September 8, 2008
Interview with Jeff Stoddard
Jeff Stoddard is no newcomer to the industrial scene. Boasting an
impressive discogrpahy that includes work on Front Line Assembly's
Caustic Grip, joining forces again with FLA's Rhys Fulber to create Will,
among many others, he now focuses his attention on his industrial
noise monster, Roughhausen.
I recently had an early-morning chat with Jeff, having unfortunately
interrupted a feeding of his hungry Rottweilers.
What would you normally be doing at this time?
I live in the mountains and I love downhill bike free riding, so I would be taking the dogs for a tear in the jungle, tired dogs are well behaved dogs, tired bodies are productive ones mentally. I usually do my writing after a great ride or crash.
You live in Taipei, right?
Outside about 30 minutes, in the mountains just above
I've read that you have a bit of wanderlust. What drew you there?
Oh man, well the Tropic of Cancer seemed an aptly pretentious place for an artist to live... just kidding. Actually, I love surfing and Taiwan is central in Southeast Asia, so quick jaunts to Indonesia or the Philippines are easy. Taipei was my choice because I had some basic Mandarin skills from university and the studios here are world class and very cheap, so it seemed a perfect fit. I come by the wanderlust honestly my mom was a hippie and she dragged me all over the place as a kid; I just grew to love the exploration aspect of travel. Always new things to learn, you know, feed the mind and give me fodder for writing.
Speaking of, you grew up in hippy communes, is that right?
Yeah, I did. You have really done your homework.
From hippy to industrial, that seems like a pretty big leap.
Agreed, especially considering that I am also a bit of a Luddite. The irony of working with machines and being somewhat anti-industrial does not escape me, but I don't think that industrial music is always about the celebration of machines, for me it has always seemed like a glorious catharsis of the human spirit mired in the muck of the machines. As for the leap from hippies to industrial. I left the communes with a libertarian sort of world view but I also left it with a distaste for apathy and laziness.
With Roughhausen, I can hear some of the old school industrial rock aesthetic, and a bit of an experimental flavor. Do you go into recording with a particular sound in mind?
Never. I know it sounds pretentious but I honestly feel that the material has its own track, muse if you will. I do most of my writing in my home production studio and by the time I get to the studio the song has pretty much taken shape. I love the experimental side of industrial music, being able to mix those different elements is what still excites me. I build machines and instruments from old pawn shop audio equipment and then drive them till they die, forcing machines to do things they were not intended to do always results in interesting sonic moments. I work in traditional structure, i.e. chorus, bridge, verse, even in the most extreme of the songs. The traditionalist in me just never let that go.
Most of the time my attitude in studio is "what happens if..."
I heard that you make your own musical instruments out of scrap parts. That’s damn hardcore. How long have you been doing that?
Since the Will days, Peterson and I really perfected some of those techniques during the Decree sessions in (Skinny) Puppy's studio, I just kept it going. If you look at any piece of audio equipment, like a POS home stereo amp, look at the back, all those inputs and outputs, so many possibilities. To me an instrument is any thing that makes a noize.
You’ve got work with Front Line Assembly, Will, Roughhausen of course, and a ton more under your belt. How does it feel to have accomplished so much already?
Fortunate, it feels fortunate. I have been in the right places at the right times more than once and despite my consistent indiscretions and stupidity I seem to still be fortunate.
Indiscretions and stupidity?
The luxury of youth.
Fair enough. You’ve said that at this point in your life you can be picky about who you work worth. Did you feel you didn’t have that choice before?
Absolutely. This thing, this business is unfortunately filled with unscrupulous people; loyalty is a rare commodity, honesty and the strength of your word is about as valued as a 3 dollar bill. When I was younger I still wanted to believe it was just about the music. I made some really bad choices on who to trust and I learned my lessons at the school of hard knocks. I actually got so fed up with the shit I stepped back for a few years, deciding if I wanted to keep working.
You've been right in it for quite some time. What do you think about the current state of the music industry?
