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orgyupdates · 3 months

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Jay interview with Music Festivals Aus

California Nu-Metal pioneers Orgy are rearing and ready to embark on the first ever tour Down Under! Following on from sell out dates across the US, Orgy and fellow patriots Cold are gearing themselves for three massive back to back shows this October. The Orgy + Cold Australian Tour kicks off at Melbourne’s Max Watts on October 25th, The Metro Theatre, Sydney October 26th and rounding off at The Triffid, Brisbane October 27th. Now celebrating 25 years since the release of debut album Candyass, we caught up with Jay Gordon from Orgy to discuss the renowned Family Values Tour , the cause and affect of Napster and the evolution of Orgy since conception.

Interview behind the cut

Thanks for meeting with me today, Jay. I first found Orgy on the Family Values tour back in 1998 in possibly one of the most standout performances, and one that's remained with me for all of these years. Can you tell me about that tour and what it meant to you then and now?

Oh, yeah. I mean, it was our first tour ever. So it was what a way to break into the music industry. I mean, play with all of those great bands and all that kind of stuff. So it was fantastic. You know, definitely a learning experience. I learned how to navigate through the Big Boys you know, so it was cool. Messed up a lot. Had a lot of fun with Rammstein. It was chaotic. You know, we had we had a great time. But yeah, they cost me a lot of money. But it was cool. Yeah.

Yeah, it was definitely a rite of passage back in in the in the 90s. In Australia in those years, we had to physically import albums from overseas. Candyass was definitely one of my first and favourite imports. So, it’s 1997 and Korn’s Jonathan Davis signed Orgy as one of the first artists on their debut label Elementree Records, what impact did this have as an up-and-coming artists in the pre digital era?

Huge, you know. Korn was like a massive band at this point. And, they're good friends of mine, thank God and I owe them everything. They, you know, paved the way and opened up the doors for me along the way. So that was cool.

There is something candescent about your sound, in some forums labelled as electronic rock or alt metal, but more famously, as a pioneer of the nu metal movement? What were some of your biggest influences at the time?

I mean, I think always, you know, people like David Bowie and I just love the way his brain worked. I really can identify and relate to a lot of his music and stuff like that. But also, like, really heavy stuff, too. Like, where I came from, you know, the San Francisco thrash metal scene and things like that. So, adding like futuristic, melancholy weirdness with heavy stuff from the era at the time. Metallica and Testament and all those guys coming from where I'm from. So that all helped and kind of paved the way for me. And obviously Korn I suppose at the time. They were my favourite band. And so that's how I got to know those guys. And Jonathan would come stay at our house and stuff when they would play in town and it kind of started off a pretty, pretty basic friendship from then. And so they were a huge influence on me like I loved every song.

What impact did these artists have on you, personally and professionally?

Just Korn has such an original sound and they had a really big impact on me, all the way through my career. I’m always excited to hear what they come up with and what their next sound is going to be and what their next song is going to be. We get to play with each other every now and then like, in Sick New World. That was really cool. And just a huge impact.

Candyass was a pivotal album of the 1990’s, not only for myself but a deluge of young adults transitioning life. As a parent, it’s hard to pick between, but what is your favourite album release and why is it Candyass?

I don't know that it’s the best album that we've ever released. But I mean, it's probably my favourite. I don't know I was just in a different headspace. Candyass came from, let me see. So myself and Josh Abraham, were watching Depeche Mode show downtown and these three drag queens walked up to me and one of them’s name was Candyass. And, you know, he asked me, my name, I was like, “Jay” and he's like, “why don't I know you?” And whatever. And he goes, “you know me, my name is Candyass” and I thought it was so funny. So I said, I'm gonna name my first album Candyass and that was it. Then, you know, we became friends and everything, and they will come over to the studio and like, you know, mess up the board when I'm working. Like, I'd go to the bathroom and I come back and like, why does it sound like ass, you know, they were just like, him and Alexis Arquette, you know, RIP but I love Alexis Arquette and they would come over to the studio where we recording you know, it was just funny. Yeah, so that's why I named the record Candyass after him.

As most 80’s kids, I’m a sucker for a synth and electronic drum kit. The amalgamation of this soundscape with industrialism is none more evident than your cover of New Order’s Blue Monday. Before Stitches, this is one of my favourite releases. What was the inspiration behind your sound and its’ evolution?

You know, I wanted to do a cover song. And we were messing with a couple of different ones I liked it's called ‘Something Going On’ and Frida Lyngstad was her name. Her and Phil Collins, I guess got together and they did this song called I know ‘There's Something Going On.’ And that was gonna be the first one that we did. And then so we're playing around with that one and the Blue Monday one and we just went with Blue Monday. Yeah, just kind of, it's kind of clicked and worked out.

