Geza X is a writer, producer, artist, engineer, and studio owner (Satellite Park). He literally helped pioneer the origins of American punk rock having worked with legendary bands such as Black Flag, the Germs, the Dead Kennedys, the Weirdos, etc and continues to pave the way with more contemporary artists like Eric Gales, Meredith Brooks, Josie Cotton and Tyler Hilton. You won't find him extolling the virtues of the music business... but he epitomizes the creative and entrepreneurial spirit associated with making great music.

2). I saw a taped live performance of yours in 1980 with the Mommymen and was impressed with how ahead of the time the band sounded... it seemed very punk-Zappa which was definitely NOT going on in the punk scene at that time (although there was plenty of variety). What were some of your early influences?

Well you got it right: Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, with a good dose of Blue Cheer, Iggy Pop, and 60’s underground from San Francisco and LA. I was really politically active in the 60’s, as I am now, and the early culturejammers like the yippies were also a big influence for the humor and satire.

3). Listening to your solo album "You Goddam Kids," I can't help but notice and enjoy the vibraphone contrasted against a wall of distorted guitars... On later productions of yours up to the present, you continue to add instrumentation that would be considered out of the ordinary for that particular genre... what's your philosophy behind this? How do you choose instrumentation for an album?

I don’t think about it all that much, just crave certain sounds. I resisted the marimbas and sax a bit cause it wasn’t loud and raw enough, but look what happened: all that cartoonscary insanekid circusdevil music!

4). You had a monstrous hit (multi-platinum) with Meredith Brooks' album "Blurring the Edges" in 1997. I know that Meredith signed with Capitol right out of your studio based on your rough mixes... was the subsequent success of her album a surprise and how did it affect you professionally?

Really hate talking about it. Basically they took me off the project when I was halfway through the album. I stood to make approximately a million dollars but that went to someone else. My song was the only hit and drove sales for the album. The music business is like a dysfunctional family: you’re not supposed to let people know you’re getting buttfucked. I mentioned it a few times in interviews and didn’t get another production job for 5 years. hahahahahahahahah.

5). I love the fact that you have written on your Myspace page "the music business is a HOAX. If you do anything real you will be punished and eventually starve to death. Just warnin you..." It seems like such an obvious and long-standing reality and yet everyone's always surprised when it's their turn to get fucked... care to elaborate on this subject? Any horror stories you're not tired of talking about?

Well the truth is there is no recording industry anymore. So it’s a double-hoax now. But the music business occupies such an important place in the group reality-faketrix that the public MUST artificially keep it alive; or that gangrenous pimple on the ass of reality would burst its horrible pus all over the world with disastrous consequences for all mankind! Get it? OK what I mean is that the ‘music business’ runs entirely on Black Magic. It is totally fake. But we all ‘contain’ it by pretending via MTV and Disney Channel that it still exists. It’s a modern fable, a neomyth.

6). You have owned and operated a recording studio at various locations since the mid-nineties, most recently Satellite Park which has seen an all star cast of clients including Elliot Smith who recorded there and named his last album after it ("Basement On The Hill")... tell me a little bit about the history, design and gear.

Well, Josie Cotton and I had a garage setup in Hollywood where I recorded “Bitch”. I had a new studio and I wanted to try recording a total pop song. And it worked! People started to take us seriously and one thing led to three and we ended up owning Satellite Park in Malibu. Josie and her family have been very nice to me over the years and we are still partners.

Josie and I designed the floor plan, some green elements were included that took advantage of the sunlight and passive airflow available in the canyons here. Unlike other studios, there are big picture windows overlooking the mountains and ocean.

We interviewed several designers and hired the best two, Ken Goris and Steven Klein as consultants. I read a lot of books on acoustics and studio design and put it all together with the contractors, project managed it myself. The overall ergonomics, choice of materials, and design is mine, with a lot of input from Josie. It was maddening but really fun too.

7). Does the proliferation of home studios impact your studio business?

Oddly, it did until early this year. People were, and still are, recording at home. But they will jump at a good deal working with people like Paul and me. I don’t know if it’s Myspace or what, but we have found our audience and are being booked through the roof, usually two months in advance.

8). You're a man who wears many hats... when did you start writing? Tell me about "The Observer Effect", your science fiction sex fantasy book....

I’ve always wanted to write books but had some reservations because I have a ‘message’ but don’t wanna be heavyhanded or preachy with it. Then it dawned on me that I could fictionalize it and make the whole premise so absurd that what I want to say is the obvious conclusion in the readers mind. Something like that. And learning some grammar.

9). I'm going to ask you a question I ask everyone (mainly because it's the "64 thousand dollar" question), what are your thoughts on digital copies and copyright? Does it affect you? Hurt, help? Is it any different from the days of the RIAA sueing cassette tape manufacturers for "enabling people to break the law"?

I could care less. I think it’s a non-issue. Napster got blamed for all sorts of things but has anyone ever considered that the record companies just stopped putting out anything good or with any diversity and were just force-feeding poisonous records to their barfing audiences with no remorse when the digital download elves reconfigured the playing board forever? hahahahah No, when it comes to art I’m anarchy all the way dude.

10). What are you currently listening to (old or new)? Excited by?

Mystery Hangup.