Utter Trash--Die Monster Die

Blood Drive

An Interview with Die Monster Die

By Bob Ignizio

For fans of rock with a twist of the macabre, you can’t do much better than Utah’s Die Monster Die. Not only do they look like they stepped out of a horror movie, they’ve also got a stockpile of killer tunes to dispel any notions that they’re just getting by on image. The band (Zero Delorean – vocals and guitar, Meatwhistle – drums, Raven Blades – bass, and Mercury Rising – guitar) came onto the horror rock scene in 2002, and is currently poised to release their fourth full length album, ‘Message From Secret Planet X’.

Utter Trash: So what made you decide to play horror rock?
Meatwhistle: Before Die Monster Die, Zero, Raven, and I were in a band called Casa Diablo since 1996. We always wrote about kind of creepy, horrifying stuff, but we didn’t realize there was a name for it until we decided to try and go big and change the band name. We’ve always been into comic books and horror movies and all sorts of stuff like that, so we said let’s put this band together where we really go over the top with the horror idea.

It wasn’t until about 2002 when we got on the internet and started to find bands like Blitzkid and other bands like that, that we finally realized there was a name for what it was: horror punk or horror rock. We never really knew there was a community out there, a whole genre of underground music that fit with what we were doing. So it was really cool to get online and find all these bands from all over the world that were kind of doing the same thing we were doing. And some bands were right in our own backyard in places like Arizona and Southern California. So it was really cool to step this up a level, get online and find out that there are a lot of people who like it.

UT: What artists influenced you?
MW: I would say that one of our main influences at the time we started, because we did a lot of his songs, was G.G. Allin.
Zero Delorean: Kiss, Alice Cooper, hell, even Marilyn Manson. Everybody who did a big flashy stage show. It’s all about the visual element.
MW: W.A.S.P., Impaler…a lot of punk and a lot of metal that really go over the top show-wise. That’s what we decided we wanted to do, maybe to drag people into the music a little bit deeper. To me it’s always better to see a concert where there’s a stage show involved in it. When you get four or five guys on stage in their baggy shorts and backwards hats it bores me to death. But when you’ve got something more than the music… the theatrics and the whole stage show is what we really like about what we’re doing now.

UT: Well let’s talk a little about your stage show, and the masks you guys wear.
MW: The masks came in with the name change, but we were already headed that way. We had the skull microphone stands, makeup and spikes. It was all there, minus the masks, when we were Casa Diablo. You definitely have to learn how to play in those things because they’re extremely hot. We never play without what we call our suits. We could be playing an outdoor festival in the middle of July and we’ll have our masks on and we’ll be ready to go.

Besides that, we do a lot of everything. The last show we had a girl climb up onstage for a song called “Wedding Dress” and we spit blood all over her. We usually have severed heads, smoke machines, bubble machines, backdrops… pyrotechnics if we can get our hands on ‘em and the clubs will let us use them.

One of the biggest things for us is crowd participation. Everyone’s welcome to join in and have a great time. Anything goes at our shows. You’re welcome to get up and sing with us, do anything you want as long as you don’t try to stab us or anything like that.

UT: Some people might be surprised that a band like Die Monster Die came out of Utah. What’s the rock scene there like?
ZD: We have one of the best night lifes in America, I would say.
MW: I’ve talked to people in other parts of the country or the world and they’ll say things like, “Do you guys have computers?” I’m talking to them on a computer! It does have kind of a bad rap. The Mormon thing is everywhere, but it’s not really anywhere, either. The things that we do and the places we go and the crowds we play for are so far from the Mormon thing that’s going on. There’s an excellent music scene here. There are excellent bands, great clubs… everything. I guess on the surface you see the Mormons and the big religious side of it. But when you get down into the scene where we’re at, you find out there’s a lot of things going on. And the crowds here are great.

UT: Where do your ideas for lyrics come from?
ZD: God only knows where they’ll come from. “A Bag Of Limestone, A Crawlspace, And You” was written about some Jody Foster movie I saw on TV when I was a little kid. Her grandpa died and she put him under the floorboards. Then she had to keep killing people to keep it secret. Usually I come up with an interesting title and then build a song around that.

UT: Tell me a little about your record label, Dr. Cyclops Records, and your new album.
ZD: We got some interest from a couple labels, but they weren’t willing to work in the time frame we were looking for. When they tell you they’ll get to you in 6 months to a year, you might as well do something yourselves. So we started Dr. Cyclops rather than try to find somebody to do it for us.

This’ll be our fourth album. I guess we have five if you want to include the 20 song ‘Get Blood’ download we’ve been offering for free over the web for well over a year. But that’s just a compilation. This new one will be our fourth full length. It’s called ‘Message From Secret Planet X’ and will come with a DVD.

UT: Any plans to tour for this album?
ZD: As far as us being ready, yeah. But we need to set it all up. The financial aspect of it is our biggest sticking point as far as that goes. Leaving home, we’d pretty much have to stop everything we’re doing here. Right now we’re doing pretty well with the label, so we basically have to make some money if we go out on the road.

UT: So has the internet been a big help in promoting the band?
MW: I would say absolutely. We didn’t even realize this scene existed before we got on the internet. Just all these bands from all over, Germany and everywhere. I think it’s the greatest tool. A lot of people knock on Myspace, but I think that’s a great tool for bands. We can play a show in Los Angeles and invite 15 of our Myspace friends that we know are going to show up that we’ve never met before. If it wasn’t for the internet, I don’t think Dr. Cyclops records or Die Monster Die or really any bands in this genre, at least, would have as big a following as they do.

UT: Zero, I understand you got to sing on stage with The Misfits?
ZD: I guess it was a couple years back they came to club DV8. Our former guitar player was running sound and got to talking with Jerry Only. He found out about the band and asked if I wanted to come on stage and sing a song with him. I went down there and did one song in rehearsal with them, then suited up and went out there and did “Dig Up Her Bones”. It was really cool. Jerry’s a really nice guy, one of the nicest guys I’ve met doing this thing.

UT: Where do you see things going for Die Monster Die, and the horror rock scene in general?
MW: I think it can get big. Every single day there’s more people getting into it. Any kind of music scene that you’re in, if you support it and you love what you’re doing, people are going to grab hold of that and want to be a part of it. I think the horror punk scene is going to keep growing and growing and more people will get into it.

I also think World Horror Network is a great online community. Die Monster Die started that, as well. Once we saw there was a community out there, we thought we’d try to bring it all together. You’ve got to start somewhere, and it’s always small, but I think it can really grow.

You’ve got to start in your home town. Before there was Die Monster Die there was nothing like this here. And now we’ve got great crowds that show up, and they’re saying to their friends, “Hey, have you ever heard any horror punk?” And they’re checking more bands out online and that kind of thing. And it all kind of started with one band here doing it. Every band in their own town, if they’re doing that and spreading the word, it only helps to grow it.

The ultimate goals for us would be to get on the road and tour constantly across the U.S. and Europe. No day jobs would be wonderful. We’re as close as you can get to DIY. Everything we do, we do it ourselves. I think we’re fortunate in being able to start the label and get distribution. It seems like it’s snowballing, and we’re trying to help out as many friends in the horror punk scene as we can.
ZD: We’ll ride this horse until it goes off the cliff. It’s not so much that we picked it; it picked us. But we’re in this for the long haul. If we make lots of money, fuckin’ a. But it’s not like we’re going to stop if we don’t.