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Peter, Emilio Zef China (violin and bass), and John Andrews (guitar) performed their last West Coast show of the semi-acoustic "Stripped" tour at the Chapel in San Francisco on December 5, 2016. There were many eras to sample from as the mirror ball created a sparkly sky on the vaulted wooden ceiling of the Chapel. Prominent songs included "A Strange Kind of Love" (off 1989 album Deep) as well as the bass-driven "Indigo Eyes" from Love Hysteria Revisiting some coveted Bauhaus moments with the stark and haunting "Bela Lugosi's Dead," the underdog single "King Volcano" from Burning from the Inside, and a rhythmic seduction of "Silent Hedges" from the 1982 album The Sky's Gone Out, he also ventured into some of this later works off the 2011 album Ninth, such as the heartfelt "Never Fall Out."
Emilio Zef China has been touring with Murphy as his accompanist on violin and bass for his solo work and his "Mr. Moonlight" tour since 2011. As if Peter didn't already conjure feelings of nostalgia, pained romance, and darkness, Emilio adds to the emotional complexity with his instrumental mastery. Emilio and I got a chance to talk about his extensive musical past, his other collaborations — including his time with Genesis P-Orridge & Psychic TV — and what it's like to work with a man who, according to publications and fans alike, has been called the "Godfather of Goth."
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| Emilio at The Chapel 12/5/16 photo courtesy of Todd Billeci |
You've been touring for a while now with Peter Murphy. How does the "Stripped" tour compare for you to the "regular" tours?
We've been doing this all year, so this would actually be the third or fourth leg of "Stripped." We recorded the New York shows this past April. Peter mixed the tracks in Turkey this fall, and from there will be releasing a live album of "Stripped" with John Andrews and myself.
[The "Stripped" tour] is an opportunity to take the songs, old and new, and re-interpret them as a trio with acoustic and electronic elements. As there is not a percussionist, the drum role is often provided by acoustic guitar and other percussive elements in the music. It can be deep ambient and even symphonic, but it still rocks out when the song calls for it. For me, it is a lot more "viol-heavy." I use extended range violins with electronic treatments to create space in the songs.
How did this opportunity with Peter become available to you?
After working on Peter's album Ninth, a dear friend and producer/engineer, John Siket, called me up for a session in Woodstock with Peter, [The Dresden Dolls’] Brian Viglione, and John Andrews. I jumped at the chance. That was at the end of 2011 and at that time I was on the road with Nicki Minaj as a production manager.
A few months later I played acoustic guitar and violin with Peter on some radio shows in New York and an underground club show at the Delancey. Soon after that I was to join them for a tour when the bass player had to leave unexpectedly. I learned all the bass parts in three days and flew to London and joined the band. That was five years ago.
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| Performing "Bela Lugoi's Dead" The Chapel 12/5/16 photo courtesy of Peter Murphy's site |
On top of working with the legendary Bauhaus figure, you also worked with Psychic TV. How did you get in touch with that project?
Psychic TV is through magikal connections. Always has been intentional. There are no accidents. Alice Genese [bass player of PTV] grew up around the corner from me in Hoboken and she is one of my best friends. The drummer, Edley ODowd, is also an old friend from the New York scene and his band Toilet Boys. Many roads have led me to Genesis. I'm on the album Hell Is Invisible... Heaven Is Her/e. I've toured with them on and off for a couple of years and nowadays I get to make appearances when possible.
Did you grow up listening to Bauhaus?
I grew up listening to lots of music. I didn't fit into any particular group stylistically, [I was] kind of all over the map. I remember hearing "Bela Lugosi's Dead" for the first time and really listening to it. I was stuck in traffic in a car and my mind was blown … [and then] of course, at 14 years old, one of the girls in our freaky high school crew rented The Hunger and that was the big event.
When we did the "Mr. Moonlight" tour in 2013, I had to learn most of the Bauhaus catalog. This had me basically studying their music, and David J in particular, for about a month. I studied and learned everything I could about his particular bass style, sound, and nuance. There is a particular psychic space and emotional charge to that music that is more than simply playing the parts. It is a bit like method acting, You need to find that place deep inside of you and use it, or what you're doing on stage is insincere.
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| The Chapel 12/5/16 photo courtesy of Todd Billeci |
You have been playing the violin since you were a wee lad,right? First time I saw you perform with Peter I was blown away! You really bring such an emotive edge through this medium. I think I probably watched you more than Mr. Murphy that night myself!
I started violin when I was 6. It was all I wanted to do at that age. Picked up a guitar by age 12 and I wanted to play rock 'n' roll. Fortunately at that time in my life my mother, who was a visual artist, had a lot of jazz musician friends and had parties at the house that included jam sessions. Meeting some of those guys helped me to realize that I could play the violin in a cool way as well as playing a guitar whatever way I was interested in doing. I just happened to be in a place where there were some great great improvisers and artists around.
