1.At what age did you start playing guitar?

13

2.What type of guitars do you prefer to play?

I play alot of different kinds of guitars, for alot of different reasons. I have custom fender, fernandes, gibson,roland and a couple I made myself.

3.Are you a collector of diff types of guitars?

Yes I do. I like vintage guitars as well as newer ones.Each has a different feel and tone ..I think I have around 50 of them.

4.What kind of music did you listen to growing up as a kid?

All kinds really. My mom had a really good collection of albums so I just sifted through them.The Beatles,The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Queen, David Bowie,Led Zeppelin and John Lennon.

5.Who are your guitar influences?

Brian May and Queen, Brian Eno,Robert Fripp and King Crimson,Mick Ronson and David Bowie,Frank Zappa,Marc Bolan and TREX, Alex Lifeson and Rush, Eddie Van Halen as well as new players like Steve Vai.

6.Are you aware of all the webpages dedicated to your new band and do you apreciate the support the fans give you?

Yes I am aware..there have always been a lot of "Zim Zum" sites during and after MM. But it's nice to see the pages adapting to the new things I'm doing, like Ultra Fag. I do appreciate all of the support from the different sites and I communicate with them directly, telling them how much I appreciate them.

7. Before Marilyn Manson what bands did you play in?

LSD.

9.When is the Ultra Fag Cd coming out?

Towards the end of the year.

10.Is there an address where fans can send mail too?

Yes, the fan club address is: ZZ/UF 1658 N. Millwaukee Ave. PBM 430 Chicago,Il 60647.
(UPDATE: Please note this address is no longer.)

11.How did Ultra Fag form?

It was an idea I've had for a while and after doing some different recordings with different people after MM I went back to Chicago to start recording new material. I recorded 63 songs while auditioning musicians to fill out the live band.

12.What are your fav. Ultra Fag songs?

All of them.

13.What are your fav. songs on Mechanical Animals?

The ones I played on.

14.Did you write any matirial on Mechanical Animals?

All but four of them.

15.Do you like bumping into fans and signing autographs?

Sure, I'm never so busy that I wont take the time to talk or sign things for fans.

16. Have you performed any live shows with Ultra Fag?

Not yet.

17.If you had one thing you could say to the fans what would it be?

Thank you!

18.A lot of kids today get judged and picked on by the way they dress and feel they have to dress like you or Manson to listen to your music. Do you have any advice for those kids?

No one has to look like me to listen to or enjoy my music...you don't have to walk around with a Zim Zum shirt on to be a part of what I do...I would encourage everyone to just be themselves and sometimes it's through experimenting with different looks that brings you to who you really are. I am a fan of music myself, but I've learned that by enjoying the music for what it is and not trying to copy it or to jump on a bandwagon or resort to something I've already done...I get more out of it and it comes off a lot more original. I am fascinated with the idea of re-invention.

19.Any Hobbies besides music such as sports,collecting,etc?

It seems I like to collect cats and star wars toys....lol

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1.Did you enjoy working with Leif Garrett? How did the opportunity come about?

At first...yes. We met while I was living in LA and after I left MM I was interested and excited about playing with a lot of different artists so I could break out of the MM stereotype.

I re-wrote a song Leif had sitting around that was, a little dated, and we went into the studio to record it. I was looking forward to having a lot more control in the studio as far as production. We ended up doing 2 songs ( a cover of The Kinks "Lola" also) and a VH1 "Behind the Music" special. It was obvious there were some issues Leif was working out that caused a bit of instability in the recording of his vocals. I really had no idea what Leif had done in the past so, it was just something that I did to help out a friend. Just around the time I finished recording both songs, the "problem" was very obvious (as it is to almost everyone now) and it was putting a strain on my relationship with Leif.

As it turns out some of my equipment was missing from the studio as was Leif, on the final recordings I was completely mis-credited, Leif seemed to have forgotten who produced the tracks and played the majority of instruments, so I chalk that experience up to " Live and learn, but don't forget".

