Goblin was an up and coming Italian prog-rock band when director Dario Argento asked them to compose a score for his 1977 horror film, "Suspiria." The film and its discordant and terrifying score would become legendary, and Goblin would go on to compose music for a succession of horror films, including a version of "Dawn of the Dead."
The members of Goblin squabbled frequently, dissolved and got back together more than once, and occasionally released non-soundtrack albums of their own. They toured America for the first time in 2013, and splintered into rival factions before the tour was over. There are now at least two versions of Goblin; actual Goblin (who play Thalia Hall Wednesday night) and Claudio Simonetti's Goblin, fronted by the band's founding keyboardist. "I don't want people to judge who might be the real Goblin," says keyboardist Maurizio Guarini, who sounds like he does.
In a phone interview, Guarini, who lives in Canada and makes avant-garde jazz albums in his spare time, talked about Goblin's surreal journey from prog-y, workmanlike upstarts to period horror movie influencers. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation:
Q: How often do you communicate and see each other when you're not working?
A: It depends on the period. In the recent 10 or 12 years, we've been in touch with each other because we've been working. Before that, we disappear from each other for decades.
Q: How was it on that first tour in 2013, to come back together after all that time?
A: In the beginning it was weird, because you go back to the same emotions and the same connections with the people you played with 30 years before. When you're onstage, we are communicating. Musically, we are all the same, we don't change over the years, but it was a strange sensation.
Q: Does Goblin get enough credit for the non-soundtrack work you do?
A: Yes and no at the same time. For our choice, we don't have any record label, we don't advertise, we don't have anybody taking care of our PR. We might have way more visibility, but we don't. But we are very lucky, because we are on the scene for more than 40 years. People that know us, they love us. In this way, we cannot complain. We are lucky, because we still have a big following.
Q: Do you ever wonder where Goblin would be as a band, if you'd never done soundtracks? Would you still be together?
A: I don't know. For sure, soundtracks have been a glue that sticks (us) together. That was the main reason why we were playing together. Would we be together still without soundtracks? I don't know.
Q: How many Goblin bands are there right now?
A: I think there's two. We had some arguments in the fall of 2013, and we just decided to split. Claudio put together a band. ... We got back the original bass player and drummer, and we are four-fifths (of the original lineup) now, excluding Claudio.
Q: Do you think people choose sides, or do they just like any Goblin?
A: Some fans love what we do, no matter what we are. The other ones are sort of divided, like political parties. Some like what we do, others are sticking with Claudio. It's a personal test of people, right? I don't want to judge.
Q: What is the nature of the disagreement between you? Do you see things differently in the studio, or is it just your personalities?
A: That's a difficult question. It's like being married with somebody. Sometimes you cannot stand your wife or your husband, so a very small detail can be the thing that generates a split. We are all of us strong personalities, and sometimes things can become too complicated.
