Verni, D.D. (Bronx Casket Co.)
October 31. Halloween. “A nice day for a funeral,” I mumble to myself as I trudge silently past the mourners into the mausoleum. Like they say, death and taxes are the only two constants in life. And if either is your business, business is always good—or at least, it’s steady.
It’s Tuesday, delivery day. I prop open the rear doors of the mausoleum. And there they are, right on time. D.D., Jack, Charlie and Rob—otherwise known as the Bronx Casket Company.
Actually, the four guys from the Bronx Casket Co. aren’t coffin manufacturers, morticians or minions of the Grim Reaper; they’re a Goth-metal band from NYC that has recently delivered their third full-length CD Hellectric (Regain/Candlelight Records). Formed in 1998 by D.D. Verni, also the bassist and co-founding member of the veteran metal band Overkill, the Bronx Casket Co. deftly weaves crunching guitar riffs, Gothic keyboards and grandiose vocal melodies to create a sound and style that sets them apart from their contemporaries.
“(We) hear the Type O Negative comparisons sometimes because they’re kind of metal and kind of Goth, maybe the vocals are a little similar, because both bands sing and there’s melody,” says Verni, now the full-time vocalist since the departure of former part-time vocalist Mike Spy as well as chief songwriter. “The fact that we’re so different can work for us and against us, depending on the situation. But I do feel we are doing something unique.”
“Unique” would certainly be an appropriate word to describe the events surrounding the path of Verni’s Bronx Casket Co., which now includes guitarist Jack Frost, keyboardist Charlie Calv and drummer Rob Polotta. After all, how many bands release three full-length, internationally-distributed discs before ever playing a live show? How many metal bands have had their music turned into a proposed Broadway musical? And how many Goth-metal bands decide to cover a Lynyrd Skynyrd song?
But wait, there’s more…
“The first two records we did, the guys in the band never actually met each other,” says Verni, noting that each Bronx Casket Co. disc was recorded at his own Gear Recording Studio in New Jersey. “They came in one at a time to record their parts. The first time these guys ever met was when we got together for a photo shoot! It was like, ‘Oh, you’re the guy who played drums? Good to meet you!’ And until a few months ago, we still hadn’t played a live show, and that’s with three albums under our belt.”
The first of those three albums, 1999’s self-titled offering, presented a more doom-laden vibe amidst their Goth-metal stylings. The band returned nearly three years later with 2001’s Sweet Home Transylvania, showcasing a metallic edge with an even further concentration on memorable vocal lines. Now cultivating their own fan base, the Bronx Casket Co. also caught the attention of horror director Nick Palumbo, who utilized two of Sweet Home’s tracks in his 2005 feature film release Murder-Set-Pieces.
With 2005’s Hellectric, Verni’s Bronx Casket Co. has seemingly secured its identity as a Goth-metal band with underlying horror elements. In short, they’re doing everything they did on the first and second albums—they’re simply doing it better. Tracks like “Everything I Got,” the funeral march dirge of “Bleed With Me,” the dark, acoustic and orchestral “Mortician’s Lullaby,” the sure-footed groove of “Sherimoon,” the Munsters-esque instrumental “Motorcrypt,” the pure doom of “Live For Death” and the clearly catchy “Little Dead Girl,” which inspired the band’s first video, all aptly display the Bronx Casket Company’s aural arsenal.
Dread Central recently had an opportunity to chat with the Bronx Casket Co.’s main man D.D. Verni, who explained his reasons for putting together an Overkill “side project,” the background behind their A Nightmare Before Christmas-styled music video, the latest happenings with the Bronx Casket Co. Broadway musical and why you could see a rebel flag emerge amidst a cloud of fog and coffins at an upcoming Bronx Casket Co. show.
Dave Manack: You founded the Bronx Casket Co. in 1999. How long had you been thinking about putting together this type of Goth-metal band, which is an obvious departure from Overkill’s straight ahead thrash/speed-metal approach.
