“SAINT VITUS” Interview by Shibalika Tamuli
Welcome to MHF magazine! What an extraordinary honour to have the Doom Metal legends with us! Thank you so much for your time. How are you?
I’m alright.
How’s the band going? Other than Vitus, what are you guys doing these days?
Well, right now I’m just doing Saint Vitus and Henry is doing Blood of the Sun. For a start, what goes best with beer and pot? Haha! Lillie F-65s
You guys are the fathers of Doom Metal, hence I’m really curious to know about your perspective of the same. I mean, there are other genres that play what Dave’s mom calls “Funeral music”. As the creators of the genre, how did you set Doom Metal apart?
Not all of our songs are long and slow, we have fast songs, which most Doom Bands do not have.
Significance of the name “Saint Vitus” ?
Patron Saint of dancers, actors, musicians and dogs.
You’ve been rocking the scene for more than 35 years. That is such a long time. You guys have disbanded in the middle, changed the line up and so on. What kept you going all these time?
The Saint Vitus fans.
From back in the 70’s Hair metal days (or might I say early 80’s) when you had just created Doom Metal, to today’s Doom Metal umbrella, what would you comment about the evolution of the genre and the sub genres (Funeral Doom, Death Doom, Epic Doom) etc?
I like the fact that the genre has evolved into different factions rather than staying stuck in the same format.
I remember reading one of Dave’s interviews where he said that back in the days, Motley Crue and Punk Rock hated Vitus. Is that true?
I never said anything about Motley Crue. What I said was that the heavy metal fans at the time hated us, and so did the punk rockers, but the punk rockers grew to appreciate us.
How was your experience of working with other bands and musicians outside Vitus (Debris inc., Dirty Red, Spirit Caravan etc) ?
Debris Inc. was fun at the beginning and then it just became a problem. Dirty Red was an Armando band and Spirit Caravan was Wino. I had nothing to do with either of them.
Tell us about “Shrinebuilder”.
I have nothing to do with that band. That’s Wino.
How come you’re the only guys to cover Black Flag? How did that come to pass?
Because Greg Ginn refused to allow any band to cover any song that he had ever written, but Thirsty and Miserable was written by Dez Cadena and he let us do it.
I might say Saint Virus lyrics are very different from any other Doom Metal band in the record till today. From where do you get ideas for them? What drives you so much to write about the darker side?
I get inspired when I’m stoned. I write about the dark side because there has always been more dark than light in the world.
What are your future plans for the band?
We have some European tours coming up and we are planning on recording a new album with Reagers on vocals.
Thanking you again for talking to us and all the very best for the future. Leave a message for your fans!
Thank you to everyone that has stuck with us all these years, keep your ears open for a new album. Thanks!
Shibalika Tamuli / MHF
