Info gathered by Piscean, Dimple, Kevin & Myself
These questions are from a few years back, so the answers might be a little confusing to new fans.
Info gathered by Piscean, Dimple, Kevin & Myself
These questions are from a few years back, so the answers might be a little confusing to new fans.
Q: What is Otep’s current line up?
A: The current line up is as follows:
Otep S. ~ Vox ~
Evil J ~ Bass ~
Brian "Haggis" Wolf ~ Drums ~
Karma Cheema ~ Guitar ~
Q: Where’s the band from?
A: The band is currently based in Southern California.
Q: What does OTEP mean?
A: Several things… Destroyer/Creator in the Alchemists Book "Mutus Liber" - key to the chemical wedding between the worlds of the seen & unseen. In addition it also is a Celtic Warrior from the Em Sea, a voice of psychotropic revelry. Also to quote the lady herself:
Quote:
“it is an ancient Khemetic word meaning "creative offerings" it’s also an anagram for the word: POET” -- Otep Shamaya
Q: What is Otep?
A: Well… she’s been described; by members of the community, as a cross between a Sponge and an Onion… Oh wait - you mean what Genre are they?
Q: Do the band members post on the message board?
A: Yes, though to variable degrees of frequency.
Q: What does the voodoo curse: “map mangé ou sans sel” from Blood Pigs mean?
A: It means to be eaten without salt, or “I will eat you without salt” (I.E. You've pissed me off so much that I will eat you before I can even season you.)
Q: What does “solve et coagula” mean?
A: This one’s Latin and it’s a toughie. Around here people know it as “destroy to create.” But the direct translation of this Latin phrase is: “dissolve and coagulate” which is an Alchemical axiom, the phrase is used to describe the process of reducing a solid to a liquid and back to a solid again. The old phrase is still used by scientists today.
Q: I saw someone talking about this T.O.T.E.M thing on the forums, what is it?
A: It means: “Temple of the Eternal Mother”.
Q: Who writes the lyrics?
A: Otep Shamaya.
Q: Who is eViL j?
A: Jay McGuire has been playing bass and performing backup vocals with Otep since summer 2000. Played in several east coast metal bands, including Tyrant Trooper and a band with Sean Martin (now with Hatebreed).
Q: Who’s Moke?
A: Moke (Mark Bistany) was the Drummer for Otep, but no longer (Left after the warpath tour in 2003). Pre-OTEP - Moke was with Cellophane. He is currently the drummer for HED p.e.
Q: Who’s Robu?
A: Rob = Robu without the “U”.
Q: Rob?
A: Rob Patterson was the Guitarist for Otep, but no longer (Left December 2003). Toured with Vanilla Ice.
Q: Well who's Lee?
A: Lee Rios was OTEP's guitarist after Rob left. Lee was with the band SPEAK NO EVIL before he joined OTEP. He left in November 2004.
Q: Scotty?
A: Scotty CH was OTEP's newest guitarist (2005) - he replaced Lee. Scotty is formally of the band MTF.
Q: Ok but who’s this Eb guy?
A: Doug was the Eb. He was dubbed "eb" by a fan.
Q: Why does the “Sevas Tra” LP sound so different from “Jihad”?
A: Several Reasons, the most obvious being the line up change Spooky (Dave Aguilera) and Tarver Marsh were replaced by a single guitarist (Rob). But that wasn’t the only reason – songs that appeared on both “Jihad” and “Sevas Tra” saw purposeful instrumental & lyrical changes (On Sevas Tra). Terry Date who had worked with the Deftones, Pantera, Soundgarden, Limp Bizkit, White Zombie, Prong, and Overkill (among others) produced "Sevas Tra" in Seattle. Rich Costey (Fiona Apple, American Head Charge, The Apex Theory) produced "Jihad" in Los Angeles. Over all Otep views the changes to these songs as being for the better.
Q: Why can’t I find “Jihad” in stores?
