Gregory Markel RockRage Interview 11/2000.

 

Gregory Markel Interview w/RockRage 11/2000.

 

ALTERED STATE were more than just a band.  With only two albums released (their self titled debut in 1991 and its successor DOS in 1993) they reached cult status.  But unfortunately, as so often, cult status meant: many critics like them but their following was minimal.  Their mixture between artrock, pop, prog, and many other style didn’t attract enough fans.  What a shame!  They deserved to be huge.  Unique arrangements, melodic vocals and great harmonies characterized their songs.  But the record label didn’t understand them.  Neither did the masses.  Maybe they were too inventive.  Many years after the split of the band we managed to contact the singer Greg Markel.  He is till making music.  Enter his crazy world…

 

 

The First ALTERED STATE album was released in 1991 on Warner Bros. Records.  Please tell us about the first years of ALTERED STATE.  When the band was founded, what you did before you got signed etc.

 

The band came together in Orange County, CA.  The core members were Chip Moreland on drums, Curtis Mathewson on guitar, and myself on vocals and schedule avoidance.  We went the same route as many bands, four track demos, tons of local gigs…we were lucky enough to generate a following in Los Angeles that led to management which lead to the deal with Warner Bros…

 

What did you do before you started ALTERED STATE?  Where are you from?

 

I was a singing waiter!  Great job!  I’m originally from Van Nuys, CA, Curtis was “Curtis” for a living and from Newport Beach, and Chip worked with computers and was from Fullerton.

 

When and how did you get the deal with Warner Bros.?

 

Our management, Borman Entertainment, set up 5 private showcases in a rehearsal facility…that was nerve wracking…face to face with the holders of your destiny…but 3 of the 5 were interested…Warner's seemed to make the most sense at the time…oops!

 

Who were the members on the first album?  You, Curtis Mathewson, Chip Moreland and a certain Riz?  Who were they?

 

We lost our original bass player, Howard Uleyate, to the usual band “differences” and the record was completed with Curtis on bass.  Riz was brought in to tour and wound up on the record as a “member”.  I heard he’s making porno films for vivid.com now…Curtis has gone on to produce the platinum record for Train as well as some b-sides for the Foo Fighters and he’s still looking for a band…Chip is in a band called “Strange Radio” was has a site on mp3.com, and I trudge ever onward via www.gregorymarkel.com.

 

Tell us about the recording process of the first album.

 

Very stressful.  At constant odds with Tony Berg, who’s now the VP of A&R for Virgin Records.  I do how ever, have tremendous respect for him as a person, musician, and producer.  I learned a lot from the process…

 

There are so many instruments mentioned in the liner notes.  Who really played what?

 

Curtis and I played electric and acoustic guitar, percussion, keyboards/samplers and basses, Chip played drums and percussion…and then we had a few guest musicians, one of which was Jonathan Melvoin, the poor guys who overdosed on the road with the Smashing Pumpkins.

 

How would you describe your style?  I think it’s very unique.

 

Thank you, that means a great deal to me.  We simply wanted to push the edges when ever possible, try new things, and not be afraid to risk failure…which is important when you put an eleven minute song on your record in spite of the record company’ objections!...Ha, ha…

 

Tell us about your influences.  What bands inspired you?

 

Beatles, Pink Floyd, Eno, U2, Bowie, Zeppelin…

 

What were your lyrics dealing with?

 

Usually introverted issues…self analysis…

 

You were the main songwriter.  Were you the boss of the band?

 

Ha, ha…the boss!...Yes, for better, and as certain members would tell you, for worse as well!

 

On the second album “Dos”, Curtis and Chip played with two new members:  Paul Edwards and Ever Cleer.  Who were they?

 

Paul Edwards was the guy that ran the rehearsal studio we practiced at…he was actually a guitar player, but once again, although Curtis played most of the bass on DOS, we needed someone for the road!  By the way, Paul DID play an amazing bass part on “where is Harrison Ford”… Unfortunately, he’s gone on to become sort of our “Syd Barrett”…he’s been battling with Schizophrenia…

 

As for “Ever Cleer”, he was a pseudonym for myself…my life was a mess at the time, and I needed an alterego…reborn!

 

There was this strange message in the liner notes:  “Gregory Markel is dead, he fell on his head:.  What the hell did that mean?  Were you still a member or not?

 

It was symbolic to me…My personal life was shattered by the dissolution of my marriage, the statement was meant to say, “goodbye to the old Gregory, say hello the new and improved model!”

 

What was the difference between the first and the second album?

 

Ha, ha…I was deeply in love on the first…all was rosey…on the second one, uh, all hell was breaking loose and you can hear it in the music…not to mention the song titles…also, we were more interested in pleasing ourselves on the second one…wacky stuff…Radiohead before Radiohead!

 

The Cover was designed by famous artist Hugh Syme.  Did you have a big budget?  Did the label support you?  What did they thing about your music?

 

Big budget?  Yes.  Label support us?  Well, I think as well as they knew how to.  Warner's was all about already established major artist, not about breaking new bands…they STILL aren’t…ask Papa Roach…Our A&R man, Michael Ostin, loved the band, but the promotion people didn’t know what the hell to do with it…moral of the story to all aspiring bands?  Being signed to wrong label, is worse than not being singed at all!

 

Did you go on tour for your albums?

 

No…our music was too diverse to “package” with other bands…we hardly played at all, actually…partly out of protesting the fact that Warner Bros. wouldn’t give us any support.

 

How did you promote your albums?

 

We didn’t.  Which with Warner Bros., that made two of us…HA!

 

What happened after the second album?  Did you lose the deal with Warner?  Why?

 

We were demoralized by the experience with Warners, and, my life was post marriage shambles…we broke up, the Warner's dropped us…

 

Did you try to get another deal?

