From Master's PAVEMENT bio: "As one of the most influential bands in the history of the underground, Chicago's Master has influenced a generation of metal acts worldwide. For well over a decade, band leader Paul Speckmann has assaulted the metal world with his many projects including Abomination, Deathstrike, Funeral Bitch, and of course, Master.Armed with a new lineup and a new label, Speckmann and Co. are ready to reclaim their position in the extreme metal pantheon, Their latest unholy offering titled Faith is in Season and released on Pavement Records, is sure to please their legions off fans worldwide.
" I was lucky enough to speak with Paul right before he was leaving on another tour with Master. We talked about the state of underground metal today, his association with Death Metal throughout its history, and of course, some good old pornography talk. Paul is a candid man with a lot of strong opinions, and he surprised me a lot with some of his answers.
Sorry about the lack of pics! We added some shots of the lovely Melissa Hill to break up the empty space. Enjoy!
Interviewed by Piston Rod. Melissa's pics are courtesy of Wicked Pictures.
Piston Rod: How ya doing?
Paul: I'm doing good man.
PR: I guess we'll just jump right into it.
P: Right on.
PR: OK, How would you describe Master's music for someone who hasn't heard your band before?
P: It's called "life metal". We deal with issues about life, death, sex, politics, religion. Most of the music is based around my life. I write most of the music about myself, and different views and opinions I have on the world in general.
PR: You've been involved in the death metal scene since the early days. Do you feel closer or more removed from it now than you did in the beginning?
P: (Laughs) Wow, that's a good question. I think the new album has the same energy as the music I wrote back in 1983 when we did the original recordings for Combat (Records). I guess I'd say in a way I am removed from the scene, because right now I have my own thing going on, my own style. For years people have been out there imitating Master and Death and bands like this. Of the bands in the 90's that I've heard over the past few months and stuff, they all sound like early Master, Death, and Possessed. A lot of the music today lacks originality. I guess you could say I am a little bit removed from the scene now, but the band's been touring for like the last three years and playing to good crowds. I just finished touring South America and Central America. I guess in the scene out there I am still a part of it, but here in America we are slowly rebuilding.
PR: How did that tour in South America/Central America go?
P: It went excellent.
PR: How was the crowd's reaction to the band and the music?
P: Actually a lot of the crowd had the album On The Seventh Day God Created Master, as well as the first album, so you had a thousand kids chanting "Master". I have some video tapes of it, it's really cool. The crowds are just intense, you know. In Honduras for example there were like 980 people, we are playing on stage and we get to like the sixth tune, and the entire crowd of 980 people are in a pit, a complete pit. Like everyone in the entire theater is in the pit. The strange thing is that before you know it, they are pulling boards off the walls, finding objects on the floor, and start beating each other to death , there is blood flying in the air. I look over my shoulder and there are 20 armored policemen with machine guns telling my to stop playing.
PR: Jesus.
P: Now that's intensity, I'm not saying that I condone that type of behavior, but that is definitely intensity. I've never seen anything like it, anyplace else in the world.
PR: Now that's what a Death metal show is. Most of those countries that you have played in South America, US bands haven't played in a lot of years, how does it feel to be like an emissary?
P: Like in Columbia, Equador, and Costa Rica this is the first time a band has made an appearance from America in 20 years, so it was history for us. History in the making, you know.
PR: You are kinda like an emissary for American bands and American death metal.
P: Yeah , Yeah , which is really cool, you know. I was in shock to be honest with you, but that was like a big point on television. I did four television interviews and hundreds of radio and magazines and stuff. On the television that was one of their questions over and over, "What's it like to be making history?" I was like, "I'm just glad to be a part of it". (Laughs) Just to bring the music out to the people, you know.
PR: Why do you feel that your music, while appreciated and loved around the world, hasn't been appreciated and known very well here in the United States?
P: American people are very slow, I hate to say that, but it's true, I have to say it. (laughs) American people are very trendy, you know? Master is huge in Europe and huge in South America, and been huge for years in the underground. I've been playing with the same focus from day one, but it seems like with a lot of people in America they missed the boat. They'd rather listen to Soundgarden or a lot of these more alternative groups. Anytime any of these new trends come in, rap for instance, a lot of the Americans jump on it, and it's hard for people to really stay true to what they believe in, you know. I guess you can say some people grow up and change their attitudes, I'm still the same way I was 15 years ago when I began.
PR: I agree with you about America, and it's a shame too.
P: Yeah, it is a shame, because there are a lot of people here that I'd like to bring the music to, but it's a problem. Time will tell, you know what I am saying. Have you heard the new CD?
PR: Absolutely.
P: Do you like it?
