Jester: Where have you been the last two years since the release of Phantoms. You seemed to have disappeared off the earth musically speaking.
Peter: I had a calling from a higher source. I'm not really certain what exactly happened. Every thing in my life changed, personally, professionally & musically.
Jester: Why did House of Usher end?
Peter: The city did not want the club any longer. When that happened, we consequently were unable to afford to keep it going. It is simply impossible to make enough money to keep a place like House of Usher going when you have the ability instead to run a club where you can sell illegal narcotics. In other words, our club was too clean compared to other clubs that were beginning to run rampid in the city. Clubs that catered to a scene where sex and drugs were the norm, and thus, the clientelle mostly shitheads who rely on such a place to score their shit. House of Usher refused to cater to such a scene. We were into supporting our scene and as a result we were not deemed marketable...by whom you may wonder? The city, the venue owners, the cops, whomever - corruption runs rampid sometimes.
Jester: And then the Cyberden meet a similar peril?
Peter: The BBS met it's doom, not by the same means, but financially I just ran out of my own money, which was the main source that was keeping CyberDen alive. However, the WEB site is still alive and well on Hallucinet. The demise of the BBS side of things was once again the case of waiting for the music industry to pay it's bills and never receiving any money. It was costing me way too much to support on my own. All of the labels wanted to support me in every way except financially, which was the most important method of support when it comes to keeping The CyberDen alive. I ended up burying myself slowly for something that no one ever wanted to pay for, so I took it off line.
Jester: Are you still going to release the Digital Wings benefit album?
Peter: As soon as I sell enough copies to finance the pressing of the album. It took all of my fiances just to get back on my feet so I won't have any spare money any time soon. I just went through a major life change and it required a lot of movement, both physically and emotionally. The physical portion took a great deal of money.
Jester: Are you in the process of working on any new musical material?
Peter: I just signed a contract to release another album and EP via 21st Circuitry. I am working on that material now although it will probably be a few months before it is released. There is also a side project that I just finished which included some other people besides myself. The music is more ambient experimental stuff than truly industrial. The album consists of about ninety minutes of material and we are shopping it to various labels to see if anyone is interested in releasing it. As far as Xorcist goes, it will be at least another two to three months before another release is out.
One note, Scorched Blood is to be released sometime in mid November. It's an EP with over 45 minutes of stuff on it, including a hidden track. Check the Xorcist web site (releases) for full track listings and previews of all songs. (Except of course, the hidden track)
Jester: Have you started writing any of the new material yet?
Peter: Yes.
Jester: How does it compare to your older material seeing as there was such a musical contrast between Damned Souls and Phantoms?
Peter: It is moving into a myriad of different directions. The latest track was 'Bad Mojo' which was on the 21st Circuitry Shox compilation which gives a little indication as to the change of styles. I don't really ever know what my music is going to end up like, I just write it and let it happen. It is probably going to be more melodic and less repetitive.
Jester: Are you going to utilize a common theme like you have done in the past?
Peter: Not really. I'm not the kind of person who preaches. Sure there are things on my mind but I am not going to include any type of pamphlet that suggests a proper method of listening.
Jester: What motivates you to makes your music if it isn't about preaching a message?
Peter: I just like to make music. The voices in my head tell me to do things. When I write music, I go way outside of my mind and just write it.
Jester: Is Xorcist still a solo project?
Peter: Musically it is still just me. I am trying some new methods of sampling vocals which is something that I have never done in the past. I am also trying to integrate more of a diversity in my music so that people can't just pick a sample out of my music and derive it's source.
Jester: Are you going play more live shows now that you have new material?
Peter: Definitely. I have been unable to play live for quite some time because I haven't had any place to rehearse or anywhere to just sit down and properly put together a performance. Maybe in four or five months I'd like to maybe finally do a national tour even if it means climbing into a van for a month. I think I need to just get on the road and finally do it.
Jester: I know that Don had aided you in previous live shows, who else would you take along.
Peter: People who are dependable. I'm sick of druggies, liars, etc... I look for people that understand the ability to integrate themselves into a touring band. I will probably take two to three more people along with me for any show that I will do.
Jester: Will you still be doing some of the same stuff that you have done in the past in a live performance?
Peter: I'd like to bring the video drum back out. I'd like to get back in touch with a former member of EBN who created this Macintosh based MIDI trigger program called Viewjack. If I can't use that, then I'm going to try and track down one of those old PXL 2000 video cassette cameras which uses sound to create visual imagery. Usually I try to get the music down live a month before I ever begin to work on visuals. I'd also like to get some type of light show this time around as well. I'm not a bank, so who knows what I will be able to afford.
Jester: Is the imagery an integral portion of an Xorcist performance?
Peter: Yes. There are people who use music very effectively but when you are in a club it is hard to stay concentrated on music alone. I find that when done correctly visuals can trigger off so much more than just music alone. It avoids any type of misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
Jester: How do you feel about being lumped into the 'Industrial' clique?
Peter: I don't really care what it's called or what label people place me under. I've been called techno, darkwave, and electro-goth. It is just music, I don't care what label people place on me. When Industrial music first came around it was something that had never been done before. Now the Industrial scene has become musically diverse and people are struggling to find labels for all these new styles of music.
Jester: What motivates you to make this type of music?
Peter: Technically, it allows me to utilize as many
instruments as sounds as humanly possible within only one or two pieces of
equipment. It is an almost endless supply of musical resources. The drive comes
from the voices inside my head. My mother forced me to to take piano lessons
and I took drum lessons as a child because I want to. I also listened to many
of the early electronic bands like Gary Numan and Yello. I found that keyboards
allowed you to add more emotion to your music that a guitar could ever could.
It allowed me to create a sound that took people out of their mind and into
another place.