VENOMOUS CONCEPT – The Brutal Truth of Touring
Words by: Tom Wilson @thetomwilsonexperiment - Sense Music Media | Thursday 22nd December 2022
“I outlived myself, despite my poor choices, you know?”
Live music is back, but it’s come at a cost. Grind legend Kevin Sharp has just got back from a stint tour managing for BRUJERIA and NAPALM DEATH, and from his couch in Atlanta, he shot the shit on greedy venues, the surprising new VENOMOUS CONCEPT record, and the BRUTAL TRUTH about reuniting his old band.
You and I met in the height of COVID. The last two times I’ve spoken to you, you were quite despondent, because you were like, “Well fuck, was that it?” … You couldn’t fathom doing a show. You’ve just come back from a tour. What was that like?
Well, you know, it was for a BRUJERIA tour, so it was “touring-plus” [Laughs] No, it was really nice actually, because I got to reconnect with a lot of people that I hadn’t seen in a long time, and from different periods of my life. Given the circumstances of, you know, my marriage falling apart and all that sort of thing, everyone was kind of doing a little wellness check. The thing that was really cool for me … you get older, you go out on tour and stuff like that, you put a million people on the guest list and 995,000 won’t show up because adult shit happens or whatever … but this one, I had near-perfect rating. Only, I think, maybe Scott Lewis, the original drummer from BRUTAL TRUTH, was the only person I was hoping to see who was still in lockdown. [Laughs] Everyone pretty much came out, so it was really cool getting caught up with everyone.
Getting back into a place that you’re comfortable, behind a merch desk in a shitty club with a sticky floor and all that great stuff … I imagine that would’ve felt like home, I dare say.
It’s reality, that’s what it is. I mean, most people I know … that was an awful long time to sit still, is what I would say. Things move on, and here we are, you know? There’s all sorts of other issues now, I guess. The rebooting of an industry. Challenging. The inflation stuff. How are things down there?
Inflation’s pretty shocking down here as well. I remember seeing the news recently that Dino Cazares from FEAR FACTORY saying that when they get back on the road, they’re doing it in a van, because the cost of everything is just astronomical. And with the cuts that venues are taking from merch sales and stuff, it’s impossible to make any money.
That was another thing that came up. That pretty much was almost all gone [before the pandemic]. We played a couple of shitting DIY gigs with door deals and they wanted to collect on merch, and I was like, “Really?” Me being kind of old-school, witty and quick, ran out the door many times on this tour, fist-load of money, “Fuck you!” The way I look at it … I look at our t-shirts … it’s our fucking money. I’m not looking for a cut of your fucking beer, you know? You want to take some of the merch? Cool, man! How about you check off 5% of your beer sales, see how you feel about that! [Laughs] … Let’s just face it, if [bands] aren’t out there doing shows, your fucking room is shut! How did it work out when there was no shows? How were your bar sales during the pandemic? You know what I mean? If the bands aren’t out there playing shows, you’re not selling booze! … That’s old-school shit. That stuff was almost gone, unheard of … It just seems kind of weird that every time there’s a tremor in the industry, the first thing they do is fuck the fucking source.
What was the concept with you guys wearing animal heads on your Instagram?
Well … [laughs] … Well, in all actuality, because I was out tour managing BRUJERIA, and Shane and John were out there, and we were minus a drummer, and they needed some photos for the record, and part of it was the whole uniform look, like whether it’s THE RESIDENTS or DEVO or stuff like that, and the other part was that we needed to discreetly put another person, who was not in the country, in the photoshoot! We were playing this place in Birmingham … they had a completely amazing green room … They had all these animal heads back there, and we were like, “Okay, cool man!” And it works!
Now, the drummer was only absent due to scheduling? He hasn’t left the band?
No. Well, VENOMOUS has become this thing where it’s the three of us, and then whatever particular drummer we have fitting in. I mean, the record that we’re working on right now, Dave Whitty played drums on. The Lollipop record had Carl from CANCER on it. He’s got a very particular style of playing. It sounds real “English” to me or whatever. The record that we’re working on next is called Seeds, and Dave Whitty’s playing on it, or played on it … I’m still tracking the vocals and adding bits and pieces in on it.
Stylistically, compared to Politics Versus the Erection, this album has some stylistic curveballs on there. There are some fucking rock choruses on this. Who is singing these?
Shane did the Fractured song … Everything else was basically me. Shane did some backing vocals, and so did John.
Was it intentional? I think this was the record that you were talking to me about in 2020 where you said that some of it sounds like HÜSKER DÜ. You guys are usually like two years in advance with your albums, hey?
We recorded a bunch of demos, but then we still really wanted to do something super raw, and that’s where the Politics… record came from. It took a minute to kind of finish writing everything for this particular record. When we went to record this one, I snuck over … we did a whole another different record, a VISCERAL COLLAPSE record which was like a 26-minute soundscape thing – the complete opposite of this one. There was also a split we did with UNDER ATTACK that was totally different as well – it was more like 80s west coast hardcore stuff. I think the band really just follows the guidelines of 80s, and this more … melodic hardcore punk record. The next one is more psychedelic. It’s hard to describe – BUTTHOLE SURFERS meets BLACK FLAG, I don’t know. The first record was a lot of 80s Swedish hardcore, that kind of thing – D-beat stuff. The second record was more like … there was New York stuff in there, that sort of thing. The third record was a marriage of a bunch of different things. So we always just kind of moved around. It’s really never been too much of a blueprint, therefore no great need to have a consistent line-up. We kind of use drummers that will fit what we want to do.
What do you reckon sculpts how these songs get written? Does it literally come down to the kind of stuff you’ve been listening to lately?
I think the older you get, the more you kind of go, “Ooh! That hourglass is ticking!” … The time is now. If you want to do it, you better do it now, because we’re getting a little older, and I’m dealing with a lot more … Most people who do this kind of music, they live pretty fast. I’m at the age where people are starting to not die from an overdose, but from years of poor choices, I guess.
What do you think was your saving grace? You’ve been in the music scene. You would’ve seen people die from drugs and whatnot. What do you think kept people like yourself on a safer path? Was it just not getting mixed up in those kind of drugs?
I don’t know, man. Fortunate, I guess. It’s not for not – I was there at the birth of rave and all that stuff. I did all the weird designer drugs. It just never appealed to me. I may have done this, that and the other a couple of times, but I never really got into it … I’m not into staying up all night, so amphetamines are kind of a bore to me, and I know better than to get involved with pills … I outlived myself, despite my poor choices, you know?
Lastly, I’m an absolute PANTERA nut, and I’ve been watching with glee the “reunion” shows that are absolutely going off … Do you look at that and think … “Is Dan [Lilker] really retired?” [Laughs]
He could very well be retired or not, but I won’t be doing that band anymore. Not a chance. Not a chance whatsoever. I’m very happy doing the bands I do. It’s another side note of aging in music – I only want to play with people … no weakeners. [Laughs] Not that Dan’s a weakener. I’m not saying that. But you know, that’s not going to happen. He’s definitely retired. I actually thought about doing one gig, someone asked about doing something, but … nah, can’t be done! [Laughs] I’ve got this, I’ve got the LOCK UP stuff. There’s another band I’ve started up with Bill and Dave Whitty. We don’t have a name yet, we’re still fucking trying to figure that out, but it’s pretty cool, and I’m still doing PRIMATE stuff here and there. So I’m busy!
The Good Ship Lollipop is out February 24th on Decibel Records.
