Interviews: Grave Concerns - DJ Azrael Racek - 10/2003 Written In Ashes Interview: With Kevyn Hay and Ashe Ruppe Hello, Azrael Racek here, thank you for doing this interview. Ashe: Thank you for interviewing us! Kevyn: Cheers Azrael! There have been a lot of line-up changes in your bandrecently. Please tell us about them? Ashe: Since I joined in late 99 we have had several changes in the lineup. Mostly due to conflict in schedules or interests. There has pretty much always been a revolving door in WIA. The main lineup has been the same for about two years now. So the changes are'nt really that recent. Kevyn: In some cases WIA has exceeded the expectations of a few former members, and for others its been an issue of commitment, not to mention we' ve had our share of personality conflicts as well. Its very difficult to keep a group of people on the same sheet of music all the time, sometimes I feel more like a Human Resources Manager than a musician. Why the new record label (Latex), how did that comeabout? Kevyn: Ashe was the one who really pioneered this deal. There were some issues with our former label which couldn't be resolved, unfortunately. We are very grateful to have this second chance, this album is going to be amazing! Ashe: I came to know Eddie at Latex while searching for labels that were releasing compilations so we could put out some of our unreleased material. Eddie and I hit it off very well and he invited us to join the Artist's on his label. Our previous label proved to be unfulfilling so Eddie's enthusiasm and dedication to his label and the music scene in general was very refreshing to us. The newer live shows that I've seen have been muchmore "electronic" than previous shows. Is this thenew direction that your band is going on vinyl/cd as well. What has been influencing your music lately?? Kevyn: The electronic aspect of WIA has always been present. We've recently begun developing our resources with this medium to their fullest extent. Ashe and Damon have been the masterminds of our electronic evolution. Our sound has now become much richer and dynamically fuller,without sacrificing its humanity. Ashe: I wish we could release an album on vinyl! Yes the most recent live shows are pretty much a reflection of the material that is to be released onour upcoming album "Written In Ashes". The "electronic" sound is nothing new to WIA. The band had the exact same instrumentation back in 1996. There is still an "old school" sound in our music and there always will be due to our backgrounds. The current lineup all come from Industrial, Deathrock, Noise, Punk and Electronic backgrounds so we are just applying what we normally do to our current material, its not a pre conceived idea to suddenly do something new, its just what comes out naturally when we combine all of our musical backgrounds in a pot and I think all of that comes across in the music. This current album consists of musicians that were not on the earlier releases so it will obviously have a different sound and feel to it. As of late I think we simply draw general influence from our own personal lives. Are there any plans for a WIA tour soon? Ashe: Nothing is presently in the works, but its not out of the question. Kevyn: The late season release may prohibit us from touring in 2003, but I would expect that 2004 will be full of surprises and a great deal of traveling. It would be fabulous to finally get to play in Europe. Is there any way to get your ealier releases?? As Idon't think many of our east-coast readers have heard of you much.?(perhaps from your website?) Ashe: That's a question for Kevyn to answer. Most of the WIA releases are available thru places like Metropolis, Projekt and a few others. Kevyn: With the exception of "Eternal" (1997) everything else should still be in print. Projekt: Darkwave may still have some copies of the EP "Eclipse" (1997) and "Epiphany" (2000) is available at most Tower Records stores. The compilation releases may be a bit more difficult find. We did do a cover of 'Cold Ethyl' for the Alice Cooper tr "Mutations" (2002), which had fairly broad distribution as well. I'd compare your sound to early Mission or Rosetta Stone. What would you compare your bands sound to? Ashe: I really love The Mission U.K. and some of Rosetta Stone's material. I guess I could see the comparison in some of our more "old school" sounding tracks but I honestly don't know who I would compare our sound to, perhaps some newer Xymox in some aspects but overall I think it just sounds like.well..us. Kevyn: Thank you Azrael, that is very kind of you! WIA has never set out to sound like someone, something, or sometime. Some people have even suggested that this may be the reason WIA remains in the underground. We are our toughest critics, and we draw on our influences and experience to create our music. WIA is personified through the music. What are your feelings about the current leaders of America? What do you think of the direction that the Patriot Act predicts? Kevyn: Our basic rights and freedoms are slowly being stripped away under the guise of patriotism. The silent majority of this great nation of ours had better wake up and smell the corruption. We have a convicted criminal for a president, what does that tell you? We truly live in the land of the blind. Ashe: I recently heard Bush speak here in town and he said "If you don't want your old growth forest's to burn down, you cant let them catch on fire, because fire burns down trees" . I feel very safe with such intelligence in charge of our country. (insert sarcasm here). I see total chaos and anarchy in our future. On a lighter note: what are your favorite colors..and if you could live in any city-what city would it be?? Ashe: Well, I love black, surprisingly enough, but since that is the lack of color I guess I cant choose that. I do have an attraction to certain blues and silver. And whatever color Mr. Blobby is! As for what city I would live in, I like the city I live in now which is why I live here now which is Portland. I do like New Orleans and Hollywood. I would like to live in Europe at some point, possibly Prague. Kevyn: Blue. No! Yellow!! ARGH! Any city, eh? truth be told, I love Portland (Oregon). I've lived in a number of cities across North America,and Portland, to me, is a culmination of the aspects I have enjoyed the mostfrom each city. Now if we could just get the economy back on track, and get the mayor on a diet. What would the ideal situation for your band to be in ten years from now? Kevyn: To have android replicants of WIA touring the known universe. Ashe: Playing Wave Gotik Treffen # 943,764 on Mars. Do you enjoy touring ? Is it better or worse than recording?? Ashe: I love touring and always look forward to it. I also enjoy the recording process because we have a great time doing that, sometimes we'll spend an entire evening in the studio doing nothing but drinking, throwing chicken and recording completely ridiculous songs, one of which actually ended up on the album in a more serious form with all of the drunken instrumentation left in. Touring and recording are both lots of fun actually so we need to set up a tour where we record along the whole thing. Kevyn: You have to tour to support your recording, then you have to record in order to tour. I derive immense pleasure from playing live, it consumes my very essence. Things tend to get out of hand in the studio. Long hot days in the "sound booth" can take its toll on a person. One minute you're trying for that perfect take, the next thing you know, there's ch'dicken everywhere! In case you haven't noticed, we don't like to have Fun and we take ourselves way to seriously! You've partied with us before, haven't you Azrael?Thank you and let me know about your next shows.. Ashe: Cheers! Kevyn: Azrael there are a few questions I'd like to ask you..what? We're out of time?