Drowning Pool drummer Mike Luce recently spoke about the music as a weapon tour, starring in Iann Robinson’s wet dream and “that bin Laden piece of shit.”
Badger Herald: Drowning Pool’s sound is often pigeonholed into the “nü-metal” category. Would you consider this to be accurate, or do you feel your sound stands out from such categorizations?
Mike Luce: I’d say we’re schooled in old metal . . . as long as we’re being called some sort of metal, I don’t really care. (To other band members) Do we care if we’re being called nü-metal? (Pause, muffled chatter) Yeah, we’ll go for it.
BH: Although most rational people probably realize the song “Bodies” is nothing more than a pro-moshing anthem, some may view the song as having violent connotations, as I’m sure you’ve probably heard by this point. What would Drowning Pool say about such interpretations?
ML: Anybody can take anything someone else says and put his or her own twist on it. I mean, by the time it comes from one mouth and is repeated by the fifth, it’s got a whole different story and meaning behind it anyway. We’re completely for people taking our songs and deriving their own opinions from them, but the song was written as our ode to the pit. You know, like in boxing, you’ve got “let’s get it on,” or in football, you go out and toss the coin ? [“Bodies”] is our way of saying “let’s get it on.” But I can understand somebody who may not know anything about this world or the mosh pit world whatsoever, coming from a different musical background and all, could completely look at the song as a bit too aggressive . . . but it’s like, don’t judge the book by its cover until you really check it out for yourself. So yeah, we get that, but it’s cool.
BH: Speaking of “Bodies,” let’s talk about the video for that song. I don’t really understand the concept behind it, you know, with the old guy and whatnot. Can you explain it to me?
ML: Truthfully, at the time, we were watching “Fight Club,” “12 Monkeys” and “Seven” . . . movies of that demeanor, you know, that grainy, crazy stuff going on. The director wrote up this treatment and used a lot of the same descriptions as what we were seeing in these movies, and we liked it. [The video] was a complete 180 from the song, but we wanted to set ourselves aside from the “hey, look, we’re in a band, we’re up on stage, and here’s the pit” video. I mean, yeah, that’s what the song’s about, but we wanted to do something different, and hoped it would work. And thankfully, it kind of did.
BH: You guys are currently on the Music as a Weapon tour, which features a lineup that MTV2’s Iann Robinson probably wet his bed over: Disturbed, Adema, Stereomud and Systematic. Does Drowning Pool use music as a weapon, and if so, how?
ML: Well, first of all, “music as a weapon” is from one of Disturbed’s songs . . . “Use my music as a weapon, pour your voice into me” or something like that. They came up with the title while we were on Ozzfest, but then Sept. 11 happened, and it seemed like we should still keep the title, because our statement was like “we’re going to go ahead and continue on,” and hopefully all the fans and the crowd and the kids are going to come out as well and not be pigeonholed and stuck at home because of all the stuff that’s going on. Music as a Weapon, that’s our fight. We’re going to continue on and not be pushed around by this bin Laden piece of sh*t. I mean, it’s not anything compared to what Bush or anyone is doing, but whatever we can do, you know?
BH: Sure. Last question: what does the future hold for Drowning Pool?
ML: Well, I’m sure you know just as well as I do that in the music business, you’re here today, gone tomorrow. So we’re going to work hard to stay here and to work our way towards the top while we’re here. But with that, we also have the reality slap in the face: you’re not going to be here forever, so get up there fast, because there’s always someone nippin’ at your heels. This could end next year, or go on for a few years . . . we’ll have to wait and see.
The Music As A Weapon tour hits the Alliant Energy Center Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 16. The bodies hit the floor at 7:00 p.m.
