Rockezine.com interview with Murderdolls on Jun 18, 2002

with Joey Jordison and Wednesday 13 on Jun 18, 2002

Murderdolls, formerly known as The Rejects, is the new band of Joey (drummer of Slipknot). The band also features a bandmember of Static X (Tripp) and an insane frontman called Wednesday 13. The band is a combination of stars from the present metal scene, who sold approximately 5 million records together. Murderdolls is Joey’s project that started back in 1995. The band is now complete with the addition of Wednesday 13, who delivers intense vocals and who is a gifted songwriter.
		Can you explain to me why your bandname has changed from The Rejects to Murderdolls? Well, the band started in 1995 with a different singer. After a few years, some new demo’s and the addition of Wednesday 13 as our new singer, I thought it was time to change the bandname, because it all sounded so much different then in 1995.
		Can you tell me something about the bandname? The band is called Murderdolls. Murder stands for horror, twisted, violence etc. and dolls stands for glamour. The combination is like the music: a twisted combination of rock, punk and glamour.
		What was the intention of starting this band and can you tell me something more about the history of Murderdolls? We started in 1995 as the worst band ever. It sounded terrible, but with the years the songs became more cohesive. In 1998 the band stopped, because Slipknot got signed to Roadrunner Records and after that we continuously toured. After the Slipknot tour stopped, the band continued writing songs and soon Wednesday 13 joined the band.
We started in 1995 as the worst band ever...		How did you met Wednesday 13 and Tripp Eisen? After I heard Wednesday 13’s old band, Frankenstein Dragqueens from Planet 13, I was totally blown away by their music and especially his voice. After I called him we met eachother, we shook eachother’s hand and we immediately started recording music. I met Tripp at our (Slipknot) tour, because he was playing guitar for Dope and they were opening for Slipknot. I really liked his style and we stayed in touch by trading videos and stuff. When things were getting serious with Murderdolls I asked him to join the band and so he did.
		Could you tell me something more about your background? (Wednesday 13) I sang in a band called Frankenstein Dragqueens from Planet 13 since 1995/1996. After I met Joey I quit the band, because both bands were making almost the same type of music and I didn’t want to do 2 bands at the same time that are almost the same thing.
		Which bands musically influenced the band? A lot of early 70s and 80s bands like Alice Cooper, the Stooges, Mötley Crüe, Plasmatics etc. All those bands that had attitude and image!
		Why did you use Mozart as intro and intermezzo? Are there any thoughts behind this? We didn’t want to make a mix of rock and classic, but we just thought it was fun. When you put on the record you hear Mozart and suddenly boom! you hear our music. It was all about the impact. We wanted to shock people who listen to this record.
We fight dirty and we don’t take no for an answer!		Could you tell me something about the themes of the songs? All the songs are short stories that don’t have to be taken very seriously. They are all stories about twisted horror and people who hate us and about we even hate them more. There is even a love song about the exorcist girl on the record, namely “Love At First Fright”.
		What are the differences between playing in Slipknot and playing in Murderdolls? Murderdolls is completely different. First of all there are no masks involved, besides that the music and the attitude is very different from what I do with Slipknot. In Slipknot I play drums and in the Murderdolls I play guitar. The Murderdolls is more about fun, it’s a complete blast!
		You got signed to Roadrunner Records. Were they your first choice? Roadrunner Records was our first choice. They had the first option for this band. There were some other record companies that were interested in us, but we signed to Roadrunner Records. Also because they did a very good job for Slipknot, so I had good experiences with them. That’s why Roadrunner Records was a logical decision.
		When can we expect your full-length? The full-length will feature 15 songs and it will be released August 19th I think.
		Do you have any touring plans? If so, have you considered touring with Amen? Funny that you mention this band, because we are talking with them right now about a possible tour together. The options are still open though. We are negotiating about headlining or supporting another band. We will start touring at the end of July and we will definitely come to Europe.
		Are there any things you’d like to say to our readers? Say them, that we’re coming for ‘em. We fight dirty and we don’t take no for an answer!
(Dennis van den Berg)