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Falling Janus interview
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Falling Janus interview june 1996

Falling Janus was a darkwave band from New Orleans that appeared on Silber's first compilation Alleviation.  I don't know what became of them.

QRD – what do you feel has been your biggest break so far & what do you feel is your biggest possible break in the next year?

Harry – playing with Nine Inch Nails was probably the biggest thing we’ve ever done. it was quite incredible, lots of people. projektfest was great, hopefully spellboundfest will be too. we’re actually playing with bands who’ve done things. before we were playing shows with joe-shmoe-local-bullshit, but now we’ve done shows with Sunshine Blind, Cindytalk, Thanatos. I think in the future the best thing that will come is once we have the cd out it’ll allow us to do more spreading the material. the last two releases were limited to tape format, & I think with the cd we’ll be able to show people what we’re all about. we’re going to make the cd more layered than the tapes. some songs’ll be darkwave stuff & others’ll be total ambient noise & some acoustic & all different genres.

Mark – the happiest break for me so far is – Trent Reznor & Nine Inch Nails are all down here – I actually got to give a copy of our tape to Charlie Flouser, the keyboard player, & he said he thoroughly enjoyed it. Pod Boy (NIN’s drummer) lent us his drums for our last studio session & has been seen wearing a Falling Janus t-shirt.

Scott – when I went to florida I was just like a groupie. I wasn’t having sex with the band, but I really liked them a lot; I was a roadie. it was cool seeing people get into it. it was a totally different aspect than here. here 70% of the crowd are our friends, so they don’t picture us as musicians, but we go out of state & people are stealing guitar strings & stuff, it’s pretty neat. as far as our next break, anytime we get to play with a good strong band & we can throw a strong show for a crowd that will be very receptive.

QRD – how do you feel about the death of universal aesthetics made evident by people’s lack of appreciation of music not in the genre they’ve labeled themselves with?

Harry – any kind of limitation is very very bad. when we started out we were a very "gothic" band & it was all old school Cure/Joy Division type of stuff. but the way things have gone, like Scott’s a trance/hip-hop dj. basically one thing we try to say when people ask us what we sound like is we don’t like defining the experiment. some guy said one of our songs reminded him of a Sepultura song, and I was like, "not one I heard." I think anyone who’s open minded about music might like the stuff we do. I hate the fact that there are "goths" who only listen to "gothic" music. there’s lots of cool stuff not just limited to one style. I don’t think anyone likes to be pigeon-holed. even "goth" bands don’t want to be held down like that. I hate to say it’s all rock & roll, because it’s not all rock & roll, but whatever term you want to put to it.

Mark – I really would like people to expand & listen to more stuff, because I think if you select just one form of music you’re going to miss out on a lot of things. if you’re a mu-sician & you just have tunnel vision you’re going to miss out on the point of the whole thing; which is, basically, to encompass every- thing & give your interpretation of it all.

Scott – we all try & fit some part, let it be world music, ambient, trance, goth, traditional rock & roll, we pour it in a pot & see what comes up. Falling Janus is just an interpretation of what everybody in the band believes music is. that’s why it’s hard to define, it’s a kaleidoscope of ideas.

QRD – what do you think about aliens & ufo’s &/or mankind’s current fascination with them?

Mark – I believe that they’re real. I believe that we’re only a few years away from the rapture. all this is gonna come to light. the government is in bits & pieces informing the public indirectly about the existence of aliens through tv, movies, & stuff like Independence Day coming out. I believe it’s all totally real & there’s one big huge conspiracy. it isn’t the producers who are doing it, it’s actually the government who are involving these people to tell the public indirectly that extraterrestrial life does exist.

Scott – if they do come, that would maybe be another influence we could bring into our music. I believe in them, but I don’t go around worried about it. just like I don’t worry about vampires & satan worshippers & abortion rights people.

Harry – I think it’s the whole paranoia thing set in, & Mark’s probably the most paranoid of all of us. I definitely believe in the possibility, but I’m probably more of a government conspiracy theorist because I don’t trust anyone political. I believe they might be real, but until I see one face to face, I won’t be a complete believer. I do think the commercial marketability of it, there’s just too much around -- it’s like a hula hoop. they’re on everything. they’re alternative. that kind of puts a disillusionment on it, it gives people something to believe in & to fear. the government’s fucked up anyway, whether it’s true or not I don’t know, I’m a bit of a skeptic I guess.

