Devin Townsend: The My Big, Black Cock Interview
“OH! MY! FU! CKING! GOD!” Devin Townsend live at Toronto’s Opera House, 10/03/03.
(Photo Credit: Matt Gahagan)
For the uninitiated, Devin Townsend is one of the most prolific and exciting artists in music today. Since beginning his career at 19 as a singer with Steve Vai’s band on the 1993 “Sex And Religion” album/tour, Devin has exploded forth with a prodigious musical output under a variety of different monikers, most notably Strapping Young Lad. His music, described by many as “progressive metal”, is an unparalleled mix of heaviness and melody…intensity and brutality juxtaposed with an almost pop sensibility at times. Townsend’s music will kick your ass all over the place, but you’ll find yourself humming it later in the infirmary whether you want to or not. There’s simply too much musical ground to cover in a brief introduction, but the web site of Devin’s label, Hevy Devy Records should do it some justice.
My Big, Black Cock sent two devoted brothers of metal, Mark Yeddeau and Jamie Olmsted, to interview Devin before the Toronto date of his marathon “All In The Family” tour, which included Strapping Young Lad as headliners, as well as his latest “Devin Townsend Band” project and the metal gods Zimmers Hole (featuring Jed Simon and Byron Stroud of SYL). The following is a transcription of what happened. Metal discretion is advised. :D
Jamie Olmsted: So, the US tour with Samael and Cathedral went well?
Devin Townsend: Yeah it was good…it was good…we did Superjoint Ritual right before that too, so like, it’s been like, bangbangbang…
Mark Yeddeau: Oh yeah? How are those guys on tour?
DT: Great, yeah, they’re great…really really cool.
MY: I’ve got their two albums and…
DT: *looking at Mark’s laptop*
MY: Sorry, forgot to print off the fucking questions…
DT: No, it’s cool, just checking out the computer. Is it actually more road worthy, or does it just look it?
MY: Oh, it’s worthy, it’s worthy…just me work laptop…
*Devin stops to talk to road manager about other interviews lined up*
MY: Ok, so any crazy shit happening on this tour, band wise?
DT: You know, it’s been such a long year of touring, I don’t even process the crazy shit anymore. It’s like, “Oh God, there’s crazy shit going on in the front lounge, I’m gonna go to sleep”. *laughter* I mean, I don’t fuck groupies, I don’t do hard drugs, I don’t drink that much. Touring for me’s just a job…a real awesome, fucking cool job, but it’s still something I really have to devote serious energy to or else I just can’t do it properly, ya know?
JO: You’ve gotta do it right.
DT: Yeah you do, you really do. It may be your 50th show in a row, but it might be some person who’s like a big fan, it’s the first time they’ve *ever* seen you, right? So you gotta be “on”.
MY: Yeah, it was like for me, on your last show here, the Club Rockit one, I had been waiting for that show forever since I’d never seen you guys before then and the buildup was killing me.
JO: Yeah, that was my first SYL show, too.
DT: Cool, it was a hard one, too.
JO: You guys were on! It was great.
DT: Yeah…but..we weren’t, that’s the thing…that’s the thing about the consistency of the show, even when you’re “not on” you gotta be “on”.
JO: When the sequencer died at the end there…
MY: …and Munash (keyboardist) just lost it…
DT: *laughs* Yeah, but all those things, it’s just part of the entertainment. I mean, we’re here to entertain, ultimately…so the show has lots of elements of “we’re entertaining ourselves, too, right”? So if the the show isn’t going right, or we’ve had a bad day…you know, then it’s a good idea to have fun and see what happens.
MY: Are there any bands around right now who are kicking your ass?
DT: New Dimmu Borgir is fucking Kick ASS! Meshuggah, of course…Opeth…you’re talking metal, right?
MY: Oh hell no, anything…
DT: Immortal…anything? Fuck, I love everything, man. Ween…you know, ABBA, AC/DC, Andrew W.k., Carcass…whatever, ya know what I mean? Morbid Angel…fuckin’… like Old Lady Driver, Stravinski…anything, really, it just doesn’t matter. My music’s not really about the music, it’s more about the statement, so as a result of that I try to take in as much as I can to make it as varied as possible. If for no other reason than to keep myself interested, right?
JO: Well, that’s who you make the music for, after all…
DT: Kind of a combination of both, really. You make it for yourself, first, with the knowledge that there’s gonna be other people that are gonna be taking it in, so it’s kind of a good symbiosis.
