Alissa White-Gluz on Destiny, Perseverance, and Blue Medusa’s Louder Than Life Performance

0:04 This is Pipe Man here on the Adventures of Pipe Man W4CY radio and I'm here. With Alisa Whitegloves from Blue Medusa. Nice. So, it is pretty funny here. Last time we saw each other was at Vakken across the world. Just as freaking hot. Like, this whole summer, I don't get it, man. I live in South Florida. And I can't wait to get home to cool off. And who says that? That's crazy. Like, you remember how Vakan was, and then after that I went to Italy, which was super freaking hot. Then I was at Bloodstock, where they had a three-month drought.

0:55 Oh, my gosh. It never happens in the UK. You know, like, in the summer, the weather there, you know? Yeah. No, it was a drought, festival dust, 110 degrees. I was like, get me the hell out of here. I have to go home to Florida to cool off. And nobody says that ever. No, that's backwards. I know, right? But here we are at Louder Than Life, and you killed it here yesterday. Thank you. Thank God you got to perform and not get evacuated. Oh my God, there were so many close calls. Right? I have been looking forward to this show for months, and we have been working so hard to make this happen, and then... Basically, when we were supposed to go on, everyone was evacuated because it was a code red and the weather was not cooperating. And so we had like three hours where the festival was shut down and we were thinking, oh my God, we're not going to get to play. But then we got our new set time, 8.20 p.m. Great, beautiful set time. That's prime time. So we were like, great, maybe that was a blessing in disguise.

1:53 Right. And we started setting up and then it started pouring rain again. And we were like, oh no, we're actually going to get cut for real. And I had to just like, You know, channel my inner wisdom and be like, okay, I'm going to accept this. I can't fight it. It's the weather. There's nothing I can do. There's no one to blame. But then we didn't get cut. We got to play our whole set. That might have saved us. Because let me tell you what happened, too. I didn't get to eat all day. I was doing interviews from morning to... So I finally go out to eat and I see the lightning. I'm like, uh-oh. And I had other interviews I had to come back to. So I ran back to attend. It's like, it's Code Orange. Never, ever in all... I've done all the Wimmer festivals for years.

2:39 Never has a Code Orange not become Code Red like five minutes later. And then it was like, So, Christine that runs media here, she came up to me. She's like, I hope you get one question during the interview because we're about to go code red. Oh, man. And I did this whole interview. I'm like, holy shit. It's still code orange? And I'm looking and lightning is like striking out there. I'm like, what's going on? And then I kind of think what happened was it's because it was the biggest day yesterday because Blue Medusa was playing, of course. Yeah. And They didn't want to cancel it. So they just kind of rode it out.

3:25 I mean, to be fair, I mean, obviously I totally understand with tens or hundreds of thousands of people on a site, you want to be safe. So weather events are important to take into consideration. Yeah, totally. While I was playing, I saw the lightning and the thunder from stage, which was actually really cool for me because sometimes the lightning was hitting on beat. So I was like, damn, did I do that? That's your light show. Yeah, I was like, okay, you guys get to watch this way and I get to watch that way. But I think it was maybe far enough away that it was like not a danger. I mean, the rain was intense, but maybe the lightning itself was far enough away. Who knows? Well, the rule is 20 miles or 20 minutes. Okay. And I know at least four times I saw lightning that was definitely with less than that.

4:10 Oh, okay. Okay. So, again, I think Danny Wimmer just wanted to make sure you finished your set. I appreciate that. And honestly, whatever it was, I'm so glad that it happened. We got to play our whole set. We didn't have to cut anything. It was... An epic moment. And I'm just happy that it... I mean, I was like, how do I channel the weather gods? Right. Well, you did. See, you did it. I was on this side of the stage like, oh my God, looking out to the sky at one point. And I was like, please don't do this, please. Right, right. And tell me about what it felt like with that crowd. Oh my God. Like, they just so support you. Yeah, it was. You know, it's the craziest thing because I have played thousands of shows and this was like... maybe the most important show of my career so far. I mean, we had a surprise show with Blue Medusa in Germany a couple weeks ago, which was insanely epic. And this was just, like, next level. Like, huge, rowdy crowd. Despite the evacuations, despite the pouring rain, everyone still showed up.

