RockTribe.com Interview - Kud and Spag
from www.rocktribe.com
2000
It’s reputed that human beings only utilise 10 % of their total brain capacity. Imagine the awesome creatures we would become by dispensing with trivial pursuits in favour of intellectual ones, by flexing that flaccid 90% of grey matter to near meltdown.
But that ain’t going to happen. The majority of us savour an easy life with as little challenge to a comfortable existence as possible. That is of course unless you are Mudvayne, who are here to tell you to wake the fuck up!
Hailing from Peoria, Illinois, in 1996, Chad Gray (vocals), Matthew McDonough (drums), Greg Tribbett (guitar) and a bass guitarist (Ryan Martinie joined two years later) were drawn to each other after ten years of playing in local outfits. Sharing a commitment to originality, foreboding heaviness, and a desire to combine artistry with cerebral challenge, they set about provoking their audiences with an arsenal of the above.
As they trekked about the country driving miles to gigs, more often than not, returning out of pocket, they accumulated a growing fanbase. Unperturbed by the sheer effort involved, the quartet stayed true to their goal of breaking out of the comfort zone of local acceptance, seeking notoriety on a bigger scale.
To support their gigging, Chad worked in Mr and Mrs McDonough’s tattoo shop, I’m No Angel Productions, answering the phone, cleaning and take care of stock whilst Matt tended to balancing the books. Meanwhile Greg sweated it out in construction with Ryan using his culinary skills as a chef.
The band recorded their first album, ‘Kill I Oughta’, which was self-financed and released in a limited edition run of 1000 pressings. In hindsight they view it as a half baked concept.
"We did it for hardly any money at all," recalls Chad. "There were four live songs on it and it was before Ryan joined the band. The band didn’t metamorphose into what it is now until Ryan came into it, as his head space and love of playing really spurred things on. It is not an accurate interpretation of where we are at so we would prefer it if ‘LD.50’ is viewed as our first album."
In an atypical showcase scenario, the band played in front of four people ‘ Slipknot’s Shawn Crahan (a big fan of the band), his guitar tech, Epic’s A & R executive and their manager. Realising Mudvayne’ potential in a nano second, Epic wasted no time in drawing up a recording contract.LD.50 is an unsettling collection of ferocious riffs, confrontational vocals and inherent confusion. The title is the abbreviation for Lethal Dosage 50, a medical term used by pharmacologists to measure how toxic a substance is. In essence, how much of a chemical it takes to kill half a test group.
Pushing the parameters on both a physical and spiritual level is a big part of Mudvayne’s quest for knowledge. As far as they are concerned, you have to walk it like you talk it or keep your mouth shut.
So what boundaries are you trying to push?
"Self realisation and where you draw the line of consequence," explains the vocalist. "Whether it be drugs, religion, television, the Internet ‘ whatever life throws out at you as far as negativity goes, you need to draw the line. If you take drugs for a long time and let it inspire you, where do you cross the line of consequence when you lose everything because you no longer care about being inspired just getting high?
"I think there is a certain amount of commendability associated with someone who is willing to put their neck on the line like that. Someone who is really going over the edge and letting it all go. I think people who live without consequence are intriguing. There are positive and negative sides to being like that but you have to able to do that with your work."
In testing your own boundaries for endurance, have you ever taken hallucinogenic drugs?
"Oh absolutely!" adds Matt. "If we are going to talk about this, we have to have the courage to explore these boundaries. If you are not willing to take a risk in your life you are not going to see things. You are not going to have doors open to you, so you have to be willing to encourage situations where you are not necessarily in control.
"I have stayed up for several days on end on hallucinogenic drugs and had all kinds of interesting ideas about what the world was and who I was. One of the things Chad and I do at times is drink lots of coffee and don’t sleep, so anytime you put yourself in a position where you are out of the parameters of how you live day to day you have the potential to see something, experience something. A lot of times we will do LSD, drink coffee or smoke a bunch of pot and converse and see what happens.
"Clown and I call it vertical conversation, where the conversation takes on a peripheral process where you are not talking about what you are talking about but referencing something that you are actually sharing in those moments. You can feel very alive and comfortable with yourself in that headspace."
