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KANSAS
VARIATIONS ON POWER NOISE By: Meredith Vacek (Lawrencerock.com Editor) |
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I
interviewed Justin Evans, the founding member of Kansas City powernoise/industrial
band Nekrovox, in the first days of this bleak January. Surrounded by
Boss music equipment in Sam Doty's apartment (Nekrovox's newest member),
Justin, Sam, and I discussed details of Nekrovox's operation, past,
and purpose around a canister of what I believe were Mr. Peanut mixed
nuts. My goals were to better understand the band, provide more information for those out there interested in the Nekrovox, and to waste the precious time of one our present-day musical visionaries. Before
diving into the interview, let me first supply some important background
information on the band so that readers may better understand. Justin
calls his music "power noise," though most local fans of his
music apply the broader term of "industrial." Power noise
can be thought of as a subgenre or sister genre of industrial music,
that is mostly noise and samples, with fewer vocals and conventional
instruments. The noise is hard and driving, often abrasive, and could
be thought of, because of its electronic and often beat-based nature,
as what would happen if a construction worker were to attempt to create
dance music using only his power tools and construction machinery...
if that helps anyone picture it. I
thought I'd start out with an easy, getting-to-know-you kind of question
that would make Justin feel more comfortable with me as his interviewer,
and answer my inqueries more freely. 1.
What was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you? Last
Halloween--you know the story. 2.
What inspired you to start Nekrovox? Nekrovox
didn't start 'til I moved to LA in '99. No matter how hard I worked
out there, it was a vacation. I was thinking, 'Hey, I'm in LA--nothing
matters.' While I was there, I was exposed to power noise. German bands
like Pal. It seemed like taking industrial back to the raw level, which
inspired my music. In addition, I was reading New Age books like Dan
Millman and Richard Bach (or something like that), and those also gave
me a fucked up sense of inspiration. 3.
Where did the name 'Nekrovox' come from? 4.
Who is in Nekrovox? Originally
me, my friends Brendan Whiker and Aaron Habel, and my ex-girlfriend
Shannon on keyboards. They are on both albums, though mostly on the
first. My friend Dave Oswald has been my stage guitarist. Now there
is the addition of Sam Doty, and he, Dave, and I make up the band now.
I do the drums, bass, sampling, and programming. Dave is still on guitar.
Sam does effects engineering, noise, and vocals. 5.
Do you have any comments on your past shows? My
first shows were at parties with my own equipment. Those kicked ass.
When I played at venues, their shit falls apart and I get nervous because
people actually look at me while I play. I played at Finniganís
in Westport on St. Patrickís day last year. That was a GOOD idea.
All TEN of my friends showed up, and the bitch bartender threw us out
because she said the people there weren't used to our kind of music.
You can give your own synopsis on the El Torreon show last Halloween.
My equipment was fucked, their sound was fucked, and my bandmate was
fucked, but Soda Ash dug it. All elements of the equation were fucked.
This
is your interviewer speaking. The El Torreon show was my first Nekrovox
experience. It can be briefly read about in my
Syncro 9 Factor review, because that's who they opened up for, along
with Columbia, Missouri band Soda Ash. Justin is right. All elements
of the equation that night were veryfucked. 6.
What kind of equipment does Nekrovox use? Well...
a Boss DR5 drum machine, Boss Doctor sampler 202, um..... (Sam cuts
in with, 'Who exactly are you sponsored by Justin?') Shut up. ...Boss
VF1 effects processor (laughs), an Alexis Manoverb, a Midiman Breakout
box, and my computer. The software: Cool Edit Pro, CuBase, Magix Music
5. 7.
How do you feel about the music editing program Fruity Loops? Fruity
Loops, Acid, and other loop applications are like playing videogams...
its pushing fucking buttons. Its like the kid at the arcade that's smashing
down the buttons at 100mph, but heís screaming for his mom to
give him a quarter because the screen says, 'insert a fucking quarter
to play.' Justin
was very adamant that I include his kid in the arcade metaphor in this
write-up. Whatever, Justin. 8.
Where do you get the samples you use in your music? I
get them from anywhere: movies, real life, i.e. my junkie brother. I'll
have a concept for a sound or theme and from that concept, I'll pull
appropriate sounds or samples to tell the story of the song. 9.
How many albums does Nekrovox have out? Two,
a third in the making. 10.
What are your goals with the band? Where do you want to take it? It
started out as an indie-punk band, and its turned into industrial/experimental
power noise. I use my computer a lot more now, but I want to get away
from that. Sam and I were playing today, and he was showing me the beauties
of organic live noise while still retaining the electronic experimental
aspects. Combining those is hard to do. (Laughing from the directions
of Sam and I) Hey, am I wrong?? I want to combine noise with structure.
Sam cuts in with: 'We want to work on the live presence.... theme and
atmosphere... you know, what the clubs lack.' Sam was getting antsy
to be in the spotlight by now, and demanded to be asked a question. 11.
(Directed at Sam) How does it feel to be in Nekrovox now? It feels good. Its nice to be a part of something.Justin added: 'Why don't you just go join a gang man?' That concludes my intense and enlightening interview with Nekrovox member Justin Evans. The band recently played at Davey's Uptown in Kansas City, and is scheduled to play March second or third at the Pink House in Lawrence. For more information, contact info@lawrencerock.com.
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