Music

Exclusive Interview: CJ Pierce ‘Drowning Pool’

Published

13 years ago

November 10, 2010

Bloody Disgusting caught up with CJ Pierce of Drowning Pool during their tour with Godsmack and Five Finger Death Punch to discuss how things are going on tour, what the reception has been like for the new, self-titled album and lastly, what the hell are they doing with that blow-up doll??? Want to know more about that last one? Check out the interview after the jump!

How goes it?

It goes well! Things are going great.

How’s the tour with Godsmack and Five Finger Death Punch going?

It’s awesome man! We’re playing to sold out crowds and people are having a great time. And we’ve played with Godsmack before as well as Five Finger Death Punch so it’s cool to be on a tour that is all about heavy rock.

There was a great video of everyone in Drowning Pool having their way with a blow-up doll on your website. Tell me a bit more about her.

Her name is Sasha and she’s been on the bus ever since the first day of the tour [laughs]. There’s been a lot of crazy, funny videos of Sasha, so you’ll see more episodes of that coming soon.

I guess the question is, do I want to see those videos?

Yeah, well, we can’t show everything that’s been done to Sasha, but it’s kinda funny because every night someone will grab her and stick her in somebody else’s bunk so that when they go there and open the curtain, she’s already there. So, she’s kinda been around the bunks a few times [laughs].

She was in my bunk last night but I took her out and put her in the lounge. Sasha can’t ride in my bunk.

Moving to the new album, it’s been out for 6 months now, allowing people to really digest it and get to know it. How do you feel about the responses you’ve been getting?

The response has been amazing man, I’ve got to be honest with you. Mike, Stevie and Ryan, we never worked harder on anything in our entire lives, we put a lot of time and effort into this record and I couldn’t be more proud of it. It’s great to have our fans and I appreciate them sticking with us.

We called this record ‘Drowning Pool’ because we feel that this is what we sound like. The response from the fans and even the people that were haters have been really great. Things are looking good!

Even though it’s only been 6 months since the last album and you guys have been touring nonstop in support of it, has there been any work on new material?

Yeah, I’m constantly writing. It’s my favorite thing to do. Some people like video games, I love writing music. So, I’m a very fortunate person that I get to do this. Usually at the end of the year, December or January, we usually have some time off so me, Mike and Stevie usually get together and put music together.

Your singer Ryan had a terrible tragedy occur in his life when his son had an accident with a riding lawn mower. Can you tell me how his son is doing and where he’s at right now?

He’s doing a lot better! He got part of his foot cut off in that lawn mower accident and as a result, he had to lose basically his whole foot. I think he’s gone through 16 surgeries now? But he’s feeling up, he’s getting better. He’s four years old and it’s a terrible tragedy but he’s got a good family and good support and, again, I just thank all the fans and people that sent help and support.

Drowning Pool has been featured on several horror movie soundtracks, including Jason X and two of the Saw films. Do you think Drowning Pool has a relationship to horror?

You know, I’m glad to be associated with any of that stuff. It seems like horror movies and video games kinda work with our music. I love horror movies, though, especially the really gory, b-movies.

What are some of your favorite horror movies?

The first horror movie I really saw was the first Nightmare On Elm St. I wasn’t old enough to go but I snuck in and it was awesome!

Thank you, best of luck with the tour and I wish you all the best.

For sure man! Thanks a lot!

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…