Michael Pritzl
Demonstrates
The Violet
Burning
Demonstrating Plastic and Elastic… By JJT |
|
Pritzl getting Expository
with The Violets at Cornerstone '91
The Violet Burning has been on the fringes of the Alternative
Christian music scene since 1989. Spending time on both Christian and
mainstream labels, and now as an independent band has brought all the
disparate elements of this southern California based band into various
levels of focus.
Last year’s indie release “The Violet Burning Demonstrates Plastic
And Elastic” continued the band’s impressive repertoire. Even more
oblique and challenging than the self titled album of 1997, Demonstrates
may be their strongest overall musical statement yet.
A phone conversation occurred almost a year ago, in January of 1999
to discuss the new album and the current status of The Violet Burning.
Since The Violet Burning is, in effect, Michael Pritzl and whomever he
assembles to back him up, the interview focused on him. The
transcription of the considerably long interview was botched by a bad
computer and had to be completely re-transcribed; Thus the delay.
However, as the new century unfolds, frightfully little has been
discussed about this underground gem. Thus one of the most anticipated
interviews of 1999 is finally seeing light of day, with a few updates,
here in Y2k.
John J. Thompson: lets start by
talking about what’s been happening with the band between the release of
the domo record and now. You did a lot of touring…
Mike Pritzl: Yeah, basically with the
Domo record we worked that record about a year and a half…almost two
years… mostly touring. Domo didn’t really give us the right marketing
support that we had wanted or requested. Some good things happened. We
got added to MTV Europe and MTV France, but it was just like a constant
battle to get them to do anything. Even from the titling of the record,
right on out. They wouldn’t let me title it.
JJT: What was supposed to be the
title?
MP: It was supposed to be called
Lipstick And Dynamite Wonder. I don’t know…it was one of those
things…which we’ve experienced before. It’s not like there’s any way
around it. There are always going to be conflicts with people. But it
was just really bad. And everything they wanted to do was in the cheesy
vein. And we were trying to keep it as cool as we could.
JJT: So at what point did you know
for sure that you were free to do what you wanted to do?
MP: I knew that I was free to do what I
wanted to do… I actually began rehearsing and recording stuff for this
record, and I was hesitant about bringing it to them. Basically they
strung me out on some money that they owed me. They said ‘hey look,
we’re really sorry, we don’t have the money, da da da da, but we still
really want to do this next record…
[John laughs]
JJT: Wow. Is there any chance of
ever getting that record back?
MP: Well, you always hope that you can
have the things that are yours; that you‘ve worked on.
JJT: We still have a big demand for
that.
MP: Yeah. We’ll see.
JJT: There were some line up
changes that happened as well.
MP: Yeah. Which is pretty much the
standard. [laughter] The Violet B is pretty much my project. Always has
been. Even before our first recording there were line up changes.
Between the demos of it and the first album, the first album to the
second album, second album to third, third to fourth, etc. What’re you
gonna do? For me, it’s my project and my vision. I write it all, I play
it all, so I just kinda laugh…
JJT: So tell me about this line up.
Who’s in the band now and where they’re from.
MP: This line up is made up of a great
drummer named Mike Kalmar. He used to play with Acoustic Shack a few
years ago. He had been living in St. Louis for a while, and moved back
to LA and was looking to get back into some original music so he called
me up. So we’ve been working together for about a year. Herb Grimaud,
who used to play in a band called Raspberry Jam, is playing bass. And a
guy named Robbie Farr has been playing guitars along with myself when we
play live.
JJT: Did he play on the record?
MP: He played on a couple songs on the
record.
JJT: Mike Misiuk (Acoustic Shack)
helped on that too didn’t he?
MP: Yeah, Michael Misiuk played on a
couple songs, Robbie played on a couple songs. I ended up doing most of
the guitars. It’s just easier and faster [than] trying to teach someone
the part and then having them play it. So that’s what I’ve pretty much
done historically with the exception of, like, Andy Prickett. And it
saves us money, you know obviously we’re doing an indie record so we
don’t have a lot of money. But Robbie’s been playing all the guitars at
shows and he’s awesome. He actually used to crew for us and run sound
for us for a couple of years. And one day I called him up and said Hey.
Want to play some guitar? So it’s been working out really good. The band
has been just amazing live. I’m really thankful for the guys that are
playing with me. They’re super great guys, as usual. I’ve been
fortunate, historically, I’ve always been able to play with great guys.
JJT: How did you get the record
made.
MP: We recorded some of it at Mike
Misiuk’s studio. He had built a home studio for the Acoustic Shack
records. We did some of it there, and we did most of it at this studio
in Long Beach called Jabs.
