In This Moment Interview with Steve Black at RIFF Fest 2022

Beasley Digital

Transcript

00:00Randy and Kent in full makeup looking good you guys you look good we have a face for radio

00:05let me start with the most ridiculous question how long does it take to do all of this stuff

00:12to get yourself in in game mode uh I think it depends on if we're strapped for time you know

00:18like we're super strapped for time I could probably do it in 20 30 minutes realistically

00:22it'd be like an hour yeah yeah yeah I mean the longer that I could sit in front of the mirror

00:27the better I I find uh in this moment for me um you know when bands build a live show

00:39they tend to build a show like the entire thing a show I almost feel like

00:43like every song is a build like every song is thematic and I don't even know how the hell

00:50you conceptualize that much less pull it off well every song is written with the visual in mind

00:56in the studio are we seeing that you can almost see it as you're writing it honest to god yeah yeah

01:04and was it that way from the top or was it the the bigger more visualized the more visual your show

01:10became the more you wrote that way well I think that once we saw the reaction from more theatrics and

01:17just putting a story visually to the music that you almost can't go backwards you just automatically go

01:25oh my god we have the whole picture you know each each scene is almost if you took a picture of each

01:31scene that would be a great picture you know I think it's kind of like the makeup too you know

01:36like we were talking earlier off camera like you know started with eyeliner yeah over the years now

01:42we're here right you know what I mean pretty soon who knows it's gonna be full body paint I don't know

01:46do you ever look at it like like a character like getting into character and does that help in a way

01:54oh yeah oh absolutely um we're just kind of kind of nerds we love heavy metal and horror movies and

02:01you sort of start putting the makeup on and start to get into that that feel and the show's approaching

02:08and you start getting into your character a little more and by the time show time it's just

02:12a completely different person yeah and then as soon as we're done we're like so uh what do you

02:16want to eat oh I don't know let's go get something to eat I just want to know if you go through the

02:21taco bell you know with with all your gear still on because that would be we've we've gone to I think

02:28like 7-elevens before in full makeup and like little gas stations and people are just you know their eyes

02:35are huge just staring at you it's scary when they don't react you're like oh I'm scared of you

02:40actually uh so I think one of the things that can get lost and thankfully I've seen in this moment

02:49now this will be the seventh time for me coming up uh the music doesn't get lost in the visuals

02:54but when the visuals get big enough sometimes it can get lost it can be secondary so I mean that

03:00falls I would think even more on on you guys than the Maria to some degree because you know you guys

03:07you're supplying the music yeah I mean I guess like with our last single the in-between uh it was the

03:15last kind of infamous song that like the album was done and they wanted one more song and we were on

03:23the road and I had my laptop and we started writing that in hotels so it really at the core it's always

03:30about just a nice melody with a nice vocal line over top and this is before heavy guitars before drums

03:37before visuals before anything you need the the just the core of a really hooky catchy song so yep you

03:47know that is always at the forefront but then it just when once you have that then everything just

03:53starts to take shape and form it's really cool it's really cool to watch yeah then see where it

03:58goes I mean we had a a Grammy nomination for that song and uh you just sit there like wow we literally

04:06wrote that in a hotel room somewhere it's crazy and forgive me if I don't know this if it's already

04:12happened but the band's perfectly suited to like have its own comic book and all that kind of stuff

04:17have there been people constantly approaching with those ideas oh yeah comic books uh tarot cards

04:24you know there is a comic book in the works yeah I think they started it and then the pandemic hit

04:30and there was a lot of problems with printing and things like that so there is something out there

04:35that exists it's written it's drawn out I think they just need to finalize it or something yeah

04:40you know something's happening something's happening there yeah for sure yeah it's cool when you have a

04:47visuals you can you you know like uh the merch it just kind of makes itself you know yeah yeah

04:54yeah well we're a visual species I mean humans react more to vision than even sound which sounds weird

05:02because I'm in radio and you're in a band yeah the yeah well the band struggled until the visuals

05:06and the show started becoming something different and uh makes people take notice you know yeah it's

05:13like what in the hell is going on up there we just started using pyro recently and yeah uh for some

05:19of these shows I don't think we'll have it today but uh you know you go into that show with pyro you

05:26won already yeah yeah we always we always want more you know more more more now we're at the point

05:34we're like we want pyro in every show yeah never satisfied maria's always just I mean her vision

05:40was huge to begin with but you know we're not even close to being there yet so still going and I

05:48always mean this with the most respect in the world because obviously she she can sing and and you guys

05:53can play but it's almost like she's an actress when she's out on stage I mean it goes this isn't just

05:59somebody fitting into the visual like it goes beyond that no it's a it's a play at this point

06:05it's it's it's a big show with a lot of people and it's growing and uh it's taking on its life of

06:13its own and we're very very grateful to be here and be able to do this and uh we're having a blast

06:20yeah you know well we we thank you for being here what's it like being out on any kind of festival

06:26whether it's a one-off like this or or routing around to a bunch of them with a bunch of other

06:30bands how do they react to you oh well the best part is you know it's a big family we know a lot

06:36of these people from the years of uh grinding it out and uh yeah you see a lot of your buddies and

06:42stuff and uh yeah I think that's one of the coolest parts you get to see all your buddies that

06:46you've met you know you've done all these tours with before now it's like all of them are here

06:50and you get to meet new people you know see new bands and yeah we like bands and then suddenly

06:55there they are right in front of us yeah oh hey guys what's up yeah yeah well cool thank you for

07:02your time it's appreciated sir i appreciate you man thank you all the best

Category

Transcript

Recommended