Interview with AmzMusicZine

AMZ - I have your new CD here - the Soulfly CD. I think it's an excellent CD. I really enjoy it.

MC - Thank you.

AMZ - Could you tell me a bit about how you put the band together?

MC - Actually, it was after I left Sepultura. I started writing right for new stuff, and just got it together and started look for some guys. I found Roy the drummer first. A friend of mine told me about him. I knew him from before. Then Marcello, who was my friend for like 15 years, he was a Sepultura roadie too. After that we got the guitar player, Jackson, and we just got together, practiced a lot, finished everything, went into the studio and did the album.

AMZ - Where did the name Soulfly come from?

MC - I think it's like...it's a tribute name. I had the name for quite a while and it's kind of like...you know, it means like the souls of people that are not here any more. Or maybe like souls we meet that are flyingaround us when we play...like...more like a spiritual name.

AMZ - You said in a comment that I read that you really enjoyed playing with this new band - really enjoyed the guys. Another thing that you said that was interesting to me, was when you said they enjoyed "playing withfire"...

MC - Yeah.

AMZ - What did you mean by that? Is it just the amount of fun or the amount of energy they brought to the studio?

MC - Yeah. I mean it was like after I left Sepultura, I wanted to get back to my normal routine, and by playing with those guys like that, it was like getting back to how it's really supposed to be - playing with attitude and fire...just enjoy what you do.

AMZ - It seemed you had a lot more fun on some of the tracks of the album. I mean I know it was a very personal record to you, but it seems you had a lot more fun on tracks such as "No."Songs like that one, where you really seemed to enjoy playing again.

MC - It was a weird, different album, because some of the songs are really serious - like "Commandment." But there were also some songs that were like you said. You can tell all of us, not just me, but all of us were really enjoying what we were doing.

AMZ - I like how experimental you've gotten with this album too. It seemed like you branched out into a lot more things. "Bleed,"for example, with the almost rap touch at the end, and then "Bumba"with the Sampling. What brought that about? Just a desire to do something new?

MC - Well, I think it's a natural evolution just always bringing something new to the music - or trying to at least.

AMZ - Your songwriting seems to have really matured on this album. Do you think it's the fact that so much has happened lately that it's made you more focused?

MC - I don't know. You know I don't really analyze how I do things much. It's more like really natural how it comes out. How I write is totally natural. Totally it's just grab the guitar and stuff, and it starts coming out, and it's awesome. It's how I like to do stuff anyway.

AMZ - This album had an amazing line-up of guest stars also. How did that come about?

MC - Well, it's kind of like my own idea had to make an album, and bring a lot of people, like friends and people we know, to give the album almost like a rap attitude without being a rap album or rap band. All the guys involved were all Dana's friends. Dana was my step-son that was murdered. Since most of them were Dana's friends, it gave more of a contribution to the album. It was important not just to go there and be a part of things. It was important for real.

AMZ - It must have been interesting, among other things, working with Mario C. from the Beastie Boys.

MC - Yeah, it was definitely cool. I mean there are only two songs with him, but he was there for a whole week and it was cool to see how he worked. It was different than rock producers - heavy producers. They have their own techniques...like they chop the songs and other really cool stuff.

AMZ - That must stir something in you also, 'cause you're getting an idea, and they're taking it and doing something with it and you can feed off that.

MC - Yeah! I mean totally. Every time you do something like that you always get influence from what you do, so it's always learning something. It's cool.

AMZ - I also like the kind of world music feel you put on your songs, which would make them more universal than the typical, say, bone-crushing metal out there.

MC - Well, we're trying to. I mean there's still plenty of heavy on the album, but I try to come up with a little bit different stuff too. Even a different feeling, so it's like maybe my own trademark - to make metal and heavy stuff, and also different stuff, weird stuff. I think it's good. It works for me.

AMZ - Have you found that you (the band) are gaining a wider acceptance worldwide now? Your type of music I mean?

MC - Yeah, I think this type of music is growing. There's much more interest and we are definitely breaking more barriers than before.

AMZ - One of the tracks that you really seem to have fun with, and you will forgive me my pronunciation on this one, is "Umbabaraumba"(Max laughed but I seemed to be close). I think that was just cut loose, let go, have fun song. It must have been great working in the studio with that atmosphere.

MC - Yeah, that was one of the songs we did with Mario, and everybody got involved. Everyone gave ideas and it was all done live. There were like 15 people doing backing vocals, so it was awesome. It was almost like playing live. Like doing a concert inside the studio.

