The man pictured in the middle to the left may not look like a candidate to shed light on teenagers who have trouble coping with peer pressure. Especially when you consider that he and his band go by the name of Lizzy Borden and have songs entitled "Give 'em the Axe" and "Me Against the World." They also have recorded albums such as Menace to Society (1986) and Appointment With Death (2008). For good measure, they are not shy about staging women as sexually suggestive props at their concerts.
Then consider that Lizzy Borden, the man, is simply a character in the name of entertainment. Take into account that Lizzy Borden, the band, have rarely been known to do the expected. Then know that bringing attention via music video to individuals, namely teenage girls, who relieve tension by introducing their skin to a razor blade isn't even the band's first commentary toward social awareness of a troubling phenomena.
Lizzy Borden plays hard in concert, as fans can discover April 17 during an all ages show at Backstage Live. But the band's musical contributions during an up-and-down 27-year career haven't all been fun and games.
The concert conflicts with the final night of Oyster Bake. But unlike the Fiesta festival that features Puddle of Mudd and Saliva, Lizzy Borden's show is free.
Lizzy revealed all when I phoned him last week. Well, almost all:
You don't have to worry about me asking you for your real name -- unless you'd like to enlighten me, of course.
Next question (laughs).
Q: The free concert here is the only show you're playing anywhere between early February and early May. Why San Antonio?
A: It wasn't that specific. but San Antonio is one of the first places we played. It was like magic, and I still remember almost all parts of it. That first time was really cool. It's been an amazing ride doing shows the last few years, and our latest record is getting the best reviews we've ever gotten.
Q: Any fond memories or special stories from previous San Antonio shows?
A: The first time was in '84 or '85 as part of the Murderess Metal Roadshow. It was the worst tour ever. The first show was in Detroit from L.A., so that's the kind of routing we had. We had four days to sit in San Antonio before the show. We did all the radio shows and met so many people. It was the summer because I remember it was roasting hot. Such a great four days. I remember doing the radio shows, and to top it off, the show was unbelievable. I was recently sifting through a bunch of photographs and found some from that show.
Q: I pulled out my cassette of 1987's Visual Lies, and in the credits, the band thanks five specific radio stations from around the country, including (99.5-FM) KISS. How much did they help back then, and how do you feel about many stations no longer playing '80s metal bands' classic or newer material?
A: Well, it was tragic that the whole scene died when it did die. But it's so cool that it came back. We played a show recently with Motley Crue in Spain. We played Sweden Rock Festival, and it's 1987 over there. It's tragic that they don't embrace it in the States. It's starting to come back. During that moment in time, everybody had such a blast. It'll force radio stations, I think, to play more fun music. Joe Anthony?
Yes.
Yeah, he was really instrumental in playing our music there. I did his show. People like him made that stuff happen.
Q: How did the idea come about for the "Under Your Skin" video, and what were you hoping to achieve with that PSA?
A: I wrote the song about the whole physical movement here. You know, there's so much pressure, especially on girls. They're releasing that pressure by cutting themselves. The video is three girls who were representative of having problems in their own social circle -- a cheerleader, a goth chick and a rich girl. It's a pretty powerful video, and I would say the best video we've ever done.
Q: A lot of people wouldn't expect a band named Lizzy Borden, with a record called Menace to Society, to be giving back to society in such a way. Have you guys given another meaning to "shock rock" by doing this?
A: We've always done something. Even on Menace To Society, I wrote "Bloody Mary," which was about spousal abuse, and teen girls hearing it from their room every single day. Another song from that album, "Generation Aliens," I just got a press release today in fact that it made the 50 most influential songs from the '80s. Let's see the release here: "Full Metal Jackie's 50 most influential songs from the '80s and their lyrics." The first show I ever saw was KISS, and that was ingrained in me about having fun, but I try to slip meaningful things into my lyrics. I tried to write party songs, but I'm not very good at that. I have to write something that has meaning.
Q: It's been a year since the video first aired. How much have people responded to the cause?
