The Mad Skeleton Interview!

(great interview)

(music soon)

(wonderful man)

1. Why the name The Mad Skeleton?

 I had to dig deep to find The Mad Skeleton. When I read "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac, I stumbled across a line that really struck a nerve in me. You've probably read it, ""The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop, and everybody goes ahh..." I was also reading a lot of the Arthur Rimbaud, a french symbolist poet, who I felt a particular connection to. He head a poem called "Dance Of The Hanged Man", and I found a fabulous line among the glowing verses, where he proclaims,  "Oh! but see how from the middle of this Dance of Death
Springs into the red sky a great skeleton, mad". From there, I connected the two together, and formed what I felt captured the portal from which I could guide my expression.

2. When did you start up this musical project?

After a long, delirious year of living in a room without windows, full of spider webs, and cold as all hell. We didn't move until the ceiling and the walls started falling apart. If you've ever lived in a room without windows you start to lose track of time, everything starts to blur together, and you create your own little world. I think it was 2007, but I have a horrible memory and haven't archived anything really.

3. Where are you from and what currently are you working on for your music?

In 1986 I was born in Los Angeles, California. Moved to Miami, Florida half a decade later. I've just completed as of yesterday, January 8th, my second album, titled "New Highway", which I recorded with producer/musician Tucker Tota in a cabin in Linville, North Carolina during the dead of winter. Pretty much wrote most of the record there. It was a spontaneous affair, really. Had no idea what was going to happen when we got there, but the environment really facilitated the creativity for us and we are happy with our results. I also have another album that I recorded at The Hit Factory Criteria Studios, called "Story Of A Time", with producer/engineer Dave Poler, which has yet to be released. I plan on realeasing them at the same time in the upcoming weeks to kick off the new year with a bang.

4. What are you plans for the future of your music?

To write, record, and perform, and then repeat that process until I kick the bucket. To be more specific, this year I have the two albums coming out, "New Highway", and "Story Of A Time", and a split coming out with Montgomery Drive,Heffa Peppa, and Rosetta Setta. I also plan on releasing a collection of songs concerning specific events in time later this year, and want to try recording it all myself, which is always a challenge for me. My mind doesn't really cooperate with computer programs very well.

5. Do you feel that you have reached a high point with your music or has that yet to happen?

Every time I write a song I feel like I have reached a higher point in my music.  Sometimes I can hear a song in my head and write it down faster than it takes me to play it, other times I work on songs for years, but it doesn't really make a difference, because shortly after they're completed, I get restless and have other things that I need to work on, and the cycle continues.  I work on songs simultaneously.  I have about 6 albums in my head right now. I have to catch up with myself.  I don't know that I ever will... I suppose if I were able to live off of the music I make that would be the highest point, because I would have time to get everything out. But then again, they say an artists has got to struggle and starve...so the low points are probably pretty high too.

6. What were you trying to accomplish when you started out this venture?

Trying to stay true to my path. Everyone has a sense of purpose and some choose to follow theirs and some turn a blind eye. It's not their fault really. Society has polluted a lot of the truth in the world and I don't hold anyone 100% accountable for their decisions anyhow. But I feel like there are things in the world, or perhaps another world, one that might be watching us, that aren't being articulated. You could say I want to disillusion my listeners. I want to take them to the places they haven't ever heard of. I don't know where my songs are coming from, but I do know that since I am receiving them, it's my duty to get them out in to the world.

7. Do you feel that you have accomplished some of the goals you wanted to achieve with your music?

If I didn't measure my goals with baby steps I would never have been able to feel a sense of accomplishment. I've been writing songs for ten years now. It started out by listening to music and thinking, hmmm, it would have been better if they did this, why didn't they do that? Then it turned into getting a guitar, and learning how to play a few chord shapes, and then creating what I was hearing in my head. Then I had to teach myself how to sing. Then I had to do it all at the same time. Then I had to record. Play live. etc. All those pieces give me a sense of accomplishment but I wont be satisfied until i'm dead and gone, Lord rest my soul.