QRD – at what age do you think someone becomes old or comes most in danger of becoming old?

Harry – I think people become old when they lose touch with their childhood. whenever they lose to touch with whoever they really are or wanna be. I think as you get older you probably a) get more jaded or b) go into the typical wife/job/2.5 kids. I saw Iggy Pop like a year ago & he was freaking out more & breaking shit more than the young people, so I don’t know. I’m 23 now & hope I’m still doing what I’m doing at his age.

Mark – whatever age you start complaining about the music that your kids listen to.

Scott – when you relate to Peter Frampton & people don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m 24, so I guess in twenty years I’ll feel old. when people are like, "who’s Moby?" & stuff like that, when you lose touch with what’s supposed to be hip in culture.

QRD – what’s your favorite Swans song?

Harry – I really like "Screw" & the b-side version of "Trust Me" on "Love Will Tear Us Apart" 12".

Mark – "Mind/Body/Light/Sound" from The Great Annihilator.

Scott – I like they’re rougher stuff like "Money(Bastard)" & they’re more industrial stuff. I really can’t name all their songs, but what I’ve heard is cool. that "Mona Lisa" song is cool from Burning World.

QRD – what type of candy would you most like to be?

Harry – I like grape blo-pops.

Mark – sweet tarts.

Scott – I don’t really like candy anymore, because my grandmother spoiled me on candy. now my teeth are full of fillings & I have really tender teeth. I hate candy, I eat nutri grain bars.

QRD – the american dream is to be rich, do you feel it is enough to get by?

Harry – I think as long as I make a living to where I’m comfortable & I’m not stressed out on bills & I can support the life I want to lead whether it’s with wife/kids/cat/dog/whatever. I think that’s one of the main problems with the country is that everyone thinks they have to be rich. the persona of people showing off who has the bigger car & most gold chains & all that bullshit. I think it’s a bunch of crap. as long as I can live the life I want to lead I’ll be content. what could you possibly do with millions of dollars? buy your own country? the saying money is the root to all evil isn’t quite right, it’s the need of money. the fact that people can’t get by living day to day hand to mouth is quite fucked up.

Mark – probably not. when we get old & retire there won’t be social security anymore. I think the american dream has been tainted.

Scott – I’m at the point now where I wish I could be rich, because ever since I’ve been having bills it’s been check to check which is probably true for 80% of the country, but there are other joys besides money.

QRD – do you feel that men or women are intrinsically worse than the other?

Harry – I think they’re equally bad. I think the reason why men & women don’t get along to a certain extent is they are too much alike. they both see it as a "game." it’s about how people are raised. I grew up going to catholic school & didn’t get to be around girls until I was out of high school, which really sucked. I saw a lot of people I went to high school with who had terrible social skills with girls and couldn’t relate to them. I don’t believe in segregation. I think both sexes are equally terrible to each other whether it’s guys sitting around saying, "I fucked that bitch," or girls saying it not quite as crudely. they’re out to "get what they want" & guys are out to "get what they want." they’re may not be the same objective on both sides but it comes down to the same thing. both sides have an objective.

Mark – I find women to be very catty towards each other fighting about guys, but I’ve never understood women personally.

Scott – they are equal. I’m straight, but I’m too the point where I hate women. there’s so much game & I’m a loser magnet, I always hook up with loser psycho chicks. I can’t go to church to meet them or bingo, so I don’t know how to work it out. I’ll never forget the first girlfriend I ever fell in love with gave me a book Why Women Can’t Get Enough Love & Men Can’t Get Enough Sex, & that’s the way it is.

QRD – with presidents appearing on Mtv, does our culture seem to have corrupted into a seventies B sci-fi film?

