Interviews

Interviews: Neurosis

It is difficult to come up with an introduction for a band like Neurosis. After 20+ years of existence, an introduction shouldn't be necessary. If you have scratched the surface, at all, beyond mainstream music and even beyond "scene" icons, then you should've come across Neurosis. I have yet to come across a band that has had such an unpredictable evolution…going from full-speed aggression to slow and crushing and then on to purely epic and soul-crushing. This band isn't here to just "rock." Their music taps into both the dark and light inside of us all. It evokes the primal self.

The members of Neurosis have expanded their exploratory palette with other projects that stand apart from Neurosis but share the same integrity and essence. I have been blessed with the opportunity to interview a lot of different bands over the years and I can honestly say that only a few have been truly sincere, engaged, and committed to answering my questions without pretension. It has been about seven years since I last spoke to Neurosis backstage at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. With as intense as their music and stage presence is, I was taken back by how welcoming and humble they were.

Eugene of Oxbow was generous enough to help me get in touch with Scott Kelly of Neurosis by email. I have read so many interviews with Steven Von Till, but few with Mr. Kelly, so it was a pleasure to interview the man.

Smother: Neurosis has been around longer than a lot of bands in underground music. A lot of bands seem to go strong for around five or six years tops, then break up for varying reasons. What has kept this band such a solid, progressive unit over the past two decades?

Neurosis: It has everything to do with our foundation. We were close friends before Neurosis and had played music together for a couple of years in another project. We spent about two weeks talking about what we wanted to do with this idea that we had, we visualized everything that we have eventually done and everything that we will do in the future and we decided that this would be our life's' work, we would never stop until nature took us from one another. We are a family.

Smother: So does that mean that you guys know or at least have an idea of how you want Neurosis to end? Or even, how would you like Neurosis to go out when the time comes?

Neurosis: Our whole idea is all about our legacy, what we leave behind. We've been focused on it for the whole time. There is no ending in sight, but you never see it coming when it happens so the most important thing is that everything we touch honors those who've gone before us and all that we have brought up until this moment today.

Smother: Two different magazines have stated Steve as starting Neurosis and another stated you and Dave starting Neurosis. Where did the band actually get started?

Neurosis: Neurosis was started by Dave, Jason and me. We started in a warehouse in Emeryville, California in the winter of 1985.

Smother: In the beginning, Neurosis was a lot faster and more straight-forward musically, then a definite shift in dynamics happened midway. Was this something that happened naturally or did you guys feel it was time to make a change?

Neurosis: Our progressions have always been natural, we never force anything with our music. We let the song write itself, we submit to the will of the sound. In addition to that basic idea our fundamental personalities make it so that we are always pushing our limits as musicians and human beings, we have never been a band that played what people wanted to hear, it's a very selfish artistic expression on our part.

Smother: How has age affected the band's approach to writing and performing? It's seems like things went from fast to slower and more crushing to more atmospheric and epic. Has this been a result of getting older and perhaps more experienced in life itself?

Neurosis: Age is significant, surviving is significant, experience is the key to everything. Our approach has never changed but our collective growth is off the charts. We started as teenagers(16,15 , and 18). We are now Fathers of teenagers. We have lived through a lot of situations that could have easily stopped us if it was meant to happen, but it wasn't.

Smother: How do your children feel about the band? Are they into heavy music? My fear, as a future parent, is that my child will get sucked into the corporate MTV "rap" game.

Neurosis: At a certain point with your kids you just want them to be happy, responsible , and productive in whatever they're into. Parenthood can get pretty idealistic for some people, for me I never had a chance to be that way with my kids I had them young and they have grown with me. All that aside, I've been really lucky to have 2 awesome kids who love good music and art. My son is playing in his own bands now since he was 13 he's going on 19 he's playing hardcore metal, black, whatever. Music is his passion and his life. My daughter has got great taste Clash, Bad Brains, Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, she was doing her homework listening to Sabbath Vol. 4 last night. She's playing guitar also I don't know if she will take it to the performing level but I can tell you if she does you'll hear about it, she's fierce.

Smother: It seems like opinions vary when I hear people talk about Neurosis. Some prefer the "old" Neurosis which usually is discussed as the "Souls At Zero/Enemy of the Sun/Through Silver In Blood" (though some consider further back) and some prefer the newer "Times of Grace through Eye of Every Storm." What feedback have you received about the progression of the band?

Neurosis: We hear the same things you do and it's always good to know what people think. At the same time we are very insulated from it influencing us, music is our religion we are constantly humbled by what we have been given from it and would never let anything get in the way of our vision.

Smother: Each member has a definite presence in the band and in its sound. Obviously, the chemistry has to be good since Neurosis has been around for so long. But, what is it like writing within the band? Do certain people lead the process or does it vary?

