Wednesday 13 (solo artist, Bourbon Crow, ex Murderdolls)

Wednesday 13 is a solo singer and songwriter and was also previously the frontman for The Murderdolls. He is starting a new tour soon and a new album drops in October.  Lots of great topics in this episode including getting the call to join the Murderdolls, glam & punk rock influences, an upcoming show at the Rainbow with Lita Ford & John 5 and more! 

00:00 - Intro
00:58 - Living In L.A. 
03:07 - Upcoming Tour 
05:40 - Meet & Greets 
08:48 - Merch 
09:50 - Opening Bands 
12:20 - New Album 2022
19:40 - Music For Fun & Inspiration 
24:07 - Getting the Call for Murderdolls 
30:40 - Skid Row & Glam Rock 
33:52 - Punk Rock & Other Influences 
37:30 - New Music & Production 
41:35 - Musical Style & Guns 'N Roses 
44:00 - Bourbon Crow & Acoustic Tour 
46:03 - Show at the Rainbow w/ Lita Ford & John 5 
49:20 - Rob Zombie & The Munsters
51:00 - Stage Names 
53:24 - Cats 
56:43 - Outro 

Wednesday 13 website:
https://officialwednesday13.com

Cat Charity website:
https://www.alleycat.org

Chuck Shute website:
http://chuckshute.com

Transcript

Chuck Shute: 0:00

Wednesday. 13th is my guest today and we're gonna have that interview coming right up for you. But before we get to that, if you could very quickly, please subscribe to my YouTube channel or to the podcast, wherever you listen, you'll be the first to know of new episodes. And I've got some really exciting guests planned for the show. It's going to be a great variety of musicians, authors, psychologist, actors, and other interesting folks. So I think you're gonna enjoy them back to my guest today, Wednesday, 13th. He's got a new album coming out in October that we're going to talk about plus an upcoming tour. And of course, we're going to dig into the old stuff. Like when he got the call from Joey Jordan, son of Slipknot that jumpstart his whole music career, the origin of the stage name, and so much more. Don't go anywhere

Wednesday 13: 0:57

it's still early here. I just I just woke up. You're in North Carolina, right? Oh, I'm in LA. So this it's 9am here. Oh, what the hell are you doing in LA? Is this are you on tour now? I live in Los Angeles. I've lived here for 13 years. Carolina Yeah, but I thought you still lived in North Carolina. Yeah. No, no, no, no, I am a West Coast now. I've been here since 2010 or 2008 2009. I started moving here but I moved here officially in like 2010

Chuck Shute: 1:30

Okay, do you is that I mean, you feel you have to be there for the business like for the music. It's enough to where it makes sense for you to live there.

Wednesday 13: 1:38

No, no, I'm just wasting money living here. Raining the weather pretty much. Los Angeles is great. I when I I first came here was kind of like an accident. I just, I was going through a divorce. And I felt the best thing to do was be 3000 miles away from my ex. So I just stayed in Los Angeles and it's kind of became home but at the same time I tour six months out of the year or used to be eight months out of the year. So I was always traveling so this has been the home base and this is where we're at stayed out so we'll see him North Carolina is in the cards for later on in life. We'll we'll find out but for now, this is where I'm

Chuck Shute: 2:21

at. Okay, all your bandmates are there to them? No,

Wednesday 13: 2:26

I wish I could make it easy on everybody. Yeah, the band has been scattered sepsis existence, just because everybody was from different places. So as of right now three of us are in California and the other two one in Texas and the other one goes between Oregon and the UK because his wife's in the UK so so he traveled so whenever it's not a lot of time for rehearsal so whenever we get a tour booked we go alright everybody do their homework and we got three days to learn this and we rehearse and go so there's no hey, let's get a get together and rehearse this week's practices jam that never ever happens.

Chuck Shute: 3:06

Okay, so is the setlist for this tour? Is it pretty much set for every show? Or is it or can you throw in some surprises?

Wednesday 13: 3:13

I have no idea what we're gonna do yet. I have a list of about 2526 songs that for the guys for us all to learn, although we usually can't play but when I do the math on it, it's usually about 19 songs will fit a 90 minute set with the talking in between and intros, outros, all that kind of stuff. So for the upcoming tour, which is still you know, two and a half months away, I just made a list of songs over the over the course of my career and we're gonna see what what sounds good when we rehearse and we'll make a setlist up. So, I mean, there's preparation for the tour, but a lot of it really put it all together once we all get together, if that makes sense.

Chuck Shute: 3:58

Yeah, I know for sure. So what what kinds of things will there'll be on stage is that going to be a surprise to like, I mean, in terms of like, the stage props and costumes and things.

Wednesday 13: 4:08

Um, according like the the last tour we just did was more like a columnist to 20 years of fear to her, which is what we've just did in the US and we're about to the next part, the second leg of that, basically what I did for this tour, and I plan for the next tours, we just kind of we kind of scaled it back, we sort of let the music be the main focus as opposed to crazy stage props are me running off every three songs and changing in the costume. So this was really just kind of a celebration of the music and so that's kind of what I'm what I've been going for. I mean, we're still a visual band, we have all of our, our lights and backdrops and everybody's got their stage outfits and stuff so it's not too much of a I'm not really predicting a crazy theatrical show. This is again it says sort of celebrating the the last 20 years of what I've been doing so, but there's again, I come up with stuff all the time. I mean, we're in the middle of a tour, you know, I'm like, hey, I want to do this tonight on stage a look what I found behind this, this garbage dump here on stage. So you not because I have ideas, I just kind of, I like to do a lot of things kind of add on the moment and what feels right. So it's kind of hard to to get a plan together. And like I said, everyone's so scattered apart. And yeah, I just think the main idea together, and once we all get together, I see what works and what doesn't.

Chuck Shute: 5:38

Okay. And then obviously, there'll be meet and greets on this too. That's a big part of touring now. That's like, how you guys have to make your money, right?

