Beryl Beloved

 

What's the meaning behind the band's name?

Well, essentially, I chose "Beryl Beloved" because I liked that type of alliteration and how it could flow right off the tounge - it almost sounds like "Dearly Beloved." My given name is Chris. So around the time of high school I took the name Beryl from "Chrys"oberyl (a transparent green mineral). When I was fronting my previous project Stiff Midriff & the Potentials - an art-punk type of thing - I started using the name as my personal moniker. It just evolved from there... It's a precious stone with a lot of interesting connotations. In fact, there's even a Jewish writing called the Book of Tobit, where you can read that the "streets of Jerusalem will be paved with beryl and carbuncle and stones of Ophir."

How the band started??
Back when I was living near Kansas City, I was involved with fronting a couple of projects. Stiff Midriff, as I mentioned already, was one of them. The earlier one was called Ayatollah Fetish and that's where I drew a fair amount of our current material from. Our single "Foot Stuck Child," for example, was originally a demo that was recorded around 2004.

Around mid-2009, I moved to Colorado Springs and this interest rose up in me again to get something substantial together. I found my first bassist [Vaux Borden], we acquired our first drum machine, and then we took it from there. From the first show (in a humble indie club) onward, the reception was incredible. Now we're getting played on FM radio all over the place. We're being spun in clubs (especially in Europe) and already we've had the opportunity to open for a couple of international acts.

What's the message to transmit with your music??
I can't say that there's truly a unified message throughout the EP. But each song has its own message, really - some zero in on topics like abuse and addiction, others deal with criticizing cetain mindsets that individuals have, and so on. It's not as cut-and-dry as just having one message. It's all pretty multi-faceted.

What's your method at the time of writing a song??
It can vary. On the whole, I've tended to start with lyrics and then compose music to accompany those. With other tracks, like "Last Rites" for example, I'll listen to an instrumental mix and imagine the final product (with vocals) as I would most prefer it to sound. The process is different every single time - no formula.

Which is your music influences??
Our sound is clearly drawn from so much of the first and second-wave Gothic Rock types of bands. All your Siouxsies, your Christian Deaths, your Bauhauses, your Specimens. I can't get enough of David Bowie or the Beatles either. And then a lot of literature is a goldmine for inspiration - surrealistic writers like Tristan Tzara, Jean Cocteau, Charles Baudelaire; futuristic books like Orwell's "1984" and Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451."

What plans do you guys have for the future??
We're taking a bit of a Fall/Winter hiatus this year to record new material, and resituate the band with several new members. So, when everything is all together, we may be looking at a regional tour and an album release within the next year.

Which has been the funniest prank you guys have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
During one of our live performances (at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs), we were covering the Virgin Prunes' song "Baby Turns Blue." My brother and sister-in-law were in town and so we had invited them to come to the show. Knowing that my sister-in-law is a diehard Marilyn Monroe fan, and that "Baby Turns Blue" is about drug addiction and dying young, we took that concept and decided to do something visual with it. We bought a giant Marilyn Monroe poster and some neon blue pudding. Near the middle of the song, our bassist unveiled the poster and started smearing the blue pudding (which looked like acrylic paint) all over Miss Monroe. In the footage of the show, you can hear my sister-in-law's terrified screams as we "deface" her idol! It was hysterial; I'm certain the floor of that venue is still dyed blue from the pudding.

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you guys are, ¿Who would you guys send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?

If people are going to start becoming cannibalistic, I think I'd leave! The safest person would be the one going away for help. Usually when we're playing live shows, I'll have an entourage of friends. I'm sure I'd eat one of them first. Our former bassist was so thin that he'd probably be too gamey.

Which country you guys would love to play?
Playing Germany would be exciting. In the not-too-distant future, we'd like to have the opportunity to be a part of Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig. England is also on the top of my list.

With which bands you guys would love to share stage??
We've had some correspondence before with Death Rock Dive Bar (at Stork in Oakland, CA). At some point, being on a bill with Gitane Demone (of Christian Death fame) there would be a real honour. 

Are you guys OK, with the direction the band is going actually?
I can't complain! With such a growth of our fanbase over a short period of time, and a great amount of press coverage, it's really been heading in a positive direction. And although we're playing within a categorical niche, I don't think the musical direction is stagnant or dead-set against any type of change. I enjoyed reading from EGL Magazine [in a review from Sept. 2010] that "Beryl Beloved can turn their cards over and surprise you".

Check out more of this band by going to www.myspace.com/berylbeloved