L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, November 24, 2005 6:00 pm
Blackjack’s Underground is the designation the Pershing Center uses when it turns its basement into a concert venue. It’s a fitting “club” name for the show that’s coming there Wednesday. For metal, according to Static-X frontman Wayne Static, is underground music.
“Real metal’s always been that way,” Static said. “Even when metal was on the radio, it was always the watered down stuff. There were only a couple real metal bands — Metallica is one — that broke through. For the most part, metal has been underground. It’s too dangerous for mom and dad and schools. It will probably always be that way.”
There’s some measure of irony in Static’s claim to being underground. Static-X is on Warner Bros., a major label.
“We do have a big label and that’s good because they have some clout,” Static said in a telephone interview from a Denver hotel room. “But we’re probably one of the smallest bands on the label.”
There are also some purists who might dispute the metal label for Static-X.
Since its mid-’90s inception, Static-X has melded aggressive crunch with industrial grind and the pulse of techno. There’s no question those elements are in the music, Static said.
“We’re definitely a metal band,” he said. “We push a lot of boundaries. But at the core we’re a metal band. That really comes out live.”
Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles by Michigan native Static, Static-X was signed to Warner in 1998 when it released “Wisconsin Death Trip,” its powerful debut album. Guitarist Koichi Fukuda left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Tripp Eisen, who was arrested and convicted earlier this year on charges of having sex with a minor. The band immediately kicked him out.
But thankfully, Static said, the transition went as well as could be hoped for.
“It went as smooth as silk,” Static said. “Koichi is back — that was easy. The biggest part of it for me was hoping the whole situation with Tripp Eisen didn’t affect the band internally and didn’t turn people off to the band. None of that happened.”
With Fukuta on guitar, Static-X recorded its new record, “Start a War,” a disc that Static says accomplished the goals he aimed for when he began writing songs last year.
“I just really wanted to look back at our past and listen to the old records, pick out what I liked and didn’t like about them and incorporate the good stuff into the new record,” he said. “I think we succeeded in that.”
“Start a War” comes in a package with “X-Rated,” a DVD about the band and the album. Static said the DVD is a nod to today’s music market.
“It’s harder and harder to sell records now,” he said. “You’ve got to give extra value. You’ve got to give people a reason to go out and buy it rather than burn a friend’s copy. The DVD is easy — you just get your buddy to come over with a video camera. And the hardcore fans really like it and that’s who it’s for.”
Static-X has been on the road since the first week of November with Ill Nino and Opiate for the Masses. They’ll be at Blackjack’s Underground for a 7 p.m. show that benefits The Blaze’s Kampout for Kids program.
Those who come to the show should be ready for a full-on assault, Static said.
“We generally pull the most pounding songs out, pound everyone for an hour and leave,” Static said. “We’ve got a whole bunch of metal kids out there ready to bang their heads and get into the mosh pit. They love it.”
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.