The Mercyground: All Things Faith and the Muse

William Faith and Monica Richards of Faith and the Muse ("F&tM") have no need to worry about their place in modern music. Each had already achieved cult status with earlier bands. Monica fronted the incredible Strange Boutique, while William played with a litany of goth greats, including Christian Death and Mephisto Waltz. In fact, news of the founding of F&tM in 1993 drew immediate descriptions of the partnership as the first "gothic supergroup." No one has been surprised to watch F&tM live up to these expectations, releasing two well-received albums and playing in two of the most important U.S. tours of gothic bands of recent memory.

This summer F&tM are again taking to the road, but this time they are leaving the fanfare, extra musicians and other bands behind. The "Vera Causa" tour performances are intended to be a more intimate window into the band's work and vision. It's also an opportunity for those skeptical of the "gothic" label to take a good look at a gothic band pushing far beyond the boundaries of the genre. Blending elements of ethereal, traditional and classical music with a healthy interest in humankind's mythological history, F&tM is indeed a leading light on the high road of modern music. Please, read on and see for yourself:

Could you describe your music and art for the readers who may not be familiar with F&tM?

William: It seems to fall under a variety of different genres, gothic being the main one. Most people seem to put us in that box. And we fit there pretty well, but that not the only thing we do. We do attract a lot of fans of Celtic music as well as some of the less snobby classical crowd; and some folk and even some industrial people wind up listening to our stuff. But it seems to be a really broad fan base; and sometimes I'm even thrown off by that. I never know what to expect.

One of the elements in your music is folklore -- traditional and historical elements. How do you incorporate that into your music? For instance, Loreena McKennitt will immerse herself in the culture and literature of a region, then actually take a poem and set it to music . . .

Monica: Yes. We do that as well. That's been a love of mine. I've always been interested in "why." Being into mythology, anthropology, and folklore has always been in my blood, so it's an inspiration in itself. A lot of times I'll find a poem, or I'll find a myth, and that will inspire me to write a song around it or to write lyrics around it. I think that's the basis of what we are: to fit dream and history and mythology together -- in a dramatic, theatrical get-up.

Do you actually go looking for inspiration or do you simply stumble across it?

Monica: It's both. I've spent years studying Welsh mythology, mainly because that's half of my family background (on my father's side). So I wanted to learn more about my roots which caused me to stumble upon a wealth of mythology that not too many people even know about.... So I stumbled on a lot of it, but I've also directed my research towards that type of thing as well. I could be in a used book store and find a book of poems, just open up and -- that's how I found this one piece we're doing [at the Darkwave Festival], called "Importune Me No More." It's written by Queen Elizabeth the First, and I found it in an old book of poems. It was just amazing, and we wrote a traditional piece around it.

There are recurring themes highlighted by the words or symbols surrounding the band: "The Mercyground" is both a song and the name of your web page, the Elyrian Cross is prominently associated with the band, and even Vera Causa, the name of your current tour, crops up here and there. What do these mean to the band?

William: We use that symbol as what identifies the band because it is really rooted in duality and expresses that: i.e., the animal side of man versus the refined side, and every possible, conceivable opposite is represented. It's really a very, very old symbol. So we identify the band under the symbol, because the music -- and Monica and I -- seem to also present that whole Beauty and the Beast thing as well. So the symbol appears in all our stuff since we figure that that's the best representation of what we do. And the use of Vera Causa, and the Mercyground, and these things in our work basically gives it more life and more depth, these concepts on their own. They give tremendous subtext to our work.

Speaking of the upcoming tour, could you tell people what to expect without giving it all away?

Monica: Very stripped down, very bare-boned approach. The last three tours we've done have been with other bands and hired guns (other musicians) and it's usually very hectic and very complicated. It can be highly stressful. We really wanted to take some time alone. When we're on tour we never have privacy and we never get a chance to talk. So we really wanted to just go and do this alone.

William: With the last few tours we've done, they've been, well, such "over the top" productions and there has been so much involved, that there has been little room for subtlety in the set. It's really not in our best interest to bring along an Appalachian dulcimer or use our cellos and stuff like that. You have three other bands and by the time we go on it's 2 in the morning and everything is running late...

Monica: Most of the time we have to cut the traditional songs and just stick to the "rock" format...

William: The exciting thing about the tour is we are also getting a lot of messages from fans indicating that they were wondering what had happened to our more ethereal side or more of the classical or Celtic stuff. Our shows were a lot more rock-oriented: a lot of electric guitar. We really thought that this [tour] was something we could do for our fans; play the music in its purest form, essentially as Monica and I write it.

The Vera Causa tour kicked off at the Darkwave Festival in Chicago last month, and Faith and the Muse played to a large, adoring crowd. Seeing them perform at the Darkwave Festival felt like a once in a lifetime experience. Without dazzling lights, an elaborate stage, or even complementing musicians, Monica and William drew the crowd's attention with sheer presence. And that is something you will never hear on a CD, or perhaps ever have the opportunity to witness again.