Your last album was with Starwood in 2004. What inspired you to reform Lizzy Borden?
Lizzy: Lizzy Borden never broke up; we just like to take breaks. I think it's always good to take little breaks from time to time to recharge our batteries and then we can continue on. A lot of things happened after we released Deal With The Devil, some of the stuff was a little tough to deal with and we just needed to create some space between making Lizzy Borden records.
Where did you find new guitarist Ira Black?
We auditioned a lot of different players and Ira was the last to come in. He was a fan of Lizzy Borden and was very familiar with our material, so when he came in he was the perfect guy. He added so much to the old material and when we started writing the new album he came in with quite a lot of ideas that were perfectly suited for a Lizzy Borden record in 2007.
What is the concept behind Appointment with Death?
I don't call them concept records really, I call them theme based records. The theme for Appointment With Death is, basically I'm playing death and my version of death seeps through all the songs binding them all together. The songs all connect together with the central theme being death.
How long have you been working on the songs?
Last summer we did a tour with WASP to break in our new guitarist Ira Black and after that tour we were holed up in our studio and wrote for about six months. Our main goal was to make a traditional Lizzy Borden record. I think we accomplished that and more. I didn't want to release a new Lizzy record until I was truly happy with the songs. The lyrics have to be interesting to me, the theme has to be something I can sink my teeth into and the melodies have to be something that I enjoy singing and of course the music has to move me in some way. The band also had to be completely happy with everything they were doing. And when we finally had that right combination we were ready to record Appointment With Death.
What are your expectations for the album?
We don't have any expectations at all; we had no idea if anyone was even going to like this record. We are only just now getting feedback and everyone seems to unanimously love it. Way back when we were writing and recording you don't think about those things, you only think about what makes you happy and what gets you off. The feedback that we’re getting so far is amazing and it just goes to show you, you have to believe in yourself first and let the chips fall where they may.
You have some great guest musicians on the album. How did Corey from Trivium's appearance come about?
Corey and I met through a mutual friend. He is a really big Lizzy Borden fan and we've known each other for about a year now. When we decided to have special guests on the record I thought of Corey. He was on tour coming through Los Angeles, I called him and asked him if he was interested in coming down and laying something cool on the record. He came in and just crushed it; he knew exactly what the song needed and delivered the goods. It was really amazing watching him play because he plays like he's been playing guitar a lot longer than he has been. The man never makes mistakes. He played on the song “Abnormal.” I loved what he did to that song, it couldn't have been better.
Why was the album release date pushed back?
It took longer than we thought it was going to take to master it. The label cannot start promoting the record until after they have the record in house. We started cutting into their promotional time and they thought it was a better idea to give them at least another month to promote it.
I know you're working on a new stage show for an upcoming tour. Give us a preview.
We’re in the studio right now rehearsing the music, and putting all the songs together that we want to play on this tour and then we will start with all the stage production that goes into a Lizzy Borden show. But of course, I get to play death! It's going to be a great show this time around; we can't wait to get this show on the road.
Do you have any confirmed dates or any other info about the tour yet?
We are playing I think four or five shows on the East Coast in the U.S. basically these are CD release parties on and around Halloween. We've also confirmed a festival in Spain on December 1st and the bang your head Festival in Germany in June. The full-scale Lizzy Borden Appointment With Death tour will probably be launched some point in the middle of next year, as well as some support slot runs. Up until then we will most likely be doing fly-in shows all around the country.
Are live shows like yours becoming a lost art?
Yeah, most bands just go for the old bang your head and spin around but we try and put some thought into making our songs come alive on stage. We've always been this way, ever since the very first Lizzy Borden show in 1983 and it's something we still strongly believe in. Theatrics in rock have been around for a long time and I'm sure there's a young band out there that will do something in the future to keep this lost art around a few more generations. If not, we are still here.
