By: Chris Stead
Welcome to Alice’s musical incarnation. The Divine Madness is what it would sound like if one had visited Wonderland and then made music about it: dark, intriguing and addictive. They have been around for just about a year now and in that time they have created quite a buzz. Currently they are working on recording their second album. Their first, “Secrets,” was independently produced and distributed. A two-disc opus, this album represents a body of work from a group that could potentially be as prolific as the Lennon-McCartney team of yesteryear.
Chris Cano, Chris Ride and Victoria Mazze come from formal and informal musical backgrounds, but have come together to create a new vision to share. Some people have compared watching the band perform to watching the Doors early-on in their career. The music is hypnotic and the whole experience is transcedental. There is so much that can be said about this band, but the best way to understand is to experience the music for yourself.
Gothic Angst Webzine (GAW): How did all of the members first meet to form The Divine Madness?
Victoria Mazze (VM): Chris Cano and Chris Ride were previously in a band for several years. Fortunately it went up in flames. A year later, Chris Ride saw Victoria performing at a vaudeville act in San Francisco . Mesmerized by her performance he went backstage to introduce himself. She dropped her hairpin. He picked it up, gazed into her eyes and said, “do want to start a band?”
GAW: Tell us about the development of the album “Secrets.”
VM: This is our White Album in reverse. It’s the band members getting to know each other musically. We love orchestral, classical and film music, as well as 80s synth pop and metal. A lot of those styles went into it.
GAW: Is there a story that is being told with this album, considering the seeming references to Milton?
VM: Most of it is actually in reference to Goethe´s Faust, but there is a lot more to it. Lots of clues and ‘secrets’. Some of the fans have a few of em figured out.
GAW: Your sound is wonderfully unique. How did you find your special blend?
VM: Our barometer is simple. If were all excited about an idea, then we know it’s great. Otherwise it sits on a shelf to ferment until it’s ready to cook.
GAW: I understand that you have a new album coming out called “The Rapture.” When can we expect to see it for sale?
VM: Hopefully in April 07. We are now busy little beez recording at the moment.
GAW: Is “The Rapture” going to follow through with the sound from “Secrets” or are you heading in another direction?
VM: Similar but more unified and scary. Subliminal scary, you might think its pretty, but after repeated listenings, you may feel like you were violated in some strange way. We’re hoping to evolve our sound so that we keep the magical elements while adding more power and live energy. This one is more of a ‘band’ album with everyone contributing on making it extra special.
GAW: Is there a story behind the title “The Rapture?”
VM: Many of the songs deal with spiritual transcendence by way of sex, death and love, but a lot of it can be open to interpretation. Instead of being transported to heaven, we thought more about being transported to different psychological realms by intense experience.
GAW: What about the movie that you are working on? In your new blog you say something about a mixture of “Purple Rain” and “Alice In Wonderland” this sounds intriguing.
VM: We are currently developing a film partially based on the childhood of Victoria Mazze. We are big fans of music movies like Purple Rain and The Wall. We are crazy enough to think can top them all and we will.
GAW: One of your FAQ responses says that you have not been signed yet since you do not wear enough plaid. Is there something behind this that we should know about?
VM: A lot of bands that are recently getting signed look like lumberjacks, so it was partially in reference to that. Don’t get us wrong, we love lumberjacks, we would have no furniture or pianos without them.
GAW: I have noticed that you make references to literature and other academia on your site and in your blogs. How many members of the group are formally educated in some sort of postsecondary discipline?
VM: All of us went to college. We then came to LA and realized we wasted 4 years and could have learned the same thing living and working here for 6 months. Lets put it this way, you want your physician to have the highest degrees and honors. You want your airline pilot to be the most experienced in the fleet. But rock stars? Hmmm……
GAW: Is there anything that people should know about The Divine Madness that we are sadly unaware?
VM: We are the best smelling band in show business; I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. But seriously, we would like to thank all of the people out there that have kept their imagination intact, despite the odds, we write for you.
GAW: Is there anything that you would like to say to your fans?
VM: Yes, we ship to Japan!
I will be looking out for the new album as it is released. At the writing of this article the album still seems to be underway. For further information about The Divine Madness or to hear music from their upcoming release “The Rapture” click the links below:
The Divine Madness Official Website
The Divine Madness on MySpace
