JUULAR

you're funny

Question for Devin:

Now that you have finished Deconstruction, how do you feel about writing/playing heavy music? Would you ever write/record/release another similar album?

The reason I ask is this: I'm currently 36, and I really enjoy creating/playing fast/loud/obnoxious music. However, when it comes to coming up with a lyrical/artistic concept/framework for the music...everything that's typically associated with "metal" feels/sounds stupid to me (read: nothing that a 36-year-old person in their right mind would sing/write about). My first inclination would be to release music that has no lyrics, no titles, no concept...but that would sound rather boring to my ears. I'm intrigued by the concept of Deconstruction, because it gives you a framework to be heavy without sounding like an angry teenager who's obsessed with The Lord of the Rings. However, how many other ways can an older metalhead explore metal without venturing too far into self-analysis and/or parody? With all that you've put into Deconstruction, do you feel that you've "gotten it out of your system" and can move onto exploring other forms of musical expression, or have you discovered that you will always have a thing for a certain type of chaotic music that you will now need to find a different concept/framework to explore it in?

Thanks.

Question for Devin:

Now that you have finished Deconstruction, how do you feel about writing/playing heavy music? Would you ever write/record/release another similar album?

Check out the recent French interview in the interview thread. He answered a question that was kinda close to that. He basically said if he ever feels like writing some metal stuff, then he'll do it because it's fun. He's totally open to follow his feelings in the moment.

[The Dev]

Your question actually nails it on the head.

I've spent years chasing things that as a 39 year old are now apparent to me.

My goals now are more about trying to sort out the aftermath of a lifetime of odd choices, in hindsight, I think I'm more of an 'artist' (ugh) who uses music as a medium to express various states of mind. And I think I would have made a decent life out of being solitary and quiet. I have a family and a mortgage and 39 years of establishing a strange personal identity that I am rarely comfortable with.

I enjoy heavy music, but almost more because I have gotten good enough at it to appreciate the sense of accomplishment that comes with piecing together little technical puzzles. The accomplishment I would imagine one could feel from any number of pastimes or professional situations. The upside is that I'm fortunate enough to have a job, the downside is that it's based on self-analysis and requires the concepts to be relevant as I get older. Deconstruction and it's theme have been 4 years in the works, almost exclusively spent trying to rationalize the emotions as an adult without feeling completely foolish in doing this sort of thing. Ziltoid was a way as well, but was obviously a little more based in parody.

I love doing Ziltoid. Thats something I really get into. The music is just a sideline with that though, so the 'tv show' thing really appeals to me.

Who knows? what do I feel most comfortable with now? Stuff like Ghost I think... that and playing bass. I need to find a way to make music thats honest while being creative and having fun. The strange crux now is providing for the family during this.

I think making heavy music is something I can do at any time, and you're right, finding an angle to come at it with that doesn't make me feel like an absolute emotional retard gets harder and harder, I can see it in context of another project though (background music for Ziltoid, stuff like that...) but focus on heavy music as a lifestyle and musical identity can honestly get to be a little much. It's definitely hard to keep a straight face while doing it.

We'll see... still a month and a half from release. I can't see these two records 'lighting up the charts' but it's good fun and I'm happy at this late stage of my career to make such an elaborate statement.

So...um...

ONWARD!

You're supposed to be on holiday bro! Get off the internet!

While I love the heavy shit (I got into your stuff via SYL), I personally think that doing your own thing at your own pace in your own way is the only way you'll make stuff you'll be happy to share with the public. I loved Ki because you were brave enough to do something so FUCKING different to the stuff you were well known for, but it felt genuine; and that's why we (Amber's here looking over my shoulder yay!) appreciate your tunes so much. If you don't wanna do the heavy, we don't mind B)

AAAAAALSO, going off topic a bit while you're here, if you need any advice re: doing the puppets, I'm on a pretty badass FX artist forum full of really nice folk willing to dish out any kind of advice no matter how dumb the question may sound :3 http://www.theeffectslab.com/forums/

I need this album. Like, I really truly NEED it. I've never anticipated anything so much in my entire life.

Who knows? what do I feel most comfortable with now? Stuff like Ghost I think... that and playing bass. I need to find a way to make music thats honest while being creative and having fun. The strange crux now is providing for the family during this.

I think making heavy music is something I can do at any time, and you're right, finding an angle to come at it with that doesn't make me feel like an absolute emotional retard gets harder and harder, I can see it in context of another project though (background music for Ziltoid, stuff like that...) but focus on heavy music as a lifestyle and musical identity can honestly get to be a little much. It's definitely hard to keep a straight face while doing it.

