DEATHEAD INTERVIEW

CHRIS JESTER- VOCALIST & LEAD RHYTHM GUITARIST

INTERVIEW BY:  NEON BLONDE

APRIL 2, 2002

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NB:  Hey Jesterman!  How’s it goin’?

cj: real good right now. Things are rolling pretty good for us at the minute.





NB:  What caused the band to relocate to Utah from Dallas?

 
cj: Lots of things really. First of all, I lived here for along time when I was a kid cuz my step dad was in the air force here. Second is cuz the weather is beautiful and the mountains, and then the big reason was cuz the cost of living is a lot cheaper than Dallas. I just got to the point to where I couldn't afford to live there anymore.





NB:  What comic book was it that the name Deathead came from and why did you choose it for the name of your band?

cj: It came from Death's head, I chose it cuz I found the definition to it in the dictionary and I liked what it meant. It means a human skull used as an example of mortality. I thought that was really cool.




NB:  Tell me a little bit about Tantrum, your former band.

cj; Tantrum was basically a cover band when I was in it, we used to play lots of cover tunes from punk bands like the sex pistols and dead boys, as well as stuff by Sabbath and Metallica. It was fun but nothing great. The singer and me never got along, and the beer bottle incident was it, and I was out. Simple as that.  From what I hear though, they have moved to New Orleans and are really kicking ass.





NB:  By the way, Jeff Dennis (Music Mania) said ‘hello’!

cj: you know what? Jeff is just a great guy. Last summer I used to go in to his store and just sit and bullshit with him. It was cool actually meeting someone who knows their metal. By the way Jeff, I still wanna play metal meltdown again.





NB:  Tell me about “Architect of Armageddon”.  I know you guys are still looking for a drummer.  Is the song written except for the drum tracks?


  cj: Yes all of the songs are written. Actually almost all of the songs were written last year. I had written almost all of them before I moved to Utah, and then the guys that I had in the band fizzled out, and I had to start with new guys. That is the whole reason why we haven't recorded anything yet; cuz there has been so many lineup changes in the past year.


NB:  Have you had any response yet from Megaforce Records?

cj: No not yet, we are going to get them a demo sent in real soon, and hopefully we'll hear something. We are also going to be sending in a demo to a management company, I can't say any names yet, but they are interested in us, but want a demo first.




NB:  My friend, George Call (ASKA) writes for Power Play Magazine.  I noticed you said that there was a link on their Internet mag to Deathead.  How did that come about?  And has it gotten you any more responses to the band on the Internet?

cj: I can't remember if it was me or our webmaster, anyway, one of us sent em an email and asked if they would link us and they agreed. We have had a lot of hits lately I don't know if it's cuz of the power play link or not because we are also linked at themetalweb.com, hammerhead ezine, your site, bcrich.com, babylon magazine's website and bandname.com, oh yeah, and we've been added to Jeff’s links page. I do know though that we went from like 500 hits to almost 650 in a little over a day.




NB:  How old were you when you picked up a guitar?

cj: I don't really know. Ya see my grandpa played guitar and I used to sit and watch him when I was real little, but I have been playing in bands since I was like 13 or 14. My brother actually had a guitar before I did. I do remember going into the mall when I was a kid and seeing all of the Warlocks hanging on the wall saying that I am going to have one of them one day.




NB:  How long have you been playing the guitar?

cj: Well most of the bands that I've been in, I was just singing, but I always played with the guitar. I have been a permanent guitarist for about 3 1/2 years now. I actually wanted to find another singer for Deathead, but I couldn't find anyone I liked so I'm doing myself.




NB:  What was your first concert?

cj: iron maiden 1985, the world slavery tour at reunion arena. It was for my 10th birthday.





NB:  Do all the guys have a hand in the writing process or do you do it all then take it to them for approval or everyone contributes?

cj: I don't have a problem with the other guys writing anything at all. It's just that it happened to be that all of the songs were written before they came along. However I do want to maintain some sort of quality control. I think that albums need some sort of consistency to them, and someone has to have the veto power, and I guess that would be me. I don't know if you know this or not, but I am the only original member of the band. Over the past year I've gone thru various people, my brother was even in here for a while.  So yes, I do try and handle most of the songwriting, cuz I know that I'm gonna be here in a year, and with someone else writing they could be gone in 5 days, and that leaves a void.





NB:  Are you doing any studio work at this time?

cj: We are going to start this weekend. Trevor and I have been working on it all week, and this weekend we are going to start. We may have a temp drummer sit in with us to record. My brother knows this guy, but he's in another band and can't do it full time, so he may just play on the demo and that's it. We are still looking for a drummer, so if anyone is interested.... ha ha ha





NB:  How did you find Trevor Asire and Kip Pearce?

cj: I met them both back in 1995. I met Trevor first from an old drummer of mine; he was in a band that shared a rehearsal space with Trevor’s band. Kip was in that band as well; I actually went and tried out for them. Trevor was unhappy with them at the time, so he left and me him and my brother reformed our band Gallows Pole, but it only lasted a short while. To make things more ironic I used to work with Kips brothers, and had no idea that he was related to them.





