Warrior Soul

It’s cold outside. It’s very, very cold and I’m on the phone to Johnny H asking if someone can let me into the Barfly.
Thankfully he doesn’t leave me hanging and the small warm dressing room is a welcome relief from the weather.
Ricky Warwick is in the corner holding onto the flu and looking like death warmed up, and to my shame it didn’t even click who he was until a little later.
He’s not saying much though and reserving his voice for his set.
Most would have called in sick, but huge kudos have to go to Ricky for sticking with it.
We all have a couple of beers and chat away before Kory and myself head upstairs for the interview.
Everything is all very easy and relaxed.
There‘s no rock star egos on display from any of Warrior Soul.
They’re like a gang who are all comfortable with each other and know that they don’t need to impress anyone.

Kory himself is very approachable, and after a couple of minutes gets into the flow of talking.
I get the impression that while he is happy to promote the band and the new album he is actually happier when he’s just engaging with people.
He want’s to know what’s going on and will jump in with his take on everything that’s touched on.
I was expecting a New York rocker, but what I got was a nomadic man of the world who has a far greater grip on a world view than most.
A pleasant surprise.

El Diablo- When you reformed the new Warrior Soul was it initially a short term project, but with the renewed interest you thought you would just run with it?
Kory - Yeah. It was pretty much like that.
ElD - …and with what’s currently going on in the world politically has that put the band and yourself in a position that the material has far more relevance?
K - It’s certainly more relevant now. People are ready to listen I think. They’re in the correct frame of mind now and they seem to be ready for someone to say something.
ElD - The message hasn’t really changed though.
Were you really just before your time in what you were singing about?
K - Probably. The message was on time before
ElD -….but people weren’t listening
K - Exactly. Yeah, no one cared. They were off in their own fantasy world or something, but now more and more people realize what’s going on. So the message we were putting over has been completely validated. Right now I’m concentrating on saying what’s going to be coming up next, and that‘s what I‘m going to be doing.
ElD - Warrior Soul has always been your vehicle. In hindsight do you think that you slipped between the cracks a bit.
A band out of place and time.
Too political for the mainstream heavy metal fans and too rock and roll for the punk fans. Would that be a fair assessment?
K - It could be. It could also be that I wasn’t from Seattle at the right time.
ElD - Yeah. The whole grunge thing seemed to be about dressing down, while you guys were pushing a political message more flamboyantly, and living to the excesses of a rock and roll lifestyle at a time when it was no longer fashionable.
K - When we did the first four albums we certainly didn’t fit in at all, but with Space Age Playboys I was more anticipating Green Day and The Darkness (ironic)
ElD - Do you feel you opened the doors for a lot of bands, and they had an easier ride as the way had been paved for them?
K - Probably not an easy ride, but we were there first a lot of the time.
ElD - So you had a bit of the pioneering spirit
K - Yeah, yeah. I’m guess I’m just too smart for my own good and out of my time. I just deal with what interests and entertains me.
ElD- ….and hopefully others will key into that.
K - Yeah and if they don’t, well whatever. What can you do? but here we are eighteen years later and people are starting to get it. I just keep making progressive music.
ElD We seem to be on the cusp of the downfall of capitalism, but what do you think is going to fill the vacuum. Is the Fourth Reich coming?
K - The Fourth Reich is already ready. The banking cartels in London and the banks that run America have stolen all the money, even though the money is all made up anyway, but they’ve stolen it all and what they are planning on doing is creating a huge economic downturn that will lead to food shortages and then riots, and then allow them to introduce martial law, and then we’ll not be far from detention centres for those who speak out.
ElD - I’d agree with you. We already have new laws being drafted that erode our civil liberties. In the US there’s the homeland security being used and here in the UK it would appear that there is something new every day. It all supposedly to protect our rights, but…
K - That’s it exactly. That’s what they did in Nazi Germany.
ElD - History is circular isn’t it? We just see it repeating on itself.
K - Did you know Bush’s grandfather was a Nazi and things like the Skull and Bones were instrumental in creating the federal reserves. The federal reserve were instrumental in bringing us world war one and two, the depression, the cold war. It’s got everything to do with what’s going on.
ElD - It’s not a great conspiracy theory that a minority are orchestrating world events to line their own pockets and garner power.