Harry – I really think the main reason Clinton won last time was because of doing that. Michael Stype with the rock the vote thing getting teenagers to register to vote & Clinton was on Mtv & Bush was dogging him for that & the youth. "I’m not like Clinton, you won’t find me on Mtv with Bono & Boy George." I think a lot of young people took offense to that. I think strategically that was a smart thing to do. as far as us degrading into a seventies’ b rated flick, yeah. the government’s a joke now. I can’t see how anyone can take it seriously. like the whole O.J. thing. I don’t want to sound patriotic for a second, but what the country was based on were really good ideals & it’s like nobody gives a fuck anymore. all people who "care" are just a bunch of fascists in it for themselves. it’s like Jello Biafra’s "sons’ of senators’ sons’ of senators’ sons’ of senators’ sons.’" I don’t see the government doing anything for anybody, just making things better for themselves. I think the ideals of america could work, but they need to be totally revamped, because everyone in power is a fucking moron asshole. I had a court case recently where this cop sliced off a piece of my hand slamming it in a steel door & the final ruling was that there wasn’t enough proof the cop actually did it even though five people saw it happen. the judge was friends with the cop, they played golf together, so the cop got off & I was stuck with a medical bill. it’s a bunch of good old boys taking care of themselves.

Mark – definitely. I think Clinton should make a movie called waiting to inhale.

Scott – I’m pretty politically ignorant. I guess it’s because I get tired of all the crap with how political politics are. I voted for Clinton because I was in a union & went with the flow. I just know they’re always fucking up & always fucking up big.

QRD – have you had any interesting dreams lately?

Harry – I’ve been having a lot of really fucked up dreams that I’ve been writing down, but I have so many, I can’t pick just one. things like hanging out at my house & having the barbecue pit blow up. I could go in to more detail but it would take a while to show what my interesting dreams are actually about. Twin Peaks surreal stuff.

Mark – the only interesting dreams I’ve had scare the hell out of me. the usual falling off a bridge, aliens chasing me, stuff like that are the only interesting dreams that have been occurring.

Scott – I always have trilogy dreams, that they’re in parts & stuff. most of them are like Raising Arizona with the guy coming over the hill on a motorcycle in total fear. there’s always something coming to get me & I wake up before the dreams get bad. it’s either that or I’m having sex with a teacher’s daughter or something.

QRD – do you think in the past five or six years the job of music as an artform has changed with its growing popularity?

Harry – I can’t answer that correctly because I didn’t live in the seventies at the same age I am now with the same perspective. I’m sure that twenty years ago people thought music was a huge growing thing & I’m sure it has gotten bigger since Mtv. as an artform? I find very little commercial music that I’d call art. most music that I consider art is independent music or small label music. I think music has grown as an artform but the commercial aspects will not allow true art to be shown, because people aren’t intelligent enough on their own to not buy Pearl Jam clones. as with all art it will continue. I met this guy from russia & I’d read this article about a band called Aquarium & I was curious what they were all about & he knew this band & he gave me the lowdown that they were the biggest band in russia, but they never had any record labels & played on burnt out equipment living literally hand to mouth. these are real artists. they suffered. the singer lived in a one room house with four other families. the government tried to censor them because they didn’t like the lyrics. it’s probably not like that now, they went on to become capitalists.

QRD – what author do you believe most under-appreciated by american pop society?

Harry – Franz Kafka & Camus. Literature as a whole seems to be taken for granted.

Mark – William Burroughs. a lot of people don’t know his work, Naked Lunch or anything. I also enjoy J.D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye is one of the best books I’ve read in my life. also George Orwell.

QRD – when listening to your own pieces, do you find them unfinished or imperfect? do you have any you feel are complete?

Harry – I’ve always felt them to be unfinished. "Harbinger" is the closest I feel to a finished piece. it just has the feel & mood I wanted.

QRD – do you think marriage is an example of fulfillment of love or people settling for each other?

Scott – it’s like learning through conditioning. my parents lived a couple blocks apart, went to high school together, dated, & now they’re happily married for twenty years. but friends who are my age, all the ones who’ve been married are divorced. it’s changed its values from our parents time to now. everybody I know, it’s been for settlement/security, no passion.

Harry – scary question. I’ve wondered about that a lot. I see what the older generation is like (60+) & just wonder if they possibly ever understood life & growing up in the same context as we see life. it seems that past generations are mixed as emotionally as we are today, but now people are more expressive. sex is quite meaningless today. it’s a great extracurricular activity, but it doesn’t mean the same thing anymore. that’s kind of sad. my views of love & relationships are very confusing at this point in my life. I’ll have to write a book about it to explain it all.