SOCIETY 1 is still the band everyone loves to hate. Having erupted from Los Angeles in the late 90's, more a shrewd mix of Industrial and shock rock, the controversial legacy of this metal act somehow manages to continue in the face of one adversity after the next, mainly after now having lost its most prized guitarist to a music industry Icon, at a time when they were about ready to become the next 'big thing' in heavy music. Whether its porn producing, Lizard-King-like leader and vocalist Matt Zane (aka The Lord) suspending himself above the crowds with surgical steel hooks in his back or the shocking words he speaks on stage (and off) that sharply protests against life's 'status quo', human sexuality and organized religion, the one thing you always know you're going to get from Society 1 is a true rock n roll event that witnesses will be talking about for years to come. Let's not forget that despite all the band's recent label shakeups, naked porn starlets posing for the video camera, arrests on tour and departed bandmates, one facts remains: Society 1 stole the show in front of some 40,000 fans at UK's Download Fest in 2005 where Zane truly revolutionized live stage performance. So, what's next? Is Society 1 going to fade away into obscurity or do they have the staying power?
Rocket of The Metal Den conducted an interview recently with Society 1's bassist:
Dirt Von Karloff
Rocket: How's life treating you these days?
Dirt: I'm doing very well, just fuckin' busy, bro!! Like usual!! (laughs)
Rocket: When are we going to get the new "Sadist Messiah" album from SOCIETY 1?
Dirt: Well, we start recording in early May, but we are doing something kinda special before that… We were going through the fuckin' vaults not long ago, ya know, like fuckin' Superman and the Fortress Of Solitude, and all that shit? (laughs) Anyway, we found these tapes that we had forgotten about from a live show we did a couple years ago. We listened to them and decided that we should release them, cuz they sounded fuckin'amazing!! The live versions of these songs sound so fuckin' HUGE!!! Way different from the records. Just fuckin'… Real! That's why we are calling it 'Live And Raw', cuz that's exactly what it is!! Lots of bands do live records, but how much of it is really live?? You know?? This shit IS fucking raw! There are mistakes, and warts here and there, but, to me, this is what SOCIETY 1 really sounds like, This is us! Warts and all!! Fuck it!! We had to clear a bunch of legal bullshit to get this shit out, because it was taped at this secret show, that was supposed to be this very underground type of thing, because of the Satanic organization that put the whole thing together(It was recorded on 6-6-06), They don't want their names all over the place, and I can respect that, but it was just such a killer show. There were a bunch of killer bands there the same night, it was just a cool fucking night, ya know? We will be releasing this live album soon, to kinda say "thanks" to our true fans for sticking around so long. With all this bullshit that's been going on in the last couple of years… this is for them. We are working on a way to release it that will be different, too, also for those guys, the real, true fans. We've been seeing what NIN and a few other bands have been doing, and we wanna do something special like that, to get it out there without a lotta label bullshit between us and them We will let everyone know about it as soon as it is locked down, but I think it's gonna be cool!!!
Rocket: You are a Satanist, correct?
Dirt: That is correct.
Rocket: What is the one main misconception about "worshipping the devil" that really pisses you off?
Dirt: That's what pisses me off. Exactly what you said. I don't "worship the devil". Most people can't see the difference, but I am gonna try and put it into layman's terms for you right here:
Satan, to me, is the very idea of rebellion! The Accuser! The Opposition! Satan represents Strength and Freedom. Freedom from religion and the strength to live your life the way that YOU want to, not how some outdated set of stupid laws says you have to. Look, the christian religion preaches to you to abstain from everything that feels good!! Just look at the so-called Seven "Deadly" Sins! Every single one of those "Sins" will provide some sort of pleasure! Why is it a sin to get horny when you see a hot chick? Why is it a sin to eat until you are stuffed when you are at a banquet, and the food is free? Why shouldn't I try and fuck that hot chick from earlier, or, failing that, jerk off while thinking about her? Why should I not be jealous of my neighbors' new car, stereo, TV or wife. Won't that just make me work extra hard to be able to afford those things for myself? Why should I turn the other cheek when someone wrongs me? If someone fucks with me, shouldn't I beat their ass? Why should any of those things be sins? It's bullshit!! The Christian religion is a religion of abstinence. I say, Fuck That!!! If it feels good and it doesn't hurt anyone, then fucking Do IT!! Why wouldn't you? Cuz god says no? What kinda fucking ridiculous way to live your life is that?? We Satanists are fine with all that, in fact, we endorse it!!! Feel free to live YOUR life as YOU see fit!! That's all I'm saying. And that somehow translates to "Worshiping the Devil" and Human Sacrifice? Fuck that. Christians are stupid! (laughs)
Rocket: We know Matt Zane stays busy with other things like directing adult films and doing his wild, "hooks in' the back" suspension acts, but what do you do in the off-time of really making music and touring?
