NIGHTSHADE

In 2007 it was announced that Chicago’s Usurper had called it a day. After thirteen years of releasing albums, playing shows and existing as a full functioning band, it was over. Usurper’s Co-Founder/Guitarist/Songwriter Rick Scythe wasted no time launching a new entity, determined to keep the music flowing. Nightshade is the name of the band and he along with Producer/Songwriter/Instrumentalist Mr. Faust, create some kick ass Metalic Creep N’ Roll for the dead and undead alike. This interview is with Rick, read it and check out Nightshade.

The break up of Usurper was pretty well documented, seeing that a few months have passed, how does the decision feel now that some time has passed?

Good riddance... I mean seriously, I am very proud of everything I did with Usurper, but it was really time to move on. In 2003 things began slowly getting not fun and changing all around for the worse. The tour we did that summer with Enslaved was kind of a flop, (not because of Enslaved, they kicked ass! They are a great band and were very cool guys) - but because it was poorly organized, no one (in Usurper) really wanted to do this. Hellstorm was out of the band and this being our first tour without him sucked. General didn't have any fun and the rest of us knew things were beginning to suck all around.

We tried to steer the ship in the right direction by 'reuniting' with Apocalyptic Warlord (drums), but then General (vocals) quit. Then Tyrantor joined the band, who was a great vocalist and frontman and he did a fantastic job, but it was feeling different... meaning things were changing, die-hard fans were moving on. On top of it Dan and Warlord were always fighting with each other, so that was a bit stressful. Then ‘Cryptobeast’ came out and since we had no language in our contract about internet sales, we kind of got screwed.

’Cryptobeast’ was by far the WORST selling Usurper album, yet we did some of our biggest headlining shows for that release and everyone at the concerts seemed to know the material.

By early 2007 EVERYTHING just crumpled. I wasn't having any fun. We were looking for a new label, me and Jon were singing. We got an offer to do a big headlining European tour but then Warlord decided he didn't want to tour or play any shows...

At that point , I just felt like things were over and I was wasting my time. Ever since [1999’s] ‘Skeletal Season’ I knew if I ever had a chance to do a side project or a solo album or if the band broke up, I would do a new project in the’ Skeletal Season’ vein. So in summer of 2007, that's what I decided to do.

Nightshade is definitely not a Usurper clone and seemed to have come together quickly. Not only musically, but in presentation (logos, images, aura). How long has the Nightshade concept been floating around in that head of yours? How would you describe Nightshade to someone who has never heard a note?

Like I said, I had this idea since around 1999. After ‘Skeletal Season’ was out for a while and Necropolis hated it and we knew our next album (‘Necronemesis’) was gonna be straight ahead 'Thrash', I would edit parts or whole songs out during the writing process that were too dark, weird, spooky because they didn't fit in the direction Usurper was going. At that point I told Jon (Usurper bassist) that I was eventually gonna do something with all this material.

So when Usurper was ending in 2007, I knew what I wanted to do, I had the name, the vision and a stock-pile of demo tapes with material. I sat down with the old 4 track and listened to old tapes, then I was struggling to re-learn parts. Finally I just said 'fuck it', I threw out the tapes and just began writing all new material from square one. I had about 3 songs written within a day and a half and then I just kept writing songs. I guess it was so refreshing - and it sure beat what the rest of the ex-Usurper guys were doing at that point - sulking at the corner bar about 'what went wrong' and pointing the finger at everyone else instead of looking in the mirror and moving on.

Along with Mr. Faust who seems almost like a co-creator in the creative process of NighShade, it sounds like you’re assembling a band to play live. Who have you recruited and how did you go about finding them?

NightShade is pretty much me and Mr. Faust as the creative/recording/writing part of NightShade. But we are assembling a live version of the band for when the time comes that we will play out. We had a drummer from North Carolina named Igor. The guy kicked ass, but was extremely weird. Very quiet, worked in the coal mines and comes to Chicago every now and then to stay with family out here to rest his black lungs. He was a friend of Mr. Faust and dug the music so he helped record some of the drums and percussion. Unfortunately he doesn't have a cell phone and doesn't know how to use a computer so he's hard to get a hold of. One day he was just 'gone' and then Mr. Faust finally heard from him like a month later and was just working 18 hours a day in the coal mines again... needless to say, we need someone a bit more stable.

