411 Music Interview: Wayne Static of Static-X!

Posted by Marshall Slayton on 02.27.2009

Wayne Static sits down with 411mania, and tells us everything about the new album, Dave Mustaine, his life on tour, and more!

On Mardi Gras, 411mania writer Marshall Slayton set aside his beads, masks, and Girls Gone Wild DVDs to have a fireside chat with Static-X mastermind Wayne Static. What follows is an epic conversation including a sneak peek at the new Static-X album, his life on tour, and working with Megadeth guitarist Dave Mustaine. Plus, he spills the secrets about his hair.



You have a new album dropping on March 17th called Cult of Static. How are Static-X fans like a cult? (Is there a Static Vatican? Maybe you could call it "The Statican.")

I decided to call the record Cult of Static because our fans are so loyal, and they have been for so many years. That's the reason we're still around. If you come to one of our shows, every one of our fans knows every lyric to every song. And they're just absolutely glued to the whole situation. So it is a cult of sorts. I'm not going to ask anyone to drink Kool-Aid and kill themselves or anything like that, but our fans are very loyal, so we decided to call it Cult of Static.

The new album marks a series of "firsts" for you. First, you got to record in your home studio. Second, it's the first album you've made since being married to Tera Wray. How have these things affected the new album?

Meeting my wife definitely set the tone lyrically for the whole record. You know, pretty much every song, or pieces of every song are influenced by her and having great times with her. So, yeah! There's a lot of songs about fucking and things of that nature.

What about recording at your home? Did you have a different mentality working until four in the morning?

Yeah! It's awesome. As far as the writing aspect, it allows you to get up and just walk into the studio any time you have an idea or feel like working on something… at any hour. As far as the recording, it's great, because you don't have to get up and drive somewhere. You know, I just walk up to the studio whenever I feel like laying down some vocal tracks. And there's John, my faithful engineer, waiting for me.

(Laughs.)

So it's much more comfortable, relaxed. It's free. You're not paying $2,000 a day for some studio. There's not the whole thing eating away at the back of your head, like, "I better get something done today because we're paying a lot of money for this place!" It's just a lot more relaxed, and it's definitely an advantage to do it that way.

So you felt like you got more out of it because of comfort?

Yeah. And we got to take our time. Really just chill out and be cool, and just take things as they come. There was never a time where we felt like it was a big deal to get something done by a certain time.

Did you have deadlines?

No. I like to put out a record as soon as we can, obviously. I like to keep things out there. I don't want to take four years between records or anything like that. But you work at a comfortable pace and get done as quickly as you can without compromising anything. I would've liked to have had it out a few months ago, but hey, it is what it is. I'm not going to put anything out unless I'm 100% happy with it.

One thing I really admire about Static-X is how prolific you guys are. You've released a new CD every two to three years. How do you manage to churn out so much material in such a short amount of time?

It's called "I haven't had a vacation in ten years!"

(Laughs.)

I just keep working. I never stop. I'll take a day off every once in a while to go out to the desert and drive my truck around the dirt. Then I'll come back home and get to work. I think that's what you gotta do, that's why we're still around. That's why we're still relevant. There's new bands coming out every day, and there's no time to rest. You just gotta keep workin'. Work, work, work.

So we're not going to see a Static-X hiatus any time soon, like System of a Down?

As far as Static-X, I don't know. I've been talking about doing a solo project after this. I may or may not. I can tell you, for sure, I will not be taking any hiatus. I will continue to keep working until I die.

For the new album, you got to work with legendary Megadeth guitarist, Dave Mustaine. What it was like to work with him?

AWESOME! We became good friends on the tours we've done together in the past, and I just asked him, as a friend, if he would lay down a guitar solo for us. It's really an honor. Dave's absolutely fucking legendary, you know? It's crazy. If I sit back and think about it, I've been a Megadeth fan since I was a kid. Not only am I friends with the dude now, he's actually on my record! It totally blows my mind. I don't think it's sunk in yet! To sit there, in the studio, and work with him on his guitar solo… and actually, me giving him advice on his solo!

(Laughs.)

It just fucking blows your mind, you know?

I saw Megadeth a few years ago on Gigantour, and they have the same attitude towards their fans that Static-X has. Even though they were the headliners, they still met with all their fans and signed autographs and took pictures.

Dave is one of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys I've ever met. He should be an example for every aspiring rock star out there. He's been for doing this for… fuck…. I don't know… twenty-some years now? And he's still absolutely down-to-earth and approachable. I can't say enough good things about him.

You've said that Cannibal was "a return to basics" for the band. Where does that put the new album? Is it still on the same "return to basics" level?

