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A couple of weeks back, shortly after it
became clear that certain changes were occuring within' the Monster
Magnet camp, I took the decision to try and find out what was going on. Whilst I was thinking about a short explanation by
any of the bandmembers about what the Magnet was up to in the near
future Dave himself proposed to do an exclusive interview for this
site. 'Nuff said, here we go : |
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| Serge
: First of … I really don’t like to ask this ‘cause after
all it’s none of my business but it’s kinda inevitable and
most fans are curious what happened so … what’s the story
behind parting ways with long time Magnet rhythm section Jon
Kleiman and Joe Calandra ? |
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| Dave : Jon and Joe were let go
because of their lack of enthusiasm for the music. Monster Magnet
is about energy and creativity and these guys weren't giving
either of these. We were together for a long time and it was a fun
ride, but the fact of the matter is they just didn't dig it
enough. This was not a split due to musical differences, it was
due to their general indifference. From the very start I welcomed
these guys to be a part of the band in any capacity they wished. I
love this shit and I work fast and furious, yet very meticulously.
Jon and Joe either couldn't or wouldn't keep up. I think they
thought this whole thing was a goof.
That was cool though, if they didn't want to be
conceptually involved, I’ve got enough vision to go around. They
never took Monster Magnet seriously until they saw the money. Even
then they rarely had anything to say about musical direction.
There was no love for the music. In fact they seemed to have an
overall self-image problem going on (fear of rocking). Their motto
soon became "We don't know what's going on, it's Dave's
band" When it came time to make musical decisions, offer
ideas and generally be part of the team, they sat on the fence and
did nothing, waiting for me to deliver my songs and vision. Again,
I had no problem with this because I love to write songs. It's
what I do. If those guys wanted to come along for the ride then
that was fine, lets rock. I had high hopes that their enthusiasm
would grow; sadly that was not the case. In my opinion the musical
relationship between drummer and bass player is the beginning and
end of a good band. If those two can't get it together as a rhythm
section, arrangements have to be made to ensure the music
doesn’t suffer. From the very start these arrangements were
made, from
redoing bass parts to supplementing drummers. The music always
comes first with me. It is impossible to act as a real band when
the rhythm section of that band is consistently ten steps behind.
Rock out or get out! This was not an easy decision to make, old
loyalties run deep and I really like Joe and Jon as people. But
laziness, petty complaints and lack of commitment are not the
ingredients of my kind of rock n' roll band. I have a
responsibility to Ed and Phil; I have a responsibility to Monster
Magnet fans and most of all a responsibility for the music we
make. Ok I’ve said enough. Music is where it’s at. If you love
what you do and you are proud of your work good things will
happen. I've never had any doubt. I wish good luck to Joe and Jon
and hope they find something to be as passionate about as I have
with Monster Magnet.
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| Serge
: All die hard Monster
Magnet fans are fully aware about the fact you write all material
for Monster Magnet and the band only teams up whenever it’s time
to get into the studio or hit the road, did some ex-band members had problems with this? |
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| Dave
: Yes. After
the Superjudge tour Joe and Jon realised you can make money
writing songs and all of a sudden wanted to be in on it. So I told
them, as I had all along, if you wanna write songs for Magnet,
write songs for Magnet. They came back with 2 tunes to my 20 and I
put them on Dopes To Infinity. Those 2 being "Theme from
masterburner" and "I control" Both songs co-written
and arranged by me. Let me tell you something about writing songs.
You've got to put your all into this shit man. This is music!
songs! Rock 'n roll! I live and play music everyday of my life. In
the early days of Magnet I would write songs in my head while at
my day job then go home and write for 4 to 5 hours more and all
weekend. These guys treated song writing as a chore at worst and a
paycheck at best. This shit does not fly with me! Music first,
money second. Still the door was always open for them to
contribute, but what little material they did submit later, lacked
passion. I couldn't do anything with it. What can I say? You gotta
love it and they didn't! Being in a band means contributing in
anyway you can. I don't care what anyone says, it's easy!
Spiritual support, pride and enthusiasm are major contributions
that make for great music, no matter who's writing the songs. No
time for crybabies! For the record, every member of Monster Magnet
was in for a cut of my publishing just for being in the band.
That's fair. Also for the record, all my songs written for Monster
Magnet were always delivered in a recorded demo form complete with
drum patterns, bass parts, melody lines and arrangements played by
myself. It's just faster that way. I was always open to
reinterpretation but that rarely happened and never to the extent
of rewriting. The slowest process in Monster Magnet has always
been in between the writing and the recording. Therefore it always
made sense to me to write at my own pace and deliver the songs as
a more or less complete record. In many cases, a song that took me
a day or two to write would take weeks for the rhythm section to
learn. Practice tapes were made and never listened to. That's
bullshit and it's no fun. Did I mention that music is supposed to
be fun? It is! I am pleased to say that this situation is being
rectified as I speak.
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| Serge
: Any news on
who’s gonna replace them yet or are you guys planning on
sticking with the remaining members (Dave, Phil, Ed) ‘till after
the release of the new album and start auditions once it’s time
to think about touring?
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| Dave
: Ed, Phil and I are
totally psyched about Magnet's new bass player, Jim Baglino.
Jim is a long time friend, a great bass player and has great taste
in music. He also loves to rock! Just wait and see!! We are in the
process of auditioning drummers. |
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| Serge
: You said
before the new album is ready to be recorded so when are you guys
going into studio and is there any news about album title / song
titles and release date?
