Interview by John Wisniewski for MK ULTRA Magazine / PHOTOS BY CASSANDRA CHURCH
Justin Warfield is one half of the darkwave duo She Wants Revenge. He is a versatile artist who has released albums in various genres including hip hop, darkwave and psychedelic. The music of She Wants Revenge is influenced by the sounds of joy division, Depeche Mode and Bauhaus. In this interview Justin speaks about being in She Wants Revenge, working in different genres and his latest album.
John Wisniewski: Could you tell us about your latest CD Death rock Devotionals? Did you want to celebrate the Heroes of Deathrock from the 80s?
Justin Warfield: After a few songs were completed, I started to hear a through line, a sound that was a bit different to my past work in darker music spaces. From a very technical standpoint, sometimes it’s the small things which inspire creativity, and because I sort of put down the reverb and started playing more driving, higher gain distorted guitars in a fast down stroking pattern, it naturally lent itself to an inherent punkiness.Then you slide up the neck and play a bit of old school chorus-y guitar as you would on a slower goth song, but at 170 bpm it suddenly gets death rock whether you intended or not. haha.
So yes, I sort of backed into it, then realizing what it sounded and more important, felt like, I started going deeper than I ever had into that particular era of music, particularly from where I’m from in Los Angeles. So while I don’t think I wanted to celebrate the heroes of the era and genre, I was certainly playing in the same ballpark sonically, to some degree thematically, and certainly in the spirit of. Rick Agnew, Patrick Mata, Super Heroines, Rozz, all that stuff I was too young to partake in, but my older friends were either members of those bands, played shows alongside, or booked them.
Also, a chance encounter with a new friend who worked at a very magikal shop called Spellbound Sky, really cemented the path I was on, as out of the blue we began a deep conversation about Deathrock, and it was like the validation I needed in seeing a path forward in a genre which has never died, has a rabid fanbase, but which few people do much to update the sound and shape of. So not that I’m singlehandedly going to create some Deathrock revival, (as it never went anywhere), but having been half of She Wants Revenge and watching what we did for the Goth and Darkwave space, stranger things have happened? Haha. (Cue cries of, “that’s not deathrock!”, followed by angry message boards).
John: Any favorite music artists?
Justin: So many. My taste is so varied. I mean, everyone says that, but I’m equally comfortable listening to Billy Joel’s The Stranger, as I am Cocteau Twins, Mobb Deep, and Adolescents.
John: What inspires you to write your music, Justin?
Justin: Usually the desire to sit down and just make something. Then whatever instrument I pick up, whatever I’ve been thinking about, dreaming about, watching, reading, or taking in probably has some indirect effect. But usually it’s just, “I want to make something”. I don’t write to journal my feelings or work through shit, I have other outlets for that. That said, it comes out whether I like it or not. Being that the world is in a very fragile, dangerous, and unsettling place, I believe the music I’m making right now is a combination of that anxiety, anger, but also a, “fuck it, live for today” youthful energy.
John: What was the darkwave and Goth scene like when you formed She Wants Revenge?
Justin: Good question. There were the stalwarts, the 80s legends who never faded and whose grip on the listeners and fans never wanted, so that’s a given, but also you had The Faint who really to my mind were the first ones who laid the foundation for so many who came after. They were just so revolutionary. To be a Nebraska, Saddle Creek, group of indie-rock skaters who basically by themselves bring back New Wave and create this new dance-punk genre, it’s really odd that they don’t get more credit.
Interpol was obviously well established and critical and fan favorites, but to me they were never truly a darkwave band, they were sort of like the other Matador bands of the 90s and onward, except for a healthy dose of The Cure, some Smiths, and a vocal delivery that gave incredible darkness, but like… an Interpol sticker on your car meant you were into cool shit like Sonic Youth, not that you were into Bauhaus or Sisters. They were, everyone’s favorite band and just doing great work, but they could have just as easily toured with TV On The Radio, or GVSB as much as The Cure, you know?
The Rapture were massive, and super groundbreaking in what they did with James Murphy (and well before), but as far as the underground, there was much more dance-punk and sort of party, frat-dance stuff like !!! than moody, introspective, trad goth or darkwave music like there is now.
