Grave Concerns Interview with Stone 588's Terri Kennedy
October 15, 1999
Grave Concerns is at: http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/graveconcerns/
By Julie
STONE 588 is: Terri Kennedy-vocals/keyboards; Eileen Bowe-bass, programming/engineering; Dave Rhine-guitar.
1) Julie-The name Stone 588 came from the Legend of Druids Altar in Country Cork, Southern Ireland. Why did this legend draw interest to you? Why did you think it would be a good band name?
Terri-There are many versions of how the band acquired the name. I have a great interest in Irish lore, dark folk tales and stories of the supernatural, being Irish myself.
Another source for the name was a song I wrote based on the novel of the same name..culled from a grisly chapter which details a scene where a powerful figure is ambushed from behind and pushed out the window of his high rise office building.
2) Julie-The band formed in 1992, how did you first start out? What were your intentions and have you lived up to them? Could can you describe how the years in the band have been?
Terri-The band has changed a great deal since the beginning. We never ever thought we would release a recording much less get airplay in places as far away as Israel, Italy, Russia, etc, or perform on cable tv as well as live with such notable bands as Shadow Project, Dave Vanian and Human Drama.
We've certainly exceeded any expectations we had ..which honestly were quite miniscule, other than to make music and enjoy ourselves.
Creative people have to have an outlet..its just a necessity. 3) Julie-It has been a few years since we last heard a studio album. How is your fan base holding up? Do you think people have forgotten about you and thrown you aside?
Terri-Due to personnel changes, the band has not been performing as actively as we were in the early days, but we are getting back on track with our second recording very close to being finished, except of course for the very essential funding to press the actual copies.
Being self -financed means you have to depend on distributors paying in a reasonable time, which never seems to happen, hence the lengthy time between releases.
We have been actively releasing self-recorded new material (and a few covers) on over 21 compilations in the last couple of years, so listeners will have to content themselves with these until the new release is out.
I expect this has actually hightened the public's awareness of us as more of these compilations reach listeners, DJs, etc than our own cd.
4) Julie-Can we expect new material soon? What can be expect it to sound like? How will it be different? Describe the sound before and the sound now that people will now be hearing? What do you think your fans will think of the new stuff?
Terri-Yes we do have a number of new songs and with keyboards figuring more prominently, listeners will notice a change in our sound. I would say the songs are mid-tempo and slow, rather than in the death rock/punk stylings of the earlier material. I have no idea what the response will be to the new cd, but the songs we have pre-released on compilations have garnered us a great response. So we hope this is a good sign!
5) Julie-What will the new songs be exploring?
Terri-I have been studying the Green Man and the meaning behind his appearance in various cultures at different times.
I hope to create the album art and theme in this direction, as I have been more actively studying and participating in pagan/wiccan spirituality recently.
My writing has always reflected this interest, along with supernatural stories and other dark subject matter. Expect more of the same!
6) Julie- What song are you most proud of on the last record and why?
Terri-I enjoy "Of the Ambush of God" because the song came to me in the car on the way to the recording session and it is vastly different from the other tracks, though I also have a special fondness for "Stygian Darkness" because of the backwards vocal intro. I've really enjoyed taking up the active role of playing and writing material on the keyboard as well as singing. My fave new piece is "Mundus Vult Decipi " ( Latin for "The world wishes to be deceived" ) which appeared on "The Unquiet Grave" comp on Cleopatra Records.
It emerged from a basic idea I wrote on the keyboard which I think sounds quite different from our previous material.
I like it because it definitely does not follow the standard rock format, I do not sing in any known language, and it sounds dark, dramatic, and operatic at the same time.
7) Julie-Where do you hope to see gothic music in the next Millenium, and how do see your band taking gothic music?
Terri-I don't see the year 2000 as being a lot different from 1999. I think changes are much more gradual.
