Nonstop mayhem and madness! The hardcore hip-hop rock duo Jamie Madrox and Monoxide terrorize us out of our sanity with their malevolent lyrics and sordid and beats. They’ve continued to blow us away album after album, from their debut album Mostasteless all the way through their latest The Darkness, bringing a style and lifestyle that is inspirational to thousands of blood lusting funloving FAM fantatics cross the globe. They have pushed the boundaries and questioned all limits for the average band, having time after time surpassed any obstacle in their way.
With a new album and new videos featuring some of the top echelon horror icons of our times, these two are definitely the things that nightmares are made of, and that is high praise indeed! We had a quick dialog one afternoon with non other than Jamie Madrox. In a complete opposite from the first encounter I’ve had with Twiztid (read HERE, but not at work or around small children, or adults with heart problems), we spoke about aging, music, Detroit, horror, and Betamax!
I was reading that you’ve been doing this for around 17 years. I was like, “Oh God you are old!”Let’s talk about what you guys are up to right now. I read that you will be performing a 10 minute session at the Detroit music awards to show respect to the independent Detroit music scene. Would you mind telling us, for those of us who might miss the show, what to expect and how you feel you are contributing to fostering the Detroit music scene.
With everything that we do, we try to put our all into it. It’s cool to be able to participate after all these years, you know what I mean? To actually be acknowledged is a cool thing.
I was reading that you’ve been doing this for around 17 years. I was like, “Oh God you are old!” You are about to have your third annual 420 show at the Crofoot ballroom in Pontiac in about a week or so. How is this show going to be bigger and brighter than the previous three?
Wow! Thanks! I suppose you’re right! With everything that we do, we always try to raise the bar. Our will to get out there and rock faces is more over the top than it was before. Like you said, we’ve been at it for so long. If I’m not mistaken, at least one of the two before was in concession with a tour. So we were out there doing it every night. We’ve been home for a while now, recording and doing interviews. We’re kind of jonesin to get out there. I think it’s really going to be “AHHHHH” to get out there.
Let’s take a step back to talk about your more recent things. You just released a video for “Boogieman” and it had Tyler Mane and Reggie Banister. They are exceptional horror icons in their own right. Previously you released a video with Sid Haig and Kane Hodder, another group of cult status horror actors. Obviously, you have a flair for darkness and horror. How did this vein began for you? Have you always been a fan of the horror genre?
Oh absolutely! Yeah yeah yeah! Since we were old enough to be able to work a VCR (because I’m old, as you stated!). Before Blu-rays, there are these things called VCRs. Ever since we were able to run those, we’ve always been into horror movies, you know what I mean? It was something we all had in common and enjoyed. It was like a release to us, and we were able to identify with our favorites. We would actually be able to repeat the dialogue in real time. Hell yeah! We love this shit!
Twiztid – Boogieman Official Music Video – The Darkness
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I was thinking you might even be talking older…like Betamax.
Oh wow dude! You went to Beta! The short-lived Beta! Hell yeah! Don’t forget laser disks! Next to a dinosaur carcass there is a laser disk. Shiny records!
What was it like to shoot with those guys?
Oh it was super cool! For me it was trying to contain my inner fanboy. Again, being such a fan of horror, it was like, “Holy shit! Holy shit! Snap out of it! We are cool!” It was always cool! We had a video with Reggie way back in the day called “Story of my Life”. We had a little bit of history with him. It was cool seeing him again, “How’s it been? What’s life been up to?” that kind of shit.
It was cool meeting Tyler. We had known Kane for a while now. To me, as a fan, it’s fucking amazing to call these guys friends and to be able to text them and say, “hey what’s up dude. Happy birthday,” or “What the fuck are you doing in town?” and that kind of shit. It elevates. I’ll always be a fan, but now to actually call them friends too, is fucking amazing.
You fangasmed all over them.
To a point. You can say that. I refrained from all panel questions until the end of the video, and that kind of shit. I tried to be refined with my fanboy-isms, and be professional; however, at the end of the day, how could you not be cheesing constantly! I had a constant smile for the entire shoot of the video. It was great!
Are there any other horror icons you would give your left nut to shoot with?
