MONSTER MAGNET
Monolithic Baby
SPV
by Todd K. Smith
"Monolithic Baby was born from the irony and absurdity of life in the ongoing and truly hypnotic 21st century! A combination of social commentary, ego stroking, paranoia and glee! Sex and war! Disinformation! Terror! Narcissism! Denial! Drugs! It doesn't preach, it celebrates!" Dave Wyndorf, Monster Magnet
Our relationship with Monster Magnet goes back to 1995’s “Dopes Of Infinity”. At the time, the Red Bank, NJ quintet was riding the stoner psychedelic trail for all it was worth packing in Sabbath riffs with Purple Haze seduction. Credited for helping ignite the Stoner movement by fusing space rock and metal into a digestible format, the band seemed to hi
t their stride in ’95. “Negasonic Teenage Warhead” found it’s way to Philly radio and put the band on a bill opening for COC.The 1998 release of “Powertrip” and the universal hit “Space Lord” got the masses noticing what we already knew. These guys were going to be massive. Hand picked by Marilyn Manson for their largest tour to date (Mechanical Animals), Monster Magnet sat comfortably between the headliner and up-and-comers Nashville Pussy. It was one of those “do not miss” tours complete with strippers and organized chaos.
Two years later we saw the import of God Says No but waited months before a domestic release. When it did finally hit the States the record’s mixing had been so fumbled by the label execs that it lacked much of its sonic impact. Though it took a while Monolithic Baby is a return to the glory of Monster Magnet’s true essence. Jammed with heavy riffs at full amplification and an earth-rumbling bass end the record embraces all that is and will every be glorious about this band. Ultimately Everything.
Join us for our exclusive interview with Monster Magnet’s founder and main vox, Dave Wyndorf.
The Cutting Edge: Glad to have you back in the States. I know you’ve been on the road in Europe for the last four months with Gluecifer and The Quill.
Dave Wyndorf: Yeah, nothing like touring with your favorite bands. I’m a big fan of both bands. So when they (SPV) asked us who we wanted to take on the road it was a no brainer. Plus both bands are on our label so it made things real easy. It was great for the fans two – what a rock show!
TCE: The crowd reaction was good?
DW: Are you kidding? Three kick-ass bands on one bill. It was a rock lovers dream come true. There was no preamble, no ‘nu metal’ – it was just rock. And the record has been received so well over there. Just as well, if not better than anyt
hing we did on a major label. No big money push, just the record on its own. There are parts of the world where the music really does speak first.TCE: After your initial tour of Europe you went back for a number of festival dates. Some were the same markets. How did the set change?
DW: Since we were revisiting some of the same places I decided to change the set list. I told the promoters that we weren’t going to play the same string of hits we just wanted to go out and play rock. I wanted to take a chance and see if they would still dig the set. It worked great. Now I’m thinking of doing a tour that’s completely wierded out – like unplugged - or sitars and melodeons, something like that. Just to see how far I could push the art angle.
TCE: What’s the state of music like overseas? Is it going through the same trouble – learning curve – that we have here?
DW: Music isn’t in trouble. It’s selling music that is the larger problem. I’ve been talking with SPV for years. I knew that the day was going to come that the people we were working with at A&M weren’t going to be there anymore. I knew the when that day came I didn’t want there to be nowhere to go. I didn’t want to go back to another independent again.
TCE: You were with A&M for five records, in fact you sold over half a million copies of Powertrip on the back of “Space Lord”. Now you’re with SPV International. Does having a hit matter anymore?
DW: Nowadays you have to BE a hit, not just have a hit. It’s not just about the music – it’s about the personality. That means homogenized media personality. You can shock like Marilyn Manson but eventually people lose interest. The only way to be a true “star” these days is to run with the system.
The old rock’n roll way was to offer an alternative lifestyle and invite people to come in and listen to what the music had to say. It was poetry – a mixture of lyrics and words. Today it’s all about music for entertainment.
Music lovers, of course, don’t pay any attention to that. They will track it down – and today you can track it down and get it for free. You can’t compete against free.
TCE: The new album Monolithic Baby has a killer sound. Almost European in flavor.
DW: Yeah, the way a lot of European bands treat music now is that it’s 1972 and it’s Detroit. But that’s always been a part of the Monster Magnet thing. With this band we can emphasis the rock ‘n roll side of Monster Magnet or the psychedelic or the super heavy part. Then there is the other angle where I could get really weird.
TCE: It sounds like you’re moving further and further away from the whole stoner rock thing.
DW: That’s good. I never minded the comparison but I always thought we were closer to Grand Funk Railroad or Steppenwolf.TCE: What are some of the songs the crowds have been warming to off the new disc?
DW: Defiantly “Monolithic” and “Radiation Day”. “Unbroken” was the single in Europe so that did really well. There’s a lot to this record that I think people are going to get the longer they have it.
