Wednesday 13‘s Undead, Unplugged tour begins on the 21st of May with an album to follow on July 7th. The man himself took time out from his usual hectic schedule to answer a few questions about the tour. And a few other random things I threw in there…
First up, the tour and album. Why an acoustic set and why now? Is it something that you’ve thought about for a long time, or a fairly recent idea?
It’s an idea I’ve had for a while now and I finally committed to it. Taking songs from my entire catalogue and stripping them down in an acoustic setting is not something you would expect from me, so that made it even more of a challenge.
What can fans expect from the current live show? Will there be any Bourbon Crow material in the set?
I don’t know what to tell the fans to expect yet because I’m not sure if I even know what to expect, haha! This is the first time I’m even doing this so I guess we will all find out at the same time. I can say that it’s going to be completely opposite to my normal shows, so don’t expect us to come out head-banging and wearing corpse paint.
And any hints on the content of the album? Will there be stuff on there that you’re not doing live or vice versa?
We will be playing most of the songs from the new acoustic ‘Undead, Unplugged’ record, which is out in July. The set list I have put together for the tour so far covers everything from my early days in FDQ, Murderdolls, and up to my current solo stuff.
How did you pick the tracks? Were there any that you just *had* to do as acoustic numbers, did some lend themselves to it more than others? Were there any that you just couldn’t fit in?
Picking the tracks came pretty easy. Most of the songs I originally wrote on acoustic guitar anyway so it was easy to go back to that. Then there were some songs that I didn’t think would turn out so well acoustically and they ended up sounding great. After I was done recording it, I thought of so many more songs I would have liked to have done, but I guess I can save that for ‘Undead, Unplugged Part 2’!
How did you end up with so many projects on your books anyway? You seem to write, produce and record like a man possessed! Have you ever suffered writer’s block, or conversely had too many ideas to try an work through to get the perfect album out at that point in time?
Haha, I don’t know exactly. The side projects were pretty easy to do and work into my schedule. Bourbon Crow was so much fun and it never felt like work. I actually took time off performing/recording W13 to do Gunfire 76. That project was a challenge but I feel I walked away from that as a better vocalist and performer. Writers block happens from time to time with me but never to a point where I was flipping out. I think I have the opposite of writers block most of the time, where I can’t stop coming up with material and ideas.
With Murderdolls now officially over (is that still the position?) and the “Wednesday 13” band/act obviously now your focus, are there any urges to step outside of the shock horror genre again? Either with a project you’ve already worked on (Gunfire 76, Bourbon Crow) or something new? Personally, I’m crossing my fingers that the country urge takes you again!
Yeah, that era of Murderdolls went on a definite hiatus back in April 2011, and there are no plans to reboot it. As far as the other projects, Bourbon Crow could possibly have new music and some shows in the not too distant future. Gunfire 76 could possibly have a new track or two turn up sometime as well. I probably will do a whole other project at some point, but nothing is in the works right now.
When you started writing and performing, did you start with the horror theme or did they come along later? Your earliest releases are with Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13, but did you work on anything before that?
Yes, before FDQ there was Maniac Spider Trash and that was pretty much horror-based as well. The horror image and themes have always been there and have basically been the main ingredient to what I have done since the beginning.
A brief look at your Tumblr feed shows that you’re a man who really engages well with his fans (we appreciate it, thank you!). Have you ever had any encounters that have wierded you out? Any fans who have taken things just a teeny bit too far?
I try to stay close with the fans on social media, and yes sometimes there are some encounters that can be a little odd. However, there hasn’t been anything that I can say that was seriously “crazy” or worth mentioning. I expect that to happen from time to time.
You posted on Twitter recently about your tour with Iron Maiden in 2006. Which bands have been the best to tour with? Or the ones which meant the most to you to be touring with?
So many bands have treated us really well and with respect. Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, Type O Negative, Hanoi Rocks, and Guns & Roses to name a few…the list goes on and on. Touring with Alice Cooper was the highlight for me, he is the best and my rock n roll hero.
What’s next for Wednesday 13 (the man and/or the band)?
After the Unplugged tour I will be appearing at a horror convention in June called Mad Monster Party in Arizona, alongside some of the biggest names in horror. Then once I’m back from that, I will resume writing for the 6th W13 album which I hope to have out in early 2015.
And finally – if you could be one character from classic shock/schlock horror (an individual, or a type of creature) then which would you pick, and why?
Beetlejuice. Because he’s the “Ghost with the Most”….duh.
[Many thanks to Mr.13 and Michelle at Cosa Nostra for arranging the interview]
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- Wednesday 13 – tour, album and DVD details (moshville.co.uk)