JJT: Was it a long drawn out
process? Or was it a pretty concise, well-defined period of time?
MP: It was spaced out somewhat. Maybe
we’d be working on a song for a day and hopefully finish and mix the
song, and then a couple weeks later work on another one. Just depending
on the schedule, you know. Because we didn’t have a lot of money we
weren’t the priority. I think overall we’ve spent maybe twelve to
fourteen complete days on the record.
This record is by far my favorite of all the records I’ve ever been a
part of. It’s the smallest amount of money we’ve had to record an album.
Overall, song to song to song, there aren’t any moments on it that leave
me lacking, if you know what I mean.
Of course on every record there are songs that I think are strong. As
an overall record this one has really come together.
JJT: I want to get into your head a
little bit in terms of the various ideas and inspirations both musically
and lyrically that came together to create this record (Plastic And
Elastic.) Musically there is a good deal of continuity, while at the
same time there is more range of sounds and feel than in the past. The
last record was pretty dark and heavy emotionally; it was weighty.
Whereas this record still has that intensity to it but definitely seems
to have a little bit more of a grin here and there. I’m thinking of
particular songs, like Superman. There’s a sense of humor and there’s
some levity. What was the process of coming up with these songs? Where
were you coming from?
MP: Well, as usual I can only write
from what God brings me through in my life. I write about my
experiences, and the experiences of those around me. Demonstrates
Plastic and Elastic really is about who we are as people. On the
outside, we have this image, no matter who we are, whether that’s the
conservative "I’m a sports guy" football player, or whether that’s the
glam rock or goth rock kid, or whether that’s the "I’m into ska and
punk" or whatever the current trend is. The outside of us is plastic,
and it’s always trying to cover what’s really on the inside. Then the
elastic is who we are inside. As people we get stretched and pulled,
molded, and God allows life to shape us, bend us, and we always end up
making it through somehow. So that’s the whole idea of the elastic side.
But I think that’s what makes this record great, as far as what you were
talking about. There is the heavy. There are those deep vibey songs. But
then there also is the tongue-in-cheek; “Hey I don’t really quite fit
in.” Like you were talking about "I’m no superman" Actually the
inspiration for that particular song was that somebody, a few years ago,
put me on some mailing list for catalogs for clothing and stuff. I get
all the random fashion magazines and clothing catalogues sent to my
house. I mean, I know I’m stylish, but give me a break! (laughter)
But one day I got this magazine, and on the cover of it, it had this
girl, she’s all hip and whatever. And in big giant bold letters it says
"I’m in love with Superman", and it’s like she’s shouting it. And when
you open up the magazine and it has all the cool clothes, and then you
have people like Sugar Ray and some of those kinds of bands. And they’re
the models for this magazine. And I just thought, this is not me. If
this is what a superman is, then I am not a superman. And that was the
birth of that particular song. So you have that kind of tongue in cheek,
pop type of song, and then a song like elaste, which is much more vibey
and dynamic and droney.
JJT: How many of these songs are
from a first person perspective? It seems like you do some character
studies or role-playing.
MP: I would say that at least three
fourths of them are from putting myself into a character.
JJT: What are some of the
characters you’ve developed? Some seem like little one act plays with
different characters and names.
MP: Yeah. I think my favorite character
on this one is…oh gosh. I don’t know if I could pick one. But you’re
right; there is the Sea Monster…
JJT: Tell me about the sea monster.
MP: Well the Sea Monster is basically a
character who is very much like God. I know that sounds strange, forgive
me. Comparing God to a sea monster…But you know one of my favorite
verses in the bible is that God will take our sins, and He’ll throw them
into the sea of forgetfulness. And he’ll remember them no more. A lot of
times that’s what I imagine. I imagine that my sins get thrown in to the
sea. And underneath the sea there’s this sea monster, and it just
swallows them up and gets rid of them. So in that song you have the
lyrics, you know the part where it says "Take the boat out and you know
I’ll float down drop the weight out, and let go"…
JJT: You also mentioned Mary. "Mary
I believe it’s time. Take the weight out and you know I’ll float down,
let the weight out and you’ll know". Who’s Mary?
MP: Mary appears in a lot of my songs…
JJT: I noticed that.
MP: I think she’s appeared on every
record.
JJT: Yes she has.
MP: That’s for me. Mary is a number of
characters, including Mary Magdalene, who is one of my favorite
characters in the bible. Let’s face it, she’s messed up. She realizes
it, and she’s able to come and reckon with her Maker about her messed up
state. For me, I relate to that personally.
