Killers
By Trade
Clint personifies Killers
By Trade and Killers By Trade reflect his mood and way of thinking at the
specific period of songwriting. So, once again we are proven that music
is not just notes and show off, but the deepest and most important thing
is that it's all about feelings, thoughts and ideas. That's what Clint,
unintentionally revealed to us here and I'd like to thank him for the clever
and thought-provoking answers he has offered us! I'm glad I had the chance
to meet such a clever guy and exchange thoughts! The only thing I have
to tell you is to check this interview out and make sure to try and listen
to his tunes!
1.HELLO! FIRTS OF ALL GIVE US A SHORT BIO
OF KILLERS BY TRADE. IS IT TRUE THAT IT'S AN ONE MAN'S BAND? DO YOU HAVE
ANY PLANS TO ADD MORE MEMBERS IN YOUR GROUP?
Killers by Trade started when I was tracking
songs. My original plan was to have a working rock band that did mostly
cover songs and a few originals. I was going to hire up some guys and play
shows here in Texas. The trouble was that every one I talked to wanted
to get in on the writing process and I really wanted to be the only one
involved when it came to the original songs. Everyone else was just supposed
to be hired guns. It's simple, learn tunes, play, make money, go home.
They all wanted to be rock stars so I just shelved the stuff for a while
until one day my brother heard the stuff and told me I ought to just record
the originals and find another way to get them out. Right now I record
all the tracks, guitar, bass, vocals and the drum machine and then take
them to a studio to mix and master. It will stay that way until I do the
full length album this winter. When that goes down, I'm going to bring
my brother in on drums and do it all in the studio. I still plan to hire
a band for live performance, hopefully around Halloween and if those relationships
turn out well, those players may end up on the studio recording too. Who
can predict?
2.IN YOUR EMAIL YOU TOLD ME THAT BEFORE YOU WERE
PLAYING IN A BLACK METAL BAND. TELL US WHICH BAND WAS THAT AND IF YOU HAVE
RELEASED ANY ALBUMS WITH THEM...
My old band was Finsternis, a black/doom band
that did some pretty experimental stuff musically. Not at all typical black
metal. Live we were known for blowing stuff up, burning things and nearly
destroying a couple of clubs. We released a demo called "Eine Finster Nachtmusik"
which did pretty well in the underground. We have a full length but as
of yet it has not been released. There was a promo disc with 2 of those
songs and a video of us but only a choice few have those. I've been talking
to the singer and guitarist about a split CD. A while back I recorded a
KBT song called "Banishing" that was way too heavy for my current sound.
It was actually the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram set
to some insane ass music. If the split happens I'll re record that one.
3.HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO CHANGE YOUR MUSIC STYLE
FROM BLACK METAL TO MORE CLASSIC ROCK ORIENTED? DO YOU THINK THAT KILLERS
BY TRADE EXPRESS YOU 100% OR WILL YOU IN THE FUTURE INVOLVE WITH OTHER
PROJECTS AS WELL?
I liked playing black metal but I was actually
late getting into it (around 1997). Before that, I listened to Old Hardcore
(GBH, Misfits, FEAR) and Metal (Sabbath, Motorhead, Venom, The Plasmatics)
and something called "Death Rock" (.45 Grave, Bauhaus, Concrete Blonde)
which later devolved into what is known as Goth. I still practice with
Finsternis and enjoy playing that stuff. I actually enjoyed a lot of musical
freedom with that band, maybe too much. If anything happens with that band
I'm in. KBT exists only to serve my evil will so if I change KBT will change
with me.
4.WHY DID YOU NAME THE BAND KILLERS BY TRADE,
WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT TO SUGGEST WITH THAT NAME?
I got the name from a movie called "Man Bites
Dog". The main character is this psycho named Ben who introduces himself
as a "Killer By Trade". A person who kills as a profession is usually vilified
in the minds of most people but we, er, I mean they have their own code
to live by even though it's often misunderstood. There is a fine line between
a patriot and a terrorist. There are days when I feel like I could be either
one.
5.IN THE DEMO THAT YOU SENT ME YOU HAVE 2 SONGS,
"STEEL" AND "LOUP GAROU". SO CAN YOU TELL US IN A FEW WORDS THE THEME OF
EACH SONG? IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC BOOK OR MOVIE THAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE
THOSE LYRICS?
I had been reading a book by Montague Summers
when I wrote "Loup Garou". He has this dry, antiquated form of writing
that in my mind inspired a vision of a werewolf stalking in a rustic setting.
In medieval Europe people really believed in werewolves and men and women
were actually executed on that charge. "Steel" is about another kind of
predator. The Serial Killer is something most of us hear about but really
don't understand. I've been studying them for years. In America there are
somewhere between 2000-4000 serial killers operating at any given time.
That breaks down to 1 or 2 per 100,000 people. How big is your town? Creepy.
6.I WON'T ASK YOU IF A LABEL HAS OFFERED YOU ANY
DEAL CAUSE I KNOW THAT ARTEMIS RECORDS SHOWED INTEREST IN YOU. SO CAN YOU
TELL ME IF THERE IS ANY PROGRESS ON THAT MATTER? HOW DID ARTEMIS RECORDS
LISTEN TO YOUR MUSIC AND CONTACT YOU? WHAT HAVE THEY TOLD YOU ABOUT
YOUR MUSIC?
