Klayton

Klayton is an industrial rock musician, who has performed under a variety of stage names over his career, and is best known as being the frontman for his latest project, Celldweller.

Sourced (Dated)

Interview by Angela Monger Feb 2003

• "I grew up as a teenager listening to a really lot of heavy stuff. I was definitely a Slayer kid and Testament and the harder metal. I was definitely not a glam rocker."
• "At some point along the way, people had introduced me to bands like Depeche Mode and stuff that was on the softer side of electronic music and that completely intrigued me because of the sonic capabilities and possibilities. I got intrigued with that and then somewhere along the way somebody handed me a Skinny Puppy record and I think that changed my musical life."
• "...primarily when I write, I use guitars and organic instruments because that's easier to write to but at the end of the day, the electronic side of things, that's my true passion."
• "(The story behind the name Celldweller) is hard to trace back completely but I guess in 1992 sometime, I wrote a song called 'Helldweller' and my studios and even places I have lived have traditionally been in basements. In cellars, so to speak. I am also a fairly introverted guy and I hardly ever come out. It was almost a joke initially from family and friends calling me a cell dweller or a cellar dweller. It evolved into Celldweller although that name holds more significance than that. Celldweller is more symbolic of an internal bondage, being restricted and retained internally so the name has many meanings. At the end of the day, it rolls off the tongue very easily so there it is."
• "...the most recent tracks I've written on (the debut CD) were ... 'Frozen' and 'I Believe You'."

Transcending the Mundane Mar 2003 http://basementbar.com/DefaultN1.asp?GoTo=InterviewN1.asp?ID=206

• "When you go to a show you should see more than four or five dudes on the stage basically playing the CD back to you. You're going to see a show, do something entertaining. The Celldweller live show involves performance art elements, a lot of percussive elements, and video synchronization to the music- as well as the energy of a total live band. Hopefully it's something different than people are accustomed to seeing. I've never been afraid of being different and a lot of times when you do that you're not accepted immediately. That's okay. I've been doing this long enough, if they get it they get it, if they don't, they don't. I don't really care."
• "I'm not a very personal person when I speak to someone one on one or in a group. I'm very internal, not that that's a very big deal, but for me I can be creative with what I want to say without casting the pearls before the swine. I write in an artistic way. Maybe someone can read what I write and interpret it as something else for themselves. It may not be literal. I write openly so I may be exorcising my demons but someone can exorcise their own, which can be completely different than I originally intended. That's how I like to relate to artists that I listen to. I didn't write this record for anybody but me, but in doing that I find people that relate to me."
• "I've been so guilty of doing a million side projects. I've changed my name on every one of them. It's got to the point when my own fans didn't know whether I worked on an album or not."
• "My problem is that I work on a 24/7 basis and I hardly ever come out, so friends are limited. There's not too many people who tolerate the fact that I never call them back. It's hard to maintain relationships when you are enveloped in work. That's how I've always been."

Interview with James Rhodes of Dreamst8 Aug 2003

• "(Del Cheetah) has many other things going on and we agreed it wasn't good timing for him to drop everything and stay involved with Celldweller when there weren't many secure situations in place."
• "'Please come check us out and we hope you don't think we suck' tour." (When asked what the name of the band's tour will be)
• "'I Believe You' was written in a few days and something like 'Switchback' was a thorn in my flesh and took a couple of years to refine and complete to my standards."
• "I pretty much despise the old mix (of Switchback) and the other 15 or 20 versions that exist. I somehow managed to pull something out of my a** at the last minute - literally and could live with the song finally."
• "That song (Frozen) in a lot of ways was an experiment for me. I wanted to see if I could create every synth part in the song on soft synths as opposed to hardware synths."
• "The best experience (while working with Grant Mohrman)? Watching movies and eating junkfood when we were too burnt to work anymore. That and finding someone who I can work with, understands me musically and otherwise and someone I know I will work with for a long time to come... I don't generally work with anyone, but Grant has brought valuable things to the project and I felt it was time to let someone in, so to speak."
• "'Unlikely' (Stay With Me)'s original constructions were created only on my laptop with Pro Tools Free and some soft synths while I was in the middle of nowhere for a few days visiting family."

