Kelly Shaefer
Inlewd.com has stepped out of the mold of simply being another wrestling online news service, and we have taken our assault in all new directions.
In the past INLEWD has conducted interviews with Hardcore Rock Legends such as Billy Graziadei (Biohazard) and Rich Ward (Stuck Mojo/Fozzy).
It is with great pride, and pleasure I present Neurotica!!! This band is no doubt on the way to becoming one of the top recording acts in the industry! Without further hype, INLEWD PROUDLY presents an in-depth interview with Neurotica!
They said it "couldn't be done!" (based on Neurotica being signed by WWFE's SMACKDOWN Records, but once again we have proven them wrong!).
NEUROTICA! http://www.newtownmusic.com/neurotica/news.htm
Neurotica is just back from New York mixing their first SMACKDOWN! CD with Grammy nominated Producer/Mix Engineer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley (Aerosmith, Black Crowes, Silverchair fame) at the Hit Factory.
While laying down the tracks for this debut CD, Neurotica got to hang out with Matt and Jeff Hardy, as well as Lita. With the recording session the band also was the subject of a Photo shoot for the September Issue of WWF RAW MAGAZINE. And the bands first ever Rock Video is scheduled to be filmed this month and will be featured on MTV!
THE BAND: Kelly Shaefer -- Vocals
Shawn Bowen -- Guitars
Jason West -- Drums
Migwell Pryzbyl -- Bass
NEUROTICA's story is like a Cinderella rock n roll story. An unknown local band is playing at a local venue and in the audience happens to be the big break any band wants. In the case of Neurotica it was Brian Johnson (the lead singer of AC/DC) and he loved the band! He loved the sound, and he loved the direction! Next the band finds themselves in a studio recording tracks with Brian Johnson at the production helm. The result was an album mixed by Mike Fraser (Metallica/Aerosmith/AC/DC) entitled "SEED".
"Hit Parader" - "Neurotica seem to have all the bases covered on their quest to become hard rock's Next Big Thing", "Metal Edge - "metallic, hypnotic and kickass; classic and modern at the same time" ****", and even Billboard jumped on the "Seed" bandwagon, "Easy Speak (the first single) - the song deserves the attention of all of mainstream rock radio" (Editor's Note: Billboard is mainly a very conservative organization and doesn't give much attention to hardcore music so it was eye-opening Billboard gave "Seed" this awesome review!).
SEED however; was buried when Alliance Entertainment (AEC) went under. It under cut the distribution of the "SEED" CD and the CD did not have a chance to grow nationally. But fortunes have changed! And Neurotica is ready and poised to take their rightful places at the top of the music industry led by SMACKDOWN Records! The band which formed in 1994 is set to have their first CD under Smackdown! Records released sometime in the near future (check Neurotica's web page for details).
CJ: The band has signed with Smackdown Records from what I have heard?
KS: Yes we did. Actually what happened was we were touring out west, we played the Viper Room in November of 2000, and earlier we had played in NYC @ Brownies. I guess somehow an A&R guy named Josh from Arista saw us at one of these gigs and turned his friend Benjie Gordon onto the band. He was the A&R guy for this brand new label called Smackdown Records and he contacted our lawyer to get our cd. Then I spoke with Benjie and we kindled a great relationship from there. He came down to Florida and saw our fan support at a show in St. Pete, and now its on like a mutha!!!!! Its going to be a great situation we feel, because there are some great people running the label and we feel like this is the chance that we had been seeking to get out and CRUSH!!!
CJ: Sounds like a fairly good deal, on your web page there is a story about how you were, well, I won't use the term 'discovered' because you were making music well before this happened, but the web page mentioned Brian Johnson of AC/DC helped you greatly?
