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Blackie Lawless (WASP): "The artist is constructed to provoke thinking"



16/05/08 16:01

The American metal band WASP arrived in Bulgaria for the closing of the 6th day musical marathon Lovech Parti Fest. Blackie Lawless and his band has been playing over an hour in front of 20 000 fans.

This is the 3ed visit for WASP in Bulgaria. Hors before the concert, the cultic creator of the band Blackie Lawless, which real name is Steven Duren answered to some questions to Avtora.com.

Q:At the begging of your career WASP scandalize the society with shocking live appearance, after that you put an end to this. What was the reason for this decision?

Blackie Lawless: As from the begging, and now, I ve never think that we are shock rock band. Ive never liked this definition, even more, I hated it. What we ve trying to do with our behavior is to create a mirror and to show it to the whole world and when people see us we to be able to say "You see, this is you. If you don't like what you see, maybe it is time for changes". But the one thing that we found out quickly was that the world is looking behind its eyes, not ears. And if you looked back in our career, we finished those shock rock expressions very soon after they began, because, lets be honest, the people didn't received our message.

That is why we ve decided to transmit our messages in more easy and primitive way - in small pieces and only with the lyrics of our songs. For example, in our first two labels, the lyrics were very aggressive because we knew that the people will watch records, not listen. I said to myself "OK, it is obvious, you don't listen us!" and I start think for Bob Dylan. Why people think that he is a great poet? Because he doesn't have a nice face, plus, his band is not very noisy. I follow this example when I create "Crimson Idol", the band is completely missing, I play only with one guitar, and I am doing this when I really want to say something important to the people.

I saw how people get confused when you don't turn to them with rage but with small, babies, steps. You cannot achieve something If you jump from one place to another. It is very difficult to force millions of people to think your way. It is not impossible, but you should do it very slowly. It is difficult to make 10 people go your direction, what about a million. With this we ve learn that all we want to do, must be done in small steps.


Q. Do you think that the political situation, back in time when you create WASP helped you to become what you are today?

Blackie Lawless: Very much. That is so, because when I was 14, I was in a military school and become a political extremist in this school. It is a long story, but there I realized that we ve been told absolutely nothing from our government. That was the time when I become a follower to the philosophy which in America we called "The philosophy of Jefferson". I start to follow and aspire many of his doctrines in connection to the philosophy of democratic. I determine that he also was a political extremist.

What happens now…is insanity . Not only in America. Everywhere.

Q: Do you think the true rock end roll lives?

Blackie Lawless: I am not qualified to talk about this. I don't know and cannot tell you. It is rock and roll now.

Back in time, I ve learned to listen to the world, even through our genre, which not dominates right now. But the only man, with whom I can speak about this is me. When I was 20, I did and sang like everybody else, using the motto "My name is Jimmy, take what you give me" and that was all. Latter we ve learned to be responsible, but we realized this in total after our 3ed album. If we want to keep this responsibility we must continue making "announcements" in our albums, not small ones like we used to have.

Anyone who become a public character stands on that platform and many people sow him. Why not to use the platform in a constructive and positive way? To try help people, to change their live? If you only make records, that doesn't mean that you are an artist. The artist is constructed to provoke thinking.

Q: What is the purpose for your rostrum - the stage?

Blackie Lawless: In the last 20 years I am trying to send messages from my place. I am trying to
reflect what I am and for what I am thinking. And you know what, when I am pissed off of something which I saw on the TV, that is exactly the way you get angry for the same thing. I don't have any particular eclectic style. I like the things you like - the same music, the same movies. I am very, very simple man. But when something pissed me off I can write about it and that is what you expected from an artist - to provoke and to think.

I will give you an example with our last album "Dominator". I think that this album is misunderstood. You took a photo in front of the American flag and put it on the cover of the album, and right away the people start to think "This album is instigated from the war". Yes, this is true, but the album is not only this. The war is just a small part of the conception. The main idea is to provoke people start thinking of themselves like for an individuals. Because the countries are nothing more but individualities. If I am bugger and stronger than you I can bit you, I can dominate over you if I want. Why man dominates over the women? Because they can. That doesn't't means that they are right, but it is a fact.

The core of all begins from the alteration of the unit, the individual person, never mind if you talk about a group of people, big city or the whole nation. And if we doesn't brake this psychology - everyone to think strictly and especially for himself, the things will stay the same, nothing will change. People watch TV and says: "We must stop Russia! We must stop America!" and continue doing what they do ….

But the change will take time. It must start with the new generations. As long as everybody "works" for himself, the madness will continue. All of us can abuse George Bush at home, but this doesn't change anything. You must change your thinking and that is what is expected from an artist.