Webmaster’s Note: Wetworks Ezine is no longer in existence, so here is the interview with GothX in its entirety…
File: Brainclaw | Online Date: 10.13.03 | Operative: Gothx
01. For those who may not be familiar with your project, can you tells us a little about yourselves?
David: I started making electronic music back in 1983 with my first Casio keyboard and a set of Mattel Synsonics drums. Each year I added a new piece of gear, interspersed with Suzuki Method piano lessons. This music was extremely primitive and unfocused. During my time at Ithaca College, my gear and experience reached a point where a definite, focused direction could be reached. My past years listening to Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Devo, Yello and Front 242 showed me that my new Brainclaw Project would be aggressive, danceable electronic music, my favorite to listen to. Brainclaw was born in 1988/1989 and lasted uninterrupted until I was recruited in 1997 to co-found Philadelphia’s Carfax Abbey. A 5-year run with these fine Industrial rockers gave me much hard experience in the field. Last Spring I felt Brainclaw was calling to me again. Carfax had taken a turn toward a more Rock-oriented sound and turmoil in my own life had emerged from a divorce of an eight-year marriage gone sour. I couldn’t give Carfax Abbey 100% effort, so I amicably parted ways with them to pursue purely electronic music again, as well as get my life back together.
Tara: I am so excited to be working with David. My experience in music is much different. Being a drummer, I was influenced by the hard hitters in the heavy metal world. Brainclaw has given me the precision that only electronic drums can afford. Programming is new to me, but I caught on pretty quick. I finally feel that my ideas can be literally translated into cool chops, beats or sounds at lightening speed. As it were, progress has caught up to me!
02. When Brainclaw first started, it was just David Giuffre, and later on Tara Lessard was added. How did you both meet?
Tara: We met at a Carfax Abbey show circa 1997 in Levittown, Pa. It was a small, smoky, local club, and I had never heard anything quite like them in my life. I knew John Ruszin, the guitar player, from taking drum lessons at A-Z Music where he taught guitar. I spoke to John and then to David about Carfax and their show. The rest is history. David and I became fast friends. I worked for the band for quite awhile, doing PR work and some booking, and left when David did, to pursue Brainclaw full time. In the meantime, we both went through pretty harrowing divorces, and in the end, after the dust had settled, we fell in love and now have joined forces permanently!
03. What made you decide to start making industrial music?
David: This is an old story, but I never get tired of telling it! Way back in 1978, I was watching Saturday Night Live and the musical guest was Gary Numan. He played with four men on these keyboard instruments (Moog Polymoogs and Memorymoogs) a drummer, a bassist and guitarist. The music was like nothing I had ever heard, growing up in a home of John Denver and Jim Croce. I was instantly hooked, and badgered my parents to help me find out more about the keyboard instruments. They got me my first little Casio several years later. My first music recording purchase was at 10 years of age, and it was the 45 rpm record of Gary Numan’s Cars/Metal. Devo records followed Tomita records and Kraftwerk records joined Yello records. My first real synth was a Korg Poly 61 in 1984. All of this just grew over the years, and blossomed into the music we are writing now. The Road goes ever on and on…
Tara: Ok, so after the heavy metal fad went the way of all bad things, (Hee hee!) I was left with, well, dance music. Which is just as silly as light beer, why bother? In the void, I met David and he introduced me to all the people he was influenced by. I loved the intricate sound-scapes, the booming bass, and rhythmic, continuous flow of beats. In the studio, recording electro-industrial music is complex and there is such a myriad plethora of sound design ideas to agree upon and introduce. Also, the prospective idea of playing out at clubs seems less stressful knowing what to expect from the guys who work the board. I found out the hard way that electronic music doesn’t usually comply with the “Rules” established for rock band mixing. Trying to get the electronic components heard over the bashing drums, wailing guitars and bass was well nigh impossible most of the time.
04. Your music has been compared to such bands like And One, Skinny Puppy, and Xorcist. Do you believe these comparisons accurately describe your music?