Wednesday 13: 5:46

Yes, it's been a very, very good thing for for for us. And I've imagined for other bands as well. And, you know, it's crazy. It's like, I think the the VIP Meet and Greet thing sort of become a standard thing for I think what fans expect now, but like, you know, tin flock, I don't know, 12 years ago, I think the only bands that were doing VIPs are like kiss that I knew of. They like a grand to do it. And I remember back in 2009 I started doing VIPs and meet and greets for the first time no other bands around me that were doing that kind of thing. I was fucking broke. And I was fucking broke. I'm like, Man, how can we make some money on this tour? And I'm like, Well fuck people pay a grand to me kiss. Maybe somebody pay 100 bucks to meet me but I'll give them this I'll give them a backstage pass. I'll give them the they can come to the soundcheck they can get a t shirt from the merch they get to hang out with us. So I kind of just went I always refer to kiss kiss as the greatest. My favorite band probably of all time and merchandise and everything they've done has just been what I kind of modeled everything after so. So when I started doing the Meet Greets back in 2009. I kept doing those every year up until now. I mean, I used to do vi pizza parties on the bus with with with meet and greet people and just I pretty much done everything. Be a roadie for a day Be my guest for the day get to hang out with me on the Lido. So I did every little level. And then after the COVID break, we you know, we came back out for this last tour. And our meet and greets had like quadrupled and numbers like it was just I feel like that's just a thing that people will feel like it's part of the deal. They can buy a ticket to the show they can beat the band. But before it used to be kind of like pulling teeth. Come on, you know you want to meet us Gone. Gone. Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. So do you like doing that? Or is it kind of seems like it'd be a little bit stressful because you're trying to get ready for a show now. You got to have fans at the soundcheck and everywhere. Yeah, that's why I kind of stopped doing what the I guess the thing about in the past was when I offered those slots, there was only a couple of people it wasn't like at 1020 people right now we read sometimes we you know we pulled to a venue to go you got 30 meet and greets today and I'm like fuck, I can't put 30 people on the side of the stage. So luckily, I've took my responsibilities down as far as being a host for the whole day. We just we have our we have our meet and greet usually it's around soundcheck or after soundcheck and people come in and do the thing but I've definitely took it to extreme levels before over the years where I'm just like man, I don't have time to do my show anymore. I'm busy doing this so yeah, you kind of live and learn with these things and learn what you can do and what you can't what works and what doesn't work. Yeah, what so what about with merch because you used to have like toy figures and stuff not this round. You're not gonna have the toys but you have shirts and patches and anything else? Everything I mean I'm all about like I said mentioning kids before their merchandise kings always kind of model everything I do after that. So I want our when you come into our show, I want our merchandise and everything to look like you just went to the Wednesday 13th store. So yeah, I mean I we try to have as much stuff as we can there. I mean, you have your typical shirts and tour shirts and we have patches and flags and hats and like you mentioned the past I've did like I worked with a company before they did some action figures so one two, where we had like a limited 25 Like action figures that were autographed that we sold and which we're going to do again in the in the future we just I don't want to have it exactly planned for for this upcoming run. But I'm always trying to throw little surprises and stuff. I mean everybody in the band we sell guitar picks all kinds of stuff at the table. So like I said, it's like your one stop once a 13 Chop

Chuck Shute: 9:49

that's awesome. And so in this round two there's not going to be any opening bands that you're necessarily taking on tours are going to be local bands that will be opening.

Wednesday 13: 9:57

Yeah, we we tried this the last time I mean, you know, most times when you see any band, you'll see on tour package, you'll be this band and support from this band and your opening band, and then they will also get local bands on the shows. But for us again, you know, when you're when you're coming out of the COVID crisis, and gas is, you know, ridiculous now, so we, there's, there's always, we're always trying to find ways to to make a little extra money. And everything. So it's just, yeah, man, it's a it's been a every time we go on tour, I learned something new and learned different ways to do something, I think,

Chuck Shute: 10:39

yeah, so that's good, because the local bands will bring in their own fans, and then hopefully, they'll stay for to see what you guys so that's a smart way to get more fans.

Wednesday 13: 10:49

You're right. I mean, it's basically like this, if we took a band like I was going off track before, but what I'm saying is, if you take the if we take the support band for this, and the venue says, Alright, we're gonna give Lindsey 13x amount of money, but we gotta give, you know, 500 of this band, and this band gets another 300. And you go on well, okay, and then the last two are my agent goes, well, you know, if you don't take any bands, you'll just get all that money yourself, and why didn't we do this before? Yeah, and, you know, so that's literally, it's all it was about money, it's, you know, because sometimes we take support bands with us, even though I like to support bands, you know, given them 500 bucks or something, and they go, Wow, we draw, we brought five people here, and now you're getting 500 bucks. So as you know, it's like, so it basically makes the local bands work, they get to sell the tickets, it's in the event, it's in the local venue. So it's not just someone coming from out of the blue and going, Hey, where's everybody at? We have responsibility from the from the venues to sell tickets in the band. So that's a something we tried the last tour, it worked out for us financially, we have a lot of metal logical bands, most of the fans that bands open up for us are our fans, you know, so it's, it's been a, it's been a cool thing. You know, it's, like I said, every year we learn different ways of doing things, or how to do things or how not to do things. So taking, doing the thing, just on our own, not taking a support band worked out for us. And so we're trying it again this time, and we'll see if it does the same as it did last time.

Chuck Shute: 12:19

Cool. So then tell me about the new album that's coming out in October that you wrote, like, over 50 songs for this one.

Wednesday 13: 12:26

I wrote about 50. ideas, ideas? Yeah, but at the end of the day, we only put like, 1111 tracks on the record. And, I mean, it's just kind of a normal thing I do with with every record, I just I write a lot of stuff, you know, and that's, you know, 50 things i That's collectively between what I came up with, what are guitars and bass everywhere one kind of threw a bunch of songs and but, you know, the COVID thing was, was not even though we had the time off, I know a lot of bands took that time off to go, Oh, I got nothing to do, we'll write a record. And that's our mindset to Okay, we got to do let's write a record, but I just was so uninspired to write during that time, I found this is two years off be that there was the hardest time to write, or at least the hardest time for me just to I was just second guessing myself a lot. So that's why I wrote all these songs, like, the first 10 songs that I wrote, or what's on the new album. I kept second guessing myself, I kept rewriting stuff. So I probably rewrote this record, or ideas for it probably three different times. I went, I think I like the first batch of stuff, I wrote this

