By Andrew Bansal
To coincide with the July 2013 re-release of their third studio album ‘Electric’, The Cult have been on the ‘Electric 13’ tour across North America since July and are coming to the end of the tour with back-to-back shows in Los Angeles at the Wiltern on September 7th and the House Of Blues Sunset Strip on September 8th. Released in 1987, the Electric album has been given a new lease of life by its current rendition on stage as the band plays it in its entirety every night of the tour. The 2013 reissue of the album is called ‘Electric-Peace’ and includes the Peace album which was only released in the Rare Cult box set back in the year 2000. On September 4th 2013, I spoke to bassist Chris Wyse to talk about the Electric album, the progress on the follow-up to ‘Weapon Of Choice’, musical direction, touring, and more. Read the conversation below.
Chris, it’s good to have to have you again on Metal Assault. Last time we did an interview, we talked about your band Owl and this time I’m going to discuss The Cult with you. You’re coming to the end of this Electric 13 tour which has been going on since July. What has it been like for you and for the band to be playing the Electric album in its entirety every night?
It’s been very awesome to play the whole record from top to bottom. The crowd knows the music and the order of the songs, and it’s been probably the best Cult tour we’ve done, you know. We get to come out and do a second set based on the other albums and we feature a lot of stuff from our newest record Choice Of Weapon.
The Electric album came out in ’87, and you were not on the original recording. Did it involve some amount of homework on your end to play these songs, as some of them would not have been played in a while?
Yeah, I’ve done the last three albums with the band, a lot of live CDs and at least one live DVD, so I’ve been there a long time but I didn’t record Electric. I was just a kid at the time when I came out. I was written up in Guitar Player magazine for my outrageous bass chops actually, which is kind of funny (laughs). I was into a lot of classical and jazz at the time, and I was also into the rock. But as far as playing the bass on this stuff, it’s very foundation-based bass playing, kind of like AC/DC. You know, I’ve been a session player for many years so I can’t just come in unprepared and I have know the stuff inside and out before we even start. That’s my policy of how I work for stuff that I didn’t personally do. And in the second set we play a lot of new stuff, from ‘Beyond Good And Evil’ which I recorded and Choice Of Weapon. We’re not doing anything from ‘Born Into This’. But yeah, it’s a little bit of my own approach to the bass and a mix of Jamie Stewart and John Paul Jones. I do riff out a little bit, but it’s mainly about honoring the songs.
Right, the Electric album is only 39 minutes long, so as you just said, there’s a lot more to the set than that because you’re playing two hours every night.
Yeah, exactly. But we jam out on some things and sometimes Billy extends the solo. So even if the set list stays the same, it sounds a little different every night.
This tour also fits in with the Electric-Peace release, because the Peace recording didn’t really get a proper release before this.
Yeah, it came out on vinyl, and I’m a big fan of vinyl. I think it’s great to have an actual record. Choice Of Weapon came out on vinyl as well and Owl has two different versions of vinyl for ‘The Right Thing’. I’m a huge fan of that medium.
Me too! As for playing albums in entirety, a lot of bands have been doing it recently. Before you played the Love and Electric albums in entirety, what did you feel about that and has your opinion changed after you did it yourself?
Well, I like the idea because the Love record we did a couple of years back was really cool, and same with the Electric record. These are really important albums for The Cult. I think people grew up with it and you see this sort of sentiment and excitement among people in the crowd. It’s nostalgic but it’s still fresh and that’s what’s cool about it.
What’s the word on the next album? I believe you guys are working on new material?
Yeah! There’s music brewing. Ian and Billy have some demos kicking up already and there’s talk about getting into the studio in 2014 for a new album. Ian gave me the OK for me to tell people about this (laughs), because I asked him whether I could or not. So that’s the good news, and also Owl is going to do another video before this year’s up, to promote ‘The Right Thing’. I’m actually going back to LA to record a couple of new songs for Owl that will probably come out next year. So there’s going to be a lot of new music for 2014 from The Cult and Owl!
That’s good to hear, and that means we won’t have to wait another five years for the next Cult album!
No you won’t. Definitely not.
Coming back to this current tour, it’s been going since July and ending now in early September. It’s a long run of shows …
Oh yeah, we’re doing four in a row at the end in Phoenix, Vegas and two in LA. Then we have two weeks off and then we’re going to Australia, followed by three weeks in the UK. In between Australia and the UK, I just booked a couple of shows in New York City, actually (laughs). So it’s going to be pretty busy till the end of the year by the looks of it.
Yeah, what I wanted to ask you is, do you actually prefer playing shows regularly nowadays as opposed to having off days?
You know, sometimes four in a row can be tough with all the traveling in between, but there’s also a feeling of becoming a well-oiled machine the more we play so there’s an advantage to it. The adrenaline kicks in every night no matter how tired we are before the show or whatever. Playing with Johnny Tempesta is awesome, the guy is just a machine on the drums. He brings a lot of energy, and I think Billy is playing at the top of his game right now, Ian is singing amazing, and we have a new rhythm guitar player James Stevenson who has really added a great dynamic to the band and I love standing on stage with James. He was in The Alarm and Generation X with Billy Idol.
That’s very cool. So, The Cult as a band has gone through various musical changes in terms of the style from album to album. Where do you see the next album going?
Well, there’s just talk right now about where the new music’s going, but I think because we’re on this Electric 13 tour right now, we can feel that there’s something really powerful about the simplicity of the music. I mean, just because something’s simple doesn’t mean that it’s easy. You have to deliver it with the right energy. People often ask me how this stuff compares to the bass solos and intricate things I do with the upright bass. But, just because a bass line is pumping and simple, it doesn’t mean it’s not fun for me. So, we’re taking quite a bit of information from doing this Electric 13 tour and understanding how these songs really deliver that one-two punch. I can see the band getting more raw and stripped down, but we’ll see. I’ve been chatting with Ian and Billy and that’s kind of what are talking about. It could all change by the time we get into the studio (laughs), but I think raw, simple and really good basic driving songs.
That sounds great! I’m looking forward to the album. I have just one more question for you. The Cult started out as an English band but with the two Americans in the band, yourself and John Tempesta, what do you feel? Is the English feel still there in the band or is it kind of mixed up now?
Well, we have an American rhythm section in an English band (laughs), and may be there’s a different kind of muscling thing that comes from American bands. But as a session player for many years and being a member of The Cult I understand the English swing quite well. When I get a gig for another band and record with them, it’s all about honoring the feel and sound there. So I think we’re bringing some American energy to The Cult for sure, but we’re also honoring what was already there. It’s a combination, you know. And who knows, I might even play a little more upright bass on the next album. We’ll see.
That’s well said. Chris, it was good talking to you again, man. Thanks for your time and I’ll be at the show on Saturday.
Oh, fantastic! Also, thank you for mentioning Owl and bringing that to light for everybody.
Any time. Owl is one of my favorite LA bands these days.
Thank you for saying that! Well, have a great rest of the day. I’m going to jump on the plane to Phoenix now!
Get tickets to the September 7th show at the Wiltern here and September 8th HOB Sunset show here.
Visit The Cult on the web at:
thecult.us
facebook.com/officialcult
twitter.com/officialcult
instagram.com/officialcult
youtube.com/user/TheCULTofficial