Four years ago almost to the day I was introduced to Type O Negative when I was writing for the now nonexistent “Stickman Comic’s Sound Expansion” (hey, don’t laugh, even Gene Simmons liked us) and I had the pleasure of doing a piece on the band as well as an interview with Johnny Kelly. Ever since that particular article was published in the Summer of 2002, I’ve been following this band on a semi-professional level (some would disagree) and I must say that it’s been a very interesting four years on many levels, and some of that is good, and some of that is a bit more on the dark side. (not trying to be funny) I don’t wish to indulge in any sort of self pity and write out a litany of lamentations about “that book” that got the axe: we’re beyond that now.

Having said that, it should come as no surprise that I have indeed learned a lot about this “Gothadelic” quartet from Brooklyn and I must say that there are precious few artists that have been able to pull off what Mr. Steele and the boys have thus far and to still be looking the future straight in the face with hope. I’m not exaggerating and you can take that any way you like, because in the end, there is no mystery here: Type O Negative have been around the block! In fact they own the friggin block! Vinnland is gearing up for battle and they’re taking no prisoners! That’s all I can say, because the rest is top secret! But I will say this—you can rest assured that by the end of this year Type O will be marching through the battlefield with a brand new arsenal and the future is looking fine for metal heads the world over!

I am grateful once again to Johnny Kelly for having agreed to do an interview with us here at “The Lonely Ghost Project” and I must say that I couldn’t find a better way to launch this new “project” than with Type O Negative! There will be more to come in the future, so please, check back soon.

Meanwhile….

Interview with Johnny Kelly

Johnny Kelly: At times things were fun and at other times, things have been a total nightmare. I’ve been through some tough personal times in the past three years but I’m optimistic and hope that what’s next for me is an upswing. Some of my darkest moments have occurred over this period and I think that better times are ahead of me.

Is this new relationship with this new record company, SPV a step in the right direction for you guys?

I think so. I feel that they did a good job with the DVD and they were happy with the results. The real test will be how things go with the handling of the new CD.

Would you guys still have to deal with Roadrunner in some instances or not? I mean, the question of a compilation popped up recently and I was wondering if they pretty well have a green light (no pun intended) to go ahead with that sort of deal without maybe even your absolute approval?

Roadrunner is releasing another "best of" compilation in September and we haven’t taken part in that release so I’m guessing that they’re allowed to do that without our consent. Aside from three out of four of us participating on the Roadrunner All Stars CD, there really hasn’t been too much going on between us and them.

Either way, I guess you could say you’re moving forward now and I get the impression that there’s "new life" with SPV: In March you guys released a first ever "live DVD" (Symphony for the Devil)-how much of a success has that been for the band so far. (Only four months old)

I’m glad that we finally released something of the band in the live forum. It’s something that fans have been asking for, for a long time. From what I’ve been told, SPV is very happy with how the DVD has been doing but they’re very anxious the get the new CD. They’ve been very patient which is good for us though. As far as "new life" goes, we never felt that we were at the point as a band that there was a need for that. It’s great to be at a label where we feel that we’re a top priority. I’m hoping that things go in a positive direction and it’s something that both the label and the band benefit from.

I don’t recall a band ever starting off with a new record company by releasing a live DVD first, but having said that, it actually seems that for YOU GUYS at this time, it was the right thing to do. Perfect timing in other words.

The DVD was something that was in the works while we on tour supporting Life Is Killing Me. It wasn’t something that was just thrown together to keep attention on the band. The timing was right simply because the new cd wasn’t completed yet and this kept the name of the band out there while we were still working to complete the CD.

"SYMPHONY FOR THE DEVIL" PROMOTIONAL POSTER

Was I seeing/hearing correctly the other night when you gave an interview for "Darktech Radio"-that the next studio album was going to be about 80 minutes? Is it that there are some long "dirges" or allot of individual tracks?

As of now, there’s over 80 minutes of music recorded. I’m not confirming that all of that is going to make it on the new CD. Some songs may get cut down a little. It’s happened on past records so I’m not ruling out the possibility. Some of the new songs are pretty long though. There is definitely a lot of dirge on the new record. Nothing unusual for Type O.

You mentioned the internet aspect to the success of the latest DVD-you were speaking of the Type O Negative official message board and the Type O Negative Myspace-my question is: in general do you see the internet making a positive difference in the direction of the band? Can you imagine Type O Negative in a world without "internet"? (scary isn’t it? )

The internet really has changed the way things are done in the music business now. From music production to publicity, everything is available at your fingertips and there are a lot of steps that can be avoided that you had to go through say, ten years ago to get your music to people. If we have something to say to our fans, we can simply post it on a blog at Myspace or on our message board and it takes literally seconds to do that. Years ago, you had to go through your publicist for any kind of announcements or whatever and they in turn would take it to the press. Like right now, we’re doing an interview without talking on the phone or in person and it didn’t take 50 phone calls and a number of people to schedule it. That scenario is still existent and is also necessary but if the band is willing to work in situations like this, the internet and the other aspects mentioned are quite valuable.

Back to the album you guys are now completing-is there anything that really stands out about this new album that you can share with us now? Do you have a "oh yeah!—this is massive" feeling about it?

As with every Type O CD that I’ve been a part of, there are songs that I am totally blown away by and there are songs that really don’t move me that much and the upcoming CD is no different. It’s hard to answer this question at the moment because the songs aren’t finished yet so it’s hard for me to have an opinion of them just yet. Get back to me on this one after the cd has been mixed and mastered.

