Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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y Danzig from page 2 graphs for about two hours. Do you always take that much time for your fans, and how important are they? GD: Yeah, sometimes more [than two hours], [The fSis are] pretty important. I mean, if people want an autograph, it’s the least I can do. JD: How long will the tour you’re on last? GD: It’s a five-week tour, and we’re just about midway through it right now. JD: Are you going to be coming back around? GD: We’ll see. I know we’ve got to go to Eu rope, and we’ve got to go down to Mexico, South America and possibly Australia, so we’ll see when ever we’re done with all that stuff. Maybe we’ll come back around JD: Where do you come up with material for your songs? What do they mean to you? GD: I base it on lots of different stuff — experi ences, things I’m reading about, things that inter est me — lots of different stuff. JD: What were your feelings when “Mother” be came such a big hit? Did you enjoy the populari ty and success, or did it make it harder to try to fol low it up? GD: No, I already had told people that you know if you expect another song like “Mother,” you can foiget about it. That song was on the first record, and it was a big concert favorite. I just do what I do, you know? And if people like it, great. JD: How are you able to break into the mainstream, and what do you accredit it to? GD: Samhain was on tour, and we were playing with lots of people. We had built it from just a small, little thing to getting really popular, sell ing a lot of records, and we had a bunch of labels come down and want to sip us. And this wild-card label came down that we didn’t know anything about, and it happened to be Rick Rubin of Def Jam. And that’s who we ended up signing with. JD: Why did Samhain decide to reunite? GD: We haven’t reunited, and we’re not doing a reunion tour. We’re just getting together onstage every night and playing. Wfe’re not doing any records. We’re not going on a long, extended tour. It’s just five weeks in America, and that’s it—just to cel ebrate the box set. Wfe’re not reunited. We’re not back together. Wfe’re just playing a set before Danzig every night. JD: How do feel about playing with Samhain again? GD We all still talk and stuff, so it’s pretty cool. And we’ve been talking about doing it for a while, so yeah, it’s a lot of fan. And that’s what it was sup posed to be — fan. And that’s why we’re not re ally reunited, you know what I mean? [Wfe’re just] getting together and having a blast for 45 to 50 min utes onstage every night for five weeks. JD What’s your view on music today compared with music 20 years ago, when you were with the Misfits? GD Well, music around the time of the Misfits, aside from a select group of punk rock/hard-core bands, pretty much sucked, so it hasn’t changed much. JD: How much longer do you see yourself con tinuing to make music? Do you ever plan on re tiring? GD: I’ll always make music. [I won’t retire] from making music, no. Maybe from touring, but not from making music. JD: You were in the movie “The Prophecy II.” How’s your movie career coming, and are you go ing to be in any soon? GD: No movies, just pretty much whatever I get offered that I like, I’ll do. JD: How are your comic books doing? Have you enjoyed any success from them? GD: Yeah, it’s cool. I’m moving more into mak ing movies in animation now. JD: Your newest album is on Evilive, which is your own label. Do you enjoy running your own label now, and is it better than being under somebody else? GD: Yeah. But also, I had my own label for a long time. Misfits and Samhain were on Plan 9, which is my label. JD: I’ve heard that you’re a black belt. What type of martial arts are you involved in? GD fin] all the different martial arts that I do, there are no belts. We either kick ass, or you get your ass kicked. There are no belts. Up until around 1992, I did Tai boxings. And after that, I switched to Jeet Kune Do, which is the Bruce Lee style. JD How true is the image that you portray and the rumors that surround it? GD: Well, I’ve heard so many different rumors about me that I wouldn’t know where to start, and I wouldn’t know which ones to address first. You know people talk sh*t because most people are sh*t. And most people, that’s all they can do — talk sh*t. They can’t do anything else. So you have to consider the source. And anyway, who really gives two f**ks in the end? JD: What’s it like playing with your new band members compared with your old band members? GD: Those