fans. I see them at our shows all the time. We ' re getting younger audiences, and I just say to myself, I ' m your favorite band, and you don ' t even know it. So still trying to get the word out, 20-some years later.
IE: Speaking of Murderdolls, in 2023 and 2024, you started playing those songs on tour. What was going through your mind when you were going. It ' s great to have young fans to keep discovering you. W13: It shows it ' s timeless. Because when I was a kid and first started listening to older rock, even though I appreciate a lot of that music now, – when you ' re 80s kid and you hear“ Shout at the Devil” and then someone plays you like Foreigner, you ' re like what is this? It ' s so easy for a younger kid to hear what I do and go,
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revisiting these songs, especially in the aftermath of Joey Jordison’ s death? W13: Lots of emotions. When I first started doing it, there were nights that were tougher than others, because for a lot of people, it was the first time they ever got to hear those songs. It was also the first time anyone had done something publicly and talked about Joey. It wasn ' t easy, but then I got to play these songs, talk about them, and carry on with the show. It was fun, but it was also kind of tough. I guess it got a little easier the longer I did it. I took it all over the world. We played everywhere from Australia to Turkey. And I realized how many people loved and appreciated that band and how many new fans have come along since then who want to know about it and who missed out on it.
Murderdolls put me on the map. It ' s the reason people know who I am. It ' s a big deal for a lot of people. It ' s still a big deal to me. Next year is the 25th anniversary of that first album [ Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls ]. It ' s been a long trip, but it ' s been fun. I ' ve been really lucky to have fans stand by this long. It ' s a lot of new people, too. There are a lot of new people discovering the band. A lot of old fans are still there. A lot of people came and went. But it ' s always good when I do a tour, and I look in the front row and see younger kids. That ' s a good sign.
IE: Yeah. It helps keep the music alive and
“ That ' s classic rock! That sucks!” But they resonate with it, so that ' s a good thing.
IE: In addition to the tour, you ' ve got a big birthday coming up this year. Have you thought about how you ' re going to celebrate reaching 50? W13: Yeah, I have a really big show a few days before my birthday, which is what I ' m calling my birthday show. We ' re playing in England at Bloodstock Festival, and we ' re headlining one of the side stages. It ' s going to be a really big show. It’ s one of the biggest UK headline [ shows ] we ' ve done. So that ' s sort of going into my birthday. Since I ' m already going to be in the UK, I was looking at going somewhere else and taking a vacation. Hawaii is on my list. Greece is on my list. So, I don ' t know, I may just go somewhere for the day, chill out a couple days and come back. I plan on touring heavily at the end of the year, too. So, there ' s not going to be a whole lot of celebrating, but I am going to make time to celebrate the big day.
Wednesday 13’ s new album, Mid Death Crisis, is out now. The band will play Concord Music Hall with The Birthday Massacre and Lord of the Lost on January 31st.
-Ashley Perez- Hollingsworth