13 QUESTIONS WITH LIZ 13

1. what got you into guitar?

Well I can remember at the time, after trying a few different instruments, that I kind of fell in love with a black gibson les paul.

But I guess it was Dave Chandler and Saint Vitus that gave me a passion for guitar. His guitar sound is what really ignited it for me and made me want to be serious about it.

2. what music inspired you to pick up the guitar and form a band?

So many different bands made me want to form a band and play guitar. Especially when I was a teenager. First it was The Stooges. Then Slayer made me want to play metal, then Winter made me want to start an all girl version of them.

I was just finishing an apprenticeship as a tattoo artist when I decided to stop doing everything else and start a band! I think i was possessed. Enter: many many years of being broke as opposed to being completely loaded had I stuck with the tattooing. Ha! smart.

3. i know yer one band 13,did you play before that?

Not really…..the first band I started was called Thunderpussy, which sort fell apart after a year and one gig. Ellen and I continued on together and it became 13. Before that, I tried to play drums in a band that did suzi quattro covers.

4. so 13 was ahead of it's time,who did you open for back then?

We opened for loads of great bands (and not so great)…its hard to remember them all now…but obviously I remember Pentagram & Saint Vitus!!!, Iron Man, Cathedral. Eyehategod, Grief, buzzoven….the last 3 being bands we played with on a regular basis…. I remember having to play in front of a Cannibal Corpse back drop. That was kinda funny.

We played loads of crusty gigs and loads of death metal gigs. The death metal ones were fun, cause we weren't like any other band on the bill usually…we were way too slow.

5. i knew you in the following years,you dropped out and had no band. how did you feel about that?

It sucked…I never wanted 13 to break up, I was in it for the long haul, but I couldn't continue on with the band without certain members that had made other life choices that didn't include the band….. so when it ended, I was pretty upset about it and very disillusioned after investing so much time and effort. It had become my life, I had put it above all else…. So I moved away from the city for a little bit…thought I could do something else, but was pretty depressed not playing anymore. At first it was like a bit of a vacation, but then it became obvious to me that I needed to do a new band….it seemed like forever at the time, but it was only really about a year before I started jamming with new people again.

6.what got you inspired to get back into it?

My never ending desire to create ultimate heaviness.

I moved back to NYC and hooked up with some new like minded people. I guess I just felt like I had unfinished business….I had not achieved what i set out to do when i started 13…so I started another band and tried again.

7. how was your experience with sourvein?

sourvein was an EXPERIENCE. Its when the lessons really started. haha! Lots of really hard times and lots of really great new times. Lots of very humbling experiences. You know, classic due paying.

The best part was the touring experience I got in that band…also I got to play with some really cool musicians like Henry (Vasquez) and Miguel (Veliz)…that was a really good lineup that I really liked playing with and I was really proud of 'Will To Mangle' which I thought had some of the best songs I'd ever written on it.

8. rumor has it you worked at a underground S&M dungeun,what were yer duties?

yeah, It was my friends dungeon, best job ever! I worked there for a few years. I was a manageress…booking appointments, handling the money, scheduling the ladies shifts, ordering supplies etc. Mostly answering the phone though..listening to peoples 'interests'. It was really a very funny job….I'm not going to get into too many details here… I mean really unbelievable stuff. I love when things are surreal…..and put it this way, I never was at a loss for conversation at dinner parties back then.

9. whe you first got the word you could join the almighty ELECTRIC WIZARD,were you stoked?

YES! I kind of couldn't believe it really. I thought that Jus and I were gonna just do a side band together that we had always talked about, but then he just thought I should join electric wizard instead. I was like YESSSSSS!!!!!!…little did I know what hell awaited me…just kidding!

10. how is it living outside the states? you dig it?

Yeah I love it. I saw pretty much all of the US many times over and lived in a few different parts of it…so its cool to come over here and see new places. I like being able to travel so easily to so many different countries and cultures in just a few hours travel. And i really like england…the actual land is beautiful…some of the forests and landscapes are just unbelievable. And so much ancient stuff. Like a typical american, I never get tired seeing really old stuff…like the town I live in is around 700 years old, it was established in 1309!. You see these big burial mounds everywhere and like theres some great warrior or king from thousands of years ago buried under there…its just really cool.

11. i know you have some insight to the biker lifestyle,does the music lifestyle have the same appeal?

Both lifestyles have a lot of similarities. Freedom, travelling. Doing your own thing. They both have communities that exist outside of societies rules. Which appeals to me.

I like to live my life like I want.

They both appeal to me for a lot of the same reasons…like my whole mission in sound is capturing that feeling and sound you get riding in a pack…its so loud and powerful. Its awesome in the true sense of the word. Its the ultimate feeling…and when you're playing live, really fuckin' loud & heavy, the band is right in there and right on and the whole audience is with you, completely going with the heaviness and volume…..its a very similar feeling.

Its all about projecting a very concentrated heavy aggressive energy en masse.

Oh yeah, and both lifestyles take partying & having a goodtime pretty seriously, haha! at least in my experience…..

12.what do you playn out of,gear?

I play a 1967 gibson SG and use a 80s laney 100watt aor series amp through a full stack of whatever cabs are working at the time…right now its a laney 4x12 and a soundcity 4x12

13. anymore projects coming up we should watch out for?

we're about to work on our first video…unbelievably, Electric Wizard has never put out an official video, so we're finally gonna do it this year.…

We might be doing a 12inch in the next year too…

I've got a new line of t-shirts I've been working on for awhile and will hopefully be able to launch very shortly called 'Black Magick' . And Justin and I have been working on a book….its gonna have many weird & witchy things in it and will also incorporate my never finished 'ultimate guide to 60s & 70s exploitation biker flicks' haha! cause unbelievably, there is STILL not a totally comprehensive and accurate guide to these movies (at least not to my geek standards)….people need to know!