Chuck Shute: 13:48

stuff you wrote, it was just kind of too depressing. Because it's like, if you if you're in that pandemic phase, it was kind of a depressing time. So

Wednesday 13: 13:55

the depressing time, I mean, for everybody, that was just the the world shutdown, you know, and then also during those two years, I lost my mother, I lost my buddy, Joey Jordison. So I had not only what everyone else was going through, I had that on top of that. So that was a, that was a difficult thing. It's still difficult to process that. So yeah, I mean, I normally I turned to music to kind of get me out of that spot. And I was writing stuff that just wasn't, it wasn't really helping. And I promised myself I wasn't going to make a sad, depressing record coming out of COVID. I refused to even though I was sad and depressed and still and still am to an extent. But I wanted to make a fun record. So that's why this record has been I'm just excited for it to get out. But I mean, I've never sat on a record and worked on something and had to wait this fucking long for something to come out. So So yeah, it's just been a it's been a weird record. And also it was this is the ninth Wednesday. 13 record, you know, that's almost in my mind I compare it to like, if you're making the ninth Friday the 13th movie, like, where the fuck do you go from here? How do you keep the fans happy? How do you keep them? How do you not go overboard? And so it's just a lot. All that time. This gave me too much time to think about stuff. And so yeah, this record has been a I love the record, it turned out great. I'm super happy with it. But at the same time, I've just been way too close to it. I'm excited for everybody else to get to hear it and get the opinions of it. And you know, it's kind of what you always do with the record. You make something you like, and you hope everybody else is gonna like it too. So I think once I hear everybody else's reaction to it, that'll that'll make it a little better. But it's just yeah, it's been a weird time. I don't have really how to explain it, but it was just I was uninspired. But somehow, we pulled a great record out of this.

Chuck Shute: 15:58

Okay, can you give us any song titles or themes? I know, I think I heard you say there was a song about Christine, Stephen King, book and movie.

Wednesday 13: 16:07

You know, again, I didn't really try to, I didn't try to delve into any personal things. This is still just a horror movie album. We have a song Christine fury in the night, which is about my favorite one of my favorite John Carpenter films. We also I have a sequel to one of my older songs, we have a song called Return to head and feel just like part two to one of my old Halloween songs. But uh, one of the first single which we're going to do the video for in like two weeks as a song called year so hideous, which to me sounds like it could be Alice Cooper. Single it sounds like it's, it's like poison. Okay, it's got that vibe to at least with me, but the vibe of it. And another song we had, which was kind of inspired by the pandemic, I remember the very new song called a it's a good day to be a bad guy. And I wrote that title. The very first day that I heard that mask were mandatory. And hidden me you're gonna force people to wear a mask. I'm gonna Oh, that's a good fucking day to be a bad guy.

Chuck Shute: 17:17

That's a cool title.

Wednesday 13: 17:18

I like that. That a title. So that's, that's one of the standout tracks to it. That's the very one of the very first songs I wrote. Like early on, and like I said, and it's got old Wednesday, 13th vibes murder dolls vibes to it. It's just the song is as cool as the title. I was

Chuck Shute: 17:36

okay. It says something like, I like some of the some of the song titles, even if you're old songs. Just like before you even hear the song. You're like, oh, that's a great title. Like you had a song called your mother sucks cocks in hell. I was like, oh, that's like the line from The Exorcist. And that's a great song, too. Is their songs like that with those kinds of titles? Yeah,

Wednesday 13: 17:54

I mean, that's kind of been my, my little shtick that I've always stuck to is like, like you said, before you even hear the song. You read the title of it. Well, that's cool. Yeah, but it's always very important to me to have song titles when you look at the CD or an album before you buy it. Whoa, I gotta hear this. You don't have like, three titles got to have them. And I like I'll spend weeks staring at a tracklisting and go man, that doesn't look right. We rearranged it. So So yeah, that's kind of been my little stick. I've always done as I've always kind of made catchy songs, but then throw in lyrical stuff that maybe what what did you just say? You know, like, like you said, your brother says Cox and hell, like that title alone is gonna get someone's attention. But like I said, our first single, it's super catchy, but it's got the word fuck in it. I don't know how many times it's part of the course. Okay? Like, all right, that's a catchy chorus, but fucking is in the course this called your Haiti style. You're so hideous. You're so fucking hideous, is what I say. So it's just like, you got this catchy song but you're gonna, that can't be on the radio. I can't, you know,

Chuck Shute: 19:07

you have to do an edit or something or don't even care anymore.

Wednesday 13: 19:11

Well, if Miraculously, the song somehow strikes millions and they go hey, let's let's get a radio edit. Then it would just ruin the whole vibe of the song. Right? I haven't had any ideas. I mean, it's crazy that like I said that that song you're so hideous and good day to be a bad guy or my two favorite songs on the record or two singles. Catchy they got the word fucking it probably 20 times.

Chuck Shute: 19:35

So what do you think that even matters anymore? Like what what age would you recommend kids be to listen to one of your albums or come to a show? Like do you think there's a cut off at some point?

Wednesday 13: 19:47

No, I mean, at this day and age, I mean, there's our fans are having kids. You know what I'm saying? Like right. I have a granddaughter who's almost five and I got a video of her yesterday listening to One of my songs with a monster mascot. And I'm like your fives, you know? So, I don't even know, I am not the person to judge and say this is? I don't know. But I think what it all comes around to you is my music has always been fun. It's never been able to take too seriously. So even if kids did get into it, I think you're still going to have a good kid. He's just going to have a, you know, a bad sense of humor.

Chuck Shute: 20:29

Yeah. So do you think that's partly like the parenting and stuff, though? Because, I mean, do you ever worry about that? Like, I mean, probably not as much now maybe more when your fans were younger. But then again, like you said, your fans are having kids. Like when you have the assault? What's the one you heard about the song you have about suicide or whatever, like, you worry that someone's going to be inspired to do some sort of real murder or real suicide?

