Interview by JOSH ANXT
Crisis is a band I am sure most of you know. They released their first album on the Too Damn Hype label followed by two hugely successful albums on Metal Blade Records. A few years back the band moved from New York to Los Angeles. Crisis even changed their name to Skullsick Nation. However, they have recently changed it back to Crisis. I conducted this interview with guitarists Jwyanza and Afzaal as well as with vocalist Karyn Crisis. Being a long time favorite of mine, I am proud to bring this interview to you. This is what they had to say....
The question everyone is wondering most. Why the name change from Crisis to Skullsick nation and now back to Crisis all in less then a years time?
KARYN: As the old saying goes, and I'll adapt it to our situation, 'you're ( our group) only as strong as your weakest link'. For us, this weakest link has been our drummers, ever since Fred left. Sure, we've had a variety of drummers who all had, while not the complete package, unique talents and ideas, but as time went on, the drummers we had seemed to be less able to play older Crisis songs that were faves to the band.
This started most notably with Tony, and once we arrived in L.A. and he withdrew, and even before he left, his style had begun to change the music more than we expected. Limitations will do that. Not to say that we weren't already in the midst of an experimental phase, but it was partly brought on by a limited sense of complex rhythms from the drummer. The name change came about because our music was traveling away from what we all considered to be a "Crisis" sound. Especially when we hired our next drummer during the time we officially became Skullsick Nation.
We felt that in order to be Crisis, we really needed to have a passionate drummer who was in synch with the "tribe" and way of life that Crisis is. We didn't have this, so, In the meanwhile, we all still wanted to write music- we also had a manager at the time and the pressure to keep going, but after time went on , we fired the manager, fired the drummer, said "fuck you" to the industry and took a break, ultimately deciding that in order to make "Crisis" music, we needed the RIGHT drummer. So, we made the decision to wait until we found the right drummer. If the music doesn't feel as extreme and intense as in then past, then it's not worth doing in my opinion. It's interesting now that we've been out of the scene for a while, we're less a threat to the heavy music scene and other bands are finally giving us props and admitting our influence and inspiration on their own music. Let's face it, we're pioneers. And it can get to be trying on your spirit when you're ahead of your time and you're waiting for the world to catch the fuck up. So, we did what we had to do which was move on. Thus the name change.
Now we're back in every way.
It says on the Skullsick website that a new album is being done. Have you gotten a new contract or is it a D.I.Y. kind of thing?
KARYN: There will be no Skullsick album. The songs were available
for free on mp3 for a while, but they will be taken down if they have not already. Consider Skullsick a "side project" if you will, but it's history. I know the whole band is excited about our future and unleashing with our new drummer. I, for one, will not miss the Skullsick repertoire. It served a purpose in time, but I have felt lost and not at home since Crisis took a break, and I'm only delving into the transcendental search once again through writing, singing, painting, reading...
Karyn and Afzaal got to do a guest appearance recently on Dave Chandler of St. Vitus’ new band, Debris inc., new album. How did that come about and what was it like getting to work with such a legend in the scene?
AFZAAL: Our friend Ron Holzner from Trouble and his girlfriend Carol Quayle (I've known Carol for 15 years!!!) came to visit us in L.A. This was when Tony was still in the band. Karyn, Ron, Tony and I (Afzaal) jammed on X's "Nausea". It was Ron's idea to do the song and I loved that song as well, so we jammed on it. A year later Ron and Dave recorded a whole album's worth of material for Debris, Inc. Ron came to L.A. a second time and recorded at a studio in Silverlake with Dave Chandler. Karyn and I went up to the studio and played and hung out with them. It was a hell of a lot of fun and we ended up doing more than just "nausea". Karyn sang on another song called "pain". and we all did some back-up vocals on another song.
Karyn, its a well known fact by now that you have asthma. As a singer without those problems, its hard for me to get through a show breathing properly and being active onstage. But you do have that problem and your twice as active on stage. How do you deal with that without dying?
KARYN: I have never lost my voice as a result of singing- the one time I did was when I had bronchitis on tour in the winter in the Northeast in a blizzard. I also have never had asthma problems on stage. I am lucky in that exercise seems to help my asthma, which is why I exercise and lift weights. I have almost died many times, but that happened in my apartments through the years. Again, the intensity and electricity of our music propels me into this "super human" state where I feel bigger and stronger than I do in day- to - day living. If you've seen me live, then you know I put my body to the test, as I have done continually and consistently on tour: Our tours were such that we played 36 shows in a row, no days off, the very first US tour we did.. and it was always like that from then on! Two- month tours with maybe 4 days off in all. Europe was the worst, though. If you have asthma- watch out! We were in a double- decker bus with the American HC band Spudmonsters who brought us over, as well as our driver, German band Totenmond, and French band, and an opener for a few days. They ALL smoked except me and Afzaal. I was also the only female. I went through 3 months worth of asthma inhalers in a little more than 3 weeks- waking up not breathing, having to pound my chest to get my lungs to work. At this point we had one more week to go and luckily "Klinger" from Spudmonsters happened to have an inhaler and saved my life!
