Iron Rain's wicked kiss is lurking in the shadows waiting to shower itself upon you in the upcoming months. Tainted with a sound reminiscent of Black Sabbath, the band invites you into their sanctuary of poetic passion. If you look past the untamed wigs, the spiked heels, and Gothic regalia, you'll discover an impetuous desire in the band to add vitality to the rock shows of Humboldt County. Originally out of Denver, Beigh and Cee, the pair leading Iron Rain, are ready to set the music scene flaming. The band has mastered the DIY method of CD production, and are working on an upcoming CD release. Their latest work, Garden of the Gods, is available off of their web site www.ironrain.com. So deter yourself from the other sordid fascinations of your life for a few minutes because Iron Rain wants you.

Michelle: Ok, time for the intro.
(A loud "We are IRON RAIN" echoes.)
Cee: Cee over here, guitar, vocals, etc.
Beigh: I am known as Beigh, I play bass.
Ess: Ess, the drummer extraordinnaire.
Emm: I'm Emm, Mistress of the keyboards.
Michelle: So how long has the band actually been together?
Cee: Oh, about five years. We added these two, Ess and Emm, about a year ago.
Michelle: So, the band was formerly known as Iron Angel?
Beigh: For a short time.
Michelle: Why the change?
Cee: There was another band by that name.
Beigh: We went on the internet band register, and there they were.
Michelle: Yeah, that's definitely a problem with so many bands in existence.
Cee: Yeah.
Beigh: The longer with "Iron Rain," the more we like it though.
Michelle: So have there been a long list of previous bands for you guys, anything that was along the same lines as Iron Rain?
Beigh: Most of it was cover bands. So, not a lot of input, we had previous original bands though. We got close to that big time, but never quite. And then I found her (Cee) playing one day, and I auditioned for a band that she was in. I decided that she needed to be in my band. Cee: I went to all these auditions, and we were always trying to get the same spot. I was like, "Oh good." But then we had the swell idea of being in the same band together. It just kind of worked out and I'm glad. We had a drummer and a female singer then. That didn't work out, so I was forced into singing. But, that worked out.
Beigh: I wouldn't sing.
Michelle: So you guys mentioned hitting the big time, what would you consider that to be?
Beigh: Just a little bit of recognition around the world. Not being on MTV or anything because that would be another difficulty. Just getting some fans, there are kids out there that just want to think of me as god. That would be good.
(laughter)
Ess: Most bands realize it's Europe that they want to hit.
Beigh: Seems to be a more faithful fan base there. Michelle: Yeah, plus if you look at what's popular here in t
he states, it's something you probably don't want to shoot for.
Beigh: Oh yeah, we're trying to get this Britney Spears song going. But, it's just not working.
Michelle: Save that for next year.
Cee: I've got the moves, I've been watching her. I just don't know how to work it in with the guitar.
Michelle: Has Humboldt County changed the band in anyway since both you and Beigh started out in Denver as musicians?
Cee: Yeah. We knew we didn't have to be in a big city because we came from that.
Beigh: We know we're not going to make tons of money as a band here, but we can contribute to the scene, help the cause. I wasn't really aware of what was happening here until we moved here.
Michelle: Is there anything in the band history that you would want to change if you had the chance?
Beigh: Our long span of drummers.
Cee: We've had a long process of finding the right people. At this one audition for a drummer, at the end of it, we saw three twelve packs of just empty cans next to him, and I didn't see him drink out of any of them once. Not once. We were like, "How'd that happen?" He came in like this for an audition, not very professional. You wonder what they are like when they are not trying to make an impression
Michelle: How do you deal with that normally?
Cee: You don't. You just grit your teeth, and say, "Oh, we'll give you a call."
Ess: You just have to come in with the right energy. Then they'll say, "That's the one."
Michelle: So is it hard to lead normal lives with this rockstar attitude hiding inside you?
Cee: Oh yeah. Definitely.
Beigh: Oh, it's probably the biggest battle, you have to have money to buy equipment, so you find yourself sitting all day somewhere that's not exactly where you want to be.
Michelle: Have there been any real obstacles in your way besides that?
Ess: Not really. Just that I want to be able to set my drum set up somewhere where I can play as loud as I want and as much as I want. I like to play four hours a day. It's hard to juggle a life like that and still find four hours in your day to practice.
Cee: Where the heck do people practice around here anyways? There are no basements!
Beigh: Yeah, here there aren't any basements. There is probably a direct correlation to the number of bands in the area due to the lack of basements. If you have a basement, there are bands all over the place.
Cee: Or warehouses. That's what bands did in Denver.
Michelle: Yeah, for awhile, up in Arcata there was a warehouse/venue open that was offering practice space for bands in the area for a minuscule price. That was shut down way too soon though.
Ess: There's a lot of vacant buildings in downtown Eureka that would really work well for practice spaces.
Michelle: Yeah, they need to start putting all those vacancies to use. So were there any particular parts of your childhood or teenage years that led you into what you wanted to do? Any particular people that stood out?
Cee: Oh, Rush! Ok this dates back to high school, in English class we had to analyze the album Rush. We all totally went out and bought it, and we were like "This is the greatest album in the world!" Everyone around us was saying it was evil though.
Beigh: There was a pentagram on the cover. It must be evil! She never would of heard of them if it wasn't for that English teacher.
Cee: She didn't know what she was doing. She really opened the door for me there.
Ess: Rush is probably one of our biggest inspirations. We like music with a message. When there's a face behind the music.
Michelle: What would you say is behind Iron Rain's music?
Beigh: Cee does most of the writing and I think a lot of it is anger. We deal with hypocrisy, TV evangelists, that sort of thing, corruption.
Cee: In one of the songs actually, we have a recording of a preacher off of the TV. He sounded evil actually, it was perfect.
Michelle: I just finished reading Son of Rosemary, where it opens up thirty or so years after where Rosemary's Baby ended Rosemary's son, Andy, has become a tv evangelist and practically the entire world are wearing buttons that say, "I love Andy." It was frightening how quickly people accepted him as a leader and started to imitate him.
Cee: Exactly.
Ess: People are just looking for something to belong to.
Michelle: So what would be something in the world that you are involved in that sums you up personally? Any particular environment or idea?
Beigh: We all have our own little wishes, with me mine is probably animals. I think our drummer's would be the environment, the trees. He is very into helping trying to save these trees. Through pictures as well.
Emm: I think mine would probably be "the essence of love." Either through art, or music or anything else you are passionate about it. There's all kinds of love out there in roses and flowers and in other elements. There is dark love too, that's an entire different aspect of it.
Cee: A flower in one hand, and a whip in the other! I think I'm with Beigh on this one, the animals and the earth.
Michelle: So when you guys do start playing shows, how do you think you'll affect the audience?
Cee: Hopefully people will get up and actually get to know each other. We don't want people just staring at their feet on the floor.
Ess: There will be surprise theatrics on the stage.
Cee: We have a couple things up our sleeves. We're not giving away any secrets.
Michelle: How would you tell someone to prepare for the show?
Emm: Come open-minded and where your tallest shoes.
Ess: Come to have fun because you might just be surprised.
Michelle: So the band's ensemble for this interview tonight, (laughter ensues) would this be the regular attire for a show?
Cee: Oh yeah sure. Even a little more flamboyant.
Michelle: Anything you want to let Humboldt know about you to close this up?
Cee: Look out because we're coming!
Ess: Be open-minded. You can have your perspective, but there are other perspectives that are going to be different out there.
Beigh: We'll be your fantasy world! That's our new slogan. (laughter)
Michelle: Thanks you, guys.