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Interview with Radu of Dead Rites

POSTED BY: shanediablo

POSTED ON: 05/14/08 17:35:44

http://www.deadrites.com Greetings and welcome. We're sweating our balls off in the deep south and digging up a few bones with Radu, frontman of Dead Rites out of Atlanta Georgia. Q: Well first off, can you tell us a little bit about Dead Rites? Current line up, when did you guys form and where did you get the name from? R: Of courseThe name of the band came from a Fallen Wisdom song (my previous band) that I wrote the lyrics too. The song had a line that I liked a lot and the name came from there. The band formed in the middle of 2005. This was sort of my solo album while my previous band was on hiatus. That transformed into this. The solo album was to be called Radu and it was to have most of the songs that made it to "In the Midst of Malevolence" When THAT band broke up (FALLEN WISDOM) I thought that I had all of these songs that I could release somehow and I started searching for musicians to get this thing rolling. Then as I started writing for this some songs that were a tad complicated were written and I cast them aside and kept the simpler ones, which were in the album. Then we had some label interest and I thought well lets keep this up for a while and see what happens. As usual with the music business most of the things that you want do not come to fruition so the album was released independently. After all of that we moved on to tour which is my favorite part of the band experience, But I am digressing on the question..... The current lineup has Radu (me) on vocalsBuzz on guitars Jursh on the bassJoe on the drums Dylan on guitar Q: Now, you guys recently did a small tour of Japan, how did you guys hook that up? R: The same way we do everything, independently we did recruit a PR agency for it and they were awesome. We are planning on returning to Japan next summer.... They are called www.justrockpr.com Q: How does the crowd differ from the US and Japan? R: Well the coolest thing about Japan was that the crowds there would watch every band; so we did not have to worry about playing in front of 2 people. Most of the shows had a ton of people and they all watched all of the bands. Here well you have the first three songs to catch people's attentions or they are gone hahaha. They were awesome and they treated us great up there, I am looking forward to return to Japan, because its an amazing experience. I do have to say that the crowds in the US have been amazing since we started touring the states so we are very proud to say that our fans treat us well. Q: Now you released "In The Midst of Malevolence" on Hedonism Records a year or so ago, how’s that been selling? How did you come up with that title? R: It's been selling great! The fans have seen us with Buzz and Jursh for over a year now so they have been clamoring for a new album, I think its time that we took a break and we released some new material. We have been on the road non stop for a year and a half. Wait I lie, we took almost the whole month of september off but other than that we have been traveling wherever they would have us and playing in front of as many people as we can. So this year we are planning on releasing two or three albums. In the midst of malevolence the name, its a loooooong story let me see how I can shorten it up a tad. I had the will to do an album and no music for it. So I had two songs in the vault. One of the songs was a song that I had written for Glenn Danzig (Ritual) and I thought I could give this song to Glenn and see if he would be interested in releasing it. The other one was a song that I wrote a long time ago and I wanted to do in Fallen Wisdom I just did not know if it would be well received because it was short and to the point. It was called the "The watch in time" or some **** like that. I liked the music but I hated the lyrics. So I saw the movie "Malevolence" and i liked it so much that I rewrote the lyrics to it using that movie as an inspiration and I changed the name of it to "Malevolence" So now I had the title of that song and no name for the album. So when the album was almost done I thought to myself, all of these songs came like from the center of this song. They appeared in the midst of "Malevolence" And me being the nerd that I am....... And by the way I never did show Glenn the song, when I met him I just talked about the tribute album and left it at that Q: How did you hook up with Hedonism? R: I made it up. Seriously. I needed a label for the fucking album so we could use the distro that I had so I pulled that name out of my **** with a good friend of mine called Mark who lives in Wisconsin and is the guy responsible for all of our album arts and covers. I christened him the Designer of the dead because he is the one that made all of the shirts, cd covers and jackets. He is also the man that did the Glenn Danzig tribute album cover. He and I were throwing out names for the label and then I said Hedonism Records and he was like **** that works. He made the logo and the rest is history. www.marjasall.com hire him he is cheap and awesome Q: Now you were also a major part in putting together a tribute album to Glenn Danzig, approved by the man himself. Can you tell us a bit about that and is it still available? R: Well I am going to do you one better and copy the whole story from a blog that I just did on the page because a lot of people just joined the Dead Rites myspace page and they were asking about it. Yes its still available and you can get it at the hedonism records page www.hedonismrecords.com First things first, I owe this tribute to many people but number 1 on the list is Mary Hanson whom without her undying support it couldn't have happenedDevilman for the support and Skumlove for allowing me to meet the man AND Marjasall for bringing my dream to lifeEveryone else was just an innocent bystander while I worked my **** off for a year to make this happen and I still ended up pissing off some people in the proccess who by the way can kiss my assEven a label tried to make me add one of their bands and in turn they would sign dead rites to