Today we're spending Seven Questions In Heaven with guitarist Emilio Menze and bassist Dan Lamothe of Stellar Corpses.Describe your music for our readers who may not be familiar with you.
MENZE: I would describe us as a band that has an arsenal of infectious, singalong anthems that you will be humming to yourself days after seeing us. We have a dark morbid sense of humor and storytelling that we incorporate into whiplash-inducing punk, but with the power of an upright bass instead of a traditional bass guitar.
Who are your musical influences and idols?
MENZE: One of our obvious influences is Glenn Danzig because of his work and all the doors he's opened for bands of our nature. I personally look up to Joey and Dee Dee Ramone.
What was the first album, cassette, or CD you bought with your own money?
MENZE: I think the very first piece of music I bought was a Beavis And Butt-Head cassette, ha ha! It would have a few songs, then them making fun of it and being stupid. I also remember well in high school trimming lawns in my neighborhood with a weed whacker and as soon as I got paid, I'dd go to a record store and buy any Misfits albums I could find.
Some of your songs contain nods to horror movies like The Lost Boys, Cemetary Man, and The Evil Dead. How long have you had a fascination with horror movies? What draws you to them? What's your favorite horror flick of all time?
MENZE: I've always loved Halloween; it was such a big deal to me when I was a kid. I've always loved horror movies too, but when I was young they scared the hell out of me. I think a big part of why I like horror now is because it's such a vivid, wild form of art, right in your face. I think people really get into the thrill of vicariously living through dangerous and terrifying events from the comfort of their local movie theater or living room. Its fucking cool. My favorite horror movie is the original Nightmare On Elm Street.
For your latest album, Dead Stars Drive-In, you hit the studio with Joe McGrath, who has worked with artists as diverse as Morrissey, Green Day, The Go-Go's, The Offspring, and Patrick Stump. What was it like working with McGrath? How long were you in the studio? What was your favorite memory from the recording sessions? Your least favorite?
LAMOTHE: Working with Joe was amazing. Aside from being just an awesome guy, he has an incredible ear and the ability to hear and understand what you're trying to accomplish musically and help you recreate it in the studio. It was so much fun working with him, sharing ideas and bouncing them back and forth between the four of us. The creative juices were flowing and made the whole album process that mush more engaging. The whole process took about 5 weeks, more or less. We did a week of pre-production before we started actually recording just to get a feel for the whole album and maybe flush out some of the not-as-good songs or whateve.. My favorite memory of being in the studio was when my part was done. Ha ha ha. Just kidding, the best part was listening to the final product when it was all over and thinking, "Damn, that sounds so fucking good!" and being proud of all the hard work we had done to create such a killer album. The worst part was being done and knowing we had to go back home. We had such a blast making this album. I don't think anyone wanted to leave.
What's next for Stellar Corpses?
LAMOTHE: Well were making plans to make our next music video at the moment. We also have some shows coming up, including two with Tiger Army in late October.
Finally, you're the opening act of a music festival. You can get any five artists, living or dead, to perform on the bill with you. Which five do you choose and what song do you all perform as the final jam?
LAMOTHE: Damn, so many artists have influenced me. And I know the other guys share some of these with me but lets see... I'd love to play with Bad Religion, Social Distortion, Danzig. Volbeat would be fun to play with. Batmobile. We're really lucky because we've had the pleasure of playing with so many of our heroes already. If i got to jam with all those guys it would be such an insane jam session! The final jam would have to be "Hybrid Moments" by the Misfits. I can just picture everyone belting it out. It would be a good one to end on. It would be epic!
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