I would never give my left nut for anything, except for maybe my family. There are a shitload of horror icons I would love to work with. Robert Englund. Bruce Campbell. I’m sure the list goes on and on.
Doug Bradley?
Yeah. That would be pretty cool. Brad Dourif. He did the voice of Chucky. He was also the Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III. He’s the fucking shit. Amazing! His voice terrifies me. I would love to work with him. He’s really cool.
The Darkness. Kudos on that. It’s been kicking ass and taking names. In the your press release, you were quoted that you have not lost the magic and intensity in either yourselves or your music that you started 17 years. Once again, you guys are crazy old. How do you feel you are sustaining this momentum?
I would say (and I’m sure my brother would say something else), personally it’s because we remain captivated by everything. We don’t get tired. We are appreciative. We are excited. We are genuinely excited. We’ve been doing this for so long. Every day it’s like, “fuck yes!” When we go out there, and hear what people say about you, and how you motivated them to either lose weight, or stay in school, not kill themselves, get through the toughest times in their lives, it’s a blessing to be able to hear that. If anything, that would be why. It makes us feel like, “let’s do this! Let’s never stop doing this!” We can touch this many people in the world and be able to help them, and be a catalyst for change in their lives. When that is what you’re doing, why would you want to stop doing that. Why would you want to lower your intensity? Imagine if you turned it up, how many more people you could reach! It still blows our mind! When we hear these stories, its mind boggling, and we remain grateful. That is the biggest part of it.
Sounds like the wind beneath your wings is actually your fans.
Absolutely! That was an awesome Bette Midler reference! Hell yeah! They really are. Without them we are nothing. When we first started out, we only wanted to be heard. When we found an audience in our family, who accepted us for who we were, and more importantly, we accepted them for who they are, that is when it all clicked. They are clearly our energy source.
Absolutely. The last time we spoke about years ago you are on the verge of launching your label, Majik Ninja Entertainment. At that point we were still undecided on the name, and you are very coy about disclosing any potential names. I did you decide on “Majik Ninja” and how do you feel that your label is going to push your music and potentially other artists who know level?
We were thinking about a name. We had a bunch of stuff, and what we wanted to do was to have something that was broad enough to be able to put out any kind of music. We didn’t want to cater to get one thing. We wanted something to be open enough to cater to any kind of music. As far as how we would be able to push our music, we paid attention a lot when we were coming up. We were like sponges and soaked up knowledge and watched how things were done. We don’t know everything, but I think we know enough to be able to help. We think we can guide bands, artists, and groups to be able to make their dreams become reality.
What other artists on your label?
As of right now, that I can talk about, are Blaze Ya Dead Homie and The R.O.C. those two guys are definitely on the label. We are working on a few other people that are, I don’t know what you call it: “in transit”. Basically it’s not on paper yet.
Are there any other artists that you are keeping your eye on that we should be keeping our eyes on as well?
My brother is all into that. We’re constantly paying attention to things. Every day somebody new comes out. It’s kind of hard to say.
Let’s talk about the back to hell tour that is coming up. It has tons of dates, night after night. How are you guys going to keep it fresh night after night?
I’m actually taking some time out to do this interview with you. I usually do two hours of exercise every day. I’m trying to condition my act of my body to be able to go out there and do what I do. We 40 nights on, and have only two days off. Now my brother, he’s always been skinny, it is not the worried about that kind of shit. Not me! I have to keep my pencil sharpened, so to speak. I think what it is, it all goes back to the whole “wind beneath my wings” thing. I think once we get out there, and you get the energy from the crowd, after that that’s all she wrote. Basically, as long as we get to the venue every night, it will be an awesome show.
You have Davey Suicide, Damn Dirty Apes, Kissing Candice, and Kung FU Vampire. Really nice lineup! How do you feel these artists are going to complement each other?
I think it’s cool because there is a little bit of diversity as far as the sound of the music. You have Davey Suicide with his style -I don’t even know what to call it, I don’t quite want to collect punk, but definitely kicks ass, and you have Damn Dirty Apes with what they do, and then you have us with what we do. I think it’s a good mix up to keep everybody entertained. It’s going to be one hell of a show. We’ve done shows with those guys before, and they kick ass. There’s definitely going to be a lot of energy in the hall that night.
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By: Alice Roques, Co-Founder and Managing Editor
