Nu-metal fans rejoice! The return of electro-nu-metal heroes Orgy is upon us! After some silence, the band has returned with a raw aggressive album that will just as easily kick your teeth in as it will make you sing along. "Punk Statik Paranoia" is a bold move for Orgy as they dive back into the mainstream headfirst on their own label, D1 Music. We caught up with singer Jay Gordon to talk about the label, the album, and a lot more...

By Mark Fisher

www.punkstatikparanoia.com
www.d1music.com

Let's start with the question that you are probably going to get asked hundreds of times. It's been awhile since your last record...(laughter) Yeah! So you've noticed? (laughter) It was just sort of a much needed/had to happen kind of thing. We changed labels, we started our own record label, just things that take awhile to get everything together. Just like when you are trying to get a record back from a label, the paperwork gets kind of crazy. We parted with Warner Bros. on excellent terms though, we didn't ask for much, they didn't ask for much, and it was good. They were really cool. It's funny because the only reason we really left, or felt like we needed to do this, is because the whole floor had been kinda moved so that the new guys could come in and take over. There was really nobody to talk to there. You know, when a new vice president or whatever comes to a label he brings a lot of his own people with him and whatever so it was just that they weren't "there" yet. So, we just went ahead and asked them if we could have our record back and try to put it out somewhere else. Then it ended up taking forever to get it going this way. So "Punk Statik Paranoia" was actually recorded for Warner Bros.? Well, pieces of it were so that's the thing there. They are partners with us on a couple of the songs on the album because of that.

Are you nervous about getting back out there, especially since you are trying to do it on your own label this time? No, not at all. I'm excited more than anything. The market seems so fickle now, like if you're gone for five minutes you're screwed. We'll yeah, that part sets us back a little bit. Other than that though, the market has always been fickle as far as we're concerned. The climate could change at any time for Orgy or any of the other bands that are around that we see or that we know off. It's always kind of weird.

The thing that immediately struck me about "Punk Statik Paranoia" is the raw sound. It seemed more "metal" than your other albums. Yeah, it's more rock driven. Did not being on Warner Bros. contribute to the "new" sound? I guess I'm asking how much say Warner Bros. had on your previous records, is this more aggressive and raw sound a precedent you wanted to set your first time out as an independent band? Definitely. This is something I wanted to do. We needed to expand our horizons a little bit and connect with a larger audience. I don't know if this is gonna do that or not. I don't believe in changing things to sell more records but I also don't believe in stale mating yourselves either. I always want to make it different and new and add things to it if I can. I plan on anything I ever put out with Orgy always being different. As with the first record, as with the second record, and into the third record.

As far as your past records go, I happen to like your second record a lot more than your debut. Me too. Still though, despite the fact that it did well (especially since downloading was really hitting the industry hard that year), it sold far less than your first record. Well, some of that was because a lot of the record company stuff I mentioned was starting to happen then. At that point it was getting really hard to get people to do stuff to get it out there and to promote or whatever. I think it was definitely largely because of lack of promotion and things like that. I can't blame anyone really though. I mean people either like things or they don't. Maybe people just didn't like the songs as much or whatever. The big cover song, which may or may not have been expected, wasn't there. But, oh well, you know? You just gotta do what you gotta do and move on.

That's another thing I have always wondered about. Do you regret your cover of "Blue Monday" being your first big hit? Obviously from a financial perspective you probably don't regret it. Maybe for Bernard Sumner! (laughter) That really helped the record along though. Oh yeah. You know, I have kinda gone in and out of whether or not I regret that. I think my final stance on that whole thing is that I'm stoked that I did it. I didn't have any idea that it would go over like it did, I just wanted to do it as kinda this fluky fun kinda thing to see if people would accept certain things. It was kind of a "feeler" track as far as I'm concerned. I wanted to put a different kind of genre vibe into the market at the time. I wanted to fuse a few things. I have to say that I look at everything I do as a "past/present/future" kind of thing and if I can fuse a little bit of that then I'd like to do that on every record.

Do you feel the new record is the true Orgy or just where you are at in your evolution? Well, I think this album, as well as the first tow, I think it's all really the true Orgy. It's just different types of Orgy. It's just different. I wouldn't say that it's the true Orgy but I would say it's maybe a little more explanatory of us as people if you know what I mean. Looking back at the people in the band and at their lives, I think this album kinda has a little more connection to the inside.

Can you tell our readers a little about the song "The Obvious"? Yeah, it's just about the cycle here in L.A. and how the cycle can change quickly. Even though the song is kinda slow, it kinda opposes that I would say. Just so everyone kinda slows down and takes a look at what's going on around them. It's about every body taking a look at themselves and stuff like that, duplicating the obvious. Hence the title! (laughter)

As we've talked about a little already, you have started your own record label, D1 Music. What made you do that as opposed to looking for a new label after leaving Warner Bros.? It was just that....it kinda seemed like the timing was right. I was looking around the industry and it's like all the majors have bought up all the independent labels. There are like 4 labels now and that's it. I was kinda like, "What is going on with this?" I felt like I needed to widen the margin a little bit again and I wanted to see if I can actually do this! (laughter) We'll see....I'm not trying to be opposition, I'm just trying to put out some good music and work it out, y'know? I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes I'm just trying to do what I do. I also don't want to necessarily conform to "the system" either. That's what I've always been about.

So, you intend to release other artists on the D1 label as well as Orgy? Absolutely, that's why I'm doing this. Whether I'm successful or not with that will largely depend on how this first project we have (Orgy's "Punk Statik paranoia") does. This Orgy record is gonna be a big indicator on the future of D1 so I hope we do well.

What have you found to be the biggest surprises or challenges when you began putting the label together? I think that the biggest challenge has been promoting the record and getting it played and dealing with the, "How do we do it?" thing. It's weird because the things that were set up and handled for you by the major label now become your main job and focus. You know what I'm saying?

Coming back into things as independent band, what do you think of the current market? I don't really think a whole lot has changed or is different. The major labels will always be the major labels, the indies will always be the indies, managers and artists will always be managers and artists, you know? Essentially, as much as people change as a whole, I mean the world or the buying public, that's the most fickle group. That's what changes and it does so more than the industry. It's like a tornado, it's just stationary in the middle you know. That's what the industry does, they have to watch what the public is liking and not liking and adjust to it. It's all about the people's moods really, if that makes any sense at all.

Any upcoming tour plans? We plan to tour but we don't have anything booked right now. I'm not sure if we'll be out around the album release or not but we will be touring.

Parting thoughts? I think we did pretty good and have covered the gamut! Thanks for the interview.