An interview with AXIS – Industrial Electronic Rock Band – Part 2

AN INTERVIEW WITH AXIS Part 2

MARCH 24, 2011

TO READ PART 1 of this interview CLICK HERE

This interview was recorded March the 24^th of 2011 at the Cherry Street Coffee House in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

CLICK HERE to hear the AUDIO MP3 INTERVIEW with AXIS - industrial electronic rock band from Oklahoma

I’m Brian Copeland – lead singer of the progressive industrial group Euphonic Dissonance. I’m conducting this interview with Axis to expose people to other great industrial/electronic bands from our home state of Oklahoma.

Axis has shared the stage with some of the most influential bands in the industrial and electronic genres. These include Slick Idiot, Mankind Is Obsolete, Lords Of Acid and My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult. Filled with meaningful melodies and emotional depths, Steven Blackwell’s programming, producing and studio sound experience along with Vixx’s resonating vocals combine to create their unique sound.

I’m having coffee with the members of Axis in a back room of a very busy and – needless to say - noisy coffee house. Let’s meet the members of this mind warping electronic rock band – Steven and Vixx.

Brian: You recently opened for the Belgian industrial techno band Lords of Acid at their show in Tulsa. What was it like opening for such a well know and influential band?

Steven: It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun. Still kind of taking it in. It was our biggest crowd in Tulsa easily and definitely the most responsive too. Aside for opening for some really great bands last night and getting to meet some really good – really talented and influential musicians – our live side of it was amazing. We had a great time. I am still recovering actually.

Vixx: Yeah, that was the best show we have ever had. We had so much fun. We had really great crowd response. We sold the most merchandise we’ve ever sold. We actually ran out of stuff which we never thought would happen in Tulsa because there was actually a lot of new people. It wasn’t just our friends that we usually always see out. Actual new people got to hear us for the first time and really liked us and actually wanted to support us whereas our friends they support us in spirit but they don’t feel like they need to buy anything because they know us.

Steven: That and I have a bad habit of giving things away.

Vixx: Yeah.

Steven: Going back to that question about industrial being dead – after seeing the crowd and everything last night that’s my inspiration on saying no I don’t think industrials dead.

Brian: I tend to agree. But there’s a second part to this question which is – do you think the experience will open to doors for Axis? You’ve kind of answered that. Obviously a good crowd came to your show. People saw you that had never seen you before. Where do you go with that?

Steven: To be honest with you I really didn’t think it was going to do a whole lot for us. I was kind of skeptical. I was really happy to be on the bill but we’ve been on bills before but it was great. We had great crowd response – we had a good time but it never really went beyond one good night – one good show. Um, last night however – the Lords of Acid show we seemed to get a really good crowd response – we sold a lot more merch than any of the other show. We got a lot more exposure and the bands Angelspit, Lords of Acid, Chant, Radical G – all those guys gave us nothing but praise after the fact and had mentioned the possibility of putting us on their label. So we’re still kind of waiting to hear back on that and see how that goes but it definitely opened some doors.

Vixx: As far as where to go from last night – not too sure. I mean I asked a lot of people for their facebook information but Tulsa has been such a fickle market for us and trying to get repeat fans has not been easy. I think we have one or two actual fans that will come to most of our shows but as far as getting a good group of people to come to all of our shows has not happened and we’re kind of at a loss for how to make that happen.

Brian: When it comes to live performance what musical artists influence you the most? And strictly just live performance in this scenario.

Steven: Oh man. I don’t know if there is any one particular. I was really inspired by – some of the first shows I went to were some of the big names in industrial in the 90’s. They were easily the best shows that I’ve ever seen. Bands like Gravity Kills, Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, Ministry – all these guys put on great show and I would be flattered if anyone ever said you guys put on a show to that caliber. So I’d have to say that just seeing those shows is what inspired me, It wasn’t anyone in particular.

