Monster Magnet- Dopes to Infinity – Interview

Monster Magnet

Dopes to Infinity (A&M)
An interview with Dave Wyndorf
by Karen Sidlow

In support of Monster Magnet‘s second A&M release, Dopes to Infinity, frontman, mastermind and all around swell guy, Dave Wyndorf, took some precious moments to promote his creation of “self-indulgence.”

I only have the A&M records. (Superjudge and Dopes to Infinity) You had some singles on Circuit Records and an EP on Glitterhouse, a German-based company?
Yeah, right. Tab was on Caroline and Glitterhouse. Then, Spine of God. We had originally done Tab for Germany then Caroline picked it up and released it later.

How did you hook up with A&M?
I send tapes out to people with different band names on them. Same songs, just different band names. It started to gather some interest so I put together a real band. We went to Germany because, I figured, in Europe they can’t understand you anyway. I quit my day job. While the touring was going on, Soundgarden asked us to be on a tour. We didn’t make any money, but we played around. At the end of the trip we had five or six major labels after us. At that point, I looked at Caroline, because I didn’t expect to be on a major label. I wouldn’t expect more than three people to enjoy Monster Magnet. What do you do with a band that’s actually selling records but you can’t find the record? You have to go to a major. A little reluctantly, I went to a major and, as it turned out, it was business as usual.

(There’s noise in the background.)

Squirrels live in my walls and I want to get them out. They moved in when I was on tour. Inside the walls. Now they’re in and I can’t get them out because they just had babies. What am I gonna do?

Feed them. Leave them the credit card in case there’s a problem…
I’ll come back (from the road) and they’ll be sitting up in my bed reading comic books.

How long have you been writing songs?
I seriously started writing songs about six years ago. That’s when I started playing guitar. I taught myself. I started off with with one string then added another… I’m about up to three of four strings now.

How would you describe Monster Magnet’s music?
It’s like Martian sex music. It’s culturally inspired “me” music.

What about the tour you are about to embark on?
We go from Texas to Europe where we headline. It’s like being King of Mars. You go to Europe and it’s a completely different scene. We’ll go there and play in front of all these people and you tend to get lost in all the stuff – tour buses and lots of people… You get buzzed and exhausted, then come back to New Jersey and get arrested on the street for loitering.

What about touring the U.S.?
Probably (in) the middle of May through July. We’ve been talking to some bands.

What do you listen to?
I listen to lots of music, but I don’t listen to much new music for some reason. I listen to a lot of instrumental music, a lot of be-bop jazz. Lately I’ve been listening to Kyuss, C.O.C., NIN, Tori Amos and the new PJ Harvey.

Did you write “Negasonic Teenage Warhead” especially for S.F.W.?
Yeah, from reading the screenplay. I (really needed) the money because we weren’t touring or anything. I’m always two weeks away from (losing) everything.

Living on the edge there.
I live more on the edge now then I did when I had a shitty job. There’s more at stake. It’s just this crazy mixture of being lost in music, then I have to poke my head out of the madness and look at a bill and then run screaming back into the room. “Oh my God, they’re gonna take my fucking playpen away.” That’s the way it goes.

Do you write everything for the band?
Yeah. Up until now, I wrote everything. On this album, Jon (Klieman), the drummer, co-wrote a song and Joe (Calandra), the bassist, co-wrote another.

Has it always been the same line-up?
For three years, Ed Mundell has been our lead guitarist. Previous to that, there was a guy named John.

How long has the band Monster Magnet officially been together?
The name Monster Magnet had been around since 1989, but there wasn’t anybody else in the band until 1991.

Tell me about the new record, Dopes to Infinity.
I actually took the time to write this record. I went into a coma for about a month after being on the road for three years. Then got up every day and went down to the kitchen in a daze and just wrote a song every day until there was enough good stuff.

How do you feel about the music business as a whole?
I was a high school dropout; I never got a chance to assign photo shoots, direct videos, and do all this kind of crap. Nowhere else but in rock ‘n’ roll could I get away with this stuff.