Voltaire: A True Gothic Renaissance Man
by Trisha J.
Wooldridge
“Whether I liked it or not, I had
become a professional Goth!” – Voltaire, What is
Goth? “My Life as a Goth.”
A
musician, an animator, a writer, an artist, a teacher, a businessman, a director
… Voltaire
leaves his ooky-spooky imprint across the
spectrum. Despite the skull sweaters
and, according to Neil Gaiman, the look of a “gothic
elf-lord,” Voltaire has endeared himself to his fans with his down-to-earth and
friendly personality. He kindly took
some time from his busy schedule for a Withersin
interview.
Trish W.: What can fans expect for 2008?
Voltaire: 2008 is going to be
TW: One of the things I’ve always admired about your work is
how you manage so much of it. How do you
handle so many projects and responsibilities?
V: Barely! Honestly, it’s not easy to
do. Between all of the projects and the shows out of town, it all gets very
confusing. I was waking up and going to the studio to work on Ooky Spooky. Then at night I was drawing Deady: Big in Japan. I had a really nice
flow. I knew what I was supposed to be working on. Right now, I’m struggling to
figure out what to work on first. Being
your own boss can be a right pain sometimes because you don’t just follow
orders, you have to create them as well.
TW: Your scope is amazingly diverse. How do you change
emotional or mental gears between projects?
V: The key is to not be an “artist”
but rather just a human who makes things. Artists are supposed to have a
certain style and work in certain media and focus on certain themes. It’s kind
of limiting. It’s easy to fall into the trap of always doing the same thing
over and over. Humans just jump around from one thing to another. One minute
you’re watching a comedy and laughing with friends and the next minute you’re
at your grandmother’s funeral crying. That’s what life is like. It has many
facets and moods. So my work should just be an extension of that. Sometimes I’m
happy, sometimes I’m sad, sometimes I want to pretend I’m a Zombie Gigolo!
TW: How did you feel about finishing Ooky Spooky in 2007? What were
the challenges and favorite moments putting together the CD? What is your favorite track from the CD &
why?
V: It’s always nice to finish a
project, because with my insane schedule, every unfinished project breathes
down the back of my neck and taunts me and keeps me from moving on to the next
thing on the list. So I was definitely relieved to have finished it. But I’m
really happy with the outcome. I really think this is the best CD I’ve ever made.
I usually don’t listen to a CD of mine after I’ve finished it for a couple of
years because believe me, when you are recording and mixing, you listen to
those songs millions of times. You never want to hear them again. Ooky Spooky was the first CD I ever made
that I continued to listen to after it was finished. I still listen to it a few
times a week just for fun.
Working
with Amanda Palmer was probably my favorite part of the recording process. She
was really amazing to work with, extremely professional and very, very sexy! He hehh.
The most
challenging part of making the CD was scheduling, really. It’s hard to nail
down recording times with 5 people who are all extremely busy, working
musicians. Kiku Collins, who plays all of the horns
on the CD, was on tour with Beyonce (yeah, I know.. don’t laugh!) while we were recording the CD, so I would
only be able to get her into the studio when she was home from touring.
As for
which track is my favorite, I’m not sure I have one. Or maybe it changes from
day to day. I think it was Neil Gaiman who once said
that that is a sign of a great record when you’re favorite song from it is
always changing.
TW: Are there any thoughts on your next musical release?
V: Oh, there are thoughts! Let me tell you… I’ve already
started recording the next one! So far there’s a creepy birthday song, a
western song about vampires, a pirate shanty, it’s really shaping up!
TW: What are some of your favorite touring experiences?
V: I love touring. I have a great
time at shows. Dragoncon in
Once or
twice I was booked to play somewhere and arrived to find that it was a sort of
general audience kind if show (you know, like in a mall!). I found myself
surrounded by grandmas and babies and
TW: You’ve been doing more shows with the full band, it
seems. What are some of the challenges
and opportunities this presents compared to solo shows?
V: I love the sonic quality of the
full band shows! It’s a really powerful sound when everyone is playing together
live. But the downside is that I can’t talk too much when I’m playing with the
band, because then they are just standing around while I tell stories. So I try
to keep the storytelling down to a minimum when doing full band shows. That’s
why I love the solo shows so much… I can talk as much as I like! Heh heh. It feels far more intimate with the audience
that way.
TW: When Cartoon Network commissions you for your songs, such
as “BRAINS” and “Land of the Dead,” what do you work from? Do you get a script, synopsis or are you left
to mainly your own evil devices?
V: On “BRAINS” they said, “An evil
meteor from outer space comes down and convinces Billy to collect everyone’s
brains for him to eat. Then in the end, he brings Mandy and Mandy defeats the
monster. Okay, go have fun!”
On “
Luckily
Maxwell Atoms suggested I write about mythological creatures like the minotaur and Cyclops, etc. That was REALLY helpful.
Apparently, we can’t talk about Hell on TV but we can talk about Hades because
everyone knows that the Greek’s religion is wrong! Heh
heh They’ll be saying the
same shit about Christianity in a thousand years!
TW: Once again, thank you very much for your time and help
with this story!
V: My pleasure! I read
all of my email so I encourage your readers to drop me a line. I’m usually trolling around on MySpace!
And for
more of my music, comics, animation and toys, please
visit: www.voltaire.net