Vixx: I just kind of recently got into industrial over the past five years. Before that I was into metal and I went to a lot of metal shows pretty early on so for me kind of some of my influences were Motograter who did some awesome stuff with saws and Slipknot who were just banging on everything. You kind of get a little bit of that with our live performance now. I play on a big oil barrel. I do percussion on that and then I also have a angle grinder that I shoot sparks off of.

Steven: We’re working on interpreting some more strange percussion and the use of more power tools. Things that shoot sparks – things that make noise – I love all these things. I think they make for a good show.

Brian: What can we expect to see at a live gig? I think you just covered that but give us some more.

Steven: We try to keep it as energetic as possible. It kind of depends on what show. We’re pretty versatile in that like I said earlier the E.P. is very gritty – it’s very energetic and electronic and then the album is much more well electronic rock oriented. So the live shows at any given time depending on who we’re playing with or where we’re playing – we can play songs from either genre or mix it up. We usually try to keep it pretty energetic – sometimes emotional. Like I said, we like to bring crazy stuff up on stage and see what can we do with it.

Vixx: Almost any given point during a song one of us will be on vocals. I bounce back between percussion, keyboard and vocals. Steven’s on guitar and we’re just kind of all over the place bouncing around. I’m playing on different things. We’re just rocking out and having a good time.

Steven: I’m always looking for some way to create some new piece of equipment to bring on stage.

Brian: And next question is my favorite – what’s the craziest thing that ever happened to you at a live performance?

Steven: (asks Vixx) What’s yours?

Vixx: Hm. I know what yours is.

Steven: What’s mine?

Vixx: Whenever Trent broke the angle grinder blade. The one where the dude broke his jaw in the mosh pit.

Steven: Oh yeah, I think it might have all happened at one show. It was a just simultaneous. It was all complete havoc. *Steven laughs* It was when we were down to a three of four piece from the five piece and my vocalist at the time broke out the angle grinder on a barrel and it was really kind of spontaneous. And I just like ripped off my shirt – ran over and grabbed the barrel in front of him and he pushed down on the angle grinder too hard and busted the blade. So it shot chunks into my stomach and shot other chunks into the audience members and simultaneously or sometime into the set ….

Brian: You shrapneled your audience?

Steven: Yes, we shrap-metaled the audience. And at some point during the same song some kid got his jaw broken in the mosh pit. As soon as the song was over there was just a group of people standing off in the back of the audience recovering. That was pretty crazy.

Brian: (to Vixx) Can you top that?

Vixx: No, I can’t really top that but probably the craziest thing was last night. I had gotten this cat suit it was spandex like or blend. I really couldn’t find anything good to wear and I figured it would be a good time to wear that. I’d been wearing it around the house because it like feety pajames an it’s comfortable. So we knew that it was a little bit see through but only just a little bit. Then I got and stage and with the stage lights it was completely see through. So, I’m still kind of embarrassed about that one.

Steven: Well, the audience loved it.

Brian: Yeah, I’m sure the audience had a much greater appreciation of that than you did.

*everyone laughs*

Brian: Trent Reznor said in a 1992 Spin magazine interview that people in Tulsa, Oklahoma are weirder than people in New York or L. A. because there is nothing to do and when they rebel they go all out. How have you been received in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, you kind of covered that earlier. It doesn’t sound like very well.

Steven: Well it depends because the show that I just mentioned with the shrap metal – the broken jaw and all that was in Enid, Oklahoma. Enid, Oklahoma – they invite us back all the time despite this stuff. They love it. They absolutely eat it up. When the shrap metal went into the audience and everybody got kind of cut up and everybody was just like “yeah!” and they rocked out for the rest of the set. Those guys love it out there and I mean this in the best possible sense – a little weirder. They do go all out whereas Tulsa to me is not the city that used to be when it comes to the underground. Tulsa used to have a lot more underground feel. A much more underground, artsy, artistic scene and the kids used to dress up a lot more and come out to shows a lot more.

Vixx: I think everyone went a little all out a one too many times and nobody goes out anymore.

