1 - Tell us how your project(s) were started.
In solitude. I finally kicked in that mental dam and all those festering and brackish backwaters surged forth. Sons of Perdition was originally a very personal little project, and I had no intention of ever sharing it with anyone. Presumably, this allowed more freedom from self-censorship. I recorded everything myself when I couldn't find anyone with an interest in what I was pursuing. I quickly realized that I like being godlike in control when it comes to self-expression, thus shedding the desire to have lots of other folks around to muck it up with outside influences and alien suggestions. I think this made the songs more focused and more personally interesting, although I really get a kick out of collaborating with folks whenever I have respect for what they do.
2 - What does music, in its entirety, mean to you?
Music is usually just songs. It's inane static to keep your brain shackled, rhyming nonsense with a slick beat. When it transcends that and the lyrics, music and voice coalesce, it becomes the distilled consciousness of a community.
3 - What does art, in its entirety, mean to you?
It's expression without the constraints of language. And sometimes it's still around after you die. I think that art for the sake of displaying technique, like a painting of a photorealistic landscape, is usually masturbatory. It's flashy and communicates nothing that a photograph wouldn't more succinctly express. At the same time, I lean more toward art with elements of realism, some semblance of a grounding in reality, than wholly abstract works. Establishing a scene within at least some of the frameworks of the world lets you really spin it out into something more convincingly weird. And I hate most ultra-modern "conceptual" artwork that tries too hard to cut itself off from even rudimentary technique. It's dishonest and has no past, a lot like pop music.
4 - Who is your favorite author, and why?
I really like reading myth cycles of different cultures. It's fascinating stuff. I have a deep distrust for modernity. The older something is, the closer I feel it is to the truth. I'm not altogether sure that I believe there's an ancient universal truth that's been adulterated or lost over the eons, but... well, yeah I guess that's exactly what I believe. So I guess my favorite author is some anonymous dead guy in a loincloth.
5 - As your best friend, describe yourself.
Eh.
6 - As your worst enemy, describe yourself.
A withered turd.
7 - If your persona were immortalized as a cartoon character, who would it be?
Something incredibly boring, like the couch in "Apartment 3-G".
8 - Do you think there are conspiracies against the "everyday person"?
To an extent, I feel it's indisputable, but I think the major ones are formulated by something(s) other than people. And I don't follow most of the popular conspiracy theories. I think they're too simplistic and rely on the involved agents being decidedly malign.
9 - What do you do with your spare or free time?
I loathe with great intensity. I grind my teeth. I watch Westerns and I draw a lot.
10 - Please give us your interpretation of "the meaning of life".
My life is ultimately
the dance of a doomed glutton, stuffing my brain with as much junk as possible
just so it can liquify and run into the ground when I rot. I guess the meaning
is all dependent on what grows out of my fertilized grave, but that's wholly
out of my hands.
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