An interview with Zebulon Whatley of Sons of Perdition

Texas-based multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Zebulon Whatley recently made available the third and final installment in his “Dissolution Trilogy,” titled “Trinity,” under his Sons of Perdition banner. A fevered exercise in dark roots and apocalyptic country, “Trinity” is a mad and rambling narrative told in sixteen absorbing chapters. Myth and music collide as the tale takes the listener through the perilous desert wastes of the west and introduces strangely intriguing characters whose odd paths invariably lead to the same ugly end. Acoustic noir, murder ballads, the soiled sacred, hellfire hymnals, rustic Americana, doomsday lullabies, and the dust and blood and blight at the black, withered heart of these story-songs. Together, the instruments involved in “Trinity”—guitar, upright bass, violin, viola, piano, backing vocals, and lead vocals—create dark, gritty, haunting, and cinematic soundscapes; the perfect setting for a tale such as this to unfold.

Sons of Perdition is project with a long tradition of bringing in different musicians to contribute to each album. Once Zebulon has written and arranged all of the compositions to his satisfaction, he lends his ear to conjuring the possible auxiliary instrumentation from which each song might well benefit. This is a practice Zebulon has grown increasingly good at over the course of his “Dissolution Trilogy,” so much so that each Sons of Perdition album—“The Kingdom Is On Fire,” “Psalms for the Spiritually Dead” and “Trinity”—proved better off for these artists’ contributions in the end.        

Recently I had the opportunity and pleasure of catching up with Zebulon Whatley to discuss the new album and a few other things. I have included the content of that interview here in its entirety.  

For starters, how about a little background on Zebulon Whatley, the man and the artist, and of course your Sons of Perdition project?

Well, I grew up in rural East Texas, where I spent my days reading, drawing, and wallowing in despondency. I’ve always been a bit obsessive with different religions and mythologies, which can have somewhat off-putting consequences when you grow up in the Bible Belt. So in time, I found myself a devout member of a dour, hellfire-and-brimstone congregation. This lasted a few years. In an effort to make the most out of an otherwise bleak and negative situation, this period informed my later creative work. I also started teaching myself guitar at around this time.

Sons of Perdition started as a personal side-project of this other band I was in sometime around 2002, called GORE KNOBS. We were a two-piece screamy, folky, garage rock band with a lot of violent songs. I felt like I was stagnating with the writing for that band, so I just started funneling all my disparate interests (musical and otherwise) into Sons of Perdition. Eventually, it moved beyond a simple dumping ground, bloated, and eclipsed everything else.

I decided to learn about home recording. I’ve used different equipment and techniques over the last three albums, and I feel like I’m getting the hang of my style of recording. After a while, the recording process became more transparent, which is ultimately what I’m after. I’ve never stepped foot inside a studio. Studios work great for a lot of folks, but the majority of my music comes from experimenting during the recording process, which I imagine is a terribly inefficient way to spend your time when you’re paying by the hour.

When you began Sons of Perdition, was it always your intention to write all of the songs and then bring in fellow musicians from all over today’s roots scene to contribute to them?

Not at all! My original intention was to get a legit band together to do all the things that bands are supposed to do (record, tour, etc.). I’ve never had much luck in procuring band members, though, which forced me to become extremely self-reliant.

In a lot of ways, Sons of Perdition is an excuse for me to work with people whose work I admire. I haven’t tried to stay in the roots scene at all. I’m pretty out of the loop when it comes to any scene, really, and I’m always surprised to learn that scenes actually exist. Thus are the perils of living in a vacuum, I suppose. I’ve always been a bit wary of scenes or anything else that encourages people to think alike.  With a few exceptions, the folks I’ve chosen to work with come from very different musical worlds.

With each album, though, I’m able to work with a few more people I like. It’s a pleasant thing and about the extent of my social life.

Which artists have contributed to the Sons of Perdition albums thus far?

There have been quite a few.

Simon Brach, who also plays in the German hardcore band Fall of Serenity, has contributed more than anyone else. He’s an honorary member of the band, having written and performed all of the double bass for the “Trinity” album. Needless to say, he’s a phenomenal musician. Lacy Rose, a solo performer who writes ghostly chamber music, played the piano on Zero Point. We’re also practicing for some shows together. Peter Murphy from Peter Murphy’s Carver Combo, who carries the distinction of having the best voice I’ve ever heard, sings with me on the finale to Trinity, a song called Ascension. Sophie Nadaud, who performs amazing work as Madame B, sang some particularly haunting vocals on Profane the Night. Sophia Cacciola, from Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, sings a lovely duet with me on Song of Ruin. El Demento, from KAOS Radio’s “Smooth and Demented Show,” played harmonica on Lenders in the Temple. Also, I pressured my lovely wife into lending her pipes to the recording of The Serpent.