Steven: Yeah, you don’t really see it much anymore. If you go to the smaller towns that is still true – like Enid.

Vixx: Stillwaters pretty good. Lawton.

Steven: Little towns where there really isn’t anything to do. We go out and play those shows. Those show are often the most fun because they really will go all out.

Brian: What sort of fan base does Axis attract?

Steven: That’s hard to say. We’ve had a pretty eclectic group of people through the years. It’s one reason I don’t like to stick to saying we’re an industrial band because I really like having a broad audience. That’s one thing that I’ve always appreciated having – people that are into completely other styles of music coming up and saying that they really like our stuff. That’s incredibly flattering to me.

Brian: Other than VampireFreaks.com where’s the best place to find you on the web?

Steve: You can find us on facebook as Axis Satellite. We’re also on ReverbNation under Axis Satellite. Just to clarify – the reason we use Satellite at the end was partially promotion for our upcoming album which was titled 23 Degrees and we were trying to keep with this theme. Like the earth’s axis is on a tilt of 23 degrees. Essential the website or anything online are kind of a satellite from what we’re actually doing. I just felt like that needed justification because everyone that finds us thinks we’re Axis Satellite.

Vixx: And the main reason is also Facebook was the big push on that because you can’t have a band name. It has to be a first and last name. Well, we still want people to find us as a band so we added Satellite as our last name.

Steve: So you can find us on Facebook and ReverbNation.

Brian: Excellent. Well that’s all the questions. I want to thank you for doing the interview here at the wonderful Cherry Street Coffee House in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

An interview with AXIS - Industrial Electronic Rock Band - Part 1

AN INTERVIEW WITH AXIS part 1
MARCH 24, 2011

This interview was recorded March the 24^th of 2011 at the Cherry Street Coffee House in Tulsa, Oklahoma.



I’m Brian Copeland – lead singer of the progressive industrial group Euphonic Dissonance. I’m conducting this interview with Axis to expose people to other great industrial/electronic bands from our home state of Oklahoma.

Axis has shared the stage with some of the most influential bands in the industrial and electronic genres. These include Slick Idiot, Mankind Is Obsolete, Lords Of Acid and My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult. Filled with meaningful melodies and emotional depths, Steven Blackwell’s programming, producing and studio sound experience along with Vixx’s resonating vocals combine to create their unique sound.

I’m having coffee with the members of Axis in a back room of a very busy and – needless to say - noisy coffee house. Let’s meet the members of this mind warping electronic rock band – Steven and Vixx.

CLICK HERE to hear the AUDIO MP3 INTERVIEW with AXIS - industrial electronic rock band from Oklahoma

Steven:  I’m Steven.

Vixx:  And I’m Vixx.

Brian:  Steven and Vixx. Steve Albini once called industrial music disco through a fuzz box. This type of music came into style in the early 90’s and is now 20 years old. Some would go as far to say that industrial music is dead. Give us your take on the current state of the industrial music scene.

Steven:  Um, it seems like it’s going pretty strong right now. It’s picking up a little bit of momentum as of the last 6 months to a year. It’s hard to say with the music industry as a whole being on kind of a down curve but I think it’s not dead at all. You can look it up and search it on any given search engine and you’ll pull up a ton of bands. Some of it good – some of it bad - but dead? I don’t think it’s dead.

Brian:  So you think it’s just the economy?

Steven:  I think it’s just the economy and the music industry as a whole.

Vixx:  With things being so accessible online it’s a lot harder for bands to generate any business for themselves.

Brian:  That’s true and it seems that a lot of it is no so much album sales as it is singles sales. You guys find that you’re having to put out a lot of new songs just to keep up with things as they are?

Steven:  Sort of. With our new EP out that was kind of where we were going with it. We figured and EP would be a good way to get back into things and try to make some money off of it. Try to get our music out there and it’s a lot easier with a single or an EP than try to just release an album.

Brian:  What is Axis doing that is different from previous industrial oriented groups?

