House of Shred Interview (sometime 2001)

After recently discovering composer/guitarist Ronnie Neuhauser's musical brilliance via his latest release, Ronnie Neuhauser's Congregation Against Styrocultural Brain Damage, the House of Shred caught up with Ronnie to discuss his views on life, music and many other interesting things.

HoS: Tell me about your latest release, Ronnie Neuhauser's Congregation Against Styrocultural Brain Damage.
Ron: Well it's essentially a concept CD with four acts. Act one is a kind of calling to people who are dissatisfied with today's "status quo." Act two is definitely a jab at politics, because I find the whole political scene a complete farce. Modern politics resembles the WWF. Act three is about finding yourself spiritually, emotionally, whatever it is that we do to find what we actually represent. Act four is the antidote for the mainstream. I made this act four all instrumentals. It's amazing how easy it is to be anti-mainstream when all you have to do is that <laughs>.

HoS: What message are you trying to convey with your C.A.S.B.D. project?
Ron: I want to get people to think about themselves and what is going on around them. The bombardment of the media everyday in our lives is very dangerous, and the most frightening thing is when people actually believe and live by all the bullshit that they are fed. It seems that this country has molded an immense group of people whose sole purpose in life is to buy stuff. It's like a knick knack culture, nothing with true beauty has any value, they just buy all this junk and in a week they get bored with it and set it in the corner of their garage to collect dust and rust.

HoS: Define "Styrocultural Brain Damage."
Ron: Well you have styro-food (cheap food) and you have styro-culture (A cheapened culture) and the brain damage being the neurosis/condition caused by this.

HoS: What's your favorite track on the CD? Why?
Ron: Wow, that changes all the time. I guess at this point in time it's "Commander N' Thief" being that the election for the new puppet is just around the corner. The lyrics are really absurd (how fitting), and I really love the arrangement.

HoS: Tell me a little about your guitar sound, it's very unique. What kind of equipment do you prefer to use? Is there one particular piece that you can't live without?
Ron: On the CD for guitar I used an Ibanez RG550 and an Ovation 1986 limited edition acoustic. For amps, I really love my Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head. The distortion is amazing, so I really see myself being happy with it for quite some time. For clean sounds I used a Lab L5 with Lexicon echos. I like echo better than delays because of the tone. I also used a Fender Ultra Chorus amp for some of the more percussive sounds like on Tapsy Turvy. I even did some tracks direct, it just seemed to work well at the time. My newest addition is the Johnson Millenium 150 amp. I love it! It is incredibly versatile, you get a wide array of sounds from it. The swell sounds I get are incredible. I'm going to use it a lot on the upcoming recordings.

HoS: If you could add ANY guitar to your collection, what would it be?
Ron: I'm looking at a few. A Fender Strat, the Carvin Holdsworth model, maybe a Paul Reed Smith. I'm not really sure which one, since I have to try them all out and see what works best for me and my rig. I think that's the way to go about it. You have to see what feels and sounds good for what you're trying to do. It's a very personal thing.

HoS: As a musician and composer/songwriter, what inspires you?
Ron: Everything! A noise, a fart, politics, anything that you could possibly observe. It's great, because there's so much to take in on a day to day basis that you never know what will inspire you or where you will end up!

HoS: Who are your main influences?
Ron: Musically I have quite a list such as Frank Zappa, Charles Ives, Allan Holdsworth, Captain Beefheart, Diamanda Galas, gospel, soul, funk, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, Tommy, all for different reasons some of which you may not notice. I like theatre, I mean the list is endless. I like experimenting and I think you'll see a lot more of that on the upcoming CDs and my live show!

HoS: If we were to look in your CD player right now, what would we find? What are you listening to these days?
Ron: You would definitely find Diamanda Galas, either Malediction And Prayer or You Must Be Certain Of The Devil. I've also been listening to Captain Beefheart a lot and, of course, there's always the occasional Zappa.

