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them [to] the top of the set, which is not
something you usually do. But I have faith in
this stuff. It works. Mindfucker was written
with “live [shows]” in mind. It fits in with the
old material just fine, and this tour is like a
full-on live rock ‘n’ roll live situation. This
one is balls to the wall. There's a couple of
psyche songs in the set, but most of it is full-
on, and the Mindfucker stuff falls into that real
perfectly, real "Detroit." It’s real midwest
1970s - if you know what I mean. Like Grand
Funk, Stooges, MC5 type of stuff.
Mosh: I noticed while listening to
Mindfucker that you sound more aggressive
than you have in a while.
DW: I grew up listening to that stuff, and I
never stopped listening to it. I like a lot of dif-
ferent kinds of music in my life and I just
really love space rock, Sabbath style, British
rock. But I just as much love that whole mid-
west rock thing of the late 1960s and early
1970s. To me, it moves in a live situation bet-
ter than any other music I’ve played. Live,
that stuff can’t be denied, and it feels good.
Plus it’s in my guy's wheelhouses, too. [The
band] really loves to play it. That’s how
*Mindfucker* got written really. I noticed
when we were playing live in Europe over
the last couple of years that this stuff has
sounded the best, and is the most "ready to
go" with the least preparation and with the
most enthusiasm. So, I wrote a bunch of
songs in that direction.
Mosh: What do you like about playing in
Chicago?
DW: Chicago and I go way back. The histo-
ry of Chicago fascinates me from pre-rock ‘n’
roll, and I’ve always been in love with that
town. The music, well, that’s one of the last
places in America that can truly call itself a
full-on music town. There’s more live stuff
going on in Chicago than a lot of other cities
that used to have a lot more. And I used to go
out with a girl from Chicago, so I got a big
heart for it.
Mosh: Your Bull God mascot on the cover of
Mindfucker is the most bad-ass one yet.
DW: For this one, I went to Rob Leecock,
who is the guy who drew the original Bull
God on Spine of God and he did several oth-
ers. He did God Says No and Superjudge as
well - he did bull gods for all those records. I
called him up (and I haven’t seen him in a
while) and asked if I could get the meanest
bull god that you can possibly imagine. And
he said can do! He drew it up, and I flipped
out, and there you go.
Mosh: While Monster Magnet’s other mem-
bers have various side projects, do you have
any desire to do a solo album or any other
outside projects?
DW: I kind of do, but I want it to be really
different. It’s kind of weird since I write all
the stuff for Monster Magnet, it kind of is - to
a certain extent - my solo [project]. At least it
takes up time. And maybe someday I will do
a solo album, but it’d have to be very differ-
ent and strange. Already my time is taken up
by Monster Magnet; as well as being the
songwriter I’m also the producer, so this stuff
takes time. So while those guys are doing
Atomic Bitchwax, I’m usually mixing a
Monster Magnet record or writing a Monster
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2018
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