KS: Most definitely! I had always been an AC/DC fan along with the millions of other people, and after meeting and getting to know Brian he became a great friend to the band. After seeing us along with our producer Doug Kaye at this tiny little club in our hometown of Sarasota, he gave us a shot. Having him produce some of our earlier stuff was also a bit surreal. Looking through the glass of the studio while doing vocals and seeing a rock icon can make for some great sessions, for me any way. I was screaming my ass off! I could go on and on about how cool it is to know Brian. He is truly one of the nicest people I know!!!
CJ: Well, I have listened to some of Neurotica's early music, and I do not like to make comparison's between bands because I think each band should be allowed to stand on its own merits. But I am not against putting the bands on the spot and asking them to compare their music to other bands or styles, so with that said, what band would Neurotica compare to in your opinion?
KS: Well, I have always felt influenced by many many things. But I must say that Neurotica is not really influenced as much by the sound of our favorite music, but actually the emotion that the music brings out. Know what I mean???
CJ: I think I have a good idea of what you mean, but if you wouldn't mind clarifying it for our readers a bit, that would be helpful.
KS: We have our own thread so to speak, so we like to tap into different levels of emotion. From a crack in the mouth, to... say an afternoon of day dreaming. We all enjoy music in general for all its worth. We are FANS!
CJ: As a writer I often have the same outlets of using emotions in my works. So I can understand where you are coming from on that one. I was curious with the emotion mentioned above, what does your music mean to you?
KS: There is very little that it doesn't mean to me. Its my everything, its all I ever want to know other than Love. It gives me a smile when I'm pissed, it gives me a soundtrack for my life. Its not unlike a limb on my body, in fact its actually more important. I can survive without a limb, but I cannot without music. Have I mentioned that our music means a lot to us??? hahahahha!!!!!!
CJ: What does the band, What do you personally hope to accomplish through your music?
KS: We want to write songs that make the whole world CRUSH!!!!!!!!!
I personally never set out to finish 2nd at anything, so I hope to have a life that never leaves "11". Know what I mean??? I want to live as much as possible and leave a mark in pop culture. I want to be remembered 30 years from now. As long as I have a chance to make records and tour, all the rest is just icing on the cake.
CJ: How about your early experiences growing up? Looking back, what can you say was a major influence on your music?
KS: I have experienced many altered states of mind so to speak, and I would say that it played a role early in my musical development. Now, I do not recommend that for everyone but that's just being honest. I started writing songs right away during my first year of learning to play guitar. I never played cover tunes at all, and I think my upbringing exposed me early to some amazing music. Before I started playing, I had a head start in the feel of it all. But there is not a lot that does not influence us and the music we make. Like I said, we draw from emotions of all shapes and sizes. We are not afraid of the ugly emotions, and we are not afraid to expose them within our tunes!
CJ: Not being afraid to draw upon those certain emotions certainly has aided your music, and career progression. With the recent deal with Smackdown! records and Neurotica, the band, seems to be on top of the world! Can you give us any additional information on how this awesome deal came about?
KS: Well, like I said earlier, our disc landed on the desk of Benjie Gordon at Smackdown, he came to see us in Florida and it grew from there. We started working out a deal a few weeks later!!!!!!!
CJ: You played on the 30th of June at Boomerz in Florida. Is this the location the band originated out of?
KS: No, Boomerz has actually been around for some time. But we really had our best shows at the STATE THEATRE IN ST PETERSBURG, Florida, as well as a few others like the Monterey Deli in Sarasota. That's where we all live, right on the beach, one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Its a great little town, but we have to make our place in Tampa though. That's where most of the good clubs are. Plus we all play African djembe hand drums on Sundays on the beach with a drum circle that has grown to over 500 people. When We first started playing out there, there were maybe 40 people tops. Now it has grown into one of the coolest things in town.
CJ: Quite cool! Speaking of current projects such as playing African dejembe hand drums on the beach, are there any current projects or tour dates to report on for Neurotica?
KS: Its all about Neurotica right now. We do not have side projects or anything like that. We are very focused and driven to be the biggest band in the world, end of story!!! We're in the process of talking with some booking agents to find out who can do a great job of getting us out and keeping us out on the road. So its a little early to tell you dates, but in about a month we should start listing our first set of dates.
