Home Band Interviews Interview w/ Otep Shamaya of OTEP

Interview w/ Otep Shamaya of OTEP

Written by Art Michalski

Tuesday, 30 October 2007

With the long delayed release of their new album The Ascension dropping today and currently on tour with Hellyeah, OTEP is gearing up for a heavy schedule in the next year. Right before the tour,which hits Detroit tonight at the Fillmore, I had a chance to interview the namesake of the group, lead singer Otep Shamaya. We discussed the release of the new album and the hidden qualities of the classic Nirvana album Nevermind. MCB: After the long delay for the new album, what is the feeling now that the album is finally being released? OS: There are a lot of emotions right now. I’m a little excited, a little grateful and a little relieved. All the feelings are positive. We are anxious to have people hear the new songs. The whole experience behind the album’s release was a little tense, but it brought the band together and made this more exciting. MCB: The album was delayed from back in March, to the new release date (October 30th). What were the main issues behind the delay? OS: We were on Capitol Records, and when EMI and Capitol merged with Virgin, the new regime didn’t understand the music. We left the label and were just so tired of major labels by that point that it turned out well (The band later signed with Koch Records). We wanted to find a label that wanted to belief in the message of the record and felt passionate about what we were doing. MCB: What songs based on your observations stand out on the records? OS: Every song has a significance to me on this record. But there are a few that may be the most meaningful. Songs like “Perfectly Flawed” talks about self-acceptance and not conforming and being proud of yourself. “Confrontation” is a call to arms and asks people what it is to be to be an American these days. MCB: As a poet, how much poetry do you plan on infusing in the live sets? OS: During the live performances in between songs, there is going to be a poetic piece and spoken word performances between songs. It's something I try to put into every set that we do. MCB: The band covered Nirvana’s “Breed” for the new record. Why did “Breed” stick out as the song to cover over any other songs on “Nevermind?” OS: It's always been one of my favorites and also gets overlooked on the record. I think most people focus in on the songs that were popular on the radio. It’s a more aggressive song and it fits our style of music. It’s got a great power groove. We made sure we were faithful to the original, expect for the lyrical bridge and message to Kurt during the song. MCB: Was it the main intention to tour on your own, or with another group as the album was first released? OS: We really didn’t think about that, we just wanted to get out on tour and it didn’t matter with who. But we are glad we are getting to tour with two bands I love in Hellyeah and Bloodsimple. They’re bands that we fit really well with. OTEP will be touring with Hellyeah and Bloodsimple as the tour hits the Fillmore Detroit on Tuesday, October 30th. Tickets are $21.01 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. OTEP’s new record “The Ascension” is due out October 30th as well. .

 

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