By David E. Gehlke
In an era where veteran rockers are no longer as willing to subject themselves to lengthy tours and have instead flocked to lucrative one-offs, festival dates or even residencies, horror rock frontman Wednesday 13 and his eponymous band are going in the opposite direction. The singer was at the tail end of a six-week jaunt when he got BLABBERMOUTH.NET on the line to talk about his new and enthralling “Mid-Death Crisis” studio album. The title is every bit as self-effacing as it sounds, with Wednesday 13 poking fun at the fact he’s about to hit 50 next year, all the while, he’s still very much game for all the work his career entails — including long tours that sometimes make him feel like it’s Groundhog’s Day.
“Mid-Death Crisis” comes on the heels of the man’s well-received MURDERDOLLS tribute shows for co-founding member and drummer Joey Jordison (also of SLIPKNOT),who passed away in 2022. The frontman now has the dual responsibility of carrying on a steady, successful solo career while maintaining MURDERDOLLS‘ legacy, which, as often is the case when a popular band member passes away, has only grown in popularity. However, these aren’t bad problems to have, and judging by Wednesday‘s comments to BLABBERMOUTH.NET, he’s in this for the long haul.
Blabbermouth: Is there a bit of tongue in cheek with the “Mid-Death Crisis” album title?
Wednesday: “Full tongue and cheek there. I turn 49 in August; I’m 50 next year, which is crazy. I’m like, ‘How does that work?’ Maybe a year and a half ago, we were backstage. My daughter turned 27; I have a granddaughter who is almost eight. I’m getting close to 50, and I was backstage complaining and ranting. My drummer [Mike Dupke] walked by and popped in and said, ‘Sounds like you’re going through a mid-death crisis.’ He’s the comic relief guy in the band. I laughed and went, ‘I do. That’s a great title!’ I made a mental note of it. When I started writing music for this, I kept writing these sarcastic songs. The first one I wrote was ‘My Funeral’. It became the theme of the record. I went, ‘Embrace this. Embrace getting old. The live fast, die young thing didn’t work out.’ [Laughs] The album is another cool thing for me because I was literally thinking, ‘Who would be going through a mid-death crisis? Maybe a vampire or Frankenstein?’ That’s why the cover has me as Frankenstein. You can see my lip and nose ring, so it reflects me. I called this my ‘Laughing my way to the grave record.’ It’s all I can do at this point.”
Blabbermouth: That brings up a good point: You still tour for extended periods. At a time when guys are now pulling off the road and doing select shows, how are you holding up?
Wednesday: “I do pretty good. This is show 35 tonight. I noticed about four or five days ago I started to get burned out. Doing the press straight into soundcheck and VIPs, my whole afternoon is a lot of talking. I’m enjoying talking about it and doing interviews. The other day, it hit me. I couldn’t distinguish my answer. I went, ‘Did I answer this?’ I went, ‘I think I’m burned out.’ Luckily, it’s coming to an end. Six weeks of touring is about my limit. I’m having a blast. My band is firing on all cylinders. It’s autopilot going onstage now. I love it. It’s crazy to say it at this age: I’m playing better, I’m singing better than I ever did. That’s something I’ve gotten better at over time. It’s something I really try to be good at. I want people to walk away and go, ‘Holy shit! That show just kicked my ass. That dude’s almost 50, and he just did a David Lee Roth kick over my head. What’s happening here?’ It’s important to go out and do a good live show and deliver and sound like, or better than, my records.”
Blabbermouth: We talked about the album title being tongue in cheek, but the theme of the record is also lighthearted. Was that intentional, given the state of things?
Wednesday: “Music gave me an outlet from the real world. Politics, there’s nothing fun about them. I don’t see any fun side to it. Discussing it is not good for me. There are bands that I enjoy who do that sort of thing, like MINISTRY and KILLING JOKE. I love it when they go on their political rants. No one does it better than them. I get it out through them. I sing about what I know: Monster movies and ‘fuck you’ songs. I zoned in on it. That was my thing this time. People need an escape from the real world. It’s a little too ‘real’ right now.”
Blabbermouth: The album also has a handful of heavier cuts. Where are you in terms of leaning into your metal side these days?
