This interview with Scott of Scholomance features questions by U.
Amtey
1. First of all, I don't know that much about the history of Scholomance
beyond what I have read in official press releases/bio material, etc. - could
you tell me a little more about the musical history of the individual members
leading up to the formation of Scholomance? How did you guys meet? Were you in
other bands before this one? Have any/either of you had classical training in
certain instruments? Scott, was it difficult to find other musicians who were
willing or able to work with you? Have there been any line-up changes or
additions since the release of your album?
Well,
aside from the bio information, Jimmy and I were both in bands around here
quite a few years ago, around 1991-93. We were actually in two separate bands,
trying to rival each other basically. There was a time when we didn't like each
other very much. Jimmy's ex-wife used to play drums for my old band. Then
somehow she, Jimmy and I ended up in a band called Communion. It was a cool
death metal band somewhat like Disincarnate. The bass player from Communion
made it in Scholomance for a time until he quit Scholomance. Now we have Jerry
playing bass and he was in a technical/speed metal band called Injection
Temple. I've had no training whatsoever. Jimmy has had training so far as to
his own research into classical theory. I've always found it difficult to find
other musicians to work with, because I've been known as being rather difficult
and demanding. While I play music for fun first, I also do it with the goal of
making my endeavors heard by others. There haven't been any line-up changes
since recording, other than Jerry has found a more permanent spot in the band.
2.
Scott, I know from reading messages on the usenet newsgroups and from talking
to you that you are an avid collector or explorer of many kinds of musical
genres - do you try to maintain a wide range of listening influences? Is it
important for musicians to listen to a lot of different styles of music, especially
in the genre or scene that they consider themselves to belong to? If so, why?
It's not
about trying to maintain a wide range. That's just how I have always been. There
is music out there for every mood and emotion and I like to have variety. I hear
a lot of bands who think they are the most original thing out there, but they
often only think that because they haven't exposed themselves to the multitude
of other bands. It usually is not a good thing to remain ignorant of the world
around you. There are exceptions to every rule and some bands that are isolated
from the world can be quite original since they lack outside influence. I just
don't come across it often.
3. Can
you tell me a little about the classical or symphonic element that is so prevalent
in Scholomance's style? Do you have any direct influences in the classical
realm that shaped your aesthetics? How did you discover these composers? What
is it in their music that is so appealing or fascinating to you? Do you find
it's difficult for people to understand the structures or references that you
incorporate in your music from classical influences - is it something that you
are constantly having to explain? Why do you think so many metal fans react
negatively to classical music?
We use a lot
of classical elements, particularly in counterpoint. Everyone is almost always
playing something different and playing off a theme. We all try to bring in
something of our own and somehow this massive amount of ideas flows together. From
my end, I don't approach it in a classical sense. I just feel out some of the
open spaces and melodies and build on them. Jimmy does things in a more
calculating way. I think Jerry is somewhere between the two of us. We like
Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Ravel, Liszt, Glen Gould and others. With the Russian
composers, I find the bleakness and overwhelming power most appealing, along
with the extreme technical skill. I think among all composers, the Russians are
the most expressive in representing their country and state of mind. We just
discovered most of them by chance over the years, through listening to various
pieces. I don't really have to explain our music in much detail very often. Its
rare that we get a technical or theoretical question about composition. Most
metalheads I know like some form of classical but they haven't sought out the
good stuff. They take the common stuff like Vivaldi and Bach and ignore the
more obscure pieces, which are always the best! There is even a sort of
underground in the classical genre. The masses didn't want to listen to dark,
brooding, and indulgent pieces that we've come to adore.
4. I am
also very interested in the jazz element that is obvious in your music...have
there been examples before of metal bands that have successfully incorporated
jazz structures or influences into extreme metal, besides Cynic? What I'm
asking is: are there precedents for the style that Scholomance espouses? Can
you explain how a metal band goes about using jazz influences in their music? Do
you find that these types of elements are often too challenging for your
listeners? Is there a difference between the structures of the songs on record
and the way you play them live? Which jazz composers/musicians do you find
inspiring, and why?
Oh, there
are definitely a number of bands that incorporate jazz into metal with huge
success. Examples are: Candiria, Meshuggah, Athiest, The Dillinger Escape Plan,
Opeth, Theory In Practice, Red Tide, Gordion Knot, Spiral Architect and
probably a number of others I'm forgetting. A couple of those bands may not
consciously try to incorporate jazz elements so these jazz tendencies may be
somewhat of a natural evolution of musical skill. That is basically how we came
to have some jazzy sounds in our music, by natural experimentation and just
evolving as players. To explain how to use jazz in metal in a more technical
way, I would say it has a lot to do with challenging time signatures and
unorthodox rhythms as well as not using the typical scales and modes to which
most people are accustomed. This is something I have always done unconsciously
because I never learned regular music theory by the book. If we have parts that
are too challenging for a listener (and assuming the listener is intent on
closing his/her mind and not attempting some understanding of our music), then
we probably aren't the band that person should listen to, period! I think
people should be challenged. What is the point in not challenging boundaries? We
do play the songs on our cd more technically now; more flourishes and quick
solos here and there. I really couldn't name any jazz composers because I don't
listen to the genre. I find modern jazz much too light if some distorted
guitars aren't in there! Maybe you could consider the classical composer Ravel
as being a jazz pioneer. I enjoy some of the big band jazz stuff from years
back though. That stuff has a real class and charm to it.