Dirt: Well, as you know I am also a tattoo artist so that takes up a lot of my time. I also have made appearances in several of Matt's movies, like the Tattooed and Tight series, Radium and a few others. In addition to that, I have a clothing company that I am trying to get up and running with my brother Rob that I think is pretty cool. NihilClothing. com Cool shit. We basically get drunk and think of funny shit to put on T-shirts then the next day when we are sober, whatever is still funny we print it up!! (laughs) We also have cool ass designs that I come up with, like you know, cool skull/tattoo designs and shit. So, check that out at nihilclothing. com.
Rocket: What is your take on the whole deal with Sin Quirin leaving Society 1 to join Al Jourgensen's Ministry and Rev Co bands?
Dirt: Wow, you went there, huh? (laughs) Okay, first of all, let me say that at first I was actually happy for him, Ministry is one of my favorite bands and I know it was his favorite band as well. The thing is, he went about it in a very fucked up way. Sin made a "special deal" with our booking agent at the time who happened to be representing Ministry as well. It was a simple agreement that said if the agent were to get him into the RevCo/Ministry camp then Sin would do a few things for the agent. Well, Sin never made good on his deal and the agent got fuckin' pissed. He did everything he could to get Sin out of the Ministry camp and ruin his career. Even went as far to tell us to get rid off him. Well, the agent was unsuccessfull and the next thing you know he is taking it out on us. All of a sudden there were no tour offers. No one off shows. Nothing. Matt actually talked to Sin and begged him to make things right. Sin said there was nothing he could do. Sin actually said that we should wait for him and that he would be gone for a few months and then everything would be fine. Well, we waited for him like a bunch of dumb asses. We just didn't think that a guy who had been in the band for 7 years would do that to us. He didn't even have the decency to call Matt and just apologize for what he did even if it wasn't intentional. I mean when Matt found Sin he was a window tinter in his 30's. You would think Sin would be a little grateful. Anyway at that point he had already finagled his way into Ministry by telling Al that he had written all the Society 1 music which is NOT the case! He wrote a few riffs here and there, but they were for the more rock/grunge type shit, which was a few songs on "The Sound That Ends Creation". Even though that was the first album that I played on, it's probably my least favorite in the Society 1 catalog. That album was already written when I joined the band, and to be honest, I was a little disappointed in the direction that they were going. I didn't find out til later that Matt was letting Sin do some writing to keep him happy. Well if you listen to that album today, it sounds totally fractured, half the songs are fucking cool, aggressive fuckin' Society 1 songs, and the other half of the songs are trying to be like fucking H.I.M. or some kinda gay goth shit. Guess which songs Sin wrote… Yeah… He didn't write the ones that he told everyone he did. I tried to go see them when they played here in LA and Sin wouldn't even answer the phone when I called. He had some bitch answer the phone and say he was busy but I could hear him talking in the background. Fuck him, man. That is not friend shit! that is fuckin' bitch type shit!! Where I am from, we don't treat friends that way, it's pretty fucked up, but thats fuckin' L.A. for you right there. You're friends til they get what they want from you, then it's like fuck you, See ya!!
Rocket: Hasn't it been alleged that Sin had Society 1's MySpace shutdown? What is the story on that?