Neurosis: At this point with all the hours that we've put into writing, the process is pretty stable. But one of the keys to what we do is that we work alone we don't let other people in our world when we're creating, how we do it is how we do it and that's all I will tell you. Living inside of Neurosis is nothing short of amazing, we done things together that will never be duplicated, if everyone had as good a family of friends as I have the world would be a lot different.

Smother: Aside from the sound of the band, the lyrical side is something I feel like a lot of people don't invest as much interest in that I've talked to. I've always felt like Neurosis is a band that has a sharp sense of self-awareness and that acknowledges that we, as mankind, are not the end-all of creation. There's a very strong feeling of spirituality within the lyrical content and a feeling of fragility. Like no matter how mighty we may become within this world, we are still fragile. Do you agree with this?

Neurosis: I have a very deep understanding of these possibilities. My life has shown me that it's all about fate, chance, whatever you want to call it. We're fragile at every moment of our existence. I didn't start out as a very spiritual person I was raised by atheists but life has brought me through many doors into many places that I shouldn't have been able to walk away from and somehow I'm still here on some level you got to believe that things happen for a reason if I didn't believe that I would have gone insane a long time ago. Spirituality by our definition is personal.

Smother: Another thing, lyrically, that stands out to me is that you guys seem to stay away from political subject matter in your songs. Or maybe it's just buried abstractly and I'm missing it. Is it hard to not sway towards political subject matter during these hyper-political times?

Neurosis: Politics is for Politicians, music is air. In times like these it's easier to stay away from it because it's all around you, you can see it. The problem with politics is that it is too general, people are who they are because of there experiences. I have close friends who have very different political ideas and as I get to know them and where they are from I understand why they think the way that they do, and over time these ideas are usually very transient.

Smother: When I interviewed you guys at the 9:30 club about six or seven years ago, you mentioned liking Cave In. I'm curious how you feel about their change in style since Until Your Heart Collapse.

Neurosis: I still like Cave In. I respect there music a great deal I think that "perfect pitch black" is great.

Smother: What happened to Pete Inc? You have a different person doing visuals and I never heard or read what happened to him.

Neurosis: Pete is still around, he just couldn't put the time into the band that he needed to. We're still friends and we stay in touch, he's painting and sculpting and raising his son.

Smother: Are there any plans to re-release Times of Grace and Grace combined on one cd?

Neurosis: Not a bad idea, but we've never discussed it. Maybe it'll happen, who knows?

Smother: Are there any current plans for another Beyond The Pale festival?

Neurosis: Not at this time but I think that it will resurface at some point. Right now we're writing two hours worth of new material with a very focused objective of annihilating everyone and everything that comes in contact with it.

Smother: Is it more of continuation from the last album into the more atmospheric or are you guys ready to crush us with an overwhelming mass of sound?

Neurosis: This one is shaping into something that we couldn't have expected. I would be going against the basic fundamentals of how we do things if I told you what it was like before it has taken on it's completed form. At this point I can tell you that this will be an absolutely devastating album. Things are flying for us in the process right now.

Smother: Do you really get asked if you are insane by people?

Neurosis: Some people who have known me for a long time know that I can be insane at times and through the course of my life I have slipped away a few times. One thing is for sure we're fucking weird, we do things in our own very odd ways. The name Neurosis fits us well.

Smother: Does everyone in Neurosis play a part in Neurot Recordings or is it mainly Steve's deal?

Neurosis: The day-to-day operation of Neurot is done mainly by Steve's' wife Kristen and at a smaller level Steve. But we all are involved in the decisions as far as what to release by whom and we all bring different bands to the table.

Smother: That's cool that everyone has their say in it. Neurot definitely has an incredible mix of talent. I really, really like Sabers. What happened with those guys? Do they have a site anywhere? And of course Oxbow is genius.

Neurosis: Oxbow is one of the greatest bands ever to assume human form. Sabers are in New York they're a couple of the guys from Bee and Flower I don't know what they're doing right now.

Smother: Combat Music Radio. Can you talk about this a little bit and where the idea to mix music and fighting came about?

Neurosis: This was the result of a brainstorm that me and my friend Christopher Moeschl had one day. We wanted to work on something together and we decided to do something that was all about our common interests. I have always been a sports fan and fighting is the basis of all competitive sport. It is also primalism at it's deepest. I have always been attracted to violence and it has been attracted to me. I see fighting as a link to our truest nature. I also respect sacrifice and people who are willing to do it, fighters are some the most self sacrificing people on the planet. Fighting is a ritual born in blood and that is what music is to me.

