20 questions
with scissor shock's adam cooley
Scissor Shock’s Adam Cooley is unlikely to ever garner the sort of underground legend status allotted to Merzbow or The Haters, although his unusual assemblages of sound have led to a dedicated following amongst lovers of unconventional music. With releases out on several noteworthy microlabels, as well as a whole bevy of compilation appearances, Cooley has proven himself an enormously productive and continuously innovative sound sculptor. As his Scissor Shock outfit nears its end (at least for the time being), Cooley reflects on his past musical meanderings and answers our incisive, insightful, and occasionally grotesque 20 Questions. Read on...
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1. Scissor Shock's sound has changed considerably over the years, and awhile back you cut ties with the egrind scene. What sorts of genres and sounds have you been experimenting with as of late, and what would you like to try in the future?
First of all, thanks for the interview. I get interviewed about once a year, and this interview has the most interesting questions I've been asked yet! Anyway, I never felt a part of the egrind scene; when I was first making this music, I was the only one making it that I knew of. I mean, I was doing what is now called egrind back in my band Stagedive Suicide when I was 12 (approximately a decade ago), before I knew Libido Airbag or SMES or whoever ended up becoming the egrind "originators". It just seemed like a natural fit. Somewhere along the way, a thousand dumb kids started screaming over Fruity Loops and people suddenly started appreciating the music I was making. By that point, I REALLY wasn't interested in making it. I never called my music grindcore, to the best of my knowledge, though I did scream, and there was a drum machine. I was more interested in no wave music and stuff and the idea of a drum machine being arrhythmic, a style I still explore a bit. Also, don't get me wrong, there are some egrind bands I love (Kindergarten Hazing Ritual, Gigantic Brain, It's Okay We're Chainsaws, Bubblegum Octopus though he's a bit too poppy to be labeled "egrind".... and a few others), but I feel like there is just too much crap out there nowadays, and I always felt a bit "outside" of that, even though I've obviously done splits with some of those bands and some people in that scene have helped me get to, uh, where I am today, I guess. The point is, when I started making this stuff, I was just trying to do something different... making music no one else was making because I wanted to hear it. And I've pretty much changed my sound dramatically with every album, because there's no point in repeating myself. In the process, it has alienated potential fans and record labels and such who want me to release something that sounds like something else I'd done. Which always makes me curious, because I have no idea what albums of mine people have actually heard and what sound I'm associated with... for all I know, people could be basing my entire project from the songs on myspace. Basically, the stuff I'm writing at the moment sounds like Jandek, with actual riffs, doing a prog rock western, in collaboration with Captain Beefheart. I guess.
2. What is there to do in Columbus, Indiana? What's the music scene like?
I live in a town of 50,000 people, and for whatever reason, there has been an active and interesting musical scene here; lots of creative and even like-minded musicians and LOTS of bands, usually started by some combination of the same handful of people. I mean, garage surf bands, psychedelic bands, lots of experimental punk and electronic bands, even a band that sounds like Goblin (frequent Dario Argento collaborators). Lots of intelligent, open-minded, talented people have come and gone here. The problem is, there are no places to play... we played a few shows here but got kicked out because even though there are some open-minded people, the MAJORITY of people are ignorant fuckheads. We pretty much have to drive 30 miles away to play a show nowadays. But that's okay. I don't really connect with most people around here, though the few I do connect with... I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, and I often collaborate with them.
3. What's on your stereo as of late?
I mainly listen to drone, actually. Drone... and the old stand-bys: I always tell people they need to get the entire discographies of John Fahey, Thinking Fellers Union Local # 282, Sun City Girls, Slowdive, Jandek, Captain Beefheart, Cerberus Shoal, and a few releases by Boredoms, Jim O'Rourke, and Merzbow. That's all you really NEED in life, though obviously my musical tastes reach a little further beyond that.
4. How much attention do you pay to reviews of your releases?
I think they're interesting, because I'm basically sending albums to people who probably have no idea what to make of what I'm doing. I don't even know if my music is that GOOD, I don't ever listen to it, but I know what I'm doing is at least INTERESTING. And certainly most reviewers say things along those lines, "Unique! Innovative! I never want to listen to it again though!" I'm fine by that. I pretty much agree! Sometimes, it's more important to influence a lot of people than to actually be consistent all the time. When you're doing something that is clearly "experimental", you're going to REALLY divide people. But I know I have a few fans who aren't reviewers who love everything I've done. So... whatever. The music is out there, people can do what they want with it, you know?
5. Your lyrics and song titles are bizarre and often quite shocking. What inspires themes such as apocalypse and misogynism?
I dunno.
6. Digital music versus tangible, physical product. Discuss.
Doesn't matter. There won't be much physical product much longer. One year, I sold a whopping 155 physical CD's.. that was YEARS ago, maybe 4 or 5? Nowadays, I sell maybe 20 in a year (myself; I have no idea what the labels sell off of me, probably not much). Why is that? The interest in my music has definitely only gotten bigger, I've made way better music, and I've released stuff on some respected underground labels. I get new fans all the time. So... I just think people are starting to lose interest in physical product in general. Which is fine by me to an extent, I never made money off of the physical CD's I sold, anyway; I sold them for the price of shipping and handling. The only problem is, I LOVE physical products, and I love all these little labels, which feature plenty of smart, open-minded people working impossibly hard for releases that'll only be heard by maybe 50 people. So, I hope it doesn't die, and I think it won't die out COMPLETELY, but it's certainly getting to that point. I just want people to hear my music, in whatever form. I'd be doing this stuff anyway, even if I had no audience whatsoever. I just wish some labels would get more appreciation for their hard work and effort.
7. Would you rather drink a pint of diarrhea straight from the source, or a pint of garbage juice fresh-squeezed from the truck?
I guess it depends on what the garbage and the diarrhea are made of. Generally, I'd like to think diarrhea is a little healthier than garbage... garbage is a broad term, right? I mean, that could include oils and other weird chemicals... yeah, diarrhea, definitely.
8. Your "influences" list on myspace names about half the bands on the planet and spans quite an array of genres. Are there any genres you don't like at all?
No. I tend to find something good in everything in life. Even if it's something I hate, I'll try to pick one element that appeals to me. I like quite a bit of mainstream pop, country, rap. There's something cool in everything, even if it's just a silly 2 second slide guitar part or some weird synth tone. Whatever.
9. Lately you've had a string of releases on Jay Watson's Placenta imprint. How did that happen and how has it worked out?
Jay is a great guy, very friendly and easy to work with. He sent me some Placenta stuff, including DENTAL WORK who are excellent... and he got very interested in my band for whatever reason (I have no idea why people like the stuff I do), and he wanted to work with me for a while but I played hard-to-get, as I usually do with labels for a bit. Haha. But yeah, I decided to do a clearing-of-the-vaults album and throw together all these weird rarities from the past 5 years. He did a great job on putting that release together, and I think it's a good album for people just getting into Scissor Shock and also, strangely, since every song sounds SO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, it also may be one of the weirdest albums ever made. It sounds like 20 different bands, really. Anyway... I plan on putting out the next full length through him if he wants me to. It's up to him.
the rest on here:
http://www.indieville.com/articles/20Q/scissorshock.htm