MURDERDOLLS 3 : GEN-X IN A BOTTLE |
On May 31th, the Murderdolls already shared the bill with Iron Maiden at the Download festival, in England. Today, it’s at Berçy hall in Paris that they meet again for a sold out gig with in their pocket their soon to be released single, the cover of Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’ and the new version of their album ‘Beyond the valley of the living dolls’ album, enriched with several new titles, before that certain of their eminent members rejoin Des Moines, Iowa, to work on the new Slipknot LP. Let’s talk about all that with Joey, drummer de Slipknot’s drummer and puppet’s guitarist...
-You were in England for the Download festival, sharing the bill with Iron Maiden, and today you’re together again at Bercy, in Paris : what do they represent for you ?
-JJ : I was a fan, but who wasn’t, really ? Anyone who knows anything about rock’n’roll at all or music general knows Iron Maiden, even the kids who arrives now : they put on a great show, they’re a one of a kind band and they’re definitely a legend : I grew up with them, and the first album I bought was ‘Killers’, a long time ago. As a child, I dreamed to open up the show, even if the people absolutely hated us or booed us, being there is awesome!
-You’re touring with Stone Sour too : aren’t you afraid to be associated to much ?
JJ : Well, we really had it, we just did it basically because just for to show there’s no rivalry between the two bands because of Slipknot or anything, it’s just cool for the fancy to see both bands play together, that’s it.
-Recently you covered ‘White wedding’ from Billy Idol : why this choice ?
-JJ : That was actually Wednesday’s idea, he wanted to cover it a way long time ago, so he came and described it to me and I took it to make it a lot darker and creepier to make a really cool arrangement with it, and the label and our management loved it so much that they say it has to be a single for us, we had to shoot a video and the album would be re-released with that on it, plus three videos and like four extra songs.
-I’ve read something about this new video : it’s about a TV show ?
-JJ : Yes, it would have been too typical to do it about a wedding and Billy Idol making a cameo appearance, and instead we took this huge TV show called ‘American Idol’ in America, and which is like a search for the next big star
and they have those people in the show, there are judges and they usually cover a song. We made it all appear like we’re totally fake, they introduce us and we sabotage the whole set, destroy and scare the shit out of everyone.
-Next month will see a new version of your album, with some new titles : why not make a new EP instead ?
-JJ : They didn’t want to do an EP, because they thought we could repackage the whole thing and add those extra songs on it, it’s gonna be a little more worthwhile than doing a cheap EP, so we figured out the EP would have been an expensive price anyway, since you have a video on it, so it’s almost like an album in itself, if you stick it all together, it’s like one big package.
-I’ve read that you’ve already written half of the new Murderdolls album ?
-JJ : Yes, songs are written, but not recorded. So we’re gonna wait but the recording of all this will gonna be really good and I can’t wait to do it.
-Could you talk about some of those songs ?
-JJ : It’s a bit too early because I don’t wanna do it now because we have to finish this tour. For the general spirit of it, compared to our first album, it’s more mature, there’s a lot more leg, really rock’n’roll but with really creepy dark stuff, slower stuff : our first album is pretty quick on the way through, this one will be slower, with darker stuff as well as the fast rock’n’roll. But anyway, it’s still on the making.
-And about your project to collaborate with MM for a song of this album ?
-JJ : Well, we might do something in the future, it’s kept open but for the moment I don’t know. There are talks of remixes for our next record.
-I suppose we’ll have to wait one or two years before to see this new lp ?
-JJ : Some time, for sure. Slipknot comes next.
-Will you produce it again ?
-JJ : I don’t know yet : I might actually look to get a producer who could help me out. But I’ve already got offers from underground bands or bands signed by labels to have me produce their record. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to do that right now because I was too busy in my mind with the next Slipknot record. But I want to produce again soon.
-And what about your extreme metal project ?
-JJ : It’s in hibernation right now, but that would be something else, that would be a one-off project, just one CD, out of respect for black metal and everything, so very heavy and extreme.
-After this year with the Murderdolls, what have been the most positive points, artistically and personally ?
-JJ : First, the fact that I’ve been able to come out with something different from Slipknot, which is really heavy, I wanted to have funny shows and fucking rock’n’roll and have fun with the audience, that’s been the biggest thing that’s been great, almost like what Alice Cooper or Kiss used to do, they look like they come from Mars, and that’s cool : I hate it when you look at a band and they don’t look like a fucking band, I don’t like that at all, they just look like regular dudes, there’s a certain image going along with your type of music, I think it’s really important. They’re guys you want to read about, they don’t look like guys from the street, that has always been my thing.
-So, do you think that both Murderdolls and Stone Sour are profitable activities for Slipknot members...and the contrary too ? Both bands feeds off each other ?
-JJ : We could have gone right in and made another Slipknot record as well, but I wanted to make sure that my sanity was taken care of as well, and there’s something that I think the other guys in the band have been doing for a while, and respectively, I’m going back to Slipknot to do the next record, I’m not leaving them : I can do both, I’m a workaholic !
-Some records which changed your life ?
-JJ : ‘Kiss alive’, Slayer ‘Reign in blood’, and it sounds weird, but Rolling Stones ’Tatoo you’, when I was really young, in the eighties. My parents played it all the time and I love that record. Charlie Watts is the man !
-Some movies for an end?
-JJ : ‘Texas chainsaw massacre’, ‘Exorcist’, ‘Phantasm’, ‘The beyond’, ‘Dawn of the dead’, ‘Salem’s lot’.
-Something to finish with ?
-JJ : Basically, I’m gonna stay busy and it’s great to be back in Paris and play with Iron Maiden, and I just say thank you so much to all the fans who’ve been hearing all I have done with Slipknot and curious enough to check out what I have done with the Murderdolls, it has been a great ride so far, and it’s only the beginning, I can tell you !
Interview made on June 25th in Paris by Jean Paul Coillard.
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