My Lovedrug Interview on psychoPEDIA.com

This is the first time I've ever sold an interview, that's fucking cool.




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Garrett Faber: Your new album just came out, what did you think of the album cover when you first saw it?

Michael Sheppard: I thought it turned out really good, it was kind of difficult because we rushed when it came to getting the artwork done, we had the concept together and everything, a friend of ours did all the drawings for the album, we actually didn't see the whole album put together before it went into production so we just kind of had our fingers crossed. It turned out really well.

GF: How much artistic input do you have on the actual covers, t-shirts, and merchandise stuff like that?

MS: We always talk about that stuff before it happens; we're kind of a team of artists including our management, so we always have our thoughts included on anything involving the image of the band.

GF: What about the videos? I noticed you went to film school for a while, are you going to direct any of the videos yourself?

MS: I would love to in the future; I'm always looking for chances to marry those two worlds. I would love to get into writing and directing as far as our music videos are concerned.

GF: Are you a big movie fan? What was the last movie that you saw in theaters?

MS: We all went to see 300 not too long ago.

GF: Oh yeah, that was great, I loved it, did you like it?

MS: Yeah I did, I liked it a lot, I went into it with low expectations and I ended up really liking it. It was really fantastic; especially the visual aesthetic, the look of it was so bad ass.

GF: Yeah, how they would slow down the fight scenes so you see every detail of what was happening, it reminded me of Any Given Sunday when they were playing football.

MS: Absolutely, really cool stuff.

GF: I got a little emo at the end when Leonidas died, I shed a little tear and my girlfriend made fun of me for it. [Laughs] In one interview, you said that making music that can make people feel things is the best thing in the world for you. I think that's awesome, how do you feel about the mainstream music? It seems like it doesn't have any feeling at all, it's very numb and poppy and not-alive.

MS: Yeah, I know, it's hard to classify mainstream music and say that it has no feeling. I don't know if you classify mainstream music as whatever happens to be popular at the time, it's hard to say. Unfortunately I feel like there's a lot of bands out there right now that sound exactly the same and that's interesting more than anything else. There's so many bands out there doing their thing, young guys in tight pants swinging microphones around, it doesn't do anything for me, I know it does something for a lot of kids. I grew in a time when diversity was everywhere and every band had a unique personality behind it. It was a wonderful time for music and now all the bands sound the same and it's unfortunate.

GF: I did notice that your music definitely sounds a lot different, your voice especially. When I first heard "Blackout" I was blown away, what is that song about?

MS: I don't really like to talk about what the lyrics are about, just because I like people to listen and read the lyrics and get their own meaning out of it. The real question is: what do you think it's about?

GF: I thought it was either about Jesus, or a Leper, I love that song; it's a great song to make out to. Damn, I really wanted to know what Blackout was about, are you sure you can't tell me? No, I'm kidding. What is your favorite song from the new album? I loved Happy Apple Poison.

MS: It's hard to say, I guess the title track Everything Stars Where it Ends is definitely one of the songs that stand out to me, personally it means the most to me. I love them all.

GF: Again, a lot of the mainstream music is really dance oriented and "lets jump around" kind of vibe to it, with lyrics that don't really mean anything at all, songs like, uh "dance dance." If you knew you could sacrifice lyrical content and make a song that had lame lyrics you didn't believe but you knew the song would be big, would you do it?

MS: I don't think I could. There's so much bullshit you have to deal with in the music industry, you have to jump through hoops and all that. Lots of bullshit involved and if I took out the one thing that makes it enjoyable which is, believing in the music you write, then there would be no reason to do it at all.

GF: That's a damn good answer! How do you feel about the fame? Are you comfortable with everyone wanting to know you and be your friend? Some people aren't into that, like Kurt Cobain.

MS: I haven't really experienced anything like that; I don't really know what that would be like. We definitely want as many people as possible to hear our music and enjoy it. As far as the other stuff is concerned, I don't know. I was always kind of socially awkward; I don't deal with large crowds of people very well.

GF: How does that come into play when you play a big show? I noticed at the Chameleon Club, after you were done, the whole band was hanging out but you kind of just disappeared. I figured you didn't like the whole mobscene.

MS: I'm just a bit on the claustrophobic side, it's not bad when you're on stage, it's not nearly as crowded, but trying to push my way through a bunch of people is not my idea of a good time. That's not to say that I don't like talking to people though, I love talking to the fans.