Vapor Transmission and Punk Statik Paranoia celebrated the unique sound encapsulated by Candyass, both in their own right. What was the progression in sound as traversed through the years and these albums?

Well you know, Vapor Transmission, I think definitely a progression, sonically, and things like that. I think we're headed for something really different on that record, but at the same time, that's when Napster dropped, you know.

“Napster kind of came out and kind of really killed the record industry, so to speak”

So, the record sales weren't there anymore, and things like that. But that's not an indicator that it wasn't doing what it was supposed to be doing. It's just that music was free after that, like, so it kind of just, it was a vibe killer on that, on that level, because our record had just come out, it was literally like, two weeks out. And then you see this big change in the sales of records because everybody caught on to Napster so fast. So that's kind of what happened there. And then Punk Statik Paranoia, that record just came out, like way too late. That was more like to me, like a bunch of glorified demos, you know, like, it never really got mixed, right. We never had a chance to really finish it up, because we were going through a lot of label stuff and trying to figure out what we were doing, if we were still going to be on a label or not, I think we were trying to get off Warner Brothers at the time. And that took some time. So the record just came out so late, and we ended up just putting it out in the end. Yeah, it took a long time for that to be able to happen. So we were sitting on it for like a year waiting for the lawyers and to get everything solid, so we can actually put the record out.

Carlton Bost first joined Orgy circa 2011 after an equally successful career as guitarist in parallel bands such as Deadsy, The Dreaming and the bass player in Stabbing Westward. What kind of dynamic did Carlton bring to the Orgy party?

I mean, Carlton's, he's great, like he's, he's a great band member. He and I actually, you know, when it comes to the more now orgy, you know, we kind of do a lot more stuff together. Whereas before in the past, you know, the first few records I just did by myself, you know, a lot by myself, you know, everybody did their part. You know, they played on the records and did whatever but, but as far as writing and stuff like that, I just did a lot of that on my own. And then I'd say, Paige wrote quite a bit of stuff on those records. And, you know, like a riff here a riff there and he was always really good at coming up with stuff on the spot. So, Oh, first, you know, he's like the new Paige in this era, but we actually just write a lot of stuff. Like sometimes he'll write like entire songs like Spells and Wide Awake and Dead. He had a big part of those songs. So it's more like a team on this one.

In October, Orgy embarks on the first ever tour down under alongside fellow patriots Cold in a three city rampage including Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. What kind of energy are you anticipating from an Australian crowd?

I have no expectations. Because I've never been there. I don't really know a whole lot about it other than like, you know, the typical kangaroos and this and that. I mean, I want to see all of that stuff when I come there. But I have no idea what to expect from the crowds I think I think it'll be a good show. I think the crowd will love it. And we're gonna bring the energy that's for sure. And, you know, we just killed it out here. We sold out every show but one with Cold here, it was a great tour. And I anticipate it being similar to that and hope the turnouts there and the turnout there is going to get a great show, you know, and we just signed Orgy, Carlton, and I we signed a Tucson deal with Golden Robot, which is an Australian label. So we're gonna try to get those songs done and be playing those live when we get there.

A huge congratulations on the 25th anniversary of the debut album Candyass. You've just answered my question. can fans expect any new Orgy releases within the near future? So yeah, as a fan, I'm very, very excited about that one.

Me too. You know, I have no idea what the release dates gonna be on those two songs. But yeah, we get them done and get them out before we show up and play so we can play them.

I do follow you on social media, so I will be definitely keeping an eye out myself for that. Following the tour, what's next for you, for you, both individually and professionally?

I'm kind of getting into, I'm going to be getting into like film stuff like Sony and direct some stuff. So that's kind of my next chapter in life. But yeah, other than that I'm also producing music. So I'm gonna keep doing that and work with other artists and things like that.

Full Interview, Aus dates/tickets, and pictures here.

#Jay Gordon #OrgyMusic #OrgyOfficial #Other Websites #Interviews #Candyass 25th Anniversary Tour

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spawn-universe · 2 years

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Comic book creator Todd McFarlane talks Spawn reboot, working with Ozzy and competing with the giants

Credit Calgary herald

Todd McFarlane has not forgotten the vow he made to Calgary back in 2017.

At the time, the comic book artist, producer and toy entrepreneur was a guest at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo and was asked about the long-gestating reboot of Spawn, which had spent years in developmental purgatory. He told the audience at the Stampede Corral that the film would hold its premiere in Calgary if he gets it “off the ground.

Fast-forward six years later McFarlane says the film is back on track. A-list writers Scott Silver, who co-wrote the 2019 hit Joker, and Malcolm Spellman, who created the Disney+ superhero series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, are currently working on the screenplay. Jamie Foxx has long been attached to play the lead role, a superhero/antihero that McFarlane first created at the age of 16 in his parents’ basement near Crowchild and 24th Avenue N.W.

