Ara’Kus
(U.S.)
Ara’Kus is a heavy metal opera, theater, with
actors and a story to tell, with heavy metal music.
When I went to
see the production in November 2012, I was impressed with their dedication and
work. Not knowing about Ara’Kus until shortly before the performance itself, it
was a bit of a shock to learn that Ara’Kus it based out of western Washington
state, right in my neck of the woods. If you are curious about the “heavy metal
opera,” then do yourself a favor and take the time search out Ara’Kus. I’m
certainly glad I did. Randy
(guitars and vocals) and Jeremiah (vocals and guitars) reveal their heavy metal
opera.
--
I recently saw your
performance in Everett, Washington. I had listened to the album “Aeterno
Elementum“ and had watched a bit of the video footage. However, Ara’kus really
is a theatrical performance better experienced live. Where have you staged your
production? I ask because I just found out about you very recently before the
show.
Randy: First,
we're glad you found us! We're always glad to have new fans.
Since we made the
change from bar band to theatrical production we've only played in Everett and
Seattle. The Historic Everett Theatre has kind of become a home base for us,
and we played at the Broadway Performance Hall about a year ago for the first
time. We'd love to expand our geographic area, but even going as far as
Portland is really hard considering the size of our set, the number of people
we have, and the amount of equipment it takes to do the show.
Jeremiah: Our last two performances at the Broadway
Performance Hall and the Historic Everett Theatre were groundbreaking for
us. Believe it or not, three years
ago we started with nothing except some music and a rough concept and not a
clue how to get this thing off the ground. We made a lot of mistakes, nearly bankrupt ourselves and had
a few nervous breakdowns, but ultimately we made something great. I think the show we just finished up at
the Historic Everett marks the pinnacle of our achievements thus far. Everything came together in a huge
way. I was proud of our previous
shows, but they don't come close to comparing to where we're at now.
The performance I
watched had the theater pretty full, it seemed. How have you been able to get
that many people in Everett? People of all ages, kids and elderly included.
Jeremiah: Our
first performance of Aeterno Elementum was on July 31st, 2010. We were shocked
by the response we got from that show. We put quite a bit of effort into
advertising and managed to get about 300 people up to Everett to come see us
for the one night we were performing. Since then, we've increased our audience
slightly with each performance. For this most recent show we made a huge
marketing push using everything that we'd learned from the past years and from
some of the amazing professionals who've joined us. We started our advertising
campaign around six months prior to the show and hit everything from local
conventions to social networking and mailing lists. You saw the results for yourself in the theater. You're
right, it was pretty packed. I
think the lesson is, if you want people to show up to your event, market the
hell out of it. Also, you need to have an event worth going to.
Randy: You are very
right about the diversity of our fans. We do of course have the teenagers and
the goth crowd that you'd normally expect at rock shows, but then you have
people like my parents and their friends in the sixties and seventies show up
and love it. You have people dressed to the nines, people in their work
clothes, casual and everything else. A lot of people come in some sort of
period costume, which is always cool. I think if I were to try to pin point the
kind of person that enjoys the Ara'Kus experience I would say that the main
common trait is that it appeals to people who are open-minded.
What would it take to
make this a year-round event? How have you been able to get this many actors to
do this? This is no half-hearted performance, but rather a well-organized
experience that flows well on the stage. Who are the actors and artists? Is
playing Broadway in New York a dream of yours?!
Jeremiah: That's a pretty complicated question. If
you're talking about making Aeterno Elementum a year round event, you're
looking at an initial startup in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of
dollars. To start, we'd need a full time cast that was making their livelihood
doing this. Currently everyone in
the cast and crew is a volunteer. We all believe in this project and love doing
it, but no matter how much we would like to devote everything to it, we have to
eat as well.
As
far as our cast and crew, we've hand recruited them from all over the Northwest
and they come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. Some are professional
performers, musicians or techs, others very talented amateurs. All of them are
amazing people that make this show what it is, and make it an incredible
experience to be a part of.
I
definitely wouldn't turn down a chance to play on Broadway. One step at a time, though.
Randy: The members of the group come from all
over. We've recruited friends and friends of friends. We've done auditions and
tryouts, we've picked a few people up by chance, and several of them were fans
that said they wanted to help. Organizing a group like this is certainly a
challenge and I'd say that biggest boon to that has been finding the right
people to do the right job and then letting them make it happen. On the first
show it was just a few of us trying to handle everything and it was
overwhelming. These days we've got more and more people working with their
strengths.
We like to do some kind of show every three to
four months, and while we do want to expand our geographic area, as pointed out
earlier, the logistics of distance shows is more than we can do right now. But
we are working on it. New York? I'm not big on playing Broadway, I'd rather
play at the Met!
About the album and
band. You recorded the album in 2010, correct? Do you have planned other music?
I realize that recording music is a thankless task because of illegal
downloading. Can you please explain a little about the members of the band? Originally,
whose idea was this?
Randy: We
did put a version of Aeterno Elementum out in 2010, yes, but we have done a
complete re-recording of that album to bring it up to date with what we do in
the theatre so it has four new songs, some other extended items, the addition
of the choir, and updated production. It was looking like we would be able to
have it out for the last shows, but we ran in to some unfortunate snags in the
production so it looks like it'll probably be ready for the shows we've got in
February.
Jeremiah: As for the topic of piracy and illegal
downloading, it's not something that really has us concerned. If people are
downloading your album for free, chances are they wouldn't be spending money on
it anyway. I think most people want to support artists they really like, particularly
ones that aren't on a major label. Sure, I'd love to get paid for my art, but I
would rather get my music into people's hands so they can listen to it and
spread the word, and possibly come to a show. Keeping a tight rein on your
music just means that a lot of potential fans aren't hearing it.
