I did this interview for the Midnight Calling e-zine.
http://www.MidnightCalling.com
Jan 19
Christophe
by Aiden, Filed under: Interviews
MC: When you started recording again after Mockingbird Lane, was it sort of a “dark night of the soul” type thing or did you simply decide to get back into it?
C: I had slowed writing and recording to an almost stand-still after I had moved back to my hometown and hooked up with my now “ex”. Spent all my time working and dealing with the insanity of that relationship. My desire to make music was kind of curbed from all that I was going through. After her and I split I started kicking it with a few of my old friends and playing a little music to waste time down at the old Main Street Store. I just started putting what I was going through into the music. I wrote a handful of tunes through the end of ‘07 and that is what I recorded for “The Life Of An Outlaw”.
MC: Some of your work sounds along the lines of Nick Cave or even a bit of Leonard Cohen: quite dark, yet basically very straightforward, too. This is refreshing after listening to a lot of bands who seem to have taken being cryptic a bit too far. I love allegorical works, but I believe that there still has to be something the listener can relate to. What is your philosophy or methodology on composing lyrics?
C: Never really had a method. I sit down and write down what comes out as it comes out. I just let my soul speak. Sometimes it hides behind things… but usually it just opens up and speaks the truth. A lot of things I write about I don’t really think about or even realize myself until after it’s written… It’s my soul speaking to me so I can work it out.
MC: You had mentioned that your music is a blend of country/punk/death-rock. To some viewers this may seem like a strange combination. But I see the new cowpunk/honkytonk scene (what I term New Outlaw Country) as being much like the original Deathrock and early Deathrock revival scenes, i.e. very DIY and anti-commercialism; far outside the mainstream; with fans and performers being pretty close knit. I also see similarities between the very frank attitudes and camaraderie of both. What are your thoughts?
C: I totally agree. When I first started doing this, back before the Mockingbird days, a lot of people really didn’t get it and wouldn’t listen… but over the years the scene has really expanded and a lot of people are getting back to the roots. Everyone in the scene seems to be real open and honest. It’s just real folks being real. Times have changed and it’s time for all this crass commercialism to go to the wayside.
MC: Who are some of your favorite country punk and horrorpunk performers?
C: Shit… Hank III obviously. Joey Allcorn. My buddy Danny Trashville. Cancerslug. Ghosts Run Wild. Gabe Zander. Gotham Road. Wayne Hancock. I dunno… that’s just a few…
MC: You recently produced some tracks for Fear The Dead radio. Where are they located? Has their comp been released, and were you included?
C: I did a song called “Fear The Dead” that I wrote everything for. Sang and performed all of the parts except the drums. Blizzard recorded those for me. People that like my horror-punk stuff should dig it. As far as I know it’s not released yet, but they are going to use it on the compilation when they release it. If it doesn’t come out I’ll put it out on something. It’s a fun song… I’d hate for it to go to waste.
MC: Tell us about your new albums “The Life of an Outlaw” and “Ten Necromantic Classics”. How can fans get your music?
C: “The Life Of An Outlaw” is a live demo I recorded in Oregon at the begining of ‘08. All the songs I wrote the last couple months of ‘07. This one is limited to 100 copies and numbered. You can order them from me $10 postage paid through the MySpace or send me a money order too: Christophe, P.O.Box 3084, Shawnee, OK, 74802. “Ten Necromantic Classics” is a split I did with Thomas Gun (http://www. myspace. com/thomasgun), guitarist for The Necrophilicons and Nuke & The Living Dead. We decided to do an acoustic album of horror-punk songs to release for Halloween. You can listen to that and download it from my site or from ReverbNation. (http://www. reverbnation. com/tennecromanticclassics) MC: What are some of your upcoming projects? Where will you be playing in the near future?
C: Right now things are up in the air. Been working my ass off because I hope to get the hearse ready for a show in Oklahoma in May. I have to rebuild the engine and hope to strip, repaint and revinyl it too before then. So I have not been working as much on my music and art as I would like too. I’ll be throwing down some bass lines for the 8 Bit Heretic stuff soon, so those should be online when I do… I just need to give myself a few days off to work on it. Joe D (http://www. myspace. com/thecultofjoed) has been playing lead for me lately so I’m sure we’ll try to set something up. Most likely around Oklahoma ’til I get the hearse ready. MC: It seems like that once an “underground” scene gains a certain level of success and exposure; it turns into the same sort of rank commercialism that it originally stood against. Do you think there is any way to avoid this process?
C: No. If something is doing well, the suits will try to copy it. If they can’t copy it they will find people and wave money under thier nose to exploit it. History repeats itself. Always has, always will.
MC: Is there anything else you would like to add? Thanks so much for the interview!
C: Just for everyone to check out the site! Stop by every month to hear different recordings. Drop me a line, let me know what you think or of you want me to play in your area. If enough people want me somewhere and will set it up, I’ll hitch a ride or hop a bus and come play. Buy my cd’s so I can afford to press new ones.