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| Dave : We
should be in the studio early this summer. Not quite sure on a
release date just yet. Tentative title...Radiation Day. Some song
titles ... Master Of Light / On the Verge / Slut Machine Mach 2 /
Ultimate Everything / Little Bag Of Gloom. I am still
playing with them!
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| Serge : Being
on a German label now, does this mean the new album will be
recorded somewhere in Europe?
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| Dave : While
that idea seems appealing, I think we will have to do this one in
the States somewhere. I am finishing off a movie score that keeps
me close to home. |
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| Serge : Any
chance on a scoop about how the new album will sound like, will it
be as diverse as the God Says No album, I mean, GSN had a wide
variety of songs on it from rock to psychedelic and everything in
between or will the new stuff be a radical departure from previous
material?
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| Dave : The
album will be a lot livelier than God Says No. It's full on rock
with garage pysch overtones and was written during a pretty scary
yet exciting time in the world’s history. It's not a political
record but I can't say that world events in the last two years
haven't juiced me to a certain extent. My songs are always subject
to my environment and that's how it should be.
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| Serge : Here’s
another thing a lot of people are wondering about … is Tim
Cronin still the master of lights for Monster Magnet?
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| Dave : Yes
indeed he is! Tim and I are the only working links from the
original Monster Magnet to the present. He has been involved in
almost every capacity you can think of … drummer, singer,
conceptualist, publicist, lighting engineer and diplomat. He is
simply irreplaceable. His dedication to Monster Magnet is
unflappable. His professionalism is commendable.Do you get the
picture? He is the brightest guy I have ever known as well as one
of the best and most supportive friends I’ve ever had. He also
loves music more than anyone I know. A truly unique individual!
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| Serge : Any
chance on an upcoming Euro tour after the release of the new album
or are you guys planning on touring the US first?
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| Dave : I
am happy to say that there is a Monster Magnet greatest hits album
in the works for this summer (through
Interscope / A&M, not on SPV) and we should be
touring Europe in late August.
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| Serge : Does
SPV has a North American outlet or are you guys still looking for
a US deal next to the one with SPV / Steamhammer?
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| Dave : All
deals outside of Europe are pending.
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| Serge : Monster Magnet
has always been bigger in Europe so was it a planned move to sign
to a European label or rather a coincidence, like the right deal
at the right time?
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| Dave : More
like the right deal at the right time. But yes of course, Europe
deserves special attention from Monster Magnet and what better way
to give that attention.
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| Serge : How
does it feel to share a label with great bands such as Fu Manchu /
Motörhead / Life Of Agony / Firebird etc. I can imagine that
especially Phil is thrilled to be on the same label as Motörhead.
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| Dave : It's
great to be with SPV. Their spirit of independence and their hard
work has impressed me for a long time. Their line up is really
interesting; I think we will fit in quite nicely. Oh yeah, and Motörhead
...do you even have to ask!
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| Serge :
Most of
the time the Steamhammer bands are touring in a package over here
with different bands on the same label does this mean we’re
gonna see Monster Magnet on the road as part of such a package?
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| Dave : Monster
Magnet will do whatever it takes to make sure that the shows are
both artistically interesting and business savvy.
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| Serge : Have
you signed to SPV based on the new material or isn’t there any
involvement label wise concerning how the new stuff sounds. I
heard one of the people in charge at SPV is a long time Monster
Magnet fan so my guess is they were thrilled to sign you guys
without caring how the new stuff will sound like.
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| Dave : My
contact with SPV preceded them hearing any new material.
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| Serge : About your involvement in
the soundtrack for the movie “Torque” … did you write the
entire soundtrack and did all recordings yourself or were there
any other musicians involved and who? |
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| Dave : I
wrote the soundtrack stuff at home. I then brought the demos
to California where we set up a list of session musicians, which
included myself, Phil Caivano, Tommy Lee (yeah that Tommy Lee),
Brian Kilgore, Carter Armstrong and others. It was produced by
Scott Humpfrey, Frank Gryner and myself.
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| Serge : I
guess it must have been like a dream coming true being able to
work on a soundtrack … is it any different compared to write
songs for Monster Magnet?
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| Dave : Yeah
this is a total dream come true. Being able to write extended
pieces with no vocals allows me to explore musical possibilities
that had no practical application in rock 'n roll songs. Don't get
me wrong, it is still rock. That's what they wanted but I got to
orchestrate more guitars, keyboards and strings than I would ever
want to put on a Monster Magnet record. It's like being a kid in a
candy shop (until of course the movie producers come and cut it
all up. Just kidding, I hope)
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| Serge : Did
you get “carte blanche” from Joseph Khan the “Torque”
producer or did he give you instructions on how everything should
sound?
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| Dave : Joseph
liked a song (Master Of Light) I had written for the movie. I then
proceeded on my own to write out themes I thought would go well
with this type of film (motorcycles!) Joseph then got much more
specific with what he needed, like scene transitions etc.
It's an interesting process, a lot of opinions are flying around
all the time and ultimately it's their picture. There's no
business like show business!
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| Serge : Has
the song “Master Of Lights” been recorded exclusively for the
soundtrack or will it appear on the upcoming Monster Magnet album?
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| Dave : Master of Light will
be on the new Monster Magnet record. |
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That's
it for now. Thanks to Dave Wyndorf for taking the time to
clear this out once and for all. As you all could read the
future in Magnet land looks great so be prepared for a heavy dose
of Monster Magnet in the upcoming months and many years to come.
[Serge]
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