Interview with Stone 588 conducted by Goth´s Not Dead! Sept. 1996 GND? Can you please introduce the band, and tell a bit about it's history and development? Terri: Dave and I met in 1992 when a former drummer of his happened to into my gothic retail store that I own,Ipso Facto and convinced me to audition for their band that was reforming. That didn't end up happening, but Dave and I joined forces to create Stone 588, enlisting the services of Dave's longtime bandmate, Jon on bass and drummer, Jose. Jon ended up going back to school and we've gone through a series of drummers and bassists since then.The current lin-up is definitely my favorite. We've progressed a lot since our punk/goth beginnings with three cassette releases: Eyes of a Statue, Eden Lost (recorded in a haunted studio during a miserable relationship with a dishonest label) and Catharsis. Our 1995 CD release,Door in the Dragon's Throat, documents two different line-ups including our current members and compiles some of the previous material in newly recorded form, plus 5 new songs (21 in all!)More recently we tried a new approach for our live performances utilizing 12 string guitar and adding the servies of Eileen Bowe of Dichroic Mirror on mandolin/ guitar synth for a more ethereal/ orchestral sound on some pieces. GND? (oh, and please excuse that my english is a bit... errr... untidy...) Would you describe yourself as a "live band" ? I have the impression that US goth-acts are much more into the show/theatralical aspect of life perfomances than european ones, which are often just plain rock bands on stage. Do you think that this kind of show is an important aspect of goth? Terri: We are definitely a live band (not like a Gothic "Monkees"!), and our studio efforts are pretty close to what we are like live except for a few backing vocals and second guitar tracks. L.A. goths do seem to gravitate towards the bands wearing whiteface,fluffy hair, and elaborate dress, but I think the media tends to exploit the more extraordinary/outlandish acts, making it seem more prevalent. I, for my part create my own apparel for shows, some quite elaborate in velvet or lace with Medieval sleeves and the like, because I do appreciate such visual stimuli as an art form, but not one essential to music. It should be noted only of couple of us in the band look "goth" and we don't perform at exclusively goth venues. I appreciate performers who try to create something unique..their own catagory, and I think for any genre to endure it must have at its base bands with solid musicianship rather that vapid narcissism. GND? What are you're main influences - other musicians, literature, arts? Terri: I grew up listening to Latin church choir music, (though I am not religious) opera, old jazz, big band music, the Ink Spots and Martin Denny. In high school I was in musical theatre, and a great admirer of Judy Garland; (we can skip through the Abba/Queen/Blondie/Cars years..)then in the early eighties I got into Lene Lovich, Lydia Lunch, and later the Birthday Party!. I have always appreciated the literature of Edgar Allen Poe, and later the Marquis de Sade and Anais Nin, whom we can thank for our CD title. I've been writing verse since I was five, and my grandfather, a poet, left me a rhyming dictionary which I sometimes still use... I have had an encounter with a displaced spirit of someone I knew in life..so ghosts, vampires and the supernatural were always intruiging to me, and find their way into songs, like in "Ruination," about golem formed from clay for the destruction of the one's enemies. History is sometimes the subject matter for my lyrics, as well, for example, "Night Behind the Mind," about the persecution of women during the Inquisition. As far as visual art is concerned, I should mention that I created the illustration on the back of the CD and photographed a lot of European gothic architecture and funereal monuments which, with a little Photoshop magic became the CD package design. GND? Do you believe in reincarnation and that stuff? And do you think there are "real vampires" out there? Terri: I don't personally believe in reincarnation, but I know at least one member of our band who does. I tend to not believe in anything I can't touch, see, hear or eat! I didn't really believe in ghosts until I saw one. I used to work for an Indian family who lost their 19 year old son in a tragic motorcycle accident. We worked together in his parents' warehouse.. Well, three weeks after he died...to the minute..he died on a Friday at 4 a.m... I woke up and he was standing next to my bed with a very perturbed expression like he was trying to communicate with me but couldn't. I sat up and said very loudly "GO AWAY!" I squeezed nmy eyes shut and when I opened them again, he was gone...My boyfriend at the time and I also used to ride helmet-less on a beat-up Honda motorcycle. It occurred to me he might have been trying to tell me to be more careful... we were both known for our excessive speeding... After that I concluded, as much as I can define the reality of their existence, ghosts do exist..for me anyway. We also recorded in a studio that was supposed to be haunted. The engineer told us a little girl could be heard giggling late at night when no one was there and they had mischeivous pranks played on them like jacks being pulled out of amps while recording.. Dave, our guitarist, has seen a couple of ghosts; as a child he was visited by the ghost of an older woman who seemed concerned when he was sick and hovered around him, stroking his cheek, and later when he was older, one night he and his girlfriend both saw a kid leaning up against a car who was transparent and evaporated after a minute or so. As far as vampires go, I enjoy supernatural literature, like Poe and Poppy Z. Brite stories (not Ann Rice!) and movies like "Gothic," I love the story of the Dusseldorf child murderer dramatized in "M" with Peter Lorre..my favorite