Wednesday 13: 20:50

No. You know, I, I also think, you know, again, my kind of songs if I have like a suicide a song that maybe you're talking about summertime suicide? Yeah. Yeah, song is basically a Romeo and Juliet song, I tell a story. So I'm not saying, you know, go and kill yourself. Or anything. I'm just, I tell stories that wait, so I don't, I really haven't thought about about I like I said, I for some reason. I feel like people get my sense of humor. So you don't ever look at it like that. You can take a band like us, or Alice Cooper, and I get it since a human font. And then you look at a band like Satyricon or behemoth, which I love, and go, maybe they're a little scarier you want I mean, like, big difference between that,

Chuck Shute: 21:39

right? But it's art so but I guess the the other side of the coin is that there may be people that they're probably a lot more than listen to your music, where it saves them like I know for me like metal as a kid like that got me through being a teenager because being a teenager sucks, but then you listen to metal and you're like, alright, you get out your anger with some Panthera or some Yeah,

Wednesday 13: 21:59

I mean, that's always been my escape Music has always been my escape for me. All those bands I grew up on you know, are still my favorite bands. I still want as I listened to like, I don't even really listen to anything new except for me. I always listen to classic stuff and that's just Yeah, music has always been an escape for me and I feel the same way for what I do for for my fans have given them an escape from reality to come to my show, and turn off their brain they don't think about work not thinking about their life, they can get in to the show and and that's what I hear people all the time, but I hear even though my music, or whatever you want to call it with your mother such Coxon Hill and these kinds of songs. It's a great battle. I have people with these VIPs we were just talking about earlier. Yeah. I mean, every single day, there is one person that will do the VIP will do the picture. I'll sign stuff, and they'll pull me like the sign here. Hey, I just want to tell you that you saved my life. I'm like, yeah, and they're like, like, I went through a horrible time, blah, blah, blah, different stories, that people I hear that every every single day on tour. And it makes me go man, this is this is worthwhile. I am I am helping people. So I never hear anybody going you know what, I listened to your music. I did a lot of fucked up stuff. It's always like you're saying it from from from death or this relationship or I'm going through this so so it's

Chuck Shute: 23:31

I fucking love hearing stuff. Like, that's so cool. And every day, like,

Wednesday 13: 23:35

you know, I do in the meet and greets, and I'm just like, wow, and we have our merchandise person who brings the VIPs in and I'm like, just hear that, like, Wow, man, you know, so every day we'll sit and talk and it's just a it's such a cool thing and music has been has been a healing thing for for me and knowing that I can do that for my fans is there's nothing better than it can make my bad day instantly changed into a good day when someone tells me that like, I don't know how you can even not react to that, you know?

Chuck Shute: 24:04

No, that's amazing. So yeah, I mean because your your story's pretty inspiring to like I mean you you are driven to make it right I mean you're working it like Kate was at Kmart or Walmart or you get told me the story. I didn't understand this like the guy Joe when Joey called you from Slipknot, like he found out how did you even find your number? Like he listened to the drag of Frankenstein drag queen band? And then he went recruited you for the murderdolls?

Wednesday 13: 24:29

Yes. I'll try and make this short story but it's basically I was 1999 or 97 to like 2000 I worked at Kmart. Then I then 2000 to 2001 I worked at a magazine delivery. I drove a big truck that delivered man everything you see in your grocery stores, your National Enquirer, your everything every Rolling Stone, any magazine you saw, that was my job. So I was doing that that job. And at the time I just put out the third Frankenstein drag queen CD, you can order from me through the mail on millet from my house. And the guy that Joey was playing with, he had a job. He had a band called The rejects in the morning that he would do on the site of Slipknot when they would have all tour. So the front guy of that band, told Joey like, hey, check out this band, Frankenstein directory. So ordered the CD from this guy, check it out. And I guess he made a copy. And Joey took it on tour and listened to it. And when he came back, and he was putting together the idea for the rejects again, because rejects us only two peoples Joey and another guy, and they would get other people to kind of fill in the thing. So I was on the list of people that could potentially be in this band. And, but at this, this time, Slipknot was coming off the road for their second out their second album, and they knew they were going to be off the road for probably a couple of years. So Joe, he was putting a more serious project together. I think he was in his mind, he's like, Okay, I'm gonna do the reject with this new lineup, and at the time trip from static X was involved in it. So just trying to make like this kind of like little new supergroup. And when I came in, I was really just the bass player. I was gonna play bass, which is odd enough

Chuck Shute: 26:17

to play bass and you play guitar and sang right guitar. But most people,

Wednesday 13: 26:21

if you can play guitar, you can play punk rock bass. So you know, but at the time, I'm sort of driving the fucking delivery truck. And I'm like, You know what, I'll play bass, I'll play a kazoo. I don't give a fuck. I'll get I want out. I want into this world. I want to do this. And once I started working with Joey, he was just like, again, I said the same thing as me. He's like, you're not a bass player, your front guy. And these are your songs. And you should do it. So I switched to the front guy status. And that's kind of where it all it all started. So

Chuck Shute: 26:55

the moment where he called you. I mean, that must have been a crazy moment to get a phone call. And it's like, Hey, this is Joey from slipknot. Because had you ever met him before anything?

Wednesday 13: 27:05

And here's what was so cool about it. And again, like I'm friends. I mean, I obviously know the slipknot family. I'm friends with Corey Taylor. All I know all those guys now. But when Joey Jordison called me. I wasn't a fan of Slipknot. I wasn't a hater either. I just wasn't, there wasn't my thing, you know. But I obviously knew who they were because I literally just put the Rolling Stone cover on the shelf that they were on. And wow. He called me leaves a message on my answering machine like, Hey, this is Joe Jordan a slipknot. Give me a call. And I'm like, What the fuck is going on? So I called the dude up. I don't know who he is. I'm just in my mind. I'm visualizing that cover of Rolling Stone. And I'm like, so which which guy? Are you? Like 20 of you? And he's like, I'm the cool looking guy. random guy. I'm the guy with the redness here. I'm like, okay, cool. Well, but you are the cool looking guy. So he's like, Are you a fan of Slipknot? No, ain't my thing. I was like, I don't really said I. And during that time, when Joey first met me, I was I was a glam rock, punk rock, just diehard, you know, if I didn't like other stuff, and I was like, because you liked it. And I was like, I ain't my thing. You guys look goofy. You'd like you're bobbing for apples would you do with this stuff on stage like I would. I would make fun of this stuff. And he loved it. He was like, he thought it was hilarious. Because he didn't necessarily want someone that idolized him.

