UHP Interview with: DieMonsterDie! (ENGLISH) ~ Universo Horror Punk

Members:

Zero Delorean: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar

Shadow Windhawk: Lead Guitars, Backing Vocals

Meatwhistle: Drums, Backing Vocals

Stikki Nixx: Bass, Backing Vocals

Greetings Fiends!
Today we have an interview with a band that is actually one of my favorite

DIEMONSTERDIE!

Our reporter today is Torini (Page´s Adm)
The interviewee is WindHawk (guitarist of the band)

Read the interview below:

UHP: Hey guys, we are here with Shadow Windhawk, guitarist and backing vocalist for DieMonsterDie! Let's start the interview!

First off, can you tell us something about DieMonsterDie for those who don't know much about the band?

SWH: Sure. DieMonsterDie is a horror punk / shock rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. We were formed under the name Casa Diablo by our frontman and founding member, Zero "Delorean" Diablo and our drummer / founding member Shane "Meatwhistle" Diablo in the mid 1990's. The name of the band changed to DieMonsterDie in late 2000, after the bassist and old guitarist for Casa Diablo left. Toward the end of the Casa Diablo era of the band, Zero and Shane came up with the concept of wearing monster masks and putting on shows that were heavily rooted in theatricality and shock. The lyrics to Casa Diablo songs were all very horror themed just by their own nature, so when the term "horror punk" started to be coined around the same time the band changed names to DieMonsterDie in 2000, it suited us well. We naturally played horror punk, just didn't exactly realize that was what we were doing and when it finally started to become a scene it was almost non-existent, much smaller than it is today. Shane and Zero threw us into that direction once they discovered it was there. It was an exciting time when horror punk was coming into it's own as a genre of music. Anyway, we have been DieMonsterDie for 13 years now and have to date released 7 studio albums and a live album with our 8th studio record scheduled to drop on 12" vinyl this Spring.

UHP: We are anxious to hear that!

UHP: Next question, How is it you decided to become a guitarist? What influences did you have in terms of different bands and styles of music?

SWH: When I was ten years old, my step father gave me a mexican made Fender Stratocaster and a tiny Pignose travel practice amp for my birthday. At the time I was beginning to become curious about rock n' roll and I started learning how to play power chords from my friends at school. I fell in love with bands like Nirvana, Social Distortion and The Pixies. Eventually I learned to keep time, I continued to learn chords and started to develop an ability to teach myself punk songs by ear. I practiced constantly. When I turned 12, I was shown the Misfits by a friend and it blew my mind. I had no clue that horror punk existed but I instantly fell in love with it. I bought Legacy of Brutality (from Danzig era) and Famous Monsters (from Graves era) and that was that. Haha. It went from there, I found Danzig's solo work and he became my favorite singer / songwriter of all time. Around that same time I was also introduced to the Cramps who truly inspired me. I was completely enchanted by their heavy fuzz guitars and old school mentality. At the age of 12 is actually when I met Zero and Shane for the first time. I saw DieMonsterDie play a show opening for GWAR (which would become another big influence), after the show I saw Zero walking around without his mask and asked him for a picture. As soon as I had learned of DieMonsterDie at a Misfits show earlier that year, my sights were locked on playing music with them some how. At the time it was only a pipe dream, I was a fan in the crowd and they were the rockstars. But we stayed friends from that point forward and eventually they put me in charge of their fan club. At the time I was also a big fan of Pantera, Slayer, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Agent Orange, the Adicts, Lower Class Brats, The Exploited, The Ramones, The Casualties, The River City Rebels and Throw Rag...too many to name and that list could go on forever. Anyway by age 13 I was a total punk rock geek and I knew I want to be a rock n' roll guitarist. I would listen to records and dream about opening for Jello Biafra or Mike Ness. I desperately tried forming my own band. It panned out finally and I formed a cover band with two other friends of mine. We played our middle school talent show with a cover of "I Wanna Be Sedated" (Ramones). We sucked big time, but the school went crazy and it pissed off some of the teachers. The little group we had going disbanded very quickly and I was on my own practicing and trying every once in awhile to throw a new band together all through high school without any luck. I dreamed of being in a great band and with DieMonsterDie I felt that perhaps one day it could happen since I knew Shane and Zero so well and they were locals. I knew I wanted to do something productive with my guitar but I didn't have a direction for quite awhile, however I never quit practicing and teaching myself new things....until one day many years later, Meatwhistle called me to discuss the possibility of having me audition for the guitar slot in DMD. I was shocked and nervous, but it was meant to happen. I auditioned and the rest is history...my dream as a kid came true and I began to perform live shows with one of my favorite bands. Other big influences on me were Type O Negative, Blitzkid, Mister Monster, Mad Sin, Nekromantix, AFI, Balzac, Circle Jerks, The Sex Pistols...

