Rock and roll was dead but The Red Tyger Church is helping rock and roll be born again. Mike Diaz, A drug counselor at a halfway house who has been in a myriad of bands, formed The Red Tyger Church in San Francisco. Their noisy rock guitar-driven songs have a hippie quality due to the male and female vocal melodies that are shared. Alive Total Energy Records released their debut album “Free Energy” and their fan base has been growing ever since. At first listen, one may think it is just cacophony of loud guitars and drowned out vocals. Keep listening…. Eventually, the songs get into your heart and mind. The songs truly uplift the listener. “Angie Vampyre” is a perfect example. The driving rhythm and crescendo of guitar work is simply marvelous. Diaz sings to the vampire, urging her to accept who she is as a creature of the night: “…Angie Vampyre / Don’t be scared / You’re the queen of the afterlife / Take my hand  / You’ll understand / Some things were meant to fly…” Other incredible songs include the 60’s psychedelic “Unicorn”, the classic rock of “Cherry Cola”, and the short and sweet “Tears By The Pound”. While they do have a punk ethic, The Red Tyger Church has strong influences in 60’s psychedelic rock and gospel music. Their music is uplifting. On a hot afternoon in June 2004, I had a conversation with the leader of The Red Tyger Church, Mike Diaz.  He’s been in many bands from The Warlocks to The Pretty Girls. The Red Tyger Church is very unique compared to his other projects. So, catch the Holy Spirit and attend mass at The Red Tyger Church.

T.JONES: “What goes on?"
MIKE DIAZ: “Hi Todd! We've just put out our first album on Alive Records (www.alive-totalenergy.com) and finished a 6-city west coast tour. We plan to do a southwest tour around August and hopefully an east coast tour later in the year!”

T.JONES: “Your new band is called The Red Tyger Church. What is the meaning behind the name?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Red for fire, Tyger for wild animals and William Blake. The Church for the spirituality which is missing from today's rock n roll!”

T.JONES: “Where did you meet the members? How did you form?”
MIKE DIAZ:  “It was a psychedelic waterfall man! I met Mel Berlin at a hearing aid center where she worked, Chris Loental through Mel from a band they were in called the Pat Benatards. I met Josh Gibson, who was in a band called the Chandeliers, through Chris, and Sean Kehoe, who'd been in the Upsets, through Steve Coteril, whom I knew from his days with John the Conqueror and the Hotwire Titans. All great bands!”

T.JONES: “Is there a philosophy behind The Red Tyger Church?”
MIKE DIAZ: “‘You are the land and the land is you.' – Merlin talkin' jive to Arthur in Excalibur.”

T.JONES: “What other bands were you in?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Warlocks, the Pretty Girls, The Minstrels, The Mean Reds, The New Strange, and The Steady Ups.”

T.JONES: “How is The Red Tyger Church different from those other bands you were in?”
MIKE DIAZ:  “We don’t drink as much and we ride polar bears through snow fields of fire to bring light to the dark lands.”

T.JONES: “Who in The Red Tyger Church was in The Brian Jonestown Massacre?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Jeff Davies, who played tambourine in RTC for one show in L.A. before he fell off his stool.”

T.JONES: “Your new album is called ‘Free Energy’. What is the meaning behind the title?”
MIKE DIAZ: “This is our energy - take it, it's yours!”

T.JONES: “Do you have a favorite song on the album? Why?”
MIKE DIAZ:  “Yes, ‘Unicorn’. I wrote it for my daughter, my little queenie Zara Star.”

T.JONES: “What song took you the longest? Why?”
MIKE DIAZ: “‘Wolves Of Sunshine’. It was a long and magic journey through the dark side of my heart.”

T.JONES: “When making songs, do you go into the studio with pre-written rhymes, lyrics and themes or do you hear the beat first and write then and there? What is the creative process like?”
MIKE DIAZ:  “Both. Sometimes it's a spontaneous grin and other times its a slow heartbreak like ice walls cracking off Antarctica.”

T.JONES: “How long did it take to write and record the album?”
MIKE DIAZ: “6 months 2 days and 3 rehab centers.”

T.JONES: “Can you explain the song ‘Angie Vampyre’? (my personal favorite on the album.)?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Thank you! It's just a song about becoming what you really are, without feeling ashamed, guilty or repressed about it. In the end Angie drains the whole godamn town, and she's ok with that. The blood is the fix.”

T.JONES: “How did you get involved with Alive Total Energy?”
MIKE DIAZ: “I'd heard of them through The Warlocks and our friends in Big Midnight and contacted them for a possible 45 but instead they wanted a full length album. So we said great!”

T.JONES: “Musically, who are you major influences?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Wow! Lennon, Supergrass, Dead Moon, Hazel Atkins, The Verve, Spacemen 3, JMC, Bowie, Velvets, NY Dolls, Iggy, Pixies, Ride, Doors, Oasis, Primal Scream, Zeppelin, Kinks, Anton LaVey, Nick Cave, Sex Pistols, The Fall, Rod Stewart, Stones, Ramones, Television, Missy Elliot, Pulp, Skip Spence, Nas, T. Rex, Alestair Crowley, Syd Barrett, the Meters, MC5, Os Mutantes, Serge Gainsbourg, Jesus Christ Superstar, Performance, Rocky Horror, Hedwig, Tommy and the Who!”

T.JONES: “Where did you grow up? What kind of kid were you?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Hollywood, Spain, and Germany. I was a military brat, an organizer, the one most likely to puke and disappear.”