Afzaal, you are not native to this country. What age were you when you moved to the states and for what reason? Unrelated to the band, but I’ve always wondered. I know Gia came to study music...
AFZAAL: I came to the States in 1982 for college. I went to university in Chicago and studied architecture. While in Chicago I started dj'ing at college and threw some parties on the Northside. I was mainly spinning Industrial/Post-Punk/Gothic/New Wave stuff. After graduation, I moved to New York and started an industrial band called Stalwart. We released one full length ("Violence, Hypocricy, Bigotry and Greed") on a European label called Semaphore out of Holland/Germany. I continued to work as an architect in NY until we started Crisis in 1993, at which point I quit my career in architecture to pursue music more seriously.
Jwyanza, you have been in the band about 4 years now. Do you still feel like the new guy and do you still get the new guy treatment by the press and even the band members?
JWYANZA: Well, it's been 4 years so far and I haven't gotten too much flak as it is so… I've been through so much with the band (touring, writing, recording, moving across country) that I feel like a full-fledged member and am treated as such. I'm not a big follower of the press and since I already try to define myself by my own terms as opposed to the opinions of others I don't imagine that if there were a lot of shit talking being done I'd pay it much attention.
What currently are you guys listening to metal and non-metal? Any new bands?
JWYANZA: The new DJ Shadow has been in regular rotation in my CD player along with Glassjaw "Worship and Tribute". Jeff Buckley's posthumous "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk." Non-Phixion's " The Future is Now", Sage Francis have been my underground Hip-Hop faves. Leeway has always been inspirational. Funkadelic forever. Not too much "heavy" stuff.
KARYN: Acid Bath(all), Deadboy and the Elephantmen, Einstuerzende Neubauten "Funf Auf Der Nach Oben Offenen Richterscala", Bjork "Homogenic" , My Bloody Valentine "Loveless" , Cranes " Self- Non- Self", Hildegard von Bingen "Canticles of Ecstasy" , Queens of the Stone Age " SOngs for the Deaf", Crisis ( all), Diamanda Galas "Plague Mass", Skinny Puppy "Bites and Remission", The Sisters of Mercy "Some Girls Wander by Mistake", Jeff Buckley "Live at Sin-E" ..
Almost nothing heavy.
Karyn , do you have any tips for younger vocalists as far as voice exercises or ways to take care of it?
KARYN: It's all about opening up and doing what comes naturally- for me, anyway. When Crisis started back in 1993, so many people said my voice would never last. Well, almost 10 years later, I'm still scaring people with my ability...and my voice has even grown more since then. And I had no one to look up to back then, no other females were doing what I was doing in the heavy scene. I had no role model there- I operated according to my own game plan. I was alone! But I still believed in myself, even when the world around me didn't understand me. Singing is a strange thing- you are your own instrument. For me, anything goes. Be yourself. If your throat is hurting, try to figure out for yourself if you need a vocal coach or if maybe you're just trying to sing ina way that's not natural for you. Experiment. For me, I found my way on my own. From my very first Audition day for Crisis onward I could feel my different muscles introducing themselves to me, and I made conscious decisions to increase my range, to push myself. Over time, I've learned that my voice, whether growly, melodically, whether in head or chest voice, my voice is all about POWER. I sing LOUD even without a microphone. And I sing in my living room without the band for practice. But, that's my voice..it needs to be pushed. I've had friends who get coached every week by a vocal coach tell me that it's bad for your voice to push it..singing should take little effort. Hey, fuck that. That works for them, I know what works for me, Singing for me is not just about technique- it's about catharsis, about tearing out of my body, it's very physical, and my experience tells me to listen to myself. Always be open to learning, but ALWAYS trust myself.
Crisis has always seemed to have drummer problems since Fred left. Has the problem been solved yet?
KARYN: It just may be. I'll let you know in December when our new drummer comes. Years ago his band opened for Crisis on tour, and we met up with him again recently. Our East Coast soundman Mark Creegan hooked us up with him while he was a free agent. He's a big Crisis fan, so he knows our whole repertoire, and he's an amazing drummer to boot. Just what I need being the percussive singer I am. I really react to the drummer more than anything else ( secondly to the guitar) , and I am looking forward to jamming with him. If all goes well, then yes, we plan to tour especially to commemorate Crisis' 10 year anniversary this spring. We'll just have to see how it goes. If we write the right music, I'm going to do everything in my power to get Crisis everywhere.
P.S. thanks for spreading the word!!
www.crisissite.com
www.karyncrisis.com
Fires of Sorrow(Crisis Fan Site)
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