THE HAUNTED Frontman Says He Would Outlaw Capitalism And Religion

Graham Finney of Planet Loud recently conducted an interview with THE HAUNTED frontman Peter Dolving. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Planet Loud: If you were given the chance to change anything in the world what would it be?

Peter: Capitalism and religion I would fucking outlaw, I'd fucking ban. Those two things are the source and the thing that creates a most of the bullshit that is wrong with this planet and the human species. It doesn't matter how much you try to argue for capitalism, you will always have to face the paradox that things can't be done with profitable goal. If you do keep that in mind then you're bound to do it with ulterior motives — to make sure you or the corporation you work for are rich. Religion goes hand in hand with that. It's about empowering yourself emotionally that through a moral choice you will gain a greater worth than those who do not. In the end both of those things are fasicsm and it doesn't matter how high and mighty and how holy the basic goal you do is, in the end it is how you appear to other human beings and to humanity.

Planet Loud: What advice would you give someone growing up today?

Peter: I have two kids myself and I'm very fortunate to be able to spend a full year here and there with them. I try to teach them the importance of life and that is the key factor. That and the fact that everyone has equal rights no matter what anyone tells them — if someone tries to step on them they have the right to say you can't step on me. That person may still do that but they have the right to say that they aren't to do that. Another important lesson is self-worth then there is regular education. Knowledge is important — ignorance isn't — learning is important even though it can be really fucking horrible trying to learn some things but you can't learn everything at once. You're learning all throughout your life — you can't give up when you're twenty two and you're working in a garage with your loans and debts. Learning is a lifetime experience.

Planet Loud: You've mentioned your kids. How did become a dad change you?

Peter: Reality kicked my ass. It made me have to deal with a bunch of issues I had with myself. Beyond that, it's a constant ass-kicking. Bringing kids into the world is a pretty egotistical thing to do. You do it out of a kind of wish or instinct to procreate. Bam, the consequence is a little human being — they didn't ask to come — we made them. Any responsibility or consequence that needs to be taken that may need to be taken as it looks as though it is their fault — it's actually your fault. All their consequences are your responsibility because you made them. Until they are consenting adults — it's your damn responsibility to see that they get the love, respect and fairness that makes them know how important they are. It was during that process I realised that hey, I'm a human being too. No-one taught me that when I was growing up and I ended up in really fucked-up situations with all the adults around me dealing in stolen furcoats and selling meat and home-brewed liquor. By the age of thirteen I had taken a baseball bat to the front door of my Uncle's restaurant. I started drinking when I was eleven and I don't just mean drinking, I mean really wasting my brain away. I'm very fortunate — I don't slur and I have all my teeth but I do have big gaps in my memory where I don't remember anything and I have a hard time memorising stuff. One of my basic drives was to get fucked up to be able to deal with happiness, sorrow. It was either be slightly busted or just totally fucked up. Too many people then completely fucked up so I didn't have to deal with all of them — other than that slightly bust. Substance abuse and those situations came hand in hand.

Planet Loud: What are you frightened of?

Peter: I'm really frightened of judgement. I am fucking 36 years old. I know so much martial arts, I'm 6ft three and I'm in the coolest, heaviest band in the world. It's fucking ridiculous. Why should I even give a shit? I've come to see that though. I shouldn't have to worry. It's stuff that goes back so far that it is ridiculous. I mean, if a woman doesn't like me or thinks I'm ugly, so fucking what. I don't need fucking approval from anyone. I've proved my worth. I can make babies, what the fuck?! The thing is that if you get tossed around when growing up and you have to deal with all this shit then it really fucks you up. It leaves a lot of scars. If no-one gives you credit or value it fucks up your perception of yourself because you don't think you have any worth because no-one has ever given it. The thing is that now I'm really happy to be dealing with these things.

Read the entire interview at www.planet-loud.com.