S] How are you doing?
I am well, thank you, and really looking forward to doing a few shows in the UK with 3TEETH over the next week. It’s been a busy couple of days having the band fly in and bashing the set into shape.
S] How do you feel about touring now?
Touring gets me out of the house, which is no bad thing … I actually enjoy it now so much more than I used to. Between about ’94 and ’06 were the ‘misery years’. I was touring a lot with <PIG>, Schaft, Schwein and KMFDM and I don’t know if touring made me brutally unhappy or I was just brutally unhappy anyway.
Since <PIG> was given the kiss of life in 2016, I’ve been writing and touring a lot. The touring part of it is so much more enjoyable because I work with good people that I like. It sounds simple, but it’s hard to change when you’ve been stuck in a toxic status quo. Now the touring is grounded and modest, and there is more connection with the audience. In the US we travel in a van and stay in hotels which means it has gone from ‘tour bubble’ to ‘road trip’.
Because the touring is slimmed down in terms of personnel I am hands on involved in every part of the process, which makes it a lot more punk rock and DIY, which is more fun, and keeps me busy so I don’t get bored and become self-destructive.
S] How do you define success?
It’s an interesting question! ‘Success’ is not really how I measure things … I’m more interested in the process of ‘doing things’ and the end is result is the just that. Other people can decide if they’re successful or not.
But I’d define it as waking up and being able to work on things you enjoy with people you like. Not being slavishly chained to toxic substances or people does help bring a certain clarity to things …
S] What are the biggest challenges you face now?
My immediate challenge is trying to get some semblance of sanity and training into our new puppy, getting the new <PIG> album done and the challenge of getting all the ideas bashed into shape.
S] What motivates you outside of music – think specific people and places?
Reanimating <PIG> also coincided with me getting sober which has has obviously changed a lot of the landscape in my life. It’s kind of gone from night to day … I connect a lot more with my friends, old and new, and I actually really enjoy being in London and what it has to offer: theatre, galleries, restaurants, gigs, etc. I love travelling to see my friends in Europe and I spend a lot of time in the Lot valley in France with a fantastic artist and very dear friend Simon Wildsmith.
S] How has the <PIG> mission statement changed and developed over time?
I suppose the <PIG> mission statement has changed from: ‘The art of death, drugs and depression’ to: ‘Playing the unplayable chord and singing the unspeakable truth’.
