Looking Inwardly: An Interview with Mark Burgess of The Chameleons

Listening to The Chamelons is like smelling a perfume you once knew. Once that certain aroma captures your attention you are transported back to that very moment where you first experienced it. That moment you met someone, left someone, starved, cried, laughed. This Manchester-based paragon banded in 1981, a year that was rich with budding avant-garde, post-punk legends such as Bauhaus, Modern English, Dead Can Dance and Clan of Xymox. Mark Burgess was on vocals and bass, Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding doing the guitar work and John Lever on drums. They were involved in the BBC John Peel sessions era, who showcased prodigies such as Joy Division, Cocteau twins and The Smiths .The Chameleons went on to produce the 1983 debut album  "Scripts of the Bridge" followed by  "What does anything thing mean? Basically" and "Strange Times". By 1987 they were disbanded only to reform briefly, years later, in 2000.  They're an underdog in terms of lyrically charged, glimmery, subtly psychedelic British post-punk, that has a depth unmatched. Sometimes, with such an illustrious musical affinity,  you don't get the honesty that they have and continue to have.  Mark Burgess, who now performs this original material under the title The ChameleonsVox, is on tour now. They will be at the Pandemonium event alongside Theatre of Hate, Soft kill, Ötzi and The Ink Bats on 9/9 in Oakland.  He invites us in on this interview with very introspective stories recalling his time working with the BBC sessions, his moments as human/artist trying to navigate through this world and his love for the bay area. 

You are now returning to the bay after two years since doing the “Script of the Bridge” tour. Your last show with us at the Elbo Room in SF sold out.  One of my friends and local DJ's  said that in 1982 “Script of the Bridge” was the Number One played album on bay area radio station KUSF! I was happy to hear that!  You’re coming back on 9/8 with Theatre of Hate and Soft Kill.   What was your reaction to the current excitement as well as lasting legacy The Chameleons have in the current music scene? Who is in your line up this tour?

It never ceases to surprise me when we get an excited reaction to the news that we’re coming into a city to play. That’s something I’ve never taken for granted., I mean, that’s a pretty good feeling, right? It definitely gives us a very positive outlook and makes us more excited about doing them. I’ve personally been performing this material a long time and I’d be a liar if I said that my enthusiasm never waned. On occasion it has, but never when we get those kinds of reactions to a tour announcement. I think for me, personally, it helps me focus too on trying to want to make the shows the best we’ve shows we’ve done. Whether we succeed or not is entirely subjective but it definitely motivates everyone to focus that little bit more than we would when it’s felt kind of routine. Having said that, the times performing this music HAS felt routine is quite rare. We get a lot of direct feedback and there’s often excitement around an upcoming show, maybe not every date on a tour but certainly key places.

The line-up SHOULD have been the same line-up as the last time we were in town, myself on bass on vocals, Neil Dwerryhouse on guitar, Chris Oliver on guitar and Yves Altana on drums. Unfortunately, Chris has had complications around his passport and visa applications, which resulted in him having to withdraw from the tour and I’ve had to ask my old friend and past collaborator, Justin Lomery, who’s currently based in New York, to step in. Justin has played a few tours with me both here and in Europe so I was very relieved not to say overjoyed that he’s stepping in, cause he’s a great guitar player with a real passion for this music. I’m looking forward very much to having him back on board. Those people who are familiar with some of my recordings outside of Chameleons will know the name Yves Altana. I’ve made a couple of albums with him over the years and performed quite a few number of tours with him too. He’s a very talented multi-instrumentalist, guitar being his strongest, but took over drum duty a couple of years ago when John Lever got injured and continued with that after John eventually left the band. Anyone who’s been around long enough to see The Sons Of God U.S. tour in 1994 might remember Yves played guitar on that, as did Neil Dwerryhouse who’s also with me currently. 

I'm really glad that worked out with Justin Lomery. I know a lot of bands who have had to cancel their U.S. shows due to passport complications. 

“Dont’ fall”, “Here Today” and “Second Skin”  to name a few are just a few of your songs that highlights the pain and struggles in life while simultaneously having a positive edge to it.  Your songs have a sort of rebirthing quality to them. As if maybe one minute you are going “up on the down escalator” (to be cheeky) and you're crying and losing it and then your lyrics bring back this glimmer of hope, a realistic hope and you might even find yourself smiling, getting ready to pick yourself up and face the day, the month, the problem with a shred of virtue still present.  What was some of your situations you were in that helped write these songs? 

Oh God yeah, I mean life even now, is a bit of a roller coaster. I mean there’s a common arc through all of them really that stems from a feeling of alienation, of being the outsider, but I’ve never felt that things are totally hopeless or anything. I mean, yeah, it gets harder to see that hope or to hang on to it, no question but events and circumstances, or consequences haven’t been able to stamp out that light of hope I carry completely. I mean, I believe in following paths, finding the right one and following it, although right and wrong are not really good words to describe them, there is no wrong path or right path really, just this one or that one and often they can converge into the same present, what sets them apart are the experiences and lessons and consequences of cause and effect that are unique to them. They don’t all necessarily have the same destinations however, so it pays to listen to one’s instincts and not be afraid of taking hard, long, analytical or critical looks at oneself. All of my lyrics are born from direct experience of life and the interpretation of the reality around me and the alienation I’ve always felt from society. 

