INTERVIEW: JEREMY SPENCER from PSYCHOSEXUAL – APRIL 2021

According to a recent press release: “PSYCHOSEXUAL, featuring former Five Finger Death Punch drummer Jeremy Spencer on vocals as the Devil Daddy character, are ready to set the world on fire. The band has dropped the explosive and anthemic new single “Devil From Hell.” A distorted twang gives way to his dusky baritone as Spencer announces, “I have only one burning desire…to set this motherfucking world on fire” before exploding into a powder keg of a chorus.” We get Devil Daddy himself, Jeremy to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

Toddstar: Jeremy, thank you so much for taking time out. I really appreciate you talking to us today.

Jeremy: Thanks for having me.

Toddstar: This is a second go around for us. A few years ago I was able to sit down and talk to you right around the time you dropped your book, which was kind of cool. So it’s kind of cool to catch up and visit with everything new going on with Jeremy Spencer.

Jeremy: Nice, man. Thank you.

Toddstar: Well, let’s talk about the new stuff – Psychosexual. What led you down this road Jeremy? What took you down the avenue where you wanted to get out from behind the drum kit, step out front, and do your own thing?

Jeremy: Well, I’d always been writing songs and singing on them and stuff like that, just for myself and I started to miss it. Some of that older material was more like 80 synth pop, like new wave kind of stuff. It was way different. And I was like, you know what? I kind of missed heavier dark music and fans; I thought would like to put a band together and actually go do this. So I found some great players here in Las Vegas and we’ve been working really hard and making lots of music and it just feels right. It feels fun. It feels fresh. So it’s something that I thought, you know what? I’ll do that. I never really thought that I would do it, but it just kind of started to happen. And then it’s snowballing from there and I’m really having a great time.

Toddstar: Well, tell us about a little bit, the background on the single – “Devil From Hell.” The video is very visual. What can tells us fans of yours might not know about the song or the music after they’ve listened to it or watched it a couple of times? What are some of the background stories or, or nuances that you can kind of shed light on?

Jeremy: Well, it’s basically the introductory song. I just think it fits perfectly for to say, Hey, here’s the new band. And I think that people that liked Five Finger Death Punch, will probably like this song. It’s more maybe in that direction a little bit more than some of the other material. It’s pretty eclectic materials. And we’re kind of all over the map, but this one’s a little bit more driving and rocking something that’s similar to that style. I’m thinking that maybe some of those fans might like it and hopefully we’re going to pick up a bunch of new fans. Like I said, we, our sound is pretty eclectic. We do different styles. It’s not heavy all the time. There’s lighter elements, and Ghost-like elements and things like that, but certainly pretty heavy elements as well. So I think there’s something for everyone, but I think it’s just the perfect introductory songs for people.

Toddstar: Cool. One thing that I’ve noticed in a couple of the promo shots the masks and your makeup in particular. Wearing makeup is nothing new to you. Anybody who had seen you perform with 5FDP saw you in skull face makeup and jumpsuit. Is this just a natural thing, a transition for you to where you’ve you’re kind going with that same vibe, same feel, but expanding on it because you’re now out front?

Jeremy: Well, I mean, I grew up on KISS. So to me, everything needed to be like Kiss. I just loved theatrical type bands and, King Diamond, Ghost, KISS, Rob Zombie. That stuff I’ve always loved it. And like you said in Death Punch, I was dressing up like a skeleton with face paint and costumes, I’d been doing that for a few years, even before I left. So when it was time to do this, I was like, I want to put together something visually that’s going to make an impact. And that people leave the show going, Oh, did you see what they look like? That was crazy. You know, I just want it to be theatrical and fun. Seeing a band standing up there and they’re in black jeans and black t-shirts doing syncopated headbanging isn’t exactly something that’s stimulating to me. We’ve seen that so many times so I wanted to do something different and I’ve never seen a devil front man. That’s why I kind of chose that. It was like, well, what’s this guy going to look like, I didn’t want to stand up there and just be a normal guy. I didn’t want to be me. I wanted to do a cool character. And then it kind of opens up the rule book a little bit. You can do crazier scenarios and paint different fantasies and things like that as the character. So it’s a lot of fun to mix. It just makes it more fun.