Artemis showed some interest in my cover of
Werewolves of London. I never really asked them about a record deal. They
were going to bring it up to an A&R board and see if there was anything
they could use it for. Those things are really hit or miss so I still plan
to keep hacking things out on my own. I just started my own publishing
company through ASCAP and I'm already a member as a writer. My plan was
always to be DIY and have creative control as well as to keep the rights
to my own music. If a bigger company offers me a deal, I'm always open
though. As they say 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.
7.I THINK THAT YOU LOVE HORROR MOVIES. SO CAN
YOU TELL ME ONE OLD AND ONE NEW HORROR MOVIE THAT YOU LIKE A LOT AND WHY?
Oh Hell yeah! I really love old Zombie movies.
That's what I do instead of going to church, I drink Jaegermeister and
watch Zombie movies. For Old Skool stuff, you can't beat George Romero's
original Night of the Living Dead. Actually the whole trilogy, Night, Dawn
and Day of the Dead. All good stuff for a Sunday morning. New Stuff? I
tell you what, I watched this movie called Scrapbook with a date once.
That movie was fuckin' Sick! I got nothing that night, NOTHING! Heh, oh
yeah. It's not really new but if you get to see a movie called Cemetery
Man (also called Dellamorte' Dellamore') with Rupert Everett It totally
rocks!
8.SINCE WE TALK ABOUT HORROR MOVIES IF YOU HAD
THE CHANCE FOR ONE DAY TO BE A FAMOUS MOVIE MONSTER WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE
AND WHY?
I think I would like to be Dracula. What could
be better than hauling' some woman off to the Carpathian Mountains and
sucking her blood?
9.HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? CAUSE IN YOUR
SOUND I FOUND MANY DIFFERENT ELEMENTS. WHICH BANDS AND ARTISTS HAVE INFLUENCED
YOUR STYLE?
There's pretty much a clusterfuck of influences
there. There's this gothic Horror element to it but there's something there
for the metalhead too. If I could narrow it down a bit, I was heavily influenced
by bands like Iron Maiden, Plasmatics, Black Sabbath, Samhain but as you
mentioned once there is that whole interdispersion of Goth and punk too
you may be able to pick out some Misfits in there or old Nosferatu.
10.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO INVITE A FAMOUS MUSICIAN
TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR NEXT RELEASE WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
I think Lee Dorian from Cathedral would be
a great guest vocal on a tune I'm doing called "Solstice". Him or maybe
Dax Riggs from Acid Bath.
11.WHAT KIND OF EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS DO YOU WANT
TO CREATE TO THE LISTENER THROUGH YOUR MUSIC?
Really, to me its all about telling stories.
If I can make the listener see through the eyes of the characters in the
story, even if they don't necessarily understand all the lyrics then I
think I've accomplished my goal.
12.I HAVE THE SENSE THAT YOU HAVE SENT YOUR DEMO
TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. SO WHICH ARE THE FIRST REACTIONS THAT YOU RECEIVED,
ARE THEY POSITIVE? DID YOU READ ANY REVIEW THAT DISSAPOINTED YOU AND WHY?
So far the reactions have been good. I have
had some who remember me from my heavier days remark that they wanted to
hear something more raw in the vocals. I guess I can understand that. The
latest recordings are a little more metal so the vocals reflect that too.
I have to be true to my style, whatever the Hell THAT is. Most people are
pleasantly surprised. The music is pretty minimalist. Bass, Drums, Guitar,
Vocal. Not much in the way of solos or fills. It all grooves though and
makes you feel the music so it makes people happy.
13.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF INTERNET? DOES IT HELP
THE NEW BANDS OR NOT? IF YOU SAW A PERSON DOWNLOADING YOUR SONGS FROM THE
NET, HOW WOULD YOU REACT?
Without the internet, I'd have to do
it all the old school way and get a lot of mail order shit, which was tough
to do since the underground relies so much on word of mouth. One guy can't
play gigs so I'm as local to Greece or Germany as I am to Texas. I actually
encourage people to bootleg my discs, download 'em whatever. Get them any
way you can. The only people it hurts are the pop stars and they can collectively
go fuck themselves.
14.WHICH ELEMENTS IN YOUR MUSIC DO YOU BELIEVE
YOU HAVE TO CORRECT AND WHY?
Gods! there are many things I'd like to do.
You know, you only hear the mistakes when you hear your own music. I try
not to focus on that. I just look at the job ahead and do the best with
what I have. I thank the gods every day that I am able to see past my own
bullshit and do this.
15.I BELIEVE THAT I HAVE TORTURED YOU ENOUGH WITH
MY QUESTIONS. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WANT TO ADD... THANKS FOR
REPLYING!
Yeah, man. An old friend once told me, "To
get what you've always gotten, do what you've always done." I spent a long
portion of my life hating it and looking for new ways to kill myself. If
you want to survive, you gotta break it all down and ask yourself, "What
are the one or two things in life that I love to do?" That's what you do.
All else is bullshit. Take those one or two things and GO! You may not
end up rich or the best at what you do but the important thing is you will
be happy doing it. Fuck what everyone else has to say about it. I guess
that's Clint's self-help seminar for today.
Nick "William_Kidd"
Paerastatidis
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