I’ve noticed in other interviews you mention that the audience has approached you with some detailed experiences of listening to your music. I have to say when I did at the Elbo Room I found you to be such a kind and generous spirit. It must be pretty incredible to be performing all over the world and hearing such personal stories that were inspired from listening your your records.

Yes, it is incredible and also incredibly powerful. You know, I’ve had people in tears holding me (saying) it’s meant so much to them. It’s the real reason why I do this, why I continue to perform this music instead of just moving on and relegating it to history. This is too important to people to just let it die, and the increasing relevance of it, the power of it, demands that I continue to perform it. Working out a way of doing both, making more music outside of it and continuing to perform it has been a little problematic for me. I’m not wealthy and I have to make a living just like everyone else. Those kinds of complexities can be tricky to deal with to be honest. It’s the kinds of reactions and encounters that you speak about that brings the purpose of what I’m doing into focus. People can and have got very cynical about the music and it’s ability for change, especially rock based music, which many see as being largely irrelevant these days. If you’re not the Beatles or the Sex Pistols, you know, changing the fabric of society why bother? Surely, then in light of that rock music is rather superficial. What they fail to see is the impact it has on a personal level for people and how that can change the world in ways that, despite not being globally visible, are just as significant if not more so. “He saves a single life, saves the world entire". So that kind of feedback, the kind your talking about, is never, ever lost on me. 

 I’ve always been curious about the album art. They all have their own dream like quality to them. The cover art of “Script of the Bridge” has a new romantic feel to it while “Strange Times” has this sort of surrealistic take. I read that Reg Smithies was the artist. Can you tell me a little bit on the ideas/story behind presenting your albums by this cover art?

I can try but my instant take it on it is, not really and I doubt that Reg could either. "Script of the Bridge" is somewhat easier in that all of the places on there were places we went to, they’re real places. A freeway bridge that you cross on your way to cenotaph that stands in a park surrounded by the lights of Greater Manchester. The castle is Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland, a place we used to visit often and still do. The colours and the face represent something we saw there one night, Easter Sunday actually in 1982. 

"What Does Anything Mean? Basically!" I have no idea. It’s my favourite of all the sleeves, which is why I like to use it so much promoting the band I suppose. I liked it immediately but once it had been placed against the cloud backdrop I LOVED it. Gorgeous. What does it mean? Fuck knows.

"Strange Times"... well, I’m not sure again but I suspect it’s Reg just having some fun. The characters on the table are the usual Reg "surrealistic creations". His girlfriend at the time is looking on, opposite him, while he draws his own hand reaching in and interacting with it. It wasn’t designed to be a record sleeve, he just showed it to me as something he’d done and I immediately knew that was it. None of the records had titles when he worked on what became the sleeves, they just seemed to fit naturally to each other. 

 I think some of the most timeless recordings came from the BBC/ Peel Sessions- and you were apart of the chosen! Any thoughts on this moment in time for you and The Chameleons? What was it like to be apart of something so iconic?

AMAZING.. Definitely high amongst my favourite experiences with the band. We had no motives other than to be on that program, which we listened to religiously each evening Monday to Thursday. It was a nightly ritual for a while. We’d meet at a friends place after doing whatever it was we’d been doing that night: roll a few spliffs and listen to Peel. I’d been listening to him since his Radio Caroline days. I got into T.Rex as a young kid through John Peel and a lot of other things. WE all did. So, to actually be on the show was fantastic and having him hype the session the night before it went out, well, we didn’t expect that. We were floored by that. I’d never heard him do that before when he was promoting the following night’s session. I was stunned by that. The whole experience was surreal. Meeting him outside the BBC to give him the tape to have him phone me at home early the following Monday morning. I mean I thought it was a wind up for about 30 seconds. Recording at the BBC at Langham. We’d be given the choice to do it there immediately or wait for the new state or the art studio at Maida Vale to be finished. It was no - brainer. I knew how many great sessions had been recorded at Langham going back to the likes of Jimmy Hendrix and a fledgling David Bowie. And we learned so much with their engineers and producers. It was said that if they didn’t like it you’d be done and dusted by 10:30 pm. We never got out there before 3:00 a.m the following morning. I think the other reason why I loved those sessions so much was that by and large you’d do ideas that were barely developed or finished, because they were the freshest and the ones we were most excited about, and seeing as you had to record four songs in a single day it was very fast and spontaneous, but the producers and the engineers were good enough that they could capture that excitement and freshness. I think that’s why Peels sessions in particular still hold a place in people’s hearts when it comes to their favourite bands. You don’t have the weeks of production in there, the meticulous attention to detail, you just have the band raw and excited to be there. I mean I’d take The Smiths’ Radio Sessions over most of their records any day of the week for that very reason. ………..

I would have to agree with you on that one!  Those sessions do capture those candid moments. Your story alone makes me excited! What a whirl wind!

One of my musician acquaintances commented casually that the “music industry is an industry of rejection. Don’t let it get you down and stay focused”. Do you think this is a true statement from when you started out in 1981 up until now? 

