IndustrialnatioN Interview by Aaron Johnston, Summer 1996
"Hey, wow, this band is doing something new, something different, something totally original!" This is one of many great plagues that underground music writers suffer from in describing half the music they write about. Unless they've got an educated editor nailing their upper lip to a desk, realistically, it's something most writers only grow beyond after serving several years in the field. From a record buyer's perspective, few things suck worse than shelling-out mass green-backs on the faith of a printedcop-out such as this, only to discover yet another contrived mound of shite. So, when the assignment of covering Oakland, CA, industrial dance troop Scar Tissue arrived in my email inbox, a certain weight of frustration came with the package due to the group's history. For years, finding Scar Tissue tracks via rare compilations had become a vigorous hunt for many of the underground industrial dance fiends I regularly maintained contact with. The band wasn't singled out for their collector's value or any sort of minor "cult" standing -- it was simply due to the fact that no-one seamed to know what to expect next, which rendered cop-out phrases like "ground-breaking" unavoidable. Some cuts hit hard in the European electro vein, while others spun-out like some instrumental ambient track that just couldn't leave the industrial beat behind. All-in-all, each song left a severe hunger for more. Now that 21st. Circuitry Records has found the wisdom to release a full-length Scar Tissue release, the massive "Separator" LP, the electro slum lore of this unique duo fronted by song-writer Steve Watkins and multi-instrumentalist Phillip Caldwell can finally be unfolded with purpose.
IN: What has the average
fan's reaction to Scar Tissue been like?
STEVE: It wasn't until right before we
got signed that I actually met people who had heard of Scar
Tissue outside of those that I had physically given tapes to.
From a record buyer's perspective, the people who pay attention
to Scar Tissue often like everything or nothing at all. It's
always one of these two extremes and nothing else. I wish I could
fix this so that some people who really like five or six tracks
would be willing to buy the CD, but to be honest, I don't know
how the formula works. My explanation for this is that the only
reason Scar Tissue even exists is because I couldn't find anyone
else who was making the music I wanted to hear. So I just said,
'Fuck, I'm going to have to make it myself because I can't find
it in any record store." Scar Tissue is what I listen to in
the car and it's what goes around in my head the most. This isn't
for egocentric reasons, I mean I'll be driving along and hear one
of the songs and just say to myself, "Wow, this is really
great stuff," and almost totally forget that I wrote it to
begin with.
IN: Aside from having a
great demo, what other factors went into getting Scar Tissue
signed?
STEVE: Well, realistically, I think
Peter Stone (Xorcist) had a lot to do with it simply by
pressuring Don (21st Circuitry head Don Blanchard) for all these
years (laughs)! I guess he's really been laying into him about
us! No, honestly, I'm really happy with how things have
turned-out. 1996 has really been our year and Don works his ass
off for us day and night, so I doubt things could have worked out
any better than they have.
IN: Did you pursue a deal
in the more open-minded European markets much?
STEVE: Actually, I think more options
have opened-up in Europe since we've gotten signed as opposed to
before. Stefan at Off Beat showed some interest in us, but I
don't think he liked enough of our material to commit to the
responsibilities of releasing it himself. But, now that 21st
Circuitry has taken that step already, the burden of actually
releasing the CD is gone. Now all he would have to do is license
and sell it. So, who knows? In regards to touring in Germany, I
emailed a DJ who had been playing our stuff off tapes over there,
and asked him for a list of clubs and places that we should play.
He emailed me back and said "Unless you are a well known
band here, no one is going to come see you play." This was
kind of disappointing because I had this image of Europe as being
a more open-minded area where as long as you advertised and
promoted the show, people would come. I think they're probably
worse than we are because they have more bands to choose from. In
America, if you advertise a show where five punk bands are going
to play, it's not something that sticks-out because we have SO
many punk bands here, and I guess they have just as many
industrial bands over there. So, actually, it's probably easier
for an unknown band to get shows here in America.