Steven:  I don’t know. I’d like to think that we’re a little bit more creative than a lot of stuff that has happened over the last several years. I like to say that I’m musically A.D.D. and so I can’t stick to one particular style for too long. The EP is a little bit more of a narrow version of what Axis really is. We have an upcoming album – it should be out in a few months – and it’s going to be pretty all over the place.

Vixx:  We like to write things that are more personal to us and things that we feel have a little bit more meaning than just the surface – dance hits.

Brian:  You just released a new EP. What’s the name of the new album and what will people hear when they download the new EP?

Steven:  The EP is titled POLAR. It is the dancy side of Axis. It’s the really gritty, dancy stuff. Um, I feel like there should be more of an explanation to all that… *looks towards Vixx*

Vixx:  Okay, well, the reason we decided to name the EP POLAR is because we had these songs that we had made but we didn’t like but they really didn’t fit on the album. They were just a little more on the surface than going into the depths of the actual album so we decided “let’s just throw them on an EP” and since they’re a little bit different we’ll call them POLAR cause they’re not so much the opposite of what we’re doing on the album but they’re definitely different.

Brian:  So, not so much B-sides as just different?

Steven and Vixx:  Yeah.

Brian:  Right. Okay. How is the current EP different than the previous LP album? I think you kind of covered that just then.

Steven:  Well, the last album we released – we had a five piece band and it was a lot more rock oriented. So it’s different in that the EP is pretty straightforward electronic. The next album is going to be more rock oriented. It’s going to be a good mix of electronic and rock. Whereas these songs stuck out as being overly gritty and electronic  - so then I thought – well, we’ll just stick these songs together on an EP as it just made more sense that way. But yeah, the previous album is much more guitar based drums – you know rock band with a decent amount of electronics.

Brian:  You say that’s the full five piece band. I gotta assume losing the full five piece band has considerably changed the sound. Has it caused you to stroke out in a different direction?

Steven:  A little bit. The next full length album’s gonna sound a lot different in that the musically production has evolved a lot since that first album but the overall sound in some ways isn’t going to change a whole lot. I like staying in the vein of electronic rock I guess because if you classify yourself as an industrial band too much people have an expectation. Say something like electronic rock and people don’t know what to think of that so it gives us a broader umbrella of what we can do.

Vixx:  I’d say it’s quite a bit different because on the last album I wasn’t involved in the music writing process at all and now it’s just the two of us. It’s a lot more focused and a lot more of just our ideas without having to go through five other people to agree on something and try to get a little bit of everyone’s input in. It’s kind of more of a collaboration of just the two of us and we’re very similar in our tastes.

Steven:  Actually, it’s much more focused. That’s a really good way to sum it up. It’s gonna be a lot more focused than the previous album.



Brian:  My favorite song from the new EP is BURN. Can you give us some insight into what prompted the creation of this particular track?

Steven:  Ah.. man. I’d like to say there’s some really awesome back story but really I was just super pissed off one day and got home and wrote a song.

Brian:  It kind of sounded that way. I think that’s why I liked it.

Steven: Yeah, it was really just written from a bad day. I had been working on a couple of sounds and a couple of patches. Just kind of pieced it together over the course of a day – ran it by Vixx – she really liked it so I moved forward with it and it kind of evolved over the course of a few days.

Brian:  That’s my favorite song. What’s your favorite song off the new EP?

Steven:  Ah, that’s tough because I actually ended up liking BURN a lot.

Vixx:  We got a really good response from RX. A lot of people on the past couple of shows that we’ve done said that was their favorite song live. I don’t know if they’ve heard it recorded but it definitely got the crowd going. It was the best response that we’ve had from a song in awhile.

Steven:  Yeah. And I think TRASH is kind of the other favorite on the album because it’s more experimental. Out of the five tracks on the EP it’s the most experimental of the bunch and it’s a good combination of the two of us.

Brian:  What will you be working on next?

