(Editor’s Note: This interview with singer and producer Seraphim Ward was conducted by adult film star Mimi Miyagi for the now-defunct website Eyestrane.com, where Mimi was an occasional contributor. It was originally published in August of 2012 at Eyestrane and it’s been republished at Idol Features courtesy of Eyestrane editor-in-chief, Tom Heckbert, with a thanks going out to Mimi.)
Seraphim Ward is a musician, writer, model, and film producer who specializes in occult and horror. She is also creator of Sin Icon Cosmetics, her own brand of fashion, perfume, and cologne.
Best known for her music, Seraphim performed as Sariah Bishop and has collaborated with Industrial Goth Outfits, Godhead, Kidney Thieves, and Julian Beeston (Nitzer Ebb) on several musical projects. During this time, she met one of her influences, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who molded and released the mute within Seraphim through his guidance and mentorship. During the years they dated and after, Trent has remained a mentor of light in the path of Seraphim.
These days, Seraphim divides her time between a variety of projects. An occult writer and filmmaker, she owns her own production company, Sin Icon Productions and recently released a teaser to her new single, “Bad Behavior.” In addition, a Sin Icon comic is in the works. Seraphim will made her film debut in the indie flick Speed Dragon, also starring Ron Jeremy and Bai Ling. The Gothic beauty has also released two albums, A Woman Scorn and Mute Malevolence.
EYESTRANE: Seraphim, it is a pleasure to meet you. I understand you were born into a French Creole family and the difficulties you had during your childhood you channeled into art. What were the troubles you encountered and how did you handle them?
SERAPHIM WARD: Yes, I am from a very large Creole and mixed family from the south starting in Mississippi, New Orleans and now Indiana. I was the odd one of the bunch ironically, like my mother was when she was younger. The obvious touched ones of our breed, I had a severe speech impediment growing up of stuttering and it was so severe that I was thought to have an permanent speaking disorder. I was made fun of quite often, teased and laughed at because I could not complete a full sentence not a long pronounce a complete word. This made it very difficult for me to have friends and be social, so I created my own world where I exist and everyone in it was different like me, flawed, and we understood one another and the world loved us.
EYESTRANE: Your album, Mute Malevolance is a bit about you but also has a positive message for others. What do you hope people who hear the album learn from its messages?
SERAPHIM: My album “Mute Malevolance” was written during a very dark and difficult time in my life, at a time where I was warring with myself, God, religion and man. Most of the time letting man get the best of me with their judgment and condemnation nature toward me. I use to go to church five days a week, I have always been very dedicated to God. I was in the choir and on the interpretive dance praise team and I was criticized for that, the congregation thought I was too attractive to be on the praise dance team stating it may cause distractions for the Priest and the male members of the church, when in fact it was the female members worried about their boyfriends and husbands who attended services would find them less desirable and be tempted to go for someone more attractive and into God. I was told I did not belong there, I was tormented by the Church those who called themselves Christians and this is why I would be considered more Jewish than anything, because of the God I believe in and Christ. I hope people take away from my music the freedom of just being exactly who you are no matter what others may say or project upon you from their own insecurities and flaws, man is man not God and I feel so many blame God for what man has done to them.
EYESTRANE: Your newest album Time Heals all Wounds, how did you come up with that title?
SERAPHIM: My new album “Time Heals All Wounds” is a special edition of work, that I was not going to release, because I did not want to reflect upon myself what I had already gotten pass and over in my life, my life encounters is what made me who I am today and it would be a pure shame and waste for my songs not to have a home and live, they speak and I am okay with that now, so “Time Heals All Wounds” is bandages of affliction being scrapped off my skin exposing I have been healed.
EYESTRANE: The music video of the song Bad Behavior is incredible, could you expand on the team and artistic direction behind it.
SERAPHIM: My music video “Bad Behavior” is a Sin Icon Production, I Directed the video and the artistic direction. It is co-produced by Bruce Somers of The Kidney Thieves. I am Creole and my video reflects me as a whole, coloring the subliminal messages of intelligence, so all I do has a meaning to it. What you see is what you get with Seraphim Ward even the unseen.
EYESTRANE: What is Welcome To My World The Supernatural?
SERAPHIM: “Welcome To My World… The Supernatural” is a show about real paranormal activity and the displaying of it, I was born into the Supernatural, a world I know very, very, well, a world I live in daily.
EYESTRANE: Your production company, Sin Icon Productions specializes in the occult and supernatural. What attracts you to that genre of film making?
SERAPHIM: My production company “Sin Icon Productions” does specialize in the occult and supernatural, because it is a rare genre, that I happen to be birthed into, and so many mis use the word occult putting a pure evil or negative light upon it, when in fact Occult is the realm of God-The Ancient Of Days in Power as the head, and within that realm of the supernatural, the occult deals with God, gods, deities, princepalities, familiar spirits, celestial beings, angels of every rank and order, dark forces with my dear Lucifer and all his allies. I want to share with the world the world I know, the torments of my mind has become my gift. “Welcome to my world… the Supernatural”..
EYESTRANE: Who are some of your inspirations and favorite horror films?
SERAPHIM: My inspiration comes from many things, people and places. I am inspired by graveyards, the ocean at night, black cats, the Bible, dark silence, and white noise. The people who have inspired me the most is Trent Reznor, Rob Zombie, and Maynard of “Tool” and “A Perfect Circle”. Their messages are always extremely powerful and with substance. I have always followed honest artist as inspiration, not losing who one is for fame, but retaining the spiritual essence of creation. I mentioned in a music magazine interview in, I believe it was 2006, that I wanted to take my vision to screen like Rob Zombie has done with House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects. It is now 2012 and I have my Sin Icon Productions film/music company which is Sin Icon Motion Pictures within film and a three year world wide distribution deal, so influence is very powerful.