5.
Scholomance's music is incredibly strong when it comes to the layering of
different melodic and/or rhythmic elements - is this something that just seems
to come about naturally when you are first composing all the different sections
of the songs, or is it something that you add later - building layer upon layer
of sounds? Do you have a certain composing ethic that you follow in how 'difficult'
Scholomance's music must be? Would you feel uncomfortable writing 'simple'
music that is relatively free of contrasting elements - i.e., music that
follows only one path or idea in the simplest manner possible? Is repetition
anathema to Scholomance? Do write music for other projects outside of
Scholomance?
When I am
writing a song, the layers generally come about one after another as quickly as
I'm able to put the ideas down. Once I get a main riff idea, the layers and
counterpoint riffs just come instantly. I can't properly explain it... it's
like I hear the entire idea as a whole, but yet it can still take off into
unknown directions. I never set out to make the music difficult. Its simply
that difficult music is pleasing to my mind and ears and therefore it's
natural. The general assumption is that everything is worked out so carefully,
but to me it is second nature. I wouldn't write simplistic music but maybe more
basic riffs. I would get bored playing songs with just one or two riffs, unless
maybe it was some winding, ethnic, improvisational jam on one theme. In our
music we do repeat riffs in some songs while other songs have little
repetition.
Scholomance staring you
down...
6. How
much is Scholomance's music a reflection of your own convictions concerning the
composing of music - do you find that the ideas you have as to the 'ideal'
structures of composition radically influence the way that you express yourself
through your music? How have your ideas concerning composition changed since
the release of your album? Will this change (or growth) be reflected in the
manner of the songs on your next release? Are there new elements or sounds that
you want to add to Scholomance's style - other instruments, for example, or
different structures? What direction do you see Scholomance going in from here?
Can you give us some information about your new music or your next album?
The first
part of this is hard to answer, because as I've said, music is natural to me
and I don't put too much thought into analyzing the music. I have my ways and
methods but I will often change the way I write to get different feelings. My
ways might be ideal for me but not for others. Jimmy and I write in completely
different ways. You will hear a change in the music next time. You'll hear a
more confident band. You'll hear even more complex riffing, yet the whole of
the songs are much heavier than most people will anticipate. On my side, the
next album is more about rhythm and getting to a more primal and brutal sound. The
working title of the album is 'The Immortality Murder.' It is another lyrical
concept. The ideas won't flow directly like on the first album. You might say
its a mystery that people will have to put together. Depending on the person,
there will be various solutions. So far, the people who have read the new
lyrics have found them quite disturbing. I'm going to redesign our website and
it will help tell the story of the cd in a more visual way with additional
pictures and perhaps extra lyrics. Anyway, I really don't want to give away too
many details about it yet! It will be worth the wait.
7. What
is the reaction to the band like when you play live? Do you rehearse often in
order to attempt to faithfully reconstruct the atmosphere of your album live,
or do you approach playing live in a completely different frame of mind? Is it
difficult for you to get shows where you live? What is the support for
Scholomance like locally? Is there a chance that you will tour the United
States soon - or anywhere else, for that matter? If you did tour, what bands
would you like to play with - are there any that would compliment your playing
style or add to the atmosphere that you strive to create?
We get
pretty good reactions from people. We get a lot of musicians studying us and
also a lot of younger kids who are enthralled with our skill. We also get the
occasional person who thinks we are over indulgent or are show offs, but hey,
we are indulgent and we do show off sometimes. Its our right and we will
exercise that right! We rehearse about 2 times a week to stay tight and keep up
the endurance needed to speed through our set. My live frame of mind is perhaps
not very good. I've never enjoyed playing live because I hate the social aspect
of it. When we play, I do the show and immediately pack up my stuff and go
home. I don't stick around for the other bands because I simply don't like
crowds of people in bars. We can get shows when we want but the metal scene
here is minuscule and no longer supportive of the individuals involved. If The
End puts us on a really good tour we would probably do the states, but I'd
certainly prefer to go overseas and see places I haven't seen. I'd love to tour
with bands like Meshuggah, Fates Warning, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Obliveon,
SUP, Opeth, Ulver... there would have to be musical respect there because we're
not a party kind of band.