Dirt: Dude, that was fucked up! A press release went out about half of Ministry being at one time or another, in Society 1. Whoever put it out contacted Matt about it for a quote, naturally. The shit hit the fucking fan after that came out!! I still have no idea why it was such a big deal, but the Ministry camp was fucking pissed!! Angie contacted Matt personally later that day and demanded that he make a public retraction. He, of course, said no, cuz there was nothing to retract, everything he said was 100% completely true. I read it, and I found nothing wrong with it. Every word was true. I'm not saying that because of my relationship to Matt or Society 1. I'm saying that because I was there, and because it was all true. He didn't slander anyone, in fact, he complimented Al, Sin, and Ministry. Whatever, Angie contacted him, demanded a retraction, and when he said no, she threatened him. Two hours later, our site went down, weird, huh? Our ex agent blamed it on Sin and said to make sure not to go after Ministry because Angie was crazy and would go through great trouble just to fuck us further. I for one didn't think he would do something like that but who knows.
Rocket: Yeah, Matt Zane seems to have taken quite a bit of heat from Angie Jourgensen as of late… do you think it's fair the way he's being treated in the media, in concern with the whole "Sin" affair?
Dirt: No, like I said, It's really fucked up they way they handled everything after they basically treated us like some kinda musician pool or something!! The whole thing is pretty fucked up!! Sin, of course, is all, "Who, Me?" about the whole thing. He refuses to talk about Society 1 in interviews or even mention us. If everything was cool why does he refuse to acknowledge where he came from? Matt has really been screwed over to be made to look like an asshole in all this and everyone is going to believe Ministry who has sold more records so there you go. I think the truth will eventually come to light one of these days.
Rocket: Didn't Matt Zane's Paul Raven tribute comment get taken down off the Ministry forum or something like that?
Dirt: That's true. Raven was in Society 1 for a bit, He actually played bass on "Exit Through Fear" I am a huge Paul Raven fan, he was in a lot of my favorite bands… a big inspiration to me and Matt actually was telling me when the whole Ministry thing was going down how Paul would email him every couple of weeks to see how he was doing and shit and to tell him how he thought the whole feud between the two bands was bullshit, which it was! Anyway, when he died, which was a huge blow to all of us The Ministry camp put up that Raven tribute page, and we thought, ya know, well it sucked that that happened, but maybe that can be the way that we all bury the hatchet, ya know? All of the little things that we are bitching about, that doesn't mean shit, right? Let's come together to remember Paul, ya know?? So Matt put together a little video tribute that I thought was cool as fuck and submitted a comment through Blabbermouth that was taken and put onto the tribute page, and like, two days later it was gone. We saw is one day and the next it was taken down. Then they listed every single band that Paul was ever in, but they somehow forgot about Society 1. Just really petty fucking shit, ya know?? Then we hear that they had their publicity agency call all the metal websites off the record and ask them if they could stop covering Society 1. Bury everything that happened between us and them.That is just weird fucked up bullshit!! Whatever, I know how I feel about it, and so does Matt. Paul Raven was a past member, and to Matt, a friend. I only wish that I could have had the chance known him. I have since gotten to be friends with his sister and some of his close friends, which is so cool! I just hope that no one remembers any of this bullshit when they think back on him and his life and what he contributed to music in general!
Rocket: Could you ever see yourself jamming in a room with Sin somewhere down the road?
Dirt: No. Fuck no. We shan't work together again. (ten points if you can name the movie that's from! laughs) but, no, Fuck him. Would you? The guy did what he felt he needed to make it in the music biz but could he have been anymore of a scumbag? I don't want to be around someone like that because if given the chance he would fuck us over again. All of this could of been avoided if he just would of told us in the beginning…"Hey guys I am going to use our agent to get this gig. It was fun but I think I am going to bow out." If he could of been a stand up guy it would of put us in a better position. Instead we just ran around and tried to fix shit while he was breaking it. The thing is that Sin could of fixed this shit between us if he really wanted to as well. How hard would it have been for him to make a kind gesture to at least show he was somewhat at fault. One opening slot on a Ministry show. Or maybe a press release? Or what about tickets to a show and invite us backstage? He did nothing. That's pretty fucked up.