TCE: Amidst the recording you lost a couple members. What happened to Jon Kleiman (drums) and Joe Calandra (guitar)?
DW: Well, Jon and Joe ran outta gas. Jon is a very particular character. He doesn’t like rock music. He’s very particular about the kind of music that he likes. But he does like money. When he didn’t receive the money that he thought he should by being in a giant rock band he started putting out less effort. So we said, “goodbye”.
Jon’s one of the funniest guys I know and he’s an awesome drummer. But now he plays guitar in the Ribeye Brothers - probably doing the best work of his life. That’s probably where he should be. He still works with Tim (Cronin) who was with us from the beginning, and they have a number of different projects like the Ribeye Brothers and Gallery of Mites. Tim’s my roommate and our lighting/sound guy so were in touch.
Look, I’m an aggressive guy. I want to play aggressive music. Some people don’t like that but I’ve got this “kill ‘em all” mentality. It’s like a crusade -, but that’s what it takes to be a frontman – lead the charge.
TCE: You guys are like a frat house. You’ve all know each other most your life. What’s it like being a gang-like band from Jersey?
DW: You mean living in the shadow of New York? I’ve always seen us as an international rock band. Since our early demo days I was sending our stuff to Germany. I figured Europe would be way more interested in psychedelic rock. Our first deal was with a Germany label (Glitterhouse Records) at the same time we got attention from Caroline in the States. We only played four or five shows in the US before we toured Europe for six-months.
It’s true we started in the basement of a comic store in Jersey but we really got our start in Europe. So really we’ve come full circle.
TCE: It’s been three years since God Says No. Was it the label switch and the member change that slowed you down?
DW: We waited a year to get out of our deal with Universal. They wanted to keep us around but suddenly we were working with a bunch of guys in black suites and cell phones looking for the next Limp Biscuit. They knew their days were numbered so there was a lot of fear. I wanted no part of that so we got out. Then 9/11 happened and nobody was moving.
I got offered to write a soundtrack for a movie with Warner Brothers on their dime so I went out to LA. It was awesome to do. But while I was out there I started writing the new Monster record. I met the daughter of a famous record producer (whose name will go unmentioned) and we stayed in this hotel and I just wrote. That’s where songs like “CNN War Theme”, “Slut Machine” and “Unbroken (Hotel Baby)” came from. It was bizarre and weird but totally cool at the same time. I was hanging out with such a weird group of people. It’s all on the new record.
I tried to put everything in my mind into each and every song. I tried to make it as straight ahead rock as possible but I drifted. The lyrics were all written at the same time so it has this madhouse absurdity of the 21st century to it.
TCE: What about “On The Verge”?
DW: That’s about me being voyeuristic, looking in peoples window and watching them smoking their bongs while the world is blowing up on TV. Then there are songs like “There’s No Way Out Of Here” and “The Right Stuff” that are basically written for the fans. The band has reached this point where a lot of the music we created is actually dictated by the fans. We know what they want to hear and we give it to them. They have somewhat of a say in my conciseness. I’m not going to rip these people off so I’m going to give them a big guitar solo.
TCE: So when do we get the Dave Wyndorf solo record that’s completely disjoint for Monster Magnet?
DW: In about a year or two. It’s going to be out there – real crazy with all these unusual instruments on it – piano - lots of stuff. I’ll be singing through a fuzz box. There’s so much stuff coming out of me right now that it would be stup
id to waste it.TCE: With the US release of Monolithic Baby you put it out with a bonus DVD. Was it to be more completive in the market?
DW: Oh yeah, totally. We were like lets give ‘em something else. The record company wanted an interview and a video but I was like, “that’s not enough. Let’s give them a whole new video. If we’re going to give them something lets make it special.” So we did a video for a song that’s not even a single - something not obvious. I think it worked really well and it’s something I want to do in the future.
TCE: The record cover is amazing. Bigger than life.
DW: Have you seen the LP version? It’s awesome. I wanted this monolith theme with a tower of amps to look statuesque. Then it morphed into this whole Excalibur thing. We wanted it to be about no apologies for anything. Were fighting the good fight here.
And fight they did the night we caught up with them in Portland, OR. Holding on to what they do best they ripped through a stunning, near two hour set. Songs from Monolithic Baby stood proud as they launched into the guitar punch of “The Right Stuff”, “Supercruel”, “On The Verge” and “Radiation Day”. The old favorites filled the gaps including “Dopes”, the reaching “Twin Earth” and the fuzz of “Elephant Bell”. Wyndorf, dripping with sweat, questioned over a stack of marshals, “You want a REAL rock show?” then drove the MM truck right into “Powertrip”, “Melt” and the massive “Cage”. The show closed with “Monolithic” and "Third Alternative” however the stomp of the crowd lit the lights one more time. Returning to bury the hatchet the band raged through a mammoth rendition “Space Lord” leaving us deaf and happy for it.
Website: www.monstermagnet.net, SPV Records