Yes, I do and I think it’s a very good way of expressing it. It always seemed strange to me that they’d pick up on something or sign something that was obviously exciting people but then interject and re-interject elements they thought needed changing or fucking with, until what was great about it is lost or the band splinter cause they can’t agree. And then yeah the myriad of bands and talent out there that never even make it that far who might actually believe that these accountants that run the business actually know what they’re fuckin’ talking about. I’ve been really gratified to see the industry expand to the point where the mechanisations that were traditionally running it have become pretty much irrelevant. I mean, sure, if you throw a million dollars at a record chances are you get it to chart or on rotation or what not, but what genuine artist is interested in that anyway? It used to be important, I suppose, to the likes of early Bowie, but in recent years it’s become as hollow and as mundanely irrelevant as it ever was. It’s a hard question to answer though to be honest because while rejection is the norm in this business, I mean you have to be prepared for that. Unless you can show merit on your own, no one’s going to take notice and cause resources to fall into your lap from the sky. If you can’t mentally prepare and stand up to that kind of rejection you’re fucked, now more than ever. While that’s the norm, I never really experienced it. Within six months of joining the band and getting to grips with the song writing I found myself on John Peel’s show and CBS records. While it’s true the band was eventually dropped, that was what we wanted. We were happy to get out of that and it didn’t take us more than a few weeks to find a home somewhere else and when that went south we found another one, or another one found us. So, I’ve never really experienced that kind of rejection, although as I say I know it is the norm for artists and up and coming talent. 

  You are touring with Soft Kill right now. I know you collaborated with them on their 2016 album Choke. I know last week you announced that you had produced a recording session with Belgium band “An Orange Car Crashed”.  Looking forward to hearing this! How did you get involved with Soft Kill and AOCC?  

Well, Soft Kill contacted us with a view to putting together the 2015 tour we did and we became firm friends, added to which obviously we really liked the band. We play with a lot of bands and while many of them are good, a few outstanding and Soft Kill for my money are one of them. So when they asked if I’d do a spot of vocals on their record last year I was happy to do that. Now they’re bringing us out again having just toured with us in Europe, although, the European shows had nothing to do with us. Our agent in London phoned and asked if we’d mind if he featured this band he’d discovered from America, on the dates he was putting together, and told us it was a band called Soft Kill. He had no idea we knew them, which says something about our relationship with our agent, how we laughed.  AOCC were a band I met when were on the road in Belgium (Arlon to be exact) and we played with them a few times and became friends. I’d spent the weekend out there performing with them on an Adrian Borland tribute show they’d put together and it kind of cemented our friendship. So a couple of them came over when we played with The Mission last May at a festival and asked me to do it. I don’t really do much of that to be honest but in this case they’re such a great gang I fell in. I have to say it was a very enjoyable experience on every level. They’re very happy with the results too, which is a relief- haha!! I couldn’t stay for the mixing though, which is a bit of a bummer. 

Like what you were talking about earlier, it was as if your paths were converging.

I’m so sorry to hear about the passing of drummer John Lever earlier this year. I’m sure you have had quite the journey of the soul.  

Yeah, that was very hard to process seeing as over the last few years we hadn’t been on the best of terms, which I suppose is putting it lightly. I don’t know I mean, when I got the news I was shocked obviously that it had finally happened, but I couldn’t say I was surprised given his lifestyle choice. It was really was a ticking time-bomb. I mean, I was able to make my peace. I had a very strange experience a few days after I got the news, which I won’t go into, suffice to say it brought me a lot of peace. I think what I hate about those situations, aside from losing someone you love obviously, is all the social politics that come to bear after and around the event. It become so emotive and clouded that the really important factor, i.e. losing someone you love, gets completely lost in the bullshit. The living are to blame for that, not the dead. At any rate, yeah, it’s very, very strange to think that John isn’t out there right now being John, that we’ve lost one of us in a very real sense. I suppose I’m still processing that really and will be for years to come if I live that long. 

 When you come here for tour what are your feelings on San Francisco/ Oakland?

Well, my feelings for San Francisco have been there for years because I’ve made no secret that it’s one of my favourite cities in the world, one I’d dearly love not to have to leave. In recent years Oakland, too. I had an incredible roller coaster summer in Oakland some years back and the music I was finding that was coming out of the Bay was incredible. I mean it kind of reminded me of Manchester - circa 1978, which was a bit of a golden age really with the likes of The Fall and Joy Division. So yeah I have a massive amount of affection to the Bay Area and the music that’s come out of it. I mean, off the top of my head, Blackbird Blackbird, Blasted Canyons, Grass Widows, Wymond Miles, Tamaryn, The Oh Sees, some great talent and some great, great records. 

 All of your songs are emotionally charged in some way, some are more somber and existential than others, but is there any particular songs that you still perform that bring up pain for you? is there a sense of “re-living” certain situations via performance of certain songs? 

Well yeah, but my pain plays a huge part in who I am and as long as I can still feel that when I perform the music I know I’m still me, although, I like to think I am evolving as a person and dealing with a lot of that. To be honest, I wouldn’t perform the music if that wasn’t true. I mean people come to shows in the hope you’ll be able to recreate how that music made them feel when they first heard it, before they eyes, so I have to tap into that in order to give the music its potency, otherwise I’m just going through the motions. 

