Nicodemus
I'm in loss for words...
Christopher Morris, the man behind Nicodemus speaks his mind openly and
freely and offers new ways of thought and conscience. He actually invites
us to accept and embrace all the simple things in life and in ourselves,
the simple (either good or bad) connotations that make us who we are...
Open your minds to this new perspective and enjoy!
1. HELLO AND CONGRATULATIONS ON MANAGING TO
CREATE SUCH A WEIRD AND UNIQUE SOUNDING ALBUM!
Greetings Christine. Thank you very much.
I take the comment of weird and unique as an extreme compliment!!
2. PLEASE POINT OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS
OF THE BAND’S STORY AND INTRODUCE THE CURRENT LINE UP…
I started Nicodemus in California in 1998
as a studio project. Released the first CD “Tales of the Lovelorn &
Necromantic” on my own label in 2000. It was a progressive black metal
album. It did pretty well for an independent release. I decided to focus
more on melodic elements as I put together a partial band for the next
CD. We signed with Dark Symphonies in 2002 and moved the sound more towards
melodic gothic metal like Tristania and Within Temptation. Tried some female
vocals, didn’t work too well. We added a second guitarist and moved from
California to Portland, Oregon in the northwestern US just as the label
released “The Supernatural Omnibus” in 2003. I then decided to focus on
the progressive elements that had always been there and recorded Vanity
as we were negotiating with labels. We decided on Sonic Age. Nicodemus
is now a full band and not just “all me”. The current line up is Andrew
Greene on drums, Mathew McGee on lead guitar, Dave Peters on rhythm guitar,
and I play bass and handle lead vocals. I played the keyboards on all of
the Nicodemus releases too as we don’t yet have a permanent keyboard player
in the band. We do have a friend, Eric Scholibo, who fills in for
performing, but he’s not an official member.
3. YOU, CHRISTOPHER MORRIS, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
EVERYTHING ON THIS RELEASE… ISN’T IT MORE DIFFICULT TO WORK ON YOUR OWN?
Actually, only the debut CD was done on my
own. And yes, it was very difficult taking on every aspect. On the 2nd
album though, Andrew and Mathew were on board, though I did all of the
songwriting. On this new release, it expanded not only to a full band,
but I also shared the production of the CD with an outsider, Chris Finster
of Geomana Productions. But even now, being the mainman in the group, I
must admit that I like taking on that responsibility. I’m a control freak
and when it comes to my career I don’t trust many people. Being able to
control my own fate has become one of the most important aspects of my
approach to this business. Those who are involved with Nicodemus have to
understand this. I take opinions and advice into consideration, and I believe
in my manager, my bandmates, and my label, but they too have to believe
in me.
4. AREN’T YOU AFRAID THAT YOUR IDEAS MIGHT SOUND
BORING FROM A POINT ON, THUS IT’D BE BETTER IF YOU ADDED MORE PEOPLE
IN THE SONGWRITING PROCESS?
I have been afraid of that in the past, but
I knew it would change eventually. It’s no longer an issue as “Vanity”
marks my first time really getting help with the songwriting and it worked
really well. It took a while for Dave and Mathew to find a way to contribute
because they aren’t songwriters, but they still had a lot of creative ideas
they wanted to let out. For some reason they don’t have any interest in
writing full songs, only parts of songs. They would write a part or two
and just say..”that’s all I have”. So I wrote skeletons of songs and gave
them early demos. I tried to work in ideas they presented. Then they wrote
additional guitar parts and I used them as inspiration to finish. In the
studio, our co-producer had some ideas that also worked well. Everything
still flows through me, but I loved having their creative input and I’m
excited about having them play an even bigger role on our next album. They
are even starting work on new material without me!