actor, and confess to watching "Forever Knight" on t.v. occasionally (A Canadian show with a fanatical cult audience about a cop who is also a vampire.) I do appreciate the culture and romanticism associated with vampirism, however, I can't take it seriously and feel it is a bit overemphasized in the goth scene.. As far as vampires or ghosts being a reality, that has to be defined by each person for themselves. There have been people throughout history up to modern times who drink blood, but I don't think it makes them immortal. GND? After that excursion into the supernatural, let's get back do your music. A question I often ask bands is what is their motivation to make music... Terri: Performing offers me the opportunity to vent my aggressions, anger, frustration, joy... whatever extreme emotions don't find an appropriate outlet, which is necessary for me to keep myself in balance. Sometimes utilizing sound is a magical way to visit minds I may not otherwise communicate with. The lyrics are a creation of convoluted and oblique expression as well...utilizing metaphor to color a concept for more emotional and personal insight, while at the same time shrouding my point so the listener can devise several meanings. GND? When writing your lyrics and music, do you think about what the listener might think/feel when hearing it? Terri: Not really, I write for myself and hope others enjoy it. Actually, I am pretty anti-mainstream..not trying to create with the public in mind, but I hope that my writing gives people the impetus to think and explore, as I'm not obvious about my meaning lyrically. I have a more personal approach, researching my subject, and then moulding my writing into what I hope is a unique and complex vocal melody that meshes with what the band is playing. My intention is to invent emotional, passionate and raw vocals, more in an instrumental fashion, which I hope impacts people more deeply. Also, our songs are pretty short, unlike most goth bands whose pieces stretch over 4 or 5 minutes, because we are conscious about not boring listeners by being repetitive... We don't want to end up doing music that isn't true to us, be too derivitive, or cash in on whatever is trendy for the moment, but are content to wait until the public discovers and appreciates what we are doing. GND? Are the lyrics written only by you, and do you have the music or the lyrics first? Terri: Yes , I am the sole lyricist. The words come to me, sometimes almost already written, sometimes not, as though someone else were writing through me.. I feel lyrics should have the quality of a good Edgar Allen Poe story..with metaphor, mystery and sometimes unresolved endings (we call them cliff-hangers) as opposed to the rock anthem method of repeating banal lines over and over ad infinitum... My written pieces are carved them into chorus and verse as needed. When we jam musically I bring in my writings and mould them to the music being played. So, neither creative process comes first, just seperately. GND? Let's (slowly) come to an end: what are you're plans for the near future? What about a european tour? Terri: I am in the midst of trying to finalize European distribution of our CD. If sales are positive enough to show that we have a fan base to support a European tour, we will try to do so. We have many contacts now offering encouragement and support in this area, Nemesis Prod.(England) has been particularly helpful most recently. We just have to do it when it is financially worthwhile. We are not signed to any label, so it is difficult to finance and organize everything ourselves. We have yet to even tour the U.S. We've had a lot of trouble with flakey promotors when we tried to set up shows in San Diego (about 2 hours drive from us) and San Francisco..(a day's drive from us) so we still have only been able to do local shows the last four years in the Los Angeles area. Right now the band is in a writing stage, possibly adding another member on guitar synth/keys. Its been hard to get all of us together in the same room lately with everyone so busy! We very much want to put out another release, one with better production, and brand new material. I've been involved with a couple of other projects recently, singing backing vocals for the Prophetess for two shows recently when our two bands played together. Also I performed with the Prophetess' drummer, Tom Coyn, doing a side project called Feast, which resembles the Creatures..just drums and vocals. Very dark, jazzy and tribal. I also did backing vocals on the new Dichroic Mirror CD that just came out..which was fun! I would love to do more recording on other CDs. GND? Anything more to say? Terri: Also if we may mention where and how to get our material... We have three tapes Eyes of a Statue ($6.00) , Eden Lost ($6.00) and Catharsis ($4.00 ) out and 1 CD (Door in the Dragon's Throat for $14.99) tee shirts ($13.99) Freight is $2.50 overseas $1.75 stateside per item. All are mail orderable from my store, Ipso Facto at 517 N. Harbor Bl., Fullerton, CA 92832 or via online catalog at http://home.earthlink.net/~ipsofacto/ E-mail us at: ipsofacto@earthlink.net Look for us on the upcoming Siouxsie tribute comp "Reflections in the Looking Glass" from Cleopatra Records and the Damned tribute on Apollyon "Children of the Damned." We've also appeared on the Anubis comp "Disease of Lady Madeline" and "What Sweet Music They Make vol. 2" from England. Thanks again for the interview..and for your interest and patience! Thanks to all the listeners of our music and I will leave you now with a quote from Charlie Chaplin "Tensions are vital to life. One should never completely relax unless one wants to feel the poetry of slowly dying." Hopefully your readers will find both intruige and enlightenment within Stone 588. Mail Goth´s Not Dead at: gothsnd@aol.com Copyright © 1996, Goth´s Not Dead, Last Updated - Friday, 27. September 1996 19:22:37 Back to the homepage