Better get your tickets to Pandemonium! The ChameleonsVox put on an incredible live show. You really shouldn't miss it. Such a great line up! Get your tickets here! 

Near Dark Fest!

“I felt like Oakland needed a dark punk fest. There is so much good music here and everyone is really supportive.” 

Gina Marie of local goth punk band Otzi muses on the initial inspiration for the Near Dark Fest. Over the weekend of August 5-6 at various locations in Oakland, a diverse line up of international and local darkwave/anarcho punk acts will perform. For many of these bands it will be their first time touring to us in Oakland. Gina, with the help of Brianne from Kurraka, another one of the acts performing this weekend and with a few other helping hands, it has a been a project that started forming last summer.  

So here’s what to expect: the weekend starts on Saturday, August 5 over at Granny's with our local Esses project, End Time and Lovestruck Paranoia (LA) in the day time from 2-6pm. Granny's is an awesome spot that has hosted some special events-plus their backyard really lends itself to a good time. The Fest then continues over at the Golden Bull with Pawns from NY (with a new record out on Mass Media), Espejo Convexo (straight from Mexico City!), Cruz De Navajas (who also hail from Mexico City) alongside our local lovelies Otzi (Gina’s band!) and Screature.  Rikk Agnew headlines the show (Christian Death and Adolescents fans anyone? Swoon!).

On Sunday we start the party again over at Eli’s at 3pm. There will be a host of vendors from records to zines and clothing such as SOS zine, En tu Kara records and Foolish Fetish. Then for some anarcho-punk sounds we have Terminal A (visiting from LA), Kurraka (Texas), Bay Area’ s False Figure, Primary, Remnants (record release show!) and anarcho legends Omega Tribe (U.K on Crass records)- it’s their only Northern CA show! Check it out a rad preview video for it here!

We asked Gina if there were any bands she was particularly looking forward to seeing-

“I don’t want to play favorites. But I am really excited to see Omega Tribe. I've loved them for a long time and I never thought I would have a chance to see them.  Like, I actually booked them?! They've never been to the U.S!  I've never seen Kurraka before- and my fest partner Brianne plays drums for them!  I mean I love them all, so It’s kind of a dream come true!

Get your tickets today for this international Near Dark Fest here! 

For event pages on Facebook go here!

And of course in the style that is Oakland- everyone is invited and welcomed and celebrated! 

Pharmakon and the culmination of Contact: The Elbo 7/13 with Chasms and V.E.X.

    Shrieks, shrills and trills done vocally and synth-etically inspire a quixotic nausea of the existential kind in the ten year concept that is Pharmakon. Creating this music installation from NYC, Margaret Chardiet’s solo project has released the output titled “Contact” in which she examines “what it takes to be human” in dabbling with trance states and primal vibrations. In her words she explains “Despite all our rambling rejections, we cannot transcend all of our instincts-just animals lost in a confused dream…”.

     One of her fans on Bandcamp.com describes it as “This album sounds exactly as (the cover art) looks like. It makes you feel disgusting. It’s very, very good”. Taking a look at the album cover photo of pink, grubby, slimy fingers, mushing hair and the glistening flesh of a face is a reminder that we are all existing inside a sack of meat, a sort of biological nihilism. Yet, if we accept “this tiny sliver of time it opens us to revel in it, to make CONTACT”. On first listen, I felt ill. I turned the song "Nakedness of Need" off, only to be left with a sense of intrigue. 

     If you are in the mood for the intensity of say, Swans in their Filth-era paired with the dark unpredictability that Nurse with Wound has mastered with bleak relentless synth incisions and human cries from the depths of uncomfortable darkness this is for you.  I would recommend coming to indulge in this show if you want to  trudge in the fear and the glimmer of the human experience.  It might make you sick in a way, but doesn’t life? In the word’s of Chardiet,  “When the mind uses the body in order to transcend- escape it!” 

Also the Chasms duo visits their home town of SF after a move to LA to perform their heroine-gaze-y collaboration as well as Oakland’s own masked demons of light V.E.X., doing their dual synth queer-core weirdness that hopefully involves some improv sax.

Be there and be moved…. 

Frequencies of Power and Pain: An interview with Petheaven

Anya and I were supposed to meet at Gaylord’s coffee on Piedmont ave, but to make a long story short that location didn't happen. I ended up sitting in a quiet corner of a Chinese restaurant with pink table cloths and sipping tea waiting for her with an extra cup.

“The concept of Petheaven is more of a ritual ”. They are these sort of spells we cast out to survive in this world.” describes Anya, founding member of Petheaven.  In May of 2013,  she started out as a solo act doing guitar and vocals, doing one-off shows and doing bedroom recordings. Just a few years later she invited her musician friends Izzy and Rory from Spit Tips to create a three-piece formation, at least until they both relocated to Portland. For the next few months the project returned to it’s original solo state until Dec of 2016 when ungraspable events occurred in Anya’s life as well as friend and drummer Zoe Stiller. Losing both of their partners in the Ghostship fire, they banded together in music to help them cope, heal and tell a story. 

