MORGAN Y. EVANS: John, I think we have a mutual friend, Peewee from the NYC punk band I.C.U. who were on Radical Records.

JOHN BECHDEL: Yes, I’ve known Peewee and her brother and sister for many years. They are wonderful people.

MYE: Let's talk about your vision for False Icons and your working relationship with keyboardist and sometimes supplementary vocalist Brian Broadt. Could you tell us how you met? He was in an indie band near you called Deckard, right? What are some of the artists you shared appreciation for?

JB: I moved back to Pennsylvania in 1994 and immediately met Brian. I was in Prong and he was in Deckard. We both shared an interest in electronic music (Prodigy, Crystal Method, Juno Reactor etc). We became close friends and shared studio space. After a few years, we began a collaboration, which became the song “False Icons”. I joined Fear Factory in 1998, which took me on the road for a few years, but Brian and I managed to build a studio together and write some more material during that time. In 2002, Burton and I formed Ascension of the Watchers, and Brian and I formed False Icons with original bassist Rob Blankenship. We wrote most of the material for the CD over the next year and a half. During that time, I solidified the overall concept and vision for the band, and in 2004 we added drummer Mark Panek. We did our first shows in early 2005 and also did a small tour with The Watchers that Fall. In early 2006, I joined Ministry and Al immediately told me of his plans for 13th Planet.

MYE: Right, so you formed False Icons in 2002 and have done shows. Why did it take until now for the full-length debut? Just so busy and finding the right people?

JB:Finding the right people turned out to be easy, finding the time was not. (I’m the father of three young children.) I continued to work with Fear Factory until mid 2004, so there was only about a year and a half before I joined Ministry. We did do a lot in that time but were not successful in getting any label interest. It was a dark time to be shopping record deals.

MYE: Wow, you did all that and have that many kids. That's wild! Does False Icons, in any way, enable you to confront things differently as the voice of the band? Is it ever scary or a relief?

JB: Well it’s both. I was always the fifth Beatle, so to speak, and I wasn’t getting the kind of recognition I was looking for. The bands I worked with were already established and I had a minor role. I had been composing my own music since the early ‘80s and continued to write while playing in other bands. In the ‘80s and early ‘90s I collaborated with college friends Charlie Clouser and Pierre Takal. I still have most of that material, which is still impressive today, but never got any of it released. False Icons is the cumulative product of all that work. I have played guitar and sang since I was a teenager, but made my mark as a programmer and keyboard player. It was a natural progression for me to make as front man. That said, it is a bit scary because I have more pressure on me now. Overall, I’m comfortable because I’m doing what I always wanted to do and I can make the music I want to make, write the lyrics I want to write, and have more artistic expression.

MYE: Your band name is great and direct. Could you explain why you picked it and also the LP name God Complex? It reminds me of an early punk rock sounding name but works very well for industrial rock. I have been thinking lately about the idea of a "golden calf". In the Bible, of course, it was false symbols, if you believe in that, but I like the idea of a golden calf could also be religious institutions that run amok and are bigoted or dogmatic. Or even politics. Marianne Williamson, a great metaphysics lecturer and spiritual writer, in her book Illuminata from the early ‘90s she wrote, "Mentally, we have exiled love. We have relegated it to narrow regions of social dialogue." It seems like through history many of our religious and political leaders have not had the best interests of people in mind or promoted cultural acceptance and now we are mired in this mess where we have to co-exist and change our ways because even the world won't take it anymore! Like in "Decay" you sing , "Travel through a wasteland, destined to decay."

JB: It took me a long time to find my voice, and I had high expectations to live up to. Choosing the right name was difficult. False Icons was one of the names I was considering for a few years, but continued searching for another name before finally settling on it in ’02. Yes, the name is direct and it has an overabundance of connotations. It addresses religion, politics, media, fame, and all that goes with it. It addresses the facade of reality, it reveals our dark nature, and thankfully, absolutely nothing showed up on an internet search! Consequently the title God Complex parallels the False Icons theme and has additional overtones and imagery, hence the pyramids on the CD artwork.

MYE: You've toured with everyone from Fear Factory to Prong and Killing Joke. Could you share an anecdote or two of some experiences that were simply incredible from any of those years?

