Fate Fatal of The Deep Eynde makes no bones about who he is and what his band is about.  While others are eager to label their enigmatic sound (influenced by Christian Death, The Damned, Johnny Cash, and Billie Holliday, among others), Fate claims “being pigeonholed is your death.”  This should be easily avoided- coming up in the L.A. Deathrock/Goth scene and crossing over into the international Psychobilly and Punk scenes without compromising is no small feat.

 The original incarnation of The Deep Eynde was performance art oriented.  Fate has used worms, crickets, and squid on stage.  While the use of invertebrates could be a clever ruse to distract from mediocre music, this isn’t the case, but a means of creation and catharsis.  The Deep Eynde caught the attention of Duane Peters and found themselves on the Where the Bad Boys Rock 2005 Tour as their album Shadowland drew acclaim.  Though not as dark as the EP Suicide Drive, both albums have a murky depth.  Each listen exposes a facet of a man who is not trying to hide himself, but daring you to really see what he has to offer.  Is it the gilded box with the dead baby inside or the rotten peach with the emerald pit?

Provokator- The Deep Eynde got its start in the early 90’s, in Los Angeles.  At that time, what was going on in the L.A. music scene?
Fate- It was a lot more vibrant, edgier. It was the remainder of the 80’s & Death Rock was really experimental.  The sky was the limit.  There were clubs that did strange & crazy things & we were involved in that, but things have changed.

P- You started out being performance art oriented.  Where did the inspiration & motivation for that come from?  Why didn’t you start out as a band? 
F-  I didn’t know I wanted to start a band.  It was about finding a place within myself  that I could express. A lot of performance art was going on , some very racy stuff, like bloodletting.  I thought, if these people are giving such a raw part of themselves, then I want to be a part of that.  I want to search within myself in that same respect. After a while, I found myself more interested in music and words as a different form of expression. I could continue to express myself & make a living at it too.

P-I’m curious about the references to insects.  What did you do with them?
F-It’s really funny.  I go out of town & the first thing I request is worms- night crawlers. I make a necklace out of  them.  I’ve done performances with crickets and squid.  Searching for things that  have no limits.  I don’t like to give myself limits.  I’m not talking about chopping off my arm.  This whole thing is about a search for myself and finding out where can I go that other people haven’t gone.  

P-What did you do with crickets?
F- I had this vision of performing behind a window screen of flies.  I made this huge frame with material on the side & I put 1000’s of crickets inside & they were in between these layers of material that you could see through.  There was a hole in it & they got out.  There were complaints from people that the insects attacked them.  Another time, I had an outfit made of squid.  It fell off my body, so I said “what the fuck?” & I just started throwing them.  The place smelt horrible, just wretched.  I’ve heard the story 1000’s of times about somebody ducking & the squid hitting someone else in the face.  I can’t do that at all the shows.  When I go on tour I don’t think people understand.  People ask “where are the worms?, where’s this? where’s that?”  I try to do my best & give ‘em a good show.

P- So, when the band started getting bigger & touring more that got toned down for necessity’s sake?
F- Yeah.  It’s hard. We toned it down & we snuck into clubs we wouldn’t have normally been able to play.  It’s all about the fight for survival. 

P-I’ve noticed from your photos there’s a wide variety of looks.
F-Depending on the  type of show.  We can have a show where there’s no way in hell I  can do anything.  There’s a lot of things that go into a show.  It’s all a matter of where we’re playing, the kind of crowd.  I’m doing the best fucking job I can. 

P- You’re getting booked with more punk oriented shows.  Is it different now, playing for punk crowds rather than Goth/Death Rock? Does it feel different?
F- Totally different.  The vibe, it’s an unusual feeling.  If I play a Gothic or Death Rock place anywhere in the world I feel at home.  Playing in front of people that don’t look like people I know is different.  It’s an inspiration to me to keep doing it.  Dave Vanian, he’s an idol of mine- he really crossed over.  If there’s anyone who stands for anything in my life, it’s definitely him.  I’m just gonna keep doing this.  If we get booked at punk clubs, fine, I don’t care.  I’d like to keep it across the board.

P- I read reviews from when you did the Where the Bad Boys Rock tour last spring.  Some were thankful your performances were “not so gothic, but more punk.”  How does that make you feel?
F- I think it’s funny. (laughs)  I can respond with a different review- like a guy who is disappointed because he wanted to see Bauhaus.  As far a people saying “Thank God they didn’t do Goth“, it’s a side of us.  I don’t want to be filed in the Southern California Gothic section of the store.  I want to be filed under rock, alternative, whatever, not that specific. And what we did when we performed for Where the Bad Boys Rock was kinda tough for us.  Many nights we were looking at the set list thinking “what the fuck are we gonna do?”  We really wanted to do some of the dark stuff, so we had to go in between to satisfy as best we could.  This tour we can be a little different.  People are coming to see us- all sides of us.