5. HOW WOULD YOU LABEL YOUR MUSIC? I’M CURIOUS
TO KNOW, SINCE EVERY REVIEWER SEEMS TO HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VIEW
ON YOUR MUSIC. OTHERS LABEL YOU AS GOTHIC, OTHERS AS ATMOSPHERIC
AND OTHERS AS PROGRESSIVE. I THINK THE TRUTH LIES AMONG THE GENRES…
PLEASE COMMENT ON THAT…
Nicodemus is simply impossible to really label
properly. But in the reviewers defense, the sound has changed so much over
three albums that we really have made their job too hard ;-)
I like describing it as Progressive Gothic
Metal. It’s certainly progressive with long arrangements, complicated layers,
and strong musicianship. It’s also gothic in the atmosphere and general
vibe and feeling of everything we do. There’s a lot of traditional metal
influence as I’m sure you can hear so somewhere in that mix is Nicodemus.
I am the kind of musician that gets bored easily and it’s really reflected
in my writing. I love all kinds of metal, and some non metal, so listening
to the same thing over and over again would just drive me insane. I may
listen to half of a Sonata Arctica CD and then switch to Winger. I may
listen to Nightwish for a while and then a couple of Rush albums. Some
people don’t like music that doesn’t stay strictly to some sub genre, but
I just can’t play by those rules. I have tried to be in bands that stay
trapped and it’s miserable for me. Nicodemus gives me the chance to let
all of my influences blend into what I think is a purely unique and exciting
new sound.
6. LET’S SAY THAT SOMEONE ASKED YOU TO REVIEW
“VANITY IS A VIRTUE”... WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TRYING TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AS
YOU CAN?
I would score it 9/10. I love music that takes
chances and really sets out to be unique without compromising the integrity
of each influence. That’s exactly what “Vanity” does. I think that the
only flaws are in some subtle production errors like inconsistent snare
drum sounds and the flatness of the toms. I know this album won’t be to
everyone’s liking, but it’s one of those rare discs that’s worth the money
just to see what the hell is going on. It’s an album that should get people
talking and isn’t easily forgotten. I wouldn’t score it a 10 simply because
that score is reserved for the true masterpieces. 10s for me would be Wishmaster
from Nightwish, Operation MindCrime from Queensryche, Abigail from King
Diamond, and Rio from Duran Duran. I’m not joking on that last one. DD
is one of the best bands ever and an enormous influence.
7. PLEASE GIVE US SOME FURTHER INFO ON YOUR ALBUM.
WHERE WAS IT RECORDED? WHO WAS THE PRODUCER? ARE YOU COMPLETELY SATISFIED
WITH IT OR IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO CHANGE NOW?
It was recorded at a new studio in Portland,
Oregon called Geomana Productions. It took almost 15 months to complete
(including breaks for label shopping and a vacation from each other so
we didn’t murder anyone). Andrew and I co-produced the CD with the engineer
and co-owner of Geomana, Chris Finster. Our music is really challenging
to produce and he did a great job working with us to find a sound that
made these songs shine and present Nicodemus in the right light. There
are a few flaws here and there that get to me every now and then, but I
am not one of those musicians who chooses to dwell on imperfections. As
I said earlier, there are some drum issues and even a few vocal lines that
stick out to me, but I can’t imagine going back in time to over analyze.
Perfectionism at the expense of progress is usually a path to failure and
excuses. So I let it go.
This is the first CD I have ever done that
I actually like as a fan. I can sit through a spin of this disc and really
enjoy it even sometimes forgetting that I’m listening to myself. That’s
a stage I never imagined I’d reach. It feels great to be there. So in the
end...yes...I’m satisfied.
8. TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE LYRICS. WHICH
ARE YOUR FAVORITE TOPICS AND SOURCES OF INSPIRATION?
