An interview with:
Glenn Danzig: Vocals
Eerie Von: Bass
London May: Drums
Damien: Guitar
XXX: On the new record, it seems as if the band is better defining their sound and ideas.
Glenn: Well, the band has been together longer and we now have a better idea of what we want to be doing. We've been together long enough to know what we want to do and what we don't want to do. The music is becoming more and more definable as the "Samhain sound". We don't want to sound like other bands. A lot of people don't know where we're coming from, especially when "Unholy Passion" came out and took a lot of people by surprise. We don't want to sound like other bands that tend to sound alike. They can all fight for their various positions. We are Samhain.
XXX: What is Samhain trying to do?
Eerie: We're just progressing naturally.
Glenn: Definitely. Of course there has to be a certain amount of violence and aggression.
Eerie: Energy.
Glenn: And power. We're also touching upon a lot of other stuff that other people don't write about. A lot of people will write us off as a horror band or a continuation of the Misfits but if they actually sit down and read the lyrics, they'll realize they're selling us short. Our ideas are pretty well thought out.
XXX: What are some of your songs about?
Glenn: Which ones?
XXX: "Pony Girl"
Glenn: Fucking.
Eerie: You can tell from the song and the music.
Glenn: It's an homage to early Iggy and early Velvet Underground.
Eerie: And he's had a lot of inspiration.
XXX: "November Coming Fire"
Glenn: Basically, that's giving a little more dimension to the Samhain concept. I want people to read the words I write and to think beyond what they know and understand. They should push their limits which is something a lot of people aren't doing too much.
XXX: I'd agree. Samhain are doing a lot more than being a horror band to the point of speaking Latin on "Halloween II"
Glenn: That comes from the Misfits but I'm definitely pushing a very intelligent thing.
Eerie: There's a lot of thought that goes on with the records.
Glenn: Right now, there's nobody that I really like writing lyrics. I go through and read a lot of lyrics and aside from some of the stuff that Nick Cave was doing when he was really burning out on drugs, there's nothing that really knocks me out.
Eerie: When the lyrics came out on a sheet, I sat down and read them. I called Glenn up and told him they were great. I don't know if people deserve them.
Glenn: I agree, but I hear a lot of people talking about lyrics and writing, and poetry...
XXX: I think there's a lot of thought going down in them.
Glenn: In Samhain, I'm a lot more serious where in the Misfits I thought about what I was writing but it's just a lot more serious now.
Eerie: It's a lot more realistic.
Damien: A lot of the situations have more to do with real life.
Glenn: Definitely. Like in "Let the Day Begin". It's almost explosive.
XXX: Why does this band go under the name Samhain?
Eerie: You mean why aren't we called Sam and the Slammies?
Glenn: It fits with what me and Eerie were going through at the time concerning the death of the Misfits and Rosemary's Babies and the birth of Samhain which all happened on the same Halloween night.
Eerie: We had been talking about doing it and that night it all came together.
Glenn: It was also something that I had been thinking about. I wanted to talk about the violent part of things and how you cannot deny certain aspects of the violent part of life and the world. They're there and you have to deal with them for better or worse.
XXX: So it's not a direct sort of violence but almost a background sense.
Glenn: It comes down to relating the violence in your life and accepting the fact that we live on a planet where we have violent confrontations. You may not have them for a long time, but you've got to be prepared for the fact that you're going to have them.
London: We just ask for it a bit more too instead of just laying back.
Glenn: I don't ask for it, I just think that you should be prepared for it. It's accepting and life and all that it offers both good and bad. We don't live on an idyllic little planet. The world is the world and you can't change that.
Eerie: You should accept everything that is thrown at you including the pain, the discomforts and the bad times. Those are the things that make life meaningful.
Glenn: If you didn't have bad times, you wouldn't know what the good times are. It's all relative.
XXX: That's a very Dante-esque outlook.
Eerie: If you will.
Glenn: If you will, Maestro!
Eerie: It's a matter of coming out on top and being a better and stronger individual for it.
Glenn: Everything that happens to you is meant to happen to you and you will learn from it. All experiences are worthwhile.
XXX: So the band is striving for a post punk sound.
Eerie: Put it this way, we're not punks.
Glenn: Essentially, we want something that's powerful. What I 'd like to stress is that our studio records are just that and in no way resemble the live thing. That's a lot more powerful. What I've noticed recently and what other people seem to mirror is that there aren't too many really great bands any more. There's nothing new going on. What I'm waiting to see is a lot of younger kids coming up with something fresh. There's just too many older people doing the same old thing. No one is really pressing their limits or showing any energy. Too many younger kids are just imitating Minor Threat.
XXX: Why do you think that happened?
Glenn: They got the scene handed to them on a platter. They didn't have to work very hard or put up with all the shit that we did. Most never got a chance to hone their thing down. Fuck, Mystic Records will sign anybody with a tape. It's just a bit too insincere.
XXX: What's up in the future for Samhain?
Glenn: A video. No playing along by an actual studio video of about six songs.
Eerie: Like Huey Lewis and the News.
Glenn: It will be on 16 mm transferred to video.
XXX: What kind of thing would you do given a movie.
Glenn: Well, I'm going to be doing a movie soon. Directing and producing.
XXX: Such as?
Glenn: I couldn't tell you since I wouldn't want them getting ripped off. Right now, there's a real dry spell or gore movies. It's funny, it seems like culture is dying. We're trying to kick out and keep it alive.
