By: Josh Noll Cover Pics By: Chris Rider Photography
The Suicide Puppets have been a busy band for the last year and we decided to catch up with them this month and find out exactly what they have been up to. For people not familiar The Suicide Puppets are an Industrial/black metal band formed in 2006. The band consists of Twisty Suicide on vocals, Jonny Suicide on the Bass, Tattuicide on lead guitar, Steven Suicide also lead guitar, Donnie Von Gailinger Rhythm guitar and Veritas Suicide on drums. They have been making some major moves and have just recently completed a tour with National act Soulfly.
It was a crazy year for local bands and music venues so the Puppets decided to take the show on the road and reach out to a new fan base. As two time winners of the CPMA’s “Best Metal Band” they figured it was time to start sharing the love with the rest of the nation. They were struggling early in the year to find the right tour to help showcase the band but when an offer to tour with the Soulfly Tribe came up, they jumped at the chance.
When asked “What was the best part of the Soulfly Tour?” they all agreed that touring with one of there favorite bands on a National level was certainly a lifelong dream for all the guys in the band. Some of the best moments on tour were talking with fans before and after the shows and really getting to connect with them. From previous fans of the Puppets, who have never had a chance to see them live, to new fans who they made that night. Even some first time junior rockers, who had never been to a concert, who afterwards approached the guys asking for autographs. The faces and smiles that they encountered will stick with them for a lifetime.
The hardest part of touring with 6 of your bandmates across the country? Was hands down the long hours spent in the tour van traveling from show to show. The regular routine was arrive at venue, load in sound check, chill, Jam out, chill some more then after the show hit a hotel for a couple hours then back in the van and heading for the next town. Keeping up with the Soulfly Tribe was not a problem for the guys as they have had there share of long nights and they quickly proved that being on time and not messing around, when it comes to tear down and
setup, went a long way with the crew at Soulfly. The hardest longest legs of driving were New York to Detroit about 9 hours and another long one from Alabama to Huston Texas. One thing for sure next time they will get a bigger van/bus to accommodate the guys better and give them some more room on those long drives. The other thing they learned was to not rely on the “house” sound guy. While a majority of the venues had excellent sound crews there were a couple spots were they had wished they had brought along there own sound tech to help dial things in a bit better. In one case The Soulfly Camp came to the rescue and took over the board to save the day.
When asked what was the most listened to album on the road it sort of stumped the guys as they hadn’t really listened to much music along the way and instead ending up listening to a lot of Comedy channels and podcasts to help break up the time and increase the laughter content. They did spend some time listening to some of the new music they are working on for 2022 and used the time together to tweak new material.
Looking back at all the spots they all agreed that Texas is the place they would like to go back to and tour again. They made a tremendous amount of new fans with the highlight of the state being the El Paso show. They were met with a full venue of screaming heavy metal fans that could not get enough of the Puppets. Being on the border it was as if they had left the country and the crowd was thirsty for some American Metal. The guys all agreed it was a show they will never forget and the highlight of the tour.
So what’s in store for the puppets for 2022? While they were offered another spot on tour with Soulfly the timing was just not right so they had to pass. Juggling band life with your regular day to day duties means you just can’t jump at every offer. The guys are hoping to get on another tour or two this year and already have some feelers out there. Along with touring they are also working on releasing a new single real soon so keep your ears and eyes peeled for that and some new tour announcements. There main focus will be bigger local shows and limiting them to 4-5 times a year with the main focus being tours or playing new venues. They also hope to keep the crown and bring home the CPMA’s “Best Metal Band” 3rd year in a row. When asked about the unmasked Johhnny Joe’s show and if the makeup was gone. The answer was a little vague. Just like every Puppet show you never know what surprises it may bring.
The Suicide Puppets would like to thank first and foremost all the fans, friends and family that have supported them and help them accomplish there dreams as a band. The Soulfly Tribe ( Max, Gloria, Richie, Ken Dog, Zyon, Mike, Phil and Mark). Kim Hansen, Dino from Fear Factory, Ryan Raes from Distilled Entertainment, Goblin Alchemy, Dirt Bag Clothing, Logan the Merch Bitch, SGC Custom Drums, Soul Tone Cymbals, and Brent Lesperance. Last but not least they would like to thank Steve and Donnie for blowing off this interview.
To follow along you can find the guys on facebook @suicidepuppetsband on instagram @suicidepuppets and on the web at suicidepuppets.com