Billy Morrison has always wanted to be part of a rock and roll circus. He may have forgone the greasy handlebar moustache, top hat and striped pantaloons, but with his new band Circus Diablo -- quite literally "the devil's circus" -- Morrison seems to have found himself a group of misfit musicians that share his taste for all things sweaty, dirty and flashy...or in other words, all things rock and roll. "This band thrives when placed on a very thin tightrope," Morrison says. "Fuck the safety nets."
With a collective resume that includes bands the Cult, Fuel, the Almighty and Camp Freddy, the members of Circus Diablo know all about getting down and dirty with their music. Completed by Billy Duffy (guitar), Ricky Warwick (guitar), Brett Scallions (bass), and Charles Ruggiero (drums), the band released its self-titled debut on July 3rd and have kept busy touring the country and recruiting fans for what they've dubbed the "Church of Diablo."
SuicideGirls caught up with Billy Morrison before a recent Ozzfest gig to chat...
Erin Broadley: Hey, Billy. How are you?
Billy Morrison: Yo. How are you doing?
EB: Im good. Where are you right now?
BM: Im in Kansas. Im staring out this window -- it was raining out more here than Ive ever seen it rain anywhere ever in the world. Just as we hit the stage it pissed with rain.
EB: Oh, isnt that convenient.
BM: Im looking out at 7,000 drenched kids in the audience out from my bus but its all good.
EB: Hows Ozzfest treating you?
BM: You know what, its really fucking good. We came on this tour thinking that we were the underdog. You know, every band on this tour has pretty much Cookie Monster vocals. Not that I dont like that. We are a band that actually sings and are on a stage with ten other bands that are --
EB: Grunting and yelling?
BM: Yeah. Really, really heavy and you know what, the audience has taken to us at every gig without exception and we bring it to them so Im having a fucking great time.
EB: With the new Circus Diablo record and everything else you have going on, how do you keep it all together? Youre a pretty busy man.
BM: You know, how I keep it together is to really not think about it.
EB: Youve got the radio show on Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles, youve got Camp Freddy, youve got the Cult
BM: I tell you what, Im on Ozzfest right now. I flew from Ozzfest last week to go to Las Vegas to DJ at the opening of Slash's hard rock case. I flew back to Ozzfest the next day. I then fly again on Thursday into LA for one day to do a Camp Freddy show at the House of Blues.
EB: Oh my God.
BM: Then I fly back to do San Antonio on Ozzfest. I mean it is crazy along with the radio show plus the fact that I act now. Im on my fourth movie. I start my fourth movie the day after this tour finishes.
EB: Are you just acting or are you partaking in the actual filmmaking process as well?
BM: I do both, believe it or not. I like amateur filmmaking. I fuck around with video blogs on my site. I work with editing software and I kind of enjoy that, but no, these movies Im doing are actually acting and I fell into it without even trying. I think if you try to be an actor when you live in Hollywood then you end up working at Mels Diner, saying to every that youre an actor when youre [really just] a waiter.
EB: And when you dont try and be an actor then all of a sudden you end up thrown right into it.
BM: Exactly, and the first movie that I got was just given to me. The director saw me, actually was a Cult fan and said, You would be great. I now have my fourth movie lined up where I play a detective and its a big role. Its crazy but Im not complaining.
EB: How long ago was your first movie?
BM: The first movie was just under 24 months ago. It was called Tripping Forward. I played a gay drug dealer.
EB: A gay drug dealer, awesome.
BM: Yeah it was awesome. I was dressed in leather, covered in sweat. It was a wonderful thing. Somehow I made that wonderful transition from gay, leather-clad drug dealer to detective.
EB: Im sure it gives you plenty of material to write songs about, playing all the different characters.
BM: I certainly dont have a shortage of subject matter. But my life is so widespread and world-traveled and crazy experiences that when it comes to sitting down and writing songs, its the easiest thing in the world, you know.
EB: You grew up in the UK and I read that watching the Sex Pistols live when you were younger changed your life completely.
BM: Yeah.
EB: Has the music scene in England changed much? Do you visit a lot?
BM: Well, I must say, I moved because I love America. I have no problems being in America and I love everything about it. I dont particularly love the UK although I do miss playing there. The last time I was back there was with the Cult in 2001 and that was a great tour but I do hope Circus Diablo gets over to the UK. What you said about the Pistols, they did absolutely change my life. They made me realize that I could do this. Up until then, it didnt. From the moment I saw the Pistols on television I was like, Oh, fuck this. Im not going to get a job. Im not going to be whatever; Im going to play music.
