OF CRACKPUPPY TALKS ABOUT
JESUS MAFIA |
by: De Fen
|
Canadian metal/rock band Crackpuppy have just released the
stunning six song EP, Jesus Mafia. This new release
offers a range of relevant subject matter from sharp and
humorous criticisms of religion to a modern spin on
traditional break up themes. Overall, Crackpuppy's humor
is just as pronounced and well developed as their musical
craft. As guitarist Patricia Wilson puts it, "Look at the
world, if you can't laugh you may as well go jump off a
bridge." Musically, Crackpuppy bring an amazing blast of
guitars and fluxuate in style between rock and metal,
maintaining both their originality and their
listenability. I recently had a chance to chat with guitarist and founder, Patricia Wilson. In this interview Patricia discusses Jesus Mafia and shares her thoughts on The Occupy Movement. Enjoy! |
Patricia Wilson- Crackpuppy started out as a whim. We
got together to say a few things and play a little music.
It was audiences that started us down the road. We played
our first gig and we continued to get offers for more and
more gigs. We still exist for ourselves and for fun.
Hopefully everyone else still likes our music as much as
we do (laughs).
Punk Globe- Can you tell the Punk Globe readers about
your new release?
Patricia Wilson- It's called Jesus Mafia and it's a six
song ep that deals with various situations in life. The
title track, Jesus Mafia has to do with the fact that a
lot of people who raise their arms for Jesus Christ also
rape, pillage, and murder. They've been doing this for
centuries. I have no problem with Jesus Christ, it's his
gang that I hate. There's a few fun things like, Litter
(Fuck You and Your 1980s Haircut) which I wrote after
watching two lesbians break up. Second Coming is about
religion and sexually abuse and how it all gets pushed
under the carpet. Leave Your Shit is about somebody
moving in on somebody else. There's always something to
write about, whether it be the church, the world or
yourself.
Punk Globe- I had a chance to listen to it and thought it
a really great balance between humor and serious social
commentary.
Patricia Wilson- If you don't have a sense of humor
you're dead. Look at the world, if you can't laugh you
may as well go jump off a bridge. You have to be able to
laugh. We're the new dinosaurs, right? The world is just
waiting for us to disappear so it can get back it's
health. When we go the world will be fine.
Punk Globe- We have made a mess of it. How would you say
Jesus Mafia is different from your previous release,
Vintage Porn?
Patricia Wilson- Vintage Porn was done off the floor.
Live rock. The whole band was in the same room. I didn't
even know our singer could sing until we went into the
recording studio. I had never heard him (laughs) because
we were so loud. Jesus Mafia was mastered by George
Marino, the legend who mastered Guns N' Roses among
others. It's kind of a guitar army (laughs). There's a
lot of guitar on this album, which makes me happy because
I love guitar. It's also different because there's more
of a social statement. Right now it seems like everyone
is saying how fucked things are and nobody wants to hear
it because people are so overloaded, but we have to keep
saying it. I never thought in a million years that I
would buy a Lady Gaga album. My favorite bands are
Motorhead, Rancid and such. But you know what? Lady Gaga
is okay because of what she has to say. I primarily
bought the record as a gesture of solidarity. She's done
many good things for many people even though it could have
gotten in the way of her career.
Punk Globe- I have a very similar view of Lady Gaga.
Have you been paying attention to the whole Occupy Wall
Street movement?
Patricia Wilson- For sure. I actually believe that it's
more potent in the United States and Europe than it is in
Canada.
Punk Globe- That's weird because the call came from Kalle
Lasn, out of Canada.
Patricia Wilson- I know. It is weird. In the middle of
an Occupy protest here in Canada a girl came out holding a
sign that said "Everything is okay. Go back to shopping."
It was funny. Then the crowd dispersed and everyone went
back to work. Occupy means stay in one place. You know,
it is more potent in the United States, but then look at
the health care system for one thing. I used to live in
L.A. and people seemed to get crushed so much easier. In
Canada we have social medicine.
Punk Globe- That makes a lot of sense. Canada has way
more progressive social policies than the United States.
That has to have an influence on the potency of the
Canadian Occupy movement.
Patricia Wilson- From the 1970s until the early 1980s I
lived off and on in Topanga Canyon, which was pretty much
the hippie capital of the world back then. You always
felt on your own. You didn't feel like you had any help
at all from the government. In Canada at least you know
you're not completely alone. Also, I know most of my
members of Parliament by their first names and I can say
hello to them on the street. The government and the
people are very face to face. So I do understand why the
Occupy movement is so much more important in the United
States. It's important here too, but people don't get it
because they don't feel like they're on an island and
nobody cares. Another theme on this record that I really hope people is authenticity and living the life you want to live. They'll take your car, your house, your money, and they'll let your parents die, but the last thing you'll have is the knowledge that you've lived your life as it should be lived. That's the one thing that they cannot take away from you.
Punk Globe- Right on. Do you have any Crackpuppy news
for the readers?
Patricia Wilson- We have an upcoming tour in Canada and a
video coming out next month. The biggest news is that
we're going to keep doing what we're doing whether people
like us or not. Bands like Rancid, who I really enjoy,
but don't understand exactly what they're doing with the
RockNRoll Theater. It's kind of funky. It's interesting,
I'm not quite sure if I like it or not yet, but the
important thing is that they refuse to die. If somebody
isn't listening to them on one level then they're going to
create another level.
Punk Globe- Right on. Do you have any parting words?
Patricia Wilson- Happy birthday to Ginger Coyote! Our
bass player, Mark Crossley really likes Punk Globe too and
wanted to pass along a hello to Ginger. Parting words?
Never take the time to look behind you because you've
already been there.
Punk Globe would like to thank Patricia Wilson for the
interview!
Crackpuppy's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crackpuppy/253194294695792? sk=info & website: http://www.crackpuppy.net/music.htm |
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