by Tina Whelski
With a who’s who line-up featuring The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy, The Almighty frontman Ricky Warwick (guitar), former FUEL frontman Brett Scallions (bass), Camp Freddy guitarist Billy Morrison (vocals), Velvet Revolver’s Matt Sorum (drums- album) and Charles Ruggiero (drums - live band), hard rock outfit Circus Diablo hit Ozzfest and the Knitting Factory this month to support it’s self-titled debut album. Billy Morrison talked to me about the record…
How did the band approach this record?
Part of the reason the record came out sounding so good is because we actually didn’t know we were making a record. We weren’t in there spending $700,000 and three months of our time tweaking stuff, you know? That’s one of the things that people do with rock n’ roll these days. Rock n’ roll is from the waist down, not the neck up. You can think your way right out of all the emotion if you do a record like that. Because we didn’t even know we were making a record, it was very much a demo process. Me and Duffy and Ricky were just writing songs together and it got to the stage where we thought it would be nice to hear what these songs sounded like with live drums. So we called Matt Sorum up. I used to be in a band with Matt Sorum called Camp Freddy, and me and Billy were both in The Cult with him, so he’s obviously part of the family. We put drums on a couple of demos and realized that we had something. It was actually sounding like a band we would be proud to make a record with.
What inspires you to write?
Musically I’m inspired by guitar tone. Steve Jones, Billy Duffy. Zakk Wylde has a very distinct tone. A great guitar player has a great tone. It doesn’t necessarily mean you play a million notes in sixteen bars. Good honest production inspires me. Lyrically, I’m inspired by anything.
Talk about a song from Circus Diablo?
“Mad Parade” is about a certain English pop star singer that was a very close friend of mine but we fell out. I found writing that a very cathartic experience. Writing that song was like Listerine for the soul. I was able to wash out the bullshit of having a friendship that let me down and move on.
How have you grown as an artist?
Obviously I’m a lead singer on this record. I’ve been waiting a long time to write this record. Though I was a lead singer in a band in England in the ’90s called Stimulator, this is the first “I-have-something-to-say-so-shut-up-and-listen-to-me-record” I’ve ever made. I’ve also grown as a performer. I mean I’m standing up there with the lead singer of Fuel and the lead singer of The Almighty on either side of me, watching me be a lead singer. That will make anyone grow real quick.
What did everyone bring to the table?
Ricky Warwick was the lead singer in The Almighty. He is our rhythm guitar player and comes up with a lot of the chunky chord riffs. He comes from the same school as me which is the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Iggy Pop, The Stooges—riff-based stuff. Billy Duffy obviously wrote all the leads and the hook lines. I don’t think you need to say much more. He’s written a few fucking hits. Having him just go, yeah, let’s put riffs over the top of your chords is just awesome. I am also a guitar player. And I came up with a bunch of riffs and all the lyrics are written by me. More recently Brett Scallions from Fuel has joined the partnership. Fuel is a great harmony band. He brings great melodic concepts and ideas to us that we haven’t thought of. I think the songwriting partnership is a really strong one.
Circus Diablo play Ozzfest at PNC on August 16 and The Knitting Factory on August 19.
Watch Circus Diablo perform "Loaded."
Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly (August 8, 2007).
How did the band approach this record?
Part of the reason the record came out sounding so good is because we actually didn’t know we were making a record. We weren’t in there spending $700,000 and three months of our time tweaking stuff, you know? That’s one of the things that people do with rock n’ roll these days. Rock n’ roll is from the waist down, not the neck up. You can think your way right out of all the emotion if you do a record like that. Because we didn’t even know we were making a record, it was very much a demo process. Me and Duffy and Ricky were just writing songs together and it got to the stage where we thought it would be nice to hear what these songs sounded like with live drums. So we called Matt Sorum up. I used to be in a band with Matt Sorum called Camp Freddy, and me and Billy were both in The Cult with him, so he’s obviously part of the family. We put drums on a couple of demos and realized that we had something. It was actually sounding like a band we would be proud to make a record with.
What inspires you to write?
Musically I’m inspired by guitar tone. Steve Jones, Billy Duffy. Zakk Wylde has a very distinct tone. A great guitar player has a great tone. It doesn’t necessarily mean you play a million notes in sixteen bars. Good honest production inspires me. Lyrically, I’m inspired by anything.
Talk about a song from Circus Diablo?
“Mad Parade” is about a certain English pop star singer that was a very close friend of mine but we fell out. I found writing that a very cathartic experience. Writing that song was like Listerine for the soul. I was able to wash out the bullshit of having a friendship that let me down and move on.
How have you grown as an artist?
Obviously I’m a lead singer on this record. I’ve been waiting a long time to write this record. Though I was a lead singer in a band in England in the ’90s called Stimulator, this is the first “I-have-something-to-say-so-shut-up-and-listen-to-me-record” I’ve ever made. I’ve also grown as a performer. I mean I’m standing up there with the lead singer of Fuel and the lead singer of The Almighty on either side of me, watching me be a lead singer. That will make anyone grow real quick.
What did everyone bring to the table?
Ricky Warwick was the lead singer in The Almighty. He is our rhythm guitar player and comes up with a lot of the chunky chord riffs. He comes from the same school as me which is the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Iggy Pop, The Stooges—riff-based stuff. Billy Duffy obviously wrote all the leads and the hook lines. I don’t think you need to say much more. He’s written a few fucking hits. Having him just go, yeah, let’s put riffs over the top of your chords is just awesome. I am also a guitar player. And I came up with a bunch of riffs and all the lyrics are written by me. More recently Brett Scallions from Fuel has joined the partnership. Fuel is a great harmony band. He brings great melodic concepts and ideas to us that we haven’t thought of. I think the songwriting partnership is a really strong one.
Circus Diablo play Ozzfest at PNC on August 16 and The Knitting Factory on August 19.
Watch Circus Diablo perform "Loaded."
Interview originally published in The Aquarian Weekly (August 8, 2007).
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