Images
I can play whatever I want and play whatever the fans want to hear. I don't have to be like a salesperson up there talking about my CD through the whole show.
Wayne Static
The song 'Assassins Of Youth'... 'Assassins of youths' is what they used to call drugs in the old days when they first started the anti-drug campaign. And it's kind of an anti-drug record.
Pretty much every other question I get from fans is about my hair and beard.
We didn't have that big-label push. We weren't the kind of band that our label Warner Bros. Records was going to throw all this money at. Their idea was to support us on the road and see what happens. It was a very slow building process.
You know, people hate me or love me and I just don't even bother paying attention to it anymore.
Even in those early years of Static-X, there was a pattern emerging where I would spend all my free time writing songs for Static-X and the other guys in the band spent their free time working on their other projects.
Metal fans are the most hard-core, loyal fans.
Being married has not affected my career at all other than just making me happier to be on the road.
Listening to Ozzy Osbourne at full blast always made me feel a little bit better. It made me feel like I wasn't alone.
I feel like my whole life I've been searching for what I want to do, searching for my identity as a musician and a songwriter, and my band's identity.
My mom is about 60 years old and she loves our music because she can bounce around to it.
I realized how important it was to have a good team - manager, attorney and label. It's not just about putting out a record and somebody signing you.
The original lineup, we got on stage, we had a great chemistry, it was awesome, and then when we left the stage, we never talked to each other. There's a lot of bands that way. Who cares? What's wrong with it?
Don't get me wrong: I love the great times I had with Static-X, but sometimes the writing/recording process was frustrating for me.
I've been a huge Megadeth fan for years.
Interview With a Vampire' is one of my favorite movies of all time. 'Queen of the Damned', not so much one of my favorite movies, but it's one of the best soundtracks of all time.
I don't like to do any editing on guitars. I think the more editing you do, it just takes away from the feel of the performance.
I'd stay on tour for the rest of my life if I could. It's awesome.
For many records, everyone was like, 'Oh, this next record is going to be their last, blah, blah, blah.' But here we are on our sixth full-length studio album and we debut at No. 16. It's obvious we're not going anywhere.
To listen to my first record, it doesn't sound like me.
Well, for me the canning factory was minimum wage, which at the time I believe was $3.40 or something. I was just happy to have a job.
But anytime at a metal show, fans are going to be going crazy.
I just do not understand all of these guys that get married and then want to go spend all of their time with their buddies.
I'm the opposite of a gearhead. I like simplicity. I use what works, and the only time I change it is when I have to.
I don't know how these bands did it back in the '70s when they would crank out two records a year and tour at the same time, which is incredible to me. I have so much respect for all those bands working so hard like that.
We became one of those bands that could be around forever like Slayer. We can go on as long as we want to, as long as we have fun.
After the 2009 'Cult Of Static' touring cycle ended, I felt that, as a band, Static-X had accomplished everything we set out to accomplish, and now I could finally take the time to do my own thing and make a record that is completely my vision without compromising for anyone or anything.
Anyone who likes Static-X will definitely like my solo record.
It's been a long time since I lived in Michigan, but I did grow up there for 18 to 20 years of my life. It does feel my home state.
Any of the bands that came out at the same time as us, they're either gone now, or they got just mega huge, like System of a Down or Incubus.
When I'm in a bad mood, I feel better listening to someone else who sounds like they're in a bad mood. That was especially true when I was a kid, and I was mad at my mom or dad for whatever reason.
I've always written by myself. I've never been in a situation where the whole band sat in a room and wrote a song. I don't work that way.
All of our records seem to capture a certain period of time for us.
This 'Pighammer' record is supposed to be a side project. And it just so happens that at the same time I'm recording this record, our contract was up with Warner Bros., so it's time for Static-X to re-sign.
Obviously we're not Kiss, but we go out there and jump around like idiots and try to have a good time and entertain people.
I have some drinks at night but that's it.
Sometimes things get too layered and compressed or there's too many effects and they turn into mush on record. I strive to keep it raw and live-sounding, like you are in the room watching the band play.
I remember when we were mixing our record and our manager was in there going, 'You guys need to sing more, so it can be on the radio.' And we were like 'What? We're never going to get played on the radio. Who cares? What are you talking about?'
It's harder and harder to sell records now. You've got to give extra value. You've got to give people a reason to go out and buy it rather than burn a friend's copy.
My passion outside of music is that I am a total gear head. My wife and I own six vehicles, three of which are off-road.
I'm very picky about who we tour with.
I like Journey, Bad Company, Soundgarden and Aerosmith.
Here's the way Static-X has always worked: I write all the songs by myself - totally and completely by myself - I give demos to the other guys, and then they add their parts to it, and then we argue about stuff and compromise and it turns out being Static-X.
It's cool that MTV is making an effort to support bands like us.
I always enjoyed writing music; things pop into my head every day.
For some reason, I don't spend enough time getting to see my family because I'm always touring or working or whatnot.
Back in the Eighties, I used to write ballads on my acoustic guitar, so it seems very natural to me to go back to a little singing.
I wish someone would give me some money for doing nothing.
Don't even get me started about how much I hate the Internet, 'cause I'll rant for hours about this.
I'm always working on multiple songs at a time.