What are you doing in terms of expanding your spiritual consciousness?
"I have a long history of interest in metaphysical and occult studies," explains Matt.
"I have had teachers and mentors who have schooled me in techniques and studies that have helped me go about the process of finding out who I am and what the world is and how it fits together.
"A lot of people focus on things that are eastern such as Buddhism or Western like Christianity but I have pursued both equally. My main interest in eastern studies is Vedantra and esoteric Hinduism coupled with use of mantra and yoga techniques. In Western studies I have an interest in a group called the Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn which is the consolidation of a lot of western esoteric ideas. I have learnt actual techniques and practices that you can use in your day to day life."
Has it helped you make sense of life?
"It has put me on a path that I feel a definite reality in," he says with confidence. "None of this has a religious connotation for me rather it has given me a sense of purpose and meaning and a feeling that I am moving towards a realisation. It is not about point A or B, it is the process in-between that interests me."
LD. 50 opens with ‘Monolith’, a track named after the mysterious black slab which is the focus of Stanley Kubrick's, sci fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Heavy breathing, followed by enticements to open up your mind, Mudvayne take you through a journey of 17 intense tracks posing questions but answering none.
As their homage to the alien artifact testifies, the British director had a huge part to play in the making of the album.
"The movie was almost directly responsible for the themes of the album- what LD.50 actually is," enthuses McDonough. "I had a really powerful experience on drugs watching the movie. It occurred to me that the monolith represented this vertical thing that we were all looking for to transform a person into waking up, to having that experience where their life is transformed and a new life assumed.
"Once I had that relationship with the movie I wanted everyone else to get turned on to it so the whole band was into it with me. We all watched it separately and together and I made Garth (Richardson, producer) watch it and we played it all the time while we were tracking the album in the studio.
"Referring specifically to the concepts associated with what the monolith represents in the movie became a totem, a landmark. It was a physical point of focus with what we were shooting for, and what LD.50 really meant to us."
With your admiration for art, if you could have been an artist, who would you chose?
"I would have loved to have lived Vincent Van Gogh’s life," remarks Matt, "to have seen life like that would have been so powerful. I also think Stanley Kubrick was one of the greatest artists who ever lived."
But Van Gogh ended up in an asylum.
"That is the price you pay!" he exclaims. "That is a very important part of what LD.50 is for us. Its about the cost and if you are willing to pay the cost. If you really want to take this journey and find out what living is all about and if you really want to be alive, you have to be willing to take the risk."
Just how far are you prepared to go?
"I am already there," he laughs. "I don’t think cost remains a consideration. I don’t want to die, but I don’t have a choice anymore. I have got to see this through to the end. I think all of us in the band have made that commitment on some level. "
Seven songs in is the hate fuelled nu metal rant, ‘Cradle’ during which vocalist Chad Gray vents his hatred towards his father.
"That is a song about neglect, abuse and people walking away from something precious," explains the frontman. "My mother and father were constantly separating and getting back together until I was about five years old. Then my father just left, but before he did, the most traumatic point of my life occurred. They had this tug of war match, where my mom had me by one arm and my dad had me by the other and they were each like, he’s coming with me. I didn’t understand and didn’t know what was going so, so just stood there crying.
"The song hangs around being able to keep breathing. That is how it starts, just saying breathe over and over and then pushing through your life with all this shit that is stacked upon you because of this act of leaving and neglect. I tell kids every night that if you have kids make sure you love them. I will fucking tell the crowd that if they cant love their kids wear a fucking condom.
"Back then I would rather have been anyone else but me but now I am totally content with myself. The person who I totally would not want to be is my father because I hate him. That must be a terrible feeling looking at things through his eyes now. He must be feeling fucking awful about it because he lost something and now he knows he strongly I feel."
Another key figure inhabiting planet Mudvayne is Slipknot’s psychotic ringleader Shawn Crahan, #6, aka Clown.
Both Slipknot and Mudvayne share the same management, and not only did Clown become an avid fan and vocal supporter, but alongside the four mudmen is a fellow devotee of surrealism. He also took on the role of executive producer on ‘LD.50’.
"He is like an angel on our shoulders," remarks McDonough with considerable warmth. "He is always there for you if you have a problem. We are really close to him and I think what he bought to the album was his genuine love for us and what we do.