A: It's been amazing. Probably every other day, we get somebody e-mailing us saying someone they know has been doing this (cutting themselves). They were happy that they shared that moment. It's an epidemic, it's bizarre. Why does it happen? Not just in those social circles, but everywhere?
Q: And one of the teenage girls in the video is your niece, correct?
A: Yep, the rich girl.
Q: What was it about the Lizzie Borden murder case in the late 1800s that influenced you to form this band?
A: Absolutely nothing. I didn't do any research. I just grew up hearing that name, hearing the rhyme. I took the name and the axe and did things my way.
Q: The murders took place in Fall River, Mass. What's it like to play a concert there?
A: We played Massachusetts a whole bunch of times. One of my guitar players over the years stayed in the actual house and had horrific tales of what he imagined happened to him. But I've never actually stayed in the house.
Q: How much credit do KISS and Alice Cooper deserve for influencing the type of band you wanted to form?
A: Everything. If it wasn't for them, I don't know that I would even be doing this. Most bands that didn't have an impact visually, I didn't have any interest in. I wouldn't have gotten into music if it wasn't for the theatrics of it all. Then I learned to love the music and appreciate it. But if I wasn't doing that, I'd be a filmmaker. I'm hoping to have a short film going, but I don't want to just throw anything out there. It's going to be a theatrical tale more along the lines of Hitchcock.
Q: Did you ever open for KISS?
A: No, but we opened for Cooper a couple times. We played with him at the Reading Festival, 50,000 people. Insane.
Q: What do you think of shock rockers that came after Lizzy Borden, such as Gwar?
A: Oh, they're great. I never saw them in the '80s or '90s. I saw them recently at Sounds of the Underground. They're fun. They slip their political things in here and there, but they're all about fun as well.
Q: You guys were in the "Decline of Western Civilization: Part 2" in 1988 singing Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild." Given the negative tone of that movie within the heavy metal industry, did the exposure the band received from that performance hurt or help more in the long run?
A: You know, I don't know. We were right at the beginning (of the film) before the tone was set. I didn't even know what the movie was about when we did it. I thought it was a celebration. I thought that's what (director Penelope Spheeris) was doing with the movie, but she wasn't. I wanted to be part of this fun thing, and then it became something else. But I'm not sure we were affected because we were at the beginning (of the movie) -- the fun part. I was in Japan recently, and I walked into an '80s rock bar, and those people went nuts. They didn't know anything other than the "Decline of Western Civilization."
Q: You didn't put out a record in the '90s, presumably for a variety of reasons, yet you resurfaced following the grunge era. How difficult was it to get started again?
A: Well, we didn't really stop. That's kind of the misconception. From '89 to '93, we toured on the Master of Disguise record. Then we started a band called Diamond Dogs and recorded tons of songs. We started touring again in '98, and we toured till 2004 and started another band called Starwood and toured Japan. But as far as recording the album, it was a challenge. Deal with the Devil was a good record, I thought, but it came out at the worst time (2000) to put out a heavy metal album. I wanted to progress even though a lot of people don't know about that album. So we went through the catalog and listened to the old albums, and we said we wanted to take some flavors from each of them.
Q: A bunch of guests performed on the latest record Appointment with Death, including George Lynch, Dave Meniketti of Y&T, and Corey (Beaulieu) of Trivium. What did they bring to the table in the recording process?
A: Having George come here was so amazing. He was so eccentric. He's like a mad scientist with his knobs, tweaking and tweaking. He's never happy until he finds something he likes, then he just wails. Corey had a gig that night, plugged in, turned up the volume and said, "Push record." And we did. (Chuckles). He was the complete opposite of George. They bring so much elements to the music because they've never heard it before. They play with gut instinct, and that's what I like.
Q: Does Joey Scott ever get jealous that you get to play around with women onstage while he's busy playing drums?
A: (Laughs) As long as he gets 'em backstage, he's fine. He gets a great view. His view is unique. He gets to watch in a way that no one else can.
- WHO: Lizzy Borden
- WHEN: Saturday, April 17 (Doors, 7 p.m.)
- WHERE: Backstage Live (1305 E. Houston St.)
- TICKETS: Free show, all ages
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