GF: I get it, the whole swarming moshpit thing is not your scene, but interacting with fans is your scene.

MS: Absolutely.

GF: Awesome. Are you actually claustrophobic or is it just crowds of people? I used to be claustrophobic back in the day; you know those McDonalds tubes that you can play in when you're a kid?

MS: Yeah?

GF: I used to think there wouldn't be an air deep in the tubes so I would get a big breath of air and climb in the middle and crawl back out.

MS: Yeah, I really am claustrophobic. I could never go into those things; I actually tried to go into one of those tubes a few months ago. I couldn't handle it.

GF: I'm afraid of possums, they're the most hideous creatures ever.

MS: They are pretty scary looking.

GF: Did you like Fiona Apple's new album, Extraordinary Machine?

MS: Yes, I loved it. I'm a huge Fiona Apple fan, I would live to write and record some music with her someday.

GF: What kind of food do you like?

MS: I like Indian food; it's probably my favorite type of food. It's really a catch-22 with me because I can't stand spicy food; I always have to ask them to make it extra mild. I love curry, it's great.

GF: I've never actually had Indian food. I always want to get it, but I get sushi instead.

MS: I'll tell you the best sushi restaurant in the world. It's in Canada.

GF: In Canada?

MS: Yes, it's called Tojo's.

GF: Okay, I'll make a pilgrimage there.

MS: It's the best ever.

GF: Wouldn't it all be the same everywhere though?

MS: Apparently, Tojo himself, who still makes the sushi there, has had offers to open restaurants everywhere in the world, like Paris, everywhere. He won't do it because he says the best fish are caught off the coast of Vancouver.

GF: Can you cook? Or would you rather go out and eat?

MS: I enjoy cooking; I think it's rather peaceful. I especially like cooking for someone else, like a meal for two people. My repertoire isn't very grand. I can do a lot with chicken, that's about it.

GF: Do you ever roll your own sushi? I've wanted to do that but never gotten into it.

MS: No, I haven't done that either but I think that would be great. It would be a good time.

GF: Yeah, you could get a girl and go on a date and be like "listen babe, we're gonna do something a little different tonight", and she's like "uh oh, trouble!" Then you roll her some sushi, chop it up and act all romantic. Feed it to her, play some Fiona Apple in the background, you know what I'm saying.

MS: It would be a beautiful scene.

GF: If you ever decide to make a Lovedrug movie, let me direct it and we can have all kinds of chaos happen, including that scene with chicken stir-fry and sushi, then Fiona Apple will come out of no where playing acoustic guitar.

MS: Wow.

GF: Yeah, you mentioned in one interview that you read a lot, what books are you into?

MS: I love Hunter S Thompson; I've actually read every book he's ever written except "The Great Shark Hunt".

GF: Really? Damn, I'm impressed, I didn't see that coming. Which was your favorite?

MS: Fear and Loathing is so good, it's hard not to call it my favorite. I really liked Generation of Swine, have you read that one? That one was so good. He got better with age; my least favorite is probably The Rum Diary.

GF: I think so too, it was very normal and straight-laced. It was a good story but it didn't seem like Hunter's voice. I wanted to interview Ralph Steadman, he's still alive. Did you read his new book, The Jokes Over?

MS: No I haven't.

GF: It's about Ralph and Hunter's adventures and relationship, told from Ralph's point of view. It's really good, his art is amazing, and I want to get a Steadman tattoo. What about Chuck Palahniuk, do you like him?

MS: I do, I read Fight Club, and Diary.

GF: I didn't like Diary.

MS: I wasn't a big fan of that one. His writing is okay, some of his word choices and some of his blatant brutality for the sake of being brutal; I'm not a big fan of that. Most of the stuff isn't too tasteful. He's a good writer though.

GF: Do you write a lot of stories yourself?

MS: I do a lot of writing actually.

GF: Are you going to put those out, or are they like super private and personal?

MS: They're not all that personal at all, I haven't thought about publishing them or anything. Most of them end up becoming lyrics for songs.

GF: You should put some up on the website or something, I think people would dig that.

MS: Yeah, I should.

GF: Musicians don't usually write stories, they write their stories in songs and not stories in stories. What hobbies do you have besides playing music and writing, what do you do when you get home from a tour?