JJT: That’s been a theme that you
have touched on in pretty much every record. Is that literally strictly
Mary Magdalene or are there elements, like in the “Oceana” where it says
"Mary comes and kisses me" "We crash into the sea Oceana and me and
dance beneath the sweet sweet waves. Mary comes and kisses me, in her
blushing eyes I see delight. I’ll shade you if I can." Is that the same
Mary? Or is that a different aspect of this character, or…?
MP: Oceana is actually different from
the Sea Monster. There are probably 4 or 5. Right from the beginning,
there are characters in Elaste, Moon Radio, She Says Electric… Berlin
Kitty is obviously me. Pretty much all of them have a character or a
reference point either personal or observational.
JJT: Are the characters, like
Ilaria, Oceana, and Mary – are they tied to real other people, or are
they just fictional representations?
MP: Some of them are. Some of them are
definitely tied to real people, and some of them are fictional.
JJT: let’s go back to Oceana, cause
we talked about Sea Monster. I remember I scanned over some of the
myriad commentaries and questions and stuff on your Website, which by
the way I thought was very bold of you to just throw open the floodgates
and let people just sit there and tinkle in your garden. (laughter) I
remember somebody making a comment about "twisting in God’s green sea"
and automatically assuming it was about sex, and you curtly said that if
that’s what you take out of it then you’re obviously coming from a
pretty sad perspective, or something like that. (more laughter) Let’s
talk about the song Oceana. Where did that come from? Musically it’s
more reminiscent of your older stuff than anything I’ve heard in a
while.
MP: Oh you think so?
JJT: Yeah. Melodically, I think
that the phrasing, the way your voice is presented, which is a whole,
other subject: all the different voices you’ve got on this record…You’re
like 4 different singers.
MP: oh thanks. Wow. I didn’t quite see
that.
JJT: well I think it follows with
these characters, that’s why I was so fascinated by it. I’ve listened to
it now probably a good ten times, and I keep hearing little things
going. Like I wondered if it was subconscious, or if it was thought out.
That there’s various roles that are going on, and you seem to change
your tone of voice with different ones that you sing, and Oceana, to me
sounded more reminiscent of Strength, or that kind of era in terms of
the way you were singing.
MP: Yeah. Oceana is a fictional song,
based on a real friend of mine. What can I say? It’s a love song? I
dunno John, I guess I have trouble giving it all away. I like to leave
something to the listener; For them to grab ideas and make them their
own. For example, you bring up Strength, and people call that a worship
record. This guy emailed me the other day and said it’s such an
uplifting record, and I’m like what are you, nuts? I poured my guts out
on that record and cried endlessly, writing it. And you call that
uplifting?
JJT: Have you not gotten a handle
on that after all these years? Is it still that mystifying to you?
MP: Well, I don’t see it as worship
album. I think on every album there are songs on there that are me
crying out to God. You know what I mean? So I think that there’s that
element on every record. On the last record, songs like “Goldmine,” for
me that’s one of the most powerful, spiritual songs I’ve ever written.
And with the refrains of Elaste, "Lay your hands on me, let your love
flow over me", it doesn’t get any more uplifting than that, to me.
JJT: Well, we talked about that in
the last interview. The difference between how you perceived Strength,
and how others perceived it. And I think maybe the mystery is that to
you, because it’s personal, it must be kind of like David writing Psalm
139. Saying, "Oh God, I could go to the depths of hell and there you
are, you’re always around me." And to him, he probably wouldn’t have
looked back on that and been all smiley, and "uplifted". But by you
creating that, and putting that out there for other people to experience
in a cathartic way, it helps people who aren’t artistically able to tap
into their feelings and identify with what you’re saying. To me,
worship, if you look at the word, means to ascribe worth. It just means
to tell somebody what they’re worth. And so with God rescuing those of
us who are totally screwed up and hopeless, we revel in that, and it’s
like a little kid just kind of lapping up their parents love. And I was
going to bring that up with “Elaste.” No matter how dark or sinister
some of the songs might be, your songs continually tap back into that
place. And I think that’s why people would perceive it as worshipful.
That’s why I would. When somebody goes out on a limb emotionally like
that, and they offer that for you to come experience second hand… A lot
of people can’t come up with that on their own. They don’t have the
tools to articulate that sort of stuff, but their soul resonates with
it. So I don’t know if you’ll ever feel that that’s uplifting. Maybe
that’s the point.