EB: It must be interesting to work at the same station as Steve Jones. Have you talked to Jonesy about that, about how the Sex Pistols changed your life?
BM: Its kind of crazy. I believe, if memory serves me right, I actually did. Jonesy gets up [on stage] with Camp Freddy a lot.
EB: Oh, does he?
BM: Yeah, hes a regular Camp Freddy guest. I get to play Sex Pistols songs with him and I believe I did actually sit down with him one time and I said, You know, I have to say, you do know youre the reason I play guitar. Because I think its important that he knows that.
EB: People like you, though, are the reason that hes still doing what hes doing as well.
BM: I think so and I think the mutual respect is so self-evident when you see Camp Freddy play. You know what I mean? Thats why Camp Freddy is still going six years after it started because there is a mutual respect. I have my respect for Jonesy and he has respect for me and its just a wonderful thing.
EB: I have a quote here, I think from your blog, where you write about the music industry.
BM: Oh God.
EB: Here we go, right. You wrote in the music industry people end up meeting thousands of people who talk champagne but only deliver beer and how at a certain point you spend all the time in meetings. You talk about stuff thats never going to happen and you end up spending less and less time actually playing an instrument. I thought it was really well put.
BM: Yeah. I remember writing that and I remember why I was writing that. I dont talk about stuff very much because of the exact reason that people talk about so much stuff. I remember writing that because I think Circus Diablo were trying to get a record deal. I mean, obviously we are now signed. That in itself is a rarity these days. Before we got the deal I remember being so frustrated. I live in fucking Hollywood so I hear everyone say, Were doing this, were doing [that] and actually [theyre] not.
EB: Lots of great ideas but little follow-through.
BM: Absolutely and thats the thing -- its all about the follow through. Ninety percent of people forget about the craft of writing a song, of actually playing music, of actually being able to play your fucking instrument and communicate to an audience. Thats what Im doing it for and I remember being so angry that day. It was all about the almighty dollar and how many units you might or might not sell instead of, Is this a great song?
EB: Well, musicians and artists in general always criticize music industry people for not having follow through but its also a responsibility of the artists as well. A lot of artists dont have the follow-through.
BM: Fuck yeah, even more these days. Absolutely. There is no point in sitting in your mansion in the fucking hills that your 1987 platinum album bought you saying, The music business sucks, its dead. Rock is dead. That doesnt help anyone. Its like my boy Dave Navarro --- me and Dave do that show on Indie 103.1 and we dont say that the music business is dead. We say that it is changing. Just like the retail business changed, just like the fashion business changed. I think the clever musician, like you say, gets off their ass, embraces the change and goes, Okay, how can we roll with this? How can we make things different? You know, like SuicideGirls did -- you embrace the Internet., you embrace radio, you embrace print, you go on tour. Its a multi-media thing and all your old 1987 platinum rock star knows is getting in a bus and playing gigs but its beyond that now.
EB: Yeah, even the nature of journalism has changed. Print is becoming more and more of a specialty. How has the initial response been to Circus Diablo?
BM: You know, the press came through for this Circus Diablo album that weve just done. We have unanimously actually had fantastic reviews. It is a definite critical success and at least 70% of those reviews were online and I said to our manager, Does that count? Is that still legitimate reviews? Wheres the print? He said, Weve had the print, but youve got to understand, reviews are online now.
EB: This is the new print, yeah.
BM: Its fucking crazy. But its an exciting time to be in a band or even to be like the Suicide Girls or Daves Mania TV. Its an exciting time to be in entertainment if you view it in the right way.
EB: Well, I know youre are a big fan of collaboration when it comes to songwriting. You love working with a good team of people.
BM: Absolutely.
EB: Where does the value lie in collaboration for you as opposed to solo stuff?
BM: I think the collaborative effect of songwriting is most evident in how I get pushed and how my limits are pushed. For instance, playing live, bands like Camp Freddy push me. I stand on stage next to Ronnie Wood, Slash, Dave Navarro, fucking Lou Reed -- the worlds best -- and Im standing next to these guys so I need to up my game, you know what Im saying? When I come to write songs and I collaborate with [other musicians] I am being forced to up my game and to look outside of my box which is a real safe place for me to be because I know my chords, I know my song structures and I know my lyrics. When you write songs with other people, when you collaborate, you get forced to live outside your box, which is a very creative thing to do.
EB: Yeah, its just a whole other type of challenge. Youre with people who arent going to let you get away with something thats not up to par.
BM: Absolutely.
EB: They arent going to let you be too self-indulgent.
