what is pain station? where does this band come from, what has it done?

pain station was my first solo project, that began in 1989. i'm from cincinnati, ohio usa so far i've released two full length cds, anxiety (1996, decibel) and disjointed (1999, cop international). my third cd, cold, is now finished and due for release in sept. or oct. of 1999 on cop international. i've also appear on numerous compilations as well.

what is the music you grew up with? what instruments do you play? have you played in other bands?

i grew up with pretty basic music, although it was always on the outskirts of "normal." i always liked weird music and this lead me into the industrial realm as a teen. i play keyboards, although i've never been formally trained. i have played in other bands early on, but these were nothing more than local bands and we weren't very serious about the music.

pain station's music sounds very much like what is called the "european" sound of electro-industrial, mostly because of the absence of guitars. what do you think of this? do you think you belong to the american industrial scene?

yeah, i think i do belong in the american scene, but not in the realm of the typical american sound. the american scene is actually more diverse than many people are aware of and we certainly have our share of bands who sound more european than american. i think crossover is finally dying and more bands are heading back into the 100% electronic area. i'm certainly more influenced by the european sounds than american. it's always been that way for me. the european sound has always appealed to me more.

pain station's sound has often been assimilated to suicide commando's one, and you have wrote some lyrics for johann von roy. could you tell me more about this closeness between pain station and suicide commando?

well, my first experience with suicide commando was when i bought his stored images album. i loved it and wrote to johan telling him this and i sent him a copy of my first cd, anxiety. he wrote back saying he liked my music as well and we began to write back and forth often. we decided to collaborate and that was that. i still hope we can trade remixes sometime in the near future as well.

on the other hand, pain station doesn't sound as much dancefloor friendly as most of the present electro acts. is this done on purpose? what do you think of club-oriented industrial bands (funker vogt, for example)?

no, it's not done on purpose. i just write what i write. i don't make an attempt to write a "club" track or a more ambient track, it just happens. i think club bands are fine and for years that was my favorite sound. now, i tire of it more quickly and it all starts to sound the same to me, so i look to other genres for fulfillment.

how do you write a song? an important part of the lyrics of your second cd, "disjointed" have been written by other persons. is the music the basis of the writing?

yeah, i almost always start with the music first. sometimes the mood of the music will help me think of a theme for a song. they lyrics are always last for me and sometimes the least important. in the case of others writing lyrics, a few of them i just fit the lyrics into the songs they sounded best with. with others, i gave demos of just the music to friends and they wrote the lyrics for the music themselves.

what equipment do you use?

i use an ensoniq asr-10 sampling keyboard.

the lyrics of "disjointed" are very aggressive, with part like "i want to live to see you suffer" or "i love to hate, driven by rage." are you an aggressive person? do you think that expressing your anger in your song has an influence on your normal life?

no, i don't think i'm a very aggressive person at all. i am, however, a very angry person. in many cases, my anger rules me. sometimes it takes a lot of energy to be able to contain it. it's more internal than external, though, so i'm not a physically violent person, although i feel i could be if i was provoked. i had thought for a long time that my music acted as a kind of "therapy" for my emotions, sort of getting rid of all the excess anger and such, but i don't believe that anymore. i've gotten enough anger out in my music that i should be fine now and... i'm just not. heh...

pain and anger are the focus of your song? how would you define this concepts?

well, i think that's what i write about most because i know it so well and it's such a part of me; there's hardly room for any other emotions in my music.

what about the shows? does pain station perform live? what does a pain station show look like? do you plan to ever tour in europe?

no, i have no plans to play live shows and i have not yet played live. i won't say i never will, but i'm not really excited to play live as pain station.

would you like to work with other bands or artists?

yes, depending on what the work includes. i'd like to collaborate on a track or two maybe with stefan alt or any of the labelmates at ant-zen, but these would be converter projects. i can't think of anyone at the moment that would be a good pain station collaboration.

what about remixes (of pain station by other bands or of other groups by yourself)?

yeah, i really like to remix tracks by other bands and even more i like to have my tracks remixed. i've done several now, for bands like assemblage 23, thine eyes, diverje and noxious emotion. i hope to do more soon.

how did you get signed on cop int? what's your favorite act on this label?

i had been in contact with cop when i was trying to get european licensing for my first cd, anxiety. they were interested in my music at that point, so when decibel died they were a logical choice, so i sent them a copy of the finished disjointed disc and they offered me a deal. i can't say i have a favorite cop act because i'm not really familiar enough with any of the bands' music.

