Canadian industrial act The Rabid Whole have big plans for 2013, including international touring, new music videos, and hitting the airwaves again. Frontman Andreas Weiss does the writing, programming, vocals, guitar, and keyboarding work for this industrial fun box and while the band is on the road currently, he took the time to talk of the band's plans and touring route for this year.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in The Rabid Whole, and how long the band has been together.
ANDREAS: I'm the singer/songwriter and creative driving force behind the band. This current line-up has been together only for about 2 years but the band/idea has been around about 5 years now back when I was juggling it and a day job as an engineer for the oil and gas industryÉ I want to say that everything really started when we got serious and moved to Toronto in 2011.
2. How did you guys come up with your band name?
ANDREAS: Bands like Skinny Puppy have a lot of cool, double meaning song titles, word play. I wanted people to see that there is more to us than meets the eye. I never felt we'd be a typical rock bandÉ I want people to feel they can escape, that they're entering another world, going down 'the rabbit hole' with our music. At the same time, I feel The Rabid Whole; 'the fanatical entirety'Éreflects the passion we put into all that we do.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
ANDREAS: We are based out of Toronto, Canada. The music scene there is CRAZYÉ too many bands, saturation. You could drown in a lot of shit before you finally find a breath of something fresh. :S I personally really like Toronto-based Schoolcraft, the solo project of Cradle of Filth's keyboardist Lindsay Schoolcraft. She's got an amazing voice and some great songsÉcheck her out!
ANDREAS: The lyrical themes depend entirely on my own personal experiences and feelings at the time of the writing process. The couple of years leading up to this album I was going through a lot of personal changes in my life and 'Refuge' is basically a direct reflection of all this. 'Refuge' is about change and all the emotions and experiences that an individual will pass through in the process and ultimately the search for personal peace of mind at the end of it all.
5. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
ANDREAS: I have huge respect for artists/bands that aren't afraid of doing what they want to do musically regardless of the current trends and scene. Bands like NIN, KMFDM, Filter, Garbage, Bjork, Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode, Aphex Twin, U-Ziq, and more have all had an influence on me and The Rabid Whole's music.
6. Is there any story or concept behind the Refuge title?
ANDREAS: Refuge is the title/last track on the album and it basically wraps up how I was feeling at the timeÉfeelings brought upon by the process of change; missing familiarity, the comfort of security, safety, home, refuge.
7. Select two songs from Refuge and tell me what inspired the lyrics.
ANDREAS: Serenity Falls: Lyrically the song is about missing or longing for someone,a time,a place. Stargazer: Lyrically it's about thinking that you didn't need someone or something anymore only to realize that you were still and much more dependent on it than you thought.
8. Who produced Refuge and what was it like working with them?
ANDREAS: We worked once again with Karl Schubach (Misery Signals, Solace) who is an old friend of mine. We learned how to play guitar and were in bands together from when we were 12 until about 2006 when he joined Misery Signals. He has a good understanding of how I work and write and isn't afraid to be straight up about ideas and parts. If they suck he will make it very clear. Although there are times when we are at each other's throats, I appreciate his input and he really helps push us to our limits. He's a very talented dude and a great producer.
9. Who did the cover art for Refuge and how much input did you have on it?
ANDREAS: The cover art was done by a very talented old friend/fan of the band, Adrian Bobb in Montreal. He was originally commissioned to design the art for our debut album 'Autraumaton' but ended up doing 'Refuge'. I told him we wanted something to do with 'home', 'safety', a baby in a womb,but cooler. Understanding our themes and direction, he drew it up and added the x-ray look and scattered numbering. The result was great.
10. Do you guys have any new music in the works of a follow-up release to Refuge?
ANDREAS: Definitely. We're always writing. We're hoping to put something new out in early 2014. We're gonna continue pushing things musically as much as we can. A lot of influence will come from the past couple of years of touring and experiences since this most recent incarnation of our live band and our move to Toronto.
11. Has The Rabid Whole ever played in the States before or is this their first time doing so?
ANDREAS: We have but minimally. For example a couple of showcases last year at SXSW 2012 in Austin, TX. This is definitely our greatest US exposure to date!
12. You are about to start a fantastic US Tour with Dope Stars Inc.. If you could think of one thing you would like to accomplish the most through that tour what would that be?!
ANDREAS: Getting along hahaÉ we're gonna be crammed together in the tour vehicle for almost a month and that can drive even the sanest, most peaceful human being to extremes! Really though, we're looking to expand our fan base, meet new people, open new doorsÉ we have a lot of crossover potential with our sound and styles. I think we're a good fit and the fans will appreciate that.
13. What have you done to prepare yourselves for the tour?
ANDREAS: Practice hard, come up with a killer setlist, make sure we've got everything we need equipment-wise/backups, spread as much promo as we can, get into the habit of eating as best as possible, etc.
14. What are you looking forward to about working with Dope Stars Inc. on this tour?
ANDREAS: They've been one of my fav bands since an old roommate introduced their music to me back in 2007 before our band even existed. It's pretty surreal to actually be doing a full tour with them just a few years later. Looking to make some new friends in the scene, learn a thing or two and hopefully work together again in the future. Dope Stars Inc are a great band and really know how to rock a room.
15. Once the tour in the USA is over what do you have planned afterwards?ANDREAS: A couple of weeks later, we will be hopping on a Canadian tour with Kingdoom, an industrial rock band featuring ex NIN, Marilyn Manson member/collaborator Chris Vrenna. Looking forward to it, it's going to be AWESOME!
16. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?
ANDREAS: We're about to shoot a video for 'Stargazer' off our album 'Refuge' with director Peter Arvidsson, more national/international touring, more writing for a 2014 release, some collaborations including one with Cradle of Filth keyboardist Lindsay Schoolcraft. All in all there's a lot of awesome in the works and the fans will NOT be disappointed, stay tuned! ;)
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