I first came
across Andre Schlesinger during the 80´s when he was in a an Anti
Fascist NYC Oi! band called The Pess. I picked up their split album
with ´The Radicts´ on Oi! Records which is a kick ass album by the way
- The Press were a great band and one I wished I´d interviewed at the
time. It wasn´t until I started using My Space that I came across
Andre and his new project Maninblack. After viewing their on-line
press pack I decided an interview was in order. Here´s what the main
man had to say:
Punk
Globe: First off who´s in Maninblack and who plays what?
AS: Right now, officially, it´s just me although I am currently
working with a new lineup. I don´t want to mention any names at this
point in time in case there are unforeseen problems and I have to sack
someone. After Maninblack´s last performance I ended up having to sack
everyone for various reasons in the weeks following and it was as if
we were just getting underway. At this time the new lineup is all but
complete and this is probably one of the last interviews I will do
without the participation of the additional members. I´m very pleased
and excited with the new lineup, everyone is coming in from other
significant bands with lots of experience and individual styles. I
think this will be what I consider "the lineup," actual contributing
partners in the project, the people I will record and hopefully tour
with. Christ, I hope I didn´t jinx myself here!
Punk Globe: Where does the name Maninblack stem from?
AS: The name comes from the urban folk/conspiracy lore of the Men in
Black who traditionally like to intimidate people who´ve had
encounters with UFOs although the actual phenomena of the Men in Black
has been recorded throughout history and as far back as antiquity.
Many cultures have a similar figure in their folklore and mythology
who serves a similar purpose, that being the intimidation of the
uninitiated who have witnessed something they shouldn´t have.
Basically the Man in Black character is a sort of modern day boogie
man whose intentions are to instill fear in adults rather than
children. Oh, and thanks for spelling it correctly and as one word.
You´d be surprised how many people keep making the obvious mistakes.
Punk Globe: I like how you´ve incorporated electronics in to
your sound but do you think it goes down well with the
Oi!/Street Punk purists?
AS: In some respects I´m a purist myself and that being said there has
been plenty use of electronics in Oi although not always appreciated.
Bands like the Angelic Upstarts and to a greater extent Blitz utilized
synthesizers and don´t forget The Oppressed almost exclusive use of
Simmons electronic drums. And then there are the experimental bands
like Max Splodge and Splodnessabounds and the Geggus brothers as The
Postmen. What we´re doing is taking these electronic aspects,
stripping them down and retrofitting them into the basic Punk style,
kinda like reverse engineering. What I don´t want is to sound like
everyone else or, even worse, a certain select few, which is one of
the problems I´ve found with most of the so called American Oi sound.
Punk Globe: What gave you the initial idea to incorporate
electronics in to your sound in the first place?
AS: I´ve always wanted keyboards on my songs, even back when I was
singing in my former band The Press, not only as a special effect on
certain songs but more so as organ, piano, and lead synth sounds as a
regular part of the band. Of course that didn´t happen but when I
decided to put Maninblack together a few years ago I made my mind up
that I would attempt to have the sound I had always wanted even if it
meant picking up the instruments myself. Other than that I´ve always
been a fan of bands like Roxy Music, Gary Numan and Tubeway Army and
Kraftwerk and of course I won´t deny a rather obvious influence from
The Stranglers.
Punk
Globe: How did you go about working with Garry Bushell and how are
things working out with him as your manager and you a member of the
Gonads?
AS: When I first published Maninblack´s web site (Maninblack: The
Official Online Press Kit!
www.maninblack.org).
I sent out an email to anyone and everyone associated with Oi music
and out of the hundreds of messages I sent Bushell was the only one
who responded. One thing lead to another and before long Bushell and I
were collaborating on various projects and an agreement was made that
he would manage Maninblack. As a manager Bushell has been very helpful
in terms of production, he´s heard it all and knows if I´m taking
things a bit too far in the experimental direction but in the same
respect he encourages Maninblack´s unique style and sound. As far as
The Gonads is concerned, yes, I´m listed as a member of the band and
like I said before I have been collaborating with Bushell on various
projects, The Gonads included, although we are still working out the
logistics of my participation in terms of recording and live shows. I
read your interview with Gal, you´d think after 3 years or more of
conspiring he could get my name right!
Punk Globe: You´ve recently been on a Redskin Tribute and an
Oi! Compilation put together by Gal so what feedback have you had from
fans?
AS: The few reviews I´ve seen are very good and suggest that
Maninblack stands out with an authentic yet unique sound. The approach
I take to recording cover is to do the songs in a completely
Maninblack style which also involves rearrangement an even rewording
of lyrics. Lots of people are very curios about the band and we´re
getting an overwhelming amount of requests to play.
Punk Globe: From what I read somewhere it said you´re a
Satanist - Was that wind up? Does the whole Satan thing go down well
in American Oi! Circles as I´d imagined many of those people would be
slightly right of centre with christian values?
AS: I´m a priest in the Church Of Satan, ordained by the late Anton
LaVey. It´s not really a big deal.
Punk Globe: So Andre is this like a full time job for you
playing in bands etc?
AS: In a way I´d like it to be but for the most part the hours I spend
writing, recording, promoting, and most of all looking for musicians
is a thankless and virtually payless job where the work outweighs the
satisfaction. Up until recently it´s been two step forward, three
steps back for Maninblack and very frustrating at times reminding me
exactly whey I gave up on music after ten years of singing in The
Press. Other than music I work as a private investigator but you´d
probably think that was pretty boring.
Punk Globe: Now you´ve got the compilation tracks out can we
see you doing an EP/album of your own material in the not too distant
future?
AS: An EP was planned and went into production last year but had to be
scrapped due to problems with band members. Since things seem to be
falling together, at least for the time being, it´s probably safe to
say that we´ll be releasing a limited edition EP in the near future,
probably in the form of a mini CD, and I already have ideas for a full
length CD but I think we´ll hold out on that until we have some
backing in the form of some kind of record deal. That isn´t to say
that we won´t be participating in any more compilations though. I
really like doing unique versions of covers and alternative versions
of Maninblack´s original material, if nothing else we´re going to
leave a legacy of obscure tracks but I think it´s going to be a whole
lot more than just that.
Thanks to Andre for taking time out to do this interview. The
future looks bright for Maninblack and I wish Andre every success with
this project. These are a band to look out for in the not too distant
future.