We definitely have a larger goth scene in the greater Los Angeles area than ever before, so I expect it to grow and become even more spotlit by the media. I can't say if this will bring positive changes or not. I enjoy the fact that there are so many venues to play and hear good and new music, but don't care for the dilution of the original underground feel. 8) Julie-Do you think that your voice is comparable to Siouxsie like so many people say? I noticed that sometimes your voice goes higher on the CD, what kind of training did you have if any? Terri-I do like Siouxsie a lot, but I have to say my influences are more in the varied directions of Yma Sumac, Judy Garland, Lene Lovich, Grace Slick, Lisa Gerard and Liz Fraser.
I have a very high somewhat operatic range, but not all of the notes are pleasant to hear on the upper part.
I would love to develop the alto part of my range more. It is strange that I can sing tenor and soprano, but my alto is really weak.
I was involved in musical theatre and choir while I was in school, which had an influence on my style, but I discarded any knowledge of singing when I joined punk bands.
That is when my style really began to evolve. You can't have that much impact singing over loud guitars and drums with a sweet moderated voice.
But I have to say that Stone 588 does not play particularly loud and we are all conscious of each others space, so it isn't a clash of egos, either.
Quite a refreshing change from my other band experiences. I think more of my training is useful now that I am playing more experimental, moody and melodic music.
9) Julie-Can you describe how you wrote Lightning Balls? ( Lightning RAILS is the actual title ). It seems to set a tone for the album what do you think?
Terri-I grew up living very near railroad tracks. They were my route home and I could hear the trains rumbling by at night.
I still enjoy hearing trains in the city I now live in, in the early quiet hours of the morning. I get an otherworldly kind of feeling I get when I hear them, as if the ghost trains of the past are traversing the rails in the wake of the modern freight cars rumbling past.
Of course the stories of the train hobos fascinate me also when I lived in a less desireable part of town there were two hobo killings right outside my apartment at different times. Rather sobering!
10) Julie-I noticed that your songs are very dark, and lyrics like "My lives failings, grasping, failings", Kill me or take me as I am" are very chilling. Do your lyric reflect things in your life?
Terri-Yes the first was an early lyric, relavent to a disintegrating relationship and feelings of inadequacy we all share at one time or another. The second was from a song about the Marquis De Sade, a quote he made from prison where he was not allowed to live the libertine life he once had, except vicariously through his writing. Not a personal experiece, but biographical in nature.
11) Julie-What does it mean to you to be gothic and in a gothic band?
Terri-Well as I am 36, I can be certain this is no phase that I am going through!
I am committed to being a part of the underground music scene, whatever it may be called at the moment. I own a gothic boutique celebrating a decade of business, which is very gratifying and extremely consuming at the same time.
But it plays a part in my ability to stay in touch with the various directions in the scene and participate actively in its development as well.
I enjoy the literary and artistic aspects of the gothic movement, and these were elements I enjoyed long before there was a scene by this name, so it is a natural thing for me to continue in this direction for my lifetime ( I hope! )
12) Julie-What is Ipso Facto?
Ipso Facto is my retail store which sells gothic and industrial music, apparel, jewelry, footwear and we have a body piercing studio as well. Naturally, we also market Stone 588 tee shirts and cds. Our mail order website www.ipso-facto.com has been active for several years now and if anyone wishes to own our $2 catalog, here is the contact address:
Ipso Facto 517 N. Harbor Blvd. Fullerton, CA 92832.
13) Julie-Anything you would like to add that we did not cover?
You can contact the band via Ipso Facto, or email ipsofacto@earthlink.net and visit us on the web at: http://home.earthlink.net/~ipsofacto/s588.htm
We also have a message board at: http://imusic.com/cgi-bin/bbs/bbs.cgi?x=stone588 We'd love to hear from you!
Original interview resides at Grave Concerns at: http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/graveconcerns/stone588.html
Ipso Facto http://home.earthlink.net/~ipsofacto/ Ipso Facto Catalog Pages "http://members.wbs.net/homepages/s/t/o/stone588.html Stone 588 "http://home.earthlink.net/~ipsofacto/s588.htm Stone 588 Mirror Page http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/7529