Crackpuppy

JESUS MAFIA
by: De Fen

Canadian metal/rock band Crackpuppy have just released the stunning six song EP, Jesus Mafia. This new release offers a range of relevant subject matter from sharp and humorous criticisms of religion to a modern spin on traditional break up themes. Overall, Crackpuppy's humor is just as pronounced and well developed as their musical craft. As guitarist Patricia Wilson puts it, "Look at the world, if you can't laugh you may as well go jump off a bridge." Musically, Crackpuppy bring an amazing blast of guitars and fluxuate in style between rock and metal, maintaining both their originality and their listenability.

I recently had a chance to chat with guitarist and founder, Patricia Wilson. In this interview Patricia discusses Jesus Mafia and shares her thoughts on The Occupy Movement. Enjoy!


Punk Globe- Can you tell the Punk Globe readers about your band, Crackpuppy?
Patricia Wilson- Crackpuppy started out as a whim. We got together to say a few things and play a little music. It was audiences that started us down the road. We played our first gig and we continued to get offers for more and more gigs. We still exist for ourselves and for fun. Hopefully everyone else still likes our music as much as we do (laughs).
Punk Globe- Can you tell the Punk Globe readers about your new release?
Patricia Wilson- It's called Jesus Mafia and it's a six song ep that deals with various situations in life. The title track, Jesus Mafia has to do with the fact that a lot of people who raise their arms for Jesus Christ also rape, pillage, and murder. They've been doing this for centuries. I have no problem with Jesus Christ, it's his gang that I hate. There's a few fun things like, Litter (Fuck You and Your 1980s Haircut) which I wrote after watching two lesbians break up. Second Coming is about religion and sexually abuse and how it all gets pushed under the carpet. Leave Your Shit is about somebody moving in on somebody else. There's always something to write about, whether it be the church, the world or yourself.


Punk Globe- I had a chance to listen to it and thought it a really great balance between humor and serious social commentary.
Patricia Wilson- If you don't have a sense of humor you're dead. Look at the world, if you can't laugh you may as well go jump off a bridge. You have to be able to laugh. We're the new dinosaurs, right? The world is just waiting for us to disappear so it can get back it's health. When we go the world will be fine.
Punk Globe- We have made a mess of it. How would you say Jesus Mafia is different from your previous release, Vintage Porn?
Patricia Wilson- Vintage Porn was done off the floor. Live rock. The whole band was in the same room. I didn't even know our singer could sing until we went into the recording studio. I had never heard him (laughs) because we were so loud. Jesus Mafia was mastered by George Marino, the legend who mastered Guns N' Roses among others. It's kind of a guitar army (laughs). There's a lot of guitar on this album, which makes me happy because I love guitar. It's also different because there's more of a social statement. Right now it seems like everyone is saying how fucked things are and nobody wants to hear it because people are so overloaded, but we have to keep saying it. I never thought in a million years that I would buy a Lady Gaga album. My favorite bands are Motorhead, Rancid and such. But you know what? Lady Gaga is okay because of what she has to say. I primarily bought the record as a gesture of solidarity. She's done many good things for many people even though it could have gotten in the way of her career.


Punk Globe- I have a very similar view of Lady Gaga. Have you been paying attention to the whole Occupy Wall Street movement?
Patricia Wilson- For sure. I actually believe that it's more potent in the United States and Europe than it is in Canada.
Punk Globe- That's weird because the call came from Kalle Lasn, out of Canada.
Patricia Wilson- I know. It is weird. In the middle of an Occupy protest here in Canada a girl came out holding a sign that said "Everything is okay. Go back to shopping." It was funny. Then the crowd dispersed and everyone went back to work. Occupy means stay in one place. You know, it is more potent in the United States, but then look at the health care system for one thing. I used to live in L.A. and people seemed to get crushed so much easier. In Canada we have social medicine.
Punk Globe- That makes a lot of sense. Canada has way more progressive social policies than the United States. That has to have an influence on the potency of the Canadian Occupy movement.
Patricia Wilson- From the 1970s until the early 1980s I lived off and on in Topanga Canyon, which was pretty much the hippie capital of the world back then. You always felt on your own. You didn't feel like you had any help at all from the government. In Canada at least you know you're not completely alone. Also, I know most of my members of Parliament by their first names and I can say hello to them on the street. The government and the people are very face to face. So I do understand why the Occupy movement is so much more important in the United States. It's important here too, but people don't get it because they don't feel like they're on an island and nobody cares.

Another theme on this record that I really hope people is authenticity and living the life you want to live. They'll take your car, your house, your money, and they'll let your parents die, but the last thing you'll have is the knowledge that you've lived your life as it should be lived. That's the one thing that they cannot take away from you.


Punk Globe- Right on. Do you have any Crackpuppy news for the readers?
Patricia Wilson- We have an upcoming tour in Canada and a video coming out next month. The biggest news is that we're going to keep doing what we're doing whether people like us or not. Bands like Rancid, who I really enjoy, but don't understand exactly what they're doing with the RockNRoll Theater. It's kind of funky. It's interesting, I'm not quite sure if I like it or not yet, but the important thing is that they refuse to die. If somebody isn't listening to them on one level then they're going to create another level.
Punk Globe- Right on. Do you have any parting words?
Patricia Wilson- Happy birthday to Ginger Coyote! Our bass player, Mark Crossley really likes Punk Globe too and wanted to pass along a hello to Ginger. Parting words? Never take the time to look behind you because you've already been there.
Punk Globe would like to thank Patricia Wilson for the interview!

Crackpuppy's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crackpuppy/253194294695792? - Punk Globe

"VINTAGE PORN is Crackpuppy’s five-track foray into punkified hard rock, which sounds like a blend of The Damned, Social Distortion, and The Cramps...once the guitar solo kicks in, the hard rock fireworks are thrown into overdrive...with glimmers of guitar heroism strewn about. "

Review by Mike SOS

earcandymag.com - - Earcandy Magazine