Forbidden – Craig Locicero

Having just finished off a massive American tour to promote their latest album ‘Omega Wave’, FORBIDDEN are currently in preparation to make their way down to Australia this week for the very first time.

In recent times, Craig has also devoted his time to a weekly talk show with host Bill Shields, dubbed ‘The Omega Wave Show’. The radio talk show consists of hard hitting political, social and metaphysical discussions.

Metal Obsession had the honour to speak with guitarist Craig Lociecro about the band’s first upcoming tour of Australia and his contribution to the Omega Wave radio show.

Metal Obsession: I take it the recent American tour went well for you?

Craig Locicero: Very well! Some dates seemed a little bleak, but that seems to be a common problem at the moment. Some have been great, but there isn’t much money out here so that’s the way it goes I guess.

You can’t get your feelings hurt about that. Plus our album is still catching on to a lot of people. We’re just letting it happen, taking our time and get ready for our first video to be released and stuff like that.

MO: It’s not long before you arrive in Australia. You must be excited?

CL: That is an understatement!… [Slight pause]…I just got news about the video for ‘Omega Wave’ just now. Looks like I’ll get the edit on Sunday. Can’t wait for Sunday to see what the video looks like.

MO: Have you had much of a chance to check out the bands you’ll be touring with while in Australia?

CL: No I haven’t, but I should. Are we doing anything with Truth Corroded?

MO: Yes you are. You’ll also be playing with In Malice’s Wake, Hobbs Angel of Death, A Million Dead Birds Laughing and I believe Contrive are playing at the High Voltage Fest among others.

CL: Oh! Contrive. Awesome! But what was that last one. A Million Dead Birds Laughing?

MO: They’re an experimental four piece and quite brutal. I think you’ll enjoy them.

CL: Yeah, sounds relentless.

MO: Have you found it difficult from a financial or logistical point of view to bring this tour to Australia, moreso since America’s dollar is quite weak at the moment?

CL: Well, you know I think in this situation we are all taken care of. There will be enough to go around out there. I think will be ok, but I don’t think if we did this every year or two years that it would really work out. This is our first time ever, so its going to be pretty good. In general the dollar is just weak.

The illusion of money just seem to be running on low battery power right now, so I see problems in general with that as well as going on tour. For anything though. Fuel costs, overhead costs, crew costs…blah, blah, blah. It’s just the way it goes. We don’t want to ruin the illusion here, do we?

MO: Speaking of which I had a look at the debt clock this morning and I think its around 14 trillion dollars at the moment.

CL: The Debt?! That’s not real.

MO: It has the illusion of being real to a lot of people, but its just ridiculous when you see that amount of money tallying up everyday.

CL: It’s because it doesn’t actually exist. I mean there aren’t enough real commodities on the planet that have that kind of value. There are no resources that are even worth that.

You know, I was talking about this today. It’s like what is really worth more than gasoline?

Water is going to be worth more than gas soon. This is the stuff that people hold in high regard as value which will change drastically over the next few months, if not the next year. It’s going to be a very interesting time to understand what is really important. Food, water, gas, guns and everything else.

MO: I guess with the introduction of carbon tax will soon have to pay to breath on the planet?

CL: Yeah we will, exactly. Breath and fart!

You know its cool I’m talking to you because your looking at Australia and how it will be affected. That’s the Mad Max landscape right there. Not far, not far off at all. It’s really getting close. Everyone thought it would be here sooner. It’s really right up against the Mad Max scenario.

MO: It’s a bit scary when you think about it?

CL: It is a bit scary when you think about it, especially when you have a family of your own. I mean people’s children from this generation to the next are all going to be affected by it. If they are all lucky enough to be even alive to be affect by it.

I try to be very positive and people don’t seem to understand that about me. They think I get wrapped up in the negative. Its certainly something I’m aware of and I don’t deny it. I don’t cut it out of my reality because its important to know where these traps lie. You know, I’ve got a great life and an amazing family. There is nothing but love in my life, you know. That’s why I get mad, because I love my family so much.

MO: Are you working to a setlist for the upcoming tour or can we expect something different at every show?

CL: We always mix it up a little bit. We more or less got it sorted out. It will be the first two albums ‘Forbidden Evil’ and ‘Twisted into Form’. Will also be including some stuff off the new album as well, ‘Omega Wave’. Will just throw it all around and mix it up every day. We have it well figured out what works and I know Australia is the place where ‘Twisted into Form’ is always in high regard.

Will be sure to add a couple more songs off that one too! That seems to be Australia’s album, ‘Twisted into Form’.  It will be a nice mixture nonetheless.

MO: Have fans reacted well to the ‘Omega Wave’ album when played live, or do they still hold the earlier albums in a higher regard?

CL: The album is growing. It is a grower. It’s not full of a bunch of weak songs and it doesn’t really have any stuff that is throw away. What I find interesting is some people can’t find the patients to first get into the album and they just assume its all throw away material.