Verni: Probably for a while before that. When you’re writing stuff, say for an Overkill record, you come across a lot of ideas. Some work for Overkill, some don’t. Sometimes you like it and hang on to it and put it aside. I love a lot of old doom bands like Candlemass, Trouble and Sabbath, and I’ve always been into horror and Goth stuff as well. But that doesn’t fit into the Overkill, cut-your-throat-out kind of attack.
I have a recording studio here in Jersey. I had a couple of friends—Overkill drummer Tim Mallare and a guitar player friend, and when I told them about my idea they said they’d be into doing it. We started pulling things together, and before I knew it there were 11 songs. Then we found a singer and a keyboard player. But right from beginning I knew it was going to have keyboards, and I knew that it wasn’t going to be anything like Overkill. The reality is, some people do side projects because they don’t have as much creative control in their (primary) band, and I can do pretty much whatever I want with Overkill.
DM: In addition to writing the music and handling the bass duties, you now have taken over the vocals as well (Verni is the lead vocalist on four of Hellectric’s twelve songs). What prompted that decision?
DDV: Coming from a band like Overkill, which has been together for over 20 years, the key to longevity is being in a band with stable people. Mike Spy’s life was such that he was going through a tough time, and it was clear that there was no way he was going to be able to be in the band.
But there were other reasons as well. At the first show (in October 2005), we were starting to go in a more theatrical direction. But I quickly realized that it was not the direction I wanted to go in. Although we do have some Goth elements, we weren’t going to be wearing make-up and black nail polish; and I didn’t realize that until we actually did a show. No matter what, I want this band to be about the music.
And since I sang quite a few songs on all the releases, I just decided to take over. It was probably the best thing that happened; it’s made everything smoother and easier, and everyone’s on the same page now.
DM: Though Bronx Casket’s music has certain horror-themed elements, your lyrics seem more open to interpretation. For example, is the song “Sherimoon” directly related to Sheri Moon-Zombie (wife of Rob Zombie)?
DDV: That song is actually about winning over a crowd; getting them to feel the music the way you do. I just thought it was an interesting way to write about that topic. When (Sheri Moon Zombie) is dancing in those videos and in those movies, she embodies the groove of the song. When you see a girl dancing like that, you know they’re “getting it”; they know the music, they feel it. I think a lot of people thought, “Ya, she’s hot, cool song!” That’s not what the song is about, but yes, she is hot.
As far as the rest of my lyrics, I try not to be too serious. I like what some of the black metal and death metal are doing, but (their lyrics) are just so serious…it’s just not for me. I’m not depressed all the time, I’m not angry all the time; for the most part my life is pretty good. The darker things do interest me, but I don’t take it to that (serious) level. And that’s my approach with Bronx Casket.
DM: When selecting a song or a band to “cover,” your style of music would seem to lend itself towards bands like Black Sabbath, Danzig, or some of the European doom bands. Instead, you chose the Southern rock staple “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. How did you arrive at that decision?!
DDV: Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something about the vampire/Goth vibe and the Southern rock thing that, because they’re so far away from each other, that they actually go together somehow. I could see us, on stage, with all the coffins everywhere and fog, and I could see a big rebel flag dropping down in the middle of it and it all makes sense to me somehow. Everybody else might say, “What the fuck is this band doing?!” But they go together to me in some kind of twisted way. Every single person I told about “Free Bird,” they said, “Let me hear that.” If nothing else, it generated a little bit of interest, and maybe they’ll catch another tune here or there.
DM: The Bronx Casket Co. may in fact be the only band in the world that has ever had a Broadway musical (titled Bronx Casket Co. … A New Musical) based around its music. How did this unlikely collaboration come about?
DDV: This musical was and is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done. When my wife heard the Bronx Casket music, she would say, “This should be a musical—this should be a show.” I thought, whatever, I’m in a metal band. But she went right around my back and gave the CD to my sister-in-law Andrea (Lepcio) who is a playwrite, and she loved it. She banged out a script, then we talked about it. Then she submitted it to a play festival in Manhattan, and it got accepted.