"Before we even recorded it we did six dates with Slipknot and then after that did six more weeks and are now on the Tattoo The Earth festival as well. There are so many of them in Slipknot that there is always somewhere to go with any emotion you might have that day. If I am feeling inspired I will got to Clown as he is great to discuss ideas with. If I am pissed off I will go to Mick and if you just want to hang, go see Joey. If you want to party you go to Sid and if you want to chill Craig is your man."
Clown has said before that he would relish the opportunity of going insane.
"I think you could say on a certain level he already is," says Matt, "but it is highly compartmentalised. That is part of his genius, to still be able to have that headspace but be able to function in a very controlled and positive facility. He is not afraid and that is a big part of it too. I think fear is one of the ultimate costs and you have to let go of that. The will to lose ones will is a big part of what Clown and I cultivate in our relationship and in our attempted mode of living. He is definitely a unique, exquisite person."
It is said that you should do something every day that scares you. When was the last time you did that?
"Two nights ago," states the drummer. "I accidentally found myself in a venue at the top of this really tall staircase which lead out over all these ceiling tiles. I am kind of the canary in the coalmine for the group as I am sent out on these little missions.
"It was very scary because I was out on these 2 x 10 boards that were above the ceiling tiles and if one of them broke there was a 50 foot drop to the floor. As I have a personal fear of heights it was very frightening as I crawled around up there, but at the same time it was very liberating."
Mudvayne wrap themselves in a deliberate veil of mystery. While they will answer most questions willingly, ultimately any remaining gaps are left up to the listener to fill in.
A typical case is point is how the band got its name.
McDonough takes up the story: "At one point Chad was very poor so he was donating plasma to make a little bit of money. The nurse was having a hard time finding the artery and he made a comment about if you are looking for a mud vein you have to go a bit lower. It became a bit of a joke and we got attached to the name.
"Personally I don’t like names. One of the things that I found so exciting about Stanley Kubrick’s movie making is the fact that everything is always referred to but nothing is actually explained. Consequently the audience is left in the position where they have to answer that question and have to build their own relationship to that. I always want to have that vague, non-descript element to the band. The name is almost a contradiction of what we are trying to do ‘ to lose names, get beyond names, and get to that unexplained thing which names are a contradiction to."
In fact the band actually have nicknames which they preferred to be addressed by. Chad is Kud, Matthew is Spag, Greg is Gurrg and Ryan is no fun at all as he prefers to be known as plain old Ryan.
Onstage, they also use face paint to add further ambiguity and empowerment to their identity.
"We always wanted to bring a theatrical element to our performance, whether it be stage props or even actually giving themes to the shows," adds Matt "When we started we were really broke so we thought the cheapest and easiest thing to do was to paint our faces, like war paint."
How do you feel when you wear it?
"I feel out of my mind!" laughs McDonough. "I don’t want to feel like I am attacking the audience but I want to threaten the audience enough so they feel challenged, that they want to interact. Like giving someone a slap in the face to wake them up when they have fainted ‘ a good smack! I feel a real kinetic energy with the paint on and it really accelerates the show."
Do you think growing up in Illinois made the band what it is?
"It has definitely affected the kind of art we make," states the drummer. "Illinois was very complacent and very comfortable but the other side to that is that it was very non-cultural. Consequently as a band and as an artistic entity we don’t have a culture which gives us an almost alien quality, and I think that is really exciting. It comes from growing up in a vacuous place.
"I grew up with the first Ataris and video games and VCRs. I didn’t have a culture from hundreds of years of history and architecture. We were in a void and we tried to fill those spaces anyway we could. For me as a kid it was Fruit Loops and early morning cartoons. I had a pretty healthy childhood so my angst came from other places."
Such as?
"Not having anything to identify with and feeling very lost and disorientated," he adds. "The media gives people the impression that they should understand the world around them but there aren’t any guarantees about that. I think there is a great sense of loss when you realise that there isn’t necessarily an answer.
"TV convinces us that everything is okay but that is contradictory to being alive on day to day basis. I grew up feeling lost, and out of touch with myself and I got mad and wanted to end that confusion. And here I am 30 years later."