Ok, moving away from rock and roll just for a bit, what do you think of the present Middle East situation? Will they ever find peace over there?

I’ve been watching the news to try to keep an eye on what’s been going on over there and I really doubt that the cease fire is going to do anything. Where are the kidnapped soldiers? I thought that Israel would’ve been more successful in dealing with Hezbollah. I was quite surprised with the turnout. I think that Iran is the much bigger problem over there. The people in Iraq are basically in a civil war and I’m not sure if they really want peace and democracy. It seems to me that all of the people there are intent on killing each other and I don’t see why we should stop them from doing so. If the war in Iraq was over oil, how come I’m paying $3.48 for Super Unleaded?

If you were to have done the "sports" thing, what would you have gotten into? Soccer? Football? Hockey? Fishing? Hunting? (Somehow I just can’t see you in an Elmer Fudd outfit)

I’m a huge hockey fan. I’ve been a NY Ranger fan since I was little kid. I spent my teenage years on skates playing roller hockey in Brooklyn. I am definitely the sports fan out of the band. I’ll follow football and over the past couple of years, I’ve been following baseball and basketball but I’m not that into those sports. I went to my first Yankee game last month. I do follow sports in general though.

Ok. "Cars". You like cars. What’s the latest in the Johnny Kelly automobile department?

Two weeks ago I got a new 2006 HEMI RAM 1500 Quad Cab. I still have my 70 Dodge Super Bee. I’m going to be buried in that car.

Ok, steering the ship back on course here: do you go to concerts allot Johnny? I mean, who would you go see now if you had the chance?

I’m not really sure how many shows I’ve been to but it has to be somewhere around 1000 +. I love going to shows and seeing bands perform live. I think that I’m gonna go see Aerosmith and Motely Crue when they come to town next month. I went to Ozzfest two weeks ago. I saw Madonna last month. I try to go to shows whenever I possibly can. Now it’s usually when friends from other bands are in town. I’ll try to go out to see them.

I remember you saying somewhere that one of your favorite concert experiences as a teen was KISS and that you thought Gene Simmons was "underrated"? Would Peter Criss have been one of your "inspirations"? Actually, Peter Criss is also a really excellent singer ("Nothing to lose"!!! "Black Diamond"!!!)

If it wasn’t for Peter Criss, I probably wouldn’t have taken an interest in playing drums. I was completely consumed by KISS when I was a kid. I definitely feel that Gene Simmons is an underrated bass player. I agree with you, Peter Criss does have a great voice.

Seventh Void, Earl’s Court, Type O Negative, Danzig-you’re a busy dude! But can you just give me a brief update on "Seventh Void"?

We’re in the middle of working on new songs. We rehearsed for the first time in ages last night and we’re rehearsing again tonight. We’re planning on recording the new songs in about a month or so. We’re also starting to look into getting the band some gigs. We’re planning on doing some shows as soon as next month possibly.

I heard rumors about opening for Carnivore?

We have our first gigs coming up at the beginning of September. We’re playing in New Haven on the 1st and Sayreville, NJ on the 2nd. Peter initially had offered us the shows when the dates were being put together. I was going to be out of town playing with Danzig and Seventh Void didn’t have a bass player. We finally wound up with a new bass player last week and since I am going to be home for the first two shows, it got worked out that Seventh Void could do those first two shows of the Carnivore run. We’re all looking forward to it and it’s gonna be a great time.

Did you ever think you’d see the day when Peter would "resurrect" Carnivore? That’s taking front and center for Peter now for a few months yeah?

Peter had been talking about wanting to do some Carnivore shows for some time so I knew that it was eventually going to happen. Type O Negative is everyone’s priority and finishing the CD is the main objective. Carnivore has done three shows and they’re doing a week of shows the first week of September. After that, Type O is going to be pretty busy and I don’t think that he’ll be doing any Carnivore shows for quite a while. Maybe he’ll do a few shows here and there if time allows.

Am I mistaken or are you guys aiming for a Halloween release of the new album?

We would love to have a Halloween release but the record industry releases CD’s on Tuesdays and there isn’t any way of altering that practice. If we’re planning on releasing a CD during a year when Halloween falls on a Tuesday, I would bet that Type O would be releasing something on that day.

***PLEASE NOTE*** Johnny is NOT saying that the new CD is out on Tuesday the 31st of October this year. Release date STILL not determined.

Is there a new "image" for Type O Negative in the works or a new ‘uniform’? (not them orange suits please!!! )

Yes, we will look much older than we have. I’ve never really been a fan of costumes for the stage. I’ve always liked when the band has worn black jeans and t-shirts.

So, is "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" on that new album? (you don’t have to answer that) Peter mentioned that song once upon a time in a previous interview with "The Knac" I believe.

That song will not be on the new CD.

Well Johnny, all things have a beginning and an end! This is the end. (wow, dramatic shit here or what?! Can you hear the intro to the Doors tune? "This is the end, da da da, my only friend " ) ANYWAY, point is, four years ago you were graceful in accepting to do an interview with me with Stickman Comics (by the way Stickman Comics went tits up and he never survived long enough to make them t-shirts) and during that time there was "Erotic Funeral" a book project that never was I want to thank you for having been sane during THAT insanity and (confession time) this interview is to end where it all began! Thank you, and the best of luck to all of the band and I hope "Seventh Void" is the next "thang"! (Maybe I can do a book on Seventh Void? (just kidding, just kidding )

You’ve always been a good person to me so it wasn’t an effort to help out however I could. Thanks for the support.

Johnny