Let's start with your August 2023 release "The Killer Pizza Delivery Man". When you recorded it, what kind of effect did you want? In the recording sessions, what kind of equipment was used?
The initial idea of Waste Disaster was to make a sound mixing Grindcore-Thrash-Noise with influences from bands like Unseen Terror, Masher, Lawnmower Deth, etc. Me and my friend Thon, who was also the drummer in my other band H.C.G., recorded the nine extremely short sounds from the album “The Killer Pizza Delivery Man” on an old portable recorder in his room. I recorded all the sounds with my Dolphin Thrash Superstrat guitar, and Thon used his old Peace drums. We wanted the loudest recording possible; everything was recorded live without overdubs, without mastering and without any effects or studios. Just an old recorder and us playing as fast and loud as possible, hahahaha. The concept behind the album revolves around our mascot Joe Violence doing absurd and insane things like blowing up a Greenpeace plane or being a serial killer who delivers pizza, hahahaha.
How long have you and Thon worked together, and have you always been a two-piece band?
Waste Disaster sounds like an old school garage band mixed with early 90s death metal and grind. Did you intend to create this sound when you formed the band?
Initially yes, but after the first album we wanted to change the sound of Waste Disaster to something more Crossover Thrash style: Excel, S.O.D, D.R.I, but it ended up not happening.
What appeals to you about albums and EPs recorded loudly with inexpensive equipment? Do you strive to capture the raw sound of old school grind-noise bands?
What I admired was the simplicity of things, without all this shitty modernity that infests the world, things were more real. It was more organic, the rawness of the sound, it was all done for real. Nowadays I don't know what's real more, what was done by a human or a robot. It's difficult to say. I think we've reached the era of Skynet, hahahaha. That's for the worse unfortunately.
What was the inspiration behind choosing Joe Violence as the band's mascot? Does this character have any resemblance to characters in horror films or horror comedies?
Joe Violence was created by me, as Ted Dead mascot for the band H.C.G. was created by me. Both were inspired by characters from Trash Horror films from the 80s.
In fact, Joe Violence had already been created by me before the band. I write some horror stories and I had written a story about a serial killer pizza delivery man who was Joe, so when we created Waste Disaster I decided to use it as a mascot and theme.
Where did you find inspiration for Joe Violence and Ted Dead in 80s horror films? Upon viewing them, what appealed to you? Have directors today been able to capture the feel of those films?
In fact, Ted Dead was inspired by the mascots Eddie [Iron Maiden], Sgt D. [S.O.D.] and Big Ben from the film “House”. Joe Violence was inspired by Ash Williams from “The Evil Dead” and Rick Caldwell from “Silent Night, Deadly Night 2”. What I like most about these trash films is the 80s feel. It was a wonderful time for music, cinema, books, comics, sports, etc...
My favorite trash films are “Bad Taste”, “The Evil Dead”, “Night of the Creeps” and the aforementioned “Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 and “House”. Man there are so many I would stay here forever, hahahaha. What attracts me to these films, besides their being from the 80s and 90s, is the gore, the politically incorrect humor, the abusive deaths, the situations, my favorite directors in this style are Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Steve Miner, Lucio Fulci, Fred Dekker and Lloyd Kaufman. I don't think any director today has managed to reproduce what these guys did.
As a horror enthusiast, do you like "The Walking Dead", "Ash vs Evil Dead", and "Stranger Things"? How do you feel about the popularity of these shows?
“The Walking Dead” I only watched the first three seasons, then it got really boring. “Stranger Things” I watched the first episode, I thought it was pretty good. “Ash Vs Evil Dead” I never watched. These programs became popular more because of marketing than because of quality.
Have you ever published your story about a serial killer pizza delivery man, or did it just serve as inspiration for Waste Disaster's mascot?
It was published at the end of last year by the independent publisher Opera Editorial. In fact it was my first published book, which is an anthology of fifteen short stories, entitled “Historias Estranhas Para Pessoa Esquisitas”, with the free translation of Strange Stories for Strange People.
How many horror stories have you written in total? Would you consider publishing an anthology of them, either independently or through a small publishing house?
I have several horror stories written, at least thirty. I want to publish them soon but I want to publish them outside of Brazil, like in the United States or Europe because there are more outlets nowadays for these types of stories.
Is there any publishing company in Europe or the United States that you would be interested in contacting? Are you interested in publishing online?
I don't know yet, I have to start looking, I don't have much interest in publishing online, maybe after it comes out in a physical format.
Which of your fiction pieces has been published in "Historias Estranhas Para Pessoa Esquisitas"? Is it still possible to order copies online and how long has it been available? Are you working on any new horror fiction to keep with the others until they are published?
There are fifteen Strange Stories for Strange People. Here are the titles of the stories that appear in this book. “Eternal nightmare”, “Dead party”, “The shooter from apartment 15”, “A door to hell”, “The impaling janitor”, “Sewer massacre”, “What happened to Mr Chen?” “The killer pizza delivery man (Joe Violence!)”, “The taxi driver”, “The hourglass of the end times”, “The lightning”, “A toilet from the heavens”, “Knife duel in the alley”. “Hunting season is open!” and “15 minutes later”. It was released in December almost three months ago. Here is the link to purchase a copy of this book. However, it is only in Portuguese.
I have some ideas in mind, but I haven't written anything yet.
There have been many extreme death-grind-noise bands in the Brazilian underground for many years. How would you describe the current state of your local underground scene in terms of bands, zine publications, and venues?