UHP: So then being a member of DieMonsterDie is a dream come true for you?

SWH: Being the lead guitarist for DMD is a dream come true for me, yes. The little punk ass kid inside me pretty much lost it when I joined the band finally.

UHP: Hahaha man, that's fucking great.

UHP: Can you tell us how to become a guitarist in a band like DieMonsterDie, that is growing?

SWH: If you want to be a guitarist in a rock n' roll band really all you need is the desire and will to do it...and a guitar. If you really love what you do and focus on that as your goal...you can make it happen. It only seems far fetched when you decide it is. If you open up to the idea of accomplishing the goal you want most, that's the first step. Staying committed to what you love is another. It also helps to make connections, be friendly and open with bands that play music you enjoy. Give yourself the opportunity to enjoy what the live music scene has to offer in your town. Meet people, buy music and stay connected. When a working band is down a member, the first thing they will do is call a friend to audition. In a nutshell, don't quit on what you want most. Ever. And be careful what you wish for, you might just get it...And on a side note, I would really like to say that I give credit for where DMD is today to our founding members, Zero and Meatwhistle. If they didn't love this band enough to deal with nearly 17 years of crazy shit, I wouldn't be who I am today and it would be much harder for me to have a voice as a musician. Being given the chance to take something like DMD that has been established for nearly two decades and bringing it to a new generation is amazing and I am very fortunate. That is ultimately my goal with everything I do, (promoting, raising the money to produce a new record, booking us at the Ghoul's Night Out Fest for 2013) to take what Zero and Shane started and cared for (and made into an underground legend) and push it into a new chapter, to take things to the next level, so to speak and really make DieMonsterDie a household name among horror rock fans. I want this band to be accessible to the new generation of horror punk fans. With the new record we intend to set the bar high for what people have come to expect from us. DMD more than anything, is not the work of individuals but is rather its own entity entirely. Everyone who has been in the band has left their own mark, but the band itself is above all of us. It is great and lucky for us that over the years people have responded to it all so well and remained loyal listeners. Although none of us profit much from the band at all. Music sharing has certainly changed the game in that regard.

UHP: I think that many fans of the new generation of horror punk will listen to DMD and love it.

UHP: What was your inspiration to wear corpse paint on stage?

SWH: My decision to use corpse paint for our live shows rather than a mask was made for a few reasons. One, wearing a mask under stage lights while trying to see your guitar neck is difficult. During summer shows in SLC, it gets extremely hot in the small live venues we frequent, so wearing paint is way more comfortable and I can obviously breathe better. Also, I have had a fascination with makeup fx art since I was very young, about 10 or 11. At that age I would practice painting my face to look dead or like I had had my skin ripped off. I grew up watching old tapes of Dark Shadows and Hammer films with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, mainly the Dracula series. I thought vampires were the scariest creatures ever invented and was totally obsessed with the idea of them. As I got older I got into Tom Savini's makeup work on films such as the original Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead...which threw me off into the gore thing. I am completely in love with fake blood and gore fx. Anyway growing up through high school I began working at a spook house in Salt Lake called Nightmare on 13th. I taught myself how to do makeup art using that job as a starting point and now I have been working on music videos and in spook houses doing makeup fx art for about six years. So doing makeup for my character of Shadow Windhawk in DieMonsterDie just seemed natural, like it is just who I am. The inverted cross I put on my forehead is there because the way I envisioned my character for the band, I am a blind man who was executed as a witch by religious zealots and was given the chance to return from the grave as a vampire...the bloody tears I put on are there because my worst fear is to experience injury to my eyes and then go blind. I'm convinced I have this fear from watching Lucio Fulci's Zombie one too many times...