CJ: Well, I'll certainly keep my eye open for those tour dates! What about life on the road?
KS: Anyone who has ever been out knows that the whole damn thing is crazy. Touring for us is such a necessity. We love to be out on the road because its so different everyday. New people, new conversations--we just cant get enough of it. We have had a ton of truly memorable nights of wine and song. I will leave the mystery of it intact. You'll have to come out and follow the band around the country to see for yourself.
CJ: I understand you were in a band before Neurotica?
KS: Most of the guys in the band have been in several different bands on a local level. I was in a band called ATHEIST that put out 3 records through Metal Blade/Warner Bros; a very insane jazz-metal band that had a great following in Europe and in the states for quite a while.
CJ: Turning back to the current project. You just returned from mixing with Kevin "Caveman" Shirley at the Hit Factory in New York City. Not to give away too much, can you give us a little idea of what we may be in store for? I know I myself am VERY excited! I can not wait to purchase my copy of the CD!
KS: Yeah, we're stoked to work with Kevin. He has done a lot of great records that we dig and we think he will take this over the top. Its gonna be a balls out real rock record with no DJ's, no samples, big fat ass guitars, and great songs!! Our producer Doug Kaye has done a brilliant job on this batch of tunes and the band is just steam rolling throughout the whole record. It really never lets up, it goes from cracking you in the teeth to kissing you on the cheek!!! There will be a video coming as well, so watch for that when it hits!!!!
CJ: I'll keep my eyes pasted for the MTV video! Speaking more about the Smackdown! label. It is owned by the WWFE (World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.). Has any cross over been discussed between Neurotica and the WWFE?
KS: Of course they will utilize their marketing opportunities accordingly. But make no mistake, we are a hard rock band, not a wrestling band. We love the WWF and all of the many different characters, and we look forward to working with them. I think they are all rock stars themselves. They work so hard to just make it to the ring, most people do not realize just how hard their jobs are. I think you will see some advertisements on the programs, and at some point we would love to play a WrestleMania or a Pay-Per-View event. Currently there is a nice five page spread in the new issue of RAW Magazine (July).
CJ: Since you mentioned characters, Other rock bands have been contacted and contracted by the WWFE to make entrance music for certain WWFE talent. Has the WWFE discussed any such relationship with Neurotica?
KS: It has been lightly discussed, and I'm sure at some point we will do something with one of the guys/girls of the WWF. We are all for it cuz they're a hard rocking company!!
After all, they just signed NEUROTICA, RIGHT???????
CJ: Right! Are you a fan of wrestling?
KS: Well, hell yeah!!! I was really a fan of wrestling here in Florida during the Gordon Solie era. I was a little kid going to those matches with Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, etc... I remember Vince when he was an announcer. I lost touch with it until about a year and a half ago, but now I'm back in the mix with the story lines. We were especially stoked when our boy Brian Johnson was on SNL with The Rock, Triple H, Foley and the Big Show.
That was sweeet! We are totally for the idea of doing a wrestling show. Its just got to be done in a very cool way, you know?????
CJ: Well, speaking of the Florida Championship Wrestling days brings back a lot of good memories about pro wrestling myself. On the final note, I wanted to discuss JAGERMEISTER. Is it safe to say that JAGER is the favorite drunk of the band? I personally have had many trips from a local club with my head spinning because of the damn Jager!
KS: Well for me, I have to drink my Jager ahead of the show, or after the show cause its so hot on stage that when drinking it on stage and jumping around like a maniac it will come right back up. I have had to duck behind the amps on many occasions to allow my Jager to exit hastily, hahahah. That is some very interesting liquor, that's for sure. The Jager people have been very very cool to us, helping us out with promo stuff, really cool people. We also dig Corona and Heineken as well-- to chase the Jager, of course.