Wednesday: “We were calling ourselves ‘horror metal’ when we signed to Nuclear Blast in 2017. ‘Condolences’ is the real metal record, so we just kind of experimented with it a little more. When it came to this record, my conscious effort was not to experiment. I’m like, ‘I’m tired of fucking around with experimenting.’ During Covid, I was able to put on the brakes, look at my career, look at all of my stuff and listen to my fans. Everyone will let you know now. [Laughs] I know what they like. I know what they don’t like. I’m able to look back on it and go, ‘What do you like? What songs do you want to play?’ I’ve got a huge catalog of music, and I’m going, ‘I don’t want to play every song. What has stood the test of time?’ It’s always the earlier songs. It’s the first few records. It’s not that I don’t like my last records, but I think my heart and roots are in those first few records. I went back with that mindset, and I easily made this record up. I wrote it in two months and recorded it in a month. That was it. It was pretty simple. I wanted it to be a funhouse ride. Quick, spits you out and makes you want to hop back in the seat and do it again.”
Blabbermouth: “Transylvania 90210” came out over 20 years ago. You must have a hard time figuring out what to play live.
Wednesday: “It sucks. I went, ‘All right, I’ll pick two songs from each record.’ When I did that, I had 40 songs. [Laughs] I went, ‘Fuck. Cut it down.’ Now it’s 20. That’s still too many. I thought, ‘What do I do?’ Selectively, I’ll play the first album, the new songs and a couple of MURDERDOLLS songs. That’s it. Everything else can wait. That’s what I did for this tour. Now, I’m getting ready for the next one, and I’m going, ‘I want to add this one. I want to add that one.’ It’s going to be tough. I’ll go home and arrange it in my iTunes and use the DJ to shuffle it for a few weeks. That’s how I do it. It has to flow for me. Setlists, I overanalyze them. I think about them too much, but I make them work. It makes our show.”
Blabbermouth: How did the Taime Downe (FASTER PUSSYCAT) connection happen for “No Apologies”?
Wednesday: “When I was younger, FASTER PUSSYCAT was my favorite band. Them and L.A. GUNS. Back-to-back. I had them on cassette! I wanted to find out more and more about FASTER PUSSYCAT. You couldn’t get posters; they weren’t as big as GUNS N’ ROSES. You couldn’t find them. I went to a local music store and found a tablature book of FASTER PUSSYCAT that said, ‘Poster inside.’ My friend goes, ‘I’m buying it! I gotta get the poster. You take this book with all this musical stuff in it.’ I said, ‘I don’t know what this is!’ I investigated what tablature was. I learned how to do it. I was learning to play guitar and learned how to play their entire first album by tablature. I can play ‘Bathroom Wall’ and ‘Don’t Change That Song’. I know all the leads from that album.
“Fast forward to now, and he’s singing on my record. He’s in the studio with me. Taime became a friend of mine over a decade ago when I moved to L.A. All of his band members are my friends as well. We recently toured Australia and became even closer. Then we went into the studio last year when I brought in ‘No Apologies’. Originally, I brought the riff. Then we had this vocal part [sings melody]. The producer goes, ‘That sounds like FASTER PUSSYCAT.’ I said, ‘It does!” Then, it became the ‘FASTER PUSSYCAT song.’ A few days later, it was suggested, ‘You should get Taime to sing on it.’ Two days after someone mentioned it, I called him up: ‘Do you want to do this?’ He said yes and rode his motorcycle over. It was like Fonzie coming over. He went into the studio, and we hung out like a band for a couple of hours. He tracked his part and was very complimentary of the band, telling me how much he loved our band. It was a really cool, full-circle moment for me. It was as important as having Alice Cooper on my record a couple of years ago. I blame Taime for the way I look. If you look at his history, he was a blonde-haired guy who dyed his hair black and started wearing top hats. I’m the same way; I followed him.”
Blabbermouth: How is he holding up? (Author’s note: Downe‘s fiancée, Kimberly Burch, died after going overboard from the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer Of The Seas during the first day of The 80s Cruise in early March.)
Wednesday: “I spoke with him after it all happened. He’s hurt, obviously. But he’s doing good; he’s doing well. I saw him post the other day about his eight years of sobriety. I think a lot of people were worried about that the most. He stayed strong and got a lot of positive feedback on this track with us. It’s an unfortunate thing for him. I’m glad he’s seeing some light and closure with it. He’s got a tour coming up with SUPERSUCKERS. It’s an unfortunate thing. I think he’s doing okay.”
