Pre V.N.A. deathrash with Pat (Thrash Records/V.N.A.) on drums...
Fear Of God 1999 Interview With Dave...
Fear Of God broke up 11 years ago. To what do you attribute the long-lasting popularity of a band that basically only had a 7"'s worth of songs? what was the main cause for the break-up (herr Keller told me it was a gig with Henry Rollins?!)? Are you shocked that people are still interested in Fear Of God? What are your thoughts on the bands now legendary and cult status? Do you care?
I have no idea why Fear Of God is still popular. I can only but assume that somehow we did something right at the right time in the right place. Who knows? The causes for breaking up are quite complex and most likely every Fear Of God member would have a different approach as to the reasons why. Basically we quite quickly reached something we never really were looking for, something that was not the point we were trying to make. We were pretty serious about the words and the music that we were producing. We were disappointed with what people, the ones who liked us as much as the ones who didn't, saw in us. They were calling us this or that or the other, attributing things that weren't really important, and basically missing the point. For us, the only consequent thing to do in that position was to terminate Fear Of God. No I'm not shocked that people still like Fear Of God. I have no thoughts on Fear Of God's "legendary or cult" status. I can't explain that status. They are facts that, if anything, flatter me.
Fear Of God came into existence within months of the release of Napalm Death's "Scum" LP. Certainly this was not enough time to be "enlightened" by that band to form Fear Of God! C'mon! What were the major influences, and what do you think Fear Of God achieved with every "song" written? Who wrote a majority of the music? Did you guys realize you were inventing grindcore, or did you just consider yourself a noisy hardcore band like Larm? What influenced Erich to use the "cupped mic" vocal technique (ha!)? Was this just emulating "evil" death-metal bands? Doesn't Erich hate to only be known for his vocals? What made you guys use the "blast beat"!?
Major influences and all that stuff...everything one listens to, reads or experiences is an influence. What we achieved with every song is to be 100% us. All of us contributed to the songs, they were all written in the practice room with everyone present. We weren't trying to invent anything, be it grindcore or blast beats or special vocal-techniques or any other things that people have to label this or that. We did what we liked best.
Erich wrote all the lyrics, but was there enough input by all the members concerning the different topics? Were they issues relevant to the scene at the time? Did you guys honestly want to set out and change the world through such a brutal release of information? The lyrics seemed more raw social commentary than overtly political...which is what made them great! Any memorable gigs? What was the last show like? Wasn't it with FILTHY CHRISTIANS?
Erich wrote lyrics because he loved and loves to write, he's good with putting thoughts into words. The choice of topics related to in Fear Of God lyrics was easy, if not obvious: they were about what we all felt strongly about. The issues were relevant to us. "Scene" is an abstract term. Of course we wanted to change the world, and maybe we did. I still want to change the world...and I'm sure I did too. The scale of change is secondary, the effort is important. Memorable gigs...yeah, the one with Per of Filthy Christians in Hanau/Germany was very intense, the one in Fribourg/Switzerland was nice too.
People like to think that bands were the best of friends with their members (or they wouldn't be a "band"!)...but what are all you "old guys" up to (how old is everyone anyway?) Do you only have a passing interest in hardcore now, or does life hold something more complex for you? What's wrong with only/mostly liking the music?
The members of Fear Of God were best friends, of course, otherwise we couldn't hove done what we did at the time...I think it's that kind of input that made our impact such a strong and lasting one. We were between 17 and 19 in 1987. But everything changes, and you lose contact, interests start to differ and all. We still keep contact, one way or other, as irregular as it is. I've not lost interest in hardcore, although there is next to nothing in hardcore that manages to tickle my fancy nowadays, there hasn't been for maybe the last ten years really. I don't keep up with it anymore either. There are many other forms of music that I like as much, or more. However, music is still my obsession, my expression. What's wrong with only/mostly liking the music? I don't know, please yourself.
Retarded question number one: Why no reformation plans? wouldn't the message hit even harder today? Certainly the band could use it's "legendary" status today to hammer home fucked-up world issues!