The 1992 comic book debut, which came out on McFarlane’s Image Comics, sold more than 1.7 million copies and the Spawn series holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running, creator-owned, superhero comic book title. There was a 1997 live-action film with Michael Jae White, which grossed more than $100 million, and an Emmy-winning animated series that ran on HBO from 1997 to 1999. The reboot has been in the works in one form or another for years.

“On the movie front, hopefully – fingers crossed – by the middle of this year we should be making a big announcement that we found our studio, we made our deal and potentially, as part of that deal, they’ve given us our production start date,” says McFarlane. “Really, all fans care about is ‘When can I go see it?’ But at least I’ve got to be able to say ‘This year. We’ve got the money, we’ve got the backing and we’ve even got a start date.'

When it does come out, McFarlane still wants to hold one of the premieres in his hometown.

“Let me tell you right now, if I possibly can, I’m putting it into the contract,” McFarlane says. “It might be the dealbreaker. And I get two premiere spots. I live in Phoenix, I think the Phoenix people will come out in droves because they did the first time we did Spawn. I think they will come out in droves and have a good time in Calgary. That’s it. There it is: If you don’t give me that, then I pull this entire deal. I’m going to see if I can negotiate that.”

McFarlane was back in Calgary this week visiting family. On Sunday, hundreds of fans showed up at Video Game Trader in Lake Bonavista for an autograph session. In 1981, the William Aberhart High School grad left Calgary at the age of 18 on a baseball scholarship to Eastern Washington University, where he studied art and design. Within a few weeks of graduation, he got his first comic book job for Marvel. He would go on to illustrate for both Marvel and DC, drawing for Batman: Year 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and co-creating the Spider-Man villain/anti-hero Venom.

But he is arguably still best known for creating Spawn and for co-founding Image Comics in 1992, which also became home to Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore’s Walking Dead comic-book series. In 1994, he revolutionized the toy industry with the realistic action figures he created for McFarlane Toys. In 1999, he won an Emmy for the animated Spawn series and earned a Grammy nod for directing Pearl Jam’s animated video for Do The Evolution. The following year, he won a Grammy for directing the video for Korn’s Freak on a Leash.

Late last year, he returned to the medium to direct the video for Ozzy Osbourne’s Patient Number Nine, which resulted in a lengthy feature in Rolling Stone magazine about McFarlane’s work in music videos.

“The request came from (Ozzy’s wife) Sharon Osbourne,” McFarlane says. “I knew her from the past. We had done some stuff with toys and comic books with her and had always done well. In the pre-preparation for shooting, I was dealing mostly with the record label and Sharon. I’m sure she showed everything to Ozzy to get the sign-off. The day of the shoot, that dude was a pro. It’s one thing I’ve always been super impressed with for all the music videos I’ve been involved with. When you say ‘Action,’ all of them are performers. They know what to do when they are on stage. This switch goes on and they just do it. At that point when we shot it, I think it was about a week before his back surgery. He just had pretty extensive back surgery and was living in severe pain. You could see he was in pain and his mobility was limited and all that. So he paced himself, which is what a smart person would do. But when I said ‘Action,’ he turned into the 25, 30-year-old Ozzy.”

On top of the promising developments in the Spawn reboot, McFarlane has continued to find success in both the comic book and toy worlds. He credits the relatively small group of people he works with for the company’s David-versus-Goliath success.

“I’ve got a good core of people,” he says. “We’re scrappy. We’re the Bad News Bears of our industry.”

In 2021, Spawn beat out behemoths DC Comics and Marvel to become the No. 1 selling comic book. That same year, his Spawn spinoff titles – Scorched, Gunslinger Spawn and King Spawn – broke sales records. Last year, the crossover Batman Spawn title became a bestseller.

McFarlane Toys’ beat out Fortune 500 companies such as Hasbro and Mattel with the bestselling action-figure line of 2021. The company is currently licensed to create figures for Black Adam, Shazam, The Flash and Batman movies for the DC Multiverse, James Cameron’s Avatar, Dune and even Ted Lasso.

“Their size is their blessing and their curse,” says McFarlane about the giant corporations he competes with. “I could say the same thing about my smallness: it’s my blessing and my curse. Here’s the blessing: I can move quick, I can move fast. Here’s their curse: They are so big and bloated, they can’t move fast. If I see an opening, I can see that opening way faster than they can get into it. I’m not trying to compete, let’s say on the toy front, directly with what the giants are doing. I’m not trying to slay the giants, that’s not the victory. The victory is saying: Where have they left the gap?”

#image comics #todd mcfarlane #spawn #history making #breaking records #spawns universe #mcfarlane toys #ozzy osbourne #king spawn #gunslinger #the scorched #spawn movie

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