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I got an exclusive interview with the gorgeous Otep Shamaya, and nothing went unsaid.  She touched on President Obama, American Czars, what’s wrong with the media, and what we need to do to survive and speak out for our rights…strap your self down and get ready for a ride inside the mind of OTEP… 

We just finished up a headlining run and we have a couple days off, and then we are going back out for some more shows.

 You guys just had an album come out…can you tell us a little bit about it?

 It’s called Smash the Control Machine…it’s kind of like a reunion of myself, and Evil J, along with the two other musicians (guitar player and drummer) off of the first album.  The entire record addresses the outer and inner entities that control us and tether us from our continued evolution both personally and socially and politically in some respects.  I think the record is a grand example of everything that OTEP audiences love from every record.  There are elements from Sevas Tra, House of Secrets, the_Acension, and something new for this record.  That’s how I like to write records…I don’t want it to be the same, five times in a row.  I want it to be a different experience not only for myself, but for the audience also.

 I know you have a big voice and you are a huge inspiration for people.  Are there any messages on this album?

 Yeah, it’s about fighting for the existence that we deserve.  It’s about not allowing anybody to define who you are.  It’s about righteous rage.  It’s about fighting back, and it’s about the death of apathy.

 I was reading that you were first signed to Capitol Records, and the cool story about how you recorded and the ghost stories…but you guys just recently signed to Victory.  What was your relationship like with Capitol, and why did it end?

 Well, Capitol was a fantastic place in the beginning to just be apart of because this is my first band.  I didn’t start the band to get signed, I started it to play music and to take all of this inner stuff that I was feeling and bring it to the outer world.  So to be signed…I was actually a little naive about how the record industry works.  It was a great place to go and to be educated.  There were some really talented people that worked there.  Then they started having some internal difficulties.  Essentially there started to be some absentee parenting.  They were very supported of us, but they had no idea as to what to do with us.  They didn’t know how to get our music to our fans…they really just had no clue.  I was under the assumption, because they had bands like Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles that they would understand perhaps not our sound, but they would understand our intention.  We were surly on the other end of the spectrum from those bands, but the intention is the same.  I was a little mistaken.  There was a lack of effort and know how.  Capitol then dissolved internally…the President was fired, and everyone I knew there was gone.  Then they were absorbed into Virgin.  I was asked if I wanted to stick around or go, and decided that I didn’t want to stay and have to teach someone else about our music.  I’d rather go someplace that truly understands our music, our political motives, our artistic intention, our message, and really believes in rewarding audiences and fans, and also maintains that.  Victory Records met everyone of those expectations.

 You have been very vocal and are a great communicator to your audience.  You have an awesome blog…can you tell us a little bit about it?

 ImNotaMonster.com is what its called.  It’s a place that I enjoy updating quite a bit actually.  I express a lot of my own personal political views.  But I understand that not a lot of people watch the news, and don’t even care to read it anymore for that matter.  There were eight years that we went through that we were betrayed and we dealt with a lot of that propaganda.  It has daily news items that I think are interesting as well as inspirational pieces.  I might put up a painting, literature, or some other piece of art that I find inspiring.  Hopefully someone will pick up a brush, or a pen, or their guitar and will be inspired by that.  I also throw some funny things up there…I’m the geek head, so I put up all the new scientific discoveries too.  I try to keep it varied and interesting as possible.

 I see that you are a Twitter addict also…how’s that?

 Yeah, well I always thought that the internet was going to be a great place to connect the artists to their fans.  We used to have forums and message boards, and chat rooms, and that was it.  Now we have MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter…the great thing that I like about Twitter is that its micro-blogging.  I do use it quite a bit, and I think that the people who use it understand what its for.  Sometimes there are these tiny little debates that go on, especially with my opposition to the Republicans and all the “Tea-Baggers.”  I’m a pretty good debater, so its shark infested waters if you jump in with me.  I try to keep it fun.  Passion is expected, but so is respect.  We have to keep it respectful.

 I’m not going to lie, this was the first time in a long time that I got interview jitters, mostly because of your knowledge…I’m very honored to be talking with you.

 Thank you very much brother, the feeling is mutual.  Right on…

 I won’t go too far into to your political views, but you were able to speak at the Democratic National Convention?

 Yeah, I was able to speak on behalf of Rock the Vote.  It was a remarkable experience and it was something that I will remember for the rest of my life. 

 We are almost a year into it…how do you like the new landscape, the new President, and how things are going?