There is always some, like there was a great group who no one ever heard of called, Vaz who I thought was doing a very cool take on Joy Division sort of stuff, but by and large, except for the emotionality and lyricism of Placebo, I don’t think there was a band like us who decided to come out with heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics, and equally influenced by Prince, Depeche Mode, Giorgio Moroder, Joy Division, and Bauhaus. (As well as countless other less popular bands, from Wall Of Voodoo, the B-52’s, B-Movie, Missing Persons, Duran Duran, OMD, Soft Cell, I can go on forever).
I’m fairly comfortable at this point saying that without us bridging the gap between bands our senior who were still making music since their 80s and 90s heyday, the scene would be VERY different. Not to mention the fact that to have a Black man or POC fronting a goth or dark wave band was pretty fucking rare back then, but now you have so many, it’s become not quite the norm, but at least not shocking. I love that, and it’s one of the things I’m most proud of. So while there were always bands like Cold Cave, The Faint, and some European bands doing straight up Goth and Deathrock, to do what we did from the underground to where we brought it in the mainstream, late-night TV, MTV, and all over radio, there honestly just hasn’t been anything like it since, and because the times have changed, there couldn’t be. So, while some people will still hate on us for whatever reason they choose to latch onto, there could be no Molchat Doma if there was no SWR, just as there could be no SWR if it weren’t for New Order, The Faint, and even The Rapture who did something inspiring and similar before.
John: What clubs did you play at back then? Who did She Wants Revenge open for back then?
Justin: Our first show was under an assumed name, “Casual Encounters”, and that was at The Dragonfly in LA the night before our first show. The Strokes got signed out of there, and I played there back in the 90s with every other great band in LA (Although mine wasn’t so great). We needed a warm up show, and my friend who owned us let us do it on the condition of coming back and playing when we had an audience. (Which we did for a benefit). The next night we played Cinespace, by far the coolest club of that time, and run by Steve Aoki and Franki Chan. This is the scene now called, Indie-Sleaze, but we called it dance-punk or post-punk. At that show was Bloc Party’s manager, and Aoki suggested they take us on the road and we did. For two weeks we watched them at the peak of their powers, and they were a force of nature. Pure power and raw talent. From there we opened for The Kills, OKGO, and The Electric 6, then soon after we were headlining. But before all that, Adam and I were DJ’ing at a few clubs in LA, which were all part of the Cahuenga Pass scene, of Beauty Bar, Star Shoes, Tokio, Cinespace, and Les Deux. As a lifelong club goer, I can tell you that 2003-2006 was one of the best eras of LA clubs ever, after probably 66-68, 79-82, and 86-91. Legendary.
John: What were the sessions like for Deathrock Devotionals Vol. 1? Are you currently working on vol. 2?
Justin: Vol. II is about to be done. The sessions are super informal. I leave my house, go in the back, turn on the equipment, and start jamming. I keep copious voice notes of ideas, and sometimes a riff turns into a whole song in a matter of hours. The main thing about this music (I hesitate to say project, as WARFIELD is just my solo output and “career”), is that if it’s labored, I don’t want any part of it. It’s gotta come fast, naturally, or at least with ease.
John: What do you think about today’s Goth scene and Darkwave scene?
Justin: Fucking love it. Super inspired and pumped. Beware anyone over 40 who hates on new music of any type. I’m turning 52 next month and the future is bright, and I’m more excited than ever to be contributing to the conversation. Bands like Diavol Strain, Ultrasunn, Urban Heat, Molchat Doma, Automatic, Sextile, Betray.Every.God, Void Palace, Seconds, Lost Tapes, The Death Of Lillies, Korine, The KVB, I mean, there’s so many good bands and projects popping up all the time. I’m going out to clubs and seeing live bands more than ever, and the energy is fun to tap into, to build community, and to try and create something fresh and forward.
John: Any future plans and projects?
Justin: Full-time WARFIELD, some SWR shows, and that’s it. No bandwidth or desire for anything else. WARFIELD fills my soul and my plate.