ELISE HAS A QUICKIE WITH DEVIN TOWNSEND

Yes, everyone…RiB is growing up.  I did an interview, and it looks like Julia and I will be doing quite a few more in the future.  This is how I like ‘em: short and sweet.  Here’s my first “Quickie” with the man responsible for my #1 album of 2009:  Mr. Devin Townsend.  You can currently catch him on tour with Between the Buried and Me, Cynic, and Scale the Summit.  Deconstruction and Ghost, the final two installments of The Devin Townsend Project, will be out this May. I have nothing else to say other than I’m stoked when anyone will talk poo with me.  Enjoy!

You previously referred to Addicted as being “gay.” On a scale from 1-10 (1 being Ron Jeremy, and 10 being Clay Aiken), where does Addicted fall?

I’d say it’s about 4.9 on the gay-o-meter. But that 1% that puts it into the non-gay realm is a world of difference. It had the opportunity to go both ways, and decided that it much prefers women.

Which is a bigger creative mindfuck: weed, quitting weed, having a kid, or the Master Cleanse?

Weed: Broadens your vision, and I know that I have a hard enough time maintaining control over my normal, narrow, sober vision. And if you are a conduit to musical expression, you end up inadvertently representing things you don’t understand.

Quitting weed: The parties suck for two years, and you feel sorry for yourself. Gradually, the parties get fun again because you’re the one sharp guy there, and no one wants to piss you off. If you’re predisposed to mental illness and you engaged in drug activities, you should NOT complain about the difficulties in quitting; it’s self-imposed. Work through it mo-fo…

Having a kid: An epiphany in ways I didn’t expect. Folks told me that a “choir of angels would sing” and I would see God, etc. But instead…I was like “oh…so that’s how dudes are made. Fuck. Ok, I officially don’t understand how that happened…what do I have to lift?”

Master Cleanse: A piece of cake compared to any of those other things.

I’m really looking forward to hearing Ghost, the New Age/Enya-style portion of the ‘Project.’  Just how all-out are you going with this one? Can we expect any elaborate John Tesh-esque stage shows for these songs?

No thoughts of doing any more or any less than it needs. It’s pleasant, morose, and quiet.

If I have read correctly, you love a good BM.  But it must be hard to find a good place to relieve yourself when you’re on the road. Any funny stories about having to go on tour?

Shitting on the road is brutal. I think men are disgusting (I know that firsthand) and shitting beside a 300 pound trucker is a hell of a way to wake up. And peeing is even worse. I have nervous kidneys, and if I hear ANYBODY talking, I can’t piss. So I usually choose one ‘pee song’ on my iPod that elicits a Pavlovian response. Last tour it was “Raining Blood,” this tour it’s “Ashes To Ashes” by David Bowie.

As a man of mantras, what words of wisdom could you give a young, single 20-something such as myself?

WORSE SHIT HAS HAPPENED TO BETTER PEOPLE