On June 10, I was fortunate enough to head up to the Odeon in Cleveland
to meet with Orgy. Traffic was atrocious, so even though I left with
plenty of time to spare, I arrived at the venue a short while after the
proposed meeting window. Things were pretty hectic with the band’s
schedule also (earlier in the day they had given an autograph signing
session at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), so after checking in, I was
informed they had decided to use the down-time to get some grub nearby
at BW3’s. Since I hadn't eaten, Tommy (a good friend of mine and huge
fan of Orgy’s) and I decided to head on over. We placed our order and
proceeded into the dining area where Tommy spotted the band with little
trouble, noting they were with family and a few friends. Not wanting to
disturb them, I politely approached, introduced myself and explained
that I just wanted them to be able to recognize me after dinner so we
could decide when would be a good time for the interview. They thanked
me and appreciated the fact that I didn’t want to intrude on their
private time.
Some time later, they spotted me in The Odeon and asked if after the
show would be an agreeable time to do the interview rather than before.
They're a very friendly and accommodating group of people, very capable
of giving you the feeling that you're doing them a favor instead of the
other way around. It is such a genuine and subtle part of their
personality as both people and a group that it seems perfectly natural
they're treating you as a close friend just trying to figure out when
you might be able to grab some time together, rather than just another
person trying to snag yet another show interview. You quickly begin to
understand this is a band that truly creates the music and performs
their hearts out for the love of music, the freedom of expression, and
the happiness and enjoyment of the fans.
Disown, one of the opening acts, are friends of mine from many years
back. I had no idea they were on the bill and it was a lot of fun to
watch them play a larger show. They put on a great performance and the
fans definitely gave them the appreciation they deserved. Watch for that
name, it wouldn't be a shock to me if great things came about for them.
Check them out if you get the chance.
At about 11pm Orgy took the stage. The crowd was obviously excited
as things began to get rowdy when the first notes disturbed the air. The
lights hadn’t even come up yet, the band could not yet be discerned from
the darkness, but these mere details bore no bearing whatsoever on the
noise level of the now energized flood of people crowding their way to
the front. The moment the blaze of the lights revealed the group, the
fans in attendance embarked upon a never-ending mosaic of motion,
frenzied waving of arms, stamping of feet, and boisterous
singing/screaming of lyrics as if at any moment they would actually be
able to out-shout the entire sound system and take over the show
themselves. Orgy were impervious to this would-be coup, instead drinking
in the energy, converting it to fuel and feeding it back at the revelers
at about the speed of an oncoming fighter jet.
The band wailed, hammered, jumped, and screamed their way through a
high-energy set complete with encore. Every song that anyone could have
reasonably expected to hear was performed, and as expected, things got
crazy when their signature cover of New Order's "Blue Monday" was
performed. All was good, all were happy. The world was rock 'n' roll.
Once the show was over, the band made their way to the rear of the venue
for yet another promised CMJ autograph session for the fans. The
tremendously long line snaked its way from the signing area, back
through the vestibule, and indeed on into the venue proper, three and
four or more abreast the entire length. For the better part of two hours
the band met, signed, talked, and hung-out with all comers. As expected
and evidenced by my moments with the band earlier in the evening, each
and every fan was treated as a long-time friend. I occasionally popped
my head into the signing area, or listened to the conversations of
pleased fans on their way out. The consensus is in. Orgy are, pure and
simply, all about the fans and the music. No pretensions, no bullshit.
As the last few people filed in for their autographs, I was able to
catch Jay Gordon, Orgy frontman, and check with him to see if the
interview was still a go. It had, after all, been an extremely long day,
with the 3pm autograph session kicking things off, the show itself,
and the final autograph session to wrap things up. I would have been
more than completely understanding if the band was exhausted and not up
for the interview, and said as much. Jay was having none of that. In
fact, he seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the whole thing. This
played itself out to be true early in, as he immediately relaxed, kicked
back, and basically just conversed. In between impromptu conversations
with young family members (absolutely adorable by the way) and friends,
this is what I learned about the band that is Orgy:
Viper: First off, I'd like to begin by saying that I love the
newest CD, Punk Static Paranoia.
Jay: Oh...thank you very much.
Viper: …and also the Website and graphics design, the new image on
the front page, and also the show passes.
Jay: Ah…thank you very much. Yeah, a guy named Simon did it,
for the Website and stuff. We basically updated it…he's very good at
stuff like that. To kinda re-introduce the band. You know, it's always
being changed.