Kind of. Unintentionally. It seems like we're funneling the trend that we established ten years ago. Wisconsin Death Trip, our first record, was a very simple, basic record. Then our second record, Machine, built on that and started adding more keyboards and layers. Coincidentally, that's what we did here. I used Cannibal as a jumping-off point, with the heaviness and guitar solos and vocal approach. My goal was to bring in a lot more dynamics and textures. I really wanted to make this more of an "epic" record. There's some longer songs on it that are just… long and dirgy. Kind of like Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir," that hypnotic, dirgy-like feel. We've got some of that on this record, as well.

Did you feel like you had to push to make longer Static-X songs?

Not really. I don't ever pay attention to how long songs are. I just know when they're done. I start working on a song; I put it together and do what feels right. However long it is, is however long it is. It just so happened that somehow, on this record, all the songs turned out to be longer.

Let me ask you about soundtracks. You've been on LOTS of soundtracks, from video games to horror movies and so much more. Would you say your music is cinematic in nature, and do you like soundtracks?

Yeah, absolutely. I think it's very cinematic, and it's great driving music. It's great for video games and things like that. I think our music, even without the vocals, on its own, is very interesting to listen to. I love doing soundtracks, and I'm actually going to get into that more in the future. At some point, I want to start scoring things. As I get older and I'm too old to jump around on stage like a fool every night, that's what I'd like to get into eventually.

So, we're going to hear more instrumental stuff from you?

Little bits, here and there. We've done it before. We've had a couple of instrumental things on some of our records in the past. I think as far as putting that on a Static-X record, you can get away with it for a little bit. Static-X is really more about in-your-face vocals.

Which of the following would win in a battle: Ozzfest, Gigantour, or your own headliners?

Well… fuck… I don't know!

(Laughs.)

They're three different monsters, and they're all equally as fun. Ozzfest… huge tour like that, it's a blast. There are huge audiences and so many bands. Party atmosphere all day, all night! Gigantour was great. Not quite as big as Ozzfest, but big venues… bigger than we headline on our own. Getting to play with Megadeth every night, and hanging out with Dave and partying with him after the show is always fun. Our headline tour, to me, is a reward to all the hardcore fans, because that's when we get to do a longer set. Play as long as we want. Throw some rare, more obscure songs in there. Every time we do a headline tour, we try to throw one song in there that we haven't played before, or haven't played in years. We like to give something special to the hardcore fans.

I've seen you at all three, and I really like your headliners.

There's nothing like owning the stage, and having it be YOUR show, to do whatever you want. You set the rules and play as long as you want. You can't beat that, for sure. But at the same time, there's nothing like standing in front of 60,000 people at Ozzfest and feeling the energy coming from the crowd like that. So they're both great, in their own ways.

What do you like most about touring?

You never know what's going to happen. When you're at home, life is somewhat predictable. You wake up in the same bed, and you know what to expect. On tour, it's just so unpredictable. Every day, you wake up in a different town, and you have no idea what's going to happen that day. I get up, look outside the bus, try to figure out where the hell we are. We get to go out, play to new fans, a different group of people, see the smiles on their faces, and then, there's parties afterwards. You just never know.

Are there any particular Static-X songs that you're most proud of?

Some of the songs on the new record, there's a couple of really epic songs, like "Tera-Fied" and "Grind 2 Halt." They are two of my all-time favorite songs, because there's so many dynamics to them and they have such a hypnotic feel. Those would probably be the two favorites I would list.

It's funny that you mentioned those two tracks, because those were the ones that really stuck out to me on the new album. They were something I've never heard from Static-X before: longer and slowly unfolding.

Yeah, and those two tracks, coincidentally, were the first two songs I wrote for the record. Those two really set the tone for everything to come. After I wrote and finished those two songs, I realized I couldn't make an entire record of long, dirgy, epic songs, you know? I had to get some faster stuff in there. Those two songs set the tone for the record, absolutely.

Which, in your opinion, is more comfortable: boxers or briefs?

I don't wear underwear, so…

(Laughs.)

The most common question I've been asked by Static-X fans: how the hell do you get your hair to stand up like that?

I explained that on a bonus DVD that came along with the special edition of Shadow Zone. It's just hairspray and a blow dryer. It's very simple. Anyone can do it.

Is that something that you do before every show?

No, I do it once or twice a week and I just leave it up until my head starts getting too itchy. Then I wash it.

Does it take you a long time?

It takes about fifteen minutes, and it's done for days. It's very simple.

Well, it looks wicked.

Thank you!

I'm giving you the last word. Anything else you want to say to Static-X fans, and the readers at 411mania.com?

Thanks for all the support. I really appreciate it. That's why we're still here. It's been ten years, almost to the date, when our first record came out. And we're still here. We're still alive and kicking, and we're still touring. I know everyone is going to love the new record, Cult of Static. March 17th. We made the record for you guys. I know you're going to enjoy it, and I can't wait to get on the road and kick everyone's ass again for the entire year.