Jeffrey Nothing of Mushroomhead, ‘Sin ‘O Cism’ — Song Premiere
Jeffrey Nothing, the voice behind Cleveland's pioneering alterna-metal collective Mushroomhead, will be releasing his debut solo album, 'Nothing - The New Psychodalia,' next month. In this Noisecreep exclusive, we bring you the world premiere of 'Sin 'O Cism,' a track from the upcoming album. Noisecreep also spoke with Nothing about the song and the story behind the solo record.
What is the track 'Sin 'O Cism' about?
'Sin 'O Cism' is a view of the state of the world today. Government by the people is nothing more than a fantastic oxymoron. Money or the lack thereof, is a huge deciding factor when it comes to ones guilt or innocence and whether or not said individual will continue to walk free or rot behind bars. You would think humanity would make strides toward peace, enlightened by the costs in loss of life, from years of conflict and yet nothing really seems to ever change. We burn through our natural resources at a blinding pace with no thought of what our children's children will use and life itself has dropped in worth much faster than our struggling dollar. Throughout all of this it is still us against them. The poor multitudes drowning in hope as the rich shell out hundreds a plate for the next best liar. We all create our own monsters because we want to believe someone so badly. I simply wish to state the truth.
Listen to 'Sin 'O Cism' From Jeffrey Nothing
How did the idea for a solo album come about and tell us a bit about who is in your solo band?
The idea of a solo band has existed for a very long time. it is impossible to get everything out that you want to say/sing, through one platform. Like any other artist, the desire to create is simply too great to ignore. So through a chance meeting and subsequent very excited voice mail, Mushroomhead drummer/producer/co-founder, Skinny, let me know he found the guy to do a Jeffrey Nothing solo album with, in the person of Ryan Farrell. He was coming from an already lengthy career in the Cleveland music scene, as well as majoring in music at Cleveland state University – he came from an extensive and diverse music background.
These things together made the project very different from the start, From the first listen to the song 'Burial.' I knew Skinny was onto something interesting and this discovery only proved more than true throughout the four plus year writing process. This time was well spent and resulted in the first of hopefully many adventures into the land of Nothing! I'll be joined by Mike Crough, the bassist of Farrell's former band Dogkuff, for the live performance. 'Psychodalia' only adds to the rush of this creation as the two have performed and written together for many years virtually mimicking Skinny and I in that Regard. I look forward to even more amazing endeavors together.
How is your solo album 'The New Psychodalia' different from a Mushroomhead record?
I feel this is my favorite, most fulfilling recording to date. I love writing and recording in and as a part of Mushroomhead very much, But at the same time, there is something to be said for doing it yourself, without the knowledge that another mind and voice is going to grace each creation, which by all means is fine, within that context, but making something your own, truly solo is very fun. There are key signature changes as well as tempo changes and song structure departures here that have never been explored by any of my musical projects to date. I feel this process will only continue to grow and metamorphosis with each new piece we travel through. Time will only tell and luckily that appears to be one thing Nothing has plenty of.
Will you be touring behind your solo album? Will you be performing any Nothing tracks on this upcoming Mushroomhead tour?
I hope to tour Nothing as much as time allows, Mushroomhead traditionally does a couple longer tours each year. So that should let this machine do some traveling as well. I am anxious to see how these works are received. I am hoping to have everything as live as possible and yet at the same time, keep the personal light to allow us to get to as many places as humanly possible on the Planet, We will not be doing any Nothing songs on this first leg of the Slaughterhouse Roadshow Mushroomhead tour because there is simply not enough room to bring the other two members, But there is talk of a November/December run that we may be a part of. The sky is the limit really and I personally love, pushing limits and always re- inventing everything.
Jeffrey Nothing's 'The New Psychodalia' will be out on Oct. 11th via Suburban Noize Records. You can pre-order the album at this link.
Check out Mushroomhead out on tour:
09/30 - Muskegon, MI @ Club Envy
10/01 - Traverse City, MI @ Streeter's
10/02 - Sandusky, OH @ The Underground
10/04 - Cedar Falls, IA @ The Wheelhouse
10/05 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/06 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
10/07 - Dayton, OH @ McGuffy's
10/08 - Flint, MI @ Machine Shop
10/09 - Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
10/11 - Lexington, KY @ Buster's Billiards & Backroom
10/12 - Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
10/13 - Towson, MD @ Recher Theatre
10/14 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium ("Rock N' Shock 2011")
10/15 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar
10/16 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
10/18 - Jacksonville, NC @ Hooligans
10/20 - Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
10/21 - Tyler, TX @ Click's
10/22 - San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live
10/23 - Dallas, TX @ Tree's
10/24 - Lubbock, TX @ Wreckers
10/27 - Sauget, IL @ Pop's
10/28 - Columbus, OH @ Al Rosa Villa
10/29 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
10/30 - Hillsdale, MI @ Dawn Theater
10/31 - Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern
11/02 - Knoxville TN @ Valerium
11/04 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Piere's
11/05 - Bloomington, IL @ Catle Theatre
11/06 - Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club
11/08 - Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note