MS: I usually take it pretty easy, chill with the family, go to movies, read books, drink coffee, try to relax.

GF: Who are your personal heroes that you strive to be like?

MS: I've definitely had heroes growing up, in music and other fields as well. I think when I first started playing guitar, one of my heroes was Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins. I've always been a big fan of his music, especially the early stuff; Siamese Dream was a great record. I was always a huge Soundgarden fan too, Chris Cornell has incredible range. I've always admired his singing abilities. Hunter S Thompson is one of my heroes in the literary sense.

GF: He seemed like an awesome person, he seemed like you'd have to be on your toes around him. He seems like the type to punch you in the back of the head and laugh about it, but you wouldn't even be mad about it.

MS: Absolutely.

GF: Speaking of singing range, I don't want to say your voice is weird, but that's the first word that comes to mind. When I first heard your song Blackout, I thought you did some weird computer shit to your voice, but when I saw you at the show and heard that you actually sing like that, I was blown away. When you first started singing, did you sing like that or did you change it to make it sound more normal? Did you embrace it from the beginning?

MS: It just kind of happened naturally, ever since I stared this band, I've been really into female singer/songwriters like Fiona Apple, or Sarah McLachlan or Bjork especially, I really like Bjork. I would always be driving around in my car, listening and singing along to female artists; naturally I would be singing a lot higher parts and stuff like that. I really picked up some of the nuances of artists like Bjork, if you notice some of her quirks in her vocal deliveries are very interesting. I tried to apply some of that into my own music, and doing some really interesting things with my voice turned into this thing that it is now. Now it seems natural in that way.

GF: Yeah it's awesome. Growing up, did you always want to be a musician?

MS: [Laughs] When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a professional basketball player. That didn't work out because I wasn't all that great at basketball. [Laughs] It wasn't until I was 14 I started playing guitar and realized music was going to take over my life.

GF: Were you a big Nirvana fan? I ask that to everyone.

MS: Oh yeah, I didn't get into them until much later.

GF: After the band breakup and suicide thing? I didn't get into them until like 2 years ago.

MS: Yeah, I was the same way man, I owned Nevermind when it came out, but it didn't blow my mind for whatever reason. I was into bands at the time, but then like two years ago I just went through their catalogue and listened to all their stuff. I was blown away like "oh my god, these are amazing songs!" Now I'm a huge huge fan.

GF: What songs do you like from them? Milk It is a great song.

MS: In Utero is a great album, I love how raw it is. He's so clear on the way he feels about things, you can tell by his attitude and the pain in his voice, "wow, he's really fed up with everything." You can feel it on that record, it's really great. When a band can do that, that's talent right there man.

GF: It all seemed so genuine.

MS: Like you were talking about today, mainstream bands try to do that but you can tell it's just not real. It's unfortunate.

GF: Did you get to meet any cool famous people?

MS: Let's see, to be honest, I haven't met that many famous people. I did get to meet the Smashing Pumpkins once.

GF: Were you starstruck at all?

MS: I didn't think I would be, but I was a little bit when I met Billy. It was so weird meeting the guy, plus the fact that he's like 18 feet tall made it a little awkward too but it was pretty cool. I did bump into a few actors like Susan Sarandon and John Leguizamo when I lived in New York City, but I never really talked to them.

GF: Do you feel like your writing has changed when you compare your first album to your second album?

MS: Oh yeah definitely, it's changed a lot. I feel like the principal difference between the first album and the second album is that the first album was just about getting everything out that was inside of me. I had so many songs and so many thoughts about music, so that made writing Pretend You're Alive very easy, it came very naturally and easy. With our second album things were more methodical and more thought was put into the songs themselves. It would be like "I want to make a song that feel like this, or it communicates this." Being more poignant about things, telling stories in a more direct fashion than Pretend You're Alive, it's quite different.

GF: What's your song output like? Prince would put out a new album every year for like 20 years. Do you make music that much?

MS: Not really, we tour so much and it's hard to write songs on tour. I can't really write on the road, I have to be somewhere quiet and comfortable where I know I don't have anything to do for like 72 hours. It's hard for me because we don't get a lot of time off, but when we do get time off I try to utilize that time for writing. We have so many songs already that we're kicking around. We're always looking to the future, I'm already looking to the third album but it won't be for a while.

