[kj] INTERVIEW – JAZ COLEMAN OF KILLING JOKE (Cryptic Rock)

[Paul]

https://crypticrock.com/interview-jaz-coleman-of-killing-joke/

*INTERVIEW – JAZ COLEMAN OF KILLING JOKE*
Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, and Soundgarden all have one thing in common,
they have cited Killing Joke as a musical influence. Just a few of the many
artists to claim inspiration from the England based band… who are these men
who call themselves Killing Joke? A hybrid of musical ingenuity, Killing
Joke have been around four decades – spanning every genre from Punk to
Gothic Rock, to Electronic, to Metal.

Releasing fifteen albums, nearly all which broke into the top 100 of the UK
album charts, they are not only prolific, they are pioneering. Unwilling to
settle down within one style of music, Killing Joke prefer doing whatever
the hell they want, and doing it well. Amidst their highly anticipated
return to America, Killing Joke Vocalist Jaz Coleman took the time to chat
about the last four decades of the band, their philosophy, believing in
yourself, plus much more.

*CrypticRock.com* – Killing Joke has a rich history that dates back 40
years. Spanning styles, the band has become one of the most unique and
influential Rock bands around. First, briefly tell us, what has the journey
been like for you?

*Jaz Coleman* – The journey is an ongoing journey and out of this world.
Currently, I am on a US tour I had mixed feelings about for a number of
different reasons, but since I’ve been out in the US, I’ve just had the
best time of my life. I can tell you now, if there is a US to come back to,
Killing Joke will surely be touring the US again – we have all had such a
marvelous time!

In regards to our style, it is one of those interesting things. When we
have the summer season of doing outdoor festivals, you will find Killing
Joke at a Dance festival, a Punk festival, a Metal festival, sometimes a
Goth festival – you just never know what kind of genre we are going to find
ourselves in. The same thing if you go into a record store and look for a
Killing Joke record, you will find it in Punk, Metal, Rock/Pop, you will
find it in Dance – they have a problem categorizing Killing Joke. If you
see the four of us, we all have such eclectic tastes; it is hard to picture
us all together, because we are all such different individuals.

As far as the journey goes, the journey hasn’t ended. The journey will end
in the next life – I am committed to Killing Joke for the remainder of my
life. The journey has taken us from teenagers, if you can imagine that, to
so many great milestones – we recorded inside the great pyramid,  we did
our first New York gig in 1979-80 at the Rock Lounge. It is just an ongoing
thing. They tell us we are one of the most influential bands in history
now. It is all these wonderful things! I don’t know where to begin and
where to end with Killing Joke’s history, we have done so many things.

When I’m not doing Killing Joke, I conduct orchestras, working in Russia
and the Czech Republic a lot. I have a very different life: I go from
Classic music to the extremes of Killing Joke. When you consider all of us
left school around about the age of fifteen, none of us have any exams or
anything. It’s a long journey from living in squats; it is a long journey
from being underqualified and no university to becoming a maestro. I have
also studied religion. With Killing Joke, what I am trying to say is, our
further education – it is university for all of us. We have all
accomplished so many things without any qualifications. I am actually an
architect; I have designed three buildings now that have actually been
built. While I don’t have any qualifications as an architect, I have
actually designed and built houses. We don’t let anything get in our way:
if we can visualize it, we just go and do it. We have no fear of failure as
individuals.

What can I say about being in a band with your best friends forty years
later? It’s the best thing in the world! The reason why we’re together and
so many bands aren’t, it’s called communism – we split the pie four ways.
There is no bitching – well there’s bitching, but not about money. (Laughs)
We are still in the journey: it hasn’t ended and long may it continue.

*CrypticRock.com* – It is really wonderful and you have accomplished so
much as a band, as well as individually. What is really special about
Killing Joke is the band has had their commercial success without
compromise, yet still have maintained an underground and independent
persona. How important has it been to the band through the years to stick
to their own philosophy, and has that been a challenge at times?