Delerium Interview by Sophie Diamantis-Fry Aug 2003

• "After I decided to put Circle of Dust to rest, I did some other projects over a span of 5 years or so. I finally decided it was in my best interest to stop focusing on others and get back to doing my own thing, so while I wrapped up some of my other projects, I was simultaneously creating new music specifically as Celldweller, probably sometime in '98, '99."
• "Too many stigmas attached to Circle (of Dust) and the fact that the label I was on had lost their distribution and wouldn't give me a budget for a new disc. I finally decided it was time to clean house, so to speak. I don't regret the decision."
• "One thing I considered for a while after I put Circle (of Dust) to rest was to write music and get various female vocalists to sing. I was graced with the voices of Victoria Faiella, Fluffy Starr and Jennifer Neal, and the drumming talents of Jarrod Montague (Taproot), Kenny James and Ken Capton. Grant Mohrman played an acoustic for Stay With Me (Unlikely) but it was never used. I ended up creating a new piece from sections of that song that didn't end up being showcased in the original mix and put it on the disc - Unlikely (Stay With Me.)"
• "Beginnings of songs are by far the most fun for me - creating melodies, sonic soundscapes and piecing parts together."
• "I don't get caught up in the whole game of being different for the hell of it. I've always done my own thing - to hell with chasing trends. "
• "Some of what I've been listening to in the last few weeks - Frou Frou-Details, The Faint-Danse Macabre, Technical Itch, AFI-Sing the Sorrow, Massive Attack-100th window, Way Out West-Intensify, Cocteau Twins-Four Calendar Café, Astral Projection, Sam Phillips-Cruel Inventions, On-Make Believe, Dieselboy, Hybrid, Cosmosis... The closest I get to listening to radio are some online stations like Bassdrive and Philosomatika] (mostly drum & bass and trance.) When I'm in the mood for some good guitar based stuff, I've been going back to Refused, Snapcase, Quicksand, Slayer, Trouble etc."
• "(Fans who want to get in touch with me) can call me, or send a messenger pigeon. If that doesn't work, the best way is always electronically. E-mail from the Official Site generally gets forwarded to me if it is requested. The best way ultimately is come see a show, that way I'm within shooting distance. Don't forget your gun."
• "I am a technology proponent. Any new gadget or technology that makes life simpler (or more complex ultimately) I'm down for. "

Perfect Pitch Magazine http://www.perfectpitchonline.com/v02i03/celldweller.php Nov 2003

• "I’d absolutely rather be in the studio, no question about it. Touring is not my gig. Performing is OK, and when you’re in the performance it’s great. It’s just the whole traveling thing."
• "This (the self-titled debut Celldweller album) is probably the first record I’ve ever done that I haven’t hated."
• "You will not get a typical rock n' roll show because we are not about being a typical rock n' roll band. The performance is much more theater-based, with multimedia, video, and of course music. We’re synched to video. We build instruments specifically for the live show."
• "I am not about doing what everyone else has done. I don’t even listen to anything remotely close to what’s on the radio right now."
• "Even when I wasn’t creating music, I was kind of a loner. I was the kid that got beat up, which is why I think I came back later on in life and kind of flipped that around. Instead of being a follower, I’ve always been independent, and am not going to wait for someone to hold my hand or do something for me. I used to get my a** kicked after school every day. I think that ultimately has affected the way I was."
• "I’ve never come out of the box saying I'm an 'industrial artist' or a 'drum and bass artist' or a 'nu-metal artist.' These are all tags that people have put on me."
• "If someone is treating me like a rock star, I don’t know how to deal with it so I try to avoid contact. It’s not that I hate anyone or I am antisocial. I’m just shy, how about that? That’s an easy word. I’m shy."

RockNetWebZine Interview http://www.rocknetwebzine.com/archives/scott-2.html May 2004

• "I'm glad for (the ability for people to buy a song without needing to buy the whole album), where an artist can't write a bad record. You can't write one hit song and nine bad ones and pawn a record off to people. Now they can download or buy one track at a time. Every song you write has to count. For me artistically, that's the way I always approach it. I don't put anything out on a record or release it to the public if I think it's crap."
• "...although guitars are a big part of my sound, I've never really been interested in a guitar. I use it as a tool but I'm much more interested in electronics and synths and synthetics."
• "Because I am not on this label or that label, which seems to be all anybody gives a sh*t about, I can't really seem to get any songs on soundtracks because of the politics involved. A record label wants to release their own artists on their soundtracks as opposed to an artist that they've never heard of and they don't really care about which I understand that from their perspective so that makes it harder for me. I'm not worried about it. I'm not making my art to earn the favor of another record label and have them put me on their soundtrack. It would be great if they want to do it but I'm not crying over it for sure if it doesn't happen."

TexasRadio1.com Interview at the Curtain Club in Deep Ellum, Texas Aug 2004

• "But Celldweller is definitely more, there's more to us than just small penis..... There's more to the band than small penis.... Big hair.... Skirts...."
• "The death per capita in New York had dropped because we had a good mayor for a while, and I didn't feel comfortable with that so I wanted to go someplace where there was a lot more people getting killed. So I went to Detroit."
• "It's a show. We're not about being a standard rock band at all. We're much more influenced by theater and electronic culture and things like that."