MY: So did you get a kick out of the Punky Bruster album knocking Metallica’s “Load” out of the number one spot in Japan?
DT: Heh, it was only a couple of charts…I mean, I’m pretty separated from what we do, you know? From the whole “career” it’s kind of like, things happen…we’ve had moderate successes in some places and everything, but it’s still…it just doesn’t mean anything…it’s like…it’s like…the more that shit I know about, the more fights I get into with my friends, right? It’s more just like, “Yeah, that’s cool.”, ya know what I mean? That’s great…
MY: Have you heard their (Metallica’s) new record?
DT: Yeah, I got it. Went out and bought it.
MY: What’d you think of it?
DT: Uh, it’s cool. I don’t like it, but it’s cool, ya know? I mean, I can get why they did it that way…it’s pretty pure from that angle, but it’s just not really relevant to me anymore. It’s like, you put on, you know…Anemic or fuckin’ Dimmu, or any of these new bands, that are doing “metal”, and it’s just like, “Ah, whatever guys, like you missed the boat fucking years ago”. Although I hear their live show is just stunning…
MY: Yeah, I hear they’re still really kickin’ it in that respect…But speaking of Metallica, you can’t do so these days without bringing up the RIAA. What do you think of music downloading?
DT: Download the fuck out of it. Download everything I’ve ever done, and give it to your friends. If you like it, buy a t-shirt.
MY: Yeah, like that’s how I got him (Jamie) into your material, sent him one song and that was it…
DT: Awesome. The whole point is to get people to *hear* your shit…
JO: Yep, track one off of “City” and it was downhill from there…
DT: Chances are you might’ve bought something from hearing that…
JO: Yep, bought every CD you have off of Hevy Devy after that…
DT: Yeah! Exactly! Thank you! That’s the point, and I think denying that is just like shooting yourself in the foot.
JO: It’s better than the radio to get things out there…
DT: I agree. I mean, it’s just like, fuckin’ the whole purpose of making music is for people to hear it and the Internet’s a great forum for that, right? So, get it out. Film my shows, whatever…*laughter*
MY: I read an interview with Gene he did during your last Toronto show, and he was asked to give a one sentence synopsis of your live show. I believe he said, “We’ll rip your fucking head off.”…you agree with that, I mean, when you’re “on”?
DT: *laughs* Oh yeah, of course, even when we’re not “on” we’ll rip your head off.
MY: Yeah, that show kicked my ass for your entire set…
DT: cool…cool…we’ll do it again tonight, too. It’s like, it’s like…Strapping is really a vicious fucking musical chaos thing, but it’s cool…
JO: Oh yeah.
MY: For me Strapping just reaches out, grabs you, and you’re like, “Ok, fuck, time to go kill something…”
DT: Yeah, yeah it is…
JO: On that note, do you think there’s anyone who rocks harder than Strapping?
DT: Of course…in their way, right? No one rocks harder than us in our way, you know what I mean?
MY: Right…right…for the writing process for S.Y.L., how do you get in that mindset? Do you sit down and go, “Ok, I’m gonna write a Strapping record. It has to be heavier and angrier than anything out there right now”?
DT: Not necessarily. It’s just…like, I think most of making music is the organisation of it. You know, if you’re in an evironment where your jam spot’s cool, everybody’s sounds are cool, your guitars are tuned up, everybody’s cool, you’ve got a joint, smoke…everybody’s got a beer, it’s late at night, the lighting’s good, no one’s got any stresses at home…the right group of people can make fucking brilliant shit. Spearheaded by any one of those members, right?
And that’s kinda how I feel about any of my projects, it’s like, “get in the right mood”, and then, music happens. It’s always there to get, like…I mean, the only time music doesn’t happen is when you’re fuckin’…not in the right headspace…and it’s like, I’m in a different headspace with every group of people I’m with, I’m a chameleon, I think, so I think at that level, it’s like “OK, these people have this energy and so we’ll write music based around how I feel when I’m in their presence.”, you know what I mean?
JO: For sure…
DT: It just works…I mean, I’ve got 50 different projects…
MY: How do you maintain that kind of consistency though? ’cause all of these bands, like Ocean Machine, Physicist, Terria, Infinity, DTB and of course Strapping…they all manage to kick so much ass. How the fuck do you *do* that?