     Their live shows makes you feel like you are being taken into an esoteric catacomb of the human spirit, where they fill the dark stone walls with resonating guitars tinged with “sweet 90’s PJ Harvey grunge rock dreams” (maybe even a little reminiscent of early Hole), jazz ruled drums, and haunting lyrics that touch you to your innermost fiber. You may be surprised how moved you feel by this self-described “singer-songwriter” tour-de-force. Petheaven provides "gaps and moments to take a look and see into yourself”  and that’s all they want from this project….

“I mean I guess we COULD do the interview here, but doesn’t that feel like a scene out of some 1970’s documentary interviewing Richard Hell about NYC punk?!” I stated while we were cracking up sitting at the table  drinking our lukewarm Oolong tea and waiting for the check.   Our punk rock fantasies  faded as they were about to close. So we headed to the sanctity and privacy of my living room kitchen across the lake, where it was just us, the fishes and their water filter bubbling in the background. 

“Which color candle do you want to light?” I asked her while lighting some moon incense. 

“Let’s light this one, it's Cash’s favorite color” she said as she picked up the dark blue tapered candle.  Sitting by the open window to the backyard I found myself honored to have her peaceful, mindful presence in my company,  to be invited to hear about her musical “diary” and the depth of her tribulations on creating and “being” in this world.  

 So I heard you are coming out with new stuff. I’m really excited to hear more material from you. Tell me about what you’ve got coming out!

Basically the new stuff will be kind of the culmination of what Zoe and I have been doing together as Petheaven. Our new stuff is cool, not only is it a studio recording (Skot B)  that we are really proud of but its what each of us brought to this project- rather than it just being my solo project.

 I really love the way you both sound together. You wouldn't expect something to sound so rich and full just using guitar and drums.

 We use a lot of pedals on my guitar to create the soundscapes and also a little bit of magic. I know we are kind of haunted in a way so I think it makes our sound a little bigger. 

 Yes, I remember you actually saying that in between songs at Oakland Secret in February of this year, that you are kind of “haunted” in a way.  That was a magical set. I think you played four songs…  I totally cried. I was moved in a whole new way. That doesn't really happen to me at live shows, even if it is a truly sad song or something like that. You hit me in the deepest realm that no one really gets too often.

 I’m glad that you can access that part of yourself. People come up to me a lot and say that “I cried and I wasn’t expecting to”. I’m glad. Maybe you were seeing a different world or a different emotional realm. That is why that band exists now. At first it was a place to put all of my stories, all the ghost stories in my mind; all of the anger and all of the trauma that I have experienced. For Zoe and I, this is our outlet ever since what happened in December (Ghosthship tragedy). It’s like channeling a frequency of pain and of power. Casting your own protection spells and being honest with your own emotions. The different layers of instrumentation can work to present itself in a way that lets you access that point if that makes sense. It makes me want to cry when I hear that other people cry (listening to our stuff). All I can hope is that someone can access our stories. 

 You mentioned gathering this “power”. That’s exactly what I was thinking about you today as I was listening to your older material. There is this raw power and strength in this beautiful sadness that kept coming up for me. That’s a really potent combination. Your vocal range and intonations sometimes remind me of a Diamanda Galas.It’s wild, deep sad, powerful, angelic. How is this all happening at once?

 I don’t think it is mutually exclusive. I don’t think it is different things. I just think it’s total expression. I appreciate that comparison. Cash always said (my voice) had a Kate Bush/Diamanda sound. I was thinking “Wow, that’s a pretty big comparison”. I've never felt "here". I think my voice is some dead lady that lives inside of me that tells stories. I Use the voice as an instrument. Im a guitar nerd. we have a lot of jazz elements it too. It’s like a cloud, rather than a genre

 Going back to that show I saw earlier this year (Oakland Secret feb. 2017) Oh god…. Being so soon after December,  I thought some of those songs were directly related to you and Zoe both losing your partners ( Cash Askew and Feral Pines). Some of those songs felt like they were created out of this huge unimaginable loss. Then I found out these songs were written previously, in 2013.

 Yes! Previous. Yes I think a lot of that has been solidified in losing her. Cash was (and this went for either one of us) she was right in front, the first person there at the show. She gave me the love and strength to perform.  that was preventing me from going up there and doing it. I was in a very dark head space, in a very dark body space and she was my light. She was so proud of me. I am so proud of her. all the love and music we hold together. I just just hope I keep making her proud.

Yes…..I remember that…… You were saying you were coming from a dark space in your early Petheaven days. In a sense your early stuff was based in a much more solitary view. How does it compare now? What’s the view like? Is it more focused on your relationship with Cash now?

 It’s not all Cash. But she will be a part of it forever. She will be in every band I’m in. She will be forever tweaking my pedal boards. She will always be doing my sound. Because that’s what she did. She was everything to me. Music, for each of us, was our most important thing. As musicians (music) is one of the only ways we communicate and one of the ways we have found solace. The only other way to find a sort of therapy is to find your other half. Then to have them taken from you is totally uncharted territory. I can't even really explain it. 

Right, like “Fear of Dark Water” sounds like it could be written about your experience losing your other half, yet it stems from a different experience. That was one of the songs I heard at that O.S show that I thought was directly related to the fire. 