a deal I imagined it would be bullshit so i asked them "how long have you been a Danzig fan? or how long has your band been a danzig fan?" And their answer was "I think this will be a great opportunnitty to get our name and the band's name out there because we can offer this and that plus..." I replied with a no thank you. That is not what this is all about its not a what can you get out of the deal kind of thing is more of a this is a tribute for Glenn Danzig and his work, no strings attached and no expectations for anyone except that this is a tribute to the reason that most of us decided to pick up our respective instruments and how he became inspiration.But I digress,Since Fallen Wisdom was together I told JC that I would like to do a Glenn Danzig tribute album that was done the right way. Unfortunately the word going through the grapevine since forever was that Glenn HATED tribute albums and that there have been many tribute albums that have not seen the light of day because when he did not approve them, I believed in what I had in mind and I thought that maybe when I showed him what I had in mind he would like it. But how the **** could I show him what I had in mind if I cannot get through to him at all. I had his info and all of that and I had some sort of phone number that was given to me but I mean what the hell was I going to say? Hello Glenn My name is Radu and you have no fucking idea who the **** I am but I want to do that thing that you hate the most, you know? a tribute album? cool?hello?(I imagined that I wouldnt even hear the click on the phone when he hung up on me) Anyway I mentioned it on the Danzig fan page and Devilman told me that I should try my best to get it done and everyone believed that this was something that we should try and get done. And as for we they meant ME. So anyway I started toying with the idea in my head of what to do.So during my conversations about this I read some interesting conversations one of them was that there was a samhain tribute album that was ready for release and Glenn had completely stopped them on their tracks. Then there was a Misfits tribute album that went around from Glenn who said no to Jerry Only who of course said yes. Supposedly there is a story of a Danzig tribute album that never happened because of the same thing. Reasons why there are a million Misfits tribute album and nothing else. So I decided the followingThe only way I was making that fucking tribute album was only if and only WHEN Glenn said yesWhich was easier said than done AnywayI had my sweet tickets for the Danzig/Doyle show in Atlanta with FUCKING BEHEMOTH and other sweet bands MORTIIS before i go ahead and digress once again that show was sweet I had the chance to meet Joe Fraloub who was great to me and he took a pic with us which i have somewhere i have no idea where it is At the end of the night skummy who was working with Glenn at that time allowed me to go into the bus it was me and the former bass player for dead rites who went on the bus So the dreaded moment came and of course me in my usual non chalant manner had to start the conversation somehow and it went something like this: Radu: Its a pleasure to meet you sir this is the second time that I met you Glenn: Where was the first time? Radu: In a store in California, its on the hollywood walk...(someone interrupted the conversation I believe it was former Fallen Wisdom bass player Gonzi) Glenn: So where was it on the walk? Radu: It was a store, i have no idea what is the name of it we were coming in and you were purchasing some posters and then the guy at the register asked us if you played guitar in a band and I asked him if he was retarded that you were Glenn Danzig. Glenn: (smiles) I think I know where that is, do u remember what I bought? Radu: (I was thinking at this point would it sound too **** to say that I know exactly what you had on and that I I even counted the steps that you took out of the store and how you veered to the right to get to your car?) I answered posters Glenn: Oh yes that is Hollywood posters and the owner is a good friend of mine. Radu: Cool well the tard on the register had no idea who the hell you were Glenn: He is not my friend Radu: true . Glenn: So what can I do for you? Do u have anything for me to sign? Radu: I handed him my covers for Circle of Snakes and Danzig 1 Glenn: Is this blood? Radu: where?At this point he showed me the inside cover of my very old danzig 1 where it seemed as I had either ejaculated blood on top of his picture or I had cut my finger to make a pact with Satan so that I could meet him at this time Glenn: Here look is this blood? Radu: I don't think so. Glenn: Looks like it Radu: Yeah. So I need to ask you a question. A business question of sorts. Glenn: Go ahead Radu: So I heard that you hate tribute albums Glenn: Yup Radu: Ok well then that is the end of the conversation hahahahahha(notice how this went exactly like my phone conversation in my head) (but.....) Glenn: But anyway tell me what you have in mind (SWEET) Radu: Well, I wanted to do a tribute album to your legacy because all of these fucking bands out there are stealing your fucking image and all of that **** and i do not think that you get the respect you deserve. I want to have unsigned bands that are Glenn Danzig fans and only do a set 666 copies and let it die after that. No reprints and no changes. It should span your whole career and if possible include solo album stuff and things that you wrote for other artists. (I wanted to do a cover of "Life Fades away" for the tribute only if we didn't get many bands to appear on it) Glenn: I can dig that (insert image of Radu pissing himself, shitting himself and ejaculating all at the same time while crying uncontrollably, all on the inside) Radu: Really? Are you cool with that? Glenn: Yes I am cool with that Radu: AWESOME I will start working on it now. So I went home and I cried for a couple of months and started working on it I sent Glenn a copy of the cd of course and I sent one to his publicist. A couple of months later for the x-mas season I got a thank you from him stating Good luck with the cd GLENN DANZIGThere is only one person in the