Vocalist Dave Wyndorf of New Jersey psychedelic rockers Monster Magnet has seen and done plenty in his 58 years of existence. He has been leading the charge for psychedelic hard rock revisionism for a quarter of a century now since forming Monster Magnet in 1989. Wyndorf knows a thing or two about old school rock ’n’ roll. He’s very in tune with the state of music in this internet democracy of a world, where it gets increasingly harder for people to separate true art from their materialistic and commercial concerns.

Taking last year’s Monster Magnet release, Last Patrol, Wyndorf has reworked some of its songs, wrote two new songs and added two live tracks and repackaged it as Milking The Stars: A Re-imagining Of Last Patrol. Like an accompanying literary piece or a director’s cut from a movie, the alternative, or “re-imagined” versions on Milking…  serve as a companion piece to Last Patrol. Not in a linear sense of being a total new Monster Magnet album, but it’s a separate entity from Last Patrol. It’s almost like Monster Magnet acting as a cover band covering themselves by interpreting things in a different way.

According to Wyndorf, the process for creating the album was pretty simple. “I didn’t want to go back and record a whole new album, that would be ridiculous. But with today’s technology, I can cut stuff and just re-track it right in my home town. I got to do all the stuff that I haven’t done on other Monster Magnet records. I feature a lot of keyboards and stuff that we don’t have live. I wanted it to sound like Eric Burdon (The Animals) or Pink Floyd. It went ’60s very, very quickly.”

Usually when a band re-records an original song or album, it’s justified one way or another. For instance, if the band lost the original master tapes or wanted to re-own the rights to the song from the record company by re-recording it. But usually a band doesn’t morph an existing song into a totally different song. But that’s exactly what Wyndorf & Co. manages to do on Milking… with satisfying results, while still managing to maintain the integrity of the originals. A forthright Wyndorf admits he did it for selfish reasons.

“It was selfish for a bunch of reasons. One, I want to hear that part and play that part again. And two, I wanted to present it in a different light. The whole thing is kind of silly when you think about it. And I wouldn’t have done it unless I thought it stood on its own. I wouldn’t have just changed the guitar lead on the song and say, ‘Look, it’s different.’“

Milking… definitely has that signature Monster Magnet sound and Wyndorf has always had the uncanny ability to transport the listener to another dimension while weaving fantastical metaphors based on reality. At this point, it seems like it just comes natural for the journeyman rocker. “It does. I love to go places with sound. I’m a big fan of sound and what instruments can do, especially the guitar, and what the effects can do. I just chase sounds and melodies and put the appropriate melody with the appropriate sound and then build it from there and think, ‘Ok, do I feel like I’m walking around in a weird movie? Yes, Ok job well done.’ It’s really fun. It’s kind of like being a cook; ‘I’ll add a little cumin to this, or a little to that.’ Audio rules. I love audio.”

The songs on Milking… can actually stand on their own, yet there’s varying degrees of “new” that were created from other pieces of previous songs from Last Patrol. But Wyndorf considers them to be brand new tracks. Wyndorf has again created some spaced-out, euphoric, drug-induced tunes. In fact, opening salvo “Let The Circus Burn” sounds like a real life peyote trip.

Turning 58 in October, Wyndorf isn’t ready to pack it in just yet. There are plenty of great rockers out there who are well into their 60s who are still doing thier thing. And Wyndorf sees himself still performing into his 60s. “Yes, unless I get hit by a bus or something drastic happens that changes my attitude,” Wyndorf said. “I don’t see it stopping. I am more surprised than anyone and couldn’t imagine it’d be like this at this age. I’ve been through a ton of shit but I don’t feel necessary older or wiser. I thought the minute I’d turn 40 or 50 I’d be like one of those dad’s on TV. But it didn’t happen that way, and now I’m just the crazy man who lives on the block in the suburbs. As far as creating music and playing it live, as long as people will go to see it, I’ll do it. I’d probably do it even if they didn’t go to see it because it’s too much fun.”

Monster Magnet doesn’t play Stateside very often. And prior to last year, it was the first time they’ve toured in North America in at least a decade, opting for well-received tours in Europe instead. “It was cool, but it cost me money in the end, which I knew it would. I don’t know how much more full US touring that I’m going to do. We’ll definitely do shows in major US cities like New York, Chicago, LA. Live music in the States, at least for us, is kind of hurting. Rock doesn’t rule anymore. Rock isn’t the primary reflection of popular culture and hasn’t been for a while. Hip-hop is and dance music, that’s what the majority of the kids want. What I play now is the type of music that is boutique — a strange amalgam of old psyche and modern, crazy folk songs. There’s no fantasy in my songs, they’re all about real stuff. But to be honest with you, I don’t know who they apply to. I don’t see much of a market for it in the US. It did well and sold out in places, but I can’t sustain a whole tour here.”

Wyndorf has achieved a great career in Europe and is hugely popular there. It’s evident that he prefers touring in Europe, and justifiably so. “In Europe, I can go there four times a year and tour the whole thing for months and months and months. There’s a market in youth as well as all ages for psychedelic rock over there. I don’t see any market for psychedelic rock in the United States. In fact, I don’t see any major market in the States that isn’t already prudent. We live in the “greatest hits” nation where rock stopped somewhere along the time that radio stopped. So they just want to hear the greatest hits and they don’t really want to see anyone new. Then there’s the hipster movement; which is kids, young people. Which is cool, but they don’t bring “it.” Because nobody’s buying it and when you stop paying for stuff, artist’s just say, “Fuck that!” I play Europe all the time and it works just fine. They don’t overcharge; there’s lot of places to play; people take pride in their sound system so everything looks and sounds good. The kids come. They’re not sue happy. You can’t just sue people for an idea over there, but here it’s just insane. The drinking age over there is a soft-18 (years old legal drinking age) and almost all shows are all ages with a stamp. So automatically everybody is let into these venues. And they aren’t bars, they are concert venues that also serve alcohol. In America for the most part, 88% are bars that also have music, which should tell you what’s happening right there. ‘We want to sell drinks.’ The bars don’t care if it’s a live band or if they have to bring in a DJ. They don’t give a rats ass either way, they just want to sell drinks. It’s very expensive to be real in the United States. I think a lot of people want to be cool, but it’s too expensive.”

Wyndorf is planning on making a new Monster Magnet album in the near future. But until then, he’s a happy camper when the band is on the road.

“I get a lot of offers to play live,” Wyndorf concludes. “The road lifestyle is very addictive once you’re out there. It’s like being in the circus; you don’t want to go home. Why would you want to go home? We’re on a tour bus traveling through Switzerland and Germany. There are lots of happy people all over the place and the chicks are great. It’s pretty much everything I wanted since I was a little kid. I’m really lucky to have it go. I’ll just tour/make a record, tour/make a record and repeat until it gets boring. Except that it never does get boring.”