The Brazilian underground scene was once very strong. Nowadays it has weakened a little more. You can find some people trying to keep it alive. Some independent labels are releasing a lot of things, and there are several shows taking place, but it's not like it was in the 80s, 90s, and even in the 2000s; it still resisted.
Please identify some of the labels that still support local bands. Do you know of any print or online zines from Brazil that are worth mentioning?
Zines I don't know, I haven't heard of any zine in a long time, but there are many record labels. Those that have released H.C.G. materials areDo Terceiro Mundo Caos, Tales From The Chaos Records, Two Beers Records, Heavy Metal Rock, are some that are always releasing material from new or old bands.
When do you have the opportunity to be interviewed for zines outside of Brazil? Tell us about some zines that you have been featured in recently.
No one has ever interviewed me, much less have I been featured, hahaha.
Is there any collaboration between labels to organize metal festivals in Brazil these days? Do you know of any venues that regularly host them or showcase individual bands?
There's the Kool Metal Fest and the Master Of Noise in Sao Paulo city, but I don't think they're made by collaborations with any label. These two events promote the underground well, especially Masters Of Noise, which promotes Grind/Noise Thrash bands, etc...
Give a brief description of the songs appearing on "The Killer Pizza Delivery Man" and explain how you came up with each scenario.
“Joe the Killer Pizza Delivery Man” - It's an instrumental intro sound, Joe's journey begins! “Joe Will Blow Your Brains Out With A Shotgun Blast!” - This song narrates when Joe goes to deliver a pizza and when the customer opens the door to receive the pizza he receives a shotgun blast to the brain! “Joe Attacks Killed a Hundred People with a Lawnmower” - This song is about when Joe killed a hundred people with a lawnmower in a party! It was inspired by the scene in the movie Braindead when the protagonist kills thousands of zombies with a lawnmower. “Joe Attacks in Delaware” - This is when Joe takes a vacation to Delaware! “Joe Goes to Disneyland” - Same thing as the previous one, but this time the bloody holidays are at Disney! “Joe Blew up a Greenpeace Plane” - Another instrumental narrating the situation when Joe blew up a green peace plane! It was just to make fun of these shitty hypocritical ecologists who don't even care about the planet. “Joe Will Deliver Pizza to Your Home, You're Dead!” - Same thing as the second song says, if you answer the door to receive your pizza and the delivery man is Joe Violence you will have your brain blown out by a shotgun blast or you will be stabbed to death, being decapitated by an axe, beaten by a baseball bat, etc... “Fast Shit Pizza!” - The lyrics are simply about fast shit pizza! It's just another fast, stupid, noisy sound I wrote hahaha. “Waste Disaster” - The last sound on the album, an instrument that bears the band's name, “Waste Disaster” is about a world after a nuclear war or nuclear disaster, would anyone be alive?
Could any of the songs be construed as social satire or are they simply intended to shock?
A little of both.
As of this writing, do you promote Waste Disaster and H.C.G. independently? Do you intend to continue promoting your work independently/DIY or do you intend to distribute your work through a local or larger independent label in the future?
The Waste Disaster album was released here in Brazil by my little label Ted Dead Records and was also released in Pro CD-R format in Poland by my friend Pawel's label called Undergrinder Records Limited. By the band H.C.G, most of the 56 releases that we have was from several independent record labels from various countries.
The Waste Disaster album was released in a limited way on physical CD media, but in the future I want to find other labels in other countries that are interested in releasing it in other physical formats.
Have you contacted Undergrinder Records Limited for the release of Waste Disaster? Have your bands received more attention since you began working with the label?
I've known Pawell, the owner of the label, for a few years now, he's a really cool guy and a fan of the bands I've played with. When Waste Disaster's first album was recorded, Undergrinder was the first label that came to mind to release it.
Are Ted Dead Records exclusively dedicated to the distribution of Waste Disaster, or do you also sign other local bands? Which is the most effective way to promote this label over there?
In fact I have two small record labels, Ted Dead Records and Death Prank Records. I created these labels just to release materials from my bands like Waste Disaster and H.C.G. I release ultra-limited editions on CD-R just to exist on physical media and distribute them between them. My local friends.
Ted Dead Records has released its material in how many formats to date? If you regularly release music in physical form, how much does it cost to print and advertise?
Only in CD-R format. The costs are very small, I make a maximum of five, ten copies of each release. As I said, it's more to have the physical material and give it as a gift to some friends, more for fun, when it's to be publicized. I always look for other labels to release my bands' materials.
What other labels have you contacted recently in order to cross-promote your work? Are there any potential collaborations in the works?
The releases from Undergrinder Records, despite being in limited editions, gave good recognition to H.C.G. and Waste Disaster, especially H.C.G.
Have you approached any labels to appear on a compilation release? What are the benefits of comps for unsigned bands who release their own material?
We have only appeared on two compilations, one made by Undergrinder Records which was recently released and another by the German label Rat Covenant which was released in a limited edition on tape, the benefits are that it helps to promote the bands' material a little.
If your bands release more material, would you like to expand Ted Dead Records and Death Prank Records so that more people become aware?
It would be a good idea to expand these labels, but I need time and money, things that are in short supply for me at the moment, hahaha...
Are there any ideas you have in mind for your next recording of Waste Disaster? When are you likely to start working on new songs for a new release? How about H.C.G.?
Waste Disaster is on hold, I don't know when I'm going to write something for this project, but I already have a lot of riffs, lyrics, and some songs already completed for H.C.G. I think next year we'll be back with lots of new things!
-Dave Wolff
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