10th is out annual Christmas show with Darlington (https://darlingtonrocknroll.bandcamp.com/). We even do a gift exchange with everyone in the audience at this gig. Always a blast. December 16th I will be doing my country duo at the Lost Highway in OKC. Will: Tell us about your creative process? Chris: This does vary, but usually it is when I am alone. Sometimes I pull things straight from the ether. I just start playing and singing and what comes out is the song. Usually my soul trying to work it's way through the problems I'm having at the time. Other times I do write things for fun or for a project. I wrote“Pray To The Saw”, an upcoming single of mine, for a film I worked on with my friend (4) from God in a Machine. We bounced ideas for a film back and forth one night, he wrote the script and I wrote the theme song same night. The film is called 'Son of the Saw' and is in the festival circuit now but you can watch the teaser trailer on YouTube or find the film's page on Facebook. (https://www.facebook.com/sotsfilm/) Will: Are you a fan of Halloween? How do you celebrate? Chris: Halloween is my favorite day of the year. I used to try to do a show every year on the date, but just always seemed to have bad luck when I did. Now I try not to work on the actual day and just have fun. Usually end up doing a lot. I try to trick or treat with some of the kids, either family or friends, You're never too old for free candy. Then head out to parties afterword. Will: What would you like fans to know most about Christophe? Chris: Just that I'm always working. Don't listen to what you've heard from someone else. Give me a listen and form your own opinion. If you've heard one project, you have not heard them all. I've played and recorded Punk, Country, Metal, Electronica and Hip-Hop. I'm always trying to do something new with new people every chance I get. Check out my films I've worked on too. It's not all horror. I've been a part of a lot of different things. Will: What do you feel is missing in the local music scene? Chris: This is a hard subject. I've been around the local scene since the mid 90's. I've seen it grow andfall many times. There is always too much in-fighting and people trying to bring each other down. Too much of bands trying to one-up each other. This shouldn't be an issue, but it is. Usually bands that sound nothing alike too... so why try to battle each other when you should just support each other. Will: Where can we follow you online? Chris: You can find me at my own site here: http://ChristopheOnline.com I'm on FaceBook at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1422610694628720/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardcoreOkieBoy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christophemurdock/ |