8. Can
you tell me which authors/writers you enjoy reading the most, and why? Are they
in any concrete way an influence on the way that you write lyrics? Do you feel
that the style that you write lyrics in is a corollary of the way that you
write music? Are they meant to compliment each other? If so, how? Are there any
themes in your lyrics that you feel are central to Scholomance besides the
obvious background to your first album? Do you feel that the effort of
composing, playing, and recording 'A Treatise On Love' was an effective attempt
at catharsis?
Unfortunately,
I don't have enough time to read as much as I'd like. I'm always studying for
school. I'm only able to read poetry lately due to it having shorter pieces. I
like Rimbaud, Dickinson, Ovid, various mythologies, and I tend to read a lot of
science, things about astronomy, the animal kingdom... I prefer fact over
fiction. I think Rimbaud had an influence on the first album, just as much as
Scriabin's writings did. With the next album, the lyrics are more central to my
own mind because I haven't been influenced by other writing during the course
of penning these lyrics. The music and lyrics are definitely meant to
compliment each other. We're very careful about which lyrics go to each song. The
mood of each one must go together. I don't know that we have any main themes to
our music, other than the emotional experience of life itself. You won't see us
writing about politics or serial killers and things like that. The lyrics on
the first cd were very cathartic. Most of mine were written directly after and
during some fucked up times. We think the emotion of that was captured very
accurately. The music then was more calculated on my part, whereas the lyrics
were pure bleeding emotion. This time the lyrics are more thought out and the
music is more emotional.
9. Do
you think that the music for Scholomance is an 'ideal' creation in that it is
solipsistic (referring only to your own emotions) or is it a reflection, in
some way, of the world around you - the landscape of politics, ethics, events
that transpire, etc? Or is it both? What I'm getting at is: do you seek
inspiration for your music mainly from within, from your own thoughts and
emotions, or does it also come from your experiences? And does the music serve
mainly a personal impetus in that it allows you to express things that you
couldn't release or understand any other way? Is it important for a musician or
artist to seek out a wide range of experiences to further his own
self-enlightenment and thus his art? Do you think there are musicians who
strive to keep their art 'pure' by refusing to acknowledge the outside world?
Our music
relates to our emotions and the world around us. While we don't focus on
specific events in society, we do get inspired to take pen in hand by society
in general. Its more of a general dissatisfaction with how people interact. When
we write about our own experiences we twist things around and fill the music
with metaphors and symbolism. Music is the primary way that I express myself,
but my artwork runs a close second. It depends on my mood. If I'm angry I tend
to want to paint or write lyrics. If I'm happier, I'm more inclined to write
music. I have not been one to shy from experiences and because of that, I have
learned a great deal about life. I know I'm more wise than many people twice my
age. People who shelter their lives don't hold much interest for me,
conversationally or otherwise. I think I basically answered the last part of
this question in number 2.
10. And
now the last question: Scott, I know that you have a great deal of enthusiasm
for supporting underground music - how does the underground scene really differ
from the more mainstream levels of the music industry? Is the underground
really just a step on the way to bigger and better things for a lot of bands,
or does the underground truly have a different set of priorities or ethics than
the mainstream? Have you found that there is a higher level of integrity in the
underground, and that the musicians are eager to help each other out or to
support music other than their own? How has the underground scene changed over
the years that you have been involved with it? Please add anything else here
that you want our readers to see.
Lately I
am pretty irritated with the underground. While I praise the internet in
general, it has made it far too easy for the average moron to take advantage of
a scene built on years and years of struggle and hard work. You have people who
will buy up many copies of rare cds just to sell them for inflated prices on
ebay. I think cdr copying/bootlegging
should be stopped as it really takes away some of the small profits bands can
make. There are too many web zines out there with no insightful content... just
hundreds of short, badly written reviews, too many labels releasing low quality
products, and too many big labels releasing too many cds to keep track of.
Things like that are getting out of hand. The underground as it was, flyers,
diy paper zines, demos... its so small now. I miss things like that. It seemed
a lot more fun 10 years ago. You used to have to work a lot harder and
obviously the harder you work, the more something means to you and also to
those who follow your work. The internet has almost allowed underground music
and mainstream music to completely merge. Amazon sells Dark Throne cds right
alongside Britney Spears. I think what made the underground great in the first
place was that bands were willing to help each other out, to mail flyers, to
put their friends in their thanks lists and just respect and help anyone. Now,
that seems to be gone. Very few people are willing or even know how to help.
Its unnecessarily selfish and it takes a lot of the fun out of this kind of
music when its just about success and notoriety. Individual integrity is
quickly going the way of the dinosaurs. That's my rant I guess! I'd really like
to encourage people to get our cd and be looking for the next one. If you're in
a band and wanna trade cds, just send me an e-mail! People can buy the cd from
us for $10US/$12 overseas.