“You have to choose one thing or the other. What’s more important: you or your own fucking brother?”
The Stave Church’s This Dark Place EP was released last December, but that doesn’t stop its titular track from being one of the standout selections on our Darkness Calling playlist.
The drums are powerful and maniacal, and their occasional absence only makes the piano refrain feel more haunting. This is a frantic-yet-controlled tornado of a song, filled with muffled shouts, hushed whispers, and rhythmic chants of, “Hey! Hey! Hey!”
It sounds bizarre — and it is — but that’s part of its charm.
Equally charming is Bruce Courtney, the lone soundman behind The Stave Church. DarknessCalling.net was lucky enough to speak with him about this biting track for the blog’s first-ever “Inter-Review.”
DARKNESS CALLING: For those who are new to your project, can you tell us about its origins and its membership?
BRUCE COURTNEY: Music has always been my outlet. I started playing drums at thirteen and have been hooked since. With recent technology making it easier to actually do something on a budget, I started The Stave Church as a solo project in 2018 with an initial entry “Not Quite Right.” So far, I’ve done all instrumentation and vocals with the exception of “Shattered,” when I roped my wife (billed as K//Riot) into doing vocals. She also helped me out on the Gothic Pogo Livestream. She’s a much better player than I am! I’ve been talking to others about collaborations, which I’m totally into.
DC: I had a feeling The Stave Church might be a project like NIN, with you being the “Trent Reznor” behind it all. Can you shed some light on the project’s name?
BC: I went to Norway in 1982 to visit my dad who took me to the Fantoft Stave Church outside of Bergen. It is the most beautiful man-made structure I’ve ever seen: black and made totally of wood. That resonated with me, and when I was thinking of a solo project name, I kept coming back to “The Stave Church.” That actual church was a victim of arson ten years later, most likely committed by Varg of Burzum, although he was found not guilty on that count. It was rebuilt in 1997, though I have not seen it.
DC: Can you tell us about the writing process for “This Dark Place" in particular? Your experience as a drummer [for Nothing of Merit] makes the track even more interesting. I hadn’t considered how drum-driven the song was until you mentioned that you began as a drummer. I also want to tell you how much I enjoyed the creepy piano and the tribal chants in your song. Such a crazy combination.
BC: I wanted to write a song about all of the gun violence that was going on last year and prior years. This brought about two main emotions: sadness and anger. So I expressed those with the piano part — and the yelling. I thought I was going to get a visit from the police when home recording the yelling bit, as it took a lot of takes, and I was yelling my ass off! The chanting, “Hey!” was a cry for attention: can someone fucking do something about this?! I really enjoyed doing the drum parts, though I need to “up” my recording technology a bit.
“I’m tired of seeing these people fall. I’m tired of seeing no action at all. Blame it on human; blame it on gun. To be complete, one needs the other one.”
DC: Thanks for sharing that. I didn’t realize the song was about gun violence, but it completely makes sense now that I’m reading the lyrics. Being a Texan with these views probably contributes to a feeling of being out of place, I’d imagine?
BC: [Laughs] Right? I’m not making any friends!
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