JB: Actually, for years I considered writing a memoir but when my sister Alison published a highly successful and critically acclaimed memoir in 2006 called Funhome, I began taking it more seriously. I wouldn’t know where to begin. It’s a common question and people often want to hear crazy tour stories. Surprisingly, most of the time things are pretty hum-drum, but there are rock star moments as well as real life Spinal Tap moments. Being one of the biggest Killing Joke fans I ever met, it was in some ways a dream come true for me to go from growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania to recording a Killing Joke record at Townhouse studios in London. The first time I played “Requiem” live was a moment I’ll never forget.

MYE: That must have been such a rush!

JB: With Prong, we headlined a music festival in Germany in front of a hundred thousand people, a very monumental experience. We toured with Pantera on the Far Beyond Driven tour, which is still talked about to this day by fans. With Fear Factory, we worked with Gary Numan on the “Cars” video. We meet a lot of bands, but working with Gary was quite exhilarating. We did the Ozzfest, received a Gold Record, opened for Metallica while they came out and watched us play. Joining Ministry was like the crowning achievement of my career. Where do you go after Killing Joke, Murder Inc, Prong and Fear Factory? Answer: Ministry. I had met Al back in the day and we toured with RevCo, but working with Al was incredible. He is such an amazing and hilarious personality. Being onstage with Al Jourgensen, Tommy Victor, Paul Raven, Mike Scaccia and Joey Jordison playing "Just One Fix". is another indescribable life high. You can’t have the highs without the lows though. None of these experiences would be as enjoyable without the long hard work and all the struggle that goes with it. Also, I have traveled the world, seen the Berlin Wall coming down, was in Poland when the Iron-Curtain lifted, Yugoslavia when civil war became imminent, and returned nearly twenty years later to a new Warsaw and a massive festival in Serbia. I’ve sailed the Baltic, seen a full moon over the Tokyo skyline, flown over the Alps, the Rockies, and the mountains of New Zealand, seen the sun set over the Indian Ocean and rise in L.A. on the same day… I traveled internationally during the Gulf Wars and 9/11, endured broken down tour busses and had an entire equipment truck stolen with all our gear in it. We had a band member die; Paul Raven rest in peace. We had an audience member die of a seizure. I’ve witnessed band breakups, marriages, divorces, and children being born. There’s also the little known facts, like I was in Nine Inch Nails for like, two days in 1990, and I was in a band briefly with Ogre in 1992 that never happened. When I was 11, while shopping at FAO Schwartz in Manhattan, my brother and I ran into John Lennon and got his autograph. I guess I’m like the Forrest Gump of rock and roll.

MYE: That's funny, but hard to dispute! So many cool images. Back to the album, "Mystified" is an interesting number on the record. It has a more poppy feel or even musically reminds me of Siouxsie and the Banshees, but industrial.

JB: That’s cool. I’m a big Siouxsie fan. And yes, I have an industrial background. I was trying to bring some pop elements to False Icons. This song just came to me. I think it’s good to slow things down a bit and venture out. That’s the beauty of being able to do what you want. Al liked it too, and it was actually the first song he mixed on the CD.

MYE: The thing I like about your sound is even when it is darker there is still a sense of awe in the swirl of sounds at the greater Universe. Your music hints at possibilities even when it is lashing out.

JB: Well, I’m a very positive person and am very inspired by life. But life isn’t always happy. I wanted to reflect the highs and lows of life. I’m not nihilistic, but wanted it to have a post-apocalyptic quality. I offer hope in "Lead the Way", stab at organized religion in "Deterioration", describe our world in "False Icons", and ponder the afterlife in "Into the Emptiness". Once I realized all my songs were about life, it was easy to write lyrics. I previously tried to be too complex. My lyrics were fragmented and didn’t really mean anything. On God Complex, the music just kept flowing so I actually had to stop writing songs so I could work on recording and producing. I also got a chance to use all my wonderful old analog synthesizers to create rich tapestries of sounds and atmospheres, which is my area of expertise.

MYE: How was it performing with Ministry on their farewell CULaTour last year? It must have been insane! Also, if you could, tell us how your experience has been with Al and 13th Planet Records.