Toddstar: Well, let’s take the flip side of that coin Jeremy. This is now your baby. You’re the front man. Whether it says Jeremy Spencer on the front of a CD or album or it says Psychosexual,  how different and scary is it for you to be putting this out there, knowing you’re on the line. It’s not a package where it’s you and other guys. You’re the first one I’m going to take the hit good or bad. Is there some fear and some scare in there?

Jeremy: Well, naturally everyone’s got a little bit of reservation about how stuff will be received. That’s just natural to have as an artist. And certainly Death Punch had our share of people that oppose what we were doing. So it’s nothing new to me. As long as I’m enjoying it and doing what I love and it feels right in my gut, I can’t control how people feel about it. So I don’t need to know what they think about it. They can like it or not. It doesn’t matter what you think about it is irrelevant to me. I’ve made it for me and I hope some people like it that’d be great. And if they don’t, then as long as I’m still enjoying it, I’m going to do it. And if I don’t, then I don’t need to because I already did a great thing with Death Punch and we achieved a lot of really great things. It’s afforded me do other projects like this so I can do it as long as I want or not. Then that’s kind just how I’m approaching it. It doesn’t have to impress everyone. It won’t; that’s unrealistic.

Toddstar: Well, you hit on something that’s been a recurring theme. I’ve spoken to a couple other big artists over the last couple of weeks. Did COVID kind of hit at the right moment for a lot of artists in your opinion, especially for you to be able to reflect and say, you know what? I’ve got all this shit bottled up. I need to do this for me. I need to get it out there. And I hope people love it. But like you said, if they don’t, there’s nothing I can do about it. What did COVID kind of give you that freedom to say, it’s time I do this for me.

Jeremy: I had been working anyway. So when COVID happened, there was just nothing else to do, but that, so I’ve just buckled down even more. I mean, to be honest with you, we’re on album number five right now. That’s how much we’ve been working. We haven’t stopped one second since COVID because you can’t tour. So we’ve been making that many records, like we’ve got a game plan set out and a whole thing that lined up ready to go. We just need to be able to launch this first thing, which you know, that’s coming in the spring. The first single is out already, but the album’s coming out in spring and then we’ll start hitting the road as soon as we’re able to.

Toddstar: Do you already have a vision for this, how it’s going to play out when you do the music live? Do you have the whole stage set up in mind? Like you said, going back to the KISS or Ghost-type imagery; do have this already laid out in your head, how you want to introduce this to the fans in a live situation.

Jeremy: I do have some of it lined up, but logistics, it just depends on the venues we’re playing, what’s allowed, what’s not. So I’ll have to kind of custom-tailor it as I go, but I do have a vision for it. And I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I want people to experience a whole spectacle when they come to the show, not just, like I said, normal people up there rocking that’s cool. It’s not what we do. So, I do have a plan, but we’ll have to kind of take it per venue like it just depends on the setup, what tour we’re on, what size venues, what they allow, what they don’t. But yes, I do have a plan.

Toddstar: I liked the way you did you kind of worded that in that, because I have seen you in arenas, on festival stages, a hockey arena, and even back to the very first time I ever saw you guys at The Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan. Do you think it’s better suited to something in a smaller venue where you can get more personal right in somebody’s face and there’s not a 40 foot photo pit and everything else, or you think you’re just ready to blow this on every cell you can.

Jeremy: We can adapt to any size venue that we need to adapt it to. That’s the goal. I mean, that’s how we did it in Death Punch and that’s kind of what I’ve learned how to do, and that’s what I would hope that we get to do in this project. Obviously we have to cut our teeth and earn our stripes like every other brand new band and it’s going to take as long as it takes. But we could play some someplace really tiny and then or a festival, I think it could work either way.

Toddstar: I mentioned at the outset of this interview that I caught up with you and we discussed your book and everything that was going on at that point in your life. I mean, there’s been a lot that’s gone on since that book. I mean, have you put anything into the next chapter or the next phase and maybe putting together another book, another collection of stories of your life since that last book came out?

Jeremy: Yeah. It funny that you bring that up. I had written basically half of the follow up book and then I was like, I do not have it in me to complete this or go promote it right now. So I sealed it. I don’t know if I’ll read it, but I’m just so wanting to do new stuff instead of revisit my past. That’s way more stimulating to me. But in case I ever want to, I have a great start as it’s running in the computer right now.

Toddstar: I know when we spoke before you mentioned that it was almost more of a cathartic piece than just getting out there and spreading the word of Jeremy Spencer at that point, it was more of just you doing it. You’re doing that for you even at that point.