2.Are you currently working with a record label?

We (UF) just finished recording the majority of 63 songs. So now that we have pressed 2 limited EP/CD's and will release it on our own. It will give me some time to discuss details with a couple labels in more detail.

3.What can we expect from Ultra Fag in 2000?
4.Will you be touring on a natl. level?

Well 2000 will be very interesting for myself and UF. The EPs Will come out in early Dec. Then there will be live shows. I would like to focus on doing some shows with a major act early next year. There WILL BE a major label debut from myself and UF next year.

5.Will the new band sound anything like Marilyn Manson?

No, not at all.Some of the same influences are there but I take them from a different angle. I have played with quite a few different artists and have always brought my own sound and style to the bands. This will be different ,in that, it's me playing everything and writing all of the music not just contributing ideas. I've taken everything I've learned from playing with different people and twisted it into something entirely new and exciting.

6.What made you want to apply for a position with Marilyn Manson?

It was a good gig at the time. I spent a lot of time recording in a home studio and really wanted to bring it to the next level. I know anyone can be talented, but bringing it to the next level is never easy. I knew that by playing with MM it would work as well for me as it would them. I went into MM with 100% but knew all along it would not be the last band I would be in and it was one "Hell" of a step up.

7.Were you nervous playing your first show with them in Irving Plaza in 1996?

Not really, it was intimidating ,opening the first show I played with them, for NIN. Other than that it wasn't a nervous situation because we rehearsed everything until it was perfect. It was always OUR stage once we were on it.

8.A lot of fans want to see you do a guitar solo.Will you give them one?

If that is what they want i will be more than happy to do so. i want to bring the guitar back to where it was when guitar solos were tasteful and melodic compositions played by rock stars.

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1. Have you ever did radio shows like Stern Mancow Rockline etc?

Nope I did some while in MM but I've been focusing on the important side of things these days and that's the music, I really only do interviews on-line these days until the disc comes out.

2. Is there a bootleg demo or show by your former band LSD that has surfaced out there I can be on the lookout for? I'll find one if its the last thing I do!

I have a copy of the album but it's my only one..lol..It can usually be found in used CD stores...I did have a copy of a live show but MM has it.

3. What do you feel you have created with Ultra Fag?

I have created a vehicle that WILL take me anywhere I want to go. Ultra-Fag Entertainment is the vehicle for movies, music,art and design. This new project is going to embrace a lot of different medias. This band will not be like any other.

4. I was just wondering what to expect from ultra fag or what musical direction you guys were going in.

Well at first the direction was never really clear, i just sat down and started writing music that "I" wanted to listen to. It wasn't focused on being heavy or guitar driven, it was just testing some ideas that really helped me work on my songwriting. Now that there are 65 songs, it has taken on somewhat of a continuous style.

I have experimented with placing the guitar in different parts of the songs to change the feel then bringing it back in the make it more dramatic. I have used a combination of electronic and acoustic drums on a lot of the songs and I've brought in a lot of "different" instruments. I used A LOT of different guitars and amplifiers so that it wasn't just "one" sound, the sound should (and does) change throughout the song to create different moods. I've used Baritone guitars, Les Pauls, Fender strats, Roland synth guitars and Fernandes guitars (with sustainers). As far as amplifiers I have a couple main ones I use, like an extremely old Marshall combo and a really new digital crate, as well as various pre-amps and pedals. Something I set out to do a while ago (during the ACSS tour) was to incorporate the OLD Roland synth guitars in a new way.

By using them with different amps it really changes the way people expect the guitar to sound. Just because I'm playing something on the guitar doesn't mean it has to sound like it.

The recordings are a mix of my influences being twisted into something that I felt would still sound ahead of it's time 10 years from now, but would also appeal to a lot of "classic" rock fans. To me the closest I can come to saying "what" it sounds like is a combination of Brian Eno and The Stooges......I did want it to fall into the category of "prog-rock" with a universal accessibility.

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