How and when did you first get involved with FAILURE?
Kellii and I were friends and had played together a few times. We always had a groove. I actually
recorded a demo in the Failure studio with Ken as producer for my former band, 60 Cycle , right after Fantastic Planet was
finished. I guess from that point on, they had their eye on me to be a member of FAILURE. It was finally around
April 1996 when I joined the band.
What is your most memorable moment while on tour with FAILURE?
Waking up to the van skidding through black ice on the freeway at about 5:00 A.M. entering
Minneapolis. We actually spun around three full times and jack-knifed without hitting anything...Quite possibly the most thrilling
15 seconds of my life.
What is your favorite FAILURE song?
I would say "Moth" only because it was the first Failure song I heard.
What instruments and equipment did you use while on tour with FAILURe in the studio?
Mainly a Gibson Les Paul; occasionally I would use a Shecter Telecaster. My rack consists
of a Marshall JMP-1 pre amp with a Mesa Boogie power amp, a gang of pedals (MXR Dyna-Comp, Flanger, Phase-90, an ADA Flanger,
a Digi-Tech Whammy II, Chorus, a DOD Analog Delay, a vintage Vox Wha-Wha Pedal, and a Lexicon Vortex for tap delays). Same
goes for the studio.
Any ideas about the real reasons FAILURE broke up?
I think that the creative and chaotic bond between Ken and Greg got alternately stressed and
then neglected somewhere along the way and just snapped. And at that point everybody had to work it out on their own.
(I'm forced to ask this.) What are your personal thoughts on a FAILURE reunion?
At this time I really don't see it happening. I personally need to establish myself as a songwriter
be fore I even consider it an option.
You seem to have several projects currently in the works. Could you provide an update?
I just finished up a record for a band called Crazy Town on Columbia... Mostly doing
editing and providing an extra set of ears for the music while playing some guitar, though nothing too signature. I'm
currently helping the Orgy guys with pre-production on their next record, and then I'll go into the studio with them sometime
in November. I've also been playing in a project with Maynard of Tool called A Perfect Circle. We're gonna be
on the road through the end of October with me doing double duty in E N E M Y as the opener. Then, who knows....
Your pet project seems to be (and please correct me if I'm wrong) E N E M Y. Could you tell
more about that? What type of music do you perform?
E N E M Y is definetly my main focus. After Failure broke up I just wanted to write
my own music and have my own band. It's really a pretty new band. We've played a couple of shows and are shopping
for a record deal. The music, I've been told, is a cross between The Cure and Helmet, but I can never tell.
How did you get involved in the WONDERGIRLS project? There are some pretty big names connected
to that (Weiland, Marc McGrath, Ian Asbury).
Scott was working with Limp Bizkit in the studio next door to where I was working with Josh
Abraham on the Coal Chamber record. He mentioned doing a song for a movie, which was a cheesy 80's song called "Lets
Go All The Way." So we invited all these people down to do something on the song and they all showed up. It was really
a test to see how drunk we could get, and destroy an already bad song in one day. That's what spawned the whole thing.
I've noticed that several of your projects seem to be leaning in a heavier direction(KORN,
ICE CUBE and LIMP BIZKIT remixes). Was that a conscious decision? Are you more comfortable playing harder rock?
I won't deny that I like it heavy. But that's only one dimension of what I like. These artists
are all managed by the same people that manage Josh Abraham. They also manage Orgy, and created the "Family Values" tour (do
you see a trend here?).
What type of music interests you? Who are your favorite bands/performers?
As far as contemporary music, I like Radiohead, DJ Shadow, Deadsy, Tori Amos, Portishead.
All time favorites are Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Bauhaus, Funkadelic...
This question only applies if you've visited the Failure bulletin board: What do you think
of the current line of conversation? Any comments or
clarifications?
I find it interesting to see what topics people who like Failure are interested in. Let me
just say that Old Tour Manager is definitely who he says he is.
Would you like to add anything? Now's your chance to speak to your public!
You thinking creatures are all the future could possibly be... Ha Ha!
