
Caustic may be a name fresh in your minds as of right now, but the Wisconsin based industrial musician had time to pause his busy life to answer a couple of questions about his latest album, his workings with Negative Gain, drama/controversy, and other nefarious things and subjects. The interview is as entertaining as it is worthy of your attention. So, go on, get reading and I'll shut up.
I and many other have noticed that you always have a punk edge to your music, and you have even stated that both industrial and punk go hand in hand with one another and that you have a love for both sides of the scene. Did you discover punk before industrial? Or did you kind of explore both genres at the same time?
Matt: When I grew up and really got into music in the late eighties, early nineties shit wasn’t so delineated—“alt” music encompassed a lot of stuff. I was into the Dead Milkmen just as much as Nitzer Ebb and into Jane’s Addiction just as much as Depeche Mode or the Cure. It was all hand in hand. I probably heard punk before industrial just by the nature of who I hung out with and MTV at the time, but I distinctly remember driving around at 3 in the morning on my seventeenth birthday blasting Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. I also remember getting pulled over by the cops around that time because I was driving like a crazy person listening to The Land of Rape and Honey. It’s all high energy, pissed off peanut butter and jelly to me.
However, aside from punk, your music tends to be a bit bi-polar in genre influences. Hip-hop, 80s EBM, rock, metal, etc.; if it's a music genre, it can usually be found in one of your albums somewhere. When writing your songs, do you ever have a solid idea as to how they'll sound? Or is the music making process a very random, experimental process that you go through?
My process is usually me dicking around until I come across something, a groove or a sound, that clicks. Generally it starts with a drumbeat or a loop and I add a bassline and go from there. I usually put together a 45 second to minute clip and listen to it a million times in my headphones until lyrics come together. Occasionally I also have lyrics, or lines I like written down that just need a home. 'Attention Please', the opening track on Industrial Music, was mostly written lyrically before I came up with the music. Same with 'Gravity Bong'. It’s seeing what fits.
Now, everyone in the industrial scene knows you and Caustic and the like to be funny and almost like a court-jester among bands that have high egos and a king-like self worth. That being said, a lot of fans respect your opinion over everyone else. Having that sort of role in the scene, how often do you find yourself influencing either the thoughts or actions of your followers? Has there ever been a time where something you said made someone act in a stupid manner that you did not expect?
Most people also don’t realize people will listen to good points if you can make them entertaining. Humor works wonders for pointing out stupidity, and I always try and include myself as part of the problem if I’m criticizing something. I’m the first to point the finger at myself.
Anyone I fuck with usually has a good sense of humor about it. I’ve been around long enough that I know most everyone in the scene in one way or another, and I honestly never mean any harm by it and they know that. If I’m ever critical, it’s mostly because I hate lazy art and trite bullshit. In those cases I try and speak generally, because there’s not really a point in calling people out and starting bullshit. You can make your point without that, and if people are halfway intelligent they’ll figure it out anyway.
That being said, I'm sure Caustic has caused some controversy in the past. Have you ever had a squabble with another band in the past? Names can be withheld if needed, but what was it over and was the matter petty?

