Interview with Kory Clarke

Interview with Kory Clarke (Warrior Soul) – The Victoria, Coalville, 09/04/09

Xander: I’m here at the Victoria in Coalville with Kory Clark, welcome! 

Kory: Ahh, thank you

X: So you’ve been here before, whats brought you back? 

Kory: Well it was really cold that time we played so I want to come back, everyone’s really cool here so i thought it would be a good thing  to do to come back here and get here when the weathers maybe a little bit better and enjoy some of the bikers that hang around.

X: Tonight we’re going to witness many sides to your performances such as drumming, singing, spoken word readings and leaving question unanswered, excited to be expressing yourself in such different ways? 

Kory: I love it. when I’m not on the road with bands its good, I like to go out and do my own thing cause it gives me the chance to do some things that are little more stretched out, you know. People will be expecting a traditional set up so it’s going to go a little bit more out the box.

X: To be bit abstract about it

Kory: Umm, not more creative just a little more leeway to go out of the box a little bit.

X: It’s just been announced of your signing toTranscend records, did they approach you? 

Kory: Yes, well, I don’t remember how it all came about, you know, we’ve been in negotiations for a few months

X: You’re looking forward to being part of the family?

Kory: I’d like to just have a nice label thats going to do promotions and legwork and all the things that need to be done to make work so happy right now

X: You’ve also worked with Paul Raven in Mob Research and the album ‘Only To Be’ released this May, tell us about your time in Raven? 

Kory: Well the song ‘This One Is For You’ kinda spells it all out. I met Raven years ago actually, probably open for Killing Joke in Detroit maybe in about 1982, something like that, but I really saw him when he was living in Los Angeles, I was there till 2000/2001. I think I met him in 1999/ 2000 when he came over with some puppies that he had just breed actually, pitbulls. We sang around, then it must of been six years later I was walking over to the bar known as The Street in Brooklyn and I looked inside and there he was sitting at the end of the bar, it was like 3 in the afternoon, it was really hot out, I said ‘Hey, what you doing here?’ then he goes ‘What you doing here?’. So we sat down and talked for a while and laughed and exchanged numbers. I went home and he called me two days later and he was like ‘hey, you know we don’t have a vocalist for this project I’m doing and it’s 13th planet working with Ministry, working with the guy from Emission And Tricky, Peter Murphy and Mark Therese’, I was like, well this sounds really interesting! I didn’t know Mark at the time but got to know him over the fall and we just started to put it all together, that song was the way it all went down. Thats how it really started and thats how it happened. They used to come over to the house, it was really cool man, I mean it was like having pirates over every day in the summer!

X: Ah that nicely leads onto my next question! What’s Pirates Of The Baltic Sea all about? 

Kory: I don’t know, calm! (laughs) Hey man, seriously that was a fun project actually. I just a jumped off the trouble too, I literally just jumped off the plane in between the flight and they didn’t now where I was I just said ‘Fuck it’, I just took off and just ran into Helesinki, this guy Johnny picked me up on his motorcycle and the next thing you know i was in the bar. it was really kick ass.

X: What bar was that?

Kory: I can’t remember that. They said here is where you’re going to have dinner, they introduced me to the owner, I said ‘You got this?’, oh anything you want man just ask, ok. Then they go, took me to the bar ‘whatever you want man’, so cool. Was really nice man, they were really kind.

X: They do treat you really different in Europe, don’t they!

Kory:Yeah, they were really nice. Well, no, it’s not everywhere that people are just shitty people. Theres, some places really great you know, people you do get taken care of. But we’re even worse in the States.

X: In February you missed the Hellfire Festival. Whats the story with that?

Kory: I didn’t have a permit to play and I thought because i wasn’t getting paid it would be alright but they said no, the law had changed so they sent me back to Athens which sucked!

X: I’ve been tipped off to ask you about your first tour in Athens actually!

Kory: It was awesome man, probably the best worst show ever. Like 2 months before a 15 year old kid got killed by the police about 2 blocks away from the venue . We came in and sold out, from the front of stage to the back, just absolutely packed with rockers. And when I went in with ‘We Are The Government’ there were fists all the way from the front to the back, never seen it like that before. Now usually you get just the first five rows who are just pumping and the rest looking timidly at you. This isn’t, life’s just pumping man and they’ve took us out to all these after hours bars. I got in half hour before I had to go to the airport!

X: You’re playing London tomorrow at The Gaff, been there before?

Kory: No, i’m looking forward to it, heard its a really nice venue. I’m just going to get in there and get bad ass!

X: Now I have a pop quiz for you!

Kory: Fire away

X: Can girlfriends and boyfriends still be friends when they split up? 

Kory: Well, I try to stay friends with everybody you now but as off right now I don’t know, but I try too.

X: When was the last time you got into a fight? 

Kory: Not that long ago

X: Oh?

Kory: Probably on Dirty Rig Tour

X: Jägermeister or Jack Daniels? 

Kory: Uhhh, it depends. I think after having a few beers i would do Jägermeister. I like Jack with a mix, ginger. Jack and ginger!

X: If you could be any woman for a day who would you be? 

Kory: The Queen

(laughs)

X: Wwhy’s that?

Kory: Cause I’d like to get laid by good looking dudes I guess!

X: If you could have one superpower what would it be? 

Kory:One superpower? Well lets see, who do I like the most. I don’t know, maybe Swedens pretty cool.

X: Oh no, superheros superpowers!

Kory: Oh, I thought as you meant in which country you would want to rule the world! Umm, I don’t know.

X: And the last question is whats is your favourite cheesecake? 

Kory: Ah, my favourite cheesecake is New York