My oldest friend and partner, Mike Ill Kilmer, and I grew up together in Hoboken and I think we started a band at age 13. His mom was a piano teacher, so I think we first played music together at around 8 years old. We always wrote songs. Like everything else, stylistically it was all over the map. It was the '80s. We were listening to a lot of hip-hop (which was brand new at the time), Talking Heads, Blondie, Kraftwerk, reggae, classic rock, punk, R&B, and jazz. We got into recording, synthesizers, and technology early. We used play in the street in Times Square. I was doing violin through effects pedals and Mike was on synths. We were 15 or 16 years old, wearing ripped army jackets and we painted ourselves. [We were] playing improv/noisey/soundscape music. I met Grand Mixer DXT (Herbie Hancock's DJ from "Rockit") when I was playing on the street and went in the studio with him. I also played in the NYC kids’ jazz ensemble and at 16 got to perform with Herbie Hancock and Philip Glass, and I met Keith Haring, who painted my violin case. It was an amazing time to grow up in NY. We were exposed to so much emerging music and art (and everything else!).
We played every single instrument we could get our hands on. I'm better at some than others, but I like to think I can get some type of music out of whatever materials are available. I dropped out of high school at 16 and managed to go to Juilliard for a year and then the New England Conservatory for almost three, basically until we had a band (Sweet Lizard Illtet) and a record deal and we started really working. I was sharing a rehearsal space with Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, and Dinosaur Jr. Sonic Youth was always a major inspiration.
What locations have been the highlights for you this tour? Any favorite cities for you?
So many great cities and I get to return to some of them quite often. We played Tel Aviv recently and spent a day exploring the ancient city of Jerusalem. That had to be the highlight of this tour for me, historically and geographically.
How do you deal with the touring schedule? Seems intense! I know you've mentioned before you don't have a "normal" schedule
Don't know what the fuck "normal" is. There is no normal, is there? Is weird the new normal? Tour life causes one to feel lonely, homeless at times, or just without foundation. It can drive you mad. Your tour colleagues become your family, with all that that entails. May be cliché to say, but it's really not as glamorous as it looks. Exhaustion, monotonous toil, day after day, all for that 90 minutes or so where we have the privilege to do what we love. The rewards are worth it, it's pure communication and light. It takes discipline to do this for a long time. It can be very taxing on all other aspects of your life.
The last studio recording for Peter Murphy was Lion, right? Any other plans for future recordings?
Of course. If you look at his career, he is very prolific and constantly doing new and beautiful things. I was fortunate to work on Lion with Peter and with Killing Joke's Youth. You can definitely look forward to the next chapter coming soon!
OK, so I must ask you what is "The Boss" like to work with? (You know we are all wondering!)
He's funny, spontaneous, quick-witted, and also quite refined, a mercurial being. We joke around a lot and have fun. We're a family and have seen each other through various highs and lows. He was there for me at the hardest time in my life when my mom passed away suddenly and we were deep into a European tour, loving like an older brother or a father even.
One funny story I recall was when we did a show with Public Enemy in Mexico. Peter didn't really know them. Chuck D and Flavor Flav came in the dressing room, turns out they are huge fans. Flavor was very engaged with Peter, totally in character, clock around his neck and all! I couldn't stop laughing. They are heroes of mine. After they left, Peter turned and asked, "Is that Public Image? I thought John Lydon was in that band."
What an image! I noticed at past shows sometimes when that you don't always play "Cuts You Up" and showgoers are always sort of grumbly about this. Is there a reason why you don't always play this song? Burned out? Holding out? What are some of your favorites to perform?
Hard to say, there are so many great songs and "Cuts You Up" is among them. He often decides in the moment what to do and what not to. A master of the stage. We do play it fairly often. I suppose it keeps you guessing, keeps you in suspense, and keeps you coming back.
(Some of my favorites are) "Strange Kind of Love," all the Bauhaus stuff, "Lion," "Your Face." I still get chills every time we play "Bela Lugosi's Dead." I have a blast playing all of it!
Outside of Peter Murphy, what do you enjoy doing in your off time? I know you also have many other music projects past and present you're working on.
I live in NYC and in Los Angeles part time. I write and produce my own work as Zef Noise. My girlfriend and I bought an old dilapidated Victorian mansion in the forest about an hour outside of NYC ... it's a huge project and right now that's what I am most excited to do on my so-called downtime.
Other bands and recordings include Sweet Lizard Illtet, Illness, Firewater, Moe, Backworld, Mad Happy, Psychic TV, Voltaire, Spy, J. Ralph, FAFU, Karsh Kale, Haunted Echo, Resident 51. Also, I just finished a yoga/electro drone/gypsy Kirtan record called Bhujanga Sangha, which should be out soon.
For more info on Emilio's sounds check out his sound cloud here!
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