Next, we had to put on a 40-minute short of this show. And at this point I had never been to a Broadway show in my life. She knew this director Hinton Battle, a three or four-time Tony winner, who is a choreographer for the Oscars and Tonys and is well respected, and he loved it. He loves the music and story. We did the short, which was a big learning experience. Then Hinton started his own production company and wanted to produce it himself, so we put the show on again with a bigger cast, costumes, a band, etc. We had some guys from the Trans Siberian Orchestra play in the band, we got Constantine from American Idol, we got Cody (Estes) who is now on NCIS, we got one of the guys from Rent; it was a really good cast.
Now there are re-writes, and that’s been going on for over a year now. The whole process has been a learning experience for me. I’ll say to my attorney, “What the hell is going on with this play?” And he’ll say, “What do you want, it’s only been three years so far. This process, to build a Broadway show, usually takes seven or eight years.” I told him to call me when something new happens!
DM: For a “metal” guy, this whole process must seem surreal.
DDV: There have been times where I’ve told guys in the band, this has got to be a Candid Camera moment. I walk into a room and there are 12 dancers performing, singing a Bronx Casket song, and I’m supposed to comment on this. It’s definitely weird. But now I’m actually dialed in to the musical industry.
DM: And speaking of firsts, this CD marks the first time you’ve put together a music video for the Bronx Casket Co.; in this instance, for “Little Dead Girl.” The video itself is more like a short movie, with computer-animated characters acting out a clear story line (the “little dead girl” encounters all kinds of other-wordly obstacles on her way to a Bronx Casket Co. show). Who created and produced this video, and how did you come up with the idea to put a video like this together?
DDV: I had so much fun doing that video. I had a budget to do video, but I knew that I didn’t want to go in the woods or to a warehouse to do it. Then I’m thinking, the band hadn’t played a live show at this point, so why are we going to have a performance video? A friend turned me on to Adam Films; I looked at the site and found this video called “Day Off the Dead,” about what dead people do on their day off. It was funny and creepy, right up my alley. And I love Nightmare Before Christmas, so I contacted the director, Lee Lanier (Beezubugbit Studios), and told him about the concept. I wanted it to be A Nightmare Before Christmas-esque, tongue in cheek story. It was so much fun to see it come to life day after day.
Lee and those guys were amazing. I like that, because it has this great computer animation with a story that you can follow, it’s completely different from any band’s video that you might see on a video show. (To watch the video, visit Bronx Casket’s site and click on the link for the “Little Dead Girl” video).
DM: It seems like you’ve been extremely busy with Bronx Casket Co. Does your work with Bronx Casket have any impact on your work with Overkill?
DDV: I’m in the middle of writing some of the new Overkill, and it’s brutal. The reason why is because I’ve been in the Bronx Casket world for a while, where I’m playing these grooving riffs and giant melodies. But as much as I enjoy it, I’m also ready to go somewhere else. The new Overkill record will work better because it’s a diversion from what I’ve been able to do with Bronx Casket.
DM: What do you see as the future for Bronx Casket Co.—more CDs, more live shows?
DDV: There really is no plan at all. It’s just fun, and that’s the main reason why I’m doing Bronx Casket. I like the guys, they’re fun to hang out with. And I enjoy the challenge of writing these songs. I get to work with keyboards, female vocals, and all of these horror elements and Goth stuff that I don’t get to do with Overkill. For now, I’m just taking it record to record.
Bonus question: What are your favorite horror movies of all time?
DDV: I’m not as into the gory/slasher vibe; I tend to lean more towards The Exorcist or The Omen movies. Most of the time, things devil-related are more interesting to me than anything else. I also dig the version of the original Nosferatu with Type O Negative’s music as the background. It totally works, I think.
We’d like to thank D.D. Verni for taking the time to speak with us about all things in the Bronx Casket Co. arsenal. For more information, check their website right here!
Discuss D.D. and the Bronx Casket Co. in our forums!
Categorized:News
