Tell us how POS was born..
After I moved to Knoxville from Washington DC in �96 and got settled in for a while, Lee and I began casually working on some songs I had written. Eventually we decided to find a drummer and record some stuff. We placed an ad in a local metro paper which Tim answered and that was pretty much the beginning.
You have the doom sound flowing in your veins now, man! But �Nailed� has a heavy soulfulness that sounds to me quite unheard of on a so called doom-band. I guess you know it but have you ever wondered why? And which is your personal answer?
I love the soulfulness on this album and feel like it�s something that has become part of my style. I think it has probably grown out of corruption, destruction, and hard lessons learned.
Why did you choose Nailed as a title? Who is nailed and to what?
After I came up with the artwork for the front cover, we still needed a title. We threw around some ideas but nothing really stuck. One day in the studio for final mixing, Travis, the studio engineer ask me to check out a cd by a band he had recently recorded. The name of the band was Nailed. Later that night it struck me...that�s perfect for the artwork and the name of the album. I think Nailed is fairly self explanatory when you look at the cover. It�s Jesus Christ lying down on a cross, being crucified with the image of a skull merged over.
Why did you choose to cover �Don�t Let Me Be Misunderstood�, apart from your musical taste? It is an original tune by Nina Simone�
Yes, you�re right, it is a Nina Simone song. I�ve thought about the idea of covering that tune for years. I�ve always liked The Animals and the dark mood they convey, especially Eric Burden. And the lyrics are very close to me and the way I feel at times. I�ve just always thought it would be a great heavy song to do.
I know about your total rest in the mid-90s and about your new spiritual direction. Would you like to talk a bit about them?
After my final split from Pentagram in �96, it was time for me to review my life and get my head together. I�ve always been a believer in Jesus Christ and had spiritual convictions. I made the decision to apply that belief to my life from the heart, not just from an intellectual belief or point of view. I do my best to live this out now but I struggle with it everyday. I�m sure I struggle sometimes to the point that some may look at me and say I�m a hypocrite. But God knows my heart and it�s more important for me to please Him than man.
Did you write any Nailed tracks in that period?
No, I didn�t write much of anything during those transitional days.
I liked the cover art by Steve O� Malley very much�
Thanks, but I did the front cover myself, Stephen did the inside and everything else.
What have you found in Place Of Skulls that in Pentagram you think you lacked? And what are the differences in the songwriting approach?
I�ve found a much more positive vibe with Lee and Tim than we ever had in Pentagram. In hindsight, it seems like there was always some sort of dark cloud about us back then. A huge lack of record company and tour support as well. As for the songwriting, nothing has changed the process that much for me except for a much more positive energy flow.
Why did you leave them in the first place?
I was looking to get on the road and we couldn�t seem to get any financial backing whatsoever to tour. Back then, playing live was everything to me. We played lots of gigs locally and a few one-night out-of-towners, but that really wasn�t cutting it anymore. I had a few offers to do some other things and that eventually led me to quit and move to L.A.
What do you like to write about mostly?
I like to write about reality and usually things that seem to effect me mentally and spiritually. Yet with a positive underlying message.
After the Man�s Ruin failure has it been difficult to find another label? Do you think SL fits with the POS sound? I think so..
Yeah, I think it�s been great so far. Greg�s doing more for us and pushing us more than any label I was ever on with Pentagram. I have no complaints thus far.
You will be touring USA with Spirit Caravan soon, but we have some hope to see you in Europe?
We�re talking over plans at the moment of hitting Europe in the early fall.
Talking again about your Christian faith, I saw on your site a long interview with Alice Cooper who has also embraced Christianity. Why did you choose Alice as a living witness of Christian well-being? Do you feel near to him about the ways you lived your �past life�?
I�ve been a big Alice Cooper fan since I was something like 11 years old. �Love It To Death� is one of the best albums ever in my opinion. I feel that Christianity gets a very bad rap from people who see it as some sort of hindrance. I felt that using the Alice Cooper interview and him as a living witness might help to remove some of the misconceptions about it. You can still live a very meaningful life, actually more so, and be a Christian. As a matter of fact I do feel somewhat near to him since our spiritual beliefs are so similiar...though we�ve never met.
And what about Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad) Only an omage to a great artist or what?
Basically the same with Mark Farner as with Alice Cooper. I love the fact that these guys have lived and seen it all as rock stars and have the guts to admit that it wasn�t enough...that there�s a spiritual calling for us all and we�ll all have to make decisions eventually about what we believe. Decisions that will affect us eternally. If you haven�t yet, you will. It took me a long time to come to grips with it, but I came to the same conclusion that Alice Cooper and Mark Farner did. There is but one true and living God and I believe in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. Frankly, it�s the best decision of my life and I don�t care who it offends.
Ok, now ask yourself something you would like to be asked (that I didn�t ask you) and reply, thanks!
What�s your favorite quote from a movie? �Get busy living or get busy dying.� Morgan Freeman from The Shawshank Redemption.
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