UHP: Wow, that's cool, I didn't know the story of your character in the band!

UHP: Since you joined the band, what was the best experience that you've had playing a DMD show?

SWH: It was a lot of fun opening for Lizzy Borden in 2011, that is a fond memory I have playing live with DMD...but the most recent shows we played here in SLC to generate buzz and raise money for our new album were probably my favorite shows. It just felt like we were all four of us on our best game. The energy and the crowd interaction was fantastic, people were getting right up front singing with Zero, getting covered in blood with us, just having a great time and showing their support. I think one of the great things about our local shows is that we love being shoulder to shoulder with our fans. We interact. We don't spray blood on people exactly, but fans often just want the blood, so they get close to the stage and wipe some of it off of us, if they are really crazy about it we'll toss our blood bottles into the crowd and they have at it. It's crazy. People who have never seen us can't turn away even if they don't like us and those who know us love us. We are very love / hate. What we do is really polarizing with venues. A lot of them get pissed that we leave a huge bloody mess when we play a show, but there are those that get it and understand that our stage blood is just another aspect of performance art. We don't like leaving things with just our music. When you come to a DMD show, you get a real show. Theatricality and shock is a big factor in our live image and we all love it and push to make it crazier and better whenever we can.

UHP: Tell us about your current projects with the band, do you have plans to come to Brazil?

SWH: Currently we are working on the final part of our 8th studio release, which is entitled "October 21st, 1976". We will be recording the album in the studio with Bruce Kirby (who produced all of the DMD albums except for the live album) in about two months. It will contain 13 brand new tracks, including a fan dedicated anthem called, "Zealots of the Bloody Circle". Once the album is recorded and mastered it will be pressed to a limited run of about 500 - 600 12" 180 gram vinyl records. Right now we're looking into the details, but I am thinking we will release it on two color black and orange vinyl. The album will feature faces of our fans who supported our kickstarter campaign on the cover of the record and inside it as well, incorporated into the artwork. The release of the new record will also bring with it a wave of new DMD merch, which will be available for sale worldwide on an updated online store. The album is set to be released in late Spring this year. Once we are done with the record and it's out there will be a release show here in SLC and possibly some more local shows leading into our first ever east coast US appearance at the Ghoul's Night Out Festival in Clifton, NJ (last year's fest was home to the final US appearance of our friends, Blitzkid). I would like to put us on tour but due to lack of needed funds, that is not possible right now. I do intend to one day bring DMD to Brazil on a South American tour but that will be further down the road, unfortunately. Apologies to our Brazilian fans, we would love to just go do it this Summer but things are complicated where travel is concerned.

UHP: It's no problem! We will wait DMD, take the time you need!

UHP: So what do you think of the future of Horror Punk, do you think the pace will grow along with the current quality?

SWH: I think horror punk has not yet reached the height of its full potential, although there have been absolutely incredible bands out there raising the bar (Blitzkid, The Other, Darrow Chemical Company, to name a few). Blitzkid really proved to me that new American horror punk (outside of the misfits) can really go places and affect people and influence others. They were the little band from Bluefield that could. I have always admired and respected them as a long time fan and also as another musician who plays horror music. They played huge festivals and pushed the limitations for an indie band without major label support or on just small time indie label support. They turned heads and left their mark. While I in no way wish to take away from what they built for themselves, I do want the same level of success for DMD, I want to continue to bring American horror punk around the world by getting DMD out there for the first time in nearly 20 years. I want to get us out to Europe playing big festivals and touring. I want to get us to South America. I think with time and planning, we can get there. It sounds difficult, but without working hard you get nowhere...and if you believe something is impossible, then it is. If you open yourself up to the endless possibilities and fight for what you want most, despite setbacks, things just click and the impossible becomes real. Who knows, horror punk could become huge like many of us have dreamed about, or it could have already peaked. But I'm not quitting on it any time soon, that's for certain. This is my life. It's what I love.