I took a different approach to lyrics on this
album. On the earlier CDs, I was having fun being somewhat fanciful with
a sort of old school Theatre of Tragedy meets Cradle of Filth style. But
after a while I got really bored. There are only so many ways to get across
an idea using certain cliched phrasing. That’s not to say I have anything
against cliches, I actually enjoy them, but the overall style was just
feeling stale. I found myself throwing away perfectly good lines simply
because they didn’t match the old English phrasing. There’s no way I could
keep doing that so I decided to work on a more abstract style that matched
the abstract music. While there are certain authors from which I will always
take some inspiration, this time around I found myself studying word play
and phrases from television and film dialogue. There’s a more conversational
flow to my lyrics now which is a lot more freeing. My topics have changed
somewhat as well. I used to be concerned with simply being entertaining.
Certain gothic subjects with particular sub-themes dominated my work. Now
I find it far more entertaining to present more basic themes (like on this
album vanity/elitism, the struggle against mediocrity, etc etc) but packaged
in a gothic atmosphere. This album really focuses on the themes of vanity
and elitism as not the evils we have been taught, but rather as functional
motivations to reach higher standards. The lack of this understanding weighed
heavily on me as I wrote this record and it easily found it’s way into
the lyrics.
9. “VANITY IS A VIRTUE” IS A BIT WEIRD TITLE.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SUGGEST WITH IT AND PLEASE TELL US THE CONNECTION
WITH THE COVER ARTWORK OF THE CD. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT IMAGE?
I think I addressed this a little in my previous
answer, but I’ll go into more detail here. I am an elitist. I am vain.
I am egotistical. I am superficial and shallow. I can admit it and I love
every minute of it. That’s not to say that I am a terrible person, it’s
just that I embrace what other people can’t confess about themselves. We
are all deeply vain. It’s in our nature to be that way. The inability
of the masses at large to shed the negative connotations is extraordinarily
frustrating. The lyrics on this disc generally deal with connecting to
our natural sense of vanity and not to be ashamed or limited by it. Hence
the title “Vanity Is A Virtue”.
The image on the cover was discovered in an
on-line gallery of images from the 20s through the 40s. It is public domain
as far as I know and it captured the vibe of the album beautifully.
10. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS? WOULD
YOU LIKE TO TOUR?
Oh yes!! We plan on launching a European tour
sometime around mid to late summer in 2006. Some scattered US dates will
happen before and after the trip overseas. We’re really excited about it
and can’t wait to get on the road to see our fans.
11. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT YOU WERE GIVEN A HUGE BUDGET
TO SHOOT A VIDEO CLIP. WHICH SONG OF YOURS WOULD YOU SELECT AND HOW
DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE?
That is not something we have to suppose or
imagine!! We are indeed in the process of storyboarding our first video!
It will be for the track “Next in Nocturne”. Pre-production begins in November
and we plan on shooting in late January. The clip should be edited and
ready to go by March. It will be directed by American independent film
maker Joni DeRouchie. I don’t want to give away much at this early stage
but I can promise that it will be dark, disturbing and weird.
12. IF YOUR MUSIC WAS AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD IT
BE? IF IT WAS A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
This is going to sound a little strange, but
I don’t think Nicodemus convey’s a great deal of emotion. I always find
it really insulting when bands or songwriters expect fans to really care
about their feelings or some specific emotional connection. That should
be left up to the individual fan. I want Nicodemus fans to enjoy our music
for whatever reasons they may have and to hell with what anyone else says
the music conveys. As far as a painting is concerned, I can answer that
with some confidence. It would be abstract and contemporary. A blend of
colours and shapes that take the viewer a long time to study, but damn
do they have fun trying to figure it out!
13. WHAT’S THE IDEAL TITLE THAT COULD SUM UP ALL
THE BAND’S EFFORTS UP TO NOW?
Omnibus of the Vain and Necromantic! I know
that’s a simple reply, but it works!
14. THANK YOU! LEAVE A MESSAGE TO THE READERS…
Thank you so much for the interview Christine!
To all of your readers I say thank you for your time and interest and I
hope you check out our new CD. To those fans of ours new and old who may
be reading: your support is greatly appreciated and never forgotten. We
hope to see you on tour in 2006!
Christine Parastatidou
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