Steve:  We’ll be finishing up our album titled 23 DEGREES and we should have it out this summer. There’s no exact date as we’re still polishing up the recordings and finishing up all that. And since we’re an indie band we’ve got to pay for it. We’ve got a tour planned for June and July 2011. It’s pretty much an east coast tour of the United States. Hopefully a break after that.

Brian:  Do you have any concept of exactly where you’re going on the east coast?

Vixx:  It’s been set up for us so we haven’t got the full details on it yet. All we know is that we’re starting in Philly.

Steven:  Our booking agent just gave us the thumbs up on the tour two days ago. It’s something like two and a half weeks long. Starts in Philly and ends back in Oklahoma.

Brian: Are you going on the road with somebody else or just yourselves?

Steven:  Yeah, we’re going on the road with Man And Machines.

Brian:  I’ve heard of them.

Steven:  Yeah, they’re pretty good. I like them a lot.

Brian: Yeah, yeah. *approvingly*

Steven: We had just met our current booking agent. Apparently he really liked us so he immediately threw us on a tour that he had. They’re based out of Philly so we’ll meet them in Philly – go up the east coast and into the central U.S. and back down to good ol’ Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Brian:  Do you compose your music using hardware or are you more into the computer software thing?

Steven:  Oh man, you see, I could go on for hours and hours on that. I’m a total tech junkie. Both, uh, both is the short version.

Vixx: Yeah. We still have our favorite hardware synths that we like to use. You can get a lot of different sounds from VSTs but nothing takes the place of pushing down all the keys and tweaking everything and getting it just the way you like it.

Steven:  We do record everything in software. There’s a lot of effects and some VSTs that are used in the process. We play bass, guitar and drums on some of the tracks so it goes back and forth.

Brian:  I don’t want to get too into a tech discussion because we’ll bore people to tears with that but I do have to say – I noticed you posted on Facebook that you got a new keyboard.

Steven:  I did, yeah.

Brian:  Want to tell us a little bit about that?

Steven: Ah man, I’ve really only got to spend a couple of hours cause we’ve been so busy. Since we got it we’ve maybe spent two hours with it. We just picked up the M-Audio Venom and I don’t want to sound like a commercial but the thing is awesome. It blew me away in the two hours that we did get to play with it. Just on the fly, it’s really cool in that it’s a good combination of hardware and software. It’s set up to where you can install the software on your computer and use the keyboard as a controller or you can use the keyboard as an independent unit so I’m totally loving that thing.

Brian: M-Audio’s a great company for covering both side of that – with the computer and the hardware solution – which is nice. *looks at Vixx* Do you have any input on the keyboard?

Vixx:  I really like it because it has a few knobs but you can really get in depth on the software and import it back into the keyboard. So you don’t have to sit there and like twist the knobs and make sure they’re exactly where you want them. On the keyboard itself you can go in and click on it – turn it whichever way you want it – listen to it that way and then put it back on the keyboard to actually use.

Steven:  Please sponsor us M-Audio. *everyone laughs*

Brian: That would be nice – wouldn’t it?

Stay tuned to our blog. You don't want to miss the next episode of this spell binding interview with Axis. You can SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG by CLICKING HERE. By clicking you can become a subscriber and learn about the time that AXIS tried to kill their audience during a live show but you'll have to wait until PART 2 of our INTERVIEW WITH AXIS.

Euphonic Dissonance supports Guitars For Vets on Squidoo.com

Euphonic Dissonance is proud to associate with this fine organization and we strongly support what they are trying to do. 10% of our profit from advertising on Squidoo.com will now be donated to Guitars For Vets. We hope it helps deliver more guitars into the hands of our nations heroes. We really look forward to helping Guitars For Vets in the future and who knows - maybe someday we can deliver a guitar to one of these fine soldiers personally. That would really be a thrill.

"I never thought my words or poetry were worth anything. After I started with G4V I was able to find a whole new dimension to my life that I never imagined was there. Thank you, Guitarist for Vets, for giving me another reason to keep trying, to keep being a better me, thank you." Michael Widmer, Marine, Artist



Guitars For Vets, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that enhances the lives of ailing and injured military Veterans by providing them with guitars and music instruction. Through self-expression and the healing power of music, it is our intent to restore the feelings of joy and purpose that can be lost after suffering trauma.

