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 With enough hairspray and makeup to last KISS a lifetime, the Southern Californian band Orgy hit the music scene in 1997 and soon became the first act signed to Korn's fledgling Elementree label. Jay Gordon (vocals), Amir Derakh (synth-guitar), Ryan Shuck (guitar), Paige Haley (bass), and Bobby Hewitt (drums) have so many piercings, tattoos, and multicolored hairdos, one might think the band's roadies double as body artists. Or as Korn frontman Jonathan Davis puts it, "They're fashionable pretty dudes, so all the chicks will dig 'em." Orgy draw from a variety of sources: Kraftwerk, the Cure, Gary Newman, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, etc. The result is a sound that comprises many genres including shred metal, power pop and electronica. Their most recent release, Vapor Transmission (2000), follows in the vein of their debut release Candyass (1998); both are lush with new wave, yet industrial charged, danceable beats. In the following interview, NY Rock freelancer, Gabriella talks with lead vocalist Jay Gordon about the band's influences, image, and the impact of success. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You guys cancelled quite a few interviews in Europe lately.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JAY: |
It felt like the world was tumbling down on me, at least my world did. You know, I had to sort out my life first. It was all too crazy. I wasn't playing the big star or anything like that. I was just caught up in the middle of a lot of personal problems and, well, it really was a crazy psycho-trip. My girlfriend was sick. She's still not well. There were a lot of problems and because she always cared for me, she was always there for me, it was my turn to look after her. I just couldn't let her down. In my life, music is certainly the most important thing. My girlfriend knows it. She's always known it and I was always honest about it and up-front. She can deal with it and, usually, it's not a problem, but this time I really had to show her that I respect her just as much as I respect my work and that I really value her. She needed me and it would have been really shitty if I'd have let her down. I hope the media and our fans understand it, but I think they will.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
How does it feel to be considered one of the hottest bands in the business? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JAY: |
For a while I just couldn't believe it. I was almost shocked. Maybe shocked is the wrong term. I was just overwhelmed with it. I didn't know how to react. I didn't really know what to do, what is expected of me now. Then I just started to accept it. I kind of simply accepted it without giving it too much thought. I think it was the right thing. I didn't let it go to my head. I just accepted that people like us and that they like us just the way we are. So we shouldn't change anything or let our success change ourselves. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Some critics claim you gain more attention with shock value than with music.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JAY: |
I always dressed funny or weird, if you want to call it that. It was always part of who I am and I dressed in my freakish way a long time before we ever thought about founding Orgy. Our image is definitely part of our chemistry. There is a certain chemistry in our band, as it should be. Every band has it, at least every band worth a dime. Of course, I know that a lot of kids like our look or even copy it, but I don't mind. I think it's very flattering and pretty cool. And if you think about it, music and fashion are not too far apart. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
So the way you look isn't just an image thing? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JAY: |
Everybody who knows us knows we've always dressed a bit over the top, dressed the way we liked to dress without giving a second thought to fashion. Sure we want to look cool, but we want to look cool for ourselves, not for anybody else. We do like our crazy clothes. We like the way we dress. We like wearing makeup and we do wear makeup even if we're not on stage. We always liked tattoos and piercings and unusual hairstyles. Basically, we always did want to look like nobody else does. We really don't think about our image and I think it is just dumb luck that a lot of fans consider our look cool. On the other hand, they could also think we look like complete dorks. Of course, it's flattering but it doesn't change anything. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
But you can't deny that glamour is a big part of what Orgy is all about. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JAY: |
Oh, of course, we do love glamour and craziness. Colors, you know, the world has to be colorful, brilliant, crazy, decadent! We like the big chaos! You know, there is a reason why we all think Blade Runner is the best movie ever. Blade Runner just denies the reality. It's the perfect science fiction, what is real and what is unreal, fiction and reality, absolute madness, absolute chaos. I think that's the right atmosphere. That is exactly where Orgy fits in. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
What really seems a bit strange is that while Orgy looks so modern and revolutionary, the band openly worships the old electronic master Gary Newman... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JAY: |
Gary Newman is the only artist all five of us like just the same. Funny enough, we've got really different tastes when it comes to music, but we all love Gary Newman. There are precious few musicians on which we all agree. One of them certainly is Gary Newman, but there's also David Bowie, especially when he had his experimental phase in the late '70s and, of course, Kraftwerk with their straightness and their insistence to use only electronic elements as a form of expression. We always found that very impressive and very courageous. If you ask me, the guys from Kraftwerk were geniuses. I could be wrong, but I think they invented the drum computer. Some musicians think drum computers are the downfall of music, but I can't see anything wrong with it. I mean, you've got to look at the bright side of things. I haven't met a drum computer so far that drinks anybody's beer. I think I own a graveyard of drum machines. They've always fascinated me. Of course, now they're all outdated, but I still keep them. They sound so cool and you can always use them again. I'm not parting with them. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
I heard recently that you said you hate electronic music. That is hard to imagine. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JAY: |
It might sound strange, but in a way we do hate electronic music because it is a symbol for our cold, rotten and somewhat damaged time. But, then again, there are bands like Kraftwerk or really great and exciting styles like drum and bass. They draw exclusively on electronic and they changed it. What I mean is, they added some life. They gave a whole genre of music life and changed it from being sterile and cold to something that is alive, that inspires you, touches you. That's one of the reasons why we use so much electronica in our sound, as a sign of respect and some sort of homage. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
It sounds a bit odd.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JAY: |
I told you, we're really a bunch of schizophrenics and maybe, just maybe, we're not really sane. Maybe we're just a bunch of lunatics, ha ha. May 2001
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