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Ministry |
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By Travis Tutwiler |
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| “This is definitely gonna be the last one,” advises Ministry guitarist, Sin Quirin, of the band’s current C-U-LaTour. After 27 years and 11 studio albums, Ministry founder and main man, Al Jourgensen, is bringing to a close one the most successful and influential industrial-metal bands of all time. Joining Al and Quirin for this last go-round are Tommy Victor (guitar), John Bechdel (keyboards), Tony Campos (bass) and Aaron Rossi (drums). “Fans are coming up and asking if it really is the last one,” says Quirin. “Talkin’ to Al for the past two, almost three years now, he’s pretty serious about this (tour) being it.” As they make a stop at the Palladium Ballroom tonight, Quirin states that the tour is going well. “March 25th was the first date so we’re about at the half way mark right now with the American tour. It’s been great. The fans have been unbelievable, and there’s been a great response.”
Sin was originally with the band, Society 1, when he was enlisted to play in Jorgensen’s other band, the Revolting Cocks (RevCo). “We had that same booking agent — John Finberg. He used to book Society 1, and he currently still books Ministry and Revolting Cocks,” says Quirin. “He initially introduced me to Al around 2004 or 2005. When it was time for Al to put the RevCo touring lineup together, he just gave me a call and asked if I was interested and that’s how I ended up here. You know, we just hit it off and clicked.” In October of 2007 the band was dealt with unfortunate news as bassist and friend, Paul Raven, passed away from a heart attack. “It was a real tough period when that happened. We were devastated,” Quirin says, reflecting on that day. “I had known Paul for about 10 years. You know, we talk about him every day. There isn’t one day that goes by that we don’t make some kind of Paul Raven comment, because we know he’s still with us.” Through Quirin, the band enlisted the help from longtime friend, Tony Campos of Static X. “I’ve know Tony for almost 15 years,” notes Quirin. “Static X came through El Paso months ago, while we were in the studio working on the Cover Up album. So Tony and Wayne (Static) came down and we got Tony to play bass on ‘Under My Thumb’ (Rolling Stones). That’s when Al really got to know those guys. So when it came time for us to look for a bass player, the first guy we thought of was Tony. He had to rearrange his schedule, but we made it work and now he’s in.” To coincide with the tour, the band has just released Cover Up, in which the band makes songs their own — ones like “Black Betty” (Ram Jam), “Radar Love” (Golden Earring) and “Just Got Paid” (ZZ Top). “They were just songs we kind of kicked around ideas on. Songs we liked back in the 70’s, and we all liked sort of jammin’ on,” admits Quirin. “We weren’t trying to break new ground. We just wanted to do a fun record.” He describes the experience by stating, “It was tough learning some of those songs, especially “Black Betty,” but it was rewarding learning a lot of that stuff because I was never one to play a lot of covers growing up.” Quirin reiterates the importance of catching one of the upcoming show. “I just hope that everybody comes out to this tour, because there won’t be anymore Ministry tours. I think people are getting their money’s worth,” he states. “There’s some new stuff, a lot of old and some cover stuff. The visuals are great and the band sounds phenomenal,” adding “A big thanks to all our fans for their support. Ministry just has these crazy, loyal fans, and we totally dig and appreciate that.” If you weren’t fortunate enough to catch the show at the Palladium Ballroom, April 17th, Quirin assures us that there will be a new RevCo album in September, with a tour to fall in late 2008 or early 2009. Make sure you catch that one! |
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