 Your band is quite well known in the death rock scene despite the fact that you're one of the few bands that doesn't sound like the Misfits, Christian Death or 45 Grave. To what do you ascribe such unprecedented success?
D.W.: Wait a minute; you're calling us successful? You better check your facts; you got the wrong band, honey. We're The Brides, not Bella Morte.
Gregjaw: Sorex Minutus . Continually searching for insects, spiders and snails. Favors hedgerows, field borders and woodlands. Tail length two thirds that of the body length. Common and widespread in mainland Britain and Ireland; found on many islands but absent from Scillies and North Scottish islands.
Corey: I agree. Oh, I think we're successful because we sound like The Brides, pre-replacing D.W. with a drum machine. Oops, sorry to tell you about that this way, D.W.
How did The Brides come together as a band?
Gregjaw: It was disgusting, a big mess. Corey: Yeah, I've been in bands with D.W. since 1993. Then Greg showed up and he filled in for a show in Toronto with an old band. He left his band, we stopped doing ours, joined forces, and right before we become the all-powerful juggernaut that we are, Julia appeared out of nowhere to play keys and all was a go. Then the car died, we had to call Triple A and well, you know how that goes. You never get that money back. Are there any plans to compile all of the EP tracks on a full-length release, maybe to help bring new fans into the fold?
D.W.: At some point I'd like to see those songs compiled, and you know, add on a few never-released (s)hits. Not to win over any new fans, but just to get ever last dollar from the ones we already have. Gregjaw: I was never really any good at origami. You know I tried, but I couldn't even do the swan. I went to the book fair in third grade and got the overpriced origami set. The papers were so colorful; I wanted them to come together into something greater, but it was not to be.
Songs like "Hags of Old Broadway" and "Brooklyn Gothic" communicate a much stronger sense of place than a lot of newer gothic and punk acts. What role does New York City - as both a location and concept - play in the music of The Brides?
Corey: These days, not all that much. DW's the only one still sticking it out in the City. By "it" I mean exactly what you think I do. The rest of us moved to the sticks. And by "sticks" I mean exactly what you think I do. Actually, we go to hang out quite a bit down there in the NYC; that's where lots of our friends are. But as far as the music, it was only important as a historical reference point, anyway. Greg likes trains! I like 'em, too!
You all have such snazzy outfits. Will The Brides follow in the footsteps of such other punk icons as Jennifer Lopez and P. Diddy by releasing your own fashion line?
Corey: I doubt it. We can't even get it together to get our new T-shirts printed. D.W.: All I've got to say to that is, "Fashion. Beep-beep!" Now turn to the left. Yes, yes, nice profile. Gregjaw: Well, if you consider the coffee stains on my undershirt with the stretched-out collar fashionable, then I say "Do your thing! I'm here all week!"
You wear matching armbands, so I'm assuming that the whole music thing is a front for your radical political operations. When you succeed in overthrowing the current government and economic system, what will you erect in its place?
D.W.: I'd be a goddamned fool if I didn't say an erection! No, wait. I'd be a goddamned fool if I said erection. Oh well, I said it, and I'll stand by it. Yup. I'll stand by this erection. Now check this out! [He stands up and points to a small lump in the crotch of the women's stretch pants he's wearing.] Julia: I'd "erect" a way to make D.W. answer your questions quicker! Gregjaw: A greater interest in table tennis.
Corey: I'm going to say a three-hour workday.
   
You've done your first full-length album and a complete U.S. tour. What other big things do The Brides have planned for the future?
D.W.: Did you hear how I answered your last question? And now you're asking about big things? You just don't know when to quit, do you? No. You don't. Now I have to make some scatological reference. Would that make you happy? It would? Great. Fine, have it your way. I plan on taking a BIG shit in the future. There, you got your quote for the article. "A big shit is in The Brides' future!"
Julia: There he goes again! Blah blah blah blah blah...
Do you have any final words of wisdom or abuse you'd like to heap upon our readers?
D.W.: No, I'm far from wise, and I only self-abuse. And by that I mean I'm a chronic masturbator! This isn't for a print magazine, is it? It is? Oh, fuck.
Julia: Two mentions of whacking off in the same interview. Classy, lads.
Gregjaw: I had a hard time doing those math problems too, but I found that if you use a calculator, they become much more manageable.
Corey: Stop looking at the clock!
www.thebrides.net / www.hellshundred.com
Interview by Matthew Johnson |