JB: We had a different line-up for CULaTour. Al, Tommy Victor and I were on the MasterbaTour. We added Aaron Rossi on drums, Sin Quirin on guitar, and Tony Campos from Static X on bass. There was some insanity. Tommy fell down some stairs and fractured a few ribs on the first show of the tour and was in a lot of pain. We all had the flu for nearly the entire tour. Overall, it was relatively sane, just the usual excessive amounts of alcohol. This band was incredibly tight and consistent. Every show we gave 100%. This was the last tour and there was no doubt it. It was clear that Al was moving on in his life and 13th Planet was to be his new passion. From the moment he told me about the label, I was enthused to be part of it. It was reminiscent of the Waxtrax era, a family of musicians all connected with the flagship Ministry at the center. I knew False Icons had found a home.

MYE: I don't think the label has released anything weak yet and all the bands have that shared passion. Numinosum, by Ascension of The Watchers was one of the best records of 2008. I love "Residual Presence", the way the guitar in that song is so melancholy and comforting and like a winding, repetitive ode. What's the difference in your approach when working with someone like Burton C. Bell in that project versus False Icons material?

JB: Wow, thank you. It’s encouraging to have such words of praise. This album turned out to be quite controversial. We knew it would be hit or miss with the average Fear Factory fans, but it seemed to strike a nerve in their consensual consciousness. As soon as I heard Burton’s guitar ideas, I heard music flowing. I was able to build keyboard melodies and use so many of my classic synth sounds. There were no guidelines. We just went where the music took us. We drew on our mutual admiration of bands like Joy Division and The Cure. We were going for a more gothic/industrial sound. It was not going to be a metal record, that much was certain. Neither of our roots are in metal, so this was a chance to branch out and spread our wings. It’s upsetting that some people couldn’t grasp that.

MYE: Yeah, I think that's pretty bone-headed. It's clearly great.

JB: I’m very pleased with the record, and Al did a wonderful job with the production. "Residual Presence" was either the first or second song we wrote. It set the tone for the record. Numinosum is a unique treasure in my mind. Working with Burton was easy and allowed me to express my talents. He was very supportive when we put False Icons together, encouraging at a time when we needed it. These are two completely different bands going for two distinct sounds, yet there is some common ground. The Watchers was his vision and False Icons was mine. The fact that we did it at the same time means there is something which eternally ties the two together.

MYE: In "The Wheel" are you talking about the wheel like Samsara or reincarnation? We're here to learn or we are reborn again, as some believe. You have that line "Come take a chance on the wheel", which is what made me wonder.

JB: Yes, it refers to the “Wheel of Life”, fate, and life’s cycles, whatever that may mean to the listener. It just seemed to have so many interpretations, I like that. It also made me think of Mad Max beyond the Thunderdome, “bust a deal, face the wheel”!

MYE: Dave Brown is a cool bassist. You can tell he has a funk background in the playing. The bass lines are repetitive and driving but with feel to them and leave a lot to build on.

JB: Thanks, I’ll pass it on. He is our second bass player. Our original bassist, Rob Blankenship, had a more rock tone which fit really well with the music. We actually kept his track on "The Wheel". Dave has a more jazz/funk background and I decided to go with his strengths. We went for the more sub-bass tone and repetitive style as you noticed.

MYE: Your vocals on some songs remind me almost of Page Hamilton from Helmet when he is more laid back, kind of monotone messages beamed out over the noise. What's your philosophy behind the role your voice plays in these songs?

JB: I guess that sums it up. I never listened to a lot of Helmet, but have a lot of respect for them and Page. I believe there are some similarities to Prong’s music. I look at vocals the same way I do instruments. I was inspired by Fad Gadget and Cabaret Voltaire with my vocals, and I like the monotone thing. I’m very proud of my lyrics but didn’t want to clutter up the small CD layout trying to print them out. They are available on our website and I like a little mystique, as a lot of my favorite records never had lyrics printed on the artwork. Overall, this was a big step for me. After working with such great artists my whole life, and having my own talents to exhibit, I wanted to make a special record. I found my voice, and working with Al Jourgensen as producer was the perfect ending to a long journey.

MYE: What are you looking forward to most about this year?

JB: We want to tour and do as many shows as we can supporting the CD. Thanks. Hope to meet sometime!