Interview with Wax Mannequin

On a yawny, gray tuesday, I connected via phone (after a few no service zones kept us apart) with Chris Adeney who is better known as 'Wax Mannequin'. While on tour in support of his new album 'Saxon (released on Zunior records), Wax gave me some interesting and funny insights into his stage shtick, creative process and image-heavy art.

MattMcKech/ThickSpecs: How did you know you wanted to do music?

Wax: I don't think I did know. I was writing songs, weird little songs, and I would play them at parties in high school. I was always writing music but I didn't think I'd be taking it as a career path. I went to art school and I was playing bass with an art rock band in Hamilton - 'Golden Lake Diner'. I was playing with them for the last year of their existence.  Through that, I got opportunity to perform my own music a lot more, opening up shows, etc.  My friend Brodie started booking me in as support for a lot of bands travelling through town and I got it into my head that I could be traveling with my music too. At the time, I played a lot locally at this place called the Raven - the kind of trashy club with lots of character that only stayed in business because of the excellent shows being put on there.

MM: A lot of people ask 'In your artistry, are you joking'?

WM: No, no - I'm not joking. In other kinds of art, you don’t see that hard line between humor and sincerity that’s usually expected in music – it’s blurred more often and people are pretty comfortable with this.  So that’s what I bring to my songs.  Any good humorist is saying something serious. The opposite is also true. It’s a lot more impactful to say serious things when it’s done with a sense of whimsy.  It’s a bit of a taboo to ride this line in music... so naturally, I think it’s a very good idea.

MM: There's such a massive volume range in your music - some say you're either too quiet or too loud. What are you trying to say with the noise range there?

WM: Well, sometimes I'd get sick as a kid. When I was under the weather, I’d have this recurring dream - it was like something oscillating between being very heavy and hash, and light and smooth - sometimes all at the same time. It was a point of tranquil calm in the midst of total destruction, or a moment of whimsy in the darkest time.  That’s what my music is about -- by going from loud to quiet and back.

MM: You seem to change your character/persona (especially live) with every album - can you explain the significance of that?

WM: No I don't (pauses - laughs). I do what feels right at any given time.

MM: Talk a bit about your videos - specifically 'A message from the Queen' and 'The Price'. What inspired those mega-interesting videos and was the filming process of those like?

WM: Well, I actually have a new video. 'Message' is a few years old. My new one is called 'End Of Me' - we just put it on youtube. But yeah – for ‘The Price’ This guy Jesse approached me at a show and said he and his friends wanted to make an animated video for me. I always wanted an animated video. I had this idea that I could be playing my weird song to a bunch of kindergarten kids in a thrift store - The old Family Thift Store in Guelph - then one of the kids steals something from the shelf and runs and I’d chase after all threatening, but the whole thing would get pretty silly. Jesse took this loose concept and changed it all around in an awesome way. They were working on it while I was doing a ramshackle tour in Australia.  I'd get notes about how the video was going  now and then. I never really thought it would be finished.  But when I got home from my trip Jesse handed me the finished video at one of my shows.  It seemed like something in my dreams.  Jesse is amazing.  As for 'Message', it was Scott Cudmore’s idea. I like that it features an all-powerful, healing lady - she is kind of an ambiguous but slightly threatening lady who heals my wounded head.

TS: People are huge fans of your signature yelps and meows - is there a reason you love to do that or is it a trait that is just inherent to you now?

WM: Sometimes I just feel like doing stuff in the moment. Maybe it’s a bit tourettes-like.  The meowing started when I was performing solo.  I would 'meow' the lines of different instruments that I thought should go in the song.  Lou Barlow has a cover of Bryan Adams 'Run To You’ and the guitar solo sounds a bit like a sick cat so my highschool friends and I used to meow along with the guitar solo. (Meows in tune) 'meow, meow, meow, meeeoooowww'.  I guess that’s where it started. It also came from the Mr. Dressup cat who only meows when she speaks.

TS: On 'Saxon', you've finally identified your band as Black Blood - is that partially inspired by Evil Dead 2?

WM: Yeah. You’ve done your homework! When things really go south in Evil Dead 2, Black Blood starts spraying all over the place.  Then Ash puts a chainsaw on his stump-hand and starts sawing up all the demons.  That’s where I’m at with this music.  I feel like I’m at the point of no return.  The guys who recorded with me - we all got to know each other well and began to really speak with each other through the music.  The ‘Black Blood’ suffix is also how I identify whether it’s a band show or a solo show.

TS: You tend to tour like a demon - what's one the most bizarre experiences you've had on the road?

WM: There are always a lot of interesting and traumatic things that happen when I'm travelling. I tend to block a lot of that stuff out.  Let's see...  When I was touring in Germany I couldn’t figure out how to put my rented car in reverse... I’d just put the thing in neutral and push back with my foot.  When I joked about this at a show in Hamburg, a friendly member of the crowd helped me figure out the car after the show. It turns out there was an almost invisible lever on the stick that I had to pull up. Later then the car reversed itself into a parked transport truck when I wasn’t in it.

TS: Where are you heading now on this current tour?

WM: We've got 3 shows in St John’s and I’ll be touring back across the Maritimes; Moncton, Fredericton, Quebec. We'll be playing in Montreal, and then I'll be off for a few weeks. It’s been a long run, but it’s been going well.  In March, I’ll be heading west with The Burning Hell... Mathias and I will be in each others bands, and we will share a drummer and other musicians. I’m looking forward to touring as a collective like this, and it’s not as lonely when I’m sharing the road with others.
I like travelling plenty, and I like being lazy at home too, but too much of either makes me crazy.  I suppose my ideal life is where I can tour as much as I want, and be at home playing video games as much as I want. I'm pretty close to having this perfect balance in my life right now.

TS: Thanks for your time today Wax!

WM: Thank you, Matt.

Comments

[jay]

whoa. The WAX!

[lisa p]

wax is serious!! seriously amazing!! i was glad to hear that he's never kidding. that sincerity definitely translates on stage, i think that's part of what makes him such a great live performer. it's important not to make the audience feel made fun of, i think.