GF: When you guys release singles, do you put new and unreleased music on the b-sides?

MS: We do a little bit of that, we had some extra songs from the studio recording session, so we put some on the EP that we released. I think it's great to do that, I remember the Pumpkins put out a whole album of B-sides, I think that's so righteous, no one does that anymore. If you're really into a band and you get to hear a bunch of other songs they've recorded, that's rad. It's good to get as much music out there as possible.

GF: Definitely, I hate when bands put out shitty remixes of the single. That irks me. I'm glad you're part of the b-side movement. Who's your favorite painter? Are you familiar with Gustav Klimt?

MS: Yes, I liked Klimt. I'm not very good with artist names, I enjoy going to a museum every now and then, strolling around and looking at what I like. I don't bother too much with figuring out who the artists were.

GF: What was it like opening for Hanson?

MS: Pretty awesome actually. It happened about 2 or 3 years ago, pretty early on. We've been a band for about 5 and a half years. We got the call that they were coming to our hometown playing the Palace Theater. It was pretty rad actually, they were really nice guys. I wasn't really familiar with their music except for their big hit. They're actually really fabulous musicians, really talented. Some of the stuff they were playing was really jazzy and they were obviously very knowledgeable. The crowd was hilarious; it was comprised of 14 year old girls. I think there was one guy at the concert, it was funny. Great crowd reaction, they actually liked our stuff, which is pretty amazing.

GF: Oh that reminds me, why didn't you play Blackout Acoustic at that damn show? I was waiting the whole time, I kept saying to my girlfriend, "they're gonna play Blackout, they've gotta play Blackout." Then when you guys were done and the show was over, I said "they're gonna come back and do an encore and play Blackout." Then three hours later I was the only person in the audience, like "after they go eat dinner, they'll play Blackout."

MS: Yeah, "after they drive to the next town, they'll turn around, come back and play Blackout." I dunno man; it's a hard one to pull off on the old acoustic guitar, so we opted out.

GF: You should put that on the MySpace, that would be cool.

MS: I'll look into that.

GF: I personally want to hear that, I'm sure all your fans would too, but I want it the most. Blackout is one of my favorite songs ever, and talking to you about it now, is pretty amazing. I'm a little starstruck, but I'm gonna play it cool like I don't care. Personally, do you like acoustic shows better than electric shows?

MS: With acoustic shows you don't have as much equipment to load in, which is very nice. I like playing rock shows, it' more powerful and more emotional.

GF: Where did the name Happy Apple Poison come from?

MS: It's the idea of the forbidden fruit sort of thing. Something that seems very appealing on the outside, but could be very dangerous on the inside. You know that myth of razorblades in the apple on Halloween?

GF: Oh yeah, I always wondered how someone could have a razor in their apple and not notice it.

MS: I wondered that too, like "wow, there's a razor in my apple."

GF: Yeah, "I'm gonna eat it!" You can't bite into a razorblade and not notice. What was the inspiration for that song? Did something happen to you? Did some vixen come through and seduce you and break your heart like Billie Jean?

MS: That's actually a really good story; yeah that's exactly what happened.

GF: No way!

MS: No, I'm kidding.

GF: Damn! Remember at the show when you told the story of being kidnapped? In kindergarten, this dude wanted you to get in his van and you said no?

MS: Yeah, that happened, except it was just a car. It must not have been a big deal because he just took off and I wasn't kidnapped. It didn't really strike me until years later; I think I repressed the memory or something? A few years back it just popped in my head and I'm like "oh my god, I remember that now." I asked my sister about it and she's like "oh yeah, that did happen to you, didn't it?" [laughs]

GF: Did you write any songs about that?

MS: Yeah, a few songs about that.

GF: What do you dream about? Besides making Lovedrug the biggest band in the world, what do you want to do with your life?

MS: I would love to be an actor actually.

GF: I could see you doing that.

MS: I'm not sure I have what it takes but we all have to start somewhere.

GF: If you could have been in any movie ever, what movie would you have been in and who would you of played?

MS: Wow, good question. Really good question. If I could be Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, that'd be cool.

GF: Awesome, was there anyone else, I know probably a million roles went through your head just now.

MS: I think Christian Bale is an amazing actor; I would have loved to have been the guy from American Psycho.

GF: Patrick Bateman! I love Bret Easton Ellis, I wanted to interview him but his publicist said no.