Music Street Journal http://www.musicstreetjournal.com/celldwellerinterview.htm Dec 2004
(Also credited to Dark Starr for Wormwood Chronicles)http://www.wormwoodchronicles.com/interviews/celldweller/text.html

• "I can say as a generalization that conceptually Celldweller is more a reflection of an internal bondage as opposed to a physical, external one."
• "I've heard the phrase 'Jack of all trades, master of none'. I think it may be more determination than talent. I use any instrument and artform as a means to an end. I never cared about being the best double bass drummer, or the fastest lead guitar player. Couldn't care less. My only desire was to learn different instruments well enough so I could get what I hear in my head onto tape. I never had any formal training with anything I've done. I was just hungry for knowledge and would watch everyone I could, ask as many questions as I could get answers for and hide away to practice and write."
• "I just let everybody else decide for me what Celldweller sounds like. I love electronic music. I love technology. I love aggressive guitars and bass. I love live drums. I love lush vocal melodies. I love sensual atmospheres. The list goes on. I suppose Celldweller is some amalgam of all of these and then some."
• "Listening to a band stand there and just play back a CD, song for song doesn't do a thing for me. My mind is a complicated mess, so I need more stimuli to keep it from falling asleep."
• "The live show incorporates a live band, video projections, performance art and instruments designed specifically for the show. The 3 of us up front (myself, Kem and Dale) play multiple instruments depending on the requirements of the piece. Mike holds down the drums and electronic percussion."
• "Is nu metal dead yet? Thank god."
• "...producers aren't something very high on my list of people to work with. The only one I've ever had a desire to work with was Flood. After Depeche Mode's 'Violator' I was sold."
• "Spinal Tap got lost underground in Ohio, but at least they eventually surfaced and were lucky enough to be in a stadium. Last time we played Ohio we played a f*cking laundromat." (note: the word 'f*cking' appears in the Wormwood Chronicles version of the interview, but not in the Music Street Journal version)

Interview with James Rhodes of Position Music May 2005

• "Most of what moves me is from the European drum 'n bass of someone like Technical Itch, to the Goa/Psy Trance of Astral Projection (Israel), to just straight up great songs from Frou Frou."
• "I have to continually change my underwear because the overwhelming excitement of any given day causes me to soil my pants so frequently. Most sarcasm aside for a moment, there are some 'good' things happening (in the near future)."
• "Control the machine, don’t let it control you although there are always happy accidents when you lose control."
• "Some common friends of Jarrod (Montague, drummer of Taproot) and I had passed a Celldweller disc on to him, and I had heard that he was into it. He came down to the studio while I was making the record while he was home for a short break from working on WELCOME. He is a good guy and I just asked him to play on a track somewhat spontaneously and he was into it. 'I Believe You' was one of the newest songs I had written at that time and I was still debating if I was going to play the drums on the track although I really didn’t want to. Jarrod heard the track and knew it was right up his alley."

Pure Grain Audio Aug 2005 http://www.puregrainaudio.com/interviews/celldweller.htm

• "You feed people sh*tty ground beef for awhile, they forget the taste of steak. The media in general is such a disappointment that I have removed myself from it as much as humanly possible."
• "I am in a position where I am by no means getting any assistance from anyone in high places from the outside. So having 'Cellmates' that are motivated and believe in this project has helped us tremendously. It is very much an us-against-the-world mentality and if Celldweller were to see any huge success, although that term is relative, they will have had something very direct to do with it."
• "I have met many A&R people and there are some that are truly cool people. But these same people have told me that if only I would imitate certain bands on the radio, 'just one song is all we need', they would give me the deal of my dreams. Ummm, let me clean an area on my a** for you so you can kindly kiss it."
• "I spent most of my adolescence in my basement studio reading manuals, making mistakes and learning from them, hence the name Celldweller."
• "I would rather starve and create what I want than be told from someone who doesn’t understand me or my art that something isn’t up to their specs. Besides, it gives me a chance to prove them wrong. I always root for the underdog."
• "Boys and girls, pull down your pants and make sure you’ve got a healthy set of balls, you’re going to need them (to get started in the music business)."

Street Team Chat via IRC Aug 2005

• "I advise you all to group your funds and buy Jimmy a 'thank you twinkie' for making this (IRC chat) happen"
• "Favorite artist hands down at the moment is Imogen Heap - go get 'Speak for Yourself'. It is amazing."
• "Unfortunately I truly despise live performance on DVD because it rarely captures the energy of the show. You end up with a bad mix and a less-than-stellar looking product."
• "Collaborations for me are rare. I would probably have to be extremely into that artist's music or respect his/her style enough to want to join forces, so to speak."
• "As far as building songs, there is only one rule I adhere to - no rules. Could be a vocal idea, a guitar part. More generally it's a beat and a synth. I hate rock. I love electronic."
• "Right now my favorite graphic artist would probably be Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell). His still art is amazing."
• "Well, you guys have been excessively cool about buying merch all these years and helping support the cause. It keeps me in a position to continue to create music. So again, thank you."
• "My non-musical guilty pleasure? Top of the list would be any Reese's product"
• "My workout is easy - Step one, lift the chicken chalupa to my mouth. Step 2 take a bite. Step 3 lower arm to original position. Lather, rinse, repeat."