A: Once again, several reasons, the most prominent being the blatant ignorance of some people. The next would mean that you’re most likely in Europe, this isn’t so much of a problem – you’re just looking for the wrong title (They turned it into a untitled/self title on that side of the pond). The last reason being that in the U.S it was banned. This happened after the September 11th attacks; due to the title “Jihad” Despite all that; it can still be found at stores in the U.S. though once they’re all sold – that’s likely the end of them.
Q: So Jihad is a bad word/what does it mean?
A: No, it’s not. As for a definition try this one (off the old site) on for size:
Quote:
Jihad literally means ‘to struggle’. In the military sense it is meant in the context, ‘to struggle against oppression’. Jihad is therefore an act to liberate people from the oppression of tyrants. Jihad is not illegal acts of terror against innocent people. When tabloid journalism mistakenly informs the masses that Jihad is ‘to commit illegal acts of terror’, they are revealing the lack of their research and the extent of their unprofessional approach to the subject.
Q: Are all members of the band involved in the creative process?
A: All members of the band have creative input in the song writing process. (Though it is noteworthy their 2nd album will also include input from their Producer (Greg Wells) as well as “a little help from Joey of Slipknot.”)
Q: What producers has Otep worked with? (so far)
* "House of Secrets"(2004) Greg Wells
* "Sevas Tra"(2002) Terry Date
* "Jihad"EP(2001) Rich Costey
* ".T.R.I.C./The Lord Is My WeaponAdvance Promo(2001) Chuck Johnson
Q: What is Otep Shamaya’s Religion?
A: To quote the lady herself:
Quote:
"Art is my God, music is my religion..." -- Otep Shamaya
Q: What is Filthee Friday?
A: Filthee Friday; is the day Otep fans went out en masse, to show their support for Otep. The idea was to get as many people as possible, to buy “Sevas Tra”. Generally you could - buy for yourself for the first time, buy it again if you so wished, buy it for a friend, buy it for 2 friends – whatever. 1.31 (Filthee Friday) was a great success, and was carried out again the following year on the same day. When next 1.31 comes along, it may rise yet again with some obvious changes (For example: buying “House of Secrets” instead of “Sevas Tra” though if you don’t have (or someone you know doesn’t have) “Sevas Tra” or “Jihad” yet then the more the merrier).
Q: Otep Rocks! Where can I get more?
A: Aside from “Jihad”, “Sevas Tra”, “House of Secrets” and "The Ascension" you can check out the “Little Sins” eBook here, Otep’s online diary here, Otep Merchandise here and here, and you might even catch Otep herself on “Def Poetry Jam” if you have HBO. Also if you haven’t already, pick up the Abominations DVD here.
Q: Otep uses some odd/misspelled words, why does she use them? What do they mean?
A: Good questions, first off the “supposedly” mispelt ones aren’t misspelled at all. They have purpose and meaning, they take this form by no slip of the hand. The odd ones, whose meaning may simply escape some…those too are used for a reason. There is a comprehensive otep vocabulary FAQ, located at Burn in the Pit, that will explain everything in detail.
Q: Does Otep use effects on her voice?
A: No.
Quote:
and to any doubters that think she uses effects on her vocal, think again. i've seen so much bullshit online about how people suspect she's lowering her voice electronically, etc. what you're hearing is exactly what otep sounds like on a regular shure microphone. we use some dynamic compression because the vocal level is so loud and i don't want the gear to blow up, but compression doesn't change the sound, it just controls the volume. -- Greg Wells, House of Secrets Producer.
Q: How old is Otep Shamaya?
A: Five lifetimes old.
Q: What does Otep listen to?
A: Chevelle, Dry Kill Logic, Mobb Deep, PJ Harvey, Slipknot, Radio Head, Marilyn Manson, Mos Def, Fifty Cent, Rakim, Nas, the Velvet Underground, and Jay Z among others.
Q: Who are Otep’s favorite authors/poets?
A: Baudelaire, Blake, Ginsberg, Giovanni, Kerouac, Lowenfels, McDaniel, Plath, Sappho, and Rimbaud to name a few.
Q: Who does those neat drawings that I’m seeing on the site and in the booklet?
A: Otep herself made these. Not just a great poet, but a talented artist on all levels (She also paints, illustrates, & sculpts (a little).