Ghouls and fiends, it’s time to once again to scream as shock rocker, WEDNESDAY 13 gears up to unleash The Dixie Dead unto the world. Hailing from North Carolina, Wednesday 13 has had quite an extraordinary career that now spans twenty years. Inspired by shock rockers such as Alice Cooper and Kiss and with a love for horror, it was only a matter of time before a young adolescent Joseph Poole would transform into the charismatic ghoul-man we see before us today. By the late nineties things really started happening for Poole who had by this time formed horror themed punk rockers, Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13. With a name like that you knew you were in for some seriously tongue in cheek tunes!
In 2002 Poole went on to join Murderdolls working along-side Slipknot’s Joey Jordison. The dynamic duo has gone on to release three incredible albums and countless headline tours around the world. Whilst Murderdolls were on hiatus, Wednesday 13 was born and in 2005 we saw the release of Transylvania 90210. With legions of adoring fans already due to the brilliant work Poole had done in the past, he was now winning over even more fans around the world with the first Wednesday 13 release, with singles ‘Bad Things’ and ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ cementing a path for continued success under the Wednesday 13 banner.
Fast forward to 2013 and Wednesday 13 is ready to release the fifth and most diverse studio album yet. The Dixie Dead, which is due to be released on February 22 is an album that will appeal to fans of all Poole’s past work, from Wednesday 13 to Murderdolls and Frankenstein Drag Queens. Just like albums past, song-titles and lyrics are horror, the music fast punk-infused rock, heavy and overall highly enjoyable!
CAMERON EDNEY had the pleasure of catching up with the ghoulish Wednesday 13 to talk about the brand new album, some of the bigger differences recording The Dixie Dead compared to previous album, and touring Australia. This is what he had to say…
Wednesday, it’s great to be speaking with you mate, I am a massive fan of your work. Before we even talk about the great new album, congratulations on twenty years of making ghoulish horror themed music. In this day and age, most artists are lucky to last one album and touring cycle so it’s certainly an achievement to have lasted so long. Why do you think you’ve been able to last in an industry that spits so many out of the revolving door?
I’ve been making music for a long time; I was fifteen when I started playing music in venues. For me, once I had my foot in the door, I had a taste for doing this; I am working for myself, I’m not going to a job everyday and punching in for the man so to speak. It was my goal as a kid to make it one day doing what I wanted to do and I’ve definitely made it to where I want to be, and I want to keep getting better and better. In ten years when people look back and think of the Horror Music genre, I hope my name comes as easily as Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie.
The new album is called The Dixie Dead and it’s due to be released on February 22, and it’s fantastic! As an artist, in those days leading up to releasing something new, I’m sure you go through all the different scenarios in your head… will they love it, hate it, buy it, download it illegally. How do you deal with the anxieties and excitement surrounding the lead up to releasing new material. Is it something that takes up a lot of your time?
I’m my biggest critic. When you’re a person like me who constantly thinks like that, I’m always thinking about what people will think of the record. As soon as it comes out I will be online all day reading what people say because I care and I want to hear it. To me having a review in a big magazine that praises you, that’s awesome, but to have a random guy tell you that you suck, you read that and go, “Well who the fuck are you?” It doesn’t really matter. You want to hear from your fans, the fans that have all of your records and regard this as the best one, those are the reviews that count. I can’t wait til it’s out, most times when a band releases a recording it’s been around for a few months. I’ve been listening to this album over and over since August, I can’t wait for people to hear it. The record is nothing like the last, I don’t think. I think it’s a good combination of everything I’ve done from Wednesday to Murderdolls and Drag Queens. It’s across the board.
On all past Wednesday 13 album, you have done most if not all the work in the studio yourself. This time around you handled the vocals and keyboards only, giving the guys a little more freedom. Why did you decide on this different approach for album five?
It’s a big thing that you can really tell with this album, it’s organic, you can hear everyone playing, not just one guy playing all the instruments. I didn’t really see any point. I demoed the songs and I write them prior to going to into the studio. I would write a riff and give it to Roman [Surman] or Jack [Tankersley] and they would add their thing to it. For the past two years I’ve just been the frontman, [and] I still love playing guitars, I still love playing music but I don’t have any need to play guitars. Roman’s definitely way more talented a guitarist than I am.
