Part 5: The Dark Side Do you feel more comfortable being the 'frontman for the band', or the 'singer in the band'?
I definitely say that I'm the singer. Every member is equally important. That's one of my main frustrations with the entertainment industry, they want the singer to be the face of the whole band. I am not the band. We all have our own opinions, and they're very strong opinions. A frontman seems like they're more the barker at a circus and an entertainer...they take on a role.
Like you said before, you're something of an introvert. The lyrics on The Autumn Effect imply an aversion to celebrity, and your new video for 'Beautiful' includes the theme of gossip tabloids. Are you afraid of becoming famous?
I think it is very sad what the entertainment industry can do to a person. It can distort their reality until they don't know who they are anymore. I lost a family member recently who had been an actor since he was 9. The industry destroyed him and I believe that caused his death. Sort of like how
Dave Chappelle just ran away...I get that. I understand it. I'm just a human being and I feel fortunate to be doing what I'm doing, but it's a shame what fame and Hollywood or whatever you want to call it can do to the people. The video for 'Beautiful' was very elaborate and I love the treatment...but I had a different ending for it. She jumps off a cliff and then ends up in another country, free from it all. Britney, or any of them, they have to take control of their own lives. If it gets that bad, they have to walk away to save themselves.
Where are your boundaries?
When it comes time for me to be on tour and meet people, I know what I'm doing. This is my job. I try to be as nice as I can to everyone I meet. But when I am home with my girl or with my new child, that's different. When it comes to your personal life, there has to be a boundary there.
So, I take it you won't be doing any reality shows any time soon?
Oh hell no! I would do a spoof of a reality show, but never a real one. There's nothing real about it.
Would you do a documentary?
Yes.
What's the difference?
A documentary is real, a reality show is not. Reality shows are scripted and set up and just not real. I would do a documentary though if I felt it was something that would be important to the rest of the world. Like if I could do one about addictions or a day in the life kind of thing..like that show Intervention. It's hard for me to see stuff like that because I was so closely involved in that world because of my cousin who recently passed away. If I could help people through it, that would be great. Art or addiction. Those are the two things I would be involved in. But, I don't think my life is exciting enough to warrant people following me around with cameras.
You're a difficult man to lock down an interview with, and I feel incredibly honored that I am getting so much time with you right now. Why don't you like doing interviews?
The questions are so generic. Almost like a radio person would give you. They ask you questions you have answered over and over again. When it's like they're doing their own little show and they obviously don't care and don't bother to learn anything about you ahead of time. This has been a great one, and that's rare. They usually expect you to put on this persona like it's one big party...it's not. That's not real. We let Lewis do those...he loves that stuff.
I think the late, great Frank Zappa put it best, and this is something I think about before talking to people like you: "Music journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people that can't talk, in order to provide articles for people who can't read."
That's perfect! I may have to borrow that.
So, tell me about your stint as a ghost hunter. [laughs] Honestly, I did that because I was raised religious my whole life. I'm not gonna lie, I think full on faith in religion requires a certain level of ignorance. I don't really mean that in a bad way. I think you should be open to asking questions and learning new things and there isn't always a place for that in religion. I don't know if you saw the video, but I am a horrible actor...you would know if I was acting. I was definitely a skeptic going into it. I mean, you put someone in the dark long enough, they're going to hear something or see something. But there were things going on that I just couldn't explain. A door wedge flew past my face. No one was there. No one saw it but me. We looked back at the footage later and saw that it was sitting on a piano. Then it was gone.
Do you believe?
Spirits? Ghosts? Yeah. I've never seen one, but one threw something at me. I think I pissed it off because I said I didn't believe.
[laughs]