Pretty sad, the net has opened up new channels for musicians unavailable before, but it has also created the ability to download entire albums without the consent of the artist, this hurts the independent scene. The majors are not really hurt by it, they whore themselves out for corp sponsorship and still maintain the offensive profits that have driven the consumers to this point, but the indies who work so hard to keep new music alive are being crushed. Look at hip hop, despite what you may or may not think of the music you have to really marvel at the loyalty of that community, they support their artists, the fans I mean. They buy the cds, the tapes, etc., they keep that genre alive and vibrant with support. Things like myspace have created this overwhelming source of new music to explore, but now there is so much that sorting through the dirt to find the diamonds is difficult, especially considering that consumers have accepted the shit sound quality of low bit mp3's. Sometimes they never actually hear the real song with all its depth and layers. For me that is unfortunate. As an artist and as a music lover. To illustrate my point listen to any of the Chopin etudes in mp3 and then listen to the real track from a cd, the breath of life, the passion and the humanity just get lost in the translation.
Front 242 just tried to make a point about mp3 quality when they gave away First Moments. Do you think musicians out there should be doing more, speaking out in these areas?
First and foremost musicians should be trying to create the best possible music they can, period. No resting or your laurels. Pumping out second rate shit to keep contractual obligations is bullshit. It is disrespecting the fans, they are the ones who let us have this life. Do I think artists should be speaking out or exploring new ways to deliver their music to consumers- fuck yeah! With this latest disk I have made the decision to ignore all channels of distribution that would make the disk cost more than $10. I want it in the hands of the consumer at no more than $9.99, period. Additionally because I play in many different markets I make sure that the price of the show and the cd reflect the economy of the area, ensuring that the people in that area can get the cd at a reasonable local cost. Meaning the cd costs less in Manila than it does in, say, Germany. This is not a slight to the EU or US, it is my attempt to respect the people in other markets. My record label is not happy but I own the masters and they have a license with very stringent details about POS price.
As for Front 242 I applaud them, NIN, Prince, Radiohead, all did the thing needed to be done to deliver for the fans not the corporate whores who fuck the fans. Now it is up to the consumers to step up and show their support. Music is not cheap to produce and touring is expensive, if you as a consumer want to see Front 242 and their ilk continue to work and not be stuck listening to the newest Pepsi sponsored-bubblegum pop bullshit then it is time to show your support.
Listen I don't want to rant to much about big business but I live in a part of the world where I get to see first hand the destruction that of out of control consumer greed causes.
What do you think about the current state of the industrial music scene, especially where the old school EBM resurgence is concerned?
You know I had been working in a vacuum for the last 3 years doing this album and when I got back out I was really surprised to see the old school EBM had made a comeback, some really great stuff out there. As for industrial music, in the purest form I don't think that it ever really went anywhere. There have always been great artists working in the noize scene, hopefully many more to come, but industrial has morphed and combined into these exciting and new chimeras, powernoize, industrial rock, glitch hardcore, you know?
I think it is actually a very exciting time for electronic music. The only real downside is that so many of the new acts can't perform live, or if they do so much is on dat or playback that the real live element is missing. I love electronic music and love live shows but I want to see musicians working their craft, too much theatrics and fashion and not enough content is not good for the live scene.
What inspired the new album?
Some, like The Pinned Man, were personal experiences that I have never really addressed before, Sub-nality was and is a call to arms regarding organized religion. Most of the rest were just gut reactions to the constant onslaught of fear mongering and propaganda that passes as journalism these days.
Is making music a cathartic experience for you then?
Oh god yes, and playing live is the purest form of bliss I have even known. Those in combination with dangerous sports keep me happy and centered in a way that drugs never did
Look I am very fortunate to have been blessed with this life, and my career has given me the opportunity to actually make a living from doing what I love. That in itself is a blessing
You're no stranger to drugs. Some people have said they've helped their creativity, while others say it crippled theirs. What's your philosophy on that?
At first I thought that drugs took me to the place I needed to be to create, but eventually they took away my ability to create and my ability to feel anything. At the end I was left with nothing. I am lucky to be alive and some dear friends are not so fortunate. If you want to take a peek into the void, beware the void looks back and you may not like what you see. For me drugs were a devastating experience and withdrawal is something I would not wish on my worst enemy. My lexicon of superlatives is not vast enough to aptly convey how bad that is.
I don't want to keep you tied up all night. What's next for you?
I am playing in Manila and Jakarta and Taipei in the next 30 days, so I have a production meeting this afternoon. We are booking shows in the EU for February 09 so everyday is just a series of mundane booking tasks.
Is there anything else you want to add before I let you get back to careening dangerously downhill through the jungle?
Yes, the world is a vast source of information, take the time to get as much as possible and then consider the source before you take it as fact.