*Jaz Coleman* – In the ’80s it was kind of worse, because there was always
the pressure to have a hit-single from record companies; I was always
fighting against it. Whatever you think is commercial is not commercial,
for a start. Often, the most surprising things you do are commercial. If
you try contriving things for a market, normally it will fall flat on its
ass. We’ve never done this with Killing Joke, I never know what to expect.

Whatever preconceptions you have about what a record is going to sound
like, it ain’t going to sound like that; it’s going to be something
different. You have to go into it with a real open mind with Killing Joke:
it is a kind of experimental workshop. We get together and we lock into one
kind of rhythm and something happens; I think it is a kind of friction
between the four of us. You can have more professional players joining
Killing Joke, and the same thing doesn’t happen. There is this friction
thing between the personalities that makes it what it is.

Everyone challenges each other, nobody particularly agree with each other.
Getting consensus in Killing Joke is one of the most difficult things ever
– whether it is a setlist or agreeing over songs that go on an album. This
is a microcosm of democracy in action. (Laughs) If we can reach consensus
in Killing Joke, there is hope for democracy! (Laughs)

*CrypticRock.com* – (Laughs) It is good to have different personalities and
different opinions: that is what makes the world go round. The band
continues to put out great new music and, in 2015, released your fifteenth
studio album, Pylon. A great collection of songs, is there any new music
coming soon?

*Jaz Coleman* – There will be another album. When we approach a new album,
we always try and better every album that we have done before that. We are
one of those strange bands that, as we get older, the music gets better.
Normally you have records, you normally have your best records in your
first 3-4 records, we are the other way around: as we get older, it gets
better; It is bit like fine wine or a fine cigar, it really is like that.
(Laughs) I can promise you the next record will top all of them, because I
shall make it so. We start off like this – whatever you think is good with
music, it’s not, that is fucking shit! Whatever you think is coming from
God is still not there!

*CrypticRock.com* – You certainly outdo yourself each time. Is there any
estimated timetable for new music?

*Jaz Coleman* – If I said something now, it wouldn’t be so. Whatever I say
– this has happened or that has happened – and it probably doesn’t happen.
So, I’m going to keep my mouth shut this time, but we are already kind of
starting to work on it. As long as I keep Geordie to come up with as many
riffs that he’s got, and the same with me, Youth, and Paul with his tribal
patterns, the more we leave it, the more ideas we have and the better it’s
going to be.

*CrypticRock.com* – Fantastic! You mentioned working with your friends for
all these years – you have stuck together despite different personalities.
What do you think has been the key to the bond you share, is it the
friendship you share together?

*Jaz Coleman* – That is a very good point. Look, when you start off as
teenagers together, you kind of grow together. Paul does some of the
lyrics, and I do the majority of them, but you can’t tell the difference
between our writing style. That is one of the great things about growing
together as a band, you get a sort of similar writing style. That is the
most important thing with any young band, to find their sound. Killing Joke
has a sound that you just know as soon as you hear it; there are reference
points straight away that you know that’s Killing Joke.

We are going to get into the esoteric if you ask me how come we’re still
here. When it was just big Paul and myself in 1978, we thought, “How the
hell are we going to find two other people that: A) Have a revolutionary
style of playing music, B) Have a understanding of the esoteric, and C)
Have an understanding of politics and basically high IQs.” So it was a tall
order to find two other people to fit what our dream was. It was around 3
o’clock on the 26th of February in 1978, we did a prayer, or like a ritual,
and within three weeks we had Geordie and Youth. Forty years later, here we
are together. I attribute a certain amount of the magical to our continued
success and union.

*CrypticRock.com* – It is wonderful to see it continue. You mentioned about
coming back to the USA, and you are currently in the midst of an exciting
US tour.

*Jaz Coleman * – I’m loving it! I never thought I could enjoy America so
much, I really love America. Like all our countries, we inherit a
government everywhere which is easy to be critical of. Once you forget
about the machinery of government, then you have the people of a place.