We just added a live key/organ/effects player named Dan Yell. She kicks ass and was someone we both knew from the scene (however gay that sounds), and we are trying out a live bassist right now as well. So once we have the core live line-up down we will also search for artists and other musicians to fill the void for other parts need for the live front. We are approaching things a bit different with this band - not the typical 'death metal' approach like Usurper used. This is a bit more formulated and on a bit bigger scale, where the sum is/will be greater than the individual parts.

Musically it doesn’t seem like a NightShade show can be a stripped down, straight forward thing. I hear something more “theatrical” with props and visuals. Have you thought about the best way to represent the band live? Am I far off in my assumptions?

Actually you are not far off at all. Ideally live we want to do things as big as possible. We want an array of backing musicians and collaborators - almost like me and Mr. Faust are conducting an undead orchestra. We don't want silly props or the typical 'Hot Topic Gothic Black Metal Vampire" idea of theatrical bullshit, but more like old-timey things like giant theramins , old cranks discharging electricity, glow-in-the-dark shit, rusty xylophones, weird images projected.... etc. More like cool visuals to enhance the music, NOT to look like some Pop-show or flashy modern gothic black metal thing.

Obviously the flip side is you need money and stage space to do this kind of shit. Not really the "pile 4 smelly guys in a van" type atmosphere, so whether we can make this a reality or not is still up in the air. However, these songs CAN work just fine with a stripped down, rock-n-roll style line-up and we aren't really relying on props and flashy matching outfits for stage atmosphere - our "visual" side more is in tune with creepy images and old-timey devices and instruments for our stage show, so we can do a very modest version of the NightShade concert without worrying about some theatrical stuff that I think most people think I'm talkin' about (if this makes any sense).

Does a NightShade song come together any differently than a Usurper song did? Are you using any different equipment and or tunings when recording/writing? What song or songs would you recommend the listeners start with and why?

Actually the writing process starts the same for me now as it always did. I demo the songs with guitar, bass, drums and vocals. I try to capture the essence of a good rock-n-roll song structure. I want to keep the stuff grounded in the familiar territories of tried and tested rock-n-roll. After I get a few songs together I bring them to Mr. Faust and we brainstorm on how to enhance the creepiness and to create atmosphere to match what the song is about.

Organ and keys are part of the sound, but NOT synths! I want to stress that because the atmosphere we create is ALL REAL! We have songs with banjos, old bells, Xylophones, mandolins, bella-likas, wine glasses, thermins, old toys (that Mr. Faust dissected and added circuit boards and transistors in to create weird tones), slide whistles, Wurlitzer Organs and low chanting vocals. Everything except the low chanting vocals (which is done by me), is done by Mr. Faust. Everything is done analog by a real musician to enhance the song. Certain songs call for more of this, others call for less, others call for none at all. We both know what will sound good for each song.

So I think what really makes NightShade work is a few things, the most important being that the songs are well written and arranged. So by the time the weird aspects come in, they just enhance the songs instead of sounding like some bands that just float into outer space. I make sure every song can 100% stand on its' own stripped down, this way the enhancements do just that, enhance the music. Also I think that we aren't relying on some cheesy synth pad-bank to create our atmosphere. Everything is done by hand, even the wind, thunder, crumpled leaves, etc. is all real.

As far as '”what songs listeners should start with” - I think any of the 4 songs on our ‘Magic Potion’ demo would be fine. We have 13 songs recorded and 17 total written, so the 4 songs on the Magic Potion demo were selected to represent various aspects of NightShade all have atmosphere AND very easy to remember hooks. I suppose if I have to pick one old song to start with it would be "Midnight Down in the Lab".

How would you describe the recording? Was it different in that it wasn’t a big band type of production, you know several different opinions or ideas constantly in motion. Do you look at Nightshade as a solo endeavor?