We've
already got a story for the next show/album mostly fleshed out and scripted.
I'm working on composing the music now and I'd say it's about a third
completed. You'll be able to hear some of these new pieces at our Laser Dome
show in February. The new music is very much in the symphonic metal vein and
we're hoping to incorporate a larger string section, in addition to keeping and
expanding our operatic and choral offerings.
I
founded Ara'Kus in 2001 as 5 piece metal band. I'm currently the only original member, though Jeremy and
Randy and Rachel have been in for quite a few years now too and are pretty
integral. Randy had the initial
suggestion that we break out of the typical bar scene, which we'd never really
fit into anyway, and try to do something that didn't involve dependence on
booking agents, club owners or record labels, something where we had full
control of our performance and our success or failure was ours alone. With that freedom, the natural
theatrical inclination of the band drove us towards a bigger and bigger
production, until before long we were putting on a full fledged opera.
As
far as our musicians go, they're all pretty much world class, in my
opinion. Some of our music is very
complicated, and so our standards are very high. Aside from that, just like everyone in our crew, they're
amazing people and I consider them part of my extended family.
Also, what other
productions do you have planned? Do you have other operas that you have
performed or planning?
Jeremiah:
We have an entirely new show in the works that we'll be staging at some
point in the future. I can't give any actual dates right now, but it will be
completely original and a separate work from Aeterno Elementum in all ways,
though it will most definitely still be in the category of heavy metal opera.
We'll send out more details on that when it gets a little closer.
We
may be doing Aeterno Elementum again in 2013, but we have yet to determine a
date and location. Initial discussions are leaning towards Seattle.
Our
biggest upcoming event is a performance at the Seattle Center Laser Dome on
February 19th, which we've dubbed 'Laser Ara'Kus Live'. In essence, this will
be the band and chorus performing a selection of songs from Aeterno Elementum
and some yet unheard pieces from the new show while the laser artists create a
visual tapestry above us, helping to tell the story. You can probably bet on
some surprise guests and unexpected theatrical elements as well.
We'll
also be performing as a featured artist at the Seattle based horror convention,
Crypticon 2013, which is happening on May 24th - 26th
(www.crypticonseattle.com).
It occurs to me that
all the women in the play are only victims of murder and violence. Why are
there no women with speaking parts? You do have a witch, but that’s a
stereotypical role, correct? The opera could use more women’s participation,
since in the world of your opera that you have created, there are, in fact,
many women, but they are all silenced. Have you noticed this problem?
Randy:
I find this question very interesting. We have
been asked many times about the religious and anti-religious aspects of our
production, but this is the first time that the subject of sexism has been
brought to my attention. Let me assure you that the question does not offend
me. I am, however, concerned because if you have thought these things, then
other people probably have as well.
I'll
start with the speaking roles question. There was a time that the demoness did
have a speech, but it just didn't really work well. Her character seems to work
better, at least in my opinion, without speaking. She doesn't need to tell us
what she is, she shows us, and I think that both Asraiya Deyo and Carrole
Johnson, the two women who have filled the role, have done an excellent job of
this. When she had a speech it seemed that it diminished the mystery and the
power of the character.
The story is narrated from the perspective of the priest and the
four generals of the conquering armies. It is pretty common for these to be
male roles. There certainly is no reason that there could not be a female
general, but when you audition for a character to be a general, you don't
typically get any females to try out for it. And if the role of priest were
made in to that of a priestess it would throw the balance out of the
interaction with the demoness. In fact, when the story was originally conceived,
long before it was made into a stage production the demoness was male and we
changed it because we felt that a female in this role would be more powerful
and effective.
Another way of looking at this is to look at the actual band. Vivian
Lee, our lead soprano is, in many ways, the voice of the demoness. Plus Lauren
“Razz” Palumbi, our violinist, takes a very front role, right up with the
guitarists and vocalists, while John Perlic, our cellist remains static in the
back throughout the show.
As for the
violence, yes, all of the women are killed, but, so are all of the men. That
one is pretty across the board. In the song Conquered, the final scene, there
are women fighting along side and against the men. Women kill men, men kill
women. Everybody dies.
At the end of the show there are only two people left alive. One male,
one female, one elderly, one child, one destroyed, one innocent. Absolute yin
and yang.
Jeremiah: I want to assure you that there was no
purposeful sexist agenda or intent on our part. As with Randy, this is the first time I've heard a reference
to that subject. About half our
cast and crew is comprised of very strong, artistic women. The co-lead
character, The Demoness, is probably the most iconic, powerful, awe inspiring
and prominent figure in the whole show. It was a very intentional decision to
not have her speak. We tried it once and it dramatically diminished the mystery
and allure to her character. We have only 6 speaking roles in the whole show,
the Priest, the four generals and the Arch Bishop, and you are correct, none of
those roles are women. The
presence or lack of dialogue does not make the character more or less important
to the story as a whole, however. Dialogue is very minimal in this show, with
the exception of the Priest, who serves as narrator.
How can people support
Ara’kus?
Jeremiah: The
first and best way you can support Ara'Kus (short of coming to the shows) is to
come over to our FaceBook page and participate there
(www.FaceBook.com/ArakusProductions). Our FaceBook admin, Mistress Von
Gearmaster, loves conversing with new fans, as do the members of the cast and
crew. We'll be putting up some new merchandise items soon, including CD's and
t-shirts, so keep an eye on both the FaceBook page and our website at
www.HeavyMetalOpera.com. The other thing you can do is help us to spread the
word! Talk to you friends about these shows and the music. We're completely
local and self funded, so we're entirely dependent on fans support to help us
continue doing what we do.
Randy: And if you can't come see us because
you live outside of the Seattle area then do this for me, go support one of
your local artists, because no matter where you are there are some great bands
there. THE END.
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