Lonesome Wyatt (of Holy Spooks and Those Poor Bastards infamy) provided dueling vocals for Psalm of Nod and a deranged sermon in Blood in the Valley. Seth Fleming, who plays in Cowboy Bob & Trailer Trash and the Route 66 Killers, has co-written music for Burial at Sea and The Serpent. Dan Hardingham, who releases solo work under the name Onethirtyeight and is a founding member of the Earls of Mars (both of which are astoundingly good bands), co-wrote the music for Psalm 138 and sang dueling vocals on it. Dad Horse Experience sang backup and played banjo on Psalm of Nod. I finally got to see him perform recently and was blown away. Michael Larkin turned the original recordings of Blood in the Valley into the hellish soundscape I VENT A BLOODY HELL. Tamara Cauble and Victoria Athmann recorded violin for songs on the first and third album respectively. I played a show or two in the past with Michael McConnell of The Jakeys on concertina.

All of the bands that I mentioned deserve your time in looking them up. There’s a reason I asked them to perform with me.

Being that the Sons of Perdition project involves the contributions of guest musicians, does that make playing shows or touring difficult? Or do you simply perform the same material as a solo artist?

Playing shows has thus far been an impossibility. I’m not at all concerned with trying to replicate the exact sound of the album recordings, but I don’t think my songs are as interesting when stripped down to just a guitar and vocals. Others may be kind enough to disagree, but because of this, I’ve only ever played two shows as Sons of Perdition. This is going to change in less than a month, though. I’ve been practicing with Lacy Rose on harmonium and backup vocals, and I’m really happy with the sound. We’re planning a few Austin shows within a month or so, and we may decide to branch out from there.

For your Sons of Perdition albums you have made a habit of incorporating absorbing storylines into the music. How do you come up with that material? And what would you say is the central theme, or themes, in your Dissolution Trilogy?

Music that tells a story has always held a fascination with me. It’s probably the original, primordial purpose. It’s fair to say that a fair amount of my songs are just stories that I’ve put to music so that people will listen to them. The stories come from a variety of different places. Often what happens is that something I’m reading or watching will trigger a small idea. Rather than try to write it down and immediately make something out of it, I’ll spend weeks, months, or years turning it over in my head, examining it from all angles, and finding its failure points. At some point, it just feels right so I write it down, often in one sitting, although I usually go back and edit things. When I’m working, I make it a point to avoid listening to any music that’s remotely similar to my own.

I don’t want to give away too much about the inner workings of “Trinity.” I’d prefer for people to approach it like a novel and think about what things may mean and what connections may exist. It’s stuffed with symbolism, allusions, and multiple meanings. My fear of pre-digesting the album for people is that doing so leaves the listener with a product to be consumed and immediately shat out. When you already know everything there is to know about something, you don’t need to think about it. I’d rather leave it open to interpretation in the hopes that at least a few people will make an effort at listening to it.

The overall themes of the “Dissolution Trilogy” as a whole are the old staples of death and religion. Death of the body, death of the spirit, death of the gods. I feel that I’ve successfully said what I sought out to say when I started the trilogy a decade ago, so it’s time for me to seek other fodder.

Your latest Sons of Perdition album’s title is “Trinity.” Are you referring to both meanings of Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or the Trinity test site for America’s atomic bomb, after which, having seen the horrible destructive nature of the device, Oppenheimer said, “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” (a loose translation, mind you, but near enough to the mark)? Or both?

There are several reasons that the name “Trinity” was chosen. The atomic test site, the biblical symbolism, the fact that it’s the third Sons of Perdition album, the fact that I grew up near the Trinity River in Texas, etc.

Anything else in the works by Zebulon Whatley? Other projects? Writing? Recording? Gigging? Etc?

I have another Sons of Perdition release that’s basically complete and should serve to tie up some loose ends with the “Dissolution Trilogy.” As I mentioned, Lacy Rose and I are due to play some shows really damned soon (but don’t expect us to play a bunch of bars; we’re going out in the woods). I’ve written notes for another narrative Sons of Perdition album which may be a bit too much work for right now, considering I just finished birthing this last behemoth. I’ve recorded a handful of songs for yet another Sons of Perdition album, but it’s entirely too early to say what will come of it. Lastly, I have a side project called A Minor Plague with Ashlee Elfman and Simon Brach. We’re in the middle of a long cycle of writing and recording, so don’t expect anything in the near future. It’s a decidedly different beast than Sons of Perdition.

Now that you the Dissolution Trilogy is over, do you plan on doing another Sons of Perdition series like it? Or will you simply move on to another project altogether?

I’m not through with Sons of Perdition, but exactly what this means is unclear at this point. I’m sure that I’ll continue to experiment with the sound and some of the concepts. I see it as a huge waste of time to simply recreate something that I’ve already done. Onward and downward!

Originally published at The National Examiner by James G. Carlson. For review, interview, feature consideration write to: fringesound[at]yahoo[dot]com