Interview with Valdyr of Radio-Active-Music.com Nov 2005

• "One thing I don’t want to do is write the same CD over and over. Some of my favorite artists have that one or 2 CD’s that just stand out from the rest of their catalog. It’s hard to make a great release when you’re relying on the same bag of tricks all the time."
• "I’ve been more inspired by literature, fashion and art than by music."
• "To this day the only song I can play on the piano is Mary Had a Little Lamb (actually only the first 3 notes of it.) When I write a song, I just open Pro Tools or Logic Pro and keep hitting the 'Randomly generate new good song' button until I have a new good song I like."
• "I don’t really go to the movies. I hear about the trailers (that feature Celldweller music) but I don’t often see them myself. I’ve never really been a starstruck individual so it’s not really a big deal to me. I am fortunate for what I’ve been able to secure in the Film/TV/Video game world for sure, but I don’t overhype it and get wrapped up in what I’ve done but instead, what I have yet to do. I don’t even own a single video game console. I’ve never seen any of the games I’m in."
• "There has been no overnight success for me. It’s a constant state of mind to not give up and to ignore discouragement."

Keyboard Magazine Feb 2006 http://www.keyboardmag.com/story.asp?sectioncode=28&storycode=13004

• "Technology and what I do musically are the only things I live for. I was at home reading manuals while the other kids were getting tanked and laid, I guess."
• "The most flattering moments (when Celldweller performs live) are when there’s a group of people slamming into each other over here, and there’s a group of people dancing over there."

Regen Magazine Feb 2006 http://www.regenmag.com/Interviews-75-Celldweller.html

• "It is too easy to get caught up in people's opinions. Opinions are said to be like a**holes. Everyone's got one and they all stink. It is impossible to please everyone and chasing that is the end of true art. I completely appreciate when people let me know that they relate or enjoy my art. I'm still a little unsure how to handle it, but I appreciate it nonetheless."
• "I don't particularly care if people call me a sellout or not and I'm not trying to acquire or avoid the tag. I am here doing what I do for me and that is my only focus. My attitude has never changed. If you don't like it, don't buy my music, go see my shows and wear my t-shirts. I am not going to cry over it. I just don't see where someone ever gets off telling an artist they are 'selling out' because they are starting to make money or gain notoriety."
• "To me, a sellout is someone who chases trends and does whatever they can to further themselves, usually at the expense of their art. If that's what they want to do, go for it. It has nothing to do with me and certainly doesn't reflect my position on the subject. For me, writing is a vital catharsis. I need to create or I will destroy."
• "There's always the outside chance I'll buy a $10 Casio keyboard off eBay and write the whole (next Celldweller) CD with that."
• "I've confused people enough in the past with my pseudonyms and myriads of projects. I give my fans props for keeping up. They absolutely deserve medals for it and if I get time I might even bake them some cookies."

Regen Magazine Apr 2006 http://www.regenmag.com/Interviews-121-Celldweller.html

• "Of late, I’ve really been listening to a lot of DJ sets. DJ Chloe Harris… she has a couple of sets that I really dig."
• "Circle of Dust to me is dead. It has been dead. The only reason I ever did 'Goodbye' (as Celldweller) was because I never really officially released that (Circle of Dust version of the song) anywhere. I released it on some small compilation that I think might’ve sold a hundred copies if I remember correctly, and that’s ridiculous. So I’ve always liked that song enough that I felt like I wanted to do it. Really, I’m calling it a Celldweller track. I’m not even really nodding my head towards Circle of Dust at all."
• "I’m doing it (the project/band Celldweller) for me because I need to exorcise my own demons. And I guess inadvertently, this is also presented in some kind of way that people feel like they can relate to what I’m saying and apply it to their own lives. If I were to sit there and write a song that was laid out, cut-and-dry as to exactly what it means, it really narrows the scope of who can apply that to themselves and maybe relate to it. I write for me and what makes sense in my own brain, and I’m certain that even the closest people around me don’t even know what I’m talking about half the time, and that’s fine."
• "I’m not going to get up on a pedestal and try to promote a church affiliation or organization. As far as my beliefs in God, absolutely I believe in God and that will never change I’m sure. But as far as my being the cheerleader for somebody, some cause or some organization, I have nothing to do with that. I’m not here with my pom-poms to support somebody’s cause."
• "Well, unfortunately for me, that (Switchback) video was supposed to be something quite different from what it ended up becoming. I had scripted out a whole thing, and because of a series of events, it just did not turn out the way that I wanted to.... as far as I’m concerned, it just sucks.... The video in and of itself, as far as I’m concerned, doesn’t make any sense, so there you go."
• "The concept of record labels at this point in life is almost ridiculous. They’ve become promotion machines. Maybe we’ll partner with somebody who would want to pick this record up, and maybe distribute it, and promote it, and probably can do it on a much grander scale than I’d be able to right now. But there’s no need for me right now. I have over the last few years had offers from labels that I was not interested even remotely in. For what relatively little amount of money they’re giving, to take away your ability to make money, it’s just not worth the tradeoff for me."

