The depth of Wally Shaw’s musical excursions is hard, if not difficult to comprehend for a newbie. What he has dubbed “post-nuclear rock and roll” (a fusion of techno/rave/ industrial/guitar rock) could take up half a page in the Encyclopedia of Electronically Influenced Music. Collectively, Wally and his cohorts make up Donderfliegen, Deitiphobia, Massivivid, and a few combinations thereof. Initially, back in the early nineties, there was the group Donderfliegen’s release “Digital Priests,” which turned into Deitiphobia, with three consecutive releases. (See discography information.) The latest incarnation of Shaw, his wife, Sheri, and their collective friends was under the name Massivivid. Then Deitiphobia took another turn at the plate, with a new release in 2000, “Lo-Fi vs. Sci-Fi” and now a slew of reissues and remixes are slated for release this year. His wife, Sheri (a member of both Massivivid and Deitiphobia) also has a side project in the works, which Wally claims is a bit like Enya versus Madonna with the attitude of Geri Halliwell.
Keeping up? Aside from the multiple musical projects, there is also an online comic book, two or three alter egos, and a cult following of underground fans to keep tabs on. Add to that Wally’s day job creating music for a video game company, as well as the responsibilities of husbandry and fatherhood, and it’s enough to make your rivethead spin.
With the new Deitiphobia album out earlier this year, the band is working with Flaming Fish Records. “I've been involved with Carson from Flaming Fish on some level for several years now. He supported [Massivivid’s] Brightblur and Lo-Fi as well as putting out reissues of our early Deitiphobia stuff. His goal is to bring positive industrial [music] primarily to the internet community. He’s just a really great guy. He really knows his stuff and you can see the love of God in his face. I’d do anything for him.”
Furthermore, the bands have also found a home on mp3.com, and quite successfully so. “[Recently] I found some old tapes of unreleased Deitiphobia and Donderfleigen stuff. Within 48 hours I was able to release fully produced CD's of this stuff and made our first sales . . . no record label can beat that.”
Maintaining this juggling act is by no means simple, but Wally’s ideas seem to expand in multiple directions. “Originally I killed Deitiphobia when Massivivid came along. I’d always wanted to do a more live (guitars, etc.) version of where we were headed with Deitiphobia around ‘Clean.’ It was a natural progression. But after doing that for a while, I really wanted to do some electronic-only stuff again. So we revived Deitiphobia and now we're doing both.”
As a genre, post-nuclear rock and roll has yet to be defined, but Wally suggests this scenario. “If you walked into a club in 100 years and saw Elvis fronting Kiss playing 3 chord rock-n-roll with the most high-tech equipment available . . . that's post-nuclear rock and roll.” Wally cites “Frank Sinatra to Cop Shoot Cop . . . Johnny Cash to Incubus, Japanese poetry, typography, cartoons, [and] art,” as being part of his framework. Adding to this hodge-podge of influences, are the writings of G K Chesterton, C S Lewis, and Ray Bradbury, the typography of Zuzanna Licko, and the films of French director Luc Besson, (Fifth Element among others.)
And we mentioned the online comic book, right? The comic, loosely adapted from ancient Hebrew texts, is called Vapor, and is set in the future, as any good sci-fi comic should. “A writer in Chicago, Graeme Udd, who is a brilliant man, picked up with us and developed it. The goal is to have an interactive comic novel and possibly a video game before too long.” The story opens in a future Manhattan, under a gloomy cloud of future shock.
“The year is 2226. The perfection of bio-engineering and nanotechnology has ushered in a New Age of prosperity and wealth for much of humanity, and a Dark Age of poverty and horror for the rest. There is no longer a middle class, only an ever-deepening gap, growing wider with each passing generation . . . Electricity as an energy source was banned after The Absence of 2065, when a Consortium of surviving Corporations and Great Houses deemed its continued usage and drain on non-renewable resources unacceptable in light of technological advancements. The living cell, an ever-renewable resource, had been conquered, it's secrets mapped and exposed. Man would never be the same again. This is an age of living machines, the boundaries between natural and artificial blurred and undefinable. The very building blocks of society and technology are grown and harvested at little cost, and life, so easily manipulated, can be discarded at little cost as well. . .”
Vapor turns out to be even more mind-bending than it first appears, as it involves the band members both as themselves and under assumed aliases. For instance, in the comic, Sheri Shaw’s alter ego is Starpure, whose alter ego is Amelia. Wally is cast as Tremor who is also known as Jared. Deitiphobia’s Wil Foster goes by Punkrocket, but is also known as Sydney Perth in Vapor. Wally muses about these many facets of his own existence. “The characters were originally based on us, but that's moved ahead so far that I can't draw many parallels to Tremor anymore. But I like the idea of closely linking the music with the story and taking on identities. I’m a man of many identities.”