 My previous songs were more like ghost stories. That song “Fear of Dark Water” was written one night I woke up in the middle of the night. It was like a gash into my psyche. It is definitely a ghost story. This song is about someone who opens up a photo album and sees her great grandmother.she sees her face in her face. she knows her story. she never met her great grandmother, but she knows she took her own life a long time ago, and her family looked at it as shameful. She was deeply abused. She ends up being put in an asylum because she won’t keep quiet about what has been done. So, there, in the garden she takes her life because she couldn’t choose how she lived, she could only choose how she died.  Oddly enough, the lyrics (to “Fear of Dark Water”) kind of correspond to what my life is at this point: “ I will choose how I die”........ It’s subconscious. Petheaven is like the ephemera of the mind…how are you going to deal with the shit and come out strong in the end…

That’s exactly how I feel when I listen to your material.

I'm so glad. (The)  “I will choose how I die” (is something that I)  hope is true for all of us, figuratively.

Those lyrics really hit me hard at that live show. 

We all have strength, and for me, sometimes that’s the only thing that keeps me going. I was blessed to have the most amazing person in my life. cash is heavenly.  I just wish she could hear it.

She’s always at your shows…….( candle warmly glowing)

(teary laughter) She’s always at my shows! I would hope she would be there! ...... I miss my loves, I miss my heart. So the music is the only way to fill the void……. We are a two-piece but we might be a four-piece. We might have some beautiful ghosts in the band. 

 What are some of your favorite tunes to listen to? 

One of my favorite is Charles Mingus “Myself when I am real”. It’s a piano piece. If you are ever alone, light a candle, listen to it.  That song is how I feel. It dances and it cries and it speaks to spirits in the room. Another recommendation for the readers is Gloria Ann Taylor “What’s Your world?”  It’s some haunted crackling soul. Those were my friends when I was young. Jazz is where my heart is. and of course stuff like Klaus Nomi, Kate Bush, Diamanda Galas. There’s so many.

Where did the name Petheaven come from? By the way,  I love the font! It kind of reminds me of The Dick Van Dyke show font!

( All of a sudden we thought we got a blast of some old school heavy duty cologne through the open window. It was truly overwhelming and distractingly funny)

Damn, is that cologne? Somebody's got some Old Spice up in  here!! DRAKKAR NOIR!

That is some Old Ass Spice!!!!  Someone is going on a hot date!

(Room mate comes into living room to admit it was his incense and apologizes sheepishly)

So, yes the name…I was once at this pet hospital and on the ceiling was this panel of a sky with all this pets looking down on you. It was really depressing and I got obsessed with this idea of a pet heaven. I’ve always had this intense connection to dogs. I just like the name, I think it’s endearing. Plus i’ve always felt like more of a pet than a human anyway. Petheaven is one word for us! People always think it’s two!

So in your future albums what format do you think you'll release it on? Another cassette? vinyl?

I think vinyl! Plus I’ve got some original Petheaven art by Cash. So yeah, we gotta do it.

 We will release an EP. 2-3 songs.  “Spellbreaker”, “My house” and “Fortune” will be on there- so stay tuned!

You think you'll keep it a two-piece between you and Zoe?

Yeah! I think its working! We could sample bass some day if we wanted…  Zoe is such an incredible talent and I am thankful every day that we met and that we can do this project together doing shows and showing people our heart. at the end of the day we can be Petheaven together. We can’t be molded or changed sonically.   

Make sure to find yourself at the next Petheaven show!

Give the Noise a Beat! Machina #2 is here!

   Devyn Saturnus of Esomoprhic records rematerializes this friday 6/16 with his curated  Machina night “a multi-sensory night of esotronic//dungeon acid//industrial tech//modular synth and evilutionary visuals”.  This is the second one that he has curated and involves musicians from his own label as well as musicians from the bay-area based electronic collectives Katabatik and 5lowershop. Devyn tells us about the featured artists, his musings on our Oakland scene and remembering Obscura Machina. Listen to this teaser track while you read!

********* In this interview the events of Dec. 2 2016 that took place in Oakland are mentioned. I am still very sensitive to this subject and wanted to let you know what to expect  before reading*******

So Machina #2 is underway! Tell me more about musicalfungus as he is on your label Esomorphic records.  

I met Chris (musicalfungus) in passing at “that one thing in the desert”, many a past life ago. At the time, all I really knew of him was his affiliations with certain crews in the west coast bass culture. Essentially I found through social media he started collecting and building modular synths, which always piques my interest, and its been fun watching him explore these machines, getting to a point where he was ready to explore this in an album. I forget the initial communication we made (the sea of faces on social media can do that..) but he shot me what is now DEMON CORE. Instantly I fell in love, threw it up on Esomorphic Records and booked him a show. You can also consider this Machina as MFungus’ cassette debut show. Be sure to pick it up! He’s from Santa Cruz, so catch him while he’s in town!  I’m confident his modular magickal conjurings will be quite the treat, improvised through real circuits and currents, experienced and released into the aether, audio spore frequencies settling into the fertile dirt of our senses .

You've also got some guys from 5lowershop and Katabatik that night as well.

Yes, not to be missed is Hakuin, the pseudonym from Justin Rafferty from 5lowershop who will be starting the night off with his signature brand of psychedelic hardcore IDM, an alchemy of styles and aesthetics revealing machine whispers and warnings from beyond.. He is an absolute genius and I’m very excited to see what he has in store for us. 