Interview by Aborted Life on vampirefreaks.com May 2006 http://www.vampirefreaks.com/content/comment.php?entry=43&t=Celldweller
(also available at MyGothicHeart.com)http://www.mygothicheart.com/articles.php?aid=6&PHPSESSID=41655405910c477a60d867ef7adae7f2

• "Lyrically, I had to write what I did to work some things out in my own head. It’s a way for me to verbalize my deepest and darkest thoughts, desires and fears without anybody really knowing what the hell I’m specifically talking about."
• "I was disappointed with the Switchback video on a personal level and it ultimately did not reflect the concept I had originally created, so I detached myself from it the second I was done editing it."
• "I am all about electronic music and Detroit is a place where certain prominent styles of electronic music and culture were born. I will always love New York and I will always be a New Yorker, but I needed a change and was excited about being around more of the electronic subculture."
• "I’m tired. Everyone reading this interview should come over sometime soon and let’s all take a nap together."

Kudos Magazine Aug 2006

• "I prefer being alone when I create. I generally have a pretty formulated direction and vision but 'Me' and 'Myself' generally get in the way and ultimately piss 'I' off. The 3 of us rarely agree on anything."
• "I feel artistically if I ever re-create a previous body of work then I might as well submit my application for that Taco Bell job I’ve been holding out on!"
• "I rarely listen to my own music when it’s finally mixed – I hear too many things that I can make better or do over, so in essence I never feel like I ever land a song exactly the way I want to."
• "I love being the underdog and possessing some semblance of control over my own future. It feels really good to be able to drop my pants to my ankles and spread my a** cheeks nice and wide to the industry holier-than-thous that told me I couldn’t and wouldn’t succeed. Stare into my brown-eye, buddies!"
• "If I’m not working on my own music, I am working on production for the first artist (LVL Production) I’ve signed to my label or working on clothing designs for my clothing company (FIXT). If I can find time in-between to masturbate and take a nap, then bonus."
• "I am a bit of a technology whore. I am so motivated by new advancements in technology, even outside of the musical realm. I can’t wait until they start implanting robotics into humans because I’ll be the first in line to get my iPod installed into my new bionic arm."
• "If you decide to do the whole anal-probe thing, that will be our little secret." (when asked to aim his description of the upcoming Celldweller CD specifically at a visiting extraterrestrial)

Precious Metal with Sanaz Nov 2006 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tn_jDID1Zo&NR

• "I was beat up a lot as a kid and I had no friends, and I think one of the only things I could relate to as a kid was probably music."
• "...at 12 or 13, mom was gracious enough to get me a drum kit. And I set it up completely wrong. I don't even know how I played it."

The Real Radio Show on WLIR Radio Dec 2006

• "Criss (Angel) and I are very good friends. We did a bunch of music together and everything else. We had a show going for probably 6 years... We did kinda fall out of touch for various reasons and some time last year, probably around this time last year, he actually got in touch with me and we just basically... rectified a few things and it was totally cool."
• "Over the years I've had fans that for some reason for another they just stuck with me and I'm thankful for that. So that kinda followed over into Celldweller and the reason I even hit #17 on Billboard first week out as a completely independent artist is because of the faithfulness of those type of people."
• "I am definitely musically schizophrenic. That translates into my music. I listen to so much different, so many different styles of music so I don't see any reason in this day and age why certain styles of music or any style of music that you want cannot coexist within your own sound."
• "The whole Trent Reznor reference... I've had that for years and I think it's just simply because I'm one guy doing music and he's one guy doing music. I mean I can't really say Nine Inch Nails has been a real big influence musically on me but I totally respect what he does and that's totally great... For me, it's more about the european styles of electronic."
• "Touring for me historically, from Circle of Dust, which was one of my first projects, to date, I have not really had any great experiences... If I had one of these cushy situations where I had a label fronting all this money and I was getting wined and dined every night, maybe I would love touring. I have no idea. But that's not the case. As far as performance, I do what i have to do. If I'm going to tour and I'm going to get up on stage, I'm not going to do it half-a**ed."

