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| Electronic Saviors 2 |
Once again I bring you a round of interviews from the world of Industrial music. This time we focus our attention on the Electronic Saviors 2 : Chicago Release Party that is being held down in Chicago at the LiveWire Lounge on June 30th.
What follows is my "interview" conducted with Jim via email the last couple of days.
Rusty: Jim, welcome back to another round of interviewing with me. Thanks for taking the time to respond to these questions. By now, you know how I work on these.
We're a couple years removed now from the first Electronic Saviors compilation. To me, that was amazing for electronic music. There was nothing that was going to top it. It seems you have done it again. What was your motivation for getting a second compilation on the books knowing what a huge amount of work this would be?
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| Rein[Forced] - Live |
The point is to try and help people with our music. I knew it would be way more work but it is fun work. I just wish there were more hours in a day.
I would go to work for 10.5 hours every day then come home and work on ES2 for another 5-6 hours, get up and do it all over again.
I am glad that part is over because constant 16 hour days, promoting shows and getting a new Rein[Forced] album out was crazy and exhausting.
We are now in the next phase which is the release parties. This is the fun part, haha. I get to see alot of my colleagues who worked with me on this. We laugh, cry, drink and fall down together. It's greatness. There was always a plan in place for 3 volumes.
Rusty: Three volumes? So that means you're nowhere near done abusing yourself with this. That's pretty cool. Well, if history repeats itself, you'll double up again and it will be 16 discs of awesome music.
Just kidding, that's a lot to ask for here.
Let's get to the serious stuff right away. The charities that this goes towards this time. Tell me about them and why they were picked.
Jim: Well, I am 2 thirds done, haha. I hope to get a DVD out too but we'll see. We (Chase and I) were talking about a 6 disc regular and a 10 disc premium next time but that depends on the material. We only went the route of 8 discs this time because we had such great stuff. We haven't even thought that far ahead. This one still has to do great in order to warrant a 3rd, you know. A lot of costs go into this and Metropolis has been astonishing with the work they do.
The charities...yes. They were picked because the bands wanted them. They met all of our criteria and are legit. We have a good working relationship with them and hope this blossoms even further. There is a Gilda's Club down the street from my work so it has been a treat to work with them. It is a gorgeous building ran by great people.
Rusty: You say you're two thirds done with the series of Electronic Saviors... How about you? How are you holding up? What is the update on your health and your journey through this wild trip? Last we talked you were in remission and things were well. I hope that is still, and will remain, the case.
Jim: Well, at this point I am a year and 3 months away from being declared cured. Life is still difficult, dealing with a third of my digestive
system missing is rough but I take it day by day. I get tired a lot easier than I used to. I don't know what the future holds for my health. I just heard yesterday that my insurance premium is going up yet again. This makes living more difficult and I am sad to say that I may not be able to do what I love for a living for much longer. I may have to either go back to school for my doctorate and quit doing shows and such, just to be able to live an affordable life. With gas prices, high deductibles, low attendance at shows and dwindling interest in new music, is there really a point? I do it because I love it but at the expense of a more comfortable, stable life. I'm 36. I don't know....when I feel like I have accomplished enough, it's time to move on, i guess.
Rusty: You bring up a good point. I'm hitting 38 this year. I haven't gone through what you have, but I have had 3 surgeries on my knees already and I sometimes feel like I don't know if I can keep going on even though I love it. I have to keep me healthy in order to do it.
You touched on economy a bit and low attendance with shows and the dwindling interest. Why do you think that is? I look at ES2 and there are eight CD's full of great music from so many artists, yet, we just don't see turn out at shows like there used to be in the late 90's to early 2000's. What's your take on that?
Jim: Well, I don't have time to write a book....haha. I'm not sure, but I do know that as our crowd gets older, people have more responsibilities. Marriage, family, work, kids, houses...not stuff we really had to deal with in our early 20's. There are some great discussions going on in the Violent Playground forums about this stuff. As a promoter, musician, semi retired dj and such, I see that new music isn't pushed at all other than the bigger acts in the genre in the clubs. I don't spin anymore other than an occasional guest spot but when I do spin next which is in DC, I will be playing all new stuff. 15 years of spinning is enough for me so after I tried to do some club nights that went nowhere, I kind of gave up on that because I had ES2 and a new Rein[Forced] album to work on and it didn't make sense to pursue anything else dj wise. I also noticed that most djs here don't buy music on a weekly basis or even monthly. Not sure what it is like in other cities, but that is what I see. I have a new record coming out in August and I doubt I'll get any press coverage or club spins in my own home town. I mean, I have to book myself if I want to play a show, which disturbs me. I hate doing that. It is extremely exhausting having to promote a gig and then play it as well. Okay...rambling. ES2 is a pretty awesome piece, but I wonder if maybe there are more artists making the music than actual fans of the music. Okay, enough bitching and complaining...just keep in mind when reading the above that I don't know shit :)
Rusty: I hear you on the new music thing. I know when I was doing some stuff at Club Anything I would play stuff that nobody else would, and I would get looks from people like "what are you playing, I want some Covenant." But, I was waiting for you to bring up Rein[Forced]. I hear we are off to mastering and it's going to be out soon. I can't wait to get my hands on it after hearing the single that came out earlier this year.
What are you most proud of with this album?
Jim: August 24th on WTII for the new album and yes, I am very proud of it. Maybe we'll sell 3 copies, wait you are picking it up? 4 then.
Seriously though, Dan Clark did a great job mixing this puppy. I would say I am most proud of the songwriting that Turner and I did. I love every moment of this thing which I have never said about any of my work before. Sure, I say it about the ES comps but that's because all you guys are awesome. I love how this record can crossover into many different scene and non scene areas. I feel our synth work has a little bit of a progressive rock feel to it at times, but can slam the dancefloors and kids who were into the lyrics of the Coldwave scene of the 90's might appreciate the lyrics. I wrote this album over 4 years so it encompasses all the things I went through at those times. Mainly being sick and going through bad times with relationships and friends.
Rusty: So, it's not some sort of happy, get around a campfire jubilee then? Sounds like my kind of music.
I'm going to wrap this up with my ever famous lightning round like last time. Some of your answers may be the same as last time, some may be different.
1) Favorite band
2) Favorite track from all the Electronic Saviors submissions
3) Your hero
4) Best concert you ever promoted
5) Who are you looking forward to seeing the most during the Chicago show
Jim: 1) Chemlab/Hocico
2) Oooo tough...probably Sensuous Enemy, The Mighty Chouffe, Tenek or my Ayria Collaboration. That's just thinking quickly.
3) Chris Saunders
4) Legends Of Synthpop w/ Mesh, De/Vision and Iris or Constance Rudert or Chemlab/16 Volt on my birthday. Very happy times.
5) Cryogen Second since I never saw them.
Rusty: Jim, Thank you again for your time, I can't wait to finally see you and Rein[Forced] live in Chicago on the 30th!
Jim: Likewise, brother for am.psych.
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