5:13 And there was so much love. And also, like, in the wings, like, the industry people that were there on the side, the people, like, my friends and family that were there in the photo pit, like, supporting, I was just, like... Man, I've been through hell, but I feel like now I'm in heaven because it's like just having the right people around makes such a difference. And it just makes you feel like, okay, when you make decisions in life, whether it's life, your career, you're always like, oh, I hope I'm doing the right thing. We get comfortable, okay? So then it's like, oh, no, should I take this chance? And something like what happened yesterday, Doesn't it just give you confirmation that every decision you made in your whole musical career that led to that point was the right one? Yeah.

6:01 I mean, I was emotional when I got off stage. I was almost crying, and I just hugged everyone. I mean, I have crew members that I've worked with for years or even decades that flew in from Europe to be here for this moment. Nice. I mean, I had. people from other bands that were doing photos for us because they just wanted... I mean, I have the drummer of Sabaton taking photos for us. You know what I mean? That's wild. That's amazingly supportive. That is wild. He doesn't need to do that, but he did it because he believes in us and he wants to support us. And it's just like, you know, being able to perform these songs with these musicians at this festival and have that crowd, I was just like, this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

6:46 And how has it compared to you And I think I already know the answer, but I want the listeners to know, to play Louder Than Life in 2026, opposed to any other time you've played Louder Than Life. It was amazing. It really felt like, okay. this new chapter has begun officially. Like we are hard launching this, like blue Medusa is ready to take over the world. And like, I know every band says that, but like, I really feel it. Like I have like a fire in me that is burning nice. So hard, so bright. And I am just so ready to do what I should have been doing all along. And it's just, it feels so right now.

7:27 That's the beauty of when you do jump into the deep end without a life vest is that you find out that is what you should have been doing all along. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, you know, life is full of like crazy circumstances and crazy decisions and it's, it's scary, you know, it's really scary. Anything, you know, it could be anything, could be a career, it could be getting married, buying a house, having a baby. It could be as simple as what am I going to eat today? You know, these are all things that we do that change the course of our lives, you know, in small ways and in big ways. And it's, it's very hard to know, especially as someone like me who has no like religion, like I don't have a faith, you know, so I don't, I don't have something where I can go like, I'm sure God is leading me on the right path.

8:10 Like I don't think that way. Right. So I'm kind of just like, I've gone rogue, you know, I'm just out on my own, like taking fate into my own hands and, It's a very proud moment to be able to say, hey, I have been killing myself to make this happen, and it is happening. And when I'm singing on stage with Blue Medusa, I have to fight those emotions a little bit, because I'll get a lump in my throat, and then I can't sing anymore. It is funny, as you're saying that, I'm thinking, oh yeah, you can't have that totally brutal growl, scream, if you've got a lump in your throat, and all you've.

8:51 I mean, I'm up there like screaming my face off, but in the back of my mind, I'm like, I hope my mom is proud. Like, it's literally that, you know? Oh, I love that. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm also a motivational speaker. So when you were talking about before you have no faith, my answer to that was you had faith in yourself. Yes, yes. And that's number one in my book. And you know what? It's tricky because when you go through situations where If you've been through any form of abuse or you've been through any kind of gaslighting or things that make you doubt your reality, which is actually what Perspecticide is about. We played a new song yesterday called Perspecticide, and that's exactly what it's about. I love the name of that because it says it all to me.

9:31 Exactly, yeah. And when you go through that, it's really difficult to continue to have faith in yourself. When you see other people who have faith in you, like I did, like with Danny Wimmer having faith in me to bring Blue Medusa to Louder Than Life before he ever heard a song. When I have people from different record labels and booking agencies and bands and that crowd who are there to support and they have faith in me, and my bandmates having faith in me to know that we're going to do this, I was like... now out of respect for them, I have to have. Faith in myself. There you go. And see, that's key too. Cause we always have all these people that give us that negative voice in our head. And we may, I had an experience recently as an example, like I was talking to my youngest daughter and, and I was telling one of my stories from childhood, not a good one, okay? There's plenty of them that are not good ones. But I have a different viewpoint on what happened to me in childhood, and she's hearing me tell the story, and she's like, Dad, you better go to therapy because you have trauma. And I'm like, no, you're not listening. I wear it like a badge of honor.

10:38 Yes. Like, I'm who I am now because I overcame all that shit. Exactly. I mean, I think probably all of us have things in our lives where like, wow, I wish that didn't happen. That was traumatic. That was painful. That destroyed me. But it's like, and I do too, you know, and still to this day, there's a few of them that are recent enough that I'm like, I wish I didn't have to. Suffer through that. But, With time, I think you do develop this sort of sense where you're like, I love who I am right now. And if I would have not experienced that, maybe I wouldn't be who I am right now. So it was worth it to go through that just so that I could be the person that I am.