T.JONES: “What is your favorite part of your live show?”
MIKE DIAZ: “When me and my gang connect with our brass monkey knuckles of doom against the chin of The Man!”

T.JONES: “How has your live show evolved?”
MIKE DIAZ: “We have grown in our ESP and teleportation abilities. Those in the fake world should be afraid, their time is done.”

T.JONES: “Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Radio Werewolf, Pretty Things, and Navajo Medicine Women.”

T.JONES: “What was your childhood like? What kid of kid were you?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Nomadic and Judeo Christian. Rebellious yet charming and polite.”

T.JONES: “When did you first begin to learn to play guitar? What was your first guitar?”
MIKE DIAZ: “At 20, me pops got me a used acoustic guitar and I played along to the Pixies, Jesus and Mary Chain, Charlatans UK and Ravi Shankar.”

T.JONES: “What kind of guitars do you use now? Which one is your favorite?”
MIKE DIAZ: “A Harmony and an Aspen, which is like a cheap Gibson SG imposter. The Harmony is my favorite. It's slept on railroad tracks with me when I was homeless and is painted like Wayne Kramer's American flag guitar on the Teenage Lust cover.”

T.JONES: “What has been in your CD player or on your turntable recently?”
MIKE DIAZ: “A bunch of free CDs from our label, Dead Meadow, the Snakes, Brian Jonestown Massacre's ‘Zero’ EP, Mellow Drunk, Quintron, Acid Mother's Temple, Toilet Boys, the Boredoms, The Pink Fairies, Black Sabbath, Raw Power, Django Reinhardtand Nina Simone.”

T.JONES: “Abortion – pro-choice or pro-life?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Pro-life and pro choice! Give yourself the right to fight to party! Whatever, we ain't no spandex politicians...”

T.JONES: “Death Penalty – For or against?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Against. Make 'em make amends by making free instruments for every child under the sun.”

T.JONES "Where were you on Sept. 11th (The World Trade Center Terrorist Attack)? How did you deal with it? How do you think it has affected music?"
MIKE DIAZ: “Graveyard shift at a halfway house where I was a drug counselor. I watched it all day on no sleep then wrote a song for my friends who were trapped in the subways below. How I think it has affected music - two words: Toby Keith and Brobots.”

T.JONES: “Word association time. I’m going to say a name of a group/artist and you say the first word that pops in your head. So, if I say ‘The Beatles, you may say ‘Revolution’ or ‘Let It Be’. Okay?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Ok.”

T.JONES: “Led Zeppelin.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Loch Ness monster.”

T.JONES: “The Beatles.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Charles Manson.”

T.JONES: “Spiritualized.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Kate Radley floating in space.”

T.JONES: “Violent Femmes.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Folk whiners.”

T.JONES: “The Grateful Dead.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Drivin' that train...”

T.JONES: “The Brian Jonestown Massacre.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Who?”

T.JONES: “The Dandy Warhols.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Bohemian rhapsody.”

T.JONES: “Boyskout.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Cookies.”

T.JONES: “The Warlocks.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Song 4 Nico.”

T.JONES: “Opal.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Bardo Pond.” 

T.JONES: “My Bloody Valentine.”
MIKE DIAZ: “MC 900 Ft. Jesus.”

T.JONES: “Galaxie 500.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Molasses.”

T.JONES: “Close Lobsters.”
MIKE DIAZ: “B-52's.”

T.JONES: “The Stone Roses.”
MIKE DIAZ: “10 Storey Love Song.”

T.JONES: “Happy Mondays.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Bez.”

T.JONES: “Felt.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Up.”

T.JONES: “The Verve.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Stormy Clouds.”

T.JONES: “Gil-Scott Heron.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Heroin.”

T.JONES: “George Bush.”
MIKE DIAZ: “Dope.”

T.JONES: “Can you explain the song ‘Unicorn’?
MIKE DIAZ: “I'm waiting for the one-horned man, 26 telephone numbers in my hand.”

T.JONES: “What do you think music (in general) needs these days?”
MIKE DIAZ: “For the Dark Crystal to be fixed.”

T.JONES: “Red Tyger Church is located and from San Francisco, right? What about San Francisco do you like?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Hot muppets and cool nights.”

T.JONES: “What is the biggest mistake that you made in your career?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Letting others write the songs of my life.”

T.JONES: “How are European audiences different from U.S. audiences?”
MIKE DIAZ: “We just don’t care about US superpowers. We'll be communist if we damn well feel like it!”

T.JONES: “What are some major misconceptions that people have of you?”
MIKE DIAZ: “That we're a cult of lazy fashion slaves. We're not lazy!”

T.JONES: “You play sitar on the album too. Is the sitar a difficult instrument to play? How did you learn it? How is it different from other string instruments?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Yes, but I'm just a baby Sitar player. It's very complex and difficult to sit with on a toilet when I compose.”

T.JONES: “If you could re-make any song, what would it be?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Now I wanna sniff some glue.”

T.JONES: “Do you want to be cremated or buried?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Cremated and planted so I can be a tree and give shade and sap.”

T.JONES: “What do you want on your epitaph?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Welcome.”

T.JONES: “What is next in the future for The Red Tyger Church?”
MIKE DIAZ: “More touring, festivals, trans-love energies, punk operas and another album.”

T.JONES: “What collaborations should we look out for?”
MIKE DIAZ: “When punk cats collide! Junior Panthers vs. Red Tyger
Church.”

T.JONES: “Any final words for the people who are reading this?”
MIKE DIAZ: “Yes. Get yer nails done get yer hair did and keep your eyes on this badunka dunk dunk. The drugs don’t work!”