Guitars For Vets (G4V) provides six free private lessons and a new acoustic guitar to military Veterans at VA medical and community-based Vet centers. All veterans are referred to us by the VA medical team in order to integrate the Guitars For Vets program into their treatment regimen. The private lessons are taught by volunteer instructors and are then followed by group sessions that provide a forum for the veterans to talk and play music with like-minded individuals, many of whom have had the same experiences, emotions and traumas. The music sessions provide a communal atmosphere. This has proven to be a catalyst that helps the Vets continue on their road to recovery and well being.

Upon graduation, each Vet in the program is presented a guitar, gig bag, strap, tuner, method book and a certificate of completion. The testimonials throughout the website capture what it has meant to some of the Vets participating in our program.


"Stopping drinking saved my life, playing guitar keeps me sober."
- Danny Roberts, G4V Graduate

Their primary focus is the healing power of music and helping our veterans. Whether we agree or disagree with the decision to go to war, one thing is for certain there are men and women who bravely fight for and honorably represent our country. As a consequence of war, many of our soldiers come home with physical and emotional injuries. They need our help. Read the story below and you'll have a better understanding of their mission and why they do it.

The young marine had recently returned home from the hospital after recovering from extensive physical injuries, a result of a rocket attack in Iraq that took the lives of eight of his closest friends while he and one other were sole survivors. He sat in my office expressionless and unemotional as he tried to find the words to describe his pain. He could manage only to tell of his rage-filled tirades, as if justified and understandable, yet was silent and alone with his grief.

Throughout his treatment in the 6-week VAMC's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) recovery program, many obstacles challenged him. He struggled to stay focused, yet the intrusive thoughts of his fallen comrades haunted him. He worked diligently on the writing assignments although the ringing in his ears from the rocket attacks and the resulting tinnitus were a constant physical reminder of the sights and sounds of the war zone. The effects of the traumatic brain injury and the anxiety he was trying to control kept him in a chokehold.

It wasn't until the day he picked up a guitar, on a break from the regular classes, that he was able to begin to shed some of the pain and express the feelings he had kept so tightly in his chest. That day he bonded for the first time with the older men in the 6-week group who were survivors of another war in another time. Although their battles were waged in the jungle, rather than the desert, they listened as he sang of his blues and amplified the sting of his pain. The music reached all of them and offered a voice that had not yet been heard. Music bridges all generations. Your support of this mission will bring joy and peace to many Vets. ~ Thanks to Dr. Dona Zanotti of the Oklahoma City VAMC for this story contribution.

Well, we hope to see you on our Squidoo page. Don't forget to buy something and help the patriotic people at Guitars For Vets. Thanks.

INSIDE STUDIO - Pink Floyd meets Euphonic Dissonance

Brian brings you the latest on Euphonic Dissonance's newest song...

Here's a sneak peak of our newest song we're working on. It's "Not Now John" originally recorded by Pink Floyd on their THE FINAL CUT album way back in 1983.



Decided we just had to do this track after someone who had never heard the original Pink Floyd song mistook it for something Euphonic Dissonance recorded. Flattery will get you everywhere. Needless to say - we had to indulge this bright new idea and try our best to create this song in our image while still retaining its original raw energy. Not an easy task.

We have most of the foundation of the song recorded. Now we need to build the frame and put a roof on it by adding vocals and lead guitar. There seems to be a lot of excitement about what we have created - and it isn't finished yet. Hopefully you will feel that same excitement when you listen to this new track:



CLICK HERE TO HEAR Not Now John *rough draft* performed by Euphonic Dissonance originally recorded by Pink Floyd - Copyright Pink Floyd Music Ltd 1983.

Once you've had a chance to listen to the track you should take a just a moment to tell us your impression of the piece. Thanks for listening. Expect more soon.