The Dose Magazine April 2007

• "Anytime I would see things growing up that I thought were 'cool', there was some tie-in to Japan. Godzilla was my childhood mentor, for instance. I could relate to him and if I could just BE him for one day, I could incinerate every kid who kicked my ass in school on a daily basis."
• "I spent much of my childhood alone, and found my friends in books, detailing fictional stories I could relate to and characters I wish I could be. I don’t have as much time to read anymore and it is the one thing I lament. A great book can inspire and educate, and these things ultimately flow back into my art."
• "I played in a few bands, but after discovering my first sequencer said 'Bye bye!' to the whole band Idea and locked myself in my cellar studio and started making my own noise on my own terms. The most exciting time of my life – it was so much more fun than getting my ass kicked in school."
• "I remember taking a girl to a movie and they happened to play the Spiderman 2 trailer before the main feature. The look of shock when she heard 'Switchback' was priceless – I got to be a stud for 15 seconds."
• "As far as being envied, that’s pretty flattering. I don’t remember being envied too often as a kid, when I was laying in a pool of my own snot and blood after a nice playground ass-kickin’."
• "Mad Max, Blade Runner, Escape from New York – movies that have influenced me in a number of ways. I wanted to be Snake Plisken. I wanted to be Deckard. I ended up just some dude with red hair, but not without some piece of that futuristic vision still intact. I’ve never really subscribed to any genre, musically, fashion or otherwise. The whole concept of the Cyberpunk lifestyle was so appealing to me and I have always related."
• "The bottom line is that I learned at an early age the power of music. It’s not something I take lightly and am grateful to God daily that I still have all my fingers and my hearing - I was never really any good at washing dishes or delivering papers."
• "Here’s the scoop boys and girls – take control. Promote yourself, invest in yourself, write, write, write. You have the internet – use it. Give your music away – just get people to your shows and get them to buy a tee shirt, which is not so easily pirated. Network - Myspace is a veritable treasure chest of talent if you can find it amongst the millions. Find the right people to attach yourself to and you never know what that outcome will be."

Fabryka Magazine May 2007 http://www.fabryka.darknation.eu/php-files_en/viewpage.php?page_id=182

• "Success is a subjective thing. I don’t particularly rate 'success' by the number of units sold of a disc or the greatest response from the media or listening audience. I am much more moved by how I feel a piece of work turns out as a whole and if it has effectively captured the emotion I wanted to convey. Most everything I write is cathartic and I am constantly purging demons through my music and lyrics. Success for me is when I’ve crushed one more of those demons under the weight of a finished track."
• "Maybe it’s sad to say, but I simply don’t care enough about anyone else’s opinion to let it affect my life or my art. I am simply not a guy who likes to debate my ideas and it is a personal challenge for me to play every instrument and put together full tracks."
• "I am not a patient guy and I don’t like to ask for help, so if nobody is around to do what needs to be done, then I’m going to figure out how to do it. For instance, I edited the 'Switchback' video myself because I couldn’t find anyone I trusted or who had the ability to do it. So I learned Final Cut Pro and (edited) the damned thing myself."
• "I’ve been too dumb to quit when there have been innumerous times in my career when it would have made sense to. Thank God I’m dumb, because it’s finally paid off."
• "THE most important thing to keep in mind while making a record is always, always, always be sure you check the sheets before sleeping in someone else’s bed. When I was making the first Celldweller disc I was piss broke and I had to sleep wherever I could find a place to. Someone offered a place for me to stay one night and I was so exhausted I crashed without doing a thorough inspection of the sheets. Unfortunately for me, I woke up the next morning to discover I had been sleeping in his accumulated dried-up ejaculate deposits. Apparently he had been unloading his nutsac on the sheets and just leaving it there. Needless to say, we had a new respect and bond for each other after that incident. Oh, and I never slept in his bed again, regardless of how tired I was."
• "In my personal life I spent most of my time alone, so naturally I preferred to create alone as well. Truth be told, I am much harder on myself than I would be if there was someone else involved. There is nobody else (but) me to take the blame if the stuff sucks so I need to be sure I’m doing everything I can to make sure the final product represents me the best it can."

FearNet Dec 2008 http://www.fearnet.com/news/b13999_fearnet_meets_cinemas_secret_weapon.html

• "I wanted to be sure that SVH 01 was a separate entity from the Beta Cessions material. In fact The Beta Cessions II (when I ever get around to working on those tracks) will be primarily new material and not a bunch of remixes and alt versions of songs from the sophomore Celldweller album."
• "I approached the new (sophmore) Celldweller disc differently than any other album I’ve written. I just focused on writing songs I liked, and not so much on the ear candy and production as much – that would come later. So I ended up with almost twice as many songs that didn’t make the new CD than ones that actually did make it."
• "None of the songs from SVH 01 were from the new album sessions with the exception of 'Narrow Escape.' That track began its life as a chorus for what ended up being 'Birthright.' It didn’t work for vocals, so I put it aside then came back to it later and finished it off for SVH 01."
• "I do plan on doing more volumes for Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head and more Beta Cessions..."
• "Living in a world without Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. (when asked 'What's your greatest fear?')