guys haven’t been in the band for, like, five years. Well, Joey’s a better drummer than Chuck Biscuits. He’s more rock-steady, and Bis cuit’s timing was all over the place. Todd’s a looser guitar player than John Christ. John was very stiff. And Eerie Von pretty much couldn’t play bass, so Lazie’s a much better bass player. JD: Why did the original Danzig break up? GD: Danzig never broke up, and they didn t all drop out at once. Eerie wanted to pursue a solo thing, and John, it was just agreed that we didn’t want him to be playing on any more records. JD: Do your bandmates get upset because you insist on having total control over the music and writing every instrument’s parts for all your songs? GD: I don’t really give two f**ks. Someone has to write the songs, and you know, that’s the way it is. They’re my songs. JD: Do you think you’ll ever return to your old sound? GD: I ’m moving ahead. I’m not looking back. •1$ The Artist break out of seclusion with mt-laden CD by David Bauder Associated Press New York—For someone who has al ways liked to steer his own ship — not to mention swab the decks, hoist the an chor and unfurl the sails — the Artist Formerly Known as Prince has let a lot of people into his professional life lately. Within reason, of course. He does have his limits. c. The Artist returned to the world of major record labels this month with “Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic,” an un abashedly commercial disc released by Arista. Even though he’s recorded entire al bums in which he was responsible for every last note of the music, this time the Artist opens himself up to collabo rations with Sheryl Crow, Chuck D, Ani DiFranco, No Doubt and Maceo-Park er. Famously reclusive at his peak of popularity, he’s now willing—even ea ger — to talk about his work. Print re porters are still forbidden front taping their conversations with him, though. Years after banishing his given name in favor of an unpronounceable symbol and awkward designation as “The Artist” because of a battle with his old record company, “Prince” mysteriously returns in the producer’s credit for this album. ‘ ‘ I learned a lot about the music industry in the past three years, mainly by speak ing with a lot of other artists,” he explained during an interview in a Manhattan ho tel suite. He par ticularly admires DiFrancoforthe way she’s main tained contractu al independence and built a successful recording career on her own. The Artist invited DiFran co to his Minnesota studio, and she plays guitar on his ballad “I Love U, But I Don’t Trust U Anymore.” “I love her guitar playing,” he said. “It’s the most expressive acoustic play ing that I’ve ever heard She’s a risk-tak er, and that appeals to me, as well.... These are the spirits you want to know in your life.” After releasing an album available chiefly by mail order, the Artist wanted the attention and marketing clout of a major label this time. But he demand ed ownership of what he recorded just like DiFranco. He made that arrange ment with Arista chief executive Clive Davis, a legendary figure in the music business whose latest coup is the im plausible comeback of Carlos Santana. Davis said he wouldn’t make that deal with just any musician. But when ever he’s been asked over the last decade which musician he’d like to work with that he hadn’t, “I always said the Artist,” Davis said What the Artist gives up in return is the cash advance on potential earnings that most musicians get when they record for a major label; he’s taking a greater financial risk. Arista also gets an option to release some of his future work. While he respects Davis, the Artist distances himself from musicians who have benefited from his help. He does n’t want publications lumping him with Santana as an act with a comeback en gineered by Davis — he even has his publicist call back writers to make sure that’s not their angle. He doesn’t feel as if he’s coming back from any thing. Davis, who sometimes writes or se lects songs for his clients, did no such tiling here, the Artist said, although he helped edit the single “The Greatest Ro mance Ever Sold.” The first single, “The Greatest Ro mance Ever Sold,” is the Artist’s answer to songs like TLC’s “No Scrubs.” Al though he loves that record, he doesn’t like the message. Besides DiFranco, the Artist invites another music business renegade, Public Enemy’s Chuck D, to guest on a hip-hop denunciation of the industry. Chuck D has embraced new technology, releasing Public Enemy’s latest album over the Internet before it became available in stores.