JEORDIE WHITE | BASE TENDENCIES
PRESS
[Translation by kurai]
The disappointment because Trent Reznor did not answer my questions himself evaporated fast – at least I tried to convince myself of that with more or less success, because Jeordie is known as former bass player of MARILYN MANSON, a band I liked at exactly that time, when Jeordie was a part of it: from “Antichrist Superstar” to “Holy Wood”. To find a quiet place we moved to the loft of the Columbiahalle, where we took our seats on plastic chairs which were probably from a ‘Futurama-Fundus’. But it wasn’t particularly quiet here either because security was running around with loud walkie talkies all the time. Jeordie took it with humour. He seemed relaxed, was very friendly and left a smart and rather introversive impression, which surprised me because I kept him in mind as pretty crazy through MARILYN MANSON videos and gigs. Well, popstars and their image...
W: How did you come to tour with NIN?
JW: Trent and I always got along well during recording. We weren’t in contact for some time – then he moved to L.A. Some time ago he called me and asked me if I wanted to join his new band.
W: Are you a real member of NIN now or is it just for the tour?
JW:: It could be for a longer time – let’s see how it goes.
W: With NIN, the case was always that there never was a real band – the records said “Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails” and Trent worked alone a lot in the studio. Can you imagine that he has a regular band with you guys?
JW: I think so. This band could stay together for some time. Trent mentioned it was the best band he's ever had.
W: What will you do with the other bands in which you play an important role, like Tool [sic], for example, or A Perfect Circle?
JW: I love to make music and I love being on tour. At the moment I like to be on tour with NIN. I don’t know yet what will happen with A Perfect Circle. I don’t have a clue what future will bring.
W: Are Marilyn Manson and you still talking to each other?
JW: At the moment there is no reason to talk to him, though I can't think of a reason why we shouldn’t talk to each other.
W: Has the audience changed because of the new songs, which sound a little bit poppier?
JW: No, I think the audience is pretty similar as before, because the gigs had already been sold out before the record was released. But I’m sure this NIN record brought new fans.
W: I read that NIN cancelled a performance at the MTV Video Awards because it wasn’t tolerated that a flag of George Bush would be shown in the background during the performance of “The Hand That Feeds."
JW: I guess they weren’t thrilled that we were possibly making a political statement. They didn’t approve of something like that.
W: Is it true that MTV is more pro Bush than supportive of the Democrats?
JW: To be honest – I think they try to refrain from that.
W: I read there is an alternative version of the video of “The Hand That Feeds"…
JW: Yes, there is another version but it proved to be not as good as the actual one.
W: How was the collaboration with David Fincher and do you like his films? (“Seven”, “Fight Club”, “The Game”, “Alien 3”)
JW: The collaboration was very good. The clip of “Only” we did with him turned out very cool. I like his films very much; besides he started being a video-regisseur.
W: Concerning that, I am reminded I wanted to ask you about the rumour that there will be a new NIN DVD with video clips.
JW: Yes, there will be something. But it’s not really new, it will be an updated DVD with earlier clips, and on which -- as far as I know – there will be more material than on the VHS tape.
W: How is it for you being with NIN now? I’m asking this because I heard several times that Marilyn Manson and Trent aren’t getting along with each other well. Are you caught between the two?
JW: I know they don’t talk much to each other. But this topic is hyped mostly through the press. The media likes to concentrate on that, it's just sensationalized journalism. I just keep the two relationships apart.
W: Did you know the other musicians of the current band from before?
JW: Yes, I joined in arranging the auditions.
W: Will Trent write the songs alone as before?
JW: We will see how it’s going to be on the next record. In the past Trent did almost everything on his own, but this time it will probably be different. But I don’t know that for sure.
W: Are you satisfied with how the tour is going?
JW: Yes, very. It’s going well, not considering the Jetlag. The audience has been great until now.
W: Has Trent changed in your opinion?
JW: He’s not partying that much anymore. He’s still a good guy, it was always like that. Maybe people think differently, but he always was a good guy.
W: I never thought he was a bad guy. When he sang “Hurt” at the Hurricane Festival and scratched himself meaningfully on his forearm later during the line “this makes it all go away”, he seemed very deeply moved. It didn’t look like a show.
JW: Hmm, I think Trent is a very good actor!