Garrad
Mathews: First
of all, I’d like to get the obvious question
out of the way that most Bile fans have. Is Krztoff
the main writer / recording artist in the studio?
Do the other members have any input? |
Dave
Sussmann: Krztoff is the
main writer. Occasionally, Bear and I will
listen to stuff he does and offer opinions
and suggestions, but he is the main man.
|
|
GM:
How did you get your start
in music? Any influences? |
DS:
I started playing guitar in like 1983, when
I heard the first Dio solo album. I loved
that whole style of playing and i just kinda
got a guitar and tried to learn to play.
Now I listen to stuff like Pink Floyd, southern
rock and Fleetwood Mac type stuff for influence,
as well as some ambient and trip hop. I
rarely listen to metal for guitar influence
anymore, but that's where I come from. |
|
GM:
Bile has always been driven
by their live performances. What can someone who
has never seen you perform expect from a live
show? |
DS:
Just a lot of smoke, strobes, really loud
beats and shadows. We don't use any club's
stage lights, we prefer to bring our own
back-lit dungeon onto the stage and suck
people in. Besides, who would wanna look
at our ugly faces? |
|
GM:
What do you enjoy most about
your shows? What band(s) have you enjoyed touring
/ playing with the most? |
DS:
Well, I loved every tour, from the small
van tours to the tourbus ones. I just love
to drink and play and hang out. Obviously,
on the KMFDM and Pigface / Thrill Kill Kult
tour we reached a larger audience and the
beer was flowing, so those were standouts
for me. |
|
GM:
Is there any specific track(s)
that you enjoy performing most at your shows? |
DS:
I love to play "Jerk" (from Demonic)
and "You Can't Love This" (from
Teknowhore) - also "Compound Pressure"
is a favorite. I like the moodier stuff. |
|
GM:
I have been told that you
are credited to having created the rather impressive
videos and imagery used during Bile's shows. Any
truth to this? If so, were you involved with the
creation of the “In League” and “Love
Stinks” videos? |
DS:
I helped put together the live stage video,
did lots of editing and effects and stuff
like that. I also filmed and edited the
entire "Love Stinks" video (Krztoff
directed it) and made the "In League"
video out of all the bootleg videos we have
as well as some original shot footage that
Krztoff and Bear did. So yes, I had a big
hand in the videos. I had nothing to do
with the "I Reject" video; that
was made before I joined the band. |
|
GM:
Bile has quite a large underground
fan-base and it seems as if you guys are happy
with this. Has it always been an intent to stay
an underground band? |
DS:
I don't think it's anyone's conscious descision
to remain underground. I would love to make
a living at this and be able to do it full-time,
but the way the music business is set up,
I guess it just wasn't meant to be for us.
We do not fit into any mainstreasm style,
and we are not pretty, punky, poppy, gelled
hair mallcore kids. We have been doing this
kind of music for a long time, are serious
about it, and this is all we have done.
We don't have any radio hits, although I
really think a song like "Jerk"
could be a hit if we edited the part about
fist-fucking; it is a timeless classic along
the lines of the Beatles' "Hey Jude." |
|
GM:
It’s obvious that
you guys have always had a good time as a performing
band yet the lineup is ever-changing. You have
been a member of Bile through some of this, so
how do you feel about the constant lineup changes? |
DS:
I should let Bear answer that - although
I am very happy about the addition of our
roadie Brett to our line-up :) |
|
GM:
What do you guys do outside
of music – be it for fun, work, etc? Any
particular interests? |
DS:
I do web design, and have been working for
MLB.com for many years. They are way cool
with me touring, and it is good to have
a full time job and an apartment that I
can pay rent on waiting for me when I get
home from a tour rather than mom's basement
and a gas pump at 38 years old. I just love
to hang out and go out here in NYC. I have
lots of good friends here so I'm never really
bored. I also like to fuck around recording
with my "solo" project that is
linked elsewhere on this site. |
|
GM:
Exactly how long are your
massive dreads? How long has it taken to grow
them? |
DS:
I never measured, but my longest dread has
to be over 4 feet long, maybe close to 5.
I have had dreads for a long time. |
|
GM:
Will we be seeing anything
new concert-wise during the tour for the upcoming
album? |
DS:
Theres always something new, and always
something the same. The fact is that we
rarely tour, so when we do decide to do
it, we like to just go out and blast it
from the stage and the audience takes care
of the rest. It's always something new because
there's always kids who have never seen
us and can't believe we are actually playing
in their shitty town! |
|
GM:
Lastly, what do you think
you’d be doing right now if you weren’t
involved in music? |
DS:
Being rich, happy and gainfully employed. |
|
GM:
Well,
I thank you for taking time to answer my questions,
Dave! I appreciate it and wish Bile luck with
everything they have planned for the future. |
