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| The Exclusive Martin Atkins Interview! |
| Martin Atkins has carved a name out for himself in the Underground/Industrial Music industry not only as the thunderous drummer behind such powerhouses as Ministry, Public Image Limited, Killing Joke, The Revolting Cocks, Skinny Puppy, and his own brainchild, Pigface, but he has also made his name by giving hungry young bands and artists the same chance he had to make it through his own indie label, Invisible Records. Things are really cooking right now at Invisible, so the timing was great to talk to the versatile Mr. Atkins, whom I had actually met a few years ago on one of his solo "speaking" tours. Martin is always entertaining as you will quite see in this great interview! |
| Q: Martin, it’s great to have you here on my site! I would ask You what is new at Invisible Records, but it looks like the answer would be everything! So let Me ask You what is new with You personally? How is Your family doing? A: Family is great - things are much better now that we are all together most of the time. For a while there my studio & family were in the UK the office remained in here in Chicago - I was commuting like a maniac, jet lagged constantly and not in the least bit firing on all cylinders.....things now are really starting to gain momentum. Q: It looks like Invisible Records is really on a major roll right now! How often are You signing new acts nowadays? A: We don’t really sign new acts anymore - too many new bands have all of the attitude and words, none of the dedication, work ethic etc... SO we run bands that we like and believe in themselves through our revolutionary 'notes from thee real underground series' bands get a CD promoted through indie channels (press & radio) and they get all of the other bands information - there are 16 to 18 bands on each double CD, we are currently working on Notes #5 and a special, 'notes from thee Japanese underground' THROUGH NOTES, we are now working with Voodou, Imbue, Nocturne, Defragmentation and Acumen Nation + plugging in Notes bands to compilations etc where we can (Parallax 1 are on the Alice Cooper tribute alongside Godhead and Thrill Kill Kult!) Q: I know You probably get dozens and dozens of new demos every day, and I just want to say that the Notes from The Real Underground Project is the best and most unknown band-friendly I have ever seen to help discover new talent. Out of all of the demos you receive, how many of these bands do you think have a legitimate shot of making it? A: That’s up to the bands isn't it? It really is much more to do with how hard a band is prepared to work at it (assuming that most bands these days are making OK music (in terms of fidelity etc) AND of course, 'making it' is a flexible, relative term - I knew a guy in England who was a fireman, he had a cover band with a trailer that was able to perform once every two weeks to receptive audiences who were into the music and wanted to support the fire brigade - I told him, “Mate, that’s as good as it gets!" For me to perform with Pigface requires 3 months of set up, immigration issues, crew, busses etc… There are times when the mayhem of it all succeeds on a very different level. Q: Of course, going back to the late 80’s & early 90’s, I knew and learned about You through Pigface, and PiL, and Ministry, and Skinny Puppy, and Killing Joke, and I was just blown away by your drumming, and the whole image. I will never forget the images of You flailing away on the drums on the Ministry live home video or on the Pigface home video (that I still own!). Do you still find yourself having as much energy now as when you first began building the Invisible label? A: YES, momentum really gets me going! I still find myself jumping up and down in the studio when things start to rock OR when we have some kind of promotion on the web site that makes sense and promotes the whole Ui group and everyone’s music. It is tougher and tougher though to do anything...and of course, there are moments on stage - probably 4 or 5 times in a 6 week tour - when I leave my body and thrash around on a different planet. That’s when the bleeding hands and neck injury disappear... Q: I am happy to see that Pigface truly never dies. You clearly have kept Pigface alive by making it a very communal-type band in that basically, the whole premise of Pigface is “if anybody feels like jumping in and contributing, go right ahead!”. This not only keeps it fresh for the people that come to see you and buy your albums, but it must keep it very fresh for You? Would that be a pretty accurate assessment? A: Errrrr yes, I guess part of my unconscious really protected my ass when we put the first incarnation together - Pigface has been great for me and also a terrific haven for all kinds of people for different reasons - Mary Byker after Gay Bykers on Acid but before Apollo 440, Lesley Rankine after Silverfish but before Ruby etc… Q: Any plans for taking the next Pigface lineup out on the road yet? A: Yes FALL 2002 - working on a new studio CD right now! Q: Funny enough, I actually met you a few years ago here in Louisville, KY when You were in the middle of a unique tour in which You were traveling solo across the country just to read some poems and talk to your fans, and it was a blast. Have you considered possibly doing this again? A: Yeah - I've done this a few times either as part of a record store trip or as a kind of opening act for Godhead etc on the larger tours we've done - I really enjoy it. I did one in Niagra Falls and we were talking for hours! Q: What is a typical day like for You at the Invisible Records office at this time? A: Well, the great thing is that there are no typical days - I get up around 6am and check e mails, make coffee take the dog out etc and it takes off from there. I am lucky if I can get into the studio for some productive, un=interrupted work but I try and do a few hours every day. Sometime we screen print, renovate (studio) chat, brainstorm, etc… Q: I did want to ask You about Your drumming background a little bit. Do you remember what got You interested in playing the drums? A: I started when I was 9, my parents just bought me a rickety kit from the market which I pretty soon destroyed during a show. My Dad then bought me a new Pearl kit and I've been lucky enough to have a relationship with them ever since - first as customer now as an endorser. I used to listen to all kinds of music and remember listening to a great album with Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich dueling drum kits - not overshadowing each other but questions & answers on the kits - I guess you can hear that embryo on Murder Inc, Pigface and pretty much all of what I do these days. Q: You were one of my major early drum influences, so I was curious to know just who were some of your drumming influences? A: It seems like I am answering your questions one ahead of the list? Charlie Watts simple and he said he liked to watch everything because he could always learn what NOT to do. I saw them recently and was disappointed. I had a brief period when I was young being dazzled by Billy Cobham, the guy from Rush etc… then I got off that and into the drummer from SLADE who chewed gum at the same time as playing, to which I added spitting, then one day I just thought FUCK THIS and I started going Mad behind the drums! I think it was Ministry /Killing Joke time. Q: Do you still enjoy playing or do You even really get a chance to play drums much outside of Pigface? A: Yes I still enjoy playing and no, not much outside of Pigface/Damage. Q: What kind of gear are You using at this time? A: Pearl Drums, Aquarian Heads, Trueline Sticks, Zildjian cymbals + some electronic stuff for low end enhancement, DW pedals. Q: Have Your two Sons taken a liking to possibly playing the drums at all? A: When we had the two kits set up for Pigface they both jumped up and had a go, frightening really. Q: Martin, I want to thank You so much for your time to answer my questions and I just want to wrap up here by asking You what we can expect to see or hear from You as this year goes on? A: Well as you said, the label is in a cool momentum phase right now, everyone here is working around the clock and more people (staff, labels and bands) are jumping on board. October is the 15th anniversary of Invisible! We are giving all kinds of stuff away on the website (like a free t -shirt with every order+ a poster and a compilation of the new releases!!!!) www.invisiblerecords.com. Thanks for taking the time too. |
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