MP: I define worship differently I
guess. I can remember all the crummiest jobs I’ve ever had, and I used
to just…try to be thankful for them. You know. You can have a crummy
attitude about it, or you can offer everything, even the smallest things
to the Lord. If the definition of worship is offering everything that we
are to the Lord, then I would hope and strive -- even though I fall
completely short -- that in everything I do, my conviction as a
musician, as an artist, is to write about where I’ve been, and my own
personal experience, and what I see around me, good or bad. I see myself
as a Psalmist. If you look at David, one day he’s saying, "Lord, kill my
enemies", the next he’s disillusioned and the next day he’s full of hope
and life. Sometimes he’s depressed and he’s saying "Why are you so
downcast, my soul?" but that’s what God honored about David, was that he
was always honest with Him.
JJT: And he was called A Man After
God’s Own Heart.
MP: Yeah, because he leveled with God.
For me, that’s what I would strive for. "You know God, I don’t have it
all together…" you know? And if He’s really the friend of sinners, then
gosh, I can talk to Him about anything.
JJT: And it’s not like He doesn’t
know it already.
MP: Exactly. He’s all knowing anyway,
so who are we trying to fool? I think some of us that try to pretend
that we believe in Jesus, so we’ve got it altogether, and how dare that
person not have it together, and we just kind of miss the boat
sometimes…
JJT: That’s very well said. You
said you see yourself as a psalmist and I would agree on a lot of
counts, I’ve seen that ever since I’ve known you. How do you reconcile
that element of yourself as an artist with the image, or the plastic as
it were, that you adopt in The Violet Burning? Not necessarily just
fashion images, but everything. There’s definitely an image, there’s a
presence that has probably gotten more well defined in the last three or
four years. I think there were hints of it there beforehand, but maybe
you just weren’t feeling free to delve into it. But like the whole glam
rock kind of thing and the Website… There’s an image there. Where’s the
connecting point between you, and the spiritual self and the artist with
the plastic that you’re representing?
MP: Well, plastic is who we are, is
what we are. I don’t think that there’s any of us who don’t play roles.
Whether that’s the role of a construction worker, or… New York City is a
great example of it. Because in New York City, you walk down the street
and you see people who are lawyers and they got their suits, and people
who are artists, and they look all tweaked and creative, and you see
people who are construction workers. They’re like…all the way. They got
the hard hat, they got the rolled up sleeves, they got the tight jeans.
You know what I mean? It’s like, Hey now; I’m a Construction Worker.
JJT: They got the big Thermos…
P: And they’re there and they’re playing their role. And that’s what
they have to do. So I don’t know that the spirit ties into to our
outward appearance or not. Or what is a Christian Appearance and what is
not. I know that that wasn’t your question, which was How does the
Spirit tie into the plastic, well it doesn’t. I don’t see how the Holy
Spirit’s resting on my good looks or something. I say that jokingly…
JJT: (laughs) It goes back to
theological and philosophical discussions ever since Christ went back.
The idea of the flesh and the Spirit and how the two are intertwined.
And there are some that would tend towards the flesh being part of the
Spirit and therefore there’s no morality. And then there are the others
who would beat themselves with a whip because they want to be with
Spirit over flesh, so they flagellate themselves…
MP: For me, I’m not necessarily calling
plastic "flesh", I’m calling it the appearance. The way that we adorn
ourselves. I get up in the morning and I have bed head. And I kinda like
my hair that way, so I leave it that way. So that’s part of my
appearance. If I put glitter over my eyes or I paint my nails, that’s
part of my appearance. Personally I have always done that and felt quite
comfortable that way. I don’t think we’ve ever played it up in our album
photos as much as we have now… But there’s always been that side to me
as an artist that has that whole background, and that whole style of
fashion. If that’s what it is.
JJT: What’s the thought behind it
being called Berlin Kitty but being sung Berlin City? It’s not just a
typo?
P: No, it’s just a better title.
JJT: Okay. I can live with that.
Were you in Berlin?
P: Yeah. Actually, most of this record was born from touring and
traveling in Europe. And our last tour in Europe was really really
special for me as a person and as an individual. You know, touring is
quite hard and quite lonely. It’s hard to go out and be away from your
family and your friends, and your parents for months at a time. We
started our tour in Berlin. We were there for probably four or five
days, and we just had one show, but we had flown in a couple days early
to try to get used to the time change mostly. Plus it was like, “Hey
we’re opening our tour, it’s in Berlin. How rad is that?” Opening night
in Berlin…I found that Berlin is almost like…the soul of the world to
me. If the world had a soul, it would be Berlin. Since the wall came
down, there’s this sense of loss in the east. You know, East Berlin was
obviously communist. People went to the corner every Friday to pick up
their bread. They were told where to work. They would save their whole
life’s savings to get a little car that’s smaller than a VW Bug.
