STATIC-X Frontman: 'I Think Every Record Is More Mature And A Step Forward'

Maximum Ink, a Wisconsin-based music magazine, recently conducted an interview with STATIC-X frontman Wayne Static. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Maximum Ink: Do you think your sound has matured since your last studio album?

Wayne: Absolutely. I think every record is more mature and a step forward. We definitely have more of a grasp of things, and I feel that on every album I get better as a vocalist and better as a songwriter. Conceptually, we haven't changed much though, other than just pushing in different directions, and lyrically, obviously it's different here and there. But although we have progressed, we're still writing music for the same reason, that being to have a good time.

Maximum Ink: And Koichi [Fukuda], your former guitarist, has just rejoined the band.

Wayne: It's awesome. It's been very comfortable having him back, the old chemistry is still there with him. It's unfortunate all the stuff we had to go through when he wasn't in the band, but having him back is definitely a blessing.

Maximum Ink: How was the first time you jammed together again?

Wayne: We invited him to help with programming on our last album. He had left the band in 2000, so it had been about four years since I had last spoken with him. So I just called him out of the blue and said, "Dude, why don't you come down to the studio and work on the record, it'll be fun." When he came down, we all got a really good vibe and then our guitar player at the time [Tripp Eisen] got arrested and put away, and Koichi was right there. I think we sound better as a band when we play together; he [Koichi] is a really tight player.

Maximum Ink: Do you listen to your own records?

Wayne: No, no, not a lot. I can honestly say I haven't listened to our old records in many, many years. Once in awhile, when I'm going to make a new record, I'll listen to the old ones, just to ground myself. Sometimes I imagine the old records differently than how they actually sound, because I'm so used to playing the songs onstage.

Maximum Ink: Is there a difference musically, as well as in the band chemistry, onstage versus in the studio?

Wayne: There's really not a lot of difference. Before we go into the studio, everything's written and we spend a couple weeks rehearsing to the point where we think every song is awesome and every part is awesome and everything is playable and doable. So when it comes to playing the song at the show, we know exactly how it's going to go.

Maximum Ink: How do you physically sustain yourself in a tour? Is it a matter of training your vocal chords to adapt to 'screaming' every night?

Wayne: Well you really have to take care of yourself. You have to make sure you get enough sleep, make sure you eat right, stay hydrated. You know, no one is allowed to drink or any of that stuff until after the show to make sure that we give our top performance when we hit the stage. I mean, you gotta take that seriously. If people are paying $25 of hard-earned money to see you onstage, they don't want to see some drunk guy mumbling [laughing]. In terms of my voice, I'm surprisingly very in control of it. Since we rehearse for weeks before the tour, it gives my voice a chance to get used to the screaming and everything, so I don't blow my voice on the first show. After that, it's really just a matter of warm-ups and staying healthy. Once in a while I will get tired though [on tour] and just won't talk for a whole day [laughing].

Read the entire interview at www.maximumink.com.