K - It’s not a conspiracy at all. The stock market has been rigged since it’s conception. Why do you think they made it?
ElD - To screw the majority.
K - Yeah.
ElD - I used to think that there was a veneer in place and those in power paid lip service to us, but that’s gone. They don’t even pretend that we are in charge now. They don’t give a shit and are displaying a level of arrogance that wasn’t previously there. They’ve forgotten that they’re still actually the minority though.
K - Well, they’ve made several mistakes. Iraq is a prime example. They thought they were going to get their piplline through Afghanistan to the Caspian. Then the resistance came on and they didn’t get it. What they forget is that some people aren’t controlled by the Rothschild banking cartel. Like Russia, China and all the middle eastern countries, and they aint going to listen to them. They just got rid of the Oligarchs that the US/UK banks put in after the fall of the soviet union so Putin’s not going to let them in.
ElD - On the subject of dissent. Do you ever see a time when Warrior Soul material will be blacklisted?
K - I don’t know why they would
ElD - Well they can go to extremes and at that point it’s a case of anyone who speaks out against them is silenced.
K - Well they could introduce mind crime laws. You know such as people saying you said it. I can see that coming.
ElD - We’ve seen that already in the recent past with poets being locked up in Gulags, The East German Stasi targeting people, etc. It’s not too much of a reach to see that it’s coming around again.
K - They don’t like the way things are going do they? There will be resistance movements, militias etc. It’s all coming.
ElD - Would you describe it as a pivotal moment in history just now with the battle lines being drawn?
K - Oh yeah. I believe they are, and I believe that everyone is making up their minds. It’s so weird. There’s just so much shit going on right now out there.
ElD - What’s your responsibilities in all this? Do you feel you should be motivating people, or are you just being bloody minded and speaking out about what you want without being censored?
K - When I’m making music I want to sing about things that mean something and I want people to react you know.
ElD - A catalyst for thought?
K - Yeah, like on the Fourth Reich track. The title is taken from Jim Marrs book, The rise of the Fourth Reich, I’m listening back to it and thinking ‘yeah this is heavy duty’ and when people hear it back they’re like ….fuck. And that’s good. That what keeps me doing this.
ElD - I suppose no interview would be complete without mentioning Chinese Democracy
K - Of course.
ElD - A couple of bands were trying to do similar, but got warned off due to the legalities. The Offspring were one. How did you guys get around it?
K - We never released it commercially. Just through gigs and direct. The thing is a band this size doesn’t matter. It’s only going to help them by keeping the name being mentioned. They don’t care, why should they care?
ElD - Exactly. Years ago when your first album was out you made some comments about Sebastian Bach whose Skid Row was a big band at the time, and I’m sure history will level the field there, but he took great offence
K It was nothing. All that does is promote them and us. It’s a game man. It was funny. If you read the interviews I did about how I came up with the name for Chinese Democracy it’s funny. I was watching the Olympics and I thought to myself about the so called democracy and that was it really. It was a two fold idea. When I was asked if I would change the name I said not for all the democracy in China. The best part of the whole things was that it got everyone so wound up. Everyone takes that shit so seriously, but for what?
ElD - Do you like to instigate.
K - (Laughing) Don’t we all?
ElD - It’s got to be done. The band at the moment are predominately European
K - They’re all European.
ElD - Do you feel that we have a greater appreciation for your material here than you do back in the states?
K - I guess just that more people know about it right here. More money was put into my promotion here than anywhere else
ElD… and that helps
K - A lot, yeah. I just don’t like living in America right now. It’s not cool.
ElD - It’s a scary country
K - It really is.
ElD - People seem to blindly accept what they are told. That’s just an outsiders view, but is that fair?
K - There’s just too many religious people. It’s just crazy dude. I just want to chill, catch fish and go out on tour. I don’t want to worry about anything else.
ElD - Let’s change tact. How do you feel about the new album?
K - It’s a fucking great record
ElD - As an old fan that wandered off onto the wilderness I was pretty impressed with the new material and now I’m thinking I missed out.
K - Well it’s a new Warrior Soul album put out by Warrior Soul. I sing in a band Trouble and I sing in another called Mob Research and I’m producing a band called the Stoned that’s more like a tv show, but with this I put that hat on went into the studio and laid it down, went back and did some over dubs and that was it in two weeks. That’s how you make rock records.