The real Wally Shaw had many things to say. Sharing his two cents about what it means to him to be a Christian musician opened up a lengthy time of venting. “I’m a Christian as is everyone in the band . . . but a Christian band, to me, is specifically something defined by the Christian market. It is something that primarily has its focus on the [Christian Music Industry] stream of sales, marketing and promotion. That market is the same that pushes ‘Jehova’s Park’ plush dinosaurs and ‘Jesus can erase sin’ pencil erasers. I definitely understand that market. I believe there is a place for mom's to go into a bookstore (operative word being ‘book’) and saying, ‘My kid listens to Marilyn Manson. Do you have a Christian equivalent?’ Yes, I understand that from a parent's point of view. But that also creates a creative ghetto. Standards are rarely, if ever, raised above that of creating (if you can call it that) carbon copies of mainstream counterparts and changing a word here and there. While I understand the supply and demand aspect of that, I feel that it shortchanges the artistic aspect of Christianity. God is the Creator. Shouldn’t we be able to come up with our own stuff?”
Continuing his personal rant against the Christian market, Wally adds more food for thought. “The [CMI] market prescribes that there is only a handful of topics and lyrical matter that can really be touched within the recordings of Christian Bands. I totally disagree with that. As westerners, we have whitewashed and sanitized the power of the Bible and that spills over into our art. Christianity is dangerous, scandalous . . . powerful. We need to express that. I don't intend to offend people, but I do intend to talk about how God is injected into all aspects of my life. And I don't particularly care if that unnerves some people. To be honest, I've written about everything from my pontificating on the existence of alien life to sex in a committed marriage. To me, nothing is beyond the realm of being exposed in the light of my Savior.”
Playing shows in both Christian and mainstream clubs and show houses, Wally feels that they are both different. “I prefer both for different reasons. I get really blessed by promoters and new friends at many Christian venues. Like Frank's House of Rock in Iowa. Greg Tesselle is absolutely the most amazing promoter ever. But I've also been more angry at Christian promoters than any other. I really enjoy playing secular venues because we usually get more respect for our faith there than we do in many churches.”
The topic arises whether or not a Christian can be accused of selling out when playing in a secular club. Wally replies quite fervently, “In Christ's day, he spent much time going to ‘secular’ venues and preaching. In fact, the whole ‘secular vs. sacred’ thing is very western and pretty much a joke. Some churches are just as secular as a club. Anyway, that's off subject. On point: playing Christian shows is much more profitable at this level than at a club. I can play (blank) Christian club and make $2000 plus merchandise then go play Double Door in Chicago and make $50 and sell two CDs. So isn't "selling out" really playing the profitable churches?”
Often questioned about the spiritual content of his music, Wally is never offended by questions, as long as he is personally able to handle the gossip or accusations. “Every song on that album is about something specifically spiritual and Biblical so I posted scripture references [on my message board] in response. I try to say things in a new way (which is impossible) and a way that make’s people ask questions. When I say "spit static" instead of "Be ye not lukewarm or I will spew you from my mouth" some people freak out. I consider what I do to be akin to Wycliffe Ministries. They translate the Bible into many languages so that people all over the world can read it. I feel I’m putting the Bible into the language of rivetheads all over the world.”
Regarding the pressures and temptations of the music world, he does not seem to be adversely affected. “Temptations are all around us and we are faced with compromise everyday. It’s actually easier to say no to big compromises and temptations than it is to decide whether or not to flip off the guy who just cut you off. It’s not industry specific. So the same things apply: friends who edify, staying in community with believers (church, small group) and studying God's word [ . . .] I just think we've gotten so far from the basicness [sic] of the "Love thy neighbor as thyself" principal. Mainly because I think people don't love themselves. There are two parts to that command and the first part actually comes last in the sentence. Love thyself. You can't do that until you begin to realize [that you are] beloved in God's eyes. I'd like to see everyone read Life of the Beloved, by Henri Nouwen thirty times by the end of this year. Seriously. It takes about twenty-nine times before you really start to understand it.
Meeting deadlines, plowing ahead and maintaining artistic integrity are all of great importance to Wally. He wants to be thought of as “someone who contributed greatly to the lasting beauty of society while maintaining spiritual integrity. Someone that people cannot discount for reasons of belief because what they said touched an inner part of every human they came in contact with.”
Despite all the obstacles in the world of art and music, primarily financial limits, he quips that his newest motto is “‘Get over it!’ People have so many hangups, myself included, that impede their spiritual growth. and its easier than it sounds. It’s just that people have become so accustomed to their own hangups that they think its not worth getting past. We don't have to wait for heaven to have happiness. I’m happy now.”