David: Ahh, the ever-present conundrum of the almighty Comparison! First of all, we always find it extremely flattering to be compared to one or more of the Masters who have come before us. There is nothing quite as nice as being favorably compared to excellent and established electronic music acts that you love to listen to anyway. Xorcist was our first comparison, way back on the day with our first review in Industrial Nation magazine. We love it! The truth of the matter is, however, that we really don’t sound like Skinny Puppy. And One is a closer comparison, but not quire there. Project Pitchfork is even closer, but not on the mark. I guess that all we can hope for is to create our own lasting and original additions to the huge structure of Electronic Music that had been being crafted for many years. Maybe someday someone will be compared to Brainclaw!
Tara: I don’t mind comparisons as they give a reference point, somewhere to go. It’s like checking out the back of a video/DVD you’ve never seen, and reading the recommendation. For instance, ” If you like _________, then you’ll love Brainclaw.” Our music is in a constant state of flux, as are our ideas, influences, and techniques. For now, this is what it looks like. We are having a great time appreciating other people’s music, and recording our own.
05. Since the formation of your project, you have self-released ten albums. What do you believe are the benefits of releasing your own material?
David: The benefits are varied and many, as are the drawbacks. We save an enormous amount of time doing everything ourselves. We have complete control over everything we write, and over the way we release it, the artwork and websites, all of it. You have nobody looking over your shoulder and telling you that you haven’t sold enough units or created enough radio hits. On the flipside, reaching your audience can be hard, because your power as two little humans in this big world is severely limited. We have done fairly well so far, and with stringent promotional practices, I believe we can go a long way as a home-based operation. One of the things that is really scary to me is the way big record companies just crank out the same lousy, cookie-cutter radio music all day long. If radio stations didn’t bombard you with the same dross all day long, I guarantee you wouldn’t like it at all. When was the last time you heard the new Front 242 single on the radio? You NEVER WILL, EVER. Self-promotion and self-release of material is paramount to the electronic musician of today. I know our audience is out there, we just have to reach them. And we are, little by little.
Tara: I love the freedom it affords us. We are never “under the gun”. We can simply walk down to Studio Auroviral, which is in our home, and work on songs or tweak the website. We can send out press kits, or be in the sound booth cutting vocal tracks. These days, if you have a decent computer, self-release is both easy and fun. I love the “meeting and greeting” thing too. I believe that “people skills” are a huge part of the cottage music industry. We are always asking for help and ideas, whether it is with artistic renderings, photography or sound design. We do most of the work ourselves, and love getting help from our friends as well.
06. You have been around for about fourteen years now. What inspires you to continue to write music after all these years?
David: Our inspiration and drive come from the same places they have always come from. The stresses of being a human on this planet engender great impetus for being creative. We strive to make sense of our emotional responses and our places in this world. As a massive Devo fan, I realize that we are surrounded by a lack of caring and ignorance every day. We are a devolving species, and we are simply documenting humankind’s gradual slide. There is plenty to drive interesting music, within us and without. Some of my best work was written during times of deep depression and anger. We’ve never taken drugs or altered our minds to be creative. That is the single biggest error any creative person can make. Being a good electronic musician demands the ability to think clearly and respond to data from your machines and from each other. I will never run out of things to write music about.
Tara: I love to think about people like Bach or Mozart, or even Michaelangelo. Most everyone these days has to feel legitimized by being paid for their art. Art is creativity, uninterrupted and raw. It is not always polished, not always with smooth edges. What would have happened if these great artists had lived today? Prozac for their disturbing thoughts or painful lives, probably. We have been in touch with a lot of pain these last two years. I lost my first child, Ian Thomas, who was still-born. We both had difficult divorces. In one of my favorite movies, David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers, Bev says, “Pain creates character distortion. Medicine is simply not necessary.” Life is stranger than fiction anyway. We create music, our art, to work out our issues, and in the process, create something tangible. BPMs? They are painful, joyful moments, baby!
07. You were one of the founding members of Carfax Abbey. Are you still active with them?
David: Yes, actually. We stayed close with them after I decided to leave, attending their shows and spending time on the weekends with them. Recently, Carfax approached us with a desire to create some new songs, infusing them with a more electro/industrial feel than much of their recent material had contained. We have finished one new song, and are near to completing a second one. We fit them in around the busy Brainclaw recording schedule that is currently taking up nearly all of our time. It is a different creative process, but still very enjoyable.
