Just ask the Justin Warfield or Adam Bravin of She Wants Revenge, who probably couldn't have predicted they'd be spending most of 2016 on a lengthy tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of the band's self-titled debut album.
Then last year's edition of popular anthology television series American Horror Story, which starred noted SWR fan Lady Gaga, used the band's breakthrough hit, "Tear You Apart," in an alluringly disturbing scene involving a vampire orgy.
Fans of both the show and She Wants Revenge went gaga (pardon the pun) over the scene, and it sparked renewed interest in the post-punk/darkwave band, which had been on a lengthy hiatus for several years following its third full-length album, Valleyheart.
After a one-off reunion show in LA several months ago, Warfield and Braven decided to hit the road in honor of the 10th anniversary of their first album, and have been filling venues across the country with their gothy and
Their tour, which features the band performing the album in its entirety along with other tracks from the SWR discography, will visit Livewire in Scottsdale on Friday. New Times got a chance to speak with Warfield about the unexpected revival of She Wants Revenge, as well as how its songs still
So before American Horror Story using "Tear You Apart" caused all the renewed interest in She Wants Revenge, did you think this was how you were going to spend your 2016?
No, I didn't, actually. I think that had it just been just American Horror Story, I don't know that we would've [done anything]. But the fact that it was American Horror Story and the 10-year anniversary of the first record, it was definitely something we couldn't ignore, and an opportunity to do it and a reason. We've had demands to play shows since we stopped playing shows, we've had some really great offers to do so, but we had other things we wanted to do and busy lives that needed attention after years of only doing She Wants Revenge full time. So I think it was just the one-two punch of American Horror Story and the 10-year anniversary was something that we'd be stupid not to do, and we just intended to just play a couple shows and see how it felt. And it was fun and went well, so we kept going. So I did not see 2016 looking like this, no.
American Horror Story iconic Lady Gaga scene from belledejour on Vimeo.
Did you have any inkling to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the first album or to do a new single or tour or any of that? Or was She Wants Revenge firmly in the rear-view for y'all?
Well, I’d produced three
How likely is either a full-time return or a new album once this tour is over with and done?
Well, it's that thing of we had a good time playing, so we kept playing. And we're still having a good time playing, so we're going to keep playing. So I would say that we are on a full return and once the calendar turns over in 2017, we're not going to perform the album in its entirety for a reunion any longer, but we will continue to play shows. As far as making a new album, it's very unlikely, simply because of the amount of time necessary to do so at the level that we would want, the other projects that we have going, and the amount of time in the day.
The other thing is, that if we wanted to keep touring and playing She Wants Revenge, we have so much material that we've never mined for live shows that we could play a set that no one's ever seen before without writing a new song.
The first half of shows on the current tour are basically the entire first album in track order, while the second half is different combinations of other songs from other albums like Valleyheart and This is Forever, right?
Yeah, and even Save Your Soul. The only thing not represented is the Ups and Downs EP just
But your shows aren't the same set every time, save for the first half, right?
Well, whether we take an encore or whether we try to stay on stage, we have a set list written out of what we want to play, but we started to just read the room and feel out the crowd and see what we want to do for the second half. And as you said, it's a mixture of our favorites and, depending on the night, we might throw in a rarity or something. But yeah, it's been a lot of fun and it's definitely as planned on the back end as the front is [strictly] playing our first album from front to back.
Our tours such as this where a cherished album is played in its entirety powered by nostalgia?
Yeah, sure, I think it is … there were other bands in the early 2000s that were doing
So, I think because we're going out and playing that album in its entirety, its taking people back to that point in their lives so it is heavy nostalgia and also,
So is it an equal mix of people that saw you back in the day and those that have discovered you since then?
The songs from your first album, at least for myself, are ultimately linked to many memories of that time period. Do you have fans that share memories of what your music meant to them?
Yeah. We've always had an audience that some people come up and say 'Thanks! Great show,' and some people come up and say, 'Hey, this
And the other thing I would say, I can't speak for everybody else, but in playing an album in its entirety that I haven't really listened to in its entirety in so long, it brings up memories and feelings for me too, probably as much as the audience, where not only, like, [I recall] this is what I thought of when I wrote that or this is what I thought when I recorded that, but last night, we were playing "Sister," and I was standing over the guitar player and just in hearing the guitar parts so close to his amplifier, I remember being in another country like England and him playing that same guitar part in 2006. And I was like, that's crazy. And I also remember being in the studio, so it brings up memories for us, too.
And I think, inevitably, some of those memories carry
Your songs feel totally perfect for this time of year, with Halloween and longer nights and such. Do you think the darker themes of your music sort of resonate more with this time of year? Dunno if that's too weird of a question.
No, I think it's cool.
That's why "Tear You Apart" in American Horror Story was so genius. I don't know if they cut the scene to fit the song or vice-versa, but it meshed so incredibly well.
Yeah,
In re-listening to She Wants Revenge's first album, it feels like no time has passed, despite it being 10 years old. It feels like if it came out today, it would still feel completely fresh. Do you agree?
I do, and
It feels like darker sounds will never go out of style, and the type of stuff that She Wants Revenge created, or what Bauhaus or Joy Division or the other bands that came before you and were clearly an influence, it seems like those type of themes will always be timeless.
You're right. And I think the thing that I'm most proud of and feel the best of about the legacy of the band, at the risk of sounding pretentious, is that you never know when you make music if anybody's going to hear it, if you're just going to be inviting your friends to shows or if it's going to reach people. So not only did we succeed in writing music and making records that we were proud of, but it connected with more people than we ever imagined and earned a place in sort of pantheon of music. With the exception of, like, metal and maybe punk, there's just not really as loyal of a fan base as you'll get for people that are unwavering in their love of something as the people who like Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Echo and the Bunnymen, Sisters of Mercy ... that type of music. The fact that we've been accepted by a lot of people in that world, into that fold, and are considered part of that, that's really big. That's something you can never anticipate when you're writing songs.
Again, this might be a weird question, but how does it feel to have written music that has meant so much to different people? Or have been breakup songs, makeup songs, or even songs they've gotten it on to?
Well, when people say they've had sex