Sleeping pill addictions, space rock records and relentless writing – it's all in a day's work for Monster Magnet frontman Dave Wyndorf
How come it's taken you three years to come back with a new album?
Errr, I fucked up. I became addicted to sleeping pills and then I overdosed on them. I was touring like a mad man. The way these pills operate is they basically divert all your anxiety or woe to a little part in your brain almost like a hard-drive and when you come off these drugs it's like opening up a file in your computer and everything comes spewing out. I didn't share this with anybody 'cause I was too embarrassed so I tried to do the [album] anyway. We went into the studio and did the bass and drums and I just called it quits, I was like 'That's it, record's over, goodbye'. It took two years for me to even wanna walk back in that place.
Were some of these themes explored throughout the album?
Absolutely, I never could leave my life out of the songs. I may wrap the experience in the vernacular of science fiction or psychedelia, I use metaphors a lot because I just thought people would be bored unless I sensationalised everything. This time, the metaphors didn't seem to be necessary – I just had to write what I was feeling, so some of this stuff is like 'Help me, I love you'!
Does the album sound different to older Monster Magnet?
I think they all sound different. This one sounds decidedly more lo-fi, which was on purpose – we didn't wanna spend a lot of money on the record, didn't wanna spend a lot of time in the studio re-doing things – I wanted to get this fuckin' thing over with because at the time I was fucked up.
You're not going to be touring anytime soon?
Yeah, we'll definitely put the nail in the coffin on that one. I never say never but just right now, with my sleep problem and all, it's kinda like returning to the scene of the crime. What I've decided to do, something I've wanted to do for years, is finish a record and start another one. So that's what I'm doing, writing like crazy. It's fun!
What are your plans next?
I'm starting another record almost immediately. The next record I wanna do is like a full-on space rock record – you think you've heard space rock before? Wait for this one! No singles, no nothing, just relentless psychotic drudge. On the other side is my sensitive solo album, which'll be very small little tiny songs with esoteric themes and I'm gonna try and create a 'mucho' atmosphere from minimal volume. To me, it all comes out of the same kitchen, it just depends what plate it goes to.
Has it been worth it so far?
Oh yeah, are you kidding? When I grew up, all I thought about, past comic books and movies, I just lived in my imagination. I loved images and I bought it all. Then one time, as if by magic, I turned a corner in my life and got a chance to make my imagination turn real. There's nothing else like it. It really, really has been totally worth it. I was a high school dropout and now I'm a record producer. I don't know anything about producing records except for I know what I wanna hear. I can't play guitar to save my life. I can't read music. I'm not trained at anything, yet I do all these things. There's no other profession that allows for that much slovenly-ness and that much fakery. Literally if you have enough imagination and enough enthusiasm, you can make it happen.
Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice
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