BM: Trust me, with those guys, the genius of that is they will say, What are you fucking on crack? You cant do that. Thats shit. Lets do this. Ive heard it more than once.
EB: Yeah, its a hard thing to hear but once you get over that little sting to your ego then you end up producing a better version of that song. At the end you look back and youre like, Oh well, it was a little painful and my pride suffered but its better.
BM: Absolutely. Always. The end product with the collaborative input is way better.
EB: Right. Well, what was the songwriting process like for this record? Were you the primary songwriter?
BM: No, it was a three way effort. I wrote all the lyrics but the music was a three-way effort between Billy Duffy, myself and Ricky Warwick. Matt played drums in the studio. It seemed like a good idea at the time and it turned out really well. It was really easy. We didnt actually know we were writing a record. We were just kind of messing about, which I believe is why the record sounds so good. So not under any pressure to write a record but by the time we finished and we realized it was a record we were done and it was great.
EB: Well you described Circus Diablo as the perfect place for misfits and weirdoes. Does that still stand?
BM: Of course. I mean, you know, its the freak show.
EB: Are you recruiting?
BM: Hell yeah. Listen this is the Church of Diablo. Were recruiting our congregation. What? You want to become a part of it? [Laughs]
EB: [Laughs] Over the years, with your involvement in different bands like the Cult, what are some of the things youve learned that youre able to bring to Circus Diablo that are going to make it stronger?
BM: I would say what I bring is the same as what everyone else brings: experience.
EB: Do you ever look back on some of your first bands and think What the hell was I thinking? Or do you look back on it like, Oh those were the days... ?
BM: I remember doing gigs when I was 15. So when I was 15-years-old there was definitely a different attitude to doing gigs [than there is] now. I think to be able to do tours like we do now -- which is two months, thats a long fucking time -- everyone on the tour needs to be calm, respectful, those kinds of things. Its not about [whether or not] you can play your instrument because were all professionals. Everyone brings a calm, professional air. Theres the gig on stage, you do the gig, you get on the bus and we go to the next town.
EB: Are you happier on the road or more comfortable in the studio?
BM: You know, thats like saying, Do I prefer blondes or redheads? Like today I was on stage in front of about 5,000 people. You ask me that when I come off stage and my favorite time is there, on stage in front of 5,000 people. When Ive just finished recording a vocal to a brilliant song for a record, thats my favorite time.
For more information check out circusdiablo.com or www.myspace.com/circusdiablo
With a collective resume that includes bands the Cult, Fuel, the Almighty and Camp Freddy, the members of Circus Diablo know all about getting down and dirty with their music. Completed by Billy Duffy (guitar), Ricky Warwick (guitar), Brett Scallions (bass), and Charles Ruggiero (drums), the band released its self-titled debut on July 3rd and have kept busy touring the country and recruiting fans for what they've dubbed the "Church of Diablo."
SuicideGirls caught up with Billy Morrison before a recent Ozzfest gig to chat...
Erin Broadley: Hey, Billy. How are you?
Billy Morrison: Yo. How are you doing?
EB: Im good. Where are you right now?
BM: Im in Kansas. Im staring out this window -- it was raining out more here than Ive ever seen it rain anywhere ever in the world. Just as we hit the stage it pissed with rain.
EB: Oh, isnt that convenient.
BM: Im looking out at 7,000 drenched kids in the audience out from my bus but its all good.
EB: Hows Ozzfest treating you?
BM: You know what, its really fucking good. We came on this tour thinking that we were the underdog. You know, every band on this tour has pretty much Cookie Monster vocals. Not that I dont like that. We are a band that actually sings and are on a stage with ten other bands that are --
EB: Grunting and yelling?
BM: Yeah. Really, really heavy and you know what, the audience has taken to us at every gig without exception and we bring it to them so Im having a fucking great time.
EB: With the new Circus Diablo record and everything else you have going on, how do you keep it all together? Youre a pretty busy man.
BM: You know, how I keep it together is to really not think about it.
EB: Youve got the radio show on Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles, youve got Camp Freddy, youve got the Cult
BM: I tell you what, Im on Ozzfest right now. I flew from Ozzfest last week to go to Las Vegas to DJ at the opening of Slash's hard rock case. I flew back to Ozzfest the next day. I then fly again on Thursday into LA for one day to do a Camp Freddy show at the House of Blues.
EB: Oh my God.
BM: Then I fly back to do San Antonio on Ozzfest. I mean it is crazy along with the radio show plus the fact that I act now. Im on my fourth movie. I start my fourth movie the day after this tour finishes.
