Strapping Young Lad vocalist Devin Townsend.
I nterviewed by sotu.digital-noise.net
Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, June 22, 2005
DT: Is this Patrick?Yeah, it is.
DT: Hey, this is Devin.
Hey Devin, what’s up?
DT: Not too much, man, how you doing? I’m doing pretty good. Where are you at today? DT: I’m at my home in Vancouver. You just got done touring in Europe. How was that? DT: It was good. It was actually really good. We did a couple of festivals in the sun and it made me feel like real rock and roll for a day or two. It was really good. It was short enough to not be a pain in the ass. You’ve got Sounds of the Underground coming up Saturday. How excited are you to be a part of that? DT: It’s great. It’s really cool. I hope that people can really get into what we’re all about when we’re out there. You mentioned earlier about playing out in the sun. Do you think you’ll be doing a lot of that on the Sounds of the Underground? DT: Yeah, I think we’ll be out in the sun and in a lot of parking lots. How different is that for you guys as far as how you present your show to people? DT: It doesn’t make too big of a difference. It all depends on how you’re feeling that day. It’s a cool tour to be on and I like the fact that it’s an outdoor thing. Some smaller arenas. I like the fact that we’re a fully metal band in the midst of a bunch of bands that maybe aren’t exactly from our scene. We’ve got a decent slot, so maybe we’ll get some people’s attention. You guys are playing before GWAR, right? DT: I think so, yeah. That’s a good thing. I spoke with Dave Brockie from GWAR and he says they’re gonna bring it and he feels sorry for anyone who has to play after them. DT: (laughs). I’m sure they will bring it. Is this the biggest festival that you guys have been a part of? DT: Yes it is. For sure. Do you have any experience or have you talked with anyone about how to handle this type of tour, with all the buses and crazyness? DT: Bring a barbecue and a Nerf football. (laughs) I think each band plays like 25 minutes. With that in mind, your job description is limited to just that. I’ve got a bunch of work and I’ll bring it with me, and my computer. I’ll just listen to a lot of music and try to get an iPod happening and see if I can get some stuff going. It’s gonna be fun. I’m looking forward to getting a chance to sort of put things together for the next record with the solo one in front of it. It’s definitely gotta be strange to be touring and going through all of this only to hit the stage for 25 minutes. DT: There’s a couple ways of approaching it. You can get wasted and party the whole time and come back and be stuck with reality again. What I’m hoping to do is just keep working throughout it so when it’s all over you can utilize the 23 and a half hours in the day when you’re not doing anything to make the next record. What is it like on the road with you guys? DT: Well, there’s been times when Strapping has been the most debaucherous party band on the tour of the most hellacious proportions. But, lately we’re getting old. We’re slowing down so we can get onstage and rock. But I think, when we started writing the new record, we challenged ourselves on a technical level and when we were wasted all the time we kind of sucked live, so we’re trying to keep it together. It’s hard to pinpoint one particular reason why, but you’re the type of band that gets people excited right out of the chute. Why do you think that is? DT: Uh. Maybe because we’re … I don’t know, Strapping always strikes me as a band that’s like ‘I don’t care, whatever, you guys do your thing. I just don’t care.’ So there’s a certain part of that, that’s intriguing that’s has like a belligerence to it that makes it like ‘ok, there’s a bunch of dudes that are funny looking and playing really weird shit and they don’t care.’ So, it’s like a traffic accident. Check it out. Gene is a fucking monster behind the kit. DT: He’s a monster in front of the kit. How important is he to this band right now, in your opinion? DT: Integral. Absolutely connected to it, almost in a way that’s frightening. Gene’s got the Strapping boots and the Strapping jacket and the Strapping nightlight. He lives this shit and because he’s such a phenomenal drummer the combination of that and the fact that he does live it and it makes him perfect for the band. I’ll throw some melody and some riff at him and he’s like ‘yeah, in Strapping the drums would do this’ (makes a sound of fast drumming). You guys have a nightlight? DT: Yeah, his sister made it for him. Now that ‘Alien’ has been out for three months, how happy are you with the results from fans reactions and whatnot? DT: It can always be done better. It can always sound better. It can always get the point across in a different way. It’s great. I think it’s awesome. I think by the end of it, if you listen to it from the beginning to the bitter end of it, it’ll give you the chills. I like that about it. It’s like a record that kind of really goes for it. Sometimes, I listen to metal and I’m like, c’mon, c’mon, give it to me and it doesn’t. But I really feel like this record, when you listen to it, you’re like give it to me and it definitely gives it to you. In that aspect, I think that it’s a definite success. Obviously the vocals are unique. It’s like listening to a thrash metal band and Dio gets on vocals and