Jeremy: I needed a place to just put my energy because I had been putting it in a darker place for so long. And now it’s like, okay, well what do I do with myself? This is a new life. It turned into a decent set of stories that apparently some people could relate to and it actually did well enough to chart on the New York times best sellers list, which I got a kick out of because I’m not an author. I was just sharing my life story, but I was fortunate enough to have that happen. I did recently record the audio version with me narrating it for fans that didn’t want to take the time to read the book, if they just wanted to listen to it in the car while they’re exercising or whatever, you can just listen to me narrate the book and that’s available everywhere that sells audio books.

Toddstar: I still probably have my copy of the book. I was able to get you to sign when we sat down years ago. I know you’re busy, so I want to keep this moving. You’ve done it with a lot of people and in the promo images, there’s Double Daddy and then he’s got his minions behind him. At some point, are we going to know who these guys are?

Jeremy: Well, it’s a little loose. If people really do the research, they can figure out who those guys are, but they have character names and their profiles, but it’s not going to be that hard to find. It’s not going to be trying to figure out who Gene Simmons was in the 70s, it’s not like that. I don’t think we care that much. If people find out it’s not a big deal, they already know it’s me. So it’s going to be the same with the other guys. They’ll figure out who they are and we’ll let them do the research and have fun figuring it out. But we’re not too worried about that stuff and the mistake all that much.

Toddstar: So it is truly more for just the visual than the mystique.

Jeremy: For sure. I mean, the Slipknot guys. We know who they are and it’s the same thing. It’s still we just do it for the show.

Toddstar: Cool. Who is out there that you’d like to do some kind of collaboration with that you haven’t yet Jeremy? Are there still some artists out there that you’d like to get together with?

Jeremy: I want to do something with Alice Cooper. I know that that may not seem an answer that you would think that I would say, but I love Alice and I loved his music and his whole trip and his career. And I think it would be great to do something with him.

Toddstar: You picked one of my favorites. I’m like you, I’m a Kiss guy. So Alice is near and dear to my heart as well. Looking back, you played the drums, now you’re front man. What do you think has driven you musically to keep this going for yourself other than you had these songs written. Is there something that drives you, is it other music? What just keeps you in that spirit to where you want to keep generating new stuff Jeremy instead of rehashing everything?

Jeremy: My favorite thing to do is set a goal and then go try to achieve it. That’s my stimuli. That’s my drug of choice. So that’s what I get off on. I just love creating and I like seeing it all the way through if he didn’t come to fruition, that’s fun for me. So it doesn’t matter if it’s writing songs or writing screenplays or books. I just like to create that’s what I do, It’s what I’ve always been about. And it just feels like I want to continue to do that. And if there’s a time when I don’t want to, then like I said, I won’t do it.

Toddstar: Well, let’s wrap it up with one last question for you. There’s so much music and again, you and I come from a lot of the same influences, but if you could pick an album through the history of time that influenced you enough, that it still drives you in your soul, that you’d like to have been there either when it was recorded or be part of it, or just have a nuance part of it. What album stills to you like it did the first time you heard it?

Jeremy: Probably Prince Purple Rain or Around The World in a Day, that time period from 1999 through Under the Cherry Moon those records, and there’s several records by Bowie that do the same thing. But those two artists are the ones that drive me. But if I had to pick one album would probably be Purple Rain, I guess.

Toddstar: I will be honest, I did not expect, I expected maybe Bowie, but Prince really caught me off guard.

Jeremy: Well, I mean, those are my two favorite artists and of course I love heavy metal and you could get Master of Puppets as my one record and I’d be happy with that, or maybe Far Beyond Driven by Pantera. But I love Bowie, Prince, Pink Floyd, so many artists. There’s so many influences that have crept in over the years.

Toddstar: Well, the influences are definitely known and very obvious when you’re listening to “Devil From Hell,” the new single from Psychosexual. And I can’t wait to see what comes next from you guys. Hopefully the world opened up, we’ll get you touring and we can get you up in Michigan, maybe at The Machine Shop.

Jeremy: Yes, thank you. That’d be great. We look forward to it.

Toddstar: Thanks man. We’ll talk to you soon.

Jeremy: Okay. Thanks a lot, Todd.

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Category: Interviews