EB: Are you just acting or are you partaking in the actual filmmaking process as well?
BM: I do both, believe it or not. I like amateur filmmaking. I fuck around with video blogs on my site. I work with editing software and I kind of enjoy that, but no, these movies Im doing are actually acting and I fell into it without even trying. I think if you try to be an actor when you live in Hollywood then you end up working at Mels Diner, saying to every that youre an actor when youre [really just] a waiter.
EB: And when you dont try and be an actor then all of a sudden you end up thrown right into it.
BM: Exactly, and the first movie that I got was just given to me. The director saw me, actually was a Cult fan and said, You would be great. I now have my fourth movie lined up where I play a detective and its a big role. Its crazy but Im not complaining.
EB: How long ago was your first movie?
BM: The first movie was just under 24 months ago. It was called Tripping Forward. I played a gay drug dealer.
EB: A gay drug dealer, awesome.
BM: Yeah it was awesome. I was dressed in leather, covered in sweat. It was a wonderful thing. Somehow I made that wonderful transition from gay, leather-clad drug dealer to detective.
EB: Im sure it gives you plenty of material to write songs about, playing all the different characters.
BM: I certainly dont have a shortage of subject matter. But my life is so widespread and world-traveled and crazy experiences that when it comes to sitting down and writing songs, its the easiest thing in the world, you know.
EB: You grew up in the UK and I read that watching the Sex Pistols live when you were younger changed your life completely.
BM: Yeah.
EB: Has the music scene in England changed much? Do you visit a lot?
BM: Well, I must say, I moved because I love America. I have no problems being in America and I love everything about it. I dont particularly love the UK although I do miss playing there. The last time I was back there was with the Cult in 2001 and that was a great tour but I do hope Circus Diablo gets over to the UK. What you said about the Pistols, they did absolutely change my life. They made me realize that I could do this. Up until then, it didnt. From the moment I saw the Pistols on television I was like, Oh, fuck this. Im not going to get a job. Im not going to be whatever; Im going to play music.
EB: It must be interesting to work at the same station as Steve Jones. Have you talked to Jonesy about that, about how the Sex Pistols changed your life?
BM: Its kind of crazy. I believe, if memory serves me right, I actually did. Jonesy gets up [on stage] with Camp Freddy a lot.
EB: Oh, does he?
BM: Yeah, hes a regular Camp Freddy guest. I get to play Sex Pistols songs with him and I believe I did actually sit down with him one time and I said, You know, I have to say, you do know youre the reason I play guitar. Because I think its important that he knows that.
EB: People like you, though, are the reason that hes still doing what hes doing as well.
BM: I think so and I think the mutual respect is so self-evident when you see Camp Freddy play. You know what I mean? Thats why Camp Freddy is still going six years after it started because there is a mutual respect. I have my respect for Jonesy and he has respect for me and its just a wonderful thing.
EB: I have a quote here, I think from your blog, where you write about the music industry.
BM: Oh God.
EB: Here we go, right. You wrote in the music industry people end up meeting thousands of people who talk champagne but only deliver beer and how at a certain point you spend all the time in meetings. You talk about stuff thats never going to happen and you end up spending less and less time actually playing an instrument. I thought it was really well put.
BM: Yeah. I remember writing that and I remember why I was writing that. I dont talk about stuff very much because of the exact reason that people talk about so much stuff. I remember writing that because I think Circus Diablo were trying to get a record deal. I mean, obviously we are now signed. That in itself is a rarity these days. Before we got the deal I remember being so frustrated. I live in fucking Hollywood so I hear everyone say, Were doing this, were doing [that] and actually [theyre] not.
EB: Lots of great ideas but little follow-through.
BM: Absolutely and thats the thing -- its all about the follow through. Ninety percent of people forget about the craft of writing a song, of actually playing music, of actually being able to play your fucking instrument and communicate to an audience. Thats what Im doing it for and I remember being so angry that day. It was all about the almighty dollar and how many units you might or might not sell instead of, Is this a great song?
EB: Well, musicians and artists in general always criticize music industry people for not having follow through but its also a responsibility of the artists as well. A lot of artists dont have the follow-through.
BM: Fuck yeah, even more these days. Absolutely. There is no point in sitting in your mansion in the fucking hills that your 1987 platinum album bought you saying, The music business sucks, its dead. Rock is dead. That doesnt help anyone. Its like my boy Dave Navarro --- me and Dave do that show on Indie 103.1 and we dont say that the music business is dead. We say that it is changing. Just like the retail business changed, just like the fashion business changed. I think the clever musician, like you say, gets off their ass, embraces the change and goes, Okay, how can we roll with this? How can we make things different? You know, like SuicideGirls did -- you embrace the Internet., you embrace radio, you embrace print, you go on tour. Its a multi-media thing and all your old 1987 platinum rock star knows is getting in a bus and playing gigs but its beyond that now.