Myspace Blogs (2005 to present) http://www.myspace.com/celldweller

• "When I had asked him (producer Grant Mohrman) to be more involved this time, he did use the phrase 'overbearing pain in the a**' although I’m not totally certain in what context he made that statement." 8/28/05
• "I'm so tough that in the past I've been known to eat marshmallows raw and grapes skin and all. Don't mess with me." 5/9/06
• "I do solemny swear that if it is (with)in my power, I will get you a brand new Celldweller disc within the next 94 years" 6/6/06 (video blog)
• "I have written my final song (The Tide) and am officially including it on the tracklist (for the sophmore Celldweller album) as of yesterday. I wanted to write a song that would make girls throw their panties at me (hopefully clean-ish ones) and guys get in touch with their feminine side. It didn't work out, but maybe I can make it happen for my third CD. 9/26/06
• "I have to admit that technology often times excites me much more than cutting vocals. An elephant in a thong excites me more than cutting vocals. You now have a visual to conjure (if you dare) that expresses to some degree how cutting vocals is not my favorite part of the job." 8/8/07

Sourced (Undated)

HM Magazine (circa 1997) http://www.hmmagazine.com/oe/archives/000225.php?page=all

• "I still have hopes that every copy (of the 1992 Circle of Dust eponymous album) that still exists will somehow dematerialize permanently."
• "Two weeks after I signed and secured the deal, the company that owns Flying Tart fired Alex Parker and is completely dissolving the label by year end. (It gets even worse...) I had to laugh. What a pathetic way to go out. I'm so irate about the situation that words can't describe..."
• "Tommy (Victor of the band Prong) didn't rip off my sound. I asked him to do some stuff for me for the Argyle Park project. He and I worked on what he would actually do. We decided vocals on one song and guitar on another. He actually wrote the riff to 'Doomsayer'. A few months later, he told me he wanted to use the riff for the upcoming Prong CD. No problem."
• "Here's a little history for you. I was born and raised in a 'Christian' household. I had no choice. When you're a kid, you do as you're told. (My parents did what they felt right and I hold no blame towards them whatsoever.) I spent most of my youth in church learning to fear eternal damnation if I looked at someone the wrong way or entertained an ‘evil' thought. God forbid I was even remotely human. Enter pubescence and 'young adulthood.' By this point my brainwashing is almost complete. I am a droid doing 'the work of the Lord'???? No, doing big church-man's version of 'the work of the Lord' actually. Now I'm getting older and starting to commit the unforgivable crime — I'm doubting."
• "One main reason I did this interview is because I think any fans (or former fans after the interview?) deserve to know the answers to some questions they've been asking for the last few years. I did in fact make a conscious decision some time back to disassociate myself from the 'Christian' scene, whatever that is."
• "I remember taking a week off after the Cornerstone fest the last year we played. A friend had tracked me down at the place I was staying to 'break the news to me' that according to a bunch of people at the fest that I was dealing drugs out of our tour van. Me?? To this day, I have not so much as smoked a cigarette, never mind dealing drugs. In retrospect, if I had been a drug dealer instead of getting trapped into the 'Christian' scene for a time, I probably would have less problems. At least if I got stabbed in the back or shot, it wasn't coming from someone who is supposed to 'love' me."
• "The 'Christian' music industry is a joke. That's not to sound like I'm above it, just over it. It's not much different from the rest of the world, it's just that you're guaranteed to sell thousands of units if you're on a Christian label and a few thousand more if you mention God a lot in your lyrics. I know first hand of the consistent drug usage, promiscuity, alcohol, 'bad language,' pornos, etc. that some of the so-called 'Christian' artists are involved in. That's not to say that scenario represents everyone, but for sure, some of your 'preach-from-the-stage, rockin for the rock' bands should get the hell out of the 'Christian' thing if they aren't going to live it.
• "I grew up very sheltered. I wasn't even allowed to listen to the radio, nevermind buy a Black Sabbath record."
• "There was also a time where those years of conditioning affected the way I wrote my lyrics, but no longer. I live in the real world and life is not the 'bowl of cherries' I was taught it would be."
• "I wasn't going to change the lyrics just because they were afraid certain types of stores or people with certain religious beliefs 'wouldn't like it.'"
• "I'm not one to sit here and cry 'life's so unfair. I got burnt by the church and I'm so upset.' Boo Hoo. Everyone's got problems, get over it."

