Cosmiclava where the lava flows

Some months ago I found a package in the Cosmic Lava mailbox from a band called THE WHITE LIARS, hailing from Stanton, California. Well, I never heard anything before from this group, but I liked the album-title "Pharmacia", and especially the cover-artwork that was not connected with any well-known standards. But what at least counts is the music, and so I put the CD in my player. To be honest, I excpected everything, but not  something that was so good like this! THE WHITE LIARS draw influences from a lot of sources like the Stooges or the Cramps, but there is so much more to discover here what makes it not easy to describe their sound. They have also a psychedelic edge incorporated or discovering more psychotic territories. So it's obvious that this band created a very remarkable sound with their newest release. And apart of the high-quality music I must say, that guitarist and singer Barry Stevenson (have I mentioned his intense vocals?) is a very very friendly person, and well-trained in pop culture and obscure horror flics. Expect an extent inner-view, where music is not only the main theme.

Hello Barry. Let's start the interview with a short overview about the history of the the White Liars!

Well, Chris Scholz (our drummer) and I had been trading records and CD's back and forth, and we used to go see each others bands.  We were next door neighbors in Garden Grove, CA. and in the early and mid 90's we got hooked on Punk/blues stuff, like Pussy Galore, The Laughing Hyenas, The Oblivians. We started out as a combo of just guitar and Drums.  We got a bass player and started playing live around 95... recorded tons of 8 track demos and then self-released our first full length in 98/99.. By then, our music had slowed down considerably, and we just kind of morphed into a heavy rock band..

Have you made any other band experiences before the White Liars and how did you found your way into music? What kind of stuff do you used to listen to in your teenager period?

Well Klaus, I have played in too many bands to mention in this brief interview, the most noteworthy was a Folk/Rock band that I played bass in, Too Many Joes, who released a CD titled 'Charm' in 1992, and had a brief publishing deal with Warner.. There was always guitars laying around in my house. I was the youngest of 5, my mom was a single mother who raised the 5 of us by herself.. I was basically raised by my teenaged brothers and sisters in the 70's!!!  There were bands practicing in our garage, when my mom was at work, and my sisters seemed to have a lot of biker friends, so there were tons of Black Oak Arkansas, Humble Pie, and Steppenwolf records around..  One sister was a guitar strumming folkie, and my mom loved George Jones and Johnny Cash (my father, was a convicted armed felon and was in Folsom when Johnny recorded his live record there)

I started playing bass and guitar at age 12, and would play along to Kinks, Stones, Thin Lizzy, UFO and stuff like that... by the time I had Punk friends, I was learning to read music and wasting my time listening to Jazz/Fusion Return to Forever and shit like that.. So Punk and the Post Punk stuff started blowing my mind.. Gang of Four, Killing Joke, The Birthday Party, all of that great shit from England, Stiff records, 2 Tone and Mod records...  I saw tons of the so called L.A. 'Paisley Underground' bands in the 80's like Dream Syndicate, and Rain Parade and got into the Psych stuff. I was basically into everything that was or seemed "new" at the time..  I played bass in a Ska band, I was in a Funk band, a Psych-Rock band and 2 folkie bands, anyone who would have me basically.

Have you been a rebellious young guy with a "I'm against it" attitude?

I don't know... I never tried to be James Dean or anything, but if being rebellious means that you don't take shit, than Yes, this is true of the whole band.

Let's talk a about the latest album of the White Liars "Pharmacia".For my taste is a very inspiring and outstanding release, not easy to pigeonhole soundwise, but definitely rooted in Rock 'n' Roll.  It's like the sound of desperation, but still combined with enough anger and coolness to give me an uplifiting feeling. Please, give us an insight into the creation of "Pharmacia" and about your personal current view about it.

THANK YOU!! Well, many music fans just want to rock out and have a good time, and we didn't deliver that kind of a record at all.. Our first CD had more light-hearted moments, and this record just doesn't.. If you don't know us as people, and listen to 'Pharmacia', your first thought is "These guys need to lighten up!!" but during the writing and recording phase, my father passed away and I went through a breakup, our drummer had 2 friends die of cancer, and also had 2 cars stolen!! Ben Maddux, was going through a divorce, and custody battle, and of course, September 11 happened and the media was telling us that terrorists driving "Wennabagos of Death" were going to kill us.  So we took prescription medication and started working on "Pharmacia"..  The happy songs just got chucked right away... I would say I am still proud of the record, and I think it definitely acheived what we were trying to acheive, even with the risk of alienating some listeners..

In 1998 the group released the self-released debut CD. To compare it with the last album, I think that the debut is noisier with a stronger psychotic edge. How do you remember the recordings for the debut?

It was recorded as 2 ep's originally, so some of the cohesion is missing because the 2 sessions were 6 months apart.. We had Troy remaster it recently, and it sounds a lot fatter!!  We may have to press more!!  All of the basic tracks are live, and we didn't spend as much time overdubbing and mixing it, as we did on Pharmacia, we just sort of just banged it out and pressed it...

Inside the booklet one can see pictures of famous American criminals.Are you currently interested in 'true Crime' or was it just a period at that time?

I used to read Flipside magazine a lot, and I remember there was a guy who wrote his column from prison (his name escapes me) He was going on about Crime-core, and how it was the cool new thing.. I thought it was hilarious, and at the time I was reading tons of 'True Crime' novels..  I took the book 'Bloodletters and Bad Men' by Jay Robert Nash, which is a fantastic true crime Encyclopedia, and basically had our graphic artist friend steal the entire concept from the cover of the book, and the pictures of the criminals inside.   I don't read as much of that stuff anymore, but I still have a healthy fascination with it, and watch those forensic shows on cable..

Are you playing songs from the debut during your shows?

Always, we play at least half of it, and are not against playing any of it at any time..

Would you describe the White Liars as a cynical band?

We have pretty positive attitudes, it is hard not to be a cynical band where we live... We end up playing with Punk/Pop type bands with the WHOA WHOA choruses, and people see us and yell 'PLAY FASTER'.. PLAY SOME PUNK ROCK!!!  That has since changed, and you see these guys learning to play their instruments better, and then they start getting interesting.. Even Blink 182 doesn't sound like that anymore...  There is always something to be cynical about in music, and we hate gimmicky shit.  Right now it is those ironic post New Wave bands with all the cheezy keyboards, and of course there is a Garage Rock revival every 10 years.. Oh Shit, I am sounding cynical!!!

I know that you're a huge fan of horror movies, and I like to thank you for the inspiring list you have given me. What are your other interests? Are you love to read a good book, and what was the last one you've read? Any recommendations for the Cosmiclava readers?

I read a lot... anything by Harry Crews, or Jim Thompson, I also love Cormac McCarthy, and Czec writer Bohumil Hrabal, I am currently reading  "A Peoples History of The United States" by Howard Zinn.. There is a great biography of Houdini called 'Houdini, The Career of Eric Weiss. by Kenneth Silverman ... Oh.. and for music reading, A friend sent me 'Dark Stuff' by Nick Kent, and I recommend 'Country, The Twisted Roots of Rock N' Roll' by Nick Tosches!!!    Reading is fundamental!!

How is a typical day in your life? Have you a regular job, that causes a lot of frustrations (I hope not!) and do you have an own family?

I have an insanely busy schedule, and work in one of the busiest travel agencies in North America.. I have been at the same job going on 9 years, and currently live with my girlfriend of 4 years, but haven't had any children.