However, as time goes on they come back to it and give it another listen and say “Fuck dude! These songs are really cool” and that’s great. We just have to let it do its thing,  regardless of the people who listen to it all the way through or not. People in general usually tend to have a much shorter attention span these days then they use to, so will just give them a lump of music and its up to them what they do with it. Use it or abuse it.

People tend to be liking the new album a lot at the moment and its going to get much easier once the video clip for ‘Omega Wave’ is released. I think the majority of success from this album hasn’t even hit yet and if we can keep it together as a band, and just go out there and do it and not implode under whatever stress there is, be it financial or band members getting on each others turf will do very well.

MO: How’s the Omega Wave show treating you at the moment?

CL: Really good! It’s been great.

MO: I hear you will soon be interviewing a member of the now dubbed “hacktivist” group, Anonymous. Did they contact you?

CL: He actually came to us. You know, when you say “they” with an organisation like Anonymous its more of an amoeba. You really can’t put your finger on who or what Anonymous really is because its so much, its all inclusive. I’m not saying I’m a supporter or have anything against them. I very much in the middle, but when I look at what they attack, a great percentage of it, whether it be hacking or picketing, I do agree with. I know they did a number on the Scientology organisation in Australia and they also did a pretty good number on them in general.

MO: I heard they’ll soon be entering Bohemian Grove?

CL: That’s actually today. (Thursday 17th, July 2011) It happened this morning. As soon as they opened up the roads to the compound they wentt straight in. I don’t know how successful it was or how many Anonymous members were out there picketing or advocating a peaceful protest. Demonstrating and speaking up in the streets seems to be the only thing that will really work.

People have the misconception over here in America that if you pull out a gun you’ll be safe. That’s is a deadly little trap because a lot of people tend to feel safer with a gun in their hand to defend themselves, but it will inevitably cause more harm then good.

It would be an outrage to a lot of people if they started to take their guns and certain freedoms away. You’d inevitably get an uprising. It seems to be never ending though.

MO: I guess you don’t have to look any further to what has recently happened in the Middle East with Egypt and Libya in regards to uprisings?

CL: Well, Egypt worked a lot better than Libya. Libya is still a honest nest and they can’t seem to get it together at all on a peaceful level. Gaddafi isn’t going anyway fast. [laughs] America has put that guy in a nice little position of power and he’s not as easy to take out. He’s a lot smarter and he knows to much. These are very interesting scenarios we have all over the place, but it could eventually turn into one big one.

MO: Do you feel that certain government powers maybe keeping tabs on you and the Omega Wave show since you are questioning a lot of political power?

CL: I’m sure they do, but they must be laughing because its so small right now. It’s only people in the hundreds which isn’t really anything for them to really worry about. If we do some well placed shows and have some content that people will want to see then perhaps they would.

Sometimes my schedule wont allow it for me to do anymore then what I’m doing now, but I’m sure as the show will grow and we improve both the audio and visual side of things and have more well known guests then I see it having a much stronger impact. I run into resistance every where I go. I even run into resistance in my own band. Not everybody feels the same way I do towards the world. A lot of people don’t really seem to care about everything thats going on at the moment. They think that nothing can be done about it  or its just a paranoid delusion.

As a matter of fact, I don’t know if you had a chance to see last weeks show with C.J. The Metal Motivator. I actually asked him is it all worth it. Is it worth fighting for what you believe in or expressing yourself in your displeasure? Most people put their head in the sand and don’t really want to have anything to do with it, or just write it off and throw back propaganda from the other side and say “this is how it really is!”.

At the end of the day its worth fighting for.

MO: Any famous last words?

CL: Famous ones? Nah! I don’t think I have any. [laughs] But I can’t wait to get out to Australia and experience the metal heads out there. From the people that I’ve spoken too and are friends from Australia, a lot of them I find to be the nicest people I’ve ever talked too.

Seems a lot of you guys really get it and have a different point of view than every else. Your not quite as jaded as other countries. I am very much looking forward to seeing everybody out there and experiencing the country.

Interview by: Anwar Rizk (anwar@metalobsession.net)

Make sure to catch FORBIDDEN on their upcoming Australian tour starting this weekend in Melbourne.

SAT 30TH JULY
THE PRAGUE, MELBOURNE
(Melbourne Facebook event page)
SUN 31ST JULY
THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL, PERTH
(Perth Facebook event page)
WED 3RD AUGUST
ENIGMA BAR, ADELAIDE
(Adelaide Facebook event page)
THURS 4TH AUGUST
JUBILEE HOTEL, BRISBANE
(Brisbane Facebook event page)
FRI 5TH AUGUST
THE BALD FACED STAGG, SYDNEY
(Sydney Facebook event page)
SAT 6TH AUGUST
THE CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE – HIGH VOLTAGE FESTIVAL
Line up includes:
FORBIDDEN
KING PARROT
EARTH
IN MALICES WAKE
A MILLION DEAD BIRDS LAUGHING
ELECTRIK DYNAMITE
THRALL
CLAGG
BEYOND TERROR BEYOND GRACE
INTERNAL NIGHTMARE

(High Voltage Fest Facebook page)

Tickets are still available via Moshtix and the respected venues.