P- Do you ever perform Alone Again or 444?
F- Not now.  Alone Again is difficult. I look forward in the future to coming out with something as dark, if not darker & performing those as well.  The booking agency & the label have tapped into something we’ve been working on & they really like it.  You can mark my words, I have not turned my back on it.  I’m still who I am.  If you want to see all sides of me- you’ll see all sides of me.  We’ll have stuff coming out that will be darker than stuff they’ve ever heard.  As I get older, different sides of me come out & I express different shit.  

P- I think people forget a band is like a person- it grows, it changes, it has different moods.
F- I’ve had people say that the songs have gone in a logical direction.  That means tapping into different things-a lot of the stuff we’ve done is Death Rock, Gothic, Psychobilly, & almost even Rock.  It’s all within the dark vision I have.  Everything I want to express to the audience, there’s always that darkness, it’s always there. 

P-One of the things I like is I can hear a variety of influences.  Country, Goth, Punk,-  you’ve even mentioned Billie Holiday.  At some point all of that rotates through.
F-When you’re talking about the blues & expression of the blues, you have the tendency to be darker than most persons.  Billie Holiday never wore white make-up or went to Goth clubs, but she was pretty dark.  There’s a lot of others as well.  Why are people criticizing me?  Because I’m not following the rules? I’m gonna do what I want.  I’ve never lost that.  A lot of people grow out of that, but I’ve never lost that.  If I have to go to the punks & show them how fuckin’ Gothic I am, then I’ll do that. 

P- It sounds like The Deep Eynde is your baby.  Are you The Deep Eynde?
F- Yeah.

P- It seems like there’s been a lot of line up changes.
F- Yes there has been.  A lot of line up changes.

P- Any  particular reason for that? 
F- All I have to say is I don’t know how the Rolling Stones have done it- kept a band together this long.  You know people change.  A lot of the bands I’ve performed with have stopped, but I refuse to stop.  I’ve done a lot of sacrificing- relationship sacrifices, friendship sacrifices- it’s hard to find a perfect combination of people.  The main thing is it’s still alive.  If there’s any race I should win an award for, it’s keeping this thing alive.  I’m very happy about that.

P- The band has been around since the mid-90’s, but you’ve only started to get notoriety within the last couple years.
F- That’s insane. What luck is that?  To have a rebirth in a way.  To attack it from a different side.  I feel so honored to do that because a lot of bands don’t get that chance.

P- Do you think this rebirth is due to something you guys have done or due to something in the music scene/industry?
F- That’s a good question.  As far as the industry, I think it sucks.  In Europe, I think the quest for originality is more appreciated. If there’s any relation to the industry, it’s definitely in Europe, not America.  I’ve tried, I’ve really tried, to work on America, & Germany is calling me back.  It’s a good feeling to be appreciated, especially after doing it for so long..

P- The band opening for you in Prague is a Slovak band (The Last Days of Jesus) who asked to be involved because they wanted to be part of something with you guys.
F- Wow! That’s awesome.

P- Does that surprise you?
F-  I’m always stoked when people say that.  You work so hard.  You don’t know if people really appreciate you.  When bands say things like that, I am so stoked because there’s kind of a musician family.  It comes from a very sacred place for me, so I’m very honored

P- Do you think there’s a difference between what’s going on in L.A. with the Gothic/Punk/Horror Punk crossover & what’s happening in Europe?
F- The tone of what we do is starting to become rock-n-roll-horror.  Not so Misfits-y as a lot of the bands I’ve heard coming out of Germany.  It’s weird to hear the different sides of Horror Punk, you have the Psychobilly, The Misfits-y, & The Damned-ish sound.

P- It seems an easy label to apply & a hard one to define.
F-Totally.

P- Are there any bands that people are starting to equate with you?
F- I’d have to say I don’t know because I’m so busy doing what we do.  I know we’ve etched our own way.

P-What bands do you consider forerunners of what you are doing now?  What bands paved the way for The Deep Eynde to crossover?
F- In the beginning, we weren’t as horror oriented as we are now.  As we had different members, it grew.  I’ve regressed into my Misfits influence in doing that.  Other bands?  Definitely The Misfits, The Damned, I also have a side of me that loves darker pop.  If I like something I have to be very careful not to listen to it too much- I don’t want to plagiarize it or copy it. Being an artist, I want to search for other style to be vitalized by- maybe bongo music, or Christian hymns- how can I screw that up?  I can copy a Robert Smith song, but I don’t want to do that- I’d rather copy a Johnny Cash song.

P- If anyone has some dark, dark music, it’s Johnny Cash
F- I think he did a lot of songs better than the original artist.  His voice is so destroyed & so painful, when he sings Depeche Mode, I want to listen to that. 

P- He has a distinct, intense voice.  When you’re singing, you also have a distinct, intense voice.  You probably get a lot of people, not that you sound like him, comparing  you to Glen Danzig.  You have that same intensity. 
F- That is something I have to be careful with.  In the beginning it was fine, we’d do some Misfits covers, then we had to stop all together.

F- If I ever do songs from City Lights, I’d have to suck helium because my voice has gotten so much lower.