Reformation? All of us have moved on in some ways or other. Fear Of God was then, we couldn't do it again, it wouldn't be the same, Some members might not have any interest anymore. Some of us might want to do music (and are), but in a different context. Reusing the name Fear Of God would be dishonest. There are enough people who do this kind of thing, and it's a lie, it's cashing in on something long gone...besides, hammering fucked-up world-issues nowadays in the form that Fear Of God did then would be preaching to the converted.
Retarded question number two: being a veteran of the old scene, what are your thoughts on the current state of things (other than current scenesters whining about how much it sucks). Thoughts on your "adversaries" Napalm Death (other than "SELL OUTS!!!"), Technically, I don't think they sold out...they fucking broke up!
I don't have thoughts on the current state of things, as I have no idea about them. It's very easy to say things suck or things are bad. People who think like that should do something about it, rather than whine! They should concentrate their energies on what they do instead of using it to criticise others. You're defined by what you do, rather than what you think. Any "scene" is defined by people who do things, the only ones that are "allowed" to criticise are the ones who are active. Napalm Death never were adversaries, rather very good friends of mine at the time. I still am in regular contact with Mick Harris. I haven't kept up with what Napalm Death have been doing since Mick Harris left.
Suppose punk/core won out. all the nations disarmed, everyone went vegan, and the word "nigger" didn't exist anymore. Would this also be an end to punk, or would every band just start writing songs about girls? (Even grind bands have done this now...though usually talking about cutting up girls into small pieces!).
The first question is a stupid one. Anarchy is just a word, admittedly with some good ideas, but good ideas exist in democracy or communism. These things are too theoretical to work on a larger scale. People are too different, and the masses are lame and stupid, alternatives don't exist, but that doesn't mean that no effort should be made.
Cheers for the time Dave! Final comments? Are there records out there now that make you do backflips? Are there any that you're looking for now? Are the Swankys the ultimate cock-rock band?
Recent records that make me do backflips...the only guitar-music of recent time that impressed me has to be Coalesce's "Give Them Rope" (you've gotta be fucking kidding me. -S). check out Mick Harris' last project "Weakener", it's great. Penderecki, Ligeti, Scelsi or Stockhausen (to name a few) write breathtaking contemporary classical music. Some Asian or African traditional music ("no" theatre from Japan, "kejale" from Bali, "gagaku" from Japan, pygmy music, etc.) is astonishing. Panasonic and the Profan-crew make good technoid music. Dillinja or Source Direct make good drum n' bass, Masonna and Hanatarash make great noise. The list could go on and on, I like loads. if you're into abstract and intense noise-music I'd like to recommend "Arcschloch-Onna", an album that me and Rudolf Eber (known as "Runzelstirn and Gurgelstock" or "Schimpfluch-Gruppe") recorded with Maso Yamazaki (a.k.a. "Masonna") in '97. I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting music. The Swankys are fantastic. Respect mother nature in all its forms. Go vegan. Thank you.
Budget Cthulhu
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209 Chick Tracts (PDF, Mid-Res, Chick Pubs' Own Scans)
Chick tracts are short evangelical gospel tracts, originally created and published by American publisher and religious cartoonist Jack T. Chick. Since his death, his company (Chick Publications) has continued to print tracts, including tracts by new writers. Although many of Chick's tracts express views that are generally accepted within mainstream Christian theology, several tracts have expressed controversial viewpoints. Most notably, Chick tracts express strong anti-Catholic views, as well as criticisms of other faiths, including Judaism, Islam, and Mormonism. Chick Publications produces and markets the Chick tracts, along with other comic books, books, and posters. Chick Publications has its headquarters in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and a mailing address in Ontario, California.
The company estimates it has printed over 800 million tracts during its first 50 years of business. On its website they note that "Our ministry is primarily publishing the gospel tracts of Jack T. Chick, but we do occasionally publish a manuscript in book form." They state that if the content "educates Christians in one of the areas for which we have a tract, we would love to see it" and cite several examples; the online store lists nearly a dozen book categories. As of January 2015, Chick Publications had produced over 250 different titles, about 100 of which are still in print, and are available in over 100 languages.
The tracts themselves are approximately 3 by 5 inches (8 by 13 cm), and approximately twenty pages in length. The material is written in comic book format, with the front panel featuring the title of the tract and the inside back panel devoted to a standard sinner's prayer. The back cover of the tract contains a blank space for churches to stamp their name and address.