Part of the reason I failed so hard when it came to trying to make a career out of music is because I wanted to play metal, but could not write anything that didn't sound either pretentious, or just plain silly. That, and I sucked. Bad. Anytime I tried to write from the heart, it was not metal. I fought against my heart and my instincts because I wasn't writing what I thought I should be. I wasn't being honest, and that failure to express myself in the way I wanted scarred me deeply. I just never found myself, musically.

That is why I enjoy your music. You are kind of the anti-me. We're about the same age, we grew up at the same time on a lot of the same music and movies, we both suffer from bipolarism, yada yada yada. Shit, we lost our hair about the same time, too. lol But I lacked the talent and the ability to use music as a tool of expression, whereas you have pretty much made it your bitch. Your music is always honest, regardless of the style. That makes all the difference.

I can't get into a lot of metal anymore, simply because so much of it doesn't feel honest to me. The same bands writing the same stuff over and over again, and I just can't believe that they haven't resolved any of the "feelings" they have in their songs 4 or 5 albums back. It's like "Really, dude? You still haven't gotten over that?" That's why Ziltoid is so awesome, and the same with Decon. Coffee-drinking aliens and cheeseburgers. Why? Because that's what you felt like writing about. Yeah, the albums go deeper than that, but this is how you wanted to present it, and that is just kick-ass. That takes balls, whether you care to admit it or not.

...heavy music as a lifestyle and musical identity can honestly get to be a little much. It's definitely hard to keep a straight face while doing it...

Honestly man, aside from the musicality of the music itself, this is exactly why I connect with your music and the things you have to say about it. I'm not even 5 years your junior, and even the thought of doing something like... I dunno, wearing a Slayer shirt on purpose, say, just makes me cringe at the sheer inanity of it all. I mean, I'll always love heavy music, but like with FZ, it's that self-awareness and the happy embrace of the ridiculous, the tongue planted firmly in cheek, the raised eyebrow at everything around you that makes the music so great and so much fun (it's ok for heavy music to be fun, after all!), and the sheer beauty of the musicality just makes it that much heavier. Life's too fucking short to worry about being br00tal all the time, you know? I'm the dude at the Opeth show grinning like an idiot and giggling at how beautiful it all is, you know? Because it is beautiful. Life is beautiful. It's funny how much better (and heavier!) metal gets once you stop trying so hard and just embrace how awkwardly idiotic you look in your black t-shirt and skulls and whatever and have fun with it. Anyway, I have a wife, bills, an advanced degree, an impending career change, and you know what? Life is awesome.
Anyway, holy shit. I prattle on.
Thanks for making music that is so much fun, and that makes our lives so much more fun and hilarious and... alive. Enjoy your vacation. See you in Chicago in July.

[Octillus]

I know you're tired of the heavy music lifestyle (and frankly, so am I, outside of small local gigs with my friends playing, I rarely go to metal shows anymore), but this Bodom tour is going to be a test of your patience. And whatever you do, try not to laugh at Alexi Laiho whenever you see him.

EDIT: Okay that's a little mean, but he's the exact kind of caricature of a heavy musician that makes the genre often a punchline. Loved him when I was 16, though, and I'll still give em a shot in June.

That is why I enjoy your music. You are kind of the anti-me. We're about the same age, we grew up at the same time on a lot of the same music and movies, we both suffer from bipolarism, yada yada yada. Shit, we lost our hair about the same time, too. lol But I lacked the talent and the ability to use music as a tool of expression, whereas you have pretty much made it your bitch. Your music is always honest, regardless of the style. That makes all the difference.

I can't get into a lot of metal anymore, simply because so much of it doesn't feel honest to me. The same bands writing the same stuff over and over again, and I just can't believe that they haven't resolved any of the "feelings" they have in their songs 4 or 5 albums back. It's like "Really, dude? You still haven't gotten over that?" That's why Ziltoid is so awesome, and the same with Decon. Coffee-drinking aliens and cheeseburgers. Why? Because that's what you felt like writing about. Yeah, the albums go deeper than that, but this is how you wanted to present it, and that is just kick-ass. That takes balls, whether you care to admit it or not.

I lost my hair at 19 so I feel your pain. Even worse, my middle name is Garrett. Attack of the Dev Clones?

I used to be a try hard metal noobie back in the yester year. Always sticking to the genre exclusively and not branching out my tastes. Oh sure, I still like Opeth, Meshuggah, and whatnot, but it was hilarious personally trying to force myself to get into Band X because Band X is the hot new act that your peers are listening to. I think I came to this realization after I watched the video of 'Clint Eastwood' by Gorillaz and actually liked it. As of now, i'm getting into ungodly obscure shoegaze/indie bands and basically anything that's the definition of cheese with a side order of catchy beat.

So yeah um, onward.

I lost my hair at 19 so I feel your pain. Even worse, my middle name is Garrett. Attack of the Dev Clones?