EB: Yeah, even the nature of journalism has changed. Print is becoming more and more of a specialty. How has the initial response been to Circus Diablo?
BM: You know, the press came through for this Circus Diablo album that weve just done. We have unanimously actually had fantastic reviews. It is a definite critical success and at least 70% of those reviews were online and I said to our manager, Does that count? Is that still legitimate reviews? Wheres the print? He said, Weve had the print, but youve got to understand, reviews are online now.
EB: This is the new print, yeah.
BM: Its fucking crazy. But its an exciting time to be in a band or even to be like the Suicide Girls or Daves Mania TV. Its an exciting time to be in entertainment if you view it in the right way.
EB: Well, I know youre are a big fan of collaboration when it comes to songwriting. You love working with a good team of people.
BM: Absolutely.
EB: Where does the value lie in collaboration for you as opposed to solo stuff?
BM: I think the collaborative effect of songwriting is most evident in how I get pushed and how my limits are pushed. For instance, playing live, bands like Camp Freddy push me. I stand on stage next to Ronnie Wood, Slash, Dave Navarro, fucking Lou Reed -- the worlds best -- and Im standing next to these guys so I need to up my game, you know what Im saying? When I come to write songs and I collaborate with [other musicians] I am being forced to up my game and to look outside of my box which is a real safe place for me to be because I know my chords, I know my song structures and I know my lyrics. When you write songs with other people, when you collaborate, you get forced to live outside your box, which is a very creative thing to do.
EB: Yeah, its just a whole other type of challenge. Youre with people who arent going to let you get away with something thats not up to par.
BM: Absolutely.
EB: They arent going to let you be too self-indulgent.
BM: Trust me, with those guys, the genius of that is they will say, What are you fucking on crack? You cant do that. Thats shit. Lets do this. Ive heard it more than once.
EB: Yeah, its a hard thing to hear but once you get over that little sting to your ego then you end up producing a better version of that song. At the end you look back and youre like, Oh well, it was a little painful and my pride suffered but its better.
BM: Absolutely. Always. The end product with the collaborative input is way better.
EB: Right. Well, what was the songwriting process like for this record? Were you the primary songwriter?
BM: No, it was a three way effort. I wrote all the lyrics but the music was a three-way effort between Billy Duffy, myself and Ricky Warwick. Matt played drums in the studio. It seemed like a good idea at the time and it turned out really well. It was really easy. We didnt actually know we were writing a record. We were just kind of messing about, which I believe is why the record sounds so good. So not under any pressure to write a record but by the time we finished and we realized it was a record we were done and it was great.
EB: Well you described Circus Diablo as the perfect place for misfits and weirdoes. Does that still stand?
BM: Of course. I mean, you know, its the freak show.
EB: Are you recruiting?
BM: Hell yeah. Listen this is the Church of Diablo. Were recruiting our congregation. What? You want to become a part of it? [Laughs]
EB: [Laughs] Over the years, with your involvement in different bands like the Cult, what are some of the things youve learned that youre able to bring to Circus Diablo that are going to make it stronger?
BM: I would say what I bring is the same as what everyone else brings: experience.
EB: Do you ever look back on some of your first bands and think What the hell was I thinking? Or do you look back on it like, Oh those were the days... ?
BM: I remember doing gigs when I was 15. So when I was 15-years-old there was definitely a different attitude to doing gigs [than there is] now. I think to be able to do tours like we do now -- which is two months, thats a long fucking time -- everyone on the tour needs to be calm, respectful, those kinds of things. Its not about [whether or not] you can play your instrument because were all professionals. Everyone brings a calm, professional air. Theres the gig on stage, you do the gig, you get on the bus and we go to the next town.
EB: Are you happier on the road or more comfortable in the studio?
BM: You know, thats like saying, Do I prefer blondes or redheads? Like today I was on stage in front of about 5,000 people. You ask me that when I come off stage and my favorite time is there, on stage in front of 5,000 people. When Ive just finished recording a vocal to a brilliant song for a record, thats my favorite time.
For more information check out circusdiablo.com or www.myspace.com/circusdiablo
zoetica:
Erin Broadley: Hey, Billy. How are you?...
bee:
hi billy you're funny!