Chuck Shute: 28:48

Respected you a lot for saying that. We just became

Wednesday 13: 28:51

friends. And it wasn't because he was guys in slipknot. I could? I did. I didn't care. You know what I mean? So he just always thought that was the coolest thing was that I wasn't like, you know, Slipknot, like diehard. And over the years I've come to love Slipknot, respect everything they do understand the band, you know? But at the time, I was like, I don't care about this. Whatever. You guys were there.

Chuck Shute: 29:18

That you would even just say that though. You wouldn't say yeah, you would lie and say you're a fan because you wanted to get the job or whatever.

Wednesday 13: 29:25

No, no, I didn't. I mean, but again, I just I've always been honest. And when I do stuff and I'm like, It's not my thing. You know, like, there's tons of bands that I'm friends with and I don't necessarily like they're like you and me like I'm not a I'm not a heavy metal guy. I grew up on a rock and punk rock and that's kind of always been been my thing. I'm, I'm friends with all these bands are huge, heavy bands. I'm like, You're my buddy but like I've been friends with Randy and lamb of God for years and I don't think I listened to him till about two three years ago. Same thing Jamie from hate breed. And like, knew him for years and did a tour for six weeks and never even saw them play, but hung out with him every day. You know, so that's I don't know, that's just you meet a lot of cool people in this business and it doesn't matter. They're not friends because they like each other's bands. They're just friends. That's interesting. People. So

Chuck Shute: 30:22

that's that's a refreshing. I'm sure that's true, but a lot of people would admit that. Oh, yeah, I like this. You just are more honest.

Wednesday 13: 30:29

Yeah. You know, and some people just they choose not to say anything. I'm sure there's people that are fans of me that hate my band. Yeah. Sucks. Like Wednesday. He's cool.

Chuck Shute: 30:39

But yeah, so you are a fan of like the more of the glam rock and stuff though. Like I heard you say, which was like, oh my god, we're kindred spirits because you love Skid Row. And you love Sebastian Bach that slave to the grind album. That was the same thing for me that was like, Oh, this is such a great album.

Wednesday 13: 30:54

That's the reason I started singing. Skid Row was was my ninth grade 10th grade, year of high school. Meeting my high school sweetheart. We both love Skid Row. She thought Sebastian was an added to I thought he was he was the ultimate Rockstar. And I can see how he would move the audience and make girls scream make. Every guy wanted to beat him and every girl wanted to him kind of kind of deal and I was like, it's gonna be a good job. Maybe I could get into this. So but again, I'm 15 year old, 14 year old guitar player never even tried to sing before. But once I started joining joined the band became a guitarist. We couldn't find a vocalist for six, seven months I went Fuck it. I'll try it. So I grabbed the mic, and I started singing and everyone's like, whoa, you sound cool. And I'm like, Alright, so that's when I started trying to do it. So Sebastian and Alice Cooper are my voice models. And if you listen to my voice, that's exactly what I sound like.

Chuck Shute: 31:57

It's hard to sing Sebastian's style though, right that high. I mean, it's gonna hurt your voice.

Wednesday 13: 32:04

It's hard to do, but I give people every every tour. Not every week, but I have people constantly since I've been doing music, it doesn't sound like Sebastian a little bit on the song. Okay, this little little hands there. I've never been able to do the belting out kind of stuff that Sebastian can do. But his his nasty little demeanor and dark added he just had an attitude with his voice. And that's something that I wasn't able to capture in. But yeah, Allison and Sebastian were my role models as far as like, what I want it to sound like and somehow I did it.

Chuck Shute: 32:42

Yeah, no, it's amazing. So when you are a crew fan, too, right are still a crazy fan was crew so I was confused on this crew, Molly crew your first tour or was it tough? Because I thought I heard both things.

Wednesday 13: 32:55

My very first concert was Motley Crue Dr. Feelgood okay it was my very first club concert was tough. Okay, so that was the two first of two bands I saw one on a giant level like Dr. Feelgood I saw a warrant and Motley Crue on the Dr. Phil good to her to your warrant behind me which Yeah, one of my favorite Jenny Lane rest in peace Yeah. Awesome vocalist awesome songwriter. Finally, I think I can't tell you how many times I've listened to Warren over the last two years it's my it's my to go to music and I saw them in their prime I saw them right went down boys came out and they fucking killed it. So there was no going back for me seeing that as a first concert see and warrant and Motley Crue in 1987 88. And like that was just another level on I want to do this,

Chuck Shute: 33:50

ya know? Who are the punk rock influences then?

Wednesday 13: 33:55

I mean, originally you know when I first discovered like punk like like Sex Pistols was my another one big influence on me Sextus tools and the Ramones were my were my two cigarettes. But you know I also got into like the damn I got into anti nowhere league just there was there was so much of it but after after a while it kind of just all started bleeding together for me so I just kind of picked out a few bands but the Sex Pistols and the Ramones have been probably the biggest influence on on on me as far as punk bands and writing goes like my my line and then Hollywood from murderdolls to the ad that's how I want to be is basically the Ramones d u m be everyone's that gives a mood that's that's what I do. So yeah, yeah,

Chuck Shute: 34:45

that's cool. So now you're listening to every you know you like I heard you say like killing joke but also you're listening to 70s r&b like Curtis Mayfield and just you listen to country and stuff too, because you have the bourbon crow project.