PR: Definitely. It's very angry and very raw. I like the sound a lot.
P: I was recorded really quickly. It was recorded in three days on a shoestring budget of $1,600. Keith Falgout helped us out, he and I produced it together. He also did the new Crobar, he did Acid Bath's second album, and he just finished the new Crisis album too. I wanted to get away from that trendy sound places, so we tried a place called Festival Studios in Kenner , LA. It was more like an underground studio, you need to know people to get into it. It's a studio where money doesn't talk.
PR: You took some time off from Master, what made you resurrect it, and what did you do in the intermittence?
P: Actually, the entire time, that everybody says I took time off, for the last five years I've been putting out demo tapes sending them all over the world, and shopping for a new contract, and nobody has been interested. Just about a little less than a year ago, this Still Dead productions in Poland contacted me via fax, they called and said that they were interested in putting out the CD, but six months went buy and they still didn't have anything concrete with me. I went ahead and I got an offer from Pavement and I just went for it.
PR: How has your relationship with Pavement been?
P: So far, so good. They are getting the CDs out and we need more CDs to get out, but at this point they are doing their best. They are supporting our tours, etc. Everything is going well. I need more interviews like this, and this is what I have been on these guys for the last three for four months.
PR: Yeah, you gotta get the word out.
New Kids on the Block make their long-anticipated return!!P: Yeah, exactly. What I've been telling the label, and hopefully they are coming around, is that if nobody knows you exist, they how are they going to find out. Promotion is the key to everything.
PR: Tell me about the religion overtones to your new CD, Faith Is In Season, at first glance it would seem that the album is pro religion, although that is obviously not the case.
P: Ha, ha, ha, ha pro religion, ha. I guess you could say its the pros and cons of religion. I sing about Jesus and Satan in several songs. Problem is that I find in this world you got all these preachers making millions of dollars off of innocent people. It's like people spend their life. Searching to believe in something, I feel you need to believe in yourself. You need to Master your own destiny. That is actually the lyrics out of one of my songs. I believe in myself, and I believe that there is god in everyone, you just have to work on it, and work on yourself. You don't need to go to church and worship these false idols and give money to the preachers. When I was younger there was this pastor Barts at my church, this guy started out as a preacher, he was preaching for about 15 or 20 years, and as he started getting older the church got bigger he started driving around in a limousine, this guy was turning into a millionaire off the church. Two, three years later he got cancer and he died like tow weeks after that, all I could say to him in passing was, "Dude, where is your god now, huh? All that money that you got from the people sent you right to hell immediately." That's just the way I feel about it. That's what the album really has a lot to deal with you know. You're looking at Jesus and Satan on the cover, it's just a lot of hypocrisy for me, I just believe that if you believe in yourself you can do anything in this world. That's what it's about really.
PR: That's kinda what the concept behind the cover is, the hypocrisy of them both?
P: Exactly.
PR: I agree with that a lot.
P: I know I'll be talking about this one for a long time. I've got like 100 interviews in Germany, I'm leaving September 4th, so I've got to work at it.
PR: You are a biker, right?
P: Yeah, sure.
PR: Are all bikers metalheads?
P: No, a lot of bikers aren't metalheads. They all want to listen to Born To Be Wild, and early 70's stuff, which is actually what I listen to myself. I listen to Hendrix, Joplin, The Doors. Older music really. Thin Lizzy, Rainbow. I don't really listen to speed metal, I gave that up many years ago. I still listen to Motorhead and Black Sabbath, but after Hellhammer, Sodom, after bands like that came out I stopped listening to them. After a while, all of these bands, like I said earlier, a lot of these bands, Morbid Angel, Terrorizer, they all sound like Death and Master. It kind of makes me sick, you know. They are making millions though, don't get em wrong on that, they are rich and I'm broke. I just don't listen to that kind of music any more.
PR: Do you consider the band Manowar to be kinda like your brothers in bikers?
P: Yeah, Manowar's an interesting band, for sure, they been around for years. I saw them before in Chicago, and they were great.
PR: They are an absolutely amazing band. Most of their songs are either about metal or riding bikes.
P: Which is killer, I respect that.
PR: And they haven't changed, that is one good thing about them.
P: Exactly.
PR: What is your opinion of the current state of bands such as Carcass, Morbid Angel, and Napalm Death?
P: Personally, I don't care for any of their new records.
PR: Oh really, how come?
P: I just think that they lost their vision. It like a lot of these bands have run their course over a lot of years and they have run out of ideas. I just feel that they have lost their vision for me personally. I prefer to hear the earlier records from all these bands, you know.
PR: Are there any bands that were around when you started that are still around today that you feel still has the desire, the drive, the originality?