Rocket: I know you're a big fan of Ministry's music. Now that this is the final tour for them, what's the one Al song that you've loved the most? For me, it's 'Jesus Built My Hotrod'.
Dirt: Oh, man! One song?? That's a hard one, bro! "Thieves" was the song that turned me on to them in the first place So I would probably have to vote for that one but I love so much of their shit!! The Psalm 69 album is so fucking AMAZING!!! I even really liked the slower Sabbath-ish stuff he was doing on Filth Pig. Rio Grande Blood was fucking amazing as well. Dude, I fucking love Ministry, It's so fucked up that all this shit had to go down the way that it did, you know?? I'll bet you anything that Al probably doesn't even know about half of it, ya know? He just seems so cool, he just wants to make some cool music, but everyone around him has to make up some bullshit soap opera drama to make their lives seem more interesting cuz no one cares about them, ya know?
Rocket: You're still doing the tattoo work too in Hollyweird. Who is the most famous celeb you've put ink on so far? And did you like them?
Dirt: Britney Spears was probably the most famous person I tattooed, she was cool, too! Totally down to earth, the way they portray her in the media is pretty fucked up, but whatever. I've tattooed a bunch of cool people though, I did Steve-O from Jackass, he was pretty funny. I recently did Wayne Static's first tattoo, that was cool. Wayne is fuckin' cool! Totally fuckin down, ya know!!!
Rocket: What's going on with Society1 TV? Matt's got some cool stuff going on with that? Is that going to keep on going.. or just until the album drops?
Dirt: Oh, I'm sure that will keep going, I think it will get even more interesting once we are on the road. If you were to see even half the shit we get up to on the road, man…. Mix that with all the other cool bands that want to be a part of it, trust me, it's only gonna get better!! (laughs)
Rocket: Totally off subject, who are you voting for? Hillary or Obama? lol Cause I don't see you voting for McCain!
Dirt: So far, I'm digging Obama! That cat is pretty cool, but it doesn't really matter who anyone votes for, they are gonna put whoever they want into office. We've seen it happen before. America is far too lazy to give a fuck where their country is going, and that is a sad, sad thing. We could do a whole fucking interview on this subject alone, so I won't get to far into it, but I will say this, WAKE UP AMERICA!!! A true democracy would take matters into their own hands and fucking REVOLT!!! Let's take it to the fucking streets! Let's take it back! Everyone in America is too busy watching MTV and wondering which new shoes to buy to care about what is going on around them, Everyone bitches about gas prices, but no one does anything about it, it's fucking sickening…
Rocket: Are you guys going to promise TMD's readership that the next Society 1 video will have more porn stars in it than ever shot at once?
Dirt: Dude, come on! We always put hot chicks in our videos, but they always get edited out for some reason. (laughs) We should maybe have them petting kittens or something so they won't get censored!! Hows that, the new Society 1 video will have tons of porn stars knitting and fucking reading the bible and shit!! That would actually be pretty funny! We should do that!!
Rocket: When can we expect some new live shows from SOCIETY 1?
Dirt: Very soon, Once the basic tracks are laid down, we are gonna start booking shows locally around LA to break in the new drummer and shit. Let me know when you are gonna be around, we'd love to have you out, and if I'm not mistaken, it's your turn to buy (the round)!!
Rocket: Thanks for rockin this out with me, brother. Best of luck. Go ahead and give a shout out to your peeps!
Dirt: Hey, thank you, brother!! I want to thank everyone who reads this, All the fans out there who have stuck around with us through all the bullshit, I fuckin' love you guys! New shit coming soon! And check out Nihilclothing. com and MySpace. com/Society1music
http://www.myspace.com/society1music
More Stories
PALLBEARER – Debut New Music Video
KERRY KING – New Music Video Released
GOATWHORE – North American Tour Dates Announced