08. What’s in the future for Brainclaw?
David: Puppets. Definitely something with puppets! Actually, the new CD is the absolute priority project to complete right now. After that is complete and manufactured, live show dates will most likely become the focus for awhile. Depending on how the material is received by the audience, we may extend the live shows. We absolutely don’t want to get on the typical local band treadmill of two shows a week, in the same clubs over and over. We want to make Brainclaw shows special, with advanced lighting and plenty of unique effects and plain good music. I envision one or two shows a month at the absolute most, in entirely different locations. The website will continue to evolve as well, along with professional merchandise design and continued songwriting and recording. A video is in the works, and possibly some Brainclaw music in an upcoming feature film. There are also the merest hints of some Label interest, but that will remain under wraps for now. All in all, it looks like it will be a fun ride!
Tara: As David said, we will be working on a live show. I really like the trend which I’ve witnessed recently, aesthetic placement of artists, craftsmen and like-minded individuals, working together to create memorable club events. There is usually something for everyone, and they tend not to be quite as mind-numbingly boring for people who don’t drink, as most normal club nights tend to be.
09. Do you have any side projects?
David: Aside from Carfax Abbey, the odd minor soundtrack or voice-over job presents itself every so often. We try to keep other projects at an absolute minimum, since we have an excellent focus on the Brainclaw project right now. An exception would be the upcoming renovation we are doing on our home. That will take up some time and energy, but we love that kind of work as well. I have a new love for the Native American cedar flute, and I am hoping to purchase one this winter and teach myself to play.
Tara: I am continuing my education, without being enrolled in school. I am very involved in community events, and belong to numerous non-profit organizations. These organizations keep me both busy and also extremely appreciative of the things I have in my life. We lead truly blessed lives, and we like to give something back when we can. The circle of positive energy should be continuous and unbroken.
10. If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t more people happy?
David: An astute observation, but with an incorrect premise. Ignorance breeds only contempt, fear and hatred. It may be blissful for the ignorant person as long as he or she has no direct contact with others, but this is unlikely in our world. Tara and I are now extremely happy. We were not always so. We have achieved this through a twofold technique. The first part of this technique will probably amaze most people. We got rid of our televisions. We ELIMINATED television, radio and newspapers from our lives completely. We have been broadcast media-free for over two years now. Television is a tool of the state, used only to control by instilling fear and the perceived need to consume. This is an indisputable truth. Ask yourself if you could unplug your television for a whole week. If you can’t you should then ask yourself WHY NOT? Break out of your cages. The second technique for happiness is the ancient Toltec tradition of the Four Agreements. These simple ways of living have changed our lives drastically. They are:
1. Always do your best. Never more, never less. Your best will vary, day to day.
2. Never assume anything. Always ask for clarification or explanations. Eliminate doubt.
3. Always be impeccable with your word. Try going one whole day without saying anything bad about another person or yourself. This one can free you totally.
4. Never take ANYTHING personally. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Don’t take other people’s poison into yourself. Ever. This is the hardest one. Good luck!
Tara: Laurie Anderson once said, “We are in record.” There is no pause, no stop, no rewind and no fast forward. This is it. If it isn’t good enough, DO something. Ignorance is a choice. Happiness is also a choice. It may seem that enlightenment creates depression. Just the opposite is true. We woke up alive today, what is there to be unhappy about? We always have the opportunity to change. We all have one thing in common. Right now, we are all here, in whatever capacity. Make the best of it now, or regret it later. Regrets and resentment create a myriad of physical ailments. If you wait long enough, things will always change. Drive the machine, rather than be driven by it.
11. Any final comments?
David: Thank you for the opportunity to share our thoughts and feelings with your readers. Please check our website for news on the band, and look for the new CD sometime in late November. Remember, the Fittest shall survive, yet the Unfit may live.
Tara: It’s always wonderful to talk to people of like mind, thank you so much! I can’t wait to meet new people when we go live. Find something worth dying for, and live for it every day.
Interview conducted by: Gothx
Brainclaw: http://www.brainclaw.com
(c) 2003 Wet-Works Electrozine
