Former Human Waste Project Vocalist Aimee Echo has a new band called Hero. Not only does she make music with them, but she lives with them too! Katherine Turman visits their downtown loft in New York, which comes complete with a rehearsal studio.
Metal Hammer
July 1999
"This is Eno. First of all, most Chihuahuas are idiots. Yappy, super-shaky, not very social. I was just looking for a dog that was small and I could take on tour. Those were my criteria. Plus, I wanted a black one. When they told me it was black and white I was glad, but then I saw him and he was white with black! So now he has a nickname because he looks like a cow; we call him Mr Moo Suit. It's actually his last name - he's Eno Moo Suit. I was totally broke, but I said 'I want a dog now.' I called the breeder and they said 'We're out, call this number.' I called and they said 'Hola'. They spoke no English. We went and picked him up, and there were chickens running around the backyard, and I literally just went to the ATM and got out $200, because that's all they let you take out. They wanted $300, but... "For a name we were going over heroes and we thought Brian Eno. Eno - it's such a cool name. Jamie and I decided on it. The collection of chihuahua stuff started afterwards, because everyone gives you stuff, right? That's his 'dead' chihuahua toy [stufffed animal from Taco Bell] there. It's so cool! It looks like a Tim Burton - The Nightmare Before Christmas toy. We've had Eno since October, when we started the band. He might be full grown - he weighs 4lbs. He goes to movies with us, He went to What Dreams May Come. I think he liked it. He slept the whole time."
"We were paying a lot of money for a rehersal space and we were already living together. Three of us were living in one room! Scott was living in a virtual closet. We were paying the same as we're paying here. One day I was looking through the ads in the LA Weekly and I was like, 'yeah, sure, there's a 2,000 square foot loft with three bedrooms and a studio, and you can reherse there for the same amount we're paying.' I called and thought it would be a rat hole, but then when I saw it I had no choice but to take the place. I always imagined I'd live in a downtown loft,I guess, but I didn't want to live down here by myself. Now I have the wolves! [her band.]. "We're really lucky the way we get along, Jamie and I are neat freaks; Scott and Mike aren't. So we clean. And when we shop... it took us a while to find a good market because we live in the 'hood'. First time I tried to make dinner I couldn't find any capers! We're been going out more lately, but for the first three months here we just stayed in, rehearsing a lot. We haven't had any parties here. Our landlord said if we have a prty, we have to have an elevator monitor and a parking lot monitor. I think he said it as scare tactics."
"Hero had been together about eight months. I left Human Waste Project in July '98, right after the Ozzfest. I firmly believe in change. it's the only thing that's constant in the universe. If you stay still too long, your spirit starts to die, and the only thing that keeps you standing still is fear. OK, face your fear. I hit door after door and there was an open door and I said 'Walk through, who cares if there's a tiger on the other side'. We were all living together in a 'compound' in Los Feliz - eight of us, a dalmation, a chihuahua and two cats. It was absolute insanity. A bunch of bands, a model and a photographer. We were all incredibly bored one day, and we [HWP] were about to go on tour, and the others were about to leave on tour. We had a bunch of days off, so we decided we'd hang out and jam. We weren't thinking of doing anything seriously. I can't expain it, it just felt like we had no control over it. My bassist called me and we were sitting around going 'OK, we have to start writing for the next record.' "Everything had gone south - we never really got an opportunity, except in the UK. It was our former label [Hollywood Records]. There was a whole new team there and I wish them well, but we were pushed back... We never had a chance. Some people dogged me for leaving, saying that I took the easy road out, but I was in that band for five years. Jeff [Schartoff - HWP Bassist] called me and said, 'You're not very happy are you? Are you going to quit?' And I said yes. Everything crumbled around me and I cried for days. Then I slowly picked up the pieces."
"I spray-painted the fridge silver myself! It was really ugly - now it's uglier! It was white with spots on it. Everybody cooks, actually. Mike cooks sit-down meals. Scott cooked us a chicken dinner the other night, and Mike made tacos before that. I was a vegetarian for 12 years and due to the harsh reality of touring on a low budet, I had to eat what was provided for me. The first time I ate meat again I had chicken and macaroni salad in Louisiana. All i'd eaten for eight days was the veggie deli-trays - I'd lost about 8lb. Next I had a Philly cheese steak in Philadelphia. I am an absolute coffee junkie - I drink a pot of coffee before I do anything. There's nothing better than getting up in the morning, drinking coffee and reading. By yourself for hours. Or writing. Half of my books are still packed in boxes. It takes me about two years to move into a place."
"The sound-proofing was here already, minimal as it is. We brought in the red carpet and painted the wall red. Under the carpet, where you're standing, is a giant drain. When we moved in we mopped the floor and dumped everything in the drain to see if it worked, and it did! The building is an old brewery and that circle on the floor is where the beer vat was. "Can you believe we found this place? There was a lady who offered tons of money up front for it, but the landlord wanted a band here! I came in and started reading feng shui books... our wealth portion of the house is where the dog's litter box it! If you have drains you should cover them, cos you know that old saying 'My life is going down the drain'. The energy is literally sucked down it. You should keep your toilet lid down and your bathroom door shut. It's a piece of cake living with the band; it;s really, really amazing. I'm so used to touring with guys and being in an all-male world.
"I play no instruments. I like to stay completely organic [laughs]. As a kid, I played flute in the orchestra. My fourth-grade teacher said, 'you need to be in music.' I instantly took to it. I goofed around on the piano and picked up bass for a bit. I have a really short attention span and my mind understands things a lot better than my fingers do. What I want to hear doesn't come out and I get frustrated. If I pick up a guitar it's totally frustrating. My fingers are like 'No, we don't want to work.' "Hero did a demo. We spent a week on it and it was a blast. We plan to spend a week goofing off with cover songs, just to learn them. And we're not a metal band. I didn't even consider Human Waste Project metal. Yet on Ozzfest I had to go on between Soulfly and Pantera, and I was the only girl frontperson. But it was amazing - one of the best experiences of my life, but talk about frontmen... Max Cavalera and Phil Anselmo. I felt frail! What happened with HWP was we made the record and went on tour with friends and 90 percent of our friends happened to be from that world. I don't think that there's anything wrong with metal, per se, I just don't know much about it. AS I kid I was going to a bunch of punk shows - Billy Idol was my first concert. In my teens, I hung out with all the garage bands in the neighbourhood, and I was singing with one of those bands and we'd to X covers. I did the role of Exene - her and Debbie Harry were my biggest heroes. Back then, punk was punk and metal was metal and never the twain shall meet. It eventually became a hybrid, but I never had any background in metal. "So if people said we have metal influences I'd have no idea about it. Remember the Red Shoes? There was a ballerina in the film who found red shoes and put them on, and they're magical shoes and she can't take them offf. She can't stop dancing. That's kinda like the music should be to me. ---------------------
