STATIC-X Frontman Discusses PIGHAMMER Side Project

Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with STATIC-X frontman Wayne Static. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Ultimate-Guitar.com: After this tour cycle is over, you're planning to start work on the next STATIC-X album?

Wayne: Yes. We haven't actually written anything as yet but I know exactly what we're going to do and we're going to attack full steam ahead. I'm going to first take three or four days off to do some four wheeling and then I'll be heading straight into the studio to start writing. And I hope to have the record out by maybe August or September of next year.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Will you use producer John Travis again?

Wayne: Yes, John and I will be co-producing the next album just like we did together on the last album.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Since a lot of your songs are heavily focused on guitars and programming does a lot of the material, take form from riffs on the guitars or samples or do they spring from the band just jamming on ideas?

Wayne: Every album has been different. With the last album, it pretty much started out with drum beats and guitar riffs mainly. Most of our stuff usually comes from doing it that way. I think Machine is the only record where actually every song started with a loop idea, a sample of some noise and then I made some weird loop and built the song from that.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: On your most recent record "Cannibal" you've actually introduced guitar solos into the mix?

Wayne: That is because Koichi is back in the band. I'm not a shredder and there is no reason for STATIC-X to put guitar solos in the music unless they're going to be fuckin' awesome! So having Koichi back in the band allows us to do that. And those solos are all him man. I can't play solos, I'm a riff master. I'm a songwriter and I play some tight ass fuckin' riffs. I do have a good pick and hand. But he [points to Koichi] is the shredder.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Surprisingly one of your favorite singers is Steve Perry from JOURNEY. It is a total contrast to the type of music and style you're associated with?

Wayne: Yes he is my absolute favorite singer! I don't listen to much metal music myself really. I enjoy writing and performing and it is fun screaming and banging your head like that but I really like great vocalists. And vocalists like Steve Perry and Chris Cornell who is my second favorite, I really enjoy. I can't sing like that and maybe that is why I like it so much. Steve Perry's voice has this quality to it, it has a little bit of raspiness and edge to it and it seems effortless. And the melodies he comes up with are absolutely brilliant.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Wayne, you recently announced a new band called PIGHAMMER. Can you tell us what we can expect from that?

Wayne: It is going to be a side project and I'm going to write with a whole bunch of different people and it is going to be heavy as fuck. And it will not have any boundaries as I'm not going to worry about who is going to play it or if we're going to play it live. I am just going to do it for fun. It is going to be very extreme and I'll be working with as many different people as I can. And I'll be doing all the vocals on it too. But beyond that, I'm going to try and get a bunch of different cool people. I'm going to be writing with John 5, we've talking about working with Al Jourgensen too and Tony Campos is also going to help me out. Whoever wants to help out, I'd love for them to so. I'm even talking about working with Tommy Victor from PRONG. I want to write some music with these people but then make it my own thing too. But STATIC-X is really on a roll right now and we've had a fantastic year thus far as things have been going up and up. It is full steam ahead for us. The PIGHAMMER thing will happen when I have time. At the moment though, STATIC-X will remain my main priority.

Read the entire interview at Ultimate-Guitar.com.