could you present me your next work, "cold." what will it sound like? when is it to be released?

cold is less aggressive than most of disjointed. much of it relies mostly on subtle rhythms, textures and vocals rather than distorted rhythms and in-your-face vocals. cold is much more mental and less physical in sound. it's very introverted and, at times, very personal. i believe that it should be released sometime between september and october of 1999.

is it true that "cold" will be a concept album? what will be its focus?

yes, that's true. this will be a little long... the focus in on a man who is depressed about his life and unsure of his future. he questions the value of his life, contemplating suicide at times. he's slowly on a path to a breakdown and this depression has triggered an existing chemical imbalance that he'd never been aware of. he begins to hallucinate and falls in and out of reality. he tries to get help from a loved one, a person he cares deeply for, but also has a bit of animosity towards, but this person doesn't help him. he finally snaps and murders this person. he then finds he likes the feeling of power this gives him; he's finally back in control of his life, his destiny so he decides to keep on torturing and killing his victims. now he's really lost his mind and looks at what he's done. but he's an obsessive-compulsive, so he realizes that he's made a complete mess of his house, where he brings all his victims, and needs to clean it up. he's more concerned with the mess in his house than the fact that he's slaughtered several people. the following day, in a rare moment of clarity he wakes up seemingly sane. he now clearly sees what he's done, that he's become a serial killer and he can't live with that. he commits suicide and the story ends.

converter now. could you tell me about this side-project? how was it born? for how long have you been composing "shock front"?

converter was born out of my desire to get away from the more electro side of my music and explore more rhythm and noise. it began immediately after i finished recording disjointed, in march of 1998. i've been writing converter tracks ever since.

are you going to release new stuff with converter? what & when?

i hope to. for now, it will have to just be compilation appearances here and there. the comps i have appeared on and the upcoming comps i know about are: counterintelligence 01, electronic lust v.2, exoskeleton 2, bodystyler mag comp (jul/aug 99), biomechanik vol.2, industrial frequencies vol. 2, flatline compilation vol. 2 and base asylum mag (issue 2).

converter's "shock front" has been published by ant-zen, and has become one of the most "fashionable" (let's say "talked about") industrial cd lately. what do you think of the work of ant-zen and s.alt?

oh, it has? well, i'm very glad to hear that! i will be honest and say that i haven't heard a single thing from ant-zen that i didn't like. it is several of the ant-zen bands that helped me decide where i should go with converter's sound. ant-zen completely changed the way i look at music, both my own and in general. stefan is an amazing guy. he's not only got great taste in music and picks excellent releases, but he creates a "package" out of a cd and its artwork, combining the two for a whole experience. i think he's brilliant and even if i wasn't signed to ant-zen, it would be my favorite label.

are the metal sheets in which consists "shock front"'s booklet one of you ideas?

no, those were entirely stefan's idea and design.

how do you distinguate your work with pain station and with converter? when starting to compose, do you know for which band you're going to write?

yeah, i always know which one i'm going to write for before i sit down at the keyboard. i'm trying to make a point of creating more of an identity for both projects so they don't sound too much alike. otherwise there's no point in having two projects.

do you think you could ever put vocals in converter?

yes, i have actually. there are probably 5 tracks with vocals now. i probably won't be doing any more with vocals because i think they made the songs sound too much like pain station. one of these tracks is set for release (on the flatline compilation 2), but otherwise i don't know if they'll be released.

converter's tracks are called "conqueror", "cannibals" or "sadist." do you think that a mean attitude and mood is necessary to write or listen to this kind of music?

no, not at all. i'm sure a lot of the musicians doing rhythmic noise stuff aren't always angry like me. for me it helps somewhat, but i don't think it's necessary.

with your two projects and their success, you appear as one of the leading figure of the american electro "scene." what do you think of it? is there really a scene. do you know or work with other bands?

well, i wish i felt that were true. maybe someone should tell the european audience this because i'm not sure if they know. hehe...i don't think there's a "scene" here. industrial fans here are constantly at each others' throats about what band is good, what band isn't... who's cool, who isn't... what genre is the best, etc., rather than just getting along and banding together to support the industrial genre as a whole. it's too unorganized to be able to ever survive. that's why it hardly seems worth it to play live shows here. you never know when you will have an audience of 100 people or 10.

anything to add?

just that i appreciate all the support! both of my projects have their own websites at: http://www.rivet-head.com/pstation/ and http://www.ant-zen.com/converter/.

last question, important question: what to do the morning after a hangover?

i know this well... for me, i have a cup of coffee and take a couple excedrins.