ElD - Did you find it easy. Did it flow.
K - It did. I mean right from the top. We spent about four or five days working on it. That’s it. I went in and we nailed it. I wanted seven or eight songs with there parts and we did that and then went and sat in a cabin and just sat down and knocked out all the vocal melodies, all the choruses that night. Next day I couldn’t talk and I flew back to Stockholm and at that point we went to an apartment and just set up a four track with the two tracks on it and I would do the vocal tracks and they would do the over dubs. ElD - What’s your expectations for it.
K - I don’t know. We’re getting record deals all over Europe starting in January. A release in February. I’m starting writing the new album in January with the guys. So I’m thinking about dropping every six months. We’re going to kick ass. I got to get out there before the whole world goes into meltdown.
I mean there are always other markets that I think would appreciate me.
ElD - The time does seem to be right. Going back to the early days you were doing spoken word poetry in New York. Do you think of going back to that?
K - I haven’t. I did do an acoustic show the other day, but I’ve always doing things like drumming, having everything on track and singing and doing poetry. I like performing with the band that better than strictly doing spoken word.
ElD - Maybe it’s something for the future.
K - Maybe, but just now I just want to rock out. I might do it on some odd nights, but I’m not carrying my poetry books around and I’m cool with that
ElD - Saying about rocking out. Is ‘She’s Glaswegian’ about Jayni.
K - Yeah. It’s about her and all her friends. It a sexy and positive song.
ElD - It encapsulates Glasgow as a city. As someone that was born here I can listen to it and I don’t think there’s some yank who thinks he knows what Glasgow is like. It actually is Glasgow and it’s strange that a New Yorker get’s it.
K - I’ve got history here. For the last twenty years, and it was just time to write something and it came to me and I was carrying it around for two years in my head. We just racked it out. It’s cool
ElD - I’m not that territorial but Glasgow really is a fantastic city.
K - It’s great man.
ElD - A friend from New York said that they are very similar cities. Flip sides of the same coin. Sort of cities of extremes.
K - They are. More so than London is for sure. People are more real. This is my kind of folks.
ElD - …and you are playing with Gun in the Carling in a few weeks.. You do realize that you are going to piss all over them.
K - Well they are going to realize it on the first night.
ElD - I think they have the singer from Little Angels fronting them now. I seen them years ago and they are a good band, but let’s be honest. They’re not Warrior Soul. It’s a strange pairing.
K - Well some people say it’s great, other say no, but most are saying it will work out good.
ElD - I like a mixed bill, but in this case there will be people there to see you and others to see Gun, but very few will be there to see both.
K - Hey. I like going on first. I hope we get good lights and PA and shit and we wake people up.
ElD - Are you still playing the whole first album for it.
K - That’s what they want to do. I want to play ‘Glaswegian’ I’ll slip it in.
ElD - I hope you mean the song
K - (Laughing) Maybe both man, maybe both.
ElD - Well if you can’t enjoy yourself in Glasgow you may as well be dead.

So that was it. The gospel according to Kory. It was really just the start of the evening though.
Next was Ricky doing a short sound check, but as it’s him and an acoustic it’s an easy process getting the levels right.
His take on the Motorhead classic Ace of Spades is something to hear.
Warrior Soul rattle through a couple of songs and rip out the ‘She’s Glaswegian’ track to a smattering of applause from those hanging about. It’s all sounding good.
There’s time to kill and the pub is beckoning so Kory and myself head around to the Crystal Palace were we get acquainted with Mr Jack Daniels and Ms Stella Artois before sampling the delights of something called a frilly tutti that was a pitcher of something that had alcohol and fruit juice in it.
Rille joins us for a couple, but then goes upstairs to meet some friends from Glasgow.
It one of those nights when time just vanishes.
I got a few missed calls on my mobile and when I checked it was Johnny H looking for Kory and Rille. There might have been a hint of panic there as when we returned to the Barfly the supports had finished and it was as if we just came in the door and Kory and Rille had to get on stage.
Not long now to the Gun gig in the Carling Academy where those who missed out on the Barfly can get a chance to play catch up and see what all the fuss is surrounding Warrior Soul.
Bring it on!!!!