P: I think Motorhead still has the drive. They have been around longer than me, obviously, but I think this is one of the bands that is still making it, even though they aren't as big as they once were, I respect Lemmy for sticking to his guns.
PR: How do you feel about the current death metal scene?
P: What would you call the death metal scene? I haven't heard one for many years.
PR: How about the band Deicide?
P: I never cared for them really.
PR: OK, how come?
P: I never really listened to them, or get into them, or even checked them out to be honest with you. I've always had a distaste for Florida bands, I really don't care for a lot of those bands. A lot of bands have come out of there, but originality, and lack of inspiration has kept me away from a lot of the groups out there. I hear that Glen Benton is a pretty cool guy, I just haven't talked to him yet. I'm sure I'll run into him one day though.
PR: How about a band that is also on Pavement, Vader?
P: Vader? (Pause) Well those guys just tried to screw the label and the label lost a lot of money on those guys. They are being really immature. They came to America, Pavement was putting them on tour. Putting them on a tour that I should have been on for instance. With Morbid Angel. The guys from Vader brought a lot of shirts out, and a lot of CDs form Poland. They just dicked the label around so bad. It was a disgrace man. I went into the label the other day, and I said, "You know, you could have used that ten grand on Master, and done a lot more with it."
PR: It's interesting to get your point of view, because the way that Pavement had told me, because I've been talking to them about the band, was that it was all a mistake and that their management in Poland screwed up, and it wasn't exactly Vader's fault.
P: (laughs)
PR: That's the PR that they are putting out, so it's interesting to hear your side.
P: Well, that's OK. You can print my side, because you have to be cool with your labels, man. If somebody puts out money to get you out to America or Europe, you gotta be cool.
PR: Yeah, they should have put it on Master, who really could have used it.
P: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I mean, more power to Vader, I'm not saying they are assholes, I'm just making the point that, you gotta watch what you are doing. Someone's trying to help you, you can't turn around and fuck them. Even though Nuclear Blast has been screwing me in the ass for years, you gotta always remember where you came from, and that's always the way I look at things in life. You get what you give.
PR: What's your opinion of black metal?
P: Black metal? Well my favorite black metal band is Venom. (laughs) That's black metal to me. I don't really know what to say about these new bands, because it's like a bunch of make-up and all this crap and stuff. More power to them. I wanna say one thing before I trash everybody. I do feel that music is the art of the soul. So, if these black metal bands really believe in what they are doing, then more power to them. You got these rap bands, country bands, rock, pop, but it doesn't really matter what form of music it is, it only matters if you believe in it. If you are doing it for the money, if you are doing it just for the hell of it, then I can't respect it, it's all about believing in the music. I don't want to slam the black metal bands and say they are all assholes, because I don't really feel that way, if they believe in it, then good for them.
PR: That's what metal has always been about. It's always been about the fans and then bands completely believing in it.
P: I don't want you to quote me saying they are assholes, because they are cool, it's just that I am not a big fan of any of the newer bands, to be honest with you.
PR: Do you prefer big fake tits or small real tits?
P: I like tiny real tits man. (laughs) I like big tits too, but they gotta be real. Yeah, I'm into real women.
PR: What bands influenced you when you were growing up.
P: Motorhead, Black Sabbath, like I said Venom. Sodom, obviously Slayer. They were some of the heaviest bands at the time, you know. Definitely good stuff.
PR: In your opinion, Is Eddie Murphy still funny?
P: No, he's not funny anymore. He was funny way back, but I don't care for anything he's done in 10 years probably. I thought "Trading Places" was a good movie. Some of his earlier movies were funny as hell, but I don't know what happened to him. (Pauses)É..That's a good question, kinda funny. (laughs)
PR: What is some music or bands that someone who is a fans of yours be surprised to find out that you like?
P: Oh wow. (laughs again) Old Janes Addiction, when that came out. Who else, let me see. Lenny Kravitz, I like his first and second albums too. You'd probably be surprised, but it's OK. Like I said, It's an art form, so I'm into a lot of styles of music. I'm not too one sided about too many things. I try and give everyone a chance.
PR: If you weren't playing music right now, what other profession do you thing you would be doing?
P: I move furniture when I'm not playing music. I still work man, everyone thinks I'm rich, but I still work. I'm still a 34 year old blue collar worker that moves furniture right now. In the next year, I think I'll retire, things are looking pretty good.
PR: That's good. So right now what would you consider your main job, moving furniture or playing music?
P: I get up every morning at 6 am to move someone's house.
PR: Wow, well you gotta get the bucks.
P: Right, the music isn't bringing me enough bucks right now, but it's looking like it's gonna change real soon. Which is always the question when you put a record out. Is it gonna flop, is it gonna do well?