IN: You were featured on
Simbiose Record's "Gargula Mechanica" compilation a few
years back. I've heard from Gary Dassing of Mentallo & The
Fixer as well as Don Gordon from Numb that the guy who puts
Simbiose's compilations together didn't even bother to inform
them they were going to be put on one. Same story with you?
STEVE: Yes. Well, I wasn't really mad
that he put us on the compilation, I just wish he would have
informed me so that I could have sent him a DAT or something with
better sound quality than the tape I sent in. I didn't find this
out until recently, but I guess he contacted Chase
(Re-Constriction slum lord) for his opinion on whether or not
we'd be interested in being on the compilation. Because we
weren't signed at the time, I think Chase said that we would be
interested. So, rather than taking it up with us, I guess that
was all the reason he needed. Even though I've met people who
enjoyed the song, I don't like to tell people I'm on that CD,
because of the poor sound quality.
IN: Will the pressures of
being on a label have any effect on future releases?
STEVE: Well, my theory on what is
called the "sophomore jinx" is simple. Before you're
signed, you have all these years to write material, perfect it,
remix it, add new parts and grow into a band. So, you've
essentially had five years to put together this demo which is
more like a collective of your best material from the period, so,
of course it's good enough to get you signed. So, now you're in a
situation where you're expected to produce a second CD in a
single year's time. To add to this, you're really not making the
music exclusively for yourself anymore. Now you have the label
and all of the new fans you've acquired who have come to expect
this great stuff from you. This has turned the art of music
making into more of a job for me, but I feel that this is a good
thing because it gives me a perspective I've never really had
before. While Scar Tissue will always be very personal and
uncontrolled, I think these new pressures will only enhance my
work ethic and drive to make things sound even better.
(This portion of the interview was conducted outside a club where Dive was performing during Dirk Iven's recent West Coast tour with Neither/Neither World.)
IN: I hear a lot of
European influences in your music. Seeing how we're about to see
Dive, I must admit to hearing a lot of Dirk Ivens in it as well.
Is this mere coincidence?
STEVE: Dive is a relatively recent find
for me, and while I do really like Dive, I haven't been listening
to them long enough to realistically influence a batch of songs
that were written two years ago. Aside from this, I don't like to
emulate anyone else I hear in general. I guess this philosophy
goes double for all of these other European bands I've never even
heard before (laughs)! I don't really pride myself on being
someone who keeps up with all of these other bands to be honest.
From what I've heard to this point, I think there's a lot of
stuff on the CD that should appeal to fans of the more
"American" sounding stuff as well. The 16 Volt remix at
the end of the CD has a lot of great guitar parts that should go
over well with the guitar fans, but to tell you the truth, things
like this really don't concern me much.
IN: How seriously do you
take the art of electronic music?
STEVE: I actually enjoy making fun of
the music creation process. I would love to go on-stage, have my
guitarist go "chunk, chunka, chunka," sample it on
stage, loop it, and just say, "Hey, there's your song!"
I think it would give people a much better perspective on how
this form of music is generally created.
IN: How has the media
reacted to Scar Tissue to this point?
STEVE: As opposed to the feedback I've
received from normal fans, the total response I've gotten from
reviewers and labels is constantly mixed. It's always, "Oh,
well, I really, really like some of the stuff you do, but this
other stuff is too ________." It's either too ambient, too
harsh, too distorted or too this or that. The CD has styles all
over the place, and while this is good in my book, it's become
sort of a problem. The people who like Dive like a couple songs,
the people who like Slave Unit like these other songs, and, well,
it's just hard to find people who like everything. I can't
explain why or how the tracks become so varied, essentially, I
just have these songs that come out of my head that I feel are
really great songs and because it's such a natural thing, I have
no control over the sound of style they take. I don't even like
to consciously take sides, I mean, if I hear a great metal
sounding guitar riff that fits perfectly with this drum track,
I'll use it.
(A Random Voice: Hey, Dive is about to go
on!)
STEVE: We can't afford to miss this.
IN: No shit, click.