DT: Well, I think…thank you. Well…why shouldn’t it? I mean, why would I wanna put something out that doesn’t kick ass? It’s like…’cause when I listen back to it, I’m kind of like, the records that I have done that don’t kick ass, I’m kind of like, “Why didn’t I just fucking do a little more?”, I know what I should’ve done, why didn’t I wanna do that at that time? Because I was tired. Ok, well, just be a better worker. Like, a lot of metal of any sort of consistency in music is being a hard worker. I mean, you can only party so much before your body’s just like, “I can’t take any more…man, I gotta sleep”. You know what I mean?
“I’ve been up 12 days on this fucking drug” or whatever, “I can’t fucking function anymore”, let alone write something other people are gonna wanna relate to. So for me, I’m like, “Party…but keep it simple, don’t fuck yourself up”…
JO: …in moderation…
DT: In moderation, you know what I mean…and then, and then process it, and work hard. Take all that fucking partying you did and all those experiences and all those stupid bullshit things that happen on tour, and like, “How does that make you feel emotionally?”, and then, work hard to make a statement about that, and that kinda is a synopsis of the year. Once that year’s done, you can kinda listen to the record and go, “Oh, ok”, and move on.
MY: Got anything in the works now, or…?
DT: Oh yeah, dude. Fuck yeah, I got a record call Tetramental, and it’s like a musical…
MY: Oh, ok…
DT: …but it’s not cheesy…it’s cool.
JO: Rock!
DT: It’s like…yeah, I got a book…and I got like, this TV show…more DTB stuff…more SYL stuff…I’ve got tons of productions I’m doing next year…
JO: DTB really kicked my ass, man…
DT: Thanks man.
JO: …like, right out of the gate.
DT: Cool.
JO: It’s such a…well, pretty much every record’s kicked my ass, but, it really…it grabs you, sonically.
DT: Yeah. It’s kinda funny, it’s like, each record is written around a specific headspace and it seems each record seems to attract its own crowd, to a certain extent. You know what I mean? Some people are like, “I like it. I like what it was hinting at prior…but this one”, like Terria, or DTB or fuckin’ Ocean Machine or whatever, it’s like, “That’s the one that really sorta speaks to me”, and I’m kinda, “Oh, that’s cool”, right? Because it’s like that kinda indicates you know that the job’s being done correctly…because it’s like the emotions that we’re singing about and all these things that we’re singing about are not…unusual.
JO: You’ve managed to write an album for just about every headspace I have.
DT: Well yeah, cool, but I think, as we get older, new headspaces will arise. As I get older, I’ll just keep writin’ about ‘em, right? So it’s like some people will listen to some and say, “That’s the best thing he’s done”, other people say, “*That’s* the best thing he’s done”, or whatever, right? Some people hate certain things, but I’m just kinda like, that’s cool, I mean, as long as you like *some* of it, then at least we’re doing our job…you know, partially, right?.
JO: Oh yeah…
DT: I mean, there’re some people listen to DTB and like a song like “Storm”, or “Life” off the Ocean Machine record, and then they listen to “Oh My Fucking God”, or “Rape Song”, and they’re just like, “No no no no…I can’t… I can’t-deal- with that…I don’t -want to- listen to that…but I really like *this*”, right?
So I’m kinda like, “Cool…cool”, but I’m split, right? I kinda like, I like all of it, you know what I mean? And it’s like, as a result of that, I mean, I’m a real chaotic mind, because it’s like I never really at ease but at the same time, it’s like, a cool place to be, because there’s always…shit to do, you know what I mean?
JO: Exactly how I see it.
MY: You’ve been so often and so long recently, just wondering where your favourite places to play are?
DT: I like America. I like Canada. I like Korea a lot. I like Japan. I like Australia. I like Germany. I like France…I like England…
MY: So basically, you just…like -all- of it…
DT: Yeah, I don’t like Carmel, Saskatchewan.
*laughter*
DT: No, no, I do. We were treated very well there…by the 6 people who showed up…
JO: Oooh, ouch.
MY: Yeah, I read about that somewhere on the ‘net I think…
DT: No, I like Carmel. I don’t wanna be dissin’ Carmel, they had some of the best food we’d ever eaten.
JO: Nice!
DT: Yeah, but it was just like…some gigs stand out…-that- stood out in my mind. Some gigs stand out in your mind and you just go, “Wow, what a fucking headfuck”, right? Other ones are just like, “Ah y’know, part of the job…’nother day at the mill”, ya know?
MY: So you guys got a practical joker in your midst on tour?
DT: Jed.