Wednesday 13: 34:58

And he's like you said These last two years off for the COVID basically just sitting around, like, all the music I listened to was just I went back and listened to a bunch of old, like, early like 80s, late 70s country with the stuff that I used to hear my parents playing on the radio when I was a kid. And, you know, you don't want to like what your parents like when I was younger, like your parents liked it, you hated it. So I didn't understand the country music wasn't on my radar. It was just like, that kind of music. But over the over the last few years, I went back and started hearing some of these songs. And they were just like, it blew my mind. I'm like, Oh, I remember my mom playing this in the kitchen. You know, when I was a kid, like, and listen to some of these songs and and like, country music speaks to me now because I've lived my life. Like country songs are about life struggles and things like that. And when you're a kid, you don't have like struggles then you don't care. You know? I mean, like it does, it didn't relate to me. So yeah, I just went back and listen to a lot of old old country stuff, everything from like, you know, early Hank Williams Jr. stuff, which his story's amazing to how that guy he had like 13 albums on the on the top 40 charts at one time, which is Pam. Yeah, that one time it was like But, but just the stories on some of these guys were there. They're better than some of the Rockstar stories that you hear like, Hank Williams Jr. Fella mountain. He fell off a mountain the tourists faceoff. People don't know that if I didn't know that. Yeah, I didn't know that story. So it's just you know, it's he wrote songs about about it as well. So it's just the I don't know the stories of some of those guys. I relate to a little bit more. I'm also from the country, I'm from the south. So just just another thing I could relate to. And just a lot of good songs like really good. They're not really country. They're almost like pop songs. So listen to that kind of stuff. I'm a huge ad money fan. I listen to ad money, like non stop. I always refer ad money whenever I write a good song, but that's a hit. That's what ad money would do. I do it like that. But I really found myself not listening to metal or anything really heavy at all. Like I said, the most current thing I hear is myself. Everything else is kind of you know, I listen to old ad stuff from warrant to it's just everything I grew up on is what I kind of listen to now and nothing news really inspired me or something I want to listen to all the time. There's a lot of great bands out there, you know, but I just don't I don't know I find myself listening to the older stuff

Chuck Shute: 37:36

to people send you music or a lot like younger bands and things Hey, check out my demo or whatever.

Wednesday 13: 37:42

Yeah, I mean, on tour fans will give me their CDs and like I said a lot of these bands will give me and I could tell were direct influence on like, check out my band the free robbers from hell and here's a cool, right you know, so I definitely check that stuff out. But uh, I don't get a lot of new new stuff. For the most part bands just send me their CDs but like nobody is really forcing anything on me here. Again, I'm always looking, I'm always open. My ears are always open to hear something. Something new. That was cool. I like that. Like, I just heard the new Ozzy Osbourne song for we got on this this podcast. I'm like, sounds like honestly, that's pretty cool. I'm not gonna listen to it all day. But I like it. That's cool.

Chuck Shute: 38:24

Yeah, I guess because so many bands are still making music, it's you get lost and how much stuff and it's all available for free or whatever.

Wednesday 13: 38:32

I can't keep up with other bands because I can barely keep up with myself. Like I said, this is this is a lot of me. This is the ninth Wednesday 13th record. This is like so it's just a it's a lot to I've noticed that for me. I was huge music fan. But once I started my own career, and this has been what I do non stop I don't have the time to invest in those bands like they used to. Like as you mentioned killing joke earlier. That's probably the last band that I bested, like time into because I just I heard this blew my mind. This is awesome. I want to hear everything. So I went back and investigated everything. They did read their history. And that's probably the last band that I kind of like to hook into that caught me like that. And that was thanks to Joey as well. I've never listened to Killing Joke. We were doing the last tour and he's like, because I want to cover this killing joke's on I don't know any killing jokes often. We'll listen to this. And I listen to it, which is amazing why we're not listen to this. And they became like my favorite band. Wow. I'm sure something else will come along. That's not new, but it'll be new to me. And I'll jump into it.

Chuck Shute: 39:42

Okay, yeah, it's kind of like I said, you get lost though because it's, there's so much music out there. But then it's hard. You got to, you know, weed through all the crap. There's a lot of crappy music too, but there's a lot of good stuff. You just got to find it. It's hard to find. Yeah, and

Wednesday 13: 39:55

I think one of my hardest parts about getting into music is just production level and sounds of I don't know, there's just a new mix in the way people do stuff. It doesn't sound real to me anymore. It just sounds so processed and so, Pro Tools so digital, that there's just no to me, and that's my problem with a lot of the newer stuff. That's why with this new album, this record to me is just, this is more of a raw rock'n'roll stripped down, there's no it sounds like a real record that was recorded with real instruments and real microphones, as opposed to when I hear other bands and it's just sounds like it's just too processed for me. And that's just me being an older dude that I just that's my preference. I don't Yeah, and stuff so well, especially

Chuck Shute: 40:48

for rock I never understood when rock bands use drum machines. That's a little weird to me.

Wednesday 13: 40:54

It's just it. Everybody can do whatever they want to do. It's just my my perfect picture is something that's just more rock more real. More of like what I grew up on, you know, I like to make music. That sounds like music that I listened to. And I was saying all the old hair metal glam rock stuff. I don't think Wednesday 13 is too far removed from that that sound like I said, we're like we've just always the lyrical content so what's changed is from the hair metal bands like we could sound like you could hear one of our songs is all been a super catchy then he just say your mother's such Coxon. Hell no. So we're like, we've always been like that violent mean. So I think one person told it but actually a new who said this to me one day and you're right. Chris Jericho. I remember years ago, playing Download Festival we were taking like a van back from the stage. And Chris was like, Man, I love murderdolls you guys are like a violent faster pussycat.

Chuck Shute: 41:50

That's a good description. Yeah.

Wednesday 13: 41:53

That's that's a perfect description of what we do. Well, the

Chuck Shute: 41:57

fans like like Guns and Roses, they kind of had that. I mean, some of the Guns and Roses songs have some pretty dirty lyrics and stuff.

Wednesday 13: 42:03

That was that's probably the first album where I heard somebody went whoa, he just say fucking, he's a motherfucker. Like that was. That was pretty intense. And I don't know why that always stuck out to me. Like when I heard Skid Row, get the fuck out. I'm like, yes. Yeah, right. That's what those bands are the reasons I have probably 20 songs now with the word thug from the title, which is what I'm known for. I love to say FUCK ARE motherfucker I don't care. But all that was inspired, because I would hear those bands do that. And I'm like, I want to hear more. I want to hear more bad language. So that's what I

Chuck Shute: 42:41

know. I know when especially when you're a kid. That stuff is like so because you know, like guns and roses for me. Like that was the thing Axl Rose telling people to fuck off. Like, I know, nobody likes a song, but I loved getting the ring because I was like, He's just telling everybody to fuck off. And so it was like, the song is great.