PR: So the feedback you are getting is very positive, it's growing?
P: I just read an interview from England, and a review in SOD magazine that is very good.
PR: You're heading out on tour tomorrow, right?
P: You got it.
PR: What's the tour, and who are you playing with?
P: It's 20 concerts in the US. It starts in Corpus Christi, then down to Florida, and all the way back through the mid-west. It's like 20 concerts in 5 weeks. During the days off, we'll be camping in national forests all over, with we always do. We climb mountains, and fish and swim and do all kinds of killer outdoor activities. This has been going on for three years now. We tour for like 6 weeks to two months, and then we have two weeks off, and like we just did South America for seven weeks. I had ten days off, and now we are leaving for the US again. Then I'm going on this promotional tour in Germany for the new CD. Then I'm going out on tour with Malevolent Creation, and then we are touring Europe, then we are going to South America, so we got probably seven moths of shows coming up with maybe three weeks off that whole time.
PR: Wow.
P: So we are busy, but for me it's a good sign. All these people that wouldn't talk to me years ago are talking to me with this new CD all over again world wide. Like I always say, let the music do the talking.
PR: Since you have been around so long, I'm sure that there have been bands that you have had problems with. Any fights or problems with certain bands?
P: There was a show that I did in Chicago where the guys in Morbid Angel got all jealous and they unplugged the PA and the lights. I've got it on videotape. Master just kept playing, and it was like an Ozzy Osborne concert and there are like 500 kids lighting their lighters and we just kept jamming in the dark. A weird coincidence with that band is, with that band is, that I put out the album On The Seventh Day God Created Master, and a few months later I read an ad for Morbid Angel's new album. I'm don't remember what it was called anymore, but all of a sudden on the top it says, "And on the eighth day Satan came down..dada, dadda, daddaÉ..". It was just totally unoriginal man. Kinda pissed me off.
PR: So I'm guessing that you are not fans of Morbid Angel at all, huh?
P: Well, (pause) actually I got this cassette and it's got bands like Morbid Angel, Terrorizer, Nausea, and other bands, and some of them got really big doing Master covers in their garages. I've got tapes of all these bands. I'm thinking of releasing it, just as a joke, you know. Like a tribute to Master with them bands doing garage versions of our shit, and maybe one garage version of my own, you know. This guy in Mexico wants to put it out, and it's going to be a fiasco if I put it out, because a lot of these bands are going to be pissed off all over the world, but it's beautiful. It's a beautiful thing.
PR: Do you ever get upset that bands that started out after you, covering you, got bigger?
P: No, because I believe that every dog has his day, and my day is coming man. It's like a lot of these bands are breaking up, and falling apart and changing members, and I'm going strong right now. It's my turn to just walk in and take over, and that's just what I'm gonna do. That's where I am at right now. I see the band a year from now doing very well, but we'll see. Time will tell, of course.
PR: I definitely hope you guys get big, because I can say I interviewed you guys, and people will be envious. OK, if you went to a diner and ordered a burger, what kind of cheese would you have on it cheddar, American, Swiss, or the band Broken Hope?
P: (laughs) Broken Hope. Definitely. Yeah.
PR: Do you consider them to be a cheesy type band?
P: Yeah, exactly. Total Swiss cheese. A disgrace to the Chicago scene, period.
PR: Oh so you definitely feel that way huh.
P: Yeah, I've had my ups and down with the bass player in the band for years. I don't care, a really don't care at this point. Times have changed. More power to them, but I heard the last album they put out about a year ago, and it was produced by, what's his name, Griffin or something?
PR: I'm not sure, I'll take your word for it.
P: But the album was terrible dude.
PR: Yeah?
P: Yeah, it doesn't touch anything Master has ever put out, I was kinda disappointed in it.
PR: And that burger that you got, how would you like it cooked?
P: Well done, man.
PR: Haaa, I hear ya man.
P: (laughs) Well done.
PR: I agree with you on that one. The fanzine we have not only covers all extreme forms of music, but we also cover pornography.
P: Excellent.
PR: I was wondering what your opinion of pornography is?
P: I like seeing naked women like the next guy, of course.
PR: Do you have any favorite movies or actresses that you know?
P: Na, no I wont comment on that, but you know. Hey, I'm a fan of pornography, it's the way of the world today. I'm not going to say anything against anybody. It's another art form, you know. Of course.
PR: Are there any last words that you would like to say?
P: Yeah, thanks for the interview of course. If someone out there hasn't heard Faith Is In Season then go check it out to hear the real fucking Master, not a cheap imitation, because there are hundreds out there. Check out the original. That's about it man.
PR: OK, good luck on tour.
P: Thanks man.
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