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| Interview done by Burt Wolf with Lucy Poems, guitarist, bassist & synth player for SAVIOR SECT. Interview done on 9-29-03!!! |
| COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE SOME OF THE BANDS HISTORY & HOW SAVIOR SECT CAME TO BE? Yes, early in 1994 I was playing in a Death/Punk/Grunge style band which was really having trouble doing much of anything. The short of the story is that they kicked me out & freed me up to form SAVIOR SECT in the summer of that year. The original line up consisted of four members & we played weird Punk/Goth stuff. By 1995 the line up was reduced to just Anastasia (vocals), myself (strings, synth) & a drum machine. Our sound became very atmospheric & ambient over the course of several demos & we added The carrion on drums in '97. This line up lasted until early '99 when all parties went their own ways. I resurrected SAVIOR SECT later that year with a new singer, Phaedra & drummer, Sean S. We released two demo CDs before taking on guitarist Jack Whiteside in September 0f 2002. Shortly after the release of our live rehearsal CD Sean S. departed. Our current drummer is Mike Thorr. WHY WAS THE NAME SAVIOR SECT CHOSEN FOR THE BANDS NAME? The phrase "Savior Sect" originally appeared in a poem that I had written long before the inception of the band. I believe that the message was one of despair. People who don't want to be helped with their emotional problems can't be helped by others, the principle of trying to stop a moving frieght train. The troubled person has to want the help before anyone can aid in solving his/her problems. So I guess SAVIOR SECT is a backwords play on words. The name sounds very comforting, yet the music is very disconcerting. Our music certainly is not helping anyone with emotional scars. WHO HAS HELPED INFLUENCE YOU IN MUSIC & IN LIFE? Well, I guess in a musical sense I've been swayed by bands/people like THE DORRS, NICK CAVE, SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, SYD BARRET, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, WENDY RULE, THE SISTERS OF MERCY, PINK FLOYD, GEHENNA, UK SUBS, WOODY GUTHRIE, MERCYFUL FATE, VENOM, etc...the list is very extensive. I would not say that SAVIOR SECT sounds like any of these bands, but they are all in my subconscious mind. I think my life influences would be my friends & family for they probably impact my thought process the most. |
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| HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE THE STYLE & MUSIC OF SAVIOR SECT? I feel over all we are probably labeled a Goth act, but our sound has changed over the years. I think our current sound is actually closer to our very early years, than it is to releases like ECHOES OF THE DECLINE or LIS ARD. I've done a lot of esperimenting over the years. Our new sound draws from various aspects of our past, but it has become more focused & mature. There is now a blend of ambient improvisation with song structure, sort of like a clash between our rigid |
| structures of old and the crazy, flighty moods of our middle period. I would be comfortable calling us dark Goth Death Rock with atmosphere! I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE A LOT OF RELEASES OUT. COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT EACH OF YOUR RELEASES? Wow, okay...we released two rehearsal demo tapes in '94 that sort of form a box set as far as style is concerned. IF EVER BEAUTY FAILS... & SUICIDE CULT both feature the aforementioned four man line up & both were extremely limited. The music was really kind of odd due mainly to the extreme guitar playing. Back in the day I didn't want to re-release this stuff because I never felt that my own guitar playing on subsequent releases matched Dexter's on these first two outings!!! I'm serious!!! Anyway, DEAD ARCHIVE PRODUCTIONS has released both of these demos on one CD. I've come to terms...SAVIOR SECT as a duo released STORY IN YOUR EYES (1995), ECHOES OF THE DECLINE (1996) & THE SCARE (1996). These releases were sort of pivotal with each one becoming progressivly darker & more atmospheric. The songs by this point were nearly all heavily dosed with keyboards. Our next three releases were done as a trio & feature some of my favorite songs. LIS ARD (1997) is a delicate & depressing record. I was very inspired at this time & I'm proud of this outing. The same can be said of our '98 release FURY FROM THE SHADOWS in which we are in top form. The follow up TROUBADOURS OF DEATH is my least favorite SAVIOR SECT album ever & that's all I'll say on this one; the breakup was imminent. In 2001 we released TIL DAISYDAYS on CD format; this is a pivotal record that features the new line up. It provides us with some staple songs for our live set if nothing else. On our two newest releases SEASONS OF THE WITCH (2002) & JUST BEFORE DAWN (2003) I feel the band has hit stride again. These are once agin inspired releases that I am proud of...shit, what a question!!! |
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| HAS THERE BEEN ANY LABEL INTERESTS IN SAVIOR SECT? Well, I guess that I could be pressing the issue a little harder, but after eleven releases, I'm coming to terms with the fact that SAVIOR SECT may not be what labels are looking for. I will continue in the future to obtain a deal for us, but I will continue on with out one as well. We have been trying very hard to promote ourselves over the last year, so perhaps something will come of this. I would like some label to release a 7" vinyle single for us. Something like this would be great! If not, await our new release on DEAD ARCHIVES PRODUCTIONS. WHAT SAVIOR SECT SONG BEST REPRESENTS WHAT THE BAND IS ALL ABOUT & WHY? Hmm, that's pretty tough as most of SAVIOR SECT is my vision |
| both lyrically & musically so it all comes together as one big blob. I'm going to have to say the song "The Scare". The music is creepy & the lyrics deal with the universal emotion of fear. Fear is a powerful feeling that just rips people apart. There isn't any rest nor relaxation once fear sets in; it grows & festers & just eats at the body's energy. Irrational thought patterns can be born of fear & cause people to do the craziest things. I hate being affraid & I don't wish prolonged fear on anybody. I hope that our music instills the madness & the sadness of such emotions into the listener. oddly enough, wh have not worked this song into our live set. |