Page 24 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 112

BV112 pg 24-29 The Wildhearts Interview.qxp_BV112 pg 24 28/06/2025 12:42 Page 1

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Living In The Moment
Living In The Moment

arlier this year, the 11th studio album by The Wildhearts was unleashed into
Ethe world. But this first release on Snakefarm Records, ‘Satanic Rites Of The
Wildhearts’, wasn’t just any release. It was a release from a renewed, refreshed and
almost reborn Ginger Wildheart (and his band), a frontman who’s had a very colour-
ful and tumultuous career, returning from one of the lowest periods of his life. ‘Sa-
tanic Rites Of The Wildhearts’ now signifies the moment that Ginger managed to
overcome fear, work through baggage and really step into the present.

he ten-track album, which begins with and love kills fear. Actually, that’s not true. Action And I started with Deepak Chopra, which is... If
T‘Eventually’, ends with an epic 7 minute kills fear. Fear is something that is built up in the anyone’s read any Buddhism, Deepak Chopra
and 46 second opus entitled ‘Failure Is The imagination. Our imaginations are pretty impres- is not a good place to go. But The Four Agree-
Mother Of Success’. In the song, Ginger sings sive. We can build up things to fear and create ments, The Dao… Dao De Jing… again, reading
of ‘the making of the man’, so we start by asking monsters. But, once you’re doing something, the any philosophy, it’s about finding what works for
Ginger about the making of himself. Who, or fear leaves and the actual doing of the thing you and not just going, ‘Well, I don’t agree with
what, has made him? takes over and then it’s you, and you’re there in that, so the whole thing’s fucked.’ Buddhism’s
“Rock ‘n’ roll made me,” he says initially. “It’s the moment. And I realised that I needed to get very, very much like that, because I can’t, nor do
actually not far from the truth.” After thinking for into that mindset of living in the moment at all I want to, sit in front of a wall, going ‘Nam-
a moment, he adds, “Fear made me. I’d say that times before I can even have a chance of doing myoho-renge-kyo’ for 20 minutes. It’s never
fear made me the person I was. Fear of so many anything.” going to happen. But I’ve realised you can med-
different things. The list is just inexhaustible. And One of the first things that Ginger did was itate whatever you’re doing. I meditate when I’m
that fear of dealing with things made me numb read ‘The Power Of Now’, a book recommended playing music live, ‘cause you are literally in the
myself with alcohol and drugs and stuff like that, to him by the singer Carole Hodge. Ginger has moment. When I’m writing music, when I’m
and behavioural patterns and loops, and things since been recommending it to everyone. walking. Buddhism was a really good stronghold
like that, which I just couldn’t get out of. And it “‘The Power Of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle, it for me getting some idea of what the fuck’s
wasn’t until I was sectioned in 2022 that I got out teaches you about living in the moment, and, be- going on with my life. And Stoicism: I got into
and I thought, ’You know what? Things aren’t fore you know why you should live in the mo- Stoicism fairly recently, like a couple of years
going very well, and I’ve got to make some big ment, you’ve got to create the habit of living in ago. Stoicism is kind of like… if Buddhism is up
decisions if I want to stay here and I want to the moment, and replace the old habit of living there,” he puts his hands up in the air. “Then
have a reason to continue doing this’. I decided in the past… Depressed about the past, and Stoicism is down here, the kind of nuts and bolts
I was going to just start again. I was going to ab- anxious about the future. And get rid of all of of life.” His hands lower down to a lower level.
solutely take myself away from everything, get those habits, and you’re only replacing habits. “And, between Buddhism and Stoicism, I really
rid of all of the negative elements from my life… Obviously, living in the past and anxious about found my kind of shape, where I can take little
people, places, memories, everything, and just the future, that’s when the ego comes in, and bits and pieces of it. And, again, I’m not trying to
make a big move. And I moved, deliberately, into that’s when the comfort of the familiar comes in. say that these are sure-fire ways of making the
the very middle of nowhere… and, I mean, And, even if you’re in an abusive relationship, or best of your life, there’s still bits of Buddhism and
there’s nothing here but sheep, and green… and you’re in a place in your life that’s not serving Stoicism that don’t really appeal to me, they’ve
start again, become a ghost for a year. It was you, you still know it, you’re still familiar with the got no relation to me, but, the basic teachings,
something that I thought, if I don’t do this prop- terrain, so you’ll find that people will stay there what I learned, is that, it’s not about them, it’s
erly, like all of the years of my life, I’m never rather than heading to that really scary, great un- not about that, or he, it’s about you. It’s all about
going to quite do it properly. I’m always going to known where the magic lives. And I got really you and your intentions and your integrity. Once
have these boxes that I’m scared to open, things good with that. I got really good with being able I realised that, then there was just a load of hard
I haven’t dealt with, things I haven’t processed. to be in the moment, especially if any negative work, but I knew what direction to do the work.”
And I came here to start the work. And, about thoughts came in. And, again, it’s all about mas-
18 months later, I find myself, not fixed, but in a tery of the mind. But you can’t control your mind e bring up the subject of karma, and
much better place.” if it’s being led to the future or the past, where Whow we’ve discovered that when you
Ginger says that he now has no more fear. you’ve got no control. You’ve got to operate put good out into the world, good things come
“Fear is a broad concept. It breaks down within your circle of control at all times. The only back to you, and if you do bad things, then bad
into tons of little things; how you were brought thing that you can do is what you can control. In karma will come back to you. Ginger tells us,
up, stuff that you are still blaming your parents a long-winded way, it’s all about living in the now, “One of the Buddhist writers that I got into when
for, things that have affected you in your life that but it’s about putting habits in there that are I first started was a guy called Osho. He puts
you are still dragging around, like a bag of brand new and can be really unfamiliar.” this brilliantly. He says that karma, roughly trans-
goods. And I systematically went through every Ginger has enjoyed reading books since he lated, means action, not like stuff that’s going to
single one with a microscope, and I worked on was a kid. He tells us, “As I got older, I started come back on you. How pure and how virtuous
all my fears; and that’s from fear of spiders to picking up on people’s energy, and going, ‘How your action is. So, I think, it’s not a case of doing
fear of being a man - and went to work. And, are you? How are you ‘YOU’?’ And Buddhism good and good comes back, because that lends
now, I can honestly say that I don’t actually fear would always come up, time and time again. I itself to, ‘What if I do charity work or glom onto
anything, because life makes sense now, and I had a friend of mine, a really good friend of that group there that are saying, ‘Do this, be-
realise there is nothing to fear in life. As long as mine, Matt West, who used to be our soundman, cause it’s the right thing to think’?’ That’s not
you approach life with love, there is no fear – who got me into a load of Buddhist literature. going to come back on you probably at all. But,
THE WILDHEARTS