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Interview with Bill Lindsey
of Impaler
March 2009 by Metal Mark |
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It's hard to believe that Impaler have been
around for over 25 years. It seems like only yesterday that their
albums were released and the band was getting some notice for their
horror inspired metal. Indeed they are still going strong, recording
and playing shows. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing
vocalist Bill Lindsey.
Hello, please introduce the members of you
band and what instrument everyone plays.
Hailz! I'm Bill Lindsey-vocals, Tom Croxton-drums, Commander Court
Hawley-bass, Mike Torok-guitar, Kyle Skogquist-guitar, Dr.
Corpse-backing vocals and mayhem
What are you currently working on?
We are doing pre-production on a concept disc called Cryptozoology.
We hope to get it out by Halloween 2009. It is our first release to
have a total concept behind it. Each song will be a bout a different
creature of Cryptozoology. We even have a Bigfoot trilogy!!
Your band has been around for over 25 years
now. Tell us a little about how the band formed.
I formed Impaler along with Mike and Court back in the spring of
1983. We were all into doing an all original metal band, which was
unheard of around here at that time. We all had a vision of a
theatrical presentation and a high energy stage performance.
Who are your musical influences?
Alice Cooper, early Kiss and Aerosmith, Plasmatics, Van Halen,
Sabbath and Ozzy, Venom and Motorhead to name a few. |
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Back
in the mid-1980’s your albums “Rise of the Mutants” and “If We Had
Brains ... We'd Be Dangerous” were pointed out by Tipper Gore and
the PMRC as being offensive. What do remember about this incident
and what do you think about the PMRC’s reactions to your albums?
I thought it was very exciting and kind of funny at the time. I
thought it was great exposure for a young band on an independent
label! We were lumped in with Motley Crue and Twisted Sister! It was
great for us...we ended up on a lot of local T.V. and radio to
defend our position.
Was it free publicity? Do you know if your
albums sold more due to getting mentioned by the PMRC?
Exactly! Kids heard that Impaler is bad for you and they run out and
buy it! I know Combat had to re-press it at least 5 times that I'm
aware of....maybe even more.
One of your albums I believe appeared briefly
in a scene from the 1986 film “Trick or Treat”. How did that come
about? |
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Yes, Rise Of
The Mutants was used in a scene in the movie. I did not even know it
was going to be used. At the time we were on the road in Texas and
kids were coming up to us at the show and saying the album cover is
in that new movie "Trick or Treat" I knew about the movie because I
had read about Ozzy and Gene Simmons being in it. But Combat and
Impaler were not on good terms by that time so they didn't bother to
mention it to us!
There were no releases from Impaler between
1989 and 1996. Did the band still exist during that period? If so,
then why no albums? If not, then why did you break up and why did
you reform?
We put out Wake Up Screaming in 1990 and played our last show with
that line up in January 1991. We had agreed to take a break from
Impaler. Some of us had just bought homes and had babies. I had a
side project in mind that I wanted to explore. We never called it a
break up...more of a break. We got back together for a couple shows
in 1993 and 1994 but no other members wanted to pursue Impaler other
than me at that time so I reformed with some friends from various
local bands in 1994/1995 to record a demo and then the cd Undead
Things. Over the years Mike and Court have come back to the band.
You must be huge horror movie fans. What are
some of your favorites?
Horror! YES!! That is hard because we love so many...horror movies
were a great inspiration for Impaler lyrically and visually! I
really love the old Universal classics like Frankenstein, Dracula,
Wolfman etc...I also love 70's horror like Texas Chainsaw Massacre
and The Exorcist. There are great movies from every era though.
Including DVDs you guys have released more
material this decade than in the 80’s and 90’s combined. Why is
that?
I guess we know more about what we are doing! HA! We got with a
label called Root Of All Evil that really believed in Impaler. Earl
Root (R.I.P. Earl passed in the spring 2008) was a big fan and
supporter of Impaler and made sure we were getting our stuff out on
a regular basis. Plus we got out on the road more and spread the
word around a little better than in the late 80's/early 90's. When
Earl started getting sick he couldn't keep up with label stuff. He
needed to concentrate on his health. At that point we started
working with MVD out of PA. They are cool people who have released a
CD and DVD for Impaler. So we just keep rolling along, doing our
thing.What are some of the more memorable
shows that you have played?
The trip to Europe this past summer was AMAZING! We played
two big outdoor festivals in Germany (Hell's Pleasure and Headbanger
Open Air) plus some club dates as well. We met so many cool people
and the shows were awesome. In Europe they are all about the METAL!
They treated us very well and we had a great time! |
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What kind of props and set do you currently
use in your stage show?
We have so many things that we rotate stage shows depending on what
venue we are playing. We have a butcher shop/abattoir set up, a
freakshow stage and a graveyard stage...the graveyard is the biggest
set we have... it's pretty elaborate.
Are there any retired props that you no longer
use live?
Oh yeah, we had a cage I would break out of. We also had two big
upright standing coffins that the guitar player and bass player
would come out of at the beginning of the show. Plus many retired
severed heads...just to name a few.
Have you had a prop not work or go wrong on
stage?
One time the cage wasn't put together properly and when I kicked the
door open all four sides fell down!! It was pretty funny! We had a
crazy roadie that use to over fill flash pots too! No casualties
luckily!!!
How do you keep yourself motivated to keep
doing music and shows after having been in the game for so many
years?
All of us are music fans and we are still inspired everyday by Rock
and Metal music new and old! It is still so much fun to play in this
band with these guys. We have a BLAST and I think it shows! It's
what makes our shows so over the top!
Do you have any regrets in your music career
or is there anything that you wished you had done differently?
Only one, in that I put too much faith in Combat Records. I thought
they were looking out for us and that was not the case (only a
couple guys there were really doing stuff for the band)...if I had
known I would have bought ads for us and done more self promo...but
I was only in my early 20's and I didn't really know what to expect
at that time.
Is there anything else that you would like to
say about your band or your music?
I always want to say THANKS to the people who support us by buying
our shit and coming out to the shows! Thanks to you for the
interview and support!! Come see us live you won't be disappointed!!
Hailz and Rock ON!!!!
www.myspace.com/impalerhorrorrock |
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