In case you somehow missed all the recent hoopla, “Satanic doo-wop” act Twin Temple has been everywhere.
But look beyond the shtick, and it’s clear the husband-wife duo isn’t just about image or philosophy. They possess serious songwriting chops.
Look no further than the new Twin Temple album, Doomed Lovers, due out on Oct. 9, or their recent performance of “Haunt Me” on The Daily Show for evidence.
The pair — and their accompanying band — will open for Danzig at San Antonio’s Boeing Center at Tech Port on Friday, Sept. 11. Burning Witches and ANA round out the bill.
Is it strange that the duo is touring with Danzig, given that its music is more accurately described as a dark take on late-’50s and early-’60s roots rock and Americana-flavored pop?
“We’ve been influenced by shock rock of all kinds, and I would file the Misfits (Glenn Danzig’s punk band) as a blending of shock rock and classic American rock ’n’ roll,” Twin Temple guitarist Zachary James said. “We’ve had many discussions with Glenn about all of our shared loves, you know, from Roy Orbison to Elvis.”
Twin Temple has haunted music blogs lately due to a largely one-sided dispute with country artist Charley Crockett. He dropped the act as an opener on tour dates after stating he was unaware of their Satanic beliefs.
Music writers and fans have generally greeted Crockett’s story with skepticism given the overt Satanic imagery the duo employs in both attire and performances. As a result, rock legend Jack White tapped them to open one of his gigs.
And Charley Crockett kept posting and posting … and posting about it.
The Current spoke to vocalist Alexandra James and guitarist Zachary James via Zoom on Aug. 18, the very day the social-media-obsessed Crockett posted yet another screed — this time aimed more at White — and we got to break the news to the pair. Suffice to say they didn’t seem terribly surprised.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length. As Zachary likes to say, “Let’s get evil.”
What is the smallest town you guys have ever played? And what was the reaction like?
Zachary: That’s a good question. I can’t say geographically or population-wise what the smallest is. But I would say one of the smaller towns with a fun turnout was Omaha, Nebraska. And we had a lot of protesters. That was the second time we’d ever had protesters. And there were some police officers there who felt it necessary to protect the protesters who were harassing our fans. So that was fun. I really love playing Omaha, though. And I love the fans out there. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of a lot of support and a lot of vitriol from the local religious community.
Is there anything that could be said about the Charley Crockett controversy or that you want to say or that hasn’t already been covered? It’s a bit of a dead horse at this point. Yet he posted another statement about it this morning. I don’t know if you guys saw that.
Alexandra: Oh, no. (Laughs.) Still?
It’s a huge block of text. Do you want to go through that statement or are we all moving forward on it?
Zachary: I mean, he isn’t, obviously.
Alexandra: It seems like he’s kind of the only one really dwelling on this. Obviously, at the time, it was kind of surprising. In this day and age, to be removed for Satanic imagery? Zach and I have always been very unabashed in who we are as artists and the themes that we explore on- and offstage and through our music. And, you know, it’s kind of core to what we do. I see us as a very American band in every way. We believe in the First Amendment very strongly. We believe in freedom of speech, artistic freedom, freedom of religion. These are the things that make our country great and that aren’t gone yet and that we believe are worth fighting for. I thought we were kind of aligned in that regard with Charley.
We were just focusing on our music, our tour, doing what we love, which is bringing people together with music. I think it’s a shame because that’s what music does best: bring people together. You don’t even need to speak the same language. You get in a room with people and you watch a great concert. It’s transcendent. It’s magic. We’re just passionately in love with classic American music and American ideals on the whole.
Zachary: I feel like it’s an issue with the First Amendment. It’s freedom of speech, freedom of religion. And I feel like it’s under attack.
Alexandra: And that’s like why we push those buttons, why we fight for these things and why we think they’re really important to protect. So, yeah, I mean, we’re not really interested in getting into the back-and-forth with Charley. We still respect him as an artist and his contributions to American music. I’m not really sure why he’s still trying to punch down on us over this.
You may or may not be familiar since you don’t live in Texas, but a law was passed recently requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Is it fair to say that that’s the sort of thing that you’re pushing back against?
Alexandra: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think we’re big believers in separation of church and state and in the religious freedom that this country is predicated on. Part of the button we’re pushing is it’s religious freedom until you practice a religion or you have a spiritual belief that isn’t in line with the Christian agenda. And then all of a sudden, it’s a problem. You know what I mean? It seems a little bit more like it’s religious freedom for Christians.
What is an album that you enjoy that might surprise other people?
Alexandra: I know the exact album Zach’s going to say right now. Should we say it at the same time? Let’s see.
Alexandra and Zachary: (Counting together.) Six, six, six, six. Phil Spector’s Christmas album. (Laugh.)
All right. What’s the hook? What do you love about it?
Zachary: What is there not to love?
Alexandra: The production is stunning. I mean, I love that it was made in LA’s Gold Star Studios. We love Christmas music.
Zachary: Yeah. Christmas music is great. It’s like trad pop. You know, we like traditional pop. And I think it’s just really cool that Phil — along with the singers and the arrangers and the instrumentalists and all — they concocted this, at the time, super-hip Christmas record. Before that, it’s all Bing Crosby, which is cool, too. But Phil was like, “We’re going to make Christmas really hip.” And it’s funny, because the record sounds so antiquated today. But back then, that was a real fresh, hip record. And he was trying to make Christmas cool.
And there’s also the original song on there, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” What a great tune sung by Darlene Love. Great singer. She’s still out there doing Late Night every year with that song. You know, it’s become this iconic piece of American culture. People think, “Oh, you must hate Christmas or you must hate Christmas music,” you know, that whole thing. But again, it’s like, no, we love it. And that’s a great record.
Alexandra: We actually really love traditional pop, the Great American Songbook, all the great Christmas records like Bing Crosby, you know, ’40s and ’50s. And I think, like what Zach was saying, we also super love all the Brill Building stuff, everything in the early ’60s that was taking all this Great American Songbook material and infusing it with a new rock ‘n’ roll energy. I think that record really encapsulates kind of the mixing of what was happening in American culture and music at the time. And beyond that, they’re just great songs. It’s not Christmas if you’re not playing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” off that record.
I saw in an interview that you have a pug, Ziggy, but he was getting older at the time. Do you all still have him?
Alexandra: Well, that’s kind of a complicated question, actually. He was the love of our life. He did pass in June a year ago, which was really difficult for us.
I’m sorry.
Alexandra: But as to the question whether he’s still with us, he sort of is because we actually made the choice to have him freeze-dried. We actually have to go pick him up.
Zachary: But yeah, he’s ready. It’s a form of taxidermy, but it’s not invasive. As Alex said, it’s a freeze-drying process. So he’s mummified, basically.
Alexandra: Yeah, he’s freeze-dried. So he’ll be coming home. We’re probably going to get him before tour. He was basically a son to us.
It’s a very difficult thing to lose an animal.
Alexandra: You know, I really miss being his mommy. And he was such a good boy. And we were lucky that he got to complete a number of U.S. tours with us. He got to be in a couple of magazines. He was in Metal Hammer with us. Fans would kind of see him on tour sometimes, too. And we got a couple of nice paintings of him. I think he touched people’s hearts in his own way.
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