I don’t think there is anywhere on planet earth we have a warmer reception
than the United States of America. I love the American people, I believe
they deserve the best! I am a lover of the US Constitution: I think it’s a
hallmark for freedom and long may it be defended. My only thoughts on
anything coming close to politics are beware of those people who would
alter the existing constitution.

*CrypticRock.com* – Good point. Politics can be a sensitive subject with
many people, especially nowadays.

*Jaz Coleman*  – Well, I really don’t have any right to talk about politics
anywhere, because I’ve never voted once in my life, not once. (Laughs) You
know what, I don’t know whether I’ve ever seen a politician I like,
anywhere at anytime ever in my life.

*CrypticRock.com* – (Laughs) Well, politics are not a pretty aspect of
life, better off leaving them alone. With the touring going on, you are
also busy with other things. Tell us a little more about your other musical
endeavors.

*Jaz Coleman* – You have to remember, before Killing Joke, I had a
Classical career and by the time I was 13-14 I had won many international
awards for Classical music. I was already set, and to my parents horror, I
went into Punk Rock when Killing Joke was formed. (Laughs) Around about the
age of 21-22, I decided to study Classical music again. Some ten years
later, after using the money I made with Killing Joke to go back in to
study orchestration, my Classical music career started. I was very lucky,
actually. I probably have sold more Classical records than Killing Joke
records in my career, but most people don’t realize it. I had a #1 in
America for 108 weeks in Classical music, most people don’t realize that
either. I’ve done really well there.

As things exist now, when I am not doing Killing Joke, I work at St.
Petersburg in Russia, which is a very different place to work. I work with
the St. Petersburg State Orchestra, and also now with the St. Petersburg
Philharmonic. I do the summer festivals with the symphony orchestras there
at the Czar’s Palace in St. Petersburg; I love working out of Russia. It’s
a very different place and, of course, you have to adapt. It gives you a
different perspective of the world when you work out of these places. That
is my life on one end.

Then as things progress, I intend to work for the United Nations next. That
is my next goal. You see, the only way warring tribes can talk to each
other is through something called ‘united nations.’ (Laughs) If we don’t
have that, where the hell are we going? I am a passionate supporter of the
United Nations, and more importantly, it’s spiritual foundation – which is
non-denominational and universal.

*CrypticRock.com* – We could use more unifying ideology: the division has
become so intense around the world, especially in the USA.

*Jaz Coleman* – What we’re learning, after the so-called breakup of the
United Kingdom, and of course the last American election, is the best
people to look after a country are the indigenous people from that country.
Then we have a system of tribals all around the world and they need to talk
to each. We have to do that through the instrument we all know as United
Nations. This is my feeling.

The idea of trying to homogenize everything, there are a lot of things
about globalism I absolutely detest. One of the things I really hate is
going to so many cities around the world and seeing the same shops
everywhere; the same stores – it just so ghastly. My dream is tiny,
family-run enterprises everywhere; that is a more interesting world than
globalism. I am not convinced globalism is working and it is necessarily
the right way. But there you go, as if my opinion is going to count.
(Laughs)

*CrypticRock.com* – You raise a lot of great points. Last question. Beyond
music, CrypticRock also cover films –  particularly Horror and Sci-Fi. If
you enjoy these genres or any other genres, do you have any favorites?

*Jaz Coleman* – The last movie soundtrack I did was Walt Disney’s Mulan
(1998). Since then, I have moved out of movie soundtracks. That is because
primarily if you go into doing movie soundtracks, you can never go back
into Classical music, because they never take you seriously anymore in the
business.

I kind of moved away from doing soundtracks. My favorite all-time movie
soundtrack would have to be The Mission (1996) by Ennio Morricone. The
music is better than the film, and you have to love Ennio. I love him.

*CrypticRock.com* – There are many films where the music makes the film.

*Jaz Coleman* – There are plenty. I am not adverse to doing movie
soundtracks again in the future and if it suits my style. The thing I have
with movies is, I hate music taking second place. (Laughs) Well if there is
anyone reading this that has a movie where they think my music is
appropriate, get in touch!
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