The storyline commonly features at least one Christian person and one or more "non-Christians". Depending on the storyline the "non-Christian" may be a stereotypical "wicked person" (such as a criminal), a member of a "false religion" (such as Mormon missionaries), or a "moral person" using "good works" to gain entrance to Heaven as opposed to asking for salvation through Jesus Christ. In these storylines, the Christian attempts to convert the non-Christian to Christianity (and may also contrast with another character such as a "moral person"), with the convert receiving entry into Heaven while the person rejecting the message is condemned to Hell. The endings may feature a recycled scene in which Jesus Christ (portrayed as a giant, glowing, faceless figure sitting on a throne) condemns or welcomes a character, an angel taking the believer to Heaven, or the non-believer meeting demons upon his or her arrival to Hell.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated Chick Publications as an active hate group. The group was listed due to its strong anti-Catholic, anti-Muslim, and anti-homosexual rhetoric.
Jack Thomas Chick (April 13, 1924 – October 23, 2016) was an American cartoonist and publisher, best known for his fundamentalist Christian "Chick tracts". He expressed his perspective on a variety of issues through sequential-art morality plays. Many of his tracts accused Roman Catholics, Freemasons, Muslims, and many other groups of murder and conspiracies. His comics have been described by Robert Ito, in Los Angeles magazine, as "equal parts hate literature and fire-and-brimstone sermonizing". Chick was an Independent Baptist who followed a premillennial dispensationalist view of the End Times. He was a believer in the King James Only movement, which posits that every English translation of the Bible more recent than 1611 promotes heresy or immorality.
Chick was born in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, and later moved with his family to Alhambra. There Chick was active in the high school drama club. According to Chick, he was not religious in high school. After graduation, he continued his drama education at the Pasadena Playhouse School of Theater on a two-year scholarship. In February 1943, during World War II, Chick was drafted as a private into the U.S. Army. He served for three years in the Pacific theater, serving in New Guinea, Australia, the Philippines, and Japan working in cryptography. Although he did not see combat, "almost all" of the fellow servicemen he befriended were killed in action, and many of them engaged in activities such as visiting brothels. Chick credited his time overseas for inspiring him to translate his tracts into many different languages and said that he had "a special burden for missions and missionaries".
After the war, he returned to the Pasadena Playhouse, where he met his future wife while working on a production there. Lola Lynn Priddle (1926–1998), a Canadian immigrant, came from a very religious family, and Chick has said that she was "instrumental in his salvation". Priddle and her parents introduced Chick to the Charles E. Fuller radio show The Old-Fashioned Revival Hour, and Chick said that he was converted while listening to an episode of this show. Chick and Priddle married in 1948. They had one child, a daughter named Carol, who died in 2001 from surgery complications. In February 1998, Priddle died. Chick soon remarried to an Asian woman named Susie. After converting to Christianity, Chick wanted to evangelize others, but he was too shy to talk to people directly about religion. Chick heard from missionary Bob Hammond, who had broadcast in Asia on the Voice of America, that the Chinese Communist Party had gained significant influence among ordinary Chinese in the 1950s through the distribution of small comic books. Chick also began working with a prison ministry and created a flip chart of illustrations to use with his presentation. He hit upon the idea of creating witnessing tracts, which could be given to people directly or indirectly.
He self-published his first tract "Why No Revival?" in 1960. He paid for it with a loan from his credit union. He published his second tract, "A Demon's Nightmare", in 1962. He decided to create more tracts and began using his kitchen table as an office and art studio. Christian bookstores were reluctant to accept the tracts, but they were popular among missionaries and churches. He officially established Chick Publications in 1970 in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Initially, Chick wrote and illustrated all of the comics himself, but in 1972 he hired another artist to illustrate many of the tracts. Fred Carter illustrated tracts anonymously until 1980, when he was identified in an issue of Chick's newsletter Battle Cry. Carter also painted the oil paintings seen in The Light of the World, a film Chick produced that related the Christian gospel.
Chick had limited personal contact with the public; he gave only one known professional interview after 1975. The lack of available public information about him created some speculation that he was a pen name for unnamed authors. Chick died in his sleep at age 92. His body was discovered on the evening of October 23, 2016, in his home at Alhambra, California. The interment was private.
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