 I am very proud of President Obama, but there a few things that I don’t agree with…I think he should suspend “Don’t ask, Don’t tell,” and I don’t believe in his position on marriage equality.  I do understand that he hasn’t been in office long enough, and I give him a break on all of that.  But I am a bit ashamed of, but not surprised of the silly and absolute balderdash of the Conservative party.  Its just ridiculous and it is embarrassing being a citizen of this country knowing that there are people that take advantage of others.  Like I said, I know that not a lot of people watch the news, and when they do, they believe it.  They trust the integrity of the person saying it.  So when a colostomy bag like Glen Beck goes on the air and says that President Obama is cheating our government with Russian Kings called Czars, that is beyond the pale of honesty.  It’s just ridiculous.  The Drug Policy Czar, the Drug Czar…the name for that is like five words long.  So they just call it the Drug Czar.  The first Czar in American History was appointed by Ronald Reagan.  G. W. Bush expanded the Czar position into the forties.  Obama has replaced some of those positions into the thirties.  But to scam people into thinking that Obama is a fascist socialist, Nazi, Muslim, that isn’t an American citizen, and could be the son of Satan…how could anybody believe it?  One of the things that I posted on my blog is a video entitled “Moron America Hates America.”  Because someone…a journalist, not a reporter…a reporter just reports the news…we don’t have very many journalists in this country anymore…we have a lot of reporters though…but a journalist actually went to the march on Washington that these “Tea-Baggers” just did.  And he asked a question, “Why are you protesting.”  Not just reporting that there was a protest, but asked why…and most of them couldn’t answer it…most of them said the same thing.  “Russian kings, Obama’s a Muslim (not that that has anything to do with being a President), and that he’s a fascist and a communist (which are two competing ideologies)…you can’t be a fascist and a communist.  It just doesn’t work.  These people had no idea as to why they were out there besides the fact that someone of Fox news told them to go.  What they have done is shape the argument beautifully.  You have people sitting at home, opening up their mail, and pulling out a $900 hospital bill, and it says the insurance company won’t cover this…even though you have paid your deductible, you have to pay this bill.  They list a bunch of reasons as to why they won’t do their job, like someone’s preexisting conditions…they have instilled this image of a frightening government looking over us.  We suffer from some of the worst historical amnesia.  People need to just go look at when Bush was in office, how he placed his friends in certain positions, like the head of FEMA.  That guy was the head of some Horse organization, literally.  Yet Obama is to blame…we were attacked when it was Bush and Cheney, when republicans ran everything…when the mayor of New York City was Republican…under them they had eight years to form a conservative union that was perfect.  We saw the deficit blow out of control into the trillions.  We saw working people be blamed for things that Wall Street did.  We saw working people losing their homes.  Losing their lives…their insurance…all while the rich got richer.  And yet, Obama is to blame.  We are still in two wars that they started…one illegitimate, and one we still don’t know why we are there.  They have lasted longer than WWII.  We are allowing them to frame the argument, and that’s the genius of their side, and the failure of the other side, my side.

 Me and my sidekick here, Eric, are both union workers.  By day, I’m a union Steelworker, and he works for Ford.  We have witnessed the devastation first hand. 

 Bravo man, I am a big fan of Union!  Bravo brothers, bravo…

 Thank you.

 Here’s the thing though…the squeaky wheel gets the oil.  Right now, our wheels aren’t that squeaky.  We have to get louder.  We have to speak truth to the people that hate freedom.  We have to speak truth to the ignorant people that hate Obama just because he is bi-racial.  There really is no other reason.  This guy is a constitutional law professor.  You can’t say that he is stupid.  He can’t be a fascist and a socialist.  Those are two competing ideologies…that’s like calling someone a Catholic-Muslim.  That just can’t happen.  They are shaping the argument and we have to fight back.  We can’t be apathetic…apathy will kill democracy.

 I saw you wrote a piece for the Hetrick-Martin Institute.  People can view it and donate…can you tell them what they have to do and a little bit about it?

 Sure, the Harvey Milk High School and the Hetrick-Martin Institute are an organization that helps Gay and Lesbian teens find a safe place to go when they have been attacked by families or friends.  It’s mostly ran by volunteers, and its an amazing organization.  They use art therapy and counseling…if they come in with the clothes on their back as their only clothes, they allow them to use their washing machines and dryers…they let them take showers…they give them a hot meal…The Harvey Milk High School allows the kids to live as they are without fear of being bullied because of who they are.  It’s an actual high school and it’s great.  They teach career building skills...how to make resumes…all of the donations that they ask for are for job interviews…so that these kids can go out and get a job and support themselves.  This isn’t a liberal organization that prepares kids to live off of welfare either.  It’s preparing kids to succeed in life.  I write songs for a living and people tell me how I changed their lives…I’m always very appreciative of that, but that doesn’t even compare with what these volunteers do.  They do this every single day.  Gay and Lesbian teens are 88% more likely to commit suicide, all because of who they were born to be.  In this country, you are allowed to be who you are.  We are all created equal.  The beautiful thing about America is that it is an idea…it’s up to the American people though to get closer to that idea…that it’s a free country and all people are treated equal.  People can find out more at www.HMI.org. 

 (Eric)  I was just wondering if you have ever thought about running for some kind of office?

 I actually get asked that a lot…I don’t believe that I would for a couple reasons.  1) I would probably be the first tattooed person to run and 2) I am a bit of a reactionary…in fact I know I am.  I’m not sure how that would go…especially for the people that I would work for.  That’s a good reason as to why I admire Obama…he isn’t a reactionary.  I enjoy my place as being an activist…I’m not saying that it would never happen, or I won’t be a part of an organization…

 You just had the album come out…are there any other big plans in the future?

 Not really…we are getting ready to tour with Five Finger Death Punch and Shadows Fall.  That all starts on September 22 and runs through November.  Other than that, I am doing a blog for blurt.com.  It’s a little satire with a dark twist.  It’s a live take on stopping a threat to our American way of life. 

 We have borrowed a bunch of time, and I know you thanked your fans, but is there anything else that you would like to say to them?

 What I truly love about our supporters is that no one can define them.  OTEP nation is unlike any other fan base in the nation.  Recently I was attacked by some French conservative group not even worth mentioning…but the deal was:  real men don’t like OTEP…but if they came to the show and actually saw how many men show up and ever ventured into one of our famous pits, physically they would lack the muster of our real men.  In general, the intellectual and artistic talent of the individuals, both male and female at an OTEP show would crush these folks into dust.  These folks support us and empower us and it means a whole lot to me.  It’s spiritual intercourse…

 -Randy Hall

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