MS: Why?

GF: Apparently Bret Easton Ellis only grants interviews when he's promoting a book or doing a book tour and I'm like, "What?" I was heartbroken. Did you read American Psycho? I thought it kinda dragged on and on.

MS: I know, I know, I enjoyed the movie much more.

GF: Me too. What did you like about it? The dynamic between who he was and who he pretended to be?

MS: Just the psychology of it man. It was fascinating to me because I'm interested in the human mind and how it works. I took psychology in college and that element of the story "Why is he thinking this? Why is he doing this?" It made me wonder what it would be like to be in that position to want to think like that.

GF: Did you write any songs from that point of view? Is that what Blackout's about?

MS: Blackout is a little bit like that, yes.

GF: So it's not about Jesus?

MS: [Laughs] No I'm sorry to let you down, it's not about Jesus.

GF: My friend gave me that idea, originally I thought it was about some horrible person, some person you really wouldn't want to meet on the streets, but my friend told me the song was about Jesus. We actually ended up getting into a fistfight about it. When you write a song, do you write them about yourself, or do you make up characters and situations?

MS: I'm fine with making up characters, I don't like to write songs about myself most of the time. I either imagine myself to be in that situation and write a song from that point of view or just make up a character and just put him or her in that situation and write the song from their point of view.

GF: Did you ever notice that a lot of young people are getting into heavy drugs, pretty early? I know girls on heroin and shit and it's intense. They don't even care.

MS: It's frightening, yeah. It's bizarre how younger kids are getting into that. Oh man, I don't know...Jesus man. The decline of society is becoming more and more apparent every day. I don't know, eventually kids are just gonna be popping out of the womb and shooting up. It's messed up.

GF: It's crazy, now the Brittney Spears generation has got to shave their heads.

MS: I think that's great, she got hooked on drugs and shaved her head. The next thing she has to do is start a rock band and her life will be complete.

GF: It seems like every year, someone new comes through and gets super big. Last year it was My Chemical Romance, they were super big, now it's Fall Out Boy, they're super big. Next year, who knows who it's gonna be, but they all sound the same. Do people not notice this?

MS: That's what I keep asking myself, I feel like this trick is being played on everyone, especially the younger kids. Don't they realize what's going on here?

GF: It's all producer driven too, it seems like quality musicians are few and far between and you really have to search for good music nowadays that you can sink your brain into and enjoy.

MS: Absolutely man, I think it's the biggest travesty in music today. Now it's just complete entertainment, before it was half entertainment, half musicianship, whatever. Now it's 'What?"

GF: Yeah and people in the audience screaming their heads off like it's the greatest thing ever. When I saw you guys play, you definitely connected. That's what you do, you connect. Did you ever see Almost Famous when Jason Lee says that? Do you like video games?

MS: Oh yeah, I had the old school NES.

GF: Oh yeah, with the gun.

MS: Duckhunt.

GF: Yeah, that dog was an asshole. He was always so snarky. Did you do that thing on Mario Brothers 3 where you could get the warp whistle? That was the best.

MS: Absolutely, Mario Brothers 3 was one of my favorites.

GF: Did you ever beat the game?

MS: Oh yeah.

GF: What happens at the end?

MS: The princess comes out and they like hold hands and the credits roll. It's kind of a letdown.

GF: Did you play any of the newer games?

MS: I'm a big Legend's of Zelda fan; I had to get the Gamecube to get into those new games.

GF: Did you get Wind Waker? That game was sick.

MS: Oh yeah, that was awesome man. I played that for like a month straight, I loved it. I got the brand new game Twilight Princess for Gamecube.

GF: How was it?

MS: It was awesome man, I played it everyday and I beat it. I hardly ever play video games, whenever they come out with a new Zelda, I'll get it and play it and then I'm done playing video games for a year.

GF: In Wind Waker, at the end when you're fighting Ganon and you have to bounce those arrows off the shield. When you finally beat him, Link jumps up and stabs him in the head, that was so badass.

MS: That was awesome.

GF: Do you have any parting words for the readers who read this?

MS: Um...please go buy our record.

GF: Awesome, don't sell out and become shitty because that would be a huge black eye to people who like good music.

MS: If that happens, we can do another interview and you can tell me how shitty I am.

GF: By that time, we'll probably both be hopped on coke and bloated and we won't even care.