EYESTRANE: You have a number of films in varying stages of production. The Sight, Reapers Cry and The Witches’ Brew. Can you tell us a little about the films?
SERAPHIM: Yes, most of the films are also comic books we are developing in likeness of characters and all for our Sin Icon Comics graphic novels, I just got code approved for. Robert Garretson is the lead actor in both films The Sight and The Reaper’s Cry in which they deal with the deepest, darkest unforgiven secrets of the human mind and soul.
EYESTRANE: What is your creative process when you come up with the storylines for your projects and what inspires you?
SERAPHIM: The storylines just come… I don’t have a creative process, I have visions and those I put to script, I am always inspired by knowledge of the unknown and undiscovered.
EYESTRANE: What was it like for you to work on your 1st acting appearance in Speed Dragon and what kind of character did you play?
SERAPHIM: It was an experience since I am not inspiring to be an actress, I studied film to be a filmmaker, but the Director of Speed Dragon, Dan Frank, contact me and said he would like for me to play the role of Rachel, I read the script and from what I envisioned, I said yes. Rachel worked for the record label “Speed Dragon” was signed on. The record label was into capitalizing on profits after death, which means the label supplied the band with drugs, speed and attractive women to gain complete control of there artist, and when they can no longer function as a complete band they O.D. them. This is where Rachel comes in as one of the plants from the record label to keep the mind of Dylan the lead singer distracted.
EYESTRANE: At one point there were rumors of your engagement to Marilyn Manson which turned out not to be true. What is your opinion of how the media handled the situation?
SERAPHIM: I feel it was a direct attack on me in general. I woke up one morning and I was engaged to Marilyn Manson, but I was dating Pogo Madonna Wayne Gacy , the ex-keyboardist of the band Marilyn Manson and we were living together in my Hollywood Hills home at the time. Pogo and Marilyn Manson are enemies now, so imagine your x-best friend and band mate who sued you for money owed, causing everyone to lose a lot and still did not win what he sued for, is the boyfriend of the girl set in the engagement scandal. It was a lot of unfair actions directed at me including the betrayal of Pogo behind my back while we were still living together in my house. I spoke with Marilyn Manson and Tony on the phone twice that morning and they were more than helpful in giving me tips on what to do and what to put on Twitter and when Pogo found out I spoke with Manson and Tony, he flipped out saying Manson was only being helpful for himself and for me to watch out, because he was suppose to be a Nazi, he’s pretending! I read the re-print articles in Life and Style magazine and the other hundreds of articles on line and I could not believe my eyes… the media, took out my publicists name and put their friends in and then “Seraphim Ward said” and “Seraphim Ward confirmed” about the engagement to Marilyn Manson with the quote apparently from Marilyn Manson “She Lied”… “She Made It Up” after he had already spoken to my publicist and myself. Marilyn Manson knew I never said that and knew I was just the client…I feel Marilyn Manson said what he said and did what he did to me on purpose, because I was with Pogo Madonna Wayne Gacy, his ex-best friend and enemy. I left Pogo again after I found out the truth of what he actually did behind my back during that time and what he apparently said about me that was degrading painting a false image of who I am. I was the provider in our relationship so it did effect me a lot emotionally, he broke my trust in a cowardly way, so I chose to not have a live in boyfriend anymore or date for awhile, so I can focus and take care of me and my career.
EYESTRANE: Can we expect a comic book from you soon?
SERAPHIM: Yes, you can! I am excited Sin Icon just got code approved for our graphic novels, so we are preparing our first mock up of “Sin Icon Comics” with illustrators now from Japan and Korea.
EYESTRANE: One thing I find fascinating about you is your duality. You can be both the innocent, naive girl and at the same time project a sense of confidence and sexuality. Is it something you are conscious of and control or is it just part of your natural personality?
SERAPHIM: It is my natural personality, I still have a bit of innocence remaining although I’ve been through the fire. I am very confident and I love and believe in myself. However I am more a spiritual being than sexual, ironic, because I have been told a lot about my sexual allure.
EYESTRANE: You are a big fan of constantly changing and reinventing yourself. Especially when it comes to your fabulous fashion sense. Can you tell us a little about your future plans and goals regarding Sin Icon designs?
SERAPHIM: Yes, I have been working on my Sin Icon design and collection for a few years now, I am preparing my Sin Icon Lookbook for merchants and retailers. Specializing in custom leather pants, jackets, sleeves for men and women in all categories, neck pieces, corsets, arm bands, shirts, skirts and dresses, etc. I would like to test a fashion show, peek- a-boo, showing of my Sin Icon designs soon.
EYESTRANE: Where can we find out more about you?
SERAPHIM: You can find out more about me at my IMDb, Model Mayhem, and Twitter.
About the author
The now-defunct website Eyestrane.com featured many interviews with some very notable ladies. Since said interviews were too good to go unseen after the site was shut down in August of 2014, former Eyestrane editor-in-chief Tom Heckbert has graciously agreed to occasionally resurrect some from his archived files for republication here at Idol Features. Tom and his former staff at Eyestrane always maintained a deep respect for the talent and creativity of the people they interviewed for the site.
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