Interview with Valdyr of Radio-Active-Music.com (circa 2003)

• "Bought a drumset for a hundred dollars when I was 12. Had no idea what I was doing, but just watched, listened and learned until I figured it out." (when asked how he started in music)
• "(The name Celldweller's) roots were derived from a few sources, but mainly is a metaphor for how I've lived my life both internally and externally. Spent most of my time alone, and into adolescence spent that alone time in my basement studio, reading manuals, making mistakes and learning from them."
• "Moldy bread and Pepsi One." (when asked what she would find in his fridge)
• "I'm better off not commenting on (the status of the music industry today) because I don't have anything really nice to say. Like my mom told me, 'If you don’t have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.'"
• "One that I don't have to participate in." (when asked what his idea of an ideal tour would be)
• "I do remember as a child, the first time I heard 'Mr Roboto' I was transfixed by this robotic voice. When I found out later on in my adolescence that the vocal was created with a vocoder, I quickly began abusing my own tracks with vocoders."
• "Probably 'The Last Firstborn'. My reasons why are personal and probably not interesting to anyone else." (when asked which song of his he has the most personal attachment to)

Unsourced

• "My first musical memory? It’s probably my grandfather sticking headphones on my head. He had a music room that was huge. He probably had two or three thousand records, you know what I mean, vinyl. My grandfather was a music buff, and I credit my affinity towards music to him. But I remember him sticking on the song 'Popcorn'. It’s a record called 'Popcorn', and it’s this quirky little disco melody that is stuck in my head to this day."

Quotes made in reference to Klayton

• "Not bad from that same guy that peed out of a second story school window in the fifth grade." An unnamed editor of Kudos Magazine
• "The first four songs on the album (Still Suffering by Klank) I had written for the next Circle of Dust album. They were in slightly different forms, but then I liked them so much I just kept them for the Klank album. I had some chord changes and lyric changes so it wouldn't be redundant. It's not like Scott (Klayton) wrote half the album but he did help a lot. I used a lot of his suggestions." Daren 'Klank' Diolosa
• "The AP2 thing...we were in New York, we had some time, they were down in the CellDweller Studios, and Klayton's like 'Yeah, you guys wanna crash at my house?' 'Sure.' 'Oh, by the way, we're doing a song.' Buka's like 'Yeah man, write some lyrics, let's go in there and put you on there.' 'All right, let's do it.' Done. Did it in one morning. I woke up, and tracked, and we split. And that's how we do it, because it's like survival. It's not catered, we don't...I don't have my people call his people, we work it out, I fly in...it's not like that. We just try to do whatever we can, 'cuz we're all starving artists just trying to do our thing." Mark Salomon of Stavesacre Nov 2001
• "...at times the dude can crush with the sledgehammer ethos of Biohazard, just as he's capable of weaving together acoustic guitars and techno beats so subtly it's hard to tell where the organic stops and the artifice begins." Alex Johnson, Reviewer for Sea of Tranquility http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=518
• "Klayton is a tremendous artist. A talented, innovative electronic music pioneer. If there is any justice in this world this band will have a major record deal and (be) selling out venues like Madison Square Garden soon!!!" Billy Lamont
• "I was leaning against the wall in front of the punk club CBGB's when I saw a few familiar faces so I said hello. Just then, Klayton jumped out of his tour mini-bus and greeted me. It was inspiring watching Celldweller in action at this favorite venue of mine. Celldweller combines elements of theater, projected video, heavy guitar and ballsy vocals with good melodies and electronic trance music. Celldweller kicked everyone's a**es at CBGB's (not that art is a competition) especially mine. These guys are totally professional and Klayton is a rock star ready to be launched into outer space." Billy Lamont Jul 2004 note: spelling and grammatical changes were made to this quote
• "I remember creating and experimenting with Klay Scott of Circle Of Dust, pre-Circle of Dust, in his basement with guitarist Billy Poulos. I remember thinking 'Wow! We really have something here.' We were making innovative electronic industrial-influenced music in 1991 which included Poulos' Cocteau Twins/The Cure-like guitar sound and my Proverbs-like poetry over Scott's dark Industrial soundscape. At that time, it was rare to have guitar in industrial music. My use of poetry and delivery was unique and there wasn't any Christian Industrial music. To tell you the truth, I have never heard anything like it since. We split as friends when Scott wanted to include more heavy metal in his music and sign with the Christian label REX Records as Circle Of Dust, and Poulos and I wanted us to get a secular record deal as relevant Christians with alternative music sort of like U2 did. I remember Billy 'The Toxic Banana' Poulos and I sitting in my apartment in those days when we first met and turning Klay Scott on to all kinds of electronic music including what are now some of his biggest influences like Skinny Puppy. Ironically, Klay Scott would later influence a lot of his influences back." Billy Lamont HM Magazine 2004 note: spelling and grammar changes were made and the quote was trimmed down
• "I remember having a nice conversation with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails at an MTV party and he told me that he had a Circle Of Dust t-shirt. We did a recording in that period and Klay even thanked me and used some of my equipment on Circle Of Dust's first record." Billy Lamont HM Magazine 2004
• "When I think of Trent Reznor, I think definitely rock and electronica. When I hear Celldweller, it's a fusion of everything, like rock, synthesizer, but it has some sort of original stuff to it as well. So it's a whole other world.... I think he has more of a rounded sound." A host of "The Real Radio Show" Dec 2006