The shadows of Ty Elam - By N.L. Belardes

Out of the mysterious shadows of dark novels and even darker music comes Ty Elam in an interview I conducted earlier today. At first I was nervous to call him. Here’s the old lead man from Videodrone who toured the world with Korn, who had albums sold in every major record store in America and just may not have been interested in a cold call from N.L. (A cold call is when you call someone who isn’t expecting to be called). I knew Ty had been tucked away in the Bakersfield underground after a brief stint with local band Arrival of Fawn. I saw them perform last year, Ty screaming his dark lyrics at Riley’s tavern and at Montgomery World Plaza while Dax ripped at the guitar and helped scream lyrics to the crowd.

Just what has Ty been up to? Fans have been inquiring about his creative energy, his music and his whereabouts.

For sure, raising kids in Bakersfield where he works during the day running a business. Ty has five kids, including new baby, Tyler Ivy, named after the hope and spritely joy that faeries often bring in fairy tales. “I’m a family guy,” Ty said, proudly telling me about the joy of his family’s latest edition. “I’ve always loved sprites and fairies in mythology.”

A joyous baby in a creative life filled with the darkness of a past filled with rock and roll, dark lyrical ponderings and drugs. I asked Ty what he’d been writing. Definitely music, but nothing finished. “I have some projects I’m working on,” he said with an air of mystery. In the area of literature I knew he had been working on a book about post-modern vampires in a strange ethereal realm: a world gone mad with gothic darkness. I didn’t ask him details. Those will come soon enough. I did ask if he was finished with writing the novel. “I have a book deal but do need to finish a novel that’s been ten years in the making. I have a few more chapters to go and some more character development. And then there’s a really dark collection of rants and raves I want to write of my dark past that was filled with drug usage. I’m not promoting drugs but want to describe a dark life based on the many journals I’ve written over the years.”

Would I love to sift through those journals? You know it. He has more than ten of them. Did he write them on the road to rock and roll stardom with Videodrone? When did he begin to document his dark past? Has his dark past been escaped? Do you ever escape your past when you’re creative and you write and/or sing about such distant darkness?

Those are questions I plan to ask.

We changed subjects and spoke about the Buck City Podcast and he being a guest. Don’t think Ty didn’t have ideas there as well. “I would love to come on and talk. Maybe I could even do an episode as a regular show about tattoo art. I think tattoos are a world of artistry that is untouched..."

Stay tuned. There’s going to be more from Ty on Paperback Writer…

interesting links:

Videodrone music and video
old interview
artist direct
old yahoo groups

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Tuesday, January 17, 2006. You can leave your response.