JJT: Yeah, and it’s a piece of
junk.
MP: And it was a piece of junk. And
that’s what they knew though. That was their life. And so the strange
thing is that now that the wall is down, in East Berlin there’s this
sense of hopelessness, because they don’t know what to do. Now they’re
told to go out and make their own way. To compete for jobs, to try to
get ahead. To make their own lives because now it’s free, right? So
there’s this sense of hopelessness like, "I just want to go to the
corner and get my bread." And it’s really strange because that’s not
really presented in the west.
JJT: Right
MP: So there’s that side of this
hopelessness and this disillusionment. But then on the other extreme,
there’s this sense of so much joy and so much hope that the two are on
the total opposite ends of the spectrum. The hopefulness is like "Oh my
gosh I’m reunited with my brother who I haven’t seen in forty years
because the day the wall went up he happened to be on the wrong side of
the street". And so there are families reunited. There’s this sense of
hope and passion and feeling within the arts and the music there.
There’s just this tremendous spiritual awakening happening there. And it
was fascinating being in Berlin, I don’t think that my soul and my
spirit has ever felt so alive. You know, being an artist is hard. You
pour your heart out into a work, and then you have business people tell
you what you can and can’t do. And it’s very frustrating. You know that.
People lying to you, feeding you lines. "Oh, you’re the next big thing",
"Oh we hate it", "Oh, why don’t you do this?", and you’re just like "You
know what, you do it." You get fed up.
When we went to Berlin. That’s how I felt. We’re going to tour
Europe. I wanted to finish the tour, I wanted to get on with my next
recording. Like the opening line, it says "digging for life in Berlin
City". That’s where I was at. I was hungry. Like the lyric says, “It
gave me more than I could spend.” There’s this club that we went to a
few nights, and that was where part of that idea for the whole Plastic
and Elastic came in. We went to this goth club. Probably about two or
three nights. And there’s nothing like going to a goth club in Berlin…
JJT: (laughing) Yeah. Like going
trick or treating with Satan.
MP: Yeah. It’s like worshipping God
with the angels. It was amazing. And we went every night, and that was
the thing. I could see how this city that had had it’s whole soul torn
apart —I mean, it used to be the capital of Germany— it’s whole soul is
ripped apart by Hitler and the war… We don’t see that in America. In
America, if something gets 20 years old, we tear it down and we build
something new, and we paint everything to keep it nice on the outside
but we never really show who we are on the inside. We stare at the tv,
we’re manipulated by the tv and in Europe it’s just not that way, and so
to see now, all of a sudden the rebirth of this city, and being in the
underground and watching it grow. The lyric says "I can still hear that
music spinning where plastic and elastic grows", and it’s like man,
that’s where it was at. That’s where I could feel like people’s souls
were coming alive. For whatever side. Whether it was "gosh I’m
disillusioned now" or it was full of hope. You could see them both
coming alive. It was just a blessing to be a part of it.
JJT: You’re of German heritage,
right?
MP: My parents are Bavarian. Bavaria is
actually the three corners of Germany Czechoslovakia and Austria.
JJT: Right
MP: So where those three corners meet
is Bavaria
JJT: Is that a heritage that was
taught to you and that you developed an appreciation for? Or was it
pretty much just an ethnic background?
MP: It was pretty much just an ethnic
background kind of thing.
JJT: So your personal genealogy
didn’t really have a whole lot to do with your affinity for Berlin or
Germany?
MP: Oh no no. Actually Bavaria is in
the south.
JJT: It’s a lot closer than Chicago
though.
MP: Yeah exactly. But I was raised with
a great family. I got a brother and two sisters. And my parents are
still together and married. It’s awesome. Whether they know it or not,
my parents and my big brother in particular have taught me to appreciate
things in life. Especially traveling and experiencing people and places
and cultures.
JJT: Cool. Now, how have you been
doing? I mean, the last time we talked was right after the last record
came out. You definitely were pretty down. You had just flat out said
that. You seem to be a lot more upbeat.
MP: Well yeah…
JJT: You’re a very emotional guy…
MP: I have my emotions, I guess. I
think they come out through my music. But if you’re around me on a
regular basis I’m pretty stable. I’m not real talkative, pretty quiet.
But I’m so passionate about music, and when it’s happening I’m just lost
in it. I can’t shut it off. It’s like a blessing and a curse, you know?
JJT: Yeah.
MP: I’m very grateful for it, but
sometimes it doesn’t let me sleep at night
Watch for Part Two of this interview with Michael Pritzl coming soon,
with new questions and answers added…
Now
Available