With every studio experience an artist will walk away having learnt something new or adapting something to their style musically or outlook on the process. What did you take away from The Dixie Dead sessions?
For me it was the recording process. I didn’t record in a big recording studio. The album was done in a studio in a back room at my house. I think the one lesson I got out of this was that you don’t have to go to a big studio and you don’t have to spend four years working on a record. I know what I do now and this record was a natural progression for me. I’m so happy about it, it feels right!
Having sat on the album since August and playing it over and over, looking back on the writing and recording process is there anything you would have changed or would have done differently?
There’s always something with every record that I would have changed. I wish we would have had an extra few months because I would have wrote ten more songs, and maybe one of those songs would have been a B-side. There are just little things like that with every record no matter how long I spend on it. I can still listen to it now, many times, and be super excited to play the songs. It’s also the first record that I’ve recorded where immediately after I wanted to keep writing more music. This record has inspired me and inspired the next one.
Wednesday, as we know with every new album, there is a new touring cycle. Can we expect to see you back in Australia this year for some shows?
Yes, we’re just trying to figure out the time right now. I am hoping that we will be there for Halloween. We will definitely be there but we’re just trying to determine when.
You were actually here last year for Halloween doing shows and you’re no stranger to our shores. The Aussie fans certainly love you!
Australia’s been so great for me. I’ve been lucky enough to play there four times in the past three years. I’ve been on Soundwave twice, once with Murderdolls, once as Wednesday 13; I’ve done two solo tours and now coming back in 2013. The reaction in Australia has been overwhelming to me. It’s seems that every time I come back, more and more kids are into it, it seems to be growing and that’s not a bad problem to have!
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing you live and you’re a phenomenal performer and vocalist. These days before shows are you doing anything to warm up and prepare or do you hit the stage running on adrenaline?
Adrenaline is definitely a big part of it. Because I do this month after month and it’s my job, there are things I do now before I go onstage. It used to be all party, party, party before you’d go onstage and when you get off, but those days are not really around anymore. Instead of drinking half a bottle of whiskey before a show [laughs], now I’m definitely doing different things to warm up and prepare. I think over the years the one thing that’s different is that we really give a fuck about what we do, not that we didn’t give a fuck before, but there was so much that we were trying to do.
Mate, you’ve shared the stage with many great artists over the years. Has any of your peers given you great touring advice?
I’ve toured with so many cool people. As far as advice, the wise godfather Alice Cooper has told me and taught me a million different things. I’ve met so many different people like Randy [Blythe] from Lamb of God and Jamey [Jasta] from Hatebreed, so many cool dudes that inspire me and I look up to. I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of my Rock n’ Roll heroes and get advice from them. I can’t think of anything right off the top of my head except for Alice inspiring me! He’s 65 years old and still runs circles around me, so if I can do that when I’m 65 years old, that’s all I need!
Just before we wrap it up, with two decades in the industry now under your belt, you’re constantly learning, whether it’s in the studio, on the road or the all important business side. To date what do you feel have been the most important lesson you’ve learnt?
For me, I think learning to laugh at yourself and not take yourself too seriously. If you put yourself up on a pedestal, think that you’re untouchable, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. I’ve always got a sense of humour, I keep a level head, keep a realistic outlook on my career and what I do. I like to think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten wiser. I’ve maintained this for over a decade now professionally. I’m still learning but if I knew back then what I know now, things would be so different!
[Laughs] I’m sure they would be mate. Wednesday, unfortunately we’re out of time, but I wish you all the very best with the new album and can’t wait to see you back in Australia. Do you have any last words for our readers?
Thank you so much, I couldn’t do it without my fans. They are the reason I do what I do. I hope to see all of you guys in Wednesday 2013.
The Dixie Dead will be out on February 22, 2013, through 3Wise Records.
© Cameron Edney Feb 2013. Not to be used in any form without written permission.
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