INTERVIEW WITH REGENT ST.CLAIRE of CASTLE BLAK

Castle Blak was a San Francisco glam band born in the mid 80's that started off playing the same club circuit of bands such as Jetboy, Vain and Le Mans. They released two indie LP's ["Babes in Toyland" and "Another Dark Carnival"] but never got the chance to work with a major label, despite touring Europe and being on the pages of influential metal mags like 'Hit Parader' and 'Metal Forces'. After splitting and reforming as 'Blak' and releasing a demo that was a personal must-have in the glory years of tape-trading, the band officially split up in 1992 but lead vox and songwriter Regent St.Claire has recentely released a 3 cd box set full of rare material.

1) What do you think of all those big reunions (crue, ny dolls, twisted sister etc.)?
Regent: I saw the documentary film "New York Doll" a few months ago, and it really made me miss the band, and especially Arthur "Killer" Kane who passed away just before the film was finished. I loved that band, just as I loved Crue, and many of the other old 80's Glam/Metal bands. We all embrace the music that we love, so what's so wrong about wanting to see those bands play again? The Stones and Kiss are all much older than these Glam guys, and most everyone has no problem with that.
2) Tell us something about the novel that you're working at:
If you mean "Sanction," that Graphic Novel isn't finished just yet, but will be by the end of this year. The wraparound book cover art by Marc Sasso was chosen already though, for a great, annual coffee table book of the year's best in Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror artwork.That artwork is amazing! The book is a post-apocalyptic fable about a man who wakes up in a nuclear winter to find that he has no memory, and that he is now made up of hundreds of little pieces of other people's bodies, all crudely sewn together. Three supernatural entites show up and offer to give him back his memory if he kills 8 people for them. With the death of each of these victims, a welt/scar will be raised on his flesh, and when all 8 of them are dead, the scars will make a pattern that will give him his memory and identity back. Its in the vein of classic Sci-Fi movies like "Quintet," "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes," "A Boy & His Dog," "Damnation Alley," "Hardware," and even Bowie's musical Glam masterpiece, "Diamond Dogs." Ultimately its my own sort of Animal Farm-esque allegory aimed squarely at Bush and his circle of idiots. Since the whole world hates him, I expect that "Sanction" will have a HUGE audience.
3) Do you think it's easier to write a book or music for a full-lenght cd?
For me, writing music is easier, because there are far less rules. You can do whatever you want, and a song is only 3 minutes long. A book can take YEARS to write..
4) One of your band members played for hollywood's ultra-glam outfit Ruby Slippers: what do you think of the strip circa 1985?
I think that was a magical time that will never come again, for a lot of reasons. It was like a Glam Disneyland every weekend. Lots of sex, lots of drugs, and lots of rock and roll. You couldn't walk down the sidewalk without tripping over it!!
5) Which thoughts does the word 'glam' brings to your mind?
For me, it will always mean the 70's Glam that I was raised on. Kiss, The Sweet, T-Rex, the godfathers of the genre.
6) Your music always reminded me of a 'darker' version of Kiss, how about it?
Hey I think that we were always leaning toward a darker or Goth-er Glam image than most of our peers. I kind of compare us to Alice Cooper. Some of his music had very Pop components, like in "No More Mr. Nice Guy," but some of it was a lot harder, like in "School's Out."
7) Your top 5 horror movies
#1. John Carpenter's remake of "The Thing"
#2. "Alien"
#3. Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive" aka "Braindead"
#4. "Day Of The Beast"
#5. "Evil Dead 2"
8) Are sex, drugs & rnr dead??
Well, I'm a grown up now with a non-musical career and a 4 year-old son, so all 3 of those are pretty much just "concepts" for me these days. [LOL - ed.!]
9) Would you prefer to be remembered as a great novelist or a great musician?
I don't think I could ever choose. I'm a Rock and Roller to the bone, but I've been writing stories, poems, and songs ever since I was 8. I think being remembered for either would be great..
10) What's wrong with the record companies these image-less days?
The record companies are terrified. The business model that they've used for the past 90+ years has now been kicked out of bed by the modern world. Anyone can make records (CDs, MP3s etc.) at home, for a very low price, and they can distribute them all over the world almost effortlessly via the Internet. This is both good and bad. Good because it gets cool music out there that would otherwise never be heard. Bad because not everyone who CAN make a CD, SHOULD make a CD. Some music is just crap, and it should never be heard. This is the double-edged sword. And in the middle of all this is the recording "industry" who has no clue what to do about any of this. They don't know what the next trend will be, they can't stop rampant piracy, and kids all over the world keep "sharing" the music that they (the industry) pay millions of dollars to bands to create and market.
11) Which song you wish you had written?:
Well,wish I had written "Empty Garden" by Elton John.
12) Choose between:
Simmons / Stanley: Paul was a very nice guy to me when we met, so I'll go with him.
Crue / Poison: Crue all the way!
S.F. / L.A.: My feet may be in L.A., but my heart stays in S.F. forever.
J ack Kerouac / Stephen King: Jack was cool, but I'm gonna go with Steve. He gets a lot of shit just because he's successful, but he's successful because he's very, very good at what he does.
Coke / Pepsi: I drink about 2 sodas per year, so I'll say Coke.
Spandex / Leather Pants:Patent LEATHER, baby!
T he 70's / The 80's: The 70's were a dream. I'd go with them.
13) My fave Castle Blak song has gotta be 'Another dark carnival'. how bout this song?
I wrote that song during some very dark days. I had just lost my job, my home, and was living in my car and doing the couch tour. Really miserable. Depression turned to anger, and anger to reflection, and ultimately out of that pit came this song.
14) Any parting words and where do people can get the Castle Blak boxset?
I'm glad to see that Glam still has its champions in places like Leatherboyz. Keep it up! As for the Castle Blak Box Set, it has 45 songs and a radio interview on 3 discs, with 3, 30-page booklets, and is packed with tons of rare and previously unreleased stuff, and can be found only thru our website at: www.goodintentionspaving.com .Ciao!!!