Wednesday 13: 42:56

Yeah. I remember being a kid and getting the Guns and Roses cassette, like sixth grade was Europe when that came out. And nobody really knew much about guns and roses, just the first video. And when you heard it's so easy, and you heard axils voice change from that like almost like a different person singing so all my friends were like that slash slash sings that song so we were all confused listen to this record thinking oh, actual things, all the high stuff but all the low register stuff that was that's got to be slashed at the top. You know, so the other thing I loved about Guns and Roses I loved his his voice how he could change and that's something I've worked on over the years is to do a lower register and then do my high thing that I that I do so it gives me this different levels I can work with so I don't have to sing in one range all the time. So that's one of my songs. Some Some songs are got that low the lowest register I can sing and that some songs are the highest I could do and I can somewhere meet in the middle.

Chuck Shute: 44:00

Well, yeah, and then like the bourbon crow like that, that's you seem to write that sounds totally different. That doesn't sound like Wednesday 13th at all

Wednesday 13: 44:06

that bourbon crow is me and another vocalist switch off vocals, but I mean, it's usually it's right down the middle 5050 There's songs that you would never think that's me. That's just my normal voice. And, but that was a great thing to I mean, that opened up so many doors and just broke down barriers for me like being able to be on stage with your full band, your whole stage get up and you can kill it, but to go on stage, stripped down acoustic guitar, nothing else, and you got to win the audience over that's, that's a struggle and I learned how to do it and it was terrifying. Doing an acoustic tour. at first but by the time I was done, I was so proud of myself on my two hour acoustic show and this place Buchan loved it, you know, so that definitely opened a lot Have things for me and just I guess made me I don't know, maybe a better a better frontman, but also you can, like, I don't know how to explain it to people. But if you have a three 300 people in a club, and you've got an acoustic guitar, and you can control that audience, like it gets loud, you know, I mean, you're literally trying to play and you can hear bottles at the bar people throwing stuff from the trash can like there's a total different world, you know, and so as terrifying as it was, it made me a better better frontman. And I'm, I'm glad I got to do it. Although when I finished that last acoustic tour, and like, I'm never doing this again, for years, I don't ever want to play an acoustic guitar again, I want to hear distortion. And that's kind of my mindset now, I think, Okay, we'll do an acoustic tour again, but I think I waited out a couple more years.

Chuck Shute: 45:50

Gotcha. Okay. And then you guys have so you have the American tour, and then you're doing Europe with ministry and the 69 eyes. Okay, and then wait, tell me about this show. I'm excited. Kind of want to drive up for this. It's Lita Ford, John five and is it enough's enough at the rainbow on September

Wednesday 13: 46:09

4, yet the rainbow for anybody that's not familiar with Los Angeles in the Sunset Strip and the rainbow the whiskey on Sunset Strip is within walking distance you can walk from the rainbow to the whiskey it's like a block Yeah, the rock we got the Roxy right there as well another staple the Key Club which used to be good saris is right beside the rainbow but it's not active anymore. So that little area has always been famous for what it is. But in the past I guess since COVID, or whatever happened the rainbow took over the parking lot in between the Roxy and the rainbow. So now when you go to the whiskey you have this whole outdoor thing now so it's not just the inside the outdoor is kind of like where the parking lot used to be. And they've been doing these outdoor parties for the past few years and I think this past year they finally got it right they got a real stage back there. I think Steel Panther played it last maybe just a few months ago. And basically you just go you're just basically behind the rock so you're just outside there's a giant stage and you can go into the rainbow and get drinks and get food and hang out so it's just it's the ultimate hangout thing. So for this show, are you got to do is goodbye, pay for a ticket, buy two drinks and get him for free. And it's an all day thing and I think there's bands starting at like three or four o'clock but it's Lita Ford headlines John five us enough is enough is on the bill which I fucking love enough's enough. I'm good friends with Chip. Looking forward to smoking weed with Chip outside the rainbow. The best weed so yeah, man, I'm excited for that. That was something I got offered to us. It's 15 minutes from my house so that we can start the tour here. I can rehearse we go do that show and then we get on the road. So yeah, it's always good to do something that's not normal. So for us to play a show with Lita Ford and enough's enough, that's not a normal thing. But I wish it was. I wish we did more stuff like that. I mean, I think it's gonna fit well. I mean, the, the obviously, thought we were a band that would fit that kind of neck style and would fit in for me, we're, like I said, I grew up listening to the Sunset Strip band. So it's pretty cool to be offered to go play a couple shows.

Chuck Shute: 48:27

That sounds amazing. And John five dude, that guy is such a crazy, awesome guitarist.

Wednesday 13: 48:32

He's a insane guitar player, and probably one of the nicest guys I've ever toured with. We've been. I don't know how many shows we've done with him over the past couple years and plus off tour with the zombie and with murder dolls, and John's a huge kiss fan. I donated a bunch of my kiss stuff to his museum, his knights and Satan service thing that he does. He's a great guy. He's a big fan and was a 13. He loves my voice. He thinks my autograph is the coolest autograph ever. He's like, your signature is so cool. And I'm like, alright, that's,

Chuck Shute: 49:09

that is cool. So when did you you toured with zombie when you were in the murderdolls?

Wednesday 13: 49:13

Yes. Yeah. Joey was doing double duty. So he was playing drums for Rob Zombie. And then we would open up the show. So it would be so we did that. 2010 2011 we did Rob Zombie and Rob Zombie Alice Cooper in the States. And then we did Rob Zombie and Monster magnet in Australia. So we did a bit of bunch of stuff. And so I got to know the zombie camp and crew and everybody plus Peggy was in was originally and Wednesday 13th On the first album so do you have all we're all intertwined together? We're all know each other? Do you

Chuck Shute: 49:51

ever talk like movies and horror stuff with Rob Zombie or hanging out? Do you guys ever have like a movie night like that would be so cool to watch horror movies with Rob Zombie.