Viper: That's very cool…
Jay: It's kind of a perpetual thing.
Viper: Excellent. Now, to be completely honest, I've always been
kinda on and off with Orgy’s songs. I really can't put a finger on it
or pinpoint why that is. It's like, some tracks play, and I think, "Damn,
that's good." Then on another track, I might be saying, "That's not too
bad…" you know?
Jay: [Laughs]
Viper: That's not to say that I don't really like it…
Jay: Right…
Viper: …but it's like, "Well, I don't know about this track,
or…"
Jay: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah… (again, in an understanding
tone).
Viper: But this disc, I like it… consistently all the way through. It's a very solid album.
Jay: Ah, well thank you. Yeah, it's a different record for us.
It's ah, it's all of its parts, it's what works, you know what I'm
saying? It's through and through the most consistent of all of our
records. But, I think the next record's going to be the best, our fourth
record. We don't have a title for it yet, but we're getting there…
(Slight distraction as someone asks him a question - he answers and
politely explains to her that he's doing a recorded interview. She
apologizes, and we continue.)
Viper: So, you’re working on a new, as yet untitled, record…
Jay: Paige and I are writing some songs for it. I'm building a
studio and we'll record some of it at my house and we have a studio at
Ryan's.
Viper: That makes it nice, if you suddenly have some creative
urges, or everyone wants to get something down, it's right there…
Jay: Yeah, I've always had a studio at my house, but now I'm
actually building some dedicated rooms for it.
Viper: Great, I'm sure the fans will be glad to hear new things are
in the works, and I'll definitely be looking forward to it. All right,
let's pretend I don’t know anything about Orgy…
Jay: Ok!
Viper: I've never heard a song, or seen a video, anything. How
would you personally describe what I would be in for tonight at the
show?
Jay: I’d like to say that we have this
huge budget tour, and we're gonna pull out all the stops, and go crazy…but as far as what we're doing we just want to make
everything sound good. You'd be in for a good, solid show. Minus a lot
of the things we'd love to really do… [Laughter] We're indie
now, so budgets are everything.
Viper: That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, especially when
you've got a solid following…
Jay: Oh, definitely not. It's cool. The fans definitely help to
keep it alive.
Viper: Along the assumption that I don't know anything at all, how
would you describe to me what I'm going to hear musically?
Jay: Uhm, I dunno, like ah, some crazy shit. You know, lots of
really crazy noises, and things that we worked really hard to get there.
But, ah, I dunno…[Laughter]
Viper: Well, the reason I like to ask that is that so
many reviewers and promoters, etc. seem like they can't say anything
anymore besides, "Well, they're like this band and that band; and
they're a mix between this band and that band; and if you took this band
and that band and made a bastard child then you'd have this band…"
Jay: Ah, yeah…[Disgustedly]
Viper: So I wonder, what has went wrong, where people can't seem to
describe something anymore?
Jay: No, I know. Well, you'd be experiencing some heavy, I
dunno, electro-weird whatever. Like a big fuckin' orgy. That's
where we got the name from. It's a compilation of different feelings and
whatever. Things come together like that.
Viper: What does the band mean to you personally? What does it mean
to you to be in the band, things like that…
Jay: It's something I've always wanted to do. That's why I
started the band. I've always wanted to make music, and be able to get
it to the masses, things like that. It really means a lot to me. It's
pretty much everything, you know? It's what we…it's our livelihood. It's
everything. For the last seven years, it's pretty much been everything.
It's pretty much all I do.
Viper: Excellent.
Jay: Besides that, there's remixes, and production, and things
like that…but those are my favorite of all those things.
Viper: If you were to take this time to say to the band, the fans,
all of that, what it's like to be a part of the group, what the fans
mean to you as a member of the group…
Jay: Ah man, it's all about the fans. They keep us alive, and
everything like that. That's like… it's everything. I mean… we do it for
them. [A bottle of Absolut wrapped in ribbon magically appears on the
table…Okay, it was hand-delivered by a band member…Jay laughs]. Oh yeah,
and the band they’re always cool with me. Bringing me bottles of vodka
and…I'd like to thank them for all the vodka they bring me. [Continues
to laugh] I'm a cheap date, man.
Viper: It's all good. A bottle of vodka… you never know what
might happen.
Jay: I'm tellin' ya.