Glenn Danzig: Vocals
Eerie Von: Bass
London May: Drums
Damien: Guitar
XXX: On the new record, it seems as if the band is better defining their sound and ideas.
Glenn: Well, the band has been together longer and we now have a better idea of what we want to be doing. We've been together long enough to know what we want to do and what we don't want to do. The music is becoming more and more definable as the "Samhain sound". We don't want to sound like other bands. A lot of people don't know where we're coming from, especially when "Unholy Passion" came out and took a lot of people by surprise. We don't want to sound like other bands that tend to sound alike. They can all fight for their various positions. We are Samhain.
XXX: What is Samhain trying to do?
Eerie: We're just progressing naturally.
Glenn: Definitely. Of course there has to be a certain amount of violence and aggression.
Eerie: Energy.
Glenn: And power. We're also touching upon a lot of other stuff that other people don't write about. A lot of people will write us off as a horror band or a continuation of the Misfits but if they actually sit down and read the lyrics, they'll realize they're selling us short. Our ideas are pretty well thought out.
XXX: What are some of your songs about?
Glenn: Which ones?
XXX: "Pony Girl"
Glenn: Fucking.
Eerie: You can tell from the song and the music.
Glenn: It's an homage to early Iggy and early Velvet Underground.
Eerie: And he's had a lot of inspiration.
XXX: "November Coming Fire"
Glenn: Basically, that's giving a little more dimension to the Samhain concept. I want people to read the words I write and to think beyond what they know and understand. They should push their limits which is something a lot of people aren't doing too much.
XXX: I'd agree. Samhain are doing a lot more than being a horror band to the point of speaking Latin on "Halloween II"
Glenn: That comes from the Misfits but I'm definitely pushing a very intelligent thing.
Eerie: There's a lot of thought that goes on with the records.
Glenn: Right now, there's nobody that I really like writing lyrics. I go through and read a lot of lyrics and aside from some of the stuff that Nick Cave was doing when he was really burning out on drugs, there's nothing that really knocks me out.
Eerie: When the lyrics came out on a sheet, I sat down and read them. I called Glenn up and told him they were great. I don't know if people deserve them.
Glenn: I agree, but I hear a lot of people talking about lyrics and writing, and poetry...
XXX: I think there's a lot of thought going down in them.
Glenn: In Samhain, I'm a lot more serious where in the Misfits I thought about what I was writing but it's just a lot more serious now.
Eerie: It's a lot more realistic.
Damien: A lot of the situations have more to do with real life.
Glenn: Definitely. Like in "Let the Day Begin". It's almost explosive.
XXX: Why does this band go under the name Samhain?
Eerie: You mean why aren't we called Sam and the Slammies?
Glenn: It fits with what me and Eerie were going through at the time concerning the death of the Misfits and Rosemary's Babies and the birth of Samhain which all happened on the same Halloween night.
Eerie: We had been talking about doing it and that night it all came together.
Glenn: It was also something that I had been thinking about. I wanted to talk about the violent part of things and how you cannot deny certain aspects of the violent part of life and the world. They're there and you have to deal with them for better or worse.
XXX: So it's not a direct sort of violence but almost a background sense.
Glenn: It comes down to relating the violence in your life and accepting the fact that we live on a planet where we have violent confrontations. You may not have them for a long time, but you've got to be prepared for the fact that you're going to have them.
London: We just ask for it a bit more too instead of just laying back.
Glenn: I don't ask for it, I just think that you should be prepared for it. It's accepting and life and all that it offers both good and bad. We don't live on an idyllic little planet. The world is the world and you can't change that.
Eerie: You should accept everything that is thrown at you including the pain, the discomforts and the bad times. Those are the things that make life meaningful.
Glenn: If you didn't have bad times, you wouldn't know what the good times are. It's all relative.
XXX: That's a very Dante-esque outlook.
Eerie: If you will.
Glenn: If you will, Maestro!
Eerie: It's a matter of coming out on top and being a better and stronger individual for it.
Glenn: Everything that happens to you is meant to happen to you and you will learn from it. All experiences are worthwhile.
XXX: So the band is striving for a post punk sound.
Eerie: Put it this way, we're not punks.
Glenn: Essentially, we want something that's powerful. What I 'd like to stress is that our studio records are just that and in no way resemble the live thing. That's a lot more powerful. What I've noticed recently and what other people seem to mirror is that there aren't too many really great bands any more. There's nothing new going on. What I'm waiting to see is a lot of younger kids coming up with something fresh. There's just too many older people doing the same old thing. No one is really pressing their limits or showing any energy. Too many younger kids are just imitating Minor Threat.
XXX: Why do you think that happened?
Glenn: They got the scene handed to them on a platter. They didn't have to work very hard or put up with all the shit that we did. Most never got a chance to hone their thing down. Fuck, Mystic Records will sign anybody with a tape. It's just a bit too insincere.
XXX: What's up in the future for Samhain?
Glenn: A video. No playing along by an actual studio video of about six songs.
Eerie: Like Huey Lewis and the News.
Glenn: It will be on 16 mm transferred to video.
XXX: What kind of thing would you do given a movie.
Glenn: Well, I'm going to be doing a movie soon. Directing and producing.
XXX: Such as?
Glenn: I couldn't tell you since I wouldn't want them getting ripped off. Right now, there's a real dry spell or gore movies. It's funny, it seems like culture is dying. We're trying to kick out and keep it alive.
