Bringing you an interesting new rock release from Brooklyn artist John Zdrojeski performing as his alter-ego Virgil Wilde for his new rock-worshipping album 'Misters.' Described by one audience member as "part Rocky Horror Picture Show, part Joker, and part Elvis with a heavy dose of 70's glam rock," in the vein of David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust, Virgil is a character from the album, which explores the stifling effects of toxic white masculinity. Inspired by Dante's Inferno, Misters deals with Jack, a man struggling to “sing his song” in the midst of an aggressive, disjointed choir. With a squeal of guitar feedback, a ravaged, rock star channeler named Virgil Wilde appears to Jack.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello John Zdrojeski. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
That’s my keeper’s name—my name is Virgil Wilde. And I’m not a great musician—I’m just an open channel for Rock ‘N’ Roll. So what makes me great I owe to it.
Who inspired you to make music?
Needed something to keep the Misters from destroying me.
Your latest release is 'Misters'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
One day Spoon-Fed Jack decided to confront the Misters head on—I guess he wanted to find himself again. Or—to put it as I do: he wanted to sing his song and nobody else’s. Since I’d been locked away with the Misters for so long, who better to introduce the two parties than me?
Can you shortly describe each of the tracks that are on the album?
John Zdrojeski named them differently to be more, I don’t know, accessible. I’ll give you the real titles. The first track is where I found Jack, living in a hell of his own making. The second track is my invocation to the divine to give me the strength to guide him through it. And then I channel each of the Misters: there’s Brad, Daryl, Chip, Mark, United States Senator Josh Hawley, the one who has no name, and Spoon-Fed Jack himself. Cause you have to see them—hear their truth—in order to exorcise them. And as it’s hell, there is a devil, and so he gets his shots in every so often. But with Rock ‘N’ Roll coursing through me—I’m an unstoppable force and he’s an immovable object. So there was a showdown. And how it all shakes out is not for me to say.
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest musical trends?
I don’t. “Trends” “trendy” “cool”—those all dead words. They’ve always been dead— and believing that they are living, breathing things that anybody should give a s*** about is a lie. That’s a trick the Misters would play: making you care about something that is totally arbitrary, that does. Not. Matter. I believe there is only what you’re into, how much you can let it course through you, and how effectively you can spread the joy it brings you to others.
What makes you different from others?
I’m half an agent of radical joy and half a doomsday prophet. Because my work is to show the Misters off to the world, and I relish in my work. But the Misters will destroy you all if you don’t see them for who they are.
What’s an average day like for you?
I listen to Thin Lizzy’s Live and Dangerous and study it to see how best to serve Rock ’N’ Roll the next time I get out.
Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans.
That’s a better question for John Zdrojeski. He seems nice enough, and should you reach out to him, I’m sure he’d respond graciously.
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Always remember that what brings you joy can get you though anything.
What are your plans for the future?
Sing my songs. Tell no lies. Rock ’N’ Roll.