UHP: Do you see and/or suffer any preconceptions by playing in a horror band?

SWH: No, I think horror is wide open to personal fears and therefore can be far more diverse than say just writing about movies or traditional horror. People are frightened by all sorts of things, be it movie monsters, disease, death, insects, the unknown, the supernatural, outer space, the end of the world, zombies, you name it. There are so many sides to horror and angles from which to observe things. A lot of our music draws on the feeling of b-movies that are sci-fi and horror themed, but much of it also deals with real life horror, human monsters, loss, regret, pain and depression, suicide. The taboo subject matter that people typically pretend doesn't exist. We live in the dark, so to speak, and horror punk is the most suitable category to put us in, but we are a mash up of a lot of different styles and influences. This new album is going to be very diverse as far as our past releases go. The longest DMD song ever written is going to be on it, as well as a slower paced tune that resembles something more of an acoustic western ballad than a punk song. We never limit ourselves, we just are who we are and that comes out in our songs.

UHP: Yes, that's true!

UHP: Did you play in any other bands before DieMonsterDie?

SWH: Before DMD I hadn't been able to get a serious band together that really had any potential. I was the guitarist for a band called Zombiance for a brief three months back in 2011. But that's about it.

UHP: Okay, time for quick questions.

Name one band.

SWH: Type O Negative.

UHP: One song from any band.

SWH: Under the Sun by Black Sabbath.

UHP: A dream/goal you have.

SWH: Aside from releasing the new album, my main goal with music right now is to work out a tour in the US, Europe and South America.

UHP: A person in Horror Punk.

SWH: The Abominable Dr. Chud, he has been really cool and supportive of DMD over the years.

UHP: What would have been written on your tombstone?

SWH: "We belong dead"

UHP: Hahaha cool! Almost done, here's the last question.

Do you have something you'd like to say that bands are just starting out?

SWH: Fuck the haters, they'll always be there despite how many fans you have or how much respect you earn. Be true to yourself and what you love. Don't limit yourself, you can always become better. And with a mixture of hard work, dedication, drive and practice your band CAN become something great that is enjoyed all over the world. If you don't believe that impossible is possible then it isn't ever going to happen. Treat your band mates with respect. One man can't make a band work in synchronicity, all members have to stand on equal ground and share a goal and be open to each others' ideas or it will be very difficult to be productive and get the results you want.

UHP: Thanks for your time, man!

SWH: You're welcome. Universo Horror Punk is a great horror fan community and I'm happy DMD is a part of it.
SWH: As a final thought, on behalf of myself and my bandmates in DieMonsterDie, I'd like to express my sincere thanks to our fans, all over the world, for being incredibly kind to us and supportive of everything we set out to accomplish in DieMonsterDie. Without all of you listening to us and supporting us, we would never have left the mark that we have. It has been wonderful speaking to people who live as far away as Brazil or Germany, South Africa and even Australia. The reach that our music has on its own is somewhat astounding. I'd like to thank my family and my beautiful fiancé, Jeana Marie, who designs artwork for DMD. Also, Mr. Steven Godfrey, for helping to stoke the fire that led to a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund our new record and for being the mad genius behind the Official DMD Pumpkin beer (very underground but successful). Argyle Goolsby (of Blitzkid) for inspiring me to strive for better things for DMD and to always give 110% and nothing less, JV Bastard (of Blitzkid and Darrow Chemical Company) and Matt Feltwater (GNO Entertainment) for being all around badasses and for booking us at Ghoul's Night Out Fest 2013 in New Jersey, Vlad (Them! DE) and Jamey Rottencorpse, for being really supportive of us, among many others...you all know who you are... Nothing you guys do for this band goes un noticed. It really means a lot to have such a loyal fan base. Thanks again to Erik and Torini from UHP for translating and for spreading the word of DMD to South America. I wish you all well.