AMZ - I know you're touring with Soulfly now, and you're playing smaller venues. I was lucky enough to see Sepultura when they played with Ozzy Osbourne and Type O Negative on that tour. Do you prefer the smaller venues where you're closer to the fans, or do you prefer playing the large arenas?

MC - I prefer the small ones - mainly because they don't have seats. What I hated about touring with Ozzy a lot of times was that a lot of those venues had seats. It sucked. It was hard to get the crowd going.

AMZ - I noticed that in the concert I went to. It was like people looked at "Somebody, somebody else, somebody else, then Wow! Ozzy!!"So they sat down during the whole concert until Ozzy came out, and I'm thinking "You're seeing a great band here. Get up! Do something!"

MC - That's my attitude. It's exciting to go play small places. For me it's a really exciting beginning. I don't care if it's gonna be small. I just want it to be good.

AMZ - On this album, and I think on your past albums, you do a lot of the songwriting. Do you think in the future it will be more of a group effort with Soulfly?

MC - Yeah, we're gonna try you know. Everybody will help more in the future. We're gonna write more together.

AMZ - You've said that the song "for an Eye"is the only song that really touches on the Sepultura issue. Are there any others that contain sentiments that you had to work out?

MC - No, each song is directed to some reason. "for an Eye," which opens the album, just explains how I feel about the whole Sepultura thing. Kind of like my feeling that it's all about how envy destroys a lot of great things. I wanted to get that out of the way right from the first song.

AMZ - Are there ever times you stop yourself songwriting and say a minute. This is too close. Too personal."

MC - Sometimes. Yeah, sometimes I wrote some stuff that I would change later. Some of the stuff I wanted to do in a different way - not in such an obvious way.

AMZ - "Bleed" is another one that seems like an angry song.

MC - Yeah. It touches on a very hard subject. It had to be done like that.

AMZ - "Prejudice" is another one of my favorite songs on the album. I thought it was an amazing song. Does that have anything to deal with the public's reaction, at least in your home country of Brazil, to what you're trying to do?

MC - That was just me and Benjy. We did the song with him, and it was just our points of view on the whole racist issue.

AMZ - It's a very divisive thing, and it's amazing that it still continues in our current age.

MC - Yeah, but at least there's bands that talk about it. We can at least help a little bit. Give a little bit of a strong idea to the kids listening to the music. They can start using their own ideas about how they should not be racist. How we're all equal. You know...

AMZ - That's one of the things that makes your music stronger. You're not afraid to touch on issues that hit close to home. Do you basically just write to get feelings out, or do you try to promote these issues consciously?

MC - Both. Sometimes I write with a whole reason why I'm writing. Other times I just feel like I have to get something out of me and I write with more emotion.

AMZ - Can you tell me a little bit more about the other band members? I know fans that are familiar with Sepultura are familiar with you, but some of the other names might not sound as familiar.

MC - Roy, the drummer, was in Nausea and other underground bands. Jackson, the guitar player, was in the band Chico Science. They released two albums in Brazil. They were not so underground, but they were starting to get more popular. Marcello, the bass player, was a Sepultura roadie. But he also made two records with a band called the Mist in Brazil.

AMZ - I was wondering how you discovered him - if maybe you happened upon him playing one day or something.

MC - No, I've known him for many years, so he's been a friend for a long time and I always knew he played.

AMZ - It's amazing how close bands from that area are - like Chico Science, your band, Limp Bizkit, bands like that.

MC - We're just all trying to do something different together. You know, all these musicians come from maybe a little bit different backgrounds, so we all get together and get to write something more original.

AMZ - Are there any newer bands out there that provide you with inspiration as far as trying different things?

MC - All the time. There's a lot of great new bands you know. Dub War, Deftones, all the bands that were on the album were great. New things like Hatebreed, Wheel Haven - there's always a lot of cool bands out there.

AMZ - What bands were your primary influences when you first started?

MC - When I really first started I was more into heavy metal. Iron Maiden, KISS, stuff like that.

AMZ - Hard to believe that KISS is back together. Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this interview. I hope to catch you on your current tour.

MC - Yeah, sure. We'd love to have you. We're gonna tour the entire U.S., so we're definitely gonna come around your area.

AMZ - As you said earlier, a lot of your songs on this album had a live feeling to them because of the way everybody got in the studio and just jammed. I'm interested to see that live. Thank you very much.

MC - Thanks a lot!