P-I was wondering what happened with City Lights.  I don’t find much mention of it, haven’t been able to track it down. 
F- I think they didn’t press enough & it went out of print.  Now they’re talking about repressing it.  When we’re playing with bands like Agnostic Front or Demented Are Go & the people buy some extremely gothic thing I did years ago, well,  I don’t want them to pick that up just yet.  You can if you want, but I’m gonna warn you, you’re gonna cry.

P- Was it similar in theme or subject matter to what you’re doing now?
F- The album goes from a dark, dance-y, Spanish flamenco guitars to industrial.  It’s young.

T- The biggest bitch we got for this album (Shadowland) was, “why did you put that song on the album?”  "Mr. Guilt" (originally on City Lights).  I put it on for the main reason- that’s who we are.  We are that style too.  We can’t be one dimensional.  I’ll do that on every punk album we do-put a swing song on because that’s who I am.

P- It’s a personal opinion, but, one of the things that keeps me listening is that I’ll notice an influence I hadn’t noticed before- like country or swing.  There‘s always new dimensions, it keeps it interesting
F- Yeah. The band I’m working with now is a little more aggressive- I get to yell a little.  It’s a stage I’m going through. What’s going on in me now, whether it’s political or not, is a lot different than 12 years ago.  Some people say they don’t like to be political, you can say whatever you want, but the fact of the matter is we’re in a situation where the expression I need is a bit more violent. I need to yell things within the songs that I wasn’t doing before because there wasn’t a necessity for that.  Dealing with what we’re dealing with now, those  type of things will be incorporated- not a political song , but certain words that can express my American pride and how fucked up things are.

P-It’s cool you brought that up, so many bands, esp if they’re not “a political band” get touchy about it.
F- Sometimes I’ll say something small, short, I don’t want to be known as a political band, but I want people to know that I’m not going to let something that’s going on in the country go unheard.  It’s dangerous to ignore the fact that something is happening.  If I have to go kick ass in gothic dress & make-up, & no punk is going to do that, I will stand ahead & fuck shit up.  That’s my point of view take it or leave it.

P- You have the general societal anger portrayed in your music, but there seems to be a lot of personal hurt & anger too.  Is that from yourself or what you see around you?
F- Definitely from myself. I have problems like everybody else.  I analyze things too much & the best way to deal with it is to write about it.  I’ve never really used the word love in songs, I hate it, people use that word- they just throw it around.  This time (on Shadowland) I said I’m going to use it, but the way I want to use it.  Someone said Shadowland is about everybody’s broken heart and trying to cope with it.  The album before that (Suicide Drive),  the songs are about revenge.  Taking the type of stance where you’re the little guy & never fight back- you can’t win.  The best way to go about it is to just sit there & evil eye everyone.  To be the evil punk child that I’ve become as an adult.  Soon this is the kid everybody stays away from and they don’t fuck with anymore

P- So you’ve gone from revenge to love?
F- The best thing about it is I create songs that are like children.  I’m so lucky to have that avenue.  You know my life hasn’t been easy.  None of our lives have, but a lot of my peers have died or committed suicide and I gotta keep going because I have a lot of things to say.  If I have to cross borders, if I have to sing in front of punks, I’m gonna do it. 

P- When "Dead Alive" changed to "Suicide Drive" was that from something personal?
F- That was supposed to be the original name and for some reason it was a last minute fuck up- it was a typo. This is one of the questions I always get… “What’s the secret?”- it’s a typo!

P- Shadowland has gotten a lot of critical applause.  Do you think it’s the best thing you’ve done?
F- I think it shows a change.  All songs are like babies.  There’s some that rip my heart a little.  "Alone Again" is like that, another one is "Deep Dark Secret".  It’s the ones that really tear me apart that I’m all about- the pain I haven’t really dealt with yet.  It’s therapy for me to capture the moment that I hold still in my body.

P- Are there any particular songs on Shadowland that you are close to now or reflect your current mood?  That you get excited about when you’re performing?
F- Actually there’s a new one called "Bad Blood" that I really enjoy singing.    For some reason, I like singing "Nuthin’ To Do".  I wanna scream.  I want to shout my head off. I want to jump in the audience, punch myself in the face punch other people.  It’s like finally, I get to breathe.  I’m doing what I love to do.  It’s one of the songs that’s like taking the big shit. 

P- You mentioned a new song.  Does The Deep Eynde have a new album in the works?
F- Yes. We’re trying to isolate a sound, but it’s like fireworks shooting across the board.  What direction should we go?  What are people liking?  What’s the label gonna pick?  I’m scrambling.  Pulling songs out of the file cabinet.  I’m not forgetting about my Gothic fans.  Now the Punk kids are saying, “they’re a Horror Punk band, thank god.”  I’m not forgetting about anybody.  I’m just trying to isolate a sound & focus on a new album and I want to make sure we take our time. There’s a certain sense I want all the albums to have- a full sidedness.  The album will represent not just on the depressing side, but passionate as well.  Some bands don’t want to show that side- the emotional side, but that’s who we are.  I cry, I need to sing about that..  That’s what I love about Johnny Cash & Billie Holiday- you hear their voice & you hear pain. You don’t have to put up a front.  Show the pain, show it all.  Release yourself.
 

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