Hakuin

And if this doesn’t already sound like the show of the summer, we have Scarford. It felt like a long shot asking a Veteran from Katabatik to perform at this very new event, but the timing was apparently perfect for Scott Arford to deliver unto us a new beast, Scarford. Recently released is an EP under the newly formed Katabatik record label. "Who You Are" is a funky, dark, and fresh approach to EBM and industrial. He's definitely standing out from a style that is easy to rely on "what has been done". It's obvious that Scarford is a beast that only Scott can tame with hard beats, stabbing bass lines in a sinister mid tempo range that personally grips my rib cage and shakes me....I can't wait to hear it on the system at The Night Light and if anyone had an second thoughts on attending Machina the chance to see this new entity should change your mind.

Scarford

I love the "dark disco" notes that Scarford is doing, plus I haven't seen any 5lowershop sets in awhile so this should be pretty interesting. 

Yes, quite the variety show. ((((((******TRIGGER WARNING********)))))) It goes without saying that our rather tight-knit community took a blow half a year ago and i’m doing my best to fill in the void we now face from the comrades we lost. Im extremely inspired by my band mate and good friend Micah Danemeyer. He pretty much paved the way as I worked with him under his label Discarded and as a semi-regular performer at his monthly Obscura Machina shows, where, in case you were wondering, is a direct nod and tribute to his energy before us, not stealing, but reminding us who brought our “scenes” together under his mutant vision.  My intention is to continue the platform for all of us weirdos to get our stuff out there and have it be heard, guided as a new label and collective entity. The unofficial “theme” of Esomorphic is “””bringing the underground... above ground”””, considering our DIY spaces are all at risk right now. Our options from my observations are very small house shows or trying to convince venues that people will actually come to these shows to subject themselves to such challenging outsider electronics. I have to thank Jason Kick over at The Night Light for his continued support and understanding and for giving us weekend dates. I knew that Micah had been booking and promoting shows for years and it took him so long for him to finally break even. I have to thank him for his tireless effort doing the good work for all of us, a gift that we should never take for granted. He set the stage for us to pick it up and to keep the legacy and tradition alive.

That was everything I would have wanted to have said about this situation, and you worded it so eloquently. It's still hard for me to write the right words about all that has happened. I'm so happy that this is still going on. It really carries an essence of him. 

   Everything everywhere is different now as far as what our culture is like. There is a time before the event in question and there is the time afterwards. Everything was different before and now its different after it. We have to somehow find it in ourselves to manage the harsh realities that we have before us and try to make the best of the situation.

Red Cellar

I think that is all we can do at this point. 

We got a lot of very mixed attention to the event that happened a year ago. So many media outlets from corporate media to small personal blogs. To some it was a tragedy and to some it was a bunch of stupid ravers that got what was coming to them. Although I can spend time just feeling absolutely SICK about that I want to transmute that energy and push it further into the mainstream attention and show them we aren’t just a bunch of stupid raver kids. We are doing something unique and special and we have the ability to transform culture. Such as Wax Trax! ...Some of the artists on there looked like a bunch of rag tag junkie criminals and you wouldn't think they would create a whole subculture and make an impact world wide. If you did, you probably would have been laughed at. But now you have Ministry, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, KMFDM all these bands which have defied all mainstream logic and have gotten to tour world wide and ultimately transformed peoples’ lives. I think that the culture that we have here in Oakland has the ability to achieve similar things. I’m going to try my best to make that a reality and I invite anyone to join me on this potentially crazy ride. Make some thing real and impacting happen,together, and see where it takes us. 

You've got the drive and the spirit. So this is your first self promoted show as Red Cellar. Are you still doing Regretamine?

Yes, I have a pattern of splintering projects. Regretamine started off as an outlet for underground hard acid techno, ultimately dance music. Something I had never tried to do. But after moving to Oakland and going to Katabatik parties I realized how much of an impact electronic music can have and of course putting you down dark spin on it to reflect the very strange times we live in- yes, even techno can be social commentary!

There’s definitely a place for it!

Red Cellar happened was a collaboration with Micah. So then I had two outsider “dance” music projects going- of course the term “dance” music is used very loosely here hahah! Give the noise a damn beat basically! So I got inspired to do electronic music songwriting with more tradtional song structures. At this point I’m working on a full length album for Regretamine, which is me doing synth and keyboard and vocals. That’s being cooked up in my Regretamine lab! 12-13 tracks in progress but I'm going to keep it a secret until I can unleash it. I also have the noise outlet Neural Eunuch in the Esomorphic catalog. That’s a much looser project with the intention of having revolving artists- whoever wants to come in and make some noise. I have hours and hours of music to sift through. I probably have enough for four or five EP’s right now but of course I have other things that are more pressing with deadlines.

How Does Red Cellar compare to Regretamine? 

Red Cellar's mutant vibe is undoubtedly the mark of Micah’s work. It’s less improvised than it used to be with the two of us jamming out, but my approach is to collect an arsenal of sound to appease whatever spirits I happen to conjure during the live performance ritual. The circle will be cast beyond the cellar door and I invite you all for these incantations and ecstatic dances that follow.......