world that I called in that momentMary And she is the only person that knows exactly how I felt that day and I don't think there are words or paragraphs that I can use to describe this if you dont have your copy and you want to get one before we are sold out you can get them at the hedonism records webpage or send a paypal for 15 bucks to sales@deadrites.com If this band was not to do anything else I consider that moment the moment that I made it but i know better and we have a wonderful year ahead of us But on lonely nights and horrible days That is the fuel that keeps me going Q: You recently recorded material for a live album, care to give us a little more info on that and when will it be available? R: We should be releasing it soon (Halloween time) there were some problems with the fucking mix so we had to remix the whole thing again. It was recorded last year, on the last show of the year. Thankfully we have a master behind the mixing board in Shon Hardin. He worked on Daath and other masterful materials and he has a magnificent ear for **** like that and he can pinpoint **** that many of us would miss. We recorded a version of "Black Angel White angel" on that show and Malevolence was the second song of the set. "Malevolence" was a train wreck and we didnt want to add a cover on the album so those two may be removed from the album or we may keep them there anyway. We want to release another live album during our tour so maybe we will keep them both on there. you never know Also we are releasing it as cheap as possible. That is exactly what we want and need to do. So I am looking at cheap ways to get the album printed so we could save our fans some money. We shall see Q: We also understand that you are heading back to the studio to begin recording your follow up LP. Has a release date been set? What’s it gonna be called? R: Yes we are actually headed to the studio this Saturday and we will begin recording the first tracks from the album. tentative title "Soundtrack to my funeral" Q: I see that you are also going to be playing in Puerto Rico, How did you hook up with that? R: My home town baby!!! Should be a sweet vacation if nothing else !!! We may do the shows in december because April was a train wreck, the actual bookers were a pain in the **** to work with. Q: you recently went through some lineup changes, how has that affected the overall moral of the band? R: You know? i am very happy that you asked me this question. A lot of people believe that Radu is the Glenn Danzig wannabe that wants to run the band his way and its either the Radu way or the highway. That is not the case. All of the lineup changes that we have had in the last few months and before have all been either because they quit or because the rest of the band sat me and asked me to please find someone else. As simple as that. So now the band is happier. They want to go out and play, I am sure we lost some fans because of the changes but I am confident that the band will win over more fans and different fans. Q: What other atrocities lie ahead for Dead Rites? We are working on some women's clothing and some new dead rites shirts. Some new songs of course and some surprises for the shows, do not expect the same set on the tour that you heard last year. (insert evil laugh) Q: Can you tell us what inspires you? R: Our fans. I sometimes look at my bank account and want to cry and give in. and the someone writes me and tells me how much "deny me" means to them or how much they liked the Danzig tribute or how our album helps them through lonely nights or how many orgasms they gave their girlfriends fucking to "Ritual" (true story) or how many orgasms they gave themselves listening to the song (usually women and also true) that it gives me fuel to continue. My band members also inspire me they have faith in this band and trust me completely and that you cant buy or sell. Q: What bands currently “rock your boat”? R: Old school baby motorhead, maiden, danzig, metallica etc etc etc But I really, really enjoy unsigned gems like the Devil Bats, Skumlove, Vargotah, Dark Eden, Marra's Drug (formerly doomtree), Damn Valentines and this country ****, well Honky Tonk I believe it is what he plays called Jessee Dayton, he is amazing, simpy amazing. Oh and a lil band called Others you may have heard them. Zombeast is really good too, Prime Mover from Atlanta, Apathetic Discharge from Atlanta also. There is a band called A Lower Deep from here also that has an amazing vocalist and the guys from Eclipsed by sanity have a good power metal sound going. I am sure i am missing bands because that is all that we do play out and listen to bands i stay and listen to everyone Q: Now Georgia is filled with old superstitions and ghost stories, what is the scariest ghost story that you know? R: From here supposedly there is a road not far from where I lived where at night you can see a procession of slaves or a man on a horse sorry that I dont know this very well but there is a cemetary here where blue lights are supposedly seen at night. this damn band has not allowed me to get on these tours!!! Now I can tell you a juicy one from a long time ago... We were playing a show at the west toledo masonic temple in Ohio (of course) The moment we got there I saw Shadow beings all over the place, I got touched by a fucking shadow that was standing right beside me, I saw it by the corner of my eye as he came to touch me and when I saw the arm extend and I FELT the fucking touch of the palm of a fucking hand I turned to strike a conversation and there was no one there. that was sweet as **** Q: If you were a ghost who and where would you haunt? R: my dogs and I would fucking protect them from scum, other than that I would haunt my loved ones and also protect them from scum Q: What do you believe is true but can’t prove it? R: That the basis of christianity is not true. Q: What is your “dangerous” idea? R: To try and explain the last statement to a bunch of religious morons Q: What are you optimistic about? R: I am hardly optimistic but I do think that in the end it will all make sense Q: Any final words? R: See you on the road the tour starts in August come and see us