From out of the toxic waste that is today's contemporary music emerges a new musical force, Toxic Zombie. A band that will awaken the dead and eat your brains. Vocalist and guitarist Grimm Dizaster and Sam "Damn" Dietz on guitar talks about some good old zombie goodness!
1. What type of band are you?
Grimm: We are rock and roll! But really its hard to place us. Think of us like this if Motley Crue, Joan Jett, Johnny Cash, Green Day and the Misfits all had a gang bang we would be their offspring.
2. How did you come together?
Grimm: The band started around 5 years ago, Sam joined a week before our first show. Over the years we have been to many graveyards digging up the group we have today.
3. Tell me about the band themselves you of course has the basics vocals, guitar, drums, and bass. But you guys went further by adding backup vocalists in the form of "Go Go Dancers"? Why?
Sam: Well we wanted something to set us apart not only musically, but visually as well, we'd hate to not be exciting to look at as well as to listen too.
Grimm: It adds a different level to the vocals as well, different types of harmonies you don't really hear to much.
4. Speaking of Go Go Dancers Kelly Sparks recently had left the band, why did she leave and are you looking for replacing her?
Grimm: We love Kelly to death. I think it was just her time to move on to pursue other life goals. We fully respect her decision and we wish her the best as she wishes us the best. We will be holding auditions to replace her. It will be big grave to fill, but we must move on and continue to spread our virus!
5. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Grimm: Originally it came from a movie script that I had started working on. Unfortunately I never finished working on it, but it did lead to a cool band name and even wrote a few song or two based off characters from it like Dead Ted.
6. Where are you guys based out of and what is the music scene like there?
Sam: We're based in Portland, and the music scene could be great, if people still just went out to see live music, but thats seems to be the case in every city these days.
Grimm: Portland tends to have a lot of heavy metal or indie rock. We stick out like a sore thumb, but at the same time as Sam said it can be hard to get people to just come out to any show.
7. Do you think not being from a big city like LA or NY influences your sound?
Sam: Not at all, the influences that we take in are from around the world, not just what we have in Portland.
8. You guys have a unique sound, which bands would you say influence you the most?
Sam: Kiss gave me the idea that its not enough to play music, there has to be a show involved, Motley Crue influenced the attitude that I put in my playing, and Guns and Roses gave me the thought process behind the playing itself.
Grimm: I grew up listening to a lot of oldies like The Beach Boys, Beatles type of stuff it kind of structured me to love harmonies. Later on bands like Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins brought me into newer music. My first band was a 4 piece punk band that's where i got into the Misfits, Dead Milkmen, NoFx... oh and of course my dad influenced a bit with introducing me to Johnny Cash.
9. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Sam: The message Id like to send is that you don't have to be pissed off and screaming about how life sucks all the time. Rock and roll is supposed to be an escape from reality, not a reminder of it
Grimm: I don't personally stick with any theme I don't like to limit myself or limit the band to what we can do. I just want people to be able to have fun and get emotionally involved with the songs whether its for a laugh or to make you think so forth.
10. "Poison The Airwaves" and "InTOXICated" were both released on the same day why?
why not?
We actually released "Poison The Airwaves" in 2010 . We decided to record a full length recorded at a great studio in Portland and ended up mastering it in L.A. at Capitol Records. "InTOXICated" was released in late 2012 .. We recorded this EP with Ivan de Prume former drummer of White Zombie. We have actually recorded 3 more songs and plan to recorded about 6 more to be added to another full length release.
11. How has the sound evolved between reach release and how do the two differ and compare to one another?
Sam: hehe very much so, we used to have a stand up bass player, so that alone made us very psycho billy influenced, we now have an awesome bass guitar player who seems to have driven us to having a harder edge.
Grimm: Not only that but since the first and current release we have also gained a great hard hitting drummer Bryan "Smash" as well as Dany Gray to the backing vocals.
12. Can you tell me about the song and video for "Run For Your Life". Do you have anymore videos in the works?
Sam: Yes we do have more videos in the works, one involving people being tied up and whipped and beaten with sticks.
Grimm: We work with a great director/filmmaker here in Portland Tyler Benjamin. We will continue doing videos with him. We do have another video currently out from our first album called "Gypsy".
13. Where do you come up with your ideas for these videos and their concepts?
Grimm: Well im not sure how the "Gypsy" video came about we kinda liked the idea of a bar and working with the director it became a "monster" bar where our sweet lady's in the band turn the two strip club attendees into monsters.
The idea for "Run For Your Life" we something I came up with. I wanted to kind of mock the whole 3D craze that the world is in by having the movies goers not only see this AWESOME flick but get killed as the zombies come out of the screen and play the sweet music of their death.
14. A lot of bands within the Rockabilly, Psychobilly, Horror Punk, scene choose their own course of theme to go with you guys have gone with the Zombie aspect why Zombies and are you Zombies?
Grimm: Zombies well we didn't start out as zombies we where just named Toxic Zombie, but like a virus spreading through the blood stream one member (Sam) started doing some zombie glam and we all kind of turned into zombies as we went.
15. If you are Zombies how did you become Zombies and how has the lifestyle been treating you?
Sam: My character died of an overdose on the sunset strip in the 80s, as the night went on he got booze poured on him, drugs spilled on him, doused with all kinds of bodily fluids from other buttrockers of the time who's blood was as toxic as could be, and to top it off because Regan didn't care where toxic waste was dumped a barrel of the stuff fell off a transport truck and landed on him serving as the final ingredient for what he was to become........ I have a lot of free time on my hands.
Grimm: I was bitten and attempted to flee from the zombie that bit me on my trike I was then hit by a truck. The life style change well I can no longer ride a trike so I upgraded to a Segway to chase down my victims.
16. Are you a fan of the Zombie culture and everything it's adapt into like film, music, books, etc.
Grimm: I love the zombie culture and it only seems to be growing! As long as the zombies don't start to sparkle I am ok with where its going.
17. You had posted a photo of your new ride called the Zombielance is this true or false?
Sam: I wont deny it.
Grimm: the Zombielance is in its beginning stage of transformation and soon will become a full on zombie ready to help us turn the masses and welcome them to our horde.
18. How have the gigs you guys been doing been?
Grimm: Our shows go great we give the audience something unexpected from a horror band. We don't only have our stage show and "gimmick" but this band is full of talented musicians. We have had the honor with sharing the stage with Misfits, Nekromantix, Powerman 5000, Wednesday 13, Mad Sin, and even L.A. Guns!
19. What could one expect from Toxic Zombie show?Sam: you can expect a high energy stage show, aggressive music and an act that you wont forget.
20. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?
Sam: me on the cover of tabloid news papers in hand cuffs being dragged out of a cheap motel
Grimm: More music videos and hopefully a new album! We have been currently working with Ivan de Prume original drummer of White Zombie. We have recorded 4 songs and plan to record another 4 or 5 to create a new full length album!
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