11:19 I think so totally because the bottom line is, like, I kind of think of it this way. You can't change what happened, but you can change your attitude towards it. Okay? And I see people that did have, like, pretty... Good lives that are the most miserable people ever. Yeah. Which proves that statement that I'm saying. Yeah. Because most of the people I know that went through stuff like you have, like I have, they are the strongest people that basically get to create their own life that they want. Yes, exactly. And it's so important to.

12:02 Balance out And again, this is a mindset thing and it's something that you do have control of because you don't have control over the past and you don't have control over other people's actions. But, you know, I can sit there and think like, oh my God, this horrible thing happened. But then I can also look at my tour manager and go, wow, she is killing it. And she is pulling this off and she's a badass. Nice. And I can go, wow, and she believes in me enough that she has... turn down other gigs to work with me on this, and that gives me strength, you know? And I can look at my bandmates and go, wow, they didn't need to join this band. They didn't need to write songs with me, but they did. And now we all have these shared creations together that we love.

12:46 We all love them so much. And it's just like this magical feeling where it's like, okay, so... Every time my brain goes back to that dark place, I can just balance that out with, oh, yeah, but what about Louder Than Life? What about the Corrupted Blood Club show? What about, you know, my crew that flew in from Germany to help out? Like, you know, that's big. It's what you focus on. Exactly. I don't take that for granted. Like, I am very thankful for the amazing supportive people that I have in my life. And not everyone is lucky enough to have that. And I am very, very grateful for that. It's all about your team. Yes. It takes a village. A hundred percent. And I have to say, too, like when we met at Wacken and we were talking, I told you, yeah, my hair used to be blue for years.

13:33 And you're like, you miss it, don't you? I was like, yeah. And then like after coming to here or a couple of festivals ago, I'm like, yeah, fuck it. I'll go to red now, which I was red way long ago. But you, now with Blue Medusa, that's going to be forever. Yes. It has to stay blue. It has to be blue forever. I will call you out if you change the color. I know. Everyone said that. They're like, why did you name it Blue Medusa? Now you have to keep it blue. And I was like, you know what? I started dyeing my hair blue 25 years ago. Wow. And it's still blue now. So like... I don't think it's a phase. Yeah, right? I think you might be pretty confident that it's not a phase by then.

14:17 Yeah. The only time I have seen it not blue was actually during COVID because I let it fade out completely. Like I let it wash away. And so there was a moment during COVID where I was blonde because the blue washed out and it was just like the bleach layer underneath. And I was like, this looks pretty. Good, too. But, you know, as soon as it was time to get back on stage, I put the blue back on. Well, it's funny you mentioned COVID because I had the same thing because I couldn't go to the salon. I can't do it myself. Like, I do my daughter's hair. Like, they're always having me do their colored hair because... I'm like so meticulous about it. Yeah. And like my one door was a half head and it would be like so perfect. Oh yeah. You got to get that rat tooth comb in there.

14:58 Right. Right. That part. Yeah. But I can't do it all myself. So what I just did is like I used to have long hair, so I just grew it out during COVID and then I created a new look with the blue after COVID with the long hair, you know, it's like, you know, It is... It's even, if you look, it's on my logo. Yeah. Like, now, my oldest logo was red, so maybe I have to bring that back or just go back to the blue. Yeah. But you have to stay blue forever. Yeah, I mean, there's... I have no problem with that. There was, like, one, I don't know, clip that I saw recently. Like, a fan posted a clip, like, a long time ago. It was me on stage in a previous band from maybe, like, 16 years ago.

15:40 And I had blonde hair in that clip. And that was. One summer that I took the blue out and I went blonde, I went orange, I went red, I went... And for like a few months, I went different colors and I came back to the blue at that point. And I remember it was because I was like, these are all fun colors too, but it doesn't feel right. It wasn't you. Like blue was really my trademark. Yeah, same. Yeah. So blue Medusa here at Laird and Life, going to be everywhere in the world. And I am so happy for you because you are like one of the most badass vocalists in metal. And I just, I'm so happy you're doing what you should be doing now. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

16:21 My pleasure. And thank you for being on The Adventures of Pipe Man. Of course. Thanks for having me. You got it. Hey, this is Elisa Whitegloves from Blue Medusa, and you're listening to The Pipe Man on W4CY. Thank you for listening to The Adventures of Pikeman on W4CY Radio.