FABRYKA INDUSTRIAL ROCK & METAL ENCYCLOPEDIA - Hate Dept. (Seibold)

2005-11-22 |

e-mail interview

NINa: The most drilling news are that Hate Dept. will release a new record "The New Ghost" in 2006. Is there any chance for full of rough hate, industrial rock/punk pieces again?

Seibold: Yes, or at least I believe so. Certainly on the rock/punk angle. I'm not sure we feel comfortable calling what Hate Dept. does 'industrial' anymore. The new record has been writing itself mostly. I live with two other writers/musicians who are always playing as well. So, it keeps me very productive.

Who is in the line-up now?

This is too soon to tell. I play music with many people. Some of them are amazing musicians/singers but they are friends and respectable performers. William Miller has been a great asset so far. He even sang with me on 'Better Days'. Michelle always brings more than I need to the table as well being a great singer and player. I've recently befriended the Virus Twiins who are identical twin brothers/artists/guitarists/programmers with very Hate Dept. personalities.

Let's talk about Pigface. There were many musicians engaged, so how did you work together? What did the process of writing songs look like?

My involvement with Pigface was as a writer and performer. I sent a Hate Dept. song called 'Insects' to Martin, who then produced and applied his formula to it. Subsequently this became a Pigface song called 'Insect/Suspect'. Other than writing and recording the original track for Hate Dept., I didn't do much else as a contributor to the record 'Easy Listening'. Most of my time with Pigface was spent on stage performing.

What is the general idea of making such 'supergroups' to mention Pigface, Revolting Cocks, Asia and others?

It feels like 'super groups' are meant to maximize audience by appealing to fragmented genres. It makes sense to capitalize on the success of collective talent and create something familiar by each of it's contributors yet have a 'freshness' by being 'collaborative'. I'm not sure this theory works. A band comprised of precious, self-aware, hyper-sensitive, arrogant 'pseudo' rock-stars doesn't feel very 'super' to me.

You've well-known of your remixes. Whose songs are queued to remix in the near future?

It seems that my involvement with 80's artists appeals to the new wave of electro artists. Most of the remixes on the cutting block are newly signed bands riding the wake of The Killers. The funny thing is: when I was involved with Berlin and Information Society, we we're trying not to sound 80's.

Telling the truth it's easier to find CDs and even tapes of Damage Manual than Hate Dept.'s in Poland :D How did you join to Damage Manual?

This is not surprising. Hate Dept. never seemed to appeal to enough people to warrant such distribution. Perhaps, Hate Dept. didn't appeal to it's respective business partners enough to warrant the money involved in 'over-seas' record campaigning. In the case of Damage Manual, the original line-up entirely European, so the audience is a given. The names that created Damage Manual all had International success and credibility, not to mention talent.

You've released 'Limited Edition' record with the new Damage Manual line-up. Will we hear something more of you three in 2006?

Perhaps, however, I would not be involved.

The song called 'Hit Back' was scored in animated 'Heavy Metal 2000' movie and some material was in Star Trek The Next Generation. Do you plan to give your music or to create something new for other movies like that?

It is great to be a part of motion picture and television productions. I'm sure I will do more, as I always offer my music to all forms of Media for use. The best part of being involved with Heavy Metal 2000, was working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin and my pal' Bill Kennedy. Those two are true professionals with genuine hearts and incredible talents.

The result of my Internet investigation is: Seibold created sounds and music to NHL commercial broadcasts, TV ads (which of them?) and what's more for Arnold Schwarzenegger's Work-Out programs. Is is true?

It is true. The Hate Dept. record 'Technical Difficulties' had a timely 'sound' and was considerably less expensive to license than The Prodigy or Crystal Method. Although I saw the commercials and even attended a hockey game where they played 'Hit Back' after a fight on the ice, I don't really remember them all that well. The song 'Anger Impulse' was used in feminine napkin commercial and 'Release It' was used for 'Star Trek -The Next Generation'. I was proud and surprised at the same time.

Which tour do you consider as the most powerful? Can you recall some strange events during your tours?

Well. Yes. I met my wife on a tour. She was a vocalist for Pigface and you might say we became friends. That is probably the most powerful event. Touring is a fantastic forum for strange and powerful events. I've played to 'riot' like mobs, empty rooms and seas of confused fans. Hate Dept. had a brief period of commercial radio success in America. We played to festival audiences with top 10 artists like Blink-182, Smashmouth, Moby, Lit and No Doubt. It was electrifying and hard to believe at the same time. When a crowd of 4000 people sing along with a song you wrote and recorded in your basement - it's a pretty exciting.

Do you still work with Martin Atkins?

No, no I don't. It would be inappropriate for me to elaborate on why. Martin may be the best and most unique drummer I've ever played with. His family, friends, staff and fans are marvelous people. Despite the mistreatment I, and we, have encountered, I still wish them all success and peace.

How many record labels have you founded so far? I've seen Uniform Media website recently. You run the business with your wife, don't you?

The traditional 'Record Label' is a complex business with rapidly moving variables. How many?.. a few I suppose. Uniform Media is less of a label and more of a production company. Yes, my wife Michelle runs half of the company. If manufacturing CD's and distributing them made sense, we would do that too. We're unusually busy as it stands, so we're not in a hurry to create more work for the business.

It seems that you've focused on Super Sport band for some time. How did it happen that you're and Michelle are in this together?

She and I always talked about the music we first fell in love with and caused us to become musicians. Bands like The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Generation X, Janes Addiction, The Misfits, George Michaels and The Cult. I had started listening to country music before I moved away from Los Angeles and together we became fond of traditional bluegrass. We even went out on a date to watch a real live 'backwoods hillbilly porch stomp'. We learned a classic rail-worker song called 'Meet Me by the Moonlight', played it fast and loud and thought "this feels rock & roll". We finished our first record "Whoopass!" and released it ourselves. The band is now vital to our existence.

Can you suggest us any new industrial rock bands?

New? No. I listen to Howard Jones, Yaz and old Depeche Mode for my synthesizer fix. I am a fan of songs so I listen to song writers. My arty' favorites are Kraftwerk, PIL and 16 Horsepower. I love The Darkness and they are fairly new... The Drive by Truckers are a great alternative country group. Killing Joke still gives me the chills and Mississippi John Hurt makes me smile. Queen is inspiring and the haunting voice of Patsy Cline makes me dreamy. A sound with the social angst of the Pistols, with the electro-production sheen of ABC have yet catch my attention...

Thanks for this opportunity NINa. And, thanks for your patience. I would love to bring Hate Dept. to Poland to perform. Take good care yourself and stay in touch.

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