NightShade started as my solo project. I booked time at Boss Studios to record everything myself, then me and Mr. Faust started talking and we really connected. Instead of me doing everything I let him take over where my limitations began. It is really weird, my skill set involves playing guitar, writing drum and bass parts, arranging songs and coming up with cool lyrics and vocals. Mr. Faust's skill set is more in line with crazy tones/building tonal devices, writing more orchestrated string/key parts, playing outdated instruments, creating atmosphere, doing killer solos and taking things into other dimensions.

So where my skills end, his skill set just starts. Between me and Mr. Faust we can create 99.9% of EVERYTHING we want to hear, just with the two of us, no other cooks to spoil the cauldron. Neither one of us stepping on the others toes to try to do things the other guy does better, no egos (between us).

For the occasional stuff we can't do, or want someone else to do we still write the part and commission someone to do it - but this is very rare. The more people involved in the creative process; the more 'small-brains-and-big-ideas' people you surround yourself with; the more people with bad timing and shitty attitudes get involved... THE WORSE THINGS GET! Trust me, democracies do not work in rock 'n roll.

Describe some of the influences that went into the creation of this music. Would you say any of Nightshade’s material is intentionally different from what you’ve done in the past or is just natural due to your mindframe?

Intentionally different? I suppose... it is a different band and the last thing I wanted to do was Usurper Jr. I wasn't gonna let fear of the unknown stop me from pursuing this idea I had. I wasn't gonna do something people expected me to do just to make them happy.

However, this material comes straight from the heart. This music, these ideas and this vibe has been part of me and was expressed in Usurper in various ways throughout the years. I think anyone who knows or followed Usurper can identify my riffs and my style of writing, but it was time for me to move on. It was weird at first looking at my fret board and thinking, "every fret on this guitar, every riff pattern is once again open". This was very refreshing, because let's face it, after 13 years and 7CD releases with Usurper where I wrote just about everything, it got to the point where I would write something killer and then have to throw it out because it sounded too much like something I wrote earlier. The fresh start kicked ass... nothing off limits, no expectations to fulfill for anyone but myself.

Considering what you’ve been through with Usurper, what are some of the business aspects you’re applying to NighShade. Are you currently under contract? If so, have you dealt with the business from a different viewpoint? If not, is there anything specific you’re looking for from a label?

I am very cautious now. I realize, yes, a band still needs a label at first, but don't be ready to just sign with anyone. Now with the internet, MySpace and iTunes it is very easy to do more and more things yourself. Once you get a solid fan base, you really don't need a label at all. So when bands complain about the internet destroying music, yes it’s true things ain't how they used to be, but actually for a smart band this can mean it's much better now.

I think for NightShade we need a label that understands this music and knows to get this type music to the right audience quickly instead of wondering how to fit us into some specific scene. We also want to retain all the rights to our music and not sign our life away. If this is impossible, we will just do everything ourselves. I have no love affair with any labels and we can probably accomplish our goals without a label if needed.

Having been in and around music for so long, what do you feel you have yet to accomplish? Upon the creation of NightShade did you set yourself up with different goals or were you just looking to be creative first and let everything else fall as it may?

That's the funny thing, I feel no pressure whatsoever now. I had a great career with Usurper. We played shows in 17 different countries, headlined Inferno Fest, put our albums for 13 years. Did we sell hundreds of thousands... no, but that never mattered to me.

Now with NightShade, I feel no limits. If I hurt someone's feelings or some die-hard Usurper fan can't accept what I'm doing now, fine. Go listen to your old albums. Do I have a desire to keep creating, recording and performing?... of course. Do I NEED to?... no. Do I feel a need to fit in with some scene or be accepted?... no. Do I feel the need to become a bitch to some label?... fuck no!

As long as I am able to physically perform, as long as I have ideas, I'm gonna keep doing this. You'll have to rip that guitar out of my cold, dead hands to get me to stop.

Anything to add, anything to close this out and plug away too!

Thanks so much for the interview Tom and Midwest Metal! Check out our MySpace page for free downloads, Mp3 listens and all important info.
www.myspace.com/nightshadeofficial