a conversation with coal chamber's rayna

Rayna Foss-Rose has the immediate glow that only pregnancy can produce as she chills on her husband’s (Sevendust’s Morgan Rose) tour bus. The time was the pre-fall months prior the birth of the couples daughter. Visibly content and on maternity leave from Team Coal Chamber, the bassist gave her take on the band’s sophomore album Chamber Music, life pre-motherhood and her personal approach to the music game and life on the whole. Rayna and Morgan’s baby girl named Kayla Morray Rose was born October 4, 1999.


CIRCUS: First off, what are your feelings on the new LP?

RAYNA: I love it, I don’t think we would put out some thing that we didn’t like. If you ask all of us you’ll get four different ways of saying that we’ve taken some huge leaps forward with our sound. We really got over being compared to other bands out there and we made a record that really breaks the mold of what’s expected from a band like us.

Think we fused the more theatrical elements of what we do and created something that we are very happy with. All of us totally took a good look at what we could do to make this the best record possible.

I’m a fan of this album and I’m a fan of the band, so I think looking at it that way, I’m really about to step back and say ‘wow this is really good.’ We’re all blown away with what we have.

I noticed that it sounds very dense and thick.

Yeah, I can see what you mean. It’s very bottom heavy, we took so much time on it to make sure it was right. I see what you’re saying. It’s a really good sounding record that uses the grooves that we’ve become known for a while letting us grow into what we are capable of. The rap/metal thing is gone now but it still sounds like us.

How did you guys respond to the hype that surrounds the project?

We just phased it out. We’ve always been that band that nobody supported anyway, so it was easy for us to block that out. Plus, it’s not like the whole world is waiting on our new record.

We’re certainly still underdogs for all intensive purposes. The only difference is that our record company believes in us a lot more now and we have great management (Sharon Osbourne).

Everyone seems to be rallying around the underdog thing. . .

Yes, it’s our calling card I guess. That’s just how we feel, you know we have our families our fans and ourselves. We’re not one of those bands that are universally loved by everybody on the planet.

I personally think this record will do very well sales wise. What happens when you guys are removed from the underdog position?

That’s a good question, I guess we’ll just have to deal with it. Don’t get me wrong, that won’t be a bad thing. We’d love to sell a lot of records. I don’t think that we’re the type of band that could sell records based on anything but the music. We’re very visual but I think our fans use that as one part of the experience.

Hmm. . . we’ll have to see what happens, you know I think we’ll treat people the same. We’re all the type of people that are really down to earth so I don’t think any of us would get a major attitude.

I think we’ll just continue to make music that we really, really like. We’re heavy in our way and that will continue to grow. We’re discovering our own sound something that’s just ours. So, if that were to put us in a certain place, I don’t see where we would feel unnatural. Yes, we’re used to being the underdog, but if we’re not then we’ll be just as happy.

I know you’re very spiritual, does that above sort of fall into your personal belief system?

I like to treat people the way that I like to be treated. That’s pretty much how I view the world. If people treated each other better, I don’t think we’d have the problems that we do.

That’s the sort of energy that I like to put forth. Anything other than that would go directly against what I believe in.

How do you respond to the folks who call you guys evil?

That really bothers me because we are such positive people. I think people have a tendency to get wrapped up in what you look like and what they think that represents.

Look at the new album, you know Dez wrote “Tyler’s Song” for his son. How much more positive can you be than that? I guess maybe it’s easier to go with stereotypes than it is to take a second to figure out what’s really there.

If anything, what we do gives kids a chance to let go and be themselves. If there’s one thing that this band stands for is be yourself. There’s so many kids that have come up to us and told us how they got into us because we do our own thing.

That really is an important lesson to learn and to be in position to put that out there is ver special to all of us.

As a soon to be parent, has your perspective changed on why these people may or may not get the wrong idea about you guys?

No, not really because I don’t believe in judging people for any reason. I can’t say that I would ever raise my child to do anything but get the whole story before she formed an opinion on a situation.

So, when do you return to the band?

Hopefully, before the year’s up. After the baby’s born, I’m going to take some time to spend with her and then get back out there. The album’s out in September, so it shouldn’t be that much longer before I’m back out there.

Has your absence derailed the band in anyway?

No, I finished the record a long, long time ago. There’s a lot that goes into setting up an album so we’ve been doing all of that sort of stuff. So no, not all because they got another bass player named Nadja to fill my spot until I get back.

Switching gears, have you found that you’ve become something of an inspiration to younger girls looking to get into the music business?

If that’s the case then I’m very, very flattered. Whether it’s a guy or a girl for someone to hold you in that regard it very heavy because I can still remember what the feels like.



home

Email: MeegsIsMyMercy@aol.com