The Original Red Cellar Line up- Devyn Saturnus and Micah Danemeyer

Transport yourself over to Machina this Friday 6/16 !!!!
The Night Light at 311 Broadway St. in Oakland

Dj Sailor Saturn will be spinning in between sets too!

Visuals by Sinest

OK, this is the POPTONE! An Interview with Kevin Haskins on his post-Bauhaus revival tour

Kevin Haskins needs no introduction. This year the legendary drummer for Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, and Tones on Tail has reunited with former bandmate Daniel Ash (vocals and guitar) and his daughter Diva (bass) to form the supergroup Poptone — referencing the Public Image Limited song "Poptones" — who will be performing a career retrospective of his bands' songs. 

For many this is a dream show, as Tones on Tail hasn't performed since the early '80s. I remember  listening to "Rain" and "Lions" while languidly laying in the folded-down backseat of my 1982 Dodge Aries woody station wagon, staring out into a 2 a.m. sky through the rear windows and writing in my composition notebook all the lush poetries that come from the nocturnal stirrings of youth. Let us not forget the afternoon bike rides while singing to the Love and Rockets album Express and glimmering on the inside with verve and a sense of mystique. 

I was curious to know more about this long-awaited resurgence from Kevin Haskins, as I always sort of viewed him as a wallflower in terms of his other more vociferous bandmates from the past. A quick and humble interview prior to their Regency Ballroom show in San Francisco is what I got from Mr. Haskins, and I couldn't be more pleased to experience this sonic rarity live. 

Poptone

I read in different interviews that Daniel Ash had a revelation in the early hours of morning about how he wanted to do live shows again after a decade in hiatus. What was your reaction when he wanted to do Tones on Tail again? To me, the Tones on Tail fans I know have been dying to see you tour once again and always wondered why it didn't happen sooner. 

Basically [Daniel Ash] wanted to play songs that he had written and sang on, so that really formed the set list. However, the majority of songs are TOT. I am very pleased that we are playing predominantly TOT songs. I know from talking to people I bump into at shows that they have been anticipating hearing Tones on Tail music live for a long time. I really love the music of TOT and it's very exciting and fulfilling playing those songs again. 

Tones on Tail was such an incandescent and dynamic project. It's still so evocative and fresh today. Why was it so short-lived and close-kept back when you first started? I know you only toured Europe and the U.S. once. 

It was down to musical differences for the most part.

The Poptone tour seems very well received so far! The footage I've seen looks like it's a really well-executed show and there has been so much excitement buzzing about it. How does it feel performing these Tones on Tail songs live after 3 decades? 

It's a great deal of fun and I'm happy that people who were either too young, or missed seeing our various bands, get to hear the songs live.

What is [original Tones on Tail bassist] Glenn Campling up to these days? Why was he not interested in resurrecting these songs? How did your daughter get involved in the project? I know she was in Blackblack.

I'm not sure what Glenn is up to. I think that he's working as a graphic artist. He designed our current Tones on Tail shirts, which I think look fantastic. We didn't approach Glenn or David J as it felt more appropriate to have a neutral bass player. I couldn't really picture either of them playing each other's basslines. Diva also brings a different dynamic to the table, which is fresh and exciting.

Tones on Tail: Glenn Campling, Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins

It must be a truly unique experience playing these career-defining songs with your daughter. You must get along very well! What's the dynamic like?

It's quite surreal at times, glancing to my right and seeing her play on stage with me! We get along really well and share similar interests. She has a beautiful old soul and inspires me almost every day.

Returning to your older material, how does it feel in today's music scene? Does it feel like the "scene" used to be better years ago? Are there any newer acts you are into these days? 

Thankfully our music feels very fresh and relevant still. I'm really into our current support band called Pow!

Love and Rockets

What do you like to do in your off time? What does a day in the life of Kevin Haskins look like?

It depends what I'm doing career-wise. Poptone has completely absorbed all my time for the past three months. It's incredible the amount of work it takes, especially as we're very hands-on. 

Has there ever been a moment when you have been out in public and one of your songs from your previous projects comes on and it becomes a surreal moment for you? 

Not really, although [I was] surprised to hear our songs in Urban Outfitters.

You've been composing for film and video games for quite some time now, since 1998. Are you working on any projects right now?

I placed the composing on the back burner for the last two years to work on my coffee table book. It's coming out in October and is called Bauhaus Undead. It's a lot of photos, drawings, writings from the band, and assorted memorabilia. The content is exceptional and unique. I'm very excited that it's finally being published! It will be available on Cleopatra Records, Amazon, and selected book stores.

It seems like every major city in the U.S. is suffering from gentrification or a homogenization in terms of the arts and subculture. What is your take on the current scene/mood in L.A. these days? 

Not happy about the current urbanization of Hollywood.

What are your favorite songs to revisit on this tour?

Mainly the Tones on Tail material because it's so eclectic and unique.

I've read that Bauhaus and the like didn't set out to make necessarily "goth" music, but it just sort of placed in that category. How does it feel to be a part of so many people's romantic memories of "goth" music?

It doesn't really concern me as to which category we are placed in. I feel blessed to have had and to continue having such an incredible career. I feel truly blessed and grateful every day. 

A young Kevin and Daniel in the inimitable Bauhaus

Poptone is currently on tour! Make sure you get out there to see them! 

GO!