"The digger Smolken was born and raised in Cracow, Poland, where he absorbed peasant folk music, cabaret music and underground anti-Communist sung poetry. His family was asked to leave the country for political reasons in 1986, and he eventually ended up in Texas. He played death metal in high school, which is perhaps an embarrassing fact he should keep to himself, but that early exposure to chromaticism resulted in an interest in music theory and advanced harmony. He later dabbled in mediocre noise and miserably failed improv, and eventually formed Dead Raven Choir."Dreary wails of depression and insane ballads in the middle of a stormy night!Midnight Strikes!!! The Dead Raven Choir begins.... Q: Where did Dead Raven Choir get the name,What does it mean,and Why did you choose that name? A: Where? It's been a while, so I don't quite remember, but I think it was in a certain young stripper's dorm room. I figured such a self-contradictory name (ravens may be songbirds, but when dead they obviously cannot sing) would be easy to remember, and thus good for marketing. Q: What type of musick do you consider Dead Raven Choir ? A: I mostly consider it a bunch of notes. Since I sold all my electric instruments, it can be called folk. Q: How long has Dead Raven Choir been around?Please give us a little history behind you and the band. A: It existed long enough to produce an unfinished song (a rather vile track of Winnie-the-Pooh metal) in 1996. Two years later, I decided it was such a good name I used it for some settings of A.A. Milne's poems (a few of these were rereleased on the "Sky Of Rose And Wolves" CD). Since then, I've gone through a few collaborators, sold all my electric instruments, and bought a few acoustic ones. That really all there is to the history. Q: What is your political and religious beliefs? Amusingly misinterpreted by certain people who've reviewed my albums. I'd rather see what else they come up with next than set the record straight. Q: What do you think of Christians? A: I do believe they exist. Q: What is behind the songs of Dead Raven Choir ,What are they about? A: Poems by various authors, from the silly nonsense of Edward Lear to the grim nonsense of Georg Trakl, and some meaningful things inbetween. Also a few traditional folk songs from various lands. Q: How many official releases does Dead Raven Choir have? A: Thirteen, seven of which are still in print. Q: Has Dead Raven Choir played live,and if so with who? A: In my living room, with my dogs and some wet leaves as the audience. Interested human audiences are located in large cities, which presents a problem. Q: How many people are in Dead Raven Choir currently? A: Depends on how you want to count... one, two, perhaps three. Q: How old are you guys? A: I'm old enough to get longevity pay. Q: What types of music are your favorites?Bands and genres? A: My music collection ranges from traditional folk to symphonies, with rock inbetween. More frequently than anything else, I listen to overly dramatic cabaret music from Cracow (Ewa Demarczyk, Piwnica pod Baranami and the like) and various non-trad folk (Kan Mikami, the Iditarod, Stara Lipa etc.) I don't listen to anything much, though - sometimes I don't turn my stereo on for weeks at a time, just being busy with other things. Q: What is the local scene around you like? A: I'm not sure (and I've been living in this town for fourteen years). I think it's mostly college kids with their rock bands. Nearly all the interesting musicians I've known moved away from here as soon as they could. I even have to drive 50 miles to Huntsville (famous mostly for executions) to find people to play hillbilly fiddle tunes with. Q: Are you or any of your members involved in side projects? A: Certainly. I play all sorts of folk and a little jazz with various people and sometimes fool people into thinking I'm playing classical. Perhaps none of that rises to the level of "project", but I also have a couple of collaborations-by-mail going with other musicians at the moment. Q: What are your favorite books,movies,or TV shows? A: I don't care much for movies with actors, although I do like some anime. As far as TV, I don't watch much besides the news and hockey.Some collections of Polish fairy tales, Tove Jansson's Moomintroll series, "Winnie-the-Pooh" and "The House At Pooh Corner", and Asterix comics. Q: What do we expect soon from Dead Raven Choir? A: In the next few months, a couple more albums, an EP of loud covers of traditional folk songs and hopefully a collaboration album or two. The next album will be all nonsense poems, and mostly in German. Q: Anything else you would like to add? A: I've been eating more goat meat this year than before. Dead Raven Choir Official Site Interview with:Dead Raven Choir Interview by:Reverend Samekh Anubis Amoun-Ra 2002 Search term: Case-sensitive - yes exact fuzzy