Viper: Okay, the topics of the songs on this particular album. They
seem to cover a variety of concepts. Do you feel that there were any
stimuli in your lives, or in the world in general that influenced the
lyrics?
Jay: This is definitely the most personal of all the records,
as far as the band's personal lives… all of the situations we've gone
through, things like that. This record is the one that describes a lot
of that. The first two were a little more ethereal, a little more out
there as far as the subject matter being a little harder to get to. If
you were just reading the lyrics, you'd be like, "Huh?" and so I think
this record's a little more direct. You know what I mean?
Viper: Right…
Jay: That’s something I think that people… we needed to do that
now so that we could get back to doing whatever. The fourth record is
going to be my favorite. It's going to be the record that will… it's
going to reach people in ways that I don't think we've been able to do
before.
Viper: That's a cool thing to do too, because people like to see an
introspective sort of record, as long as it's done well…
Jay: Definitely. They were always complaining about not getting
enough of the inside, but you know…
Viper: Right, and you can definitely tell it's in there, because
that's kinda what prompted me to write that question in the first
place…
Jay: Ah, right on! Awesome…
Viper: I bought the CD tonight, but I have rhapsody at home…
Jay: Right…
Viper: So I've been listening to the CD on streaming audio, pretty
much non-stop for a couple weeks now, partially to get in the mood for
the show, and also just because I liked it so well…
Jay: Oh, cool…
Viper: …and I was thinking, wow, there's a lot going on lyrically
in several of these tracks… well, on pretty much the whole album
really…
Jay: Yeah, exactly…
Viper: Now as far as the music itself, of course there's a pretty
eclectic blend of soundscapes, distortion, heavy drones, beautiful synth
harmonics, spaced-out trance, a taste of hip-hop rhythms at times…
Jay: Sure…
Viper: …industrial sensibilities, punk aesthetic…
Jay: It's pretty much everything we listen to…
Viper: I could go on, of course, but is there anything you could
tell us about the wide range of styles and influences involved this
time?
Jay: I think that everybody in the band has their own things
that they really get into... [A short pause for "goodbyes" and "I love
yous" to departing friends and family] It's pretty much that everybody
in the band listens to a little bit of everything, and I'm down to put a
little bit of everything in there… you know what I mean? I do a lot of
production work, like I said, and I work on a lot different stuff,
electronic stuff, a lot of hip-hop shit, like real hip-hop stuff, like
simple, like really easy… I'm actually doing some work for Dr. Dre right
now, so ya know, I'll blend a little bit of everything into my music.
Viper: Some of the soundscapes on this record are incredible.
There's a lot of depth in there. You could take a lot of these tracks,
minus the vocals, and put them straight into a soundtrack or movie score
or something…
Jay: Oh yeah. I really love movie soundtracks and stuff like
that. That's really a huge part of any movie. I actually think about…
that this would be cool in a movie or something, like when I'm writing a
song, or something you know? I’ve thought about doing that. Stripping it
down and taking some drums and things out and putting in some keyboards
and things like that…
Viper: Earlier we talked about some of the things that influenced
the lyrics. Do you think that any of those things influenced the
nuances, the flow, the disparity of music, things like that, on the
album?
Jay: Absolutely. You know, or even vice-versa - the music
also influences the lyrics. Sometimes a certain sound may make me write
a lyric depending on the feel of the music.
Usually I write the music before the lyrics, even as a band if we do it
together that usually comes together first, then I'll go for it after
that.
Viper: That actually blends right in with my next question: Some
bands get the lyrics then the music, others have the music and then the
lyrics, some just work off a working title and it evolves from there…
Jay: Yeah, I don't really have a certain thing, but I'll do it
either way. Sometimes I just start writing lyrics right out of the blue,
you know, and I won't really have an idea of what the music would sound
like yet. Then I'll start thinking about a rhythmic pattern or
something, based on what I'm saying… and then, everything is
formed by some sort of rhythmic thing.
Viper: So, basically whatever's driving you at the time starts to
become something, and it goes from there…
Jay: Right. Mmm hmm.