MY: What kind of shit does he pull?
DT: *laughs* Ah, fuck…punch you in the face while you’re asleep.
*laughter*
MY: That sounds unpleasant…
JO: I’ll have to try that one…
DT: Yeah, you don’t fuck with Jed, man. Jed’s the Pirate of the group, man, he’ll fuckin’ swashbuckle you.
*Jamie and I burst into laughter*
DT: He’ll swab your poopdeck.
JO: Oooooooh…bad.
MY: So what do you do to blow off steam and relax when you’re not on stage?
DT: Smoke pot. Writes -lots- of music. Write lots in my diary. I listen to -lots- of music. I’m a computer freak, man, I just fucking can’t get away from my computer. So when I’m not on stage, I’m either on the phone or on my computer.
MY: Sounds like me…only without the touring part…
DT: *laughs*
MY: Any signifigance behind all the water imagery in your music?
JO: Like rain…oceans, all that…
DT: I think…I think it’s more psycho…not psychosomatic, I guess…”psychological”, it’s more just like I grew up in Vancouver where it rains a lot, so it’s like…I just -like- it, but I think, maybe on a deeper level it’s that sorta knowledge that human beings are like 96% water, too, so it’s…it’s a tie we’ve kind of got to it. Plus life kinda flows…and there’s lots of metaphor an’ shit…
JO: Like the “cleansing” of rain…
DT: Sure, I mean, any of that shit…I mean, but it’s like…I mean, my music means something really specific, but you know, I’ll never tell, ya know, what it is.
Ya know, because it’s delusional and retarded, but I mean it’s like in terms of what it’s supposed to mean? It’s not supposed to mean ANYthing, man. Like, it’s supposed to mean something to -me-, but I’ll be fucked if I tell anybody what it means….
JO: …something different to everybody…
DT: Absolutely. To the lyrics…and the artwork, and everything is written around purposely being vague about very broad emotions, so it can kind of apply to certain scenarios…well, the scenarios apply very specifically to things in my life as an artist, right, but I mean, you’re not gonna find out what that is, so…*laughs*
It’s just not important. I mean, it’s like the music is about people relating to it. I mean, I remmeber listening to a Rush song when I was a kid going, “Wow, that means -this- to me” and finding out it mean -that- instead, and it’s like, “Oh…uh…”
JO: I guess it’s good to leave the mystery in there…
DT: Yeah, totally. Totally…
MY: Like let people think it means whatever to them…whatever it may be…
DT: Of course, and it does, essentially, because it’s not supposed to mean -anything-. Like, I mean, there’s no fucking big anything, there’s no hidden meaning, there’s nothin’, it’s just…there is to me, but that’s only ‘because I’m fuckin’ the person who created it, right? But in terms of other people, like, whatever man, let it just compliment your life, and when you don’t like it, throw it away. You know what I mean? It’s entertainment, man, fuck it.
If you -wanna- get deep with it, it’s all there, but if you don’t then fuckin’ jam out, right? Come to the show, it’s entertaining.
MY: Ever written anything for a specific project and then finish it and go, “Nah, doesn’t belong here” and have it end up on another project?
DT: Oh, sure.
MY: Does that happen a lot or can you usually keep on track?
DT: I dunno, I kind of get stuck on themes, and when I’m writing for that theme, I kind of write it to the exlusion of everything else. I keep all the other stuff on my laptop, right, but it’s like…I’ll be like ok, like this Tetramental thing, you know, I think about mirrors, for example…or Infinity, or fuckin’…whatever, right, that sense of that, that whole theme that’s kinda…behind it, I’m just gonna go “there”, for a year, and see what comes out of it. I may have a couple of riffs that come along, but I’m just usually like, “Ah, nah nah nah”, and I forget about ‘em, and it’s like, this (points to the tape recorder) is what I use, to write. Like, that exact same sort of thing…except not stereo. That and a notebook, ya know? It’s like, the good ideas you remember, and the bad ones just fuckin’…float away…and I mean, sure, it might’ve been a -great- song, but I mean, fuck it….there’s more where that came from.
JO: Indeed!
MY: So you got an ETA for this Tetramental?
DT: Probably by the end of next year.
MY: How about the book?
DT: It’s gonna be part of Tetramental. The digipak’s gonna have another bonus disc with three separate projects and 5 songs each on it that I’ve done over the years…over this year in the back of the bus.