Blabbermouth: How is L.A. treating you?
Wednesday: “I love it. I moved to Burbank during Covid. I fell in love with that area. It was a whole area that I didn’t know, but it was so calm and cool. The wildlife in my backyard, I’m from the country in North Carolina, I’m not used to seeing so much of it. When the sun goes down, everything comes to life: possums and raccoons in my backyard. It’s calm and quiet there. I hope I can stay here for a while and that it will remain as cool as it is.”
Blabbermouth: What’s your approach toward playing MURDERDOLLS material? You did the full live record a few years ago, and you still have a few songs in your live set. Will that door always be open?
Wednesday: “I didn’t play those songs for many years. After Joey passed, I saw the outpouring of everybody’s love for Joey. I was reminded of MURDERDOLLS. I went back and did all those shows for a year and a half around the world. It was great to play those songs. I think playing those songs is what made this record sound the way it sounds. It re-ignited that old spirit that was there. It was a cool thing. I still enjoy playing those songs. We still play a handful during our shows now. But I have enjoyed getting back to my catalog. I don’t think I’ll ever get away from playing MURDERDOLLS songs. I don’t look at it as a chore.”
Blabbermouth: That’s what I was wondering.
Wednesday: “There are times when we rehearse some of those songs or even some of my songs, like ‘I Love To Say Fuck’. But, live, I can’t wait until we get to that song in the set because the reaction is insane. It’s one of those songs where I’m on autopilot. I know it; the band will rehearse some of those songs, but nothing feels like a chore. I just wish I could play more songs sometimes. I have a lot of songs, but luckily, I tour so much that I’m going to start changing up the setlist a little more.”
Blabbermouth: MURDERDOLLS presents an intriguing case, as you’re not simply capitalizing on its legacy. However, the band has gained popularity following Joey‘s death.
Wednesday: “I realized a year and a half ago that teenagers had discovered MURDERDOLLS and WEDNESDAY 13. I receive messages, ‘Why aren’t you playing all ages?’ I get those a lot! I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ Our front row at the shows is filled with teenagers; the same goes for meet and greets. They just discovered MURDERDOLLS, and we’re their favorite band. I think you guys at Blabbermouth ran a feature last week where I said something like, ‘MURDERDOLLS hasn’t reached its peak yet.’ People are discovering it; it’s a crazy thing. People are showing up with MURDERDOLLS shirts on, and they are teenagers. It’s going to give me another 23 years. That’s a great thing. One thing I also realized is that I hadn’t played our cover of [Billy Idol‘s] ‘White Wedding’ since we did it in 2003. When we played it for the first show we did for the tribute, I was like, ‘Holy shit! This is our hit! We haven’t even played this song. This is our MARILYN MANSON ‘Sweet Dreams’. As soon as we played it, it was instant. I’m glad I went back and revisited that stuff. I realized the power of it. I always have my ‘He-Man’ sword of MURDERDOLLS to bring out.”
Blabbermouth: You’re self-managed. Do you want to go into everything you get out of it, taking into account all the work you put in?
Wednesday: “It’s worked. But I don’t look at it like that. I got into this whole thing to avoid a job or responsibilities. [Laughs] I realized after I stopped my partying days that I could make what’s already working so much better. I got more involved with it. I don’t know, it’s a challenge for me to see what else I can do. I know I’ve kept this boat floating for a while. It’s been pretty consistent, but I’m always aiming for bigger things. It’s a lot of work. It takes a lot to do this. It’s not just about playing shows. It’s a full day of work, like setting up a record. I get up in the morning. We usually park our bus at the gym and do that for an hour or two. Then it’s interviews, then soundcheck, VIPs, then I have one hour to eat before I get dressed, and then it’s the show. Afterward, if I want to shower, we do that, then leave. I get up and do that again. It’s been like that for 36 shows. I left for this tour on March 22. That’s how long I’ve been on the road, since it’s now early May. It’s a lot of time. People go away for a vacation for a week and say, ‘Wow! I was gone for so long!’ Imagine being away from your home for six and a half weeks. I’ve done it. I enjoy it, and I love it. I love the travel. It does get tiring. It feels like Groundhog’s Day sometimes. I can’t tell the days apart. I’m not being an asshole; I just don’t know where I am sometimes.”
Photo credit: Anabel DFlux
Source: blabbermouth.net