And I sort of have the same question for your fans. You are a joking man and all across your Facebook pages, both your personal page and Caustic's, you have a sincere sense of humor. However, sometimes fans just don't get that humor. Have you ever had a time when a fan or someone else was completely offended by a comment you made? And what happened in that or those situations?
Actually, I’ll correct what I just said—people who don’t speak English as a first language don’t get me at all sometimes. When I released the promo for Industrial Music where I list all the amazing industrial bands of the last forty years and then call them hacks, some people thought I was serious. WHY they did I have no idea, but oh well.
Speaking of controversy, let's talk about the Facebook/Side-Line drama that just occurred. I didn't get the whole story as I bumped into it halfway through, but I read that Side-Line took the in-joke between you and Gottesman seriously and posted about it. What exactly happened in the whole situation?
What I found frustrating about the whole mess was that a lot of people claimed our whole confrontation was a “joke” or a “stunt,” but the amount of fucking time myself AND my people had to put into rectifying this very real situation, in which I fired Eric from Caustic, then double fired him, then realized I accidentally rehired him, and was then subsequently fired BY him…okay, I know most people aren’t entertainment lawyers, but that shit is real. It happens every…fucking…day.
And then that asshole Tom Shear got involved and made it like twenty times worse. I’m just glad I finally got my page back after Shear fired Eric from Caustic and we mended our friendship to team up and fight him together.
While it is quite a humorous story, did the whole post on Side-Line ever really annoy you? I think I saw one of your Facebook posts mentioning that they haven't reviewed your past five albums, but then report on false drama.
And Side-Line actually belittled our entire conflict, which, given how much “news” Side Line actually reports on, is unsurprising. They said how it was a publicity stunt and that “smaller bands” try to do all sorts of stuff for attention. This coming from the Facebook page that reported on the fan reaction to Eskil from Covenant’s shaving his head the day before. Let’s just say they’re no CNN. Hell, it’s not even Fox News.
I was only annoyed in that they gave undue attention on something I was trying to handle as quietly as possible. It was bad enough I Die: You Die (who WERE friends of mine) interviewed Eric right after I was ousted. They made the REAL drama worse, as now more eyes were on us, which encouraged Eric to post even more Minion memes. If a “magazine” is only going to give a shit about me when I’m having an emotional breakdown then I don’t need them.
Before we move on off this subject, I would like to say I was impressed by the amount of ham photos that was posted on the Caustic page. It made me crave a ham sandwich. And a ham sandwich I had afterwards.
Now let's move away from all that and talk about your music. You began up your own record label, Undustrial Records, to release your own music after being on labels such as Metropolis and Crunch Pod. When 2015 saw the release of Industrial Music, you signed to Negative Gain Productions. Why did you sign to Negative Gain for the release instead of just self-releasing the title? And how did you get in contact with the record label? Did they approach you or did you approach them?
I had my eye on Negative Gain for a couple reasons: One was I liked Roger and Micah—Micah and I have known each other the better part of 15 years and Roger and I have talked off and on for a long time and we always got along well. The second, and more important reason, is that I simply love the Negative Gain roster. There are some of the most interesting and best artists in our lil world on this label (Alter der Ruine, Mr.Kitty, The Gothsicles, Cygnets, and now Ari Mason and Kanga, etc) and I wanted to add to that. In breaking it off with Metropolis I was basically just waiting for the “Thanks, and good luck” email from Heckman and then emailed Micah and Roger within minutes of that. We chatted a little, settled the basic terms, and now we’re all in bed together.
I like working with labels that are forward thinking, and Negative Gain is curating an amazing stable of artists. I don’t care if I’m on a label with the biggest bands anymore if I’m not into all the other bands on the label, and that was the case with Metropolis. With Negative Gain I can honestly say I dig every artist on there, and I’m honored to be a part of that family.
Also, I didn’t feel like dealing with all the business crap this time around. My wife was pregnant with our son and I had enough other shit to deal with. I would have sought them out regardless. I like being in this gang.
Negative Gain is an extremely respected label with the likes of Mr.Kitty, Squid Lid, and the recent sensation Ari Mason on their roster. In terms of how NGP has treated yourself and Caustic's property in comparison to your previous record labels, how have they been? Would you say they treated you the best so far?
I work best when I’m left to my good bad ideas and have the encouragement to implement them. I don’t ask for advances from labels—I just wanna do what I wanna do, and it usually works. The album has done remarkably well so far, so I’m nothing but pleased with how I’ve been treated. I’ve been trying to recruit other cool artists for them, too. Kanga and I have been online buds for a while and when she mentioned she was looking for a label I got them in touch, and her debut is going to kill—Rhys Fulber (who just did the amazing new Youth Code album) is engineering it.
If I wasn’t happy there I wouldn’t have bothered. It’s artists running a label for artists, and they’re smart about it. It’s a great team.
From a testament of love for the scene in general, to a tongue and cheek deconstruction of all current trends, to throwing back to your early days, “Industrial Music” seems to have it all. What was the overall concept/theme for the album?
To your point, this was also a throwback of sorts for me—I wanted to use my old sound and make a new sound. I wanted to go back to my roots but show how much better I can do it now, and I think it turned out great.
Arguably, with the release of the music video coinciding with the album's launch, “Fuck In A Suit” became one of the most popular tracks on the album. I still see fans cracking a joke here and there whenever they see someone in a suit. In your opinion, which track on the album caught on the best with Djs and fans? And, if you could choose one song on the album that you like the most, which would it be and why?
I always like giving a little attention to the guys behind the camera/behind the editing for music videos. In the credits for the music video of “Fuck in a Suit”, it's said that it was directed by VIDEOPUNKS. Who are they and how was your experience working with them?
Now that Industrial Music has been out for a couple of months, what are your thoughts on the album? Is it one of your favorite albums in Caustic's discography? Do you think that you could have done better with it? It this Caustic's best and brightest?

About a month after Industrial Music released, a companion album titled Industrial Remixes came out. I understand this came about with the help of the guys from I DIE: YOU DIE. I'm a huge fan of the articles they post and the down to earth content they put out. It's also been stated that you never really heard of the musicians they chose for the remix album. That being said, when you saw the artists they chose for the companion album, were you nervous at first or did you trust Alex and Bruce's choices?
And I was never nervous. It was an experiment. What’s the worst thing that could happen?
More recently, you released your tenth free album on Bandcamp, Bomb the Club Mixes Maxi-Single. This time around, did you choose the remixers yourself? And why did you decide to release another set of remixes that coincide with “Industrial Music”?
With the main album out and two sets of remixes done for Industrial Music, do you think that the album will finally be laid to rest? Or do you see yourself coming back to it to liven up the album again?
You are not only involved in Caustic, but also have Beauty Queen Autopsy and The Causticles under your belt. How are things going with those two bands? Do you have anything in the works or any news you can share about them?
As for Beauty Queen Autopsy I’ve got a bunch of ideas gestating and a few demos in the works. Truthfully the BQA and Caustic Kickstarters have beat the hell out of me in what I owe people, so I’m working on those rewards and my new album on Patreon at the moment. Erica and I are excited to start the next chapter for the band though, and the reception for Lotharia exceeded my expectations, so there’s definitely more to come.
Getting to the end of things here, do you have any live shows coming up for Caustic any time in the future? If so, where can we see the information online? If not, are you in the process of booking any tours or live shows?
Lastly, I would like to thank you for your time. You make industrial fun. Feel free to say anything more that needs to be said below. Cheers!
More info is HERE. Thanks again!

Steven Gullotta
info@brutalresonance.comI've been writing for Brutal Resonance since November of 2012 and now serve as the editor-in-chief. I love the dark electronic underground and usually have too much to listen to at once but I love it. I am also an editor at Aggressive Deprivation, a digital/physical magazine since March of 2016. I support the scene as much as I can from my humble laptop.
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