SLAVE UNIT

This interview was conducted via e-mail and the band chose to respond as a group, so read on...

When you write songs, do you usually start by sitting down with the guitar, keyboard, bass or what?
It's different all the time. There is no one answer for that question. A lot of the times the drum beat/programming comes first then we start experimenting with different bass and guitar lines.

When did you first realize that you wanted to write and play music?
Pretty much everyone in SLAVE UNIT knew that they wanted to write and play music at an early age. Music has always been a big part of our lives.

How did Slave Unit get together?
To make a long story short. Welch was doing a band with Torsten and a side project with Alan and Paikos. We realized that we all wanted to (more or less) go for the same sound or direction so we just eventually joined forces and became SLAVE UNIT.

Is the Bay Area conducive to your creativity?
There are a lot of great bands from the Bay Area but I can't really say that they have been conducive to our creativity. They haven't really influenced us in anyway.

Have you played out much?
We haven't played to much out of the Bay Area. The furthest south we played was in San Jose with DIATRIBE. We've played Sacremento a couple of times but we usually just play in the Bay Area.

Any tour plans for the coming year? Anything outside the US?
I've heard talk that there may be a mini west coast tour sometime at the end of November but that's really up in the air. If we do the tour... I think we would be going from possibly Vancouver to San Diego. Well just have to wait and see.

Any collaborations or side-projects in the works?
Well... without giving any names. Some of us in SLAVE UNIT are doing a side project with some others from another party called OFFICER DOWN. OFFICER DOWN is very extreme music. It's probably some of the most pissed off sounding industrial around. Look out for these guys down the road.

With the exception of NIN and a few others, the electro-industrial scene has remained by and large an underground thing, and it seems as though a lot of the fans prefer it that way. What is your take on the scene in general and where it is headed?
We really don't understand the underground scene. It seems that not enough kids support the underground bands. I mean if you're "lucky" you can get 200 kids to show up at a "good" show. The industrial scene just seems so unsupportative at times. I mean take the punk rock scene. Especially up here in the Bay Area. I don't care what punk band is playing....There are litterally hundreds and hundreds of kids supporting the scene whenever there is a show. We just wish that the underground industrial scene can be more supportative. As for where the scene in general is headed? We don't know. We think that the underground industrial scene needs to do something before it becomes extinct.

What bands/artists do you like that might surprise people?
We like everything. There's not one person in SLAVE UNIT who only likes one type or style of music. Some of us in SLAVE UNIT are really into the "oldies" like 50's bubble gum music and rockabilly/old country stuff. Some of us like "trip hop" and "jungle" music. I can't really speak for all of us and I don't want to embarrass anyone. However it's safe to say that none in SLAVE UNIT likes the GRATEFUL DEAD.

Okay, the big question: Mac or PC?
We use a Mac. It's not like we think the Mac is superior but that's what we have always used. Plus we got a bunch of free music programs for the it, so that's what we use.

Are you happy with the cover art on your album? What would you consider to be some 'classic' album covers?
Well this is a tough one. We sort of waited until the last second to submit our art work for the album. We were given like 8 months to gather art work but we are all professional procrastinators. Let's just say on the next album we are going to emphasize a lot more on the artwork and layout.

How did you hook up with COP Intl.? Were you at all worried about finding a label?
We played this show with BABYLAND at the Berkeley Square and after our set Kim X introduced herself to us, then we pretty much just kept in touch with her from that day on. We were never really worried about finding a label. We knew that in time something would pan out.

How involved in the internet are you? What do you think about how it is currently being utilized?
Most of us are pretty much involved with the internet. I don't think a day goes by where one of us hasn't used it.

What are your views on digital vs. analog, new vs. old gear, etc.?
We like botth digital and analog. Analog has a thicker and warmer sound to it but you can get some cool sounds out of digital. We use both.

Outside of music, what do you spend most of your time doing?
When we're not doing music we are all working at our jobs or going to school. Real fun stuff!

The production on the album sounds great. Were you happy with the recording process and the results?
We are very pleased with the production Spawn did a great job helping us out and it turned out great. However the recording process took forever. Hopefully our next release won't take as long to record.

Any thoughts about what you'd like to do differently with your next recording?
We wouldn't change a thing.