Wednesday 13: 49:59

Oh, Um, no, I never set a whole night or anything well, but I've been I've been around rob a lot. I'm super excited for his monster staying. I think that that remake Yeah. He's he's probably the biggest monster fan that I know besides myself. So having him take control of that. I know you read everybody online. Oh, he's gonna what's he gonna do with the monsters? What's the bottom line? He's probably going to do it justice and do it the way he wanted to see it and I can't think of a cooler thing to have. I mean, I told him Yeah, but you got the ultimate dream job. You get to play rock music and you get to make more movies. That's what I've always wanted to do. And but I've sit down with Rob, we've talked about movies and stuff before I'm a big fan of house 1000 corpses and Devil's rejects. We've definitely talked about movies and stuff, but I haven't haven't got the honor to to hang out and watch movies all night. Hopefully he'll invite me to this monstrous premiere and I can do

Chuck Shute: 50:57

Yeah, well, that's it. Isn't that how you got your name? Obviously Wednesday is from Wednesday Addams. But I didn't know. I thought Thirteen's was maybe Friday the 13th But no, it's 1313 from The Munsters.

Wednesday 13: 51:08

Yes, yes, that was the the the two things I combined. I mean, I was trying to come up with a cool stage name. I mean, my real name is Joe pool. I can't be Joe pool the singer I gotta be. So I want to something cool. Wednesday. Always love Wednesday Addams. I really liked the remakes. And Christina Ricci Wednesday was amazing. She was such a little bitch. I love that and there wasn't anybody that I saw. Like I wanted the name that was the Santa like a rock star name or something from space and and you know some Nicki six, the Ziggy Stardust, so it became Wednesday. 13 get my cell phone number. And the 1313 was the mockingbird thing. Mockingbird lane, which is the address for the monsters and so yeah, that was kind of the combination although most people probably think you know, Friday the 13th people that don't know me, even though they'll hear the band name they still can't say the ghost. Here's Wednesday the 13th I just let them go. So what

Chuck Shute: 52:06

was uh, what was Audrey three? your alter ego? Where did you come up with that one?

Wednesday 13: 52:12

That's called too much time on your hands. Basically, with my the band prior to murder dolls is my Frankenstein drag queens band. And my name of the band was Wednesday. 13th. We constantly change costumes, different wigs. They were just like this weird band and I could do anything weird. So I'm weird buying gifts. Oh, well, why don't I just create 13 different personalities? And I'll be when say 13 I'll be Audrey three. I'll be and I had like three or four different things that I did. The Audrey three was the blonde leopard outfit, which is basically named after Little Shop of Horrors. A little thing was Audrey two. Okay. Audrey three. Gotcha. And it was a couple other ones. But it just never. We didn't play enough shows to ever get all 13 of those personalities out. We played like three shows in six months. So that's an idea that I had and I got a couple of photos and enough that you've heard about it. You know what I mean? So that's, that's about as far as it went.

Chuck Shute: 53:18

All right. Well, that's cool. All right. Well, I'll let you get back to work because I know you're so busy. I do in each episode, promoting a charity of some sorts or a charity that you're that you'd like to give a shout out to here at the end.

Wednesday 13: 53:30

I like cats, so any kind of cat animal charities things? That's That's my thing.

Chuck Shute: 53:36

I love cats. Okay, I'll put something in the show notes that people can donate to. Do you have cats?

Wednesday 13: 53:42

I have one little cat named screen. She is my sidekick my my child. She's my furry buddy.

Chuck Shute: 53:50

What kind of what color is she are

Wednesday 13: 53:53

black black as hell she's my she's my baby. And all I do literally all day if I if I'm ever have time to scroll and social media and you know, because I watch cat videos all day.

Chuck Shute: 54:12

What now what can you watch though, because sometimes I'll get like, I don't know how these come up in my newsfeed. But oh, but on Facebook, it will be these ones where they're rescuing the cats and the cats all like, decrepit. I'm like no, and it's like it makes you watch it because you don't want to see the you want to make sure the cats okay. It's kind of like sick in a way.

Wednesday 13: 54:30

Yeah, some of those aren't my favorites. But I luckily, I follow like Blackcats of Instagram. And there's just so many pages and stuff. And I literally just started I mean, I was telling somebody one time we were we were flying to Europe, and we had like a 10 hour flight and all my bad guys we're all in the plane everybody's got their little TV on. And you have hundreds of movies to choose from the new movies new Batman who Avengers new this whatever. I'm looking over Guitar players watch Batman are the guys watching Avengers. Everyone's watching all these new movies and I'm watching the BBC 10 Things You Didn't Know About cats watching that's, that's what I do. So yeah, I'm just I'm constantly just, that's my favorite thing. I don't know I, I've always liked cats, but I think in the past few years, it's just been like, they're the most adorable cutest things ever ruining my image right now by saying that.

Chuck Shute: 55:32

No, I love it. That's awesome. All right, I'll put that in the show notes along with your website. People can check out the summer on tour. It's gonna wait, your Are you going to Europe now? Or I forget when the IANA

Wednesday 13: 55:43

we're off basically, till the tour starts September 4, that the rainbow show we're just talking about going forward. And then that leaves up to the 23rd. And then of October, and then we go to Europe. And that starts with ministry. October 28, I believe. And so that's our touring for the year. New album is out. October sevens for single is out August sevens.

Chuck Shute: 56:09

Okay, I can't wait. Yeah, that sounds awesome. I'm just like discovering more of your music and your deep catalogue and going through all of it. It's great. I love it.

Wednesday 13: 56:17

It's a lot, a lot of music there a lot of activity a lot of time. They may have never heard of you like, well, if you like it, you got a lot of homework, you know. So yeah, it's the ninth ninth record to murdered all records. Five, Frankenstein dragged me now three bourbon crew albums. So, you know, I've been busy since I got out of high school.

Chuck Shute: 56:37

I love it. Yeah, good stuff. All right. Thanks so much. Wednesday. April, man, thank you for having me, dude. Appreciate it. All right. We'll see you later. All right. Buh bye. Thank you again to Wednesday 13 for coming on the show. See him on tour and look out for the new album coming out in October, or may already be out if you're listening to this in the future, and support my guests of the show. Follow them on social media, share their stuff, buy their merch, see them live. Share the music with a friend. The guests really appreciate that. And check out some of my other episodes if you enjoyed this one I had on Wednesdays bandmate from the murderdolls AC Slade and his old the old bass player from an bourbon crow counterpart rain Bell share was on the show I had Doyle from the misfits on it's a terrible interview but people seem to love that one for some reason. So thanks for listening. Have a great day and shoot for the moon.