I like to think of my hair loss as a step further in evolution. I'm separated that much further from the great apes. Which is a decent argument, except for the hair on my ass that grows thicker than a shag carpet

Your question actually nails it on the head.

I've spent years chasing things that as a 39 year old are now apparent to me.

My goals now are more about trying to sort out the aftermath of a lifetime of odd choices, in hindsight, I think I'm more of an 'artist' (ugh) who uses music as a medium to express various states of mind. And I think I would have made a decent life out of being solitary and quiet. I have a family and a mortgage and 39 years of establishing a strange personal identity that I am rarely comfortable with.

I enjoy heavy music, but almost more because I have gotten good enough at it to appreciate the sense of accomplishment that comes with piecing together little technical puzzles. The accomplishment I would imagine one could feel from any number of pastimes or professional situations. The upside is that I'm fortunate enough to have a job, the downside is that it's based on self-analysis and requires the concepts to be relevant as I get older. Deconstruction and it's theme have been 4 years in the works, almost exclusively spent trying to rationalize the emotions as an adult without feeling completely foolish in doing this sort of thing. Ziltoid was a way as well, but was obviously a little more based in parody.

I love doing Ziltoid. Thats something I really get into. The music is just a sideline with that though, so the 'tv show' thing really appeals to me.

Who knows? what do I feel most comfortable with now? Stuff like Ghost I think... that and playing bass. I need to find a way to make music thats honest while being creative and having fun. The strange crux now is providing for the family during this.

I think making heavy music is something I can do at any time, and you're right, finding an angle to come at it with that doesn't make me feel like an absolute emotional retard gets harder and harder, I can see it in context of another project though (background music for Ziltoid, stuff like that...) but focus on heavy music as a lifestyle and musical identity can honestly get to be a little much. It's definitely hard to keep a straight face while doing it.

We'll see... still a month and a half from release. I can't see these two records 'lighting up the charts' but it's good fun and I'm happy at this late stage of my career to make such an elaborate statement.

So...um...

ONWARD!

Very well said, Dev, and thanks for replying. I agree 100% that music is a medium of personal expression. I'd also have to agree that there's a huge amount of satisfaction to be gained from meticulously assembling numerous little bits of 'sound' to create a work of 'art'...which is probably why I gravitate toward heavier music than say, folk music. To me, there's little challenge in sitting down and creating a folk ballad with a mic and an acoustic guitar using a 4-track, whereas creating an epic metal symphony on a state-of-the-art DAW just screams to be taken on (I'm also a computer programmer by day - ). On the other hand, creating 'simple' music that people will acutally want to listen to is a challenge in and of itself...just ask AC/DC...but, I digress. I've also come to realize another motive: I use my music to expose people that I know (family, friends, etc.) to forms of music that they would never otherwise listen to. For example, for many years my parents loathed all forms of metal; music that I really connected with and felt that it defined my personality in ways. Through my own music, I've been fortunate enough to get them to look past the stereotypes and dig a little deeper into the 'world' that their son has been in for decades...all while paying tribute to my influences.

I also agree that it gets harder and harder to not only create something that's relevant to the artist (because what would be the point of doing it if it didn't mean anything personally?), but also relevant to the listener. Fortunately, I was able to do that on my previous effort with Shine (based on Stephen King's novel): I was able to do a bit of self-reflection as a new father trying to create a 'masterpiece' in solitude without lashing out at my loved ones in the process...and I was able to interest people who like horror movies, so win-win. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what else there's left to say without treading familiar ground or going into parody...I've thought about singing about Vikings lately, though.

Ah well, enough rambling for now. I must say that I appreciate your efforts with the Devin Townsend Project. Not only have they been entertaining, but they have also been insightful and inspirational. It's important for 'budding' musicians to see how music can and should be used as a form of personal enlightenment and hopefully use it as a stepping stone to forward their own creations onto others.

Onward, indeeeeed.

You're supposed to be on holiday bro! Get off the internet!

+1. Bloody workaholics!!

This last page has been incredibly edifying!

What I have kind of hypothesised is that Decon seems to deal with similar issues to Alien, only from opposite ends of the spectrum. While Alien's problems are projected in a "I'M FEELING THIS RIGHT NOW AND I AM GOING INSANE" mood, Decon's content is presented with a healthier approach, sort of, "Yeah, this is how it is, and I'm going to deal with it."

Obvious as it is, the parallels between the two albums have become much more apparent, especially now that we have snippets of the actual music of Deconstruction.

Apologies for the didactic language, I'm in the middle of an English assignment

Enjoy your holiday Dev!

I lost my hair at 19 so I feel your pain. Even worse, my middle name is Garrett. Attack of the Dev Clones?

I feel we all have a very special connection with Dev, for him and I are both 22 year old female cockney model makers that are allergic to kiwi fruit and frightened of snails.

...so, so deep man.