Wayne Static can read the writing on the wall. The frontman for industrial-influenced nu-metal band Static-X knows the genre that helped push him to success is on the wane. "The hard rock that MTV's playing and the radio's playing now is all that new, like, I call it happy punk shit, kind of silly melodies and stuff," he says with disdain. "It seems like that's what a lot of the kids are listening to nowadays." These are the words of a man who's losing his audience, whose brand of aggressive, dark, staccato heavy metal, topped with what some critics lovingly term "Cookie Monster vocals," is no longer in vogue.
Static-X's first album, 1999's Wisconsin Death Trip, achieved platinum sales on the strength of heavy radio and MTV airplay for single "Push It." Released at the height of popularity of bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit, it put Static-X at the forefront of the newest movement in heavy music. It was a short-lived moment in the sun, though, as the follow-up, 2001's Machine, sold 600,000 copies, and the band's latest, Shadowzone, released in late 2003, has only managed sales of about 250,000 copies.
Still, the band fills concert halls, remains on a major label and they're set to release Beneath, Between, Beyond, a collection of rarities, demos and covers, later this month. Static stays optimistic about the future. "As far as bands like us, it's kind of a hard time for us, I think," he says, with an obvious tinge of regret. "We still get played on the radio in a lot of towns, but in a lot of towns we don't, where we used to. It makes it a little tougher for us. But we've got a good fan base and we'll just keep on doing what we do and try not to worry about it too much."
For a heavy metal dude, Static is remarkably relaxed. He isn't stressed out from too much time on the road: "It makes touring a lot more enjoyable when you get to take a little breather." He doesn't get irritated when asked for the millionth time about his unique hairstyle, a sort of mountain sticking straight up from the top of his head: "It's actually quite comfortable. It's all off my face and neck and just kind of up out of the way." He's comfortable with the lineup changes in his band, including the recent addition of drummer Nick Oshiro, a one-time Las Vegan who did time with Seether before joining Static-X, and once played with Vegas rockers Inside Scarlet: "Everyone gets along, there's no arguing about anything and everyone's on the same page and wants to just work their asses off." And in Vegas, he's not interested in hitting the tables or partying hard: "I'd rather spend my money on like a nice dinner or something and get something for it."
Sanguine demeanor and declining record sales aside, though, don't expect Static to be writing any of that "happy punk shit" anytime soon. "Happy songs are boring," he says. "I just don't really ever feel that. I feel happy, but I never feel like writing a song about it. Intense emotions are what makes me want to write songs, and the most intense emotions are just like anger and hate, things like that. I'm afraid of happy people."
He should be. They're eating into his record sales.