Viper: Now, you refer to yourself, on the site, as a "total
neurotic perfectionist”"
Jay: [Laughter]
Viper: Now, if I were interviewing anyone else, I would
have asked them if they agreed with that assessment to get someone
else's opinion of whether you're neurotic or not…
Jay: Right…
Viper: …about perfection. Why do you feel… is it just that you want
to do the best you can do, or…
Jay: Yeah, I am… but I don't know if that actually… if the… you
know, I'm a neurotic perfectionist in the sense that, I mean, I want
everything to be perfect, but you can't really… like, you don't want to
give up everything you have. Like, in the sense that you want to
preserve the rawness of it, and stuff like that. You kinda… I'm not
actually a neurotic perfectionist, just getting it livable or to the
point where it sounds raw enough or whatever it takes. Some sounds might
be too, I dunno, like too good maybe, or that sort of thing, so maybe
you want to trash it up or something like that. So, I spend way
too much time assessing what this sound needs or something. I think on
this fourth record things are gonna be a lot better because I'm just
letting it all go this time. Just whatever it is, if it
works… If it ain't broke, don't fix it, you know?
Viper: Right. You can easily overanalyze and it can sound too
contrived, or too produced, or something…
Jay: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, we've always known that, and we try
to never do that crap. We never want to put too much production on it or
something.
Viper: Would you say that everyone else in the band is also a
perfectionist?
Jay: Yeah, they all are. Everybody is, you know, in a way it
can be the hardest thing to do… but in a way it's a good thing too,
because everybody knows what they want, or everybody as least has some
input on it.
Viper: It helps with the vision…but it could drag out forever…
Jay: It does help with that. Yeah, yeah…[Laughs] There are lots
of moments when we're all locked on what something should be like, or if
we should do this or that… but we're human, so…
Viper: Okay, I have to ask… with the upcoming DVD, how did you guys
decide to do the Q&A with the fans? Like letting them have input to the
finished product? That's a really neat idea.
Jay: Ah, thanks! We did a lot of that with the title. We had
them name it. They picked the lyrics out of the song "Gerrold". ["Where’s
Gerrold" off the Vapor Transmission record.] I went with that.
Viper: That's very cool. A lot of bands wouldn't go to that length
to include the fans…
Jay: That's what my label's all about. I always wanted the fans
to be the A&R people. You know what I mean? Like, put the people with
their music.
Viper: That's the best way to do it. These are the people that are
going to spend their money… they're the ones who are in touch with what
people want.
Jay: Exactly.
Viper: Okay, these last questions are just things I like to ask as a
fan, and as a fellow music creator and addict…
Jay: That's fine…
Viper: …To be honest, it's just the chance for me to ask geeky
questions that I think are fun to know.
Jay: That's cool.
Viper: Do you remember where you were or what you were doing the
first time you heard a song of your own on the radio? Completely out of
the blue.
Jay: Oh yeah. I was in the parking lot across the street from
the Crazy Girls, a titty bar we always went out to at the time. I heard
"Stitches". It was incredible; I heard it on KROQ. Yeah, that was crazy.
But I do remember it.
Viper: Like I said, that's the one that every band can always
answer. That's like a milestone…
Jay: Oh yeah, that's a huge moment. You're gonna remember that
one. I couldn't believe it. It was really weird. It was like, whoa…
Viper: Do you have any strange rituals or a routine you like to
stick to before you go onstage… to prepare for the show?
Jay: No, I just warm up a little bit. No weird prayer sessions
or anything strange.
Viper: I started asking that question because I've noticed a lot of
people have things that they need to stick to in order to get things
done sometimes…like they have to walk three times in a small circle to
the right or something…
Jay: Right, right. Like they think they have to put on their
game shirt or something to get ready to go. No, I don't have any of
those. You know, shoes can make a difference, though. I just want to be
in something comfortable. That's like my only weird deal on that one I
guess… as long as I'm all right on that, everything's chill.
Viper: What about anyone else in the band?
Jay: Nah, no. You know how drummers stretch and shit like that?
Nah, nothing… None of us do anything like that. We always just try to
psyche ourselves up a little bit. Maybe just jump up and down…stretch
out a little bit, just a little warm-up.
Viper: Who's the practical joker in the band? It seems like any
time more than two people have to hang together for a while, there's
always at least one…
Jay: Mmm…well, there's a lot of 'em in our band. Paige and Ryan
are probably the two most jokey guys. Yeah, definitely.
Viper: Well, that's pretty much all I wanted to ask you.
Jay: All right, brother.
Viper: I appreciate your time and thank you so much for the
interview.
Jay: No problem, man.
Viper: Keep pushing forward, and I'll be looking forward to the new
one you're working on.
Jay: Thank you! All right, man.
Viper: Thanks a lot.
Jay: Cool brother!
http://www.punkstatikparanoia.com/2004/psp-html.html