NB:  I noticed Trevor and Kip were in the same band, MANIFEST.  Is this how they knew each other or does it go back further?

cj: Kip and Trevor have known each other since high school. We have all been friends even when we weren't in a band together. The three of us used to go to the nudie bar when we first turned 21, we'd hang out and do all sorts of stuff. We've been best friends for a long time.





NB:  On your web page there are 15 songs listed with lyrics.  Are these available on a disc, MP3, etc.?  How can your fans/readers access these and listen to them?

cj: Right now, no. The reason behind that is that we've had a lot of lineup changes in the band over the past year, and I didn't want something on the site that was not indicative of what the band is about now. On top of that I don't want to be giving someone credit that is no longer around. I'm not going to try and milk something, just to have it up on our site. I'd rather wait till we get it recorded with the band as it is now. I don't want fans to listen to something from a year ago, and be disappointed that the band they just heard isn't the same band anymore. Once we get done with this recording session though, I personally guarantee that there will be some songs posted on the website.





NB:  Just being curious, how did you hear about Neon’s Metal Madness?

cj: From Jeff of course. I found a link to your site on the front page of the Music Mania site, and thought I'd check it out.





NB:  If there were a certain singer/band you could work with in the studio who would it be and why?

cj: I'd love to work with Kevin Heybourne from Angel Witch and Blitz from Overkill, just cuz I think they are awesome. I'd also like to take some guitar lessons from Dave Mustaine and Scott Ian. If he was still alive I would say that I would love to work with Bon Scott, cuz he's the reason I do what I do.





NB:  Not to get you to speculate but where do you hope to see the band in say six months to a year?

cj: Realistically, I see us having Architect of Armageddon out, either on a label or by us doing it ourselves, and playing lots of shows. I want to get back to Dallas and play some shows. I'd like to maybe hookup with a well-known band and do some opening gigs, just to get the word out about us. I do want to prove that we are a killer live band, and that no one can touch us once we step on stage. I'd also like to head out to New York and play some shows with my friends from Adrenalitia. We've been talking about doing that forever now, and I'd like to see that happen.





NB:  If there were anything you could say to those doubting the band what would it be?

cj: doubt all you want, cuz I have faith in this band. And once we do make it, I don't want to hear " oh, we always knew you'd do it," shit like that, cuz it just won’t fly with me. My biggest problem is that I have a big mouth, and I say what I think, and it really gets me in trouble some times. All in all, I don't care who believes and who doubts, cuz I believe in my songs, and no one and myself can take that away.





NB:  How do the band members, including you, parents or family feel about what you’re doing?

cj: Well I can't really speak for everyone, but my parents are supportive of it. They do wish that I would get a job making more money, but they support it. My girlfriend is great, she wont let me quit. She has told me many times that If I quit she'll kill me, and Trevor’s wife is the same way. Kip is the single guy in the band, so he can do pretty much whatever he wants.  My mom has grown used to it, I mean she put up with it from me and my brother both. He's a real good guitarist, but he's more into the Seattle sound, than the speed metal stuff, so ya know. He supports it as well though.





NB:  Who are some of your musical influences?  Personal?

cj: I would say that my favorite band is Angel witch, Megadeth, Venom, Ac/dc, Mercyful fate, and Overkill. Cuz they really made a sound of their own without trying to be like anyone else. I really don't have any personal influences because I really don't want to be like anyone else. There are always people that are saying, "People say that I look like such and such" and to me that is an insult. I am quite happy being the first Chris Jester, and I don't have a desire to be like anyone else.





NB:  If you could invite three people to a dinner, famous or not, who would it be and why?

cj: first I think I would invite Jesus, and ask him if he was really an alien. Second would be Angus Young so he could give me advice on a long career, and the third would have to be Monica Lewinsky, just so I could ask her why in the hell she never washed that damn dress.





NB:  Chris, this has been great!  The floor is yours, dude!

cj: I just want to say that Deathead is coming and everyone had better be ready cuz we ain't going to take any prisoners, we are all fired up and ready to kill. A lot of people ask me if I want to try and bring back metal and the answer to that is that I am not out on a mission to restore metal, cuz I think it's great where it's at. I don't want to see metal all over TV and MTV, cuz then it's gonna get lame. I think that it's great that it's underground for all of the real metal fans to enjoy. Metal is still alive and well, you just need to know where to look. Everyone says that all of these boy bands are ruining music; well; even back in the 80's ya had all the pop bands. I don't want to see things like they were back then when bands like poison were mixing rock and pop. All it did was give metal a bad name. I also want to say to some of these kids that just cuz something is more than 5 years old doesn't make it shitty. When I was growing up, kids listened to Sabbath as well as Metallica; now these kids don't want to hear anything that came from the 80's. I do realize that there was a lot of shit bands from then, but there was also some killer bands from that time, and they shouldn't be overlooked just cuz of the generation they came out in.
I do hope that people will give Deathead a chance, and check us out, come to the shows, and then make an opinion. Don't judge us solely on what type music we play, cuz if you do, you will be the one missing out.
I really do appreciate the chance to do this, it's been great. Keep your eyes out cuz we are coming, and it's gonna be one hell of a ride.
thanx Neon

Many thanks to Chris Jester for doing this interview for my page.  Continued success to the band!

KEEP ROCKIN'!

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