then all of a sudden Phil Anselmo will kick his ass and start singing in his place. DT: (laughs). Like I said, I never wanted to be a singer. I was always dragging my feet. I firmly believe everyone can be a singer, if they really want to be. And if no one else in your town is the singer that you need, sure anybody can be a singer, right? The problem with being a singer is, you end up writing a lot of the lyrics. Because for me, it’s really difficult to sing other people’s lyrics. I just don’t feel connected to it. Being the person that I am and having the interests that I have leads me to write about shit that requires me to sing a certain way. Yeah, it’s a little queer, it’s a little weird. I don’t know how to describe it. Metal is your backup for it. It’s like the possibilities of what you can and can’t write about or sing about are limitless. That’s where Strapping and this new record succeeds because I do think it goes for it. You guys have been an underground favorite for years. This is, what you’re fourth or fifth album? DT: Um. One, two, three, four, five. (counts to himself) Fifth. Now you guys find yourselves on a big, mainstream tour and “Love?” is getting pretty good rotation on video in the states. Do you want to see this band break through to the mainstream and do you think this is the summer that it happens? DT: It doesn’t matter. I don’t want it to be the sole focus because honestly I get bored, but I do enjoy it and I think it’s good enough for people to really be into. I think there’s enough depth in most of the music, not all of it, but in most of it, that if people want to stand behind the product, it’s definitely cool to do so. Mainstream? I kind of like the idea of dropping something so weird in the mainstream, right? The same thing with Slipknot. It kind of opens the way for different avenues of expressions in metal if you’ve got a weirdo band doing something in the mainstream. But I’m honestly not bothered. Either way it’s cool. Just leave me alone most of the time (laughs). Just looking at the titles of some of your albums, it seems like there’s definitely a lighter side to you guys. DT: Oh yeah. Totally. I don’t know if it’s about the light and the dark as much as it’s about just letting it out. Humor is a release. Whether it’s screaming or laughing, I think it’s pretty effective for that. Strapping is about being over the top, so if you’re gonna go for it, then have tons of this and tons of that, and tons of humor, and tons of echo and tons of distortion and tons of double kick and tons of explosions and samples and keyboards. Whatever you’re gonna do, make it louder than everything else, right? It’s not as much the lighter side as much as like … if you scream for two minutes and fart at the end of it, both things are hilarious. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re certainly one of the scariest looking motherfuckers in the business. DT: (laughs). We were watching the video for "Love" and it was observed that you look kind of like the Cryptkeeper. DT: I’ve heard that one. The thing is, I’ve been with my wife forever. Years, and years and years and years. Decades and more. I’m not really looking to fuckin’ pick up chicks, right? So, unfortunately on one level, I went bald. But, I still wanted long hair, right? So I grew it and then I had this big, majestic skullet. Then I was like, that’s cool but honestly it looks like I really care about it because it’s all smooth and shiny and big and everything. So I said, ‘ok, I’m gonna stop washing it and see what it wants to do.’ Then it turns into these big chunks of shit and I’m like ‘ok, that’s what it wants to do.’ It wants to be like that. There it is. When you do your screams and all that sort of stuff, your face gets all screwed up and it’s like, they say don’t do that or else it will stay that way and I guess it just stayed that way (laughs). What would it mean to you if all of a sudden you’re looking out in the crowd you see all of these skullets and you would know that you started the trend? DT: I think anybody in the know would be like ‘oh man, you made everybody shave their heads.’ Right on. I definitely don’t think I’m the first one. Lots of people are sporting it. It’s a dubious hair style. I can’t say it’s very cool. It’s like if you work it, it’s like ‘yeah, that’s right, I got a skullet, bring it. What are you gonna say? You’re funny looking. I can cut this if I want to.’ (laughs) How much fun are you having right now with what you’re doing and the direction this band is going in? DT: It’s great. It’s like I do one Strapping record, then a do a solo record, then a Strapping record and then a solo record. It’s like you do one to get rid of it, so I can do the other. It’s a constant clamoring to get to the next record. As long I’m able to do that and I’m healthy and everyone around me is doing alright, then I’m ok. If you could set up your ultimate festival show and you guys were playing on the bill and you could pick any bands that have ever played, which bands would you choose? DT: Meshuggah. I’d probably get Fear Factory from their best time whenever that is. And us. And the Devin Townsend band. And Zimmer’s Hole. Yeah. I’d say that’d be a pretty cool bill. Devin, thanks for chatting with me. DT: Alright man, keep your shit together and thanks for the interview and enjoy your day. Thanks. Later. DT: Bye.