Elaine Walker Interview (2008)
By TheeBradMiller
Elaine Walker was performed with Sleep Chamber during the recording of Siamese Succubi and subsequent tour. She is currently fronting the band Zia and the Mars Projects Manager and an Advocate for the Space Frontier Foundation. In the midst of all that (and returning to Arizona) she allowed me to conduct an interview with her. Thank you so much Elaine for the fantastic interview!
TBM: I thought it might be interesting to let everyone know where you have been lately and what you have been up too.
EW: I've been in sunny phoenix with my band ZIA, doing mixed martial arts to stay in shape and teaching electronic music at a local college. I started making youtube videos of my electronic music research, plus videos on different philosophical topics - atheism, longevity, etc. This summer I spent a month and a week on an uninhabited island in the High Arctic, 75 degrees North, with the Haughton-Mars Project which is run by the Mars Institute. It's a frozen desert that looks like Mars. My job was to follow around about 20 scientists doing research related to how astronauts will work on the Moon and Mars and report about it on MarsOnEarth. org. I made the "Martians" music video there in 2003 and started a new one up there this year, but it got to cold to finish it!
TBM: How did you feel about Genesis P. Orridge saying "What Zia is doing now is potentially as radical and innovative as what Throbbing Gristle were doing in 1975"?
EW: That certainly gave me a mental boost! Genesis interviewing ZIA. Imagine that! He looked so sexy that day. We all fell in love with him. You know, there is an entire second half to that interview that no one has heard. We cracked open a bottle of wine when Genesis was putting a new tape in, and I believe our old publicist in New Jersey still has the tapes. He just never had the time to transcribe the last tape. I'll see if I can get a hold of it! I seem to remember that it got more fun in the second half, after the bottle of wine. Thanks for the reminder!
TBM: In that interview you talked about microtonal tuning... can you explain that for us?
EW: Certainly. "Microtonal" simply means to have more than 12 notes per octave, so imagine squeezing more piano keys in between the other ones, or scooting the frets of the guitar closer together to get smaller intervals. The fact that we use 12 notes per octave is a bit arbitrary, such as feet and inches vs. the metric system. There is no real reason to always use 12 notes per octave other than convenience. If we think of music as an art, then why not explore new territory? Each tuning has a different "flavor" to it. It's an amazing world to delve into, creatively.
TBM: Did you by chance use microtonal tuning with Sleep Chamber?
EW: Yes. All of the music I did for Sleep Chamber was microtonal - mostly 19 notes per octave, but I believe I also used 10. Since Ashley mainly played noise on the guitar and not too many structured chord progressions, I knew right away that I'd be able to get away with some microtonal baselines. I mainly did basslines and drums for the Siamese Succubi CD, but I also added basslines and noises to the other songs we played live.
TBM: I read that you worked on the video for "A Synthetic Woman" and that's how you met John, can you tell us that story?
EW: I met a man named Norm Francoeur in a nightclub in the late 80s who photographed musicians and artists, did art installations, videos and stage design for
live bands, including Sleep Chamber. He ended up helping me with some photos for my music project that I was doing at the time called Blue Cartoon, and in turn I modeled for his photography which was really artsy and futuristic. He mentioned that he was working with a band called Sleep Chamber and that he needed a model for "A Synthetic Woman", and of course that sounded right up my alley. Little did I know that Norm and John would end up weaving in nude shots of another model who looked similar. But I was still happy to help a fellow musician. I don't think I met John until after the video was done. Norm gave him one of my Blue Cartoon cassettes, and John took an interest in my music and thought he might want to help me with my project, but I ended up helping him with Sleep Chamber instead. Norm ended up doing stage design for ZIA and D.D.T.
TBM: What was the recording process like with John?
EW: It was very easy going. John would come over and we'd talk about the general direction of a song he was working on, and we'd go through some sounds until he heard some that he liked. Then he'd sit back on the couch and let me do my thing. I'd ask him from time to time what he thought and sometimes he'd be sleeping. I took that to mean it was ok, and continued with what I was doing. All kidding aside, he was always a pleasure to work with. I only have great memories of John.
TBM: How was John to work with?
EW: Like I said, John was great, and he was always very thoughtful. Once on my birthday, for instance, he sent his girlfriend Laura (rest her soul) over to my loft to give me a present from him. She handed me a very tribal looking object and said to hang it in my bedroom doorway. It was a human bone with a magick spell John had put on it. She stressed, "REALLY, please put it in your doorway." Out of fear of what might happen if I didn't, I hung the bone sculpture in the doorway of my bedroom. The several years of my life after that were flawless. I had a great job at Berklee, became president of a local space society, had success in three different bands, great boyfriends and eventually an amazing husband. Everything was perfect in my life - and FUN I might add - until I eventually lost the sculpture.
TBM: You played live with Sleep Chamber, what was that experience like?
EW: The live shows were awesome. No rehearsals. I would just show up and set up my minimal gear which was an octapad and some synthesizers. It was fun to dress up and play the part, and bang out baselines and noises on the octapad. There was some improvising by all of the members. Nothing was purely set in stone which made it a lot of fun. He paid well and was always friendly. It was a world I hadn't been subjected to so I was always amazed by the show as much as the audience was. John made it a multi-sense experience with the music and dancers and incense. There was always a party backstage. I was dating one of the roadies. It was a lot of fun!
TBM: You performed on the LP "Siamese Succubi" and I understand that you only signed on to Sleep Chamber as a temporary gig... was there ever any thought about doing a follow up to "Siamese Succubi"?
EW: I'm sure we talked about working together on new music but it never came to fruition, probably because we were both so busy. My memory is foggy. I would love to work on some music with him again, especially after searching for him these past couple of years and finally finding out he is ok! It would be great to see him again. Maybe he can make another bone sculpture for me. I will keep it forever this time.