We caught up with the members of Superjoint on the first day of their tour in Austin, TX for their new release, "Caught Up In The Gears Of Application", one of the best received metal albums of 2016.
enFOCUS: So Superjoint’s last release was in 2003 (A Lethal Dose of American Hatred) and suddenly you come back with a vengeance. Caught Up In The Gears of Application made virtually every top metal album list of 2016. What spurred this comeback?
Jimmy Bower: Kate Richardson and Corey Mitchell were talking about Housecore Horror Fest and they thought it would be cool to do something different and have Superjoint play. And that’s when we started making phone calls. Phil suggested be get Blue and Steve in the band.
Phil Anselmo: If it wasn’t for Kate Richardson and Corey Mitchell’s persistence on my particular ass about even calling Jimmy or Kevin about this we would have never found the joy of Superjoint again. Well I wasn’t sure how Jimmy would respond because he was touring and I was doing Down and all this other stuff. Corey is definitely responsible for us being together and doing what we love to do. RIP big brother. It was fun. And now were on tour and having a great time.
enFOCUS: The first video for the title track looked like you had a lot of fun. I was cracking up!
Phil: Good!
Jimmy: We had a great time with it.
Phil: At least until we got to the carousel (Phil smirks mischievously). Kevin Bond is scared to ride carousels. I think ‘cause it goes round and round a circle really fast and the horses go up and down.
Steve Taylor: I think he doesn’t like the painted ponies. (Steve adds chuckling).
Phil: Scaaaary! It’s terrifying.
Phil: Good!
Jimmy: We had a great time with it.
Phil: At least until we got to the carousel (Phil smirks mischievously). Kevin Bond is scared to ride carousels. I think ‘cause it goes round and round a circle really fast and the horses go up and down.
Steve Taylor: I think he doesn’t like the painted ponies. (Steve adds chuckling).
Phil: Scaaaary! It’s terrifying.
enFOCUS: This is the first day of the tour and Austin is proud to have you. Next month you’ll be doing a special benefit show for Mike IX Williams. Can you tell us a bit about this and how fans can help?
Phil: Mike won’t die! He’s been a fighter since I’ve known him in my teens but I think this is the scariest thing he’s faced. Mike lived with me for about a decade. He just moved out, everything was looking so bleak, his dog is still in my house but yet he’s texting everyone today that he’s blowing away all the doctors. They’re all freaking out over his comeback. And I always had this idea in the back of my head that this mf is going to pull through. And I think he’s going to pull through in a major way. Williams, more power to him. I have so much love for that dude.
Phil: Mike won’t die! He’s been a fighter since I’ve known him in my teens but I think this is the scariest thing he’s faced. Mike lived with me for about a decade. He just moved out, everything was looking so bleak, his dog is still in my house but yet he’s texting everyone today that he’s blowing away all the doctors. They’re all freaking out over his comeback. And I always had this idea in the back of my head that this mf is going to pull through. And I think he’s going to pull through in a major way. Williams, more power to him. I have so much love for that dude.
Jimmy: So he just had a liver transplant and it wasn’t looking good. As his friends we’re really happy he’s doing better but he does need financial help for the medical bills and that’s why we’re doing the benefit concert for him.
To help please visit: https://www.youcaring.com/mikeixwilliams
and for more information on the benefit concert in New Orleans: ttps://www.facebook.com/events/1625268407781184/
To help please visit: https://www.youcaring.com/mikeixwilliams
and for more information on the benefit concert in New Orleans: ttps://www.facebook.com/events/1625268407781184/
enFOCUS: So there are a lot of bands represented here…
Jimmy: I used to say this in the past and I’ll say it again now. If you’re a fucking musician, then be one. Play music and don’t pigeon hole yourself in one band.
Phil: Thank you! I’ve been trying to say that for a decade.
Jimmy: Try and do different styles of music. It’s the best learning/creativity tool that’s out there and it’s free.
Phil: Learn. Explore. If there’s any type of box, I don’t want to be in there. As far as writing music goes, I say burn the box to the ground and do what thou wilt.
Jimmy: I used to say this in the past and I’ll say it again now. If you’re a fucking musician, then be one. Play music and don’t pigeon hole yourself in one band.
Phil: Thank you! I’ve been trying to say that for a decade.
Jimmy: Try and do different styles of music. It’s the best learning/creativity tool that’s out there and it’s free.
Phil: Learn. Explore. If there’s any type of box, I don’t want to be in there. As far as writing music goes, I say burn the box to the ground and do what thou wilt.
enFOCUS: Speaking of different projects, I just heard Bill & Phil (Songs of Darkness & Despair). I have to say it put a smile on my face. I was cracking up at the lyrics even though I had no idea what it was about.
Phil: Ha! You’ll have to ask Bill. I have to tell you, Bill is a delight. He is a fucking awesome genius. He comes from that beatnik school of lyricism that creates imagery. He’s got some Crazy concepts behind them but they are for the listener to interpret. But as for Corpus Crispy, you don’t know how hard I tried to get him to change it to Corpus Christi but he said, “Nope, nope. Even my wife hates it. She tried to get me to change it but I won’t. I means something to me!” So I said cool, I’m just playing guitar.
Jimmy: He’s actually going to help me on my solo project as well. It’s going to be like Muddy Waters meets Cage. I’m really excited; he’s always been able to pull the best out of me. And I’ll be doing my first show at the Mike Williams benefit.
Phil: Ha! You’ll have to ask Bill. I have to tell you, Bill is a delight. He is a fucking awesome genius. He comes from that beatnik school of lyricism that creates imagery. He’s got some Crazy concepts behind them but they are for the listener to interpret. But as for Corpus Crispy, you don’t know how hard I tried to get him to change it to Corpus Christi but he said, “Nope, nope. Even my wife hates it. She tried to get me to change it but I won’t. I means something to me!” So I said cool, I’m just playing guitar.
Jimmy: He’s actually going to help me on my solo project as well. It’s going to be like Muddy Waters meets Cage. I’m really excited; he’s always been able to pull the best out of me. And I’ll be doing my first show at the Mike Williams benefit.
enFOCUS: Well, you are no stranger to tragedy and controversy. On top of that your life is under a microscope with the media poised to jump on you. How do you deal with this and find the inspiration to keep creating? What advice can you give to those just starting out?
Phil: Don’t read the comments section and just fucking do what you’re going to do. Remember that Box that I was talking about earlier? Well emulation is great, but I think music has enough emulation right now. Of course if you’re just starting out, rip off your favorite 30 bands, not just your favorite two. From there, develop your own style. Be individual and stand out from the crowd. Because music is a growing process. It’ll be different 10 years from now, 20 years from now and 50 years from now as it was 50 years ago.
Jimmy: My advice is don’t stray away from authentic instrument and don’t take short cuts. Keep it real and learn to create.
enFOCUS: Any last words?
Phil: Thank you to our fans, we love you!
Phil: Don’t read the comments section and just fucking do what you’re going to do. Remember that Box that I was talking about earlier? Well emulation is great, but I think music has enough emulation right now. Of course if you’re just starting out, rip off your favorite 30 bands, not just your favorite two. From there, develop your own style. Be individual and stand out from the crowd. Because music is a growing process. It’ll be different 10 years from now, 20 years from now and 50 years from now as it was 50 years ago.
Jimmy: My advice is don’t stray away from authentic instrument and don’t take short cuts. Keep it real and learn to create.
enFOCUS: Any last words?
Phil: Thank you to our fans, we love you!