Smother: I agree with the attraction to the primalism of it. To me it is one of the most intimate things in the world between two people. I've tried to explain this to people about my attraction to fight sports and why football, baseball, etc doesn't cut it for me. Fighting is an intimate thing. Maybe more so than sex. I'll have to ask Eugene about that one.haha Music can have a very intimate connection as well, so I think that the site is great. Do you have regular contributors to the site? I haven't seen any updates in a while.

Neurosis: We're in the process of bringing the site up to a new level. Eugene will start doing his own program as well as our friend Bane. I've been slacking on the writing a little I need to step it up. I actually love Baseball, Hockey, and Football even Soccer. But to me as you said the intimacy of fighting is unparallel, it's without out a doubt the one true test.

Smother: Do you feel more of a connection to the Mixed Martial Arts fights or to boxing?

Neurosis: I have been a boxing fan my whole life and my personality is such that I tend to enjoy tradition a great deal(baseball). But like any boxing fan I have grown disgusted with a lot of the bullshit decisions and thrown fights, Don King etc. Nothing beats a fight like Corralles V. Castillo 1. MMA is what's happening right now, a direct descendant of Bruce Lees' influence on the world. To me Bruce Lee is to fighting is as Jimi Hendrix is to music. MMA is the real fight if you're on the street it will be a fee for all. It's much more of improvisational game with many more weapons. I find BJJ to be absolutely mystifying.

Smother: Every project aside from Neurosis that the members have had, that I've heard, has been solid! With your acoustic album, what was the inspiration to try that medium as opposed to a more electric approach? Did it give you an opportunity to express different things that maybe didn't fit as well with Neurosis?

Neurosis: It just happened. I think that the ten years on the road with my head in a Marshall stack, screaming my head off caused an opposite reaction. I was raised on Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson by my father so I think I came full circle musically. I'm still there part of the time. I love simple, direct music to the heart and I was lucky enough to be able to get myself to point over time that I could attempt to some of my own. Thanks for the compliment.

Smother: The Blood & Time album is great! Very subtle and personal in feel. Where did this band come from?


Neurosis: Thanks again, this just grew naturally from performing my solo stuff at a certain point it just changed to something that seemed more like a band then a solo thing. To be truthful doing the solo thing is still a little uncomfortable to me, I'm still doing it but it's a little strange to use my given name to me.

Smother: Was it more challenging to write all of the words and music for B & T?

Neurosis: The challenge wasn't so much in the writing as much as in the isolated nature of the sound, and the nakedness of my words. I'm used to hiding behind a wall of sound there is nowhere to hide in this project.

Smother: The feel of the album is really intense yet it's very delicate in a lot of ways. The music and lyrics conveyed a sense of loss and love to me. And the track on the Neurot Records compilation is so tragic and beautiful at the same time that I'm not sure how to respond emotionally to the content. It's probably the first album I've heard in a long time that really captures life in its truest, purist form.

Neurosis: It's a little hard to respond to your statement. I really appreciate that you felt it all so deeply. The songs on my solo record and the first 10 or so Blood and Time songs came from a place in me that I had kept buried for long time. I finally got sober after my solo project after 20 plus years of self abuse and neglect. About a month after I cleaned up the songs on the Blood and Time record started pouring out of me, I've been surrounded by death my whole life I've lost the people closest to me a few times over. I had never taken the time to feel what was going on in me I just kept myself loaded and numb. When I finally hit the bottom the last time I was able to somehow pull it together for long enough to breathe. I'm still sober 4 and a half years later and I'm starting to move on a little at a time, the next Blood and Time record, which is in the works right now, will reflect my current state of mind.

Smother: It seems like the most groundbreaking artists, both musically and otherwise, have struggled with some form of substance abuse, for the most part...Hendrix, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, etc. I believe that artists or even just creative minded people, in general, have a certain degree of depression or mental difficulty. Meaning that these people naturally take in everything at a greater rate and feel things on a much deeper level which is hard to take sometimes and it leads them to look for a way to help numb this hyper reception and perception of life and the experiences therein. Do you think this is possible? Neurosis would certainly fit the category of "artists" without a doubt.

Neurosis: Again, very right on observations. Everybody deals and feels differently in these spectrums. For me I'm learning how to shield myself from things that come at you when you're opened up like I am. I have always been somewhat of an empath, but through our music and especially during performances I have been susceptible to low energy vibrations from people who have ulterior motives or projections about what we may or may not be doing. I have fought depression and mental difficulty my whole life, music has helped me to believe that I'm something better then a piece of shit. But I still fight that impression of myself that I've had for as long as I can remember, when I was a kid I used to think that I would be living on the street pushing around a shopping cart mumbling to myself when I grew up. Sometimes I still feel that way, but I can now see some other possibilities.

Links:

Official Site

Neurot Recordings

Tribes of Neurot