INTERVIEW WITH CRUELLA

by Todd M. Richard

Editor’s note: A shorter version of this interview originally appeared in the “In Tune” collumn of the December 2008 issue of Portland Magazine. It has been decided to run the entire unedited interview here.

Portland Monthly: What is a pretty girl like you singing heavy metal for?

Ha, that is a good question…Are you flirting with me?

Well, I had a bad case of “always a bridesmaid never a bride”. I had been singing back-up for local rock bands such as Black Apple (Twisted Roots members) and Swamp Witch Revival and what I really wanted was to be a front woman. I knew that my voice was unique and powerful enough be a lead vocalist and I set my sights to find the right band. I tried out for so many bands, never finding the right fit. My auditions with bands and individuals went on forever it seems… I would say for about a year.

Finally, I got a response from a post that I put out there from John Graveside (the founding member and primary song writer of By Blood Alone). He had a concept for a new band that he wanted to put together that included a female vocalist who would sing melodically and sultry partnered with biting guitars, darkly beautiful piano and thundering riffs. I came over to his home, descended into his basement and sang him a couple of tunes accapella (one of my own and the classic song “Stella by Starlight”). I impressed him so much that he asked me to join his band shortly there after. We wouldn’t take the name By Blood Alone until all of the members were in place. Our sound developed slowly and I would have to say that I did not expect to be singing in a Metal band, but I enjoyed singing so much and we all worked really well together.

All that it took to make it happen was a little power, presence and confidence.. You certainly can not be this meek girl and front a Prog Metal Band.

PM: Truthfully, the music of your band, By blood Alone, is really very melodic and pretty. Do you think there’s a stigma associated with heavy metal as a tag or genre? How does and independent band fight such a widespread misconception?

I think that the face or guts of metal music is changing and evolving. It almost seems silly just to call a band Heavy Metal with out considering the myriad of sub-genre’s. Black Metal, Doom Metal, Dark Metal, Thrash Metal, Gothic Metal, Progressive Metal and at least a dozen more make up the landscape of Metal in these times. I certainly do not profess to be an expert by any means but If I were to put us somewhere in that sea of genre’s I would say that we are between progressive, gothic and dark Metal. I think that we are much more Hard Rock than metal… But it is better not to open that can of creepy crawlies, MMMMMM… Creepy crawlies.

Women are much more likely to front Metal bands these days as well. What my band is doing is not to different than what many European bands such as Nightwish, , Draconian, Lacuna Coil and Leaves Eyes have been doing for years. The contrast and dynamics of a female vocalist with powerful instrumentation commands attention. They just seem to work really well together. My band works really hard to change peoples misconceptions of what a metal band should sound like (in the States at least). We bring a bit of mystery and romanticism to the door of Metal and aim to surprise our audience by giving them a break from some of the drudgery that they may hear from some other contemporary metal artists. One hurdle that we still need to get over is the first impression that a promoter or booker may have of us before they listen to the CD.

Some of these people automatically think that I scream or roar and do not sing. Obviously once they listen to our CD it becomes blatantly apparent. Maybe it is just a case of them not being informed enough about the terrain of Metal. If a listener pops in our new CD “Seas of Blood” they will hear my vocal stylings that range anywhere from soul and gospel to opera and hard rock. That is how we fight misconceptions, by getting people to just listen to us and hear for themselves.

PM: You describe the bands’ music as “B-Movie Horror” soundtracks. If we wanted to pick up a B-grade horror movie, turn down the volume and turn up one of your CD’s, which movie do you recommend.

I am not exactly sure how to answer this question, but I will give you three choices.

One of my favorites, Italian film “Planet of the Vampires:

Something cheesy, Troma film ” Chopper Chicks in Zombietown.”

And this one I really just think is so absurd and I just like saying the title out loud, “The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent”.

PM: You are also a visual artist as well. How does your music and your visual art relate to each other? How and where do they intersect? Do they represent different aspects of you or your thoughts?

My visual art tends to take the same twisted and dark turns as my