 

No, the band’s morale was dead at that point.  In addition, one of the member family was extremely wealthy, and he really didn’t need to do anything that involved a struggle…

 

When did the band break up?

 

Officially, once and for all, in ’95…as far as I’m concerned, anyways!

 

What did the band members do after the split?

 

Curtis went off to count his money.  Chip got heavily into computer networking, and I walked the earth like Kane.

 

Is there any unreleased material left from the Altered State days?

 

A few unfinished studio tracks are locked up in some vault somewhere…and some band demos…

 

How popular have you been?  I only read one review of the first album and never heard of you again.

 

Ouch!...Ha!  “Ghost Beside My Bed”, which was on the first record, went top thirty nationally at rock radio in the U.S., number one in several states, CA, NY, AZ, FL…the second record won the Circus Magazine Readers poll over NIN and Stone Temple Pilots….

 

As for popularity, more fan activity is happening now, then while we were together as evidence by his interview…it’s been quite a trip…I guess we reached cult status…stuff on ebay.com, napster.com, fan message board at imusic.com…etc.

 

Your image always has been very mysterious.  Strange song title (“Where Is Harrison Ford), strange lyrics…On the Photos from the first album, you were posing like pop rockers, on the second one morel like alternative freaks.  What was your concept?

 

On the first record we were young and stupid, and stood by while the record company photoshop’d us into perfection oblivion…on the second record we were ourselves.

 

I recently contacted you through your website.  You are still making music.  Tell us more about it.

 

Searching for the lost chord.  Having a great time…completely different dynamic to a solo thing…much different than being in a band…concentrating on the voice more than I would in a band setting…also, I’m getting ready to reinvent Altered State as a second project and take back the mantle that Radiohead took from us…ha!

 

What did you do during the ‘90s?

 

Walked the earth looking for answers.

 

Did you ever think about joining other bands?

 

I made a conscious decision to learn about life OUTSIDE of a band for awhile…I had been playing in bands since age eleven.

 

Give us some details about the “Gorg – All Terrain Spirit Demo One” CD.

 

Just an effort to move forward as a solo artist….trying hard to find myself musically at that time…I think I’m there now…but check back in a couple of years!

 

I read the name Ben Grosse on your homepage.  He produced the second ALTERED STATE album.  Do you still work with him?

 

No, but we stay in touch.  He’s had tremendous success wit Vertical Horizon, Filter and Fuel lately.  I’d love to work him again…

 

What is “All Terrain Spirit”?

 

A.T.S. is an acronym for “All Terrain Spirit.”  The words All Terrain are borrowed form the acronym A.T.V., or All Terrain Vehicle, which describes 4, 6, or 8  wheeled vehicles that are able to maneuver or navigate successfully through harsh and un-even terrain.

 

The phrase, “All Terrain Spirit”, which I’ve adopted as my personal “credo” describes a philosophy, or “mindset” that allows one to see ones self as spirit, eternal, impenetrable, and unstoppable by any force or experience within this material world.

 

The idea for this phrase came to me while I was running along the beach on day, during a very dark and challenging period in my life.  As I ran trough and jumped over the occasional hills and ground depressions, I realized that the experience was analogous to the “hills and depressions” that existed in my life at the time.

 

Therefore, if I felt secure in the knowledge that I could physically run or move through any difficult environment unscathed, why shouldn’t I also feel secure in the knowledge that my spirit could move through any life experience unscathed?

 

And with that thought, the phrase “All Terrain Spirit” or A.T.S. was born.

 

I shortly thereafter designed a necklace utilizing the A.T.S. acronym which I wear to remind myself of this inner strength and perspective which I had always possessed, but had somehow forgotten.

 

Now, whenever my life’s “terrain” becomes difficult to move through, I remember to think of myself as an All Terrain Spirit.,. and then confident in the knowledge that I can move through any experience successfully, I continue onwards.

 

I hope this concept inspires you to do the same.

 

On your website you really have strange stuff.  Thoughts, poetry and some weird messages.  What is the idea behind it?

 

To speak without speaking.  Communion.

 

Tell us more about the person Gregory Markel.  I think it’s a very complex personality.

 

I’m just tryin’ to figure out this mess like the rest of us!  I am concerned as an artist, with connecting on a deep, spiritual level with those who are kind enough to allow my music into their lives.

 

What other interested do you have beside music?

 

The question of “spirit” and the cosmos, as in other worlds, lifeforms, etc…oh, and really hot girls named Gladys.

 

How do you earn your money?  Do you have a daytime job?

 

Yes, I am a Search Engine Optimization Consultant.

 

Chip Moreland and Curtis Mathewson are guesting on your solo songs.  What are they doing now?

 

Curtis has gone on to produce the platinum record for Trains as well as some b-sides for the Foo Figthers and he’s still looking for a band…Chip is in a band called “Strange Radio” who has a stie on mp3.com and he occasionally plays with me as well…

 

Do you play live sometimes?  Do you have a band?

 

Yes, quite often these days, in LA, check www.gregorymarkel.com /performance.htm.  As for the band, usually with myself and percussionists, or a full electric band

 

Will you work again with the ALTERED STATE members?

 

I would like to.  Curtis is opposed.  Chip and I would play in Altered State again in a second.

 

How about a reunion?

 

Talk to Curtis!

 

What are your plans for the future?

 

Check www.greogyrmarkel.com/purpose.htm, which includes plenty of music!  I really want to explore this current direction, which I call “Spirit Rock”…I’m discoving a whole new set of possibilities for my voice and I’m very excited about it.  I also would like to reform and Altered State II, and give Radiohead a run for their money.

 

 

Thanks a lot for the interview, Greg!  All the best to you and your projects!

 

Thank you so much for the interest in Altered State.