For 35 years, Killing Joke have been alienating the airwaves and pushing musical boundaries with their distinct, original sound. This year marks the final leg of The Singles World Tour, hitting Australian shores before finishing up in New Zealand.
“When I tour with Killing Joke, I go on the Golem diet, which consists of porridge in the morning, and midday I just eat raw fish and miso soup, and nothing else. It’s a boring diet but it gives me loads of energy,” admits Jaz Coleman, vocalist and founding member of the group.
“I’m doing that and I’m working out really hard every day. Occasionally a set can go for up to two and a half hours, and we might play a long encore,” he says of his touring health regime. “You don’t want the show to be so great that you fucking die on the first night of the tour.”
“I make it easier these days by knowing all the little tricks to energise myself,” he adds.
Often referred to as post-grunge, the truly indefinable Killing Joke first emerged in 1978 under the guidance of Coleman and created a sound unlike anything else before or since. They gave solace to those lost in a sea of false ideologies, just waiting for a band to reach out to them. “Find your nearest Killing Joke fan – or gatherer, as we call them… you will find a generous, intelligent, thinking individual, probably with a very interesting personality.”
“Killing Joke concerts are special because the people that go there are like… they’re not like U2 fans,” says Coleman. “They’re well informed individuals, and like us, they have subscribed to the idea of self education.”
“Find your nearest Killing Joke fan – or gatherer, as we call them because they gather information – and when you find them you will find a generous, intelligent, thinking individual, probably with a very interesting personality.”
The Singles World Tour coincides with the release of The Singles Collection 1979-212 – 35 years of hits and a compendium of new wave experimentation from one of the world’s most influential outfits.
Coleman ponders the question of what Australian fans can expect on this tour. After a long pause, he replies, “what can you expect for this tour? I don’t know, I’ve never seen the band play, to be perfectly honest,” he says bluntly.
“When everyone gets together for our concerts, it’s not just a concert,” Coleman intones. “It is a ceremony for people who share similar ideas about individual liberties and the idea of freedom: living outside of the grid; looking for alternative or better ways to live.”
The frontman describes the Killing Joke live experience as “forums for people who are interested in counter-culture… It is a very close relationship we have with the people who put food into our stomachs.”
Killing Joke paved the way for an entire generation of musicians, and are listed as major influences on innumerable artists who created iconic albums from the 1990s, including Metallica, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, and Faith No More.
But what of the artist that sparked their creativity? What sparks his? “It’s hard to say where our influence comes from,” explains Coleman. “We’re four such different individuals that there is a library of musical styles that influences us.” “I had one guy ask me during a press conference if I practice necrophilia. Seriously, what do you say to that?”
“Punk affected all of our lives, but the rhythm section of punk bored us. We were all into reggae and 70s disco dance music – so we were already interested in hybrid styles,” he adds. “Not all of our inspiration came from music – I always give thanks to the almighty that I am in a band where everybody hates football, and sports, and nobody talks about it.”
With their razor sharp political stance, Killing Joke are not exactly what you would call mainstream, and have – at times – been labeled as “devil worshippers”.
“Crikey. I’ve had people say all sorts of things like that,” chirps Coleman in discussion of the allegations. “We’re an unconventional lot, but firstly, none of us believe in the devil so I don’t see how we could be devil worshippers per se.”
“Everybody believes in divinity,” he defers; “I had one guy ask me during a press conference if I practice necrophilia. Seriously, what do you say to that?”
Killing Joke were last in Australia in 2004 touring following their second self-titled album, on which Dave Grohl played drums,and Killing Joke was not the first time the two musicians crossed paths.
In fact, there was quite a bit of controversy when Nirvana were accused of plagiarism, with claims that the main guitar riff from ‘Come As You Are’ bore a striking resemblance to Killing Joke’s 1985 release, ‘Eighties.’
“Do you want the truth or the official version?” Coleman starts when queried about the incident. “I’m alive, I’m fitter than I was in my 20s, and I’ve got three gorgeous daughters. I’ve got one hell of a life… but I’ve been living like a hobo”
“When Dave Grohl came into the Killing Joke camp, he didn’t meet any resistance, but you can see in the movie that I take him out at one point when I get completely rat-faced pissed up.” Coleman is referring to the forthcoming career-spanning Killing Joke documentary, The Death And Resurrection.
“I make him (Grohl) look into the camera and I say ‘so what are we going to do about “Eighties”?’,” Coleman rattles, “I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I take his confession in the street and put a dog-collar on him when I’m pissed out of my head.”
The soon to be released Killing Joke movie explores the more personal side of the band, and delves into rituals, religion, and politics. “It’s the story of my bizarre career,” says Coleman “which spans from conducting and composing for orchestras, to being with this band that’s influenced a generation of music, to studying earth sciences – geo-magnetic energy and the secret history of the world, and of course a lifetime study of the occult.”
The Death And Resurrection Show will “be premiered in Auckland the day before we play our first show over there,” reveals Coleman, noting that their current world tour wraps with the first time Killing Joke are to play on New Zealand soil, even though Jaz is a part-time resident of Auckland.
“It is a very interesting way to end,” he notes, “It’s quite an exciting time really.”
Coleman is a man of many faces: musician, actor, orchestral composer, and father, to name a few. “I’m alive, I’m fitter than I was in my 20s, and I’ve got three gorgeous daughters. I’ve got one hell of a life, but I don’t really live anywhere, I move from job to job and country to country. I’ve been living like a hobo for some time now.”
Moving on from this tour, are there any plans for future recordings from Killing Joke? “We don’t really plan anything. I think the secret to writing music is: if you make your life colourful, your music becomes colourful – you don’t even have to think about writing music, it’s just a spontaneous process that happens by living your life fully.”
The Singles Collection 1979 – 2012 is out now through Spinefarm Records. Killing Joke’s Australian Tour kicks off this Thursday before moving across the nation. Dates and details below.
Killing Joke 2013 Australian Tour Dates & Tickets
Thursday 6th June – Hi Fi, Brisbane QLD
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Friday 7th June – Billboard, Melbourne VIC
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Saturday 8th June – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW
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Sunday 9th June – Rosemount, Perth WA
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NZ DATES:
Thursday 13th June – The Studio, Auckland NZ
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Friday 14th June – Bodega, Wellington NZ
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