Interview takes place on May 30, 2023 at Axelrad in Houston, TX
Órpheus Von Doom is an artist in the broadest sense of the word. Mostly known for his wild indie-rock music and electric performances, today we sit at one of his favorite local music spots, Axelrad, to talk about "The Man Behind The Mask."
Now 22 years old, Órpheus chuckles remembering how his musical journey started. "Funny enough, I've never told this to anybody," he says. "When I was 14...I was trying to impress a girl." What started with learning an iconic Arctic Monkeys song, though, soon turned into passion for playing multiple instruments.
"My first instrument was drums," he says. "I always wanted to play guitar, [but] I have this birth defect in my left hand–in my wrist–that makes me unable to twist it. I'm right-handed, but I had to learn how to play left-handed. That's why I have my own wonky style when I perform, and that’s why I don't use picks."
Pick or no pick, Órpheus definitely knows how to shred a guitar and command a crowd. “One of my first concerts I ever did was a punk concert,” he says. “I come from punk music, where there’s this raw energy–this punch–of like, you’re here for a show, you know what I mean? You’re not here for me to sit around.” A true performer, Órpheus sees his shows as his gift back to the people who love his music.
Órpheus goes on to explain that he adopted his crocheted mask in order to captivate an audience before he even starts playing. The mask helps to remove any preconceived notions the audience may have of “what can this be?” thus serving as a sort of “FU to society.”
Leaving it all on the stage is one thing, but how about the studio? “In the studio, you should put your all into it,” he says, speaking on his philosophy of experimentation. “You should experiment with color! It’s kind of like a Jackson Pollock painting, where you just throw every color that you can think about and go for it.”
Apparently, his upcoming EP is no exception to that philosophy. “What I’m diving into now is just a whole orchestra of different sounds,” he hints. Expected to release around late July, the new EP will supposedly push genre boundaries and feature a “whole new sound” for Órpheus.
“I feel like the punchiness of it is very hip-hop inspired,” he says, adding that it also has the danceability of house music. “It’s a chaotic form of me expressing what I've been going through lately.”
In addition to music, Órpheus has found many other ways to express himself, as well. Choreography, screenwriting, painting…you name it, he’s done it. In fact, his current creative endeavor is making a stop-motion film using Play-Doh and clay.
“When I was young, I used to take classes in stop motion animation,” he recalls. “My mother put me in class at a spot called MECA in Houston. My mom asked, ‘Can he be in that class even though he’s ten years old?’ because everybody was in their 20s and 30s. Ever since then, I always wanted to fully dive into my film era.”
Other than his stop motion film, we can expect many other creative projects–even events–from Órpheus over the next couple years, many of them aimed at drawing attention to other local musicians, photographers, or artists. “Houston has its own aura of beauty that not many people know about, and to really fully expose yourself to it, it’s a lot of word of mouth,” he says. “I kind of want to revolutionize that.”
As he moves forward in his endeavors, both personal and for the local arts and music scene, Órpheus leaves us with one lesson he’s learned: “Don’t limit yourself,” he says. "The way I see it is you have this one lifetime to look back on. If you want to jump on stage, jump."
To keep up to date on Órpheus Von Doom’s projects and shows, follow him on Instagram, @orpheusvondoomofficial. For booking information, contact orpheusvondoom@gmail.com.
Photos and Story by Shelby Mathews
*Originally published 6/9/2023 on Houston Music Classified's first website.
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