HoS: There seems to be a lack of musicality, musical virtuosity and melody in the current mainstream acts. What's your opinion on that? What do you attribute that to?
Ron: I think it comes and goes in waves. It's trends actually, and god do I hate trends! From my perspective, the 80's had all these guitar players performing these hot licks over incredibly horrible bubble gum tunes. Now there are these individuals who are pissed off because they were raised in the suburbs, and while mommy and daddy were out working all kinds of hours so they could buy lots of junk for the family they ignored these kids and let MTV raise them. So now you have a bunch of kids who think music is what's on MTV, and we know how low MTV's standards are. It's gotten to the point where actually being able to play is a bad thing.

HoS: What do you think of the current U.S. music scene?
Ron: I think it's in a very bad state. I like to say that the music business isn't about promoting art, it's about promoting super-stardom. Music is now just the vehicle and it's an old broken down Pinto! You see, the record industry has the majority of people believing that what is less than mediocre (and smells a little) is pure genius. Look at the facts, the majority of pop music has never been good. The people who really do great stuff get ignored until they die, and then some necrophiliac jackal/record executives create "Master Series" recordings paying homage to this "Great Artist." Meanwhile, they are raking in the bucks royalty-free. Of course, all the pop bands the record companies screw over feel the brunt when they are tossed away like yesterday's leftovers. Then these bands realize they didn't really like music, they liked being "Rock Stars," so they are forced to get a job at the local burger joint because all of their excessive living (which has to be paid back to the record companies) has left them flat broke.

HoS: Any thoughts on the Metallica vs. Napster thing or MP3's overall?
Ron: I think MP3s are fine. The problem starts when the artist loses control of his or her compositions. Say you studied for ten years and you finally pull all your resources together to write these fantastic compositions. In the meantime you've spent countless hours on study and practice. Countless dollars on equipment, lessons, gas to take you to gigs that pay shit or not at all, and some jackal comes along and decides he's gonna give your hard work away for free without your permission! You'd be a raging maniac right? With Napster, they are just another middle man between the artist and the listener. Until they can find a way to protect the artist's rights they shouldn't exist. The artist should make the decisions--no one else! I mean, do they actually believe these MP3 sites are out for what's in the artist's best interest? If you do you probably believe there is a difference between Republicrats and Demoblicans.

HoS: Who would you like to work with in the future?
Ron: Probably a group of people straight out of music college who are open-minded and not too tainted by academic law. See, they'll be fresh and full of piss and vinegar and not yet tainted by the music biz, so they will be less apt to run off with a wedding band or a cover tribute type band. Hopefully, they will be in it for art's sake.

HoS: If you could have a "Dream Band" who would the members be? Why?
Ron: I can't really mention all the people I admire, because most of them are composers and are heavily involved with their own gig. I'm like that, I run a somewhat totalitarianist "musical" state.

HoS: What lies ahead for Ronnie Neuhauser?
Ron: I'm in the midst of building my own studio. I want to become totally self-sufficient, so I can record and release everything myself the way I want it done. I have my own website, recording equipment, I have my own company called No Cheez Records, so If I can make enough money to do my art 24/7 I'll be pretty happy. As for projects, I am now working on a bunch of them. I'm doing two instrumental albums, one more rock-driven and the other avant garde called "Hell Off Exit 8." I'm also working on an experimental rock opera called "Gangr'ear," which is about the decomposing of art — pun intended. I also want to release a duo or trio vocal/guitar CD soon. Another thing I'm very excited about is working on an animated wire art video for my suite "New Nomadic Man" of which the first movement is on my current CD. I met Matt Osborne who does some wonderful wire art and knew that would be perfect for the suite. I have many other ideas on the back burner, but what I have mentioned is more immediate.

HoS: And now the hardest question: If you were stranded on a desert Island, and could only have 5 CD's to listen to for the rest of eternity, what would they be?
Ron: OK, I'll give it a shot. Frank Zappa - The Yellow Shark, Captain Beefheart - Shiny Beast, Diamanda Galas - Malediction And Prayer, Edgar Varese - preferably the album produced by Frank Zappa, for I have heard it was a very wonderful accurate compilation. Charles Ives - The Universe Symphony and I'm sorry, I'm going to have to rebel (see, that totalitarianist thing again <laughs>) and add one more, Frank Zappa - One Size Fit's All.

The House of Shred would like to thank Ron Neuhauser for his time.

Read The House of Shred's review of Ronnie Neuhauser's Congregation Against Styrocultural Brain Damage.