It’s like, I’ve got another techno project, and like, this crazy retard project, and it’s like, everybody having a party and making a song out of everybody’s little soliloquy sort of thing. It’s stupid, but it’s cool bonus shit.
JO: Excellent, yeah.
DT: The book, it’s gonna be like a hardcover CD with a 50 page book, in the CD. It’s gonna be a real comprehensive project.
MY: Do have an all-time favourite book of your own?
DT: I don’t read that much…I like Heavy Metal [magazine]…it’s got philosophy in it, you know…and sex, and violence…and rock’n'roll and the whole the whole works, and it’s got pictures, so I’m cool with that…
*laughter*
All-time favourite book? Nah, don’t read enough to have one…
MY: Alright, cool…so you have an EP of cover songs on the queue…
DT: Yeah, we’re gonna wait for that, for a little while…we’ve kinda blown ourselves out with touring this year, and it’s like…I’ve got to do a couple of productions and…write some more music…and…get some other shit out of my system, then we’ll get back to that.
MY: Do you have the songs chosen that you’ll be covering?
DT: We’re tossing around things, but there’s nothing really definite…we’re gonna wait ’til we reach that bridge…
MY: Some interesting threads going on about that on the SYL forum page…I think some one mentioned wanting you guys to cover some Bee Gees or some shit…
DT: *laughs* It’ll be good, man. It’s gonna be real dominating.
MY: Awesome, looking forward to it…
JO: Do you have a favourite song to play live? Anything that rises above the rest?
DT: From Strapping? Strapping would be…hmmm…”In The Rainy Season”, probably…
JO: That’s a great track…
DT: Yeah, it’s really fun to play.
JO: I would imagine so!
DT: It’s easy, and it’s effective, too.
JO: I’m guessing a lot of people like Detox, live…
DT: Yeah, it’s hard, though. Yeah, at the end of the set after 8 weeks of touring…fuckin’, my throat is just like, “Come on!”…
MY: That’s something I meant to ask…how the fuck do you keep your voice intact?!
DT: Well, it’s fucked up now, but I mean, it’s still kinda there…I could pull it off. It’s like, “fuck it”, whatever man…I’ll do it…until I can’t do it, ya know…
MY: At least until your throat fucking implodes…
DT: Totally man, try to make a big dent while I can do it, and hope that I got the strength to do it for a long time…
MY: Well, at least you shouldn’t have to worry about this place being a fucking oven tonight, well, not like Club Rockit was the last time…
DT: No…no, that was insanity.
JO: When the heat kills your sequencer, it’s time to pack it in…
*laughter*
DT: Man, that was Fucked Up.
MY: What do you think about the crowds in TO?
DT: I don’t really notice crowds, to be honest…I mean, everywhere you go, there’s people, right?
JO: Any place you do notice a signifigant difference in crowd reaction, though?
DT: Not really. I mean, it’s kinda like…because the subject matter is pretty broad, it’s like, everywhere we go, people relate to it. So it’s like, on the level that I want to relate to people that I meet, it’s like everybody’s trying to speak in the same language. So, that being said, everyone appreciates it in their own way…some crowds don’t really respond…other crowds go apeshit…but everybody kind of digs it in their own way, and that’s cool.
MY: ‘Cause in my experience the last few years, Toronto crowds are notorious for being (in my opinion), lame asses when it comes to metal shows…
DT: So’s Vancouver, man, I grew up with it.
MY: Heh, guess every scene seems like that from the inside…
DT: Yep.
MY: Alright man, that’s most of the shit we had written down…
DT: Right on, brothers…
JO: A friend of ours we just got listening to Strapping has been going around to his friends saying, “This is methamphetamines for your ears”.
DT: *laughs* I can see that…
JO: …and he’s now totally embraced all things SYL…but anyways, I think that’s one of the better analogies I’ve heard for Strapping Young Lad.
DT: Man, I’ve never done meth, so I can’t tell, but I can imagine man, I saw that movie, “Spun”…
JO: Hah, yeah!
DT: That’s awesome, man! [ in reference to the SYL wallpaper Mark has on his laptop ]
MY: Yeah man, some people online have come up with some awesome artwork for your stuff. It’s cool.
DT: Alright, I’ve gotta do this next interview, so…
MY: No problem man, thanks a shitload for the time, and it was awesome sitting down and talking with you, man.
JO: This has been awesome, thanks!
MY: Expect to see us killing ourselves in the pit for the show tonight, and have an great show, Devin!
DT: Thanks, I appreciate it, brothers.