I had the opportunity to sit down with Cesar Soto, guitarist for Ministry!
We discussed the current tour, how he became part of the band, and Ministry’s latest album “Amerikkkant”!
Check out the audio interview with Cesar below!
Interview with Cesar Soto of Ministry:
RAPMM: Appreciate you joining me today!
Cesar Soto: Thanks man I’m enjoying a sunny day here in Sacramento, California
RAPMM: What were you up to before joining Ministry?
Cesar Soto: Actually about 1999 or 2000 I was playing in a band called Pissing Razors which was an El Paso based metal band that’s where I was born and raised. I had a couple of bands between my time with Pissing Razors and we did regional tours through NM and up through CA.
RAPMM: How did you end up becoming part of Ministry?
Cesar Soto: Funny story. Back in the day when I was with Pissing Razors, Sin (Ministry’s other guitarist) and I did a tour together. Sin was in a band called Society One at the time and we’ve known each other ever since. Sin would come out to shows with the other bands I was in out in LA.
Sin would come in town for rehearsals or to write because Al lived in El Paso, and he would come into the place I worked and hang out. When the opportunity came up and Ministry was getting back together Sin asked if I was interested in auditioning so I immediately started recording stuff to send to the band.
RAPMM: Were you a fan of Ministry? I’ve been a fan since the 90’s, back in the days of “Everyday is Halloween”!
Cesar Soto: My introduction was shocking! My oldest brother was in the Navy and he was one of my biggest influences in music. He introduced me to so many bands! When he came home from being stationed in Japan I started looking at his cassette collection and noticed some different stuff. He introduced me to a whole new genre of music. Ministry’s “Land of Rape and Honey” was in there and when I popped in the cassette first thing I told myself was “What the Fuck, what the fuck is this”!! This is pretty rad! So my first introduction was rather shocking and it was like a whole new genre of music. So thanks to my brother again he introduced me to Ministry.
RAPMM: That album (“Land of Rape and Honey”) to me was mind blowing, songs like Deity and Stigmata were so ahead of their time!
Cesar Soto: That’s the first thing I thought when I heard Stigmata! I was like “is that a chainsaw?”.. wow that’s like someone singing into a mic!
RAPMM: I was a DJ back in the day doing electronic music like Depeche Mode and then more industrial music like Nitzer Ebb and Ministry. Ministry was like my gateway drug to metal! I followed Ministry from the days of electronic and industrial right up through the metal music days.
RAPMM: So being a fan and then being on stage with Al Jorgensen, tell me about that.. it’s gotta be mind blowing!
Cesar Soto: It’s something I definitely appreciate, something I never thought I would actually be doing. If you told me 10 years ago I would be doing this, I’d tell you that you are full of shit. It’s actually pretty awesome to share the stage with everyone! The caliber of musicians on stage is unreal and rewarding. It is something I don’t take for granted, it’s been a special thing for me
RAPMM: What are some of your favorite songs to play live
Cesar Soto: The classics are always killer to play live, the fire that the classics have to this day is pretty awesome. Its timeless music is what it is. It stands the test of time and it’s killer to see because it’s not that often that happens.
RAPMM: Seeing Ministry in October 2017 was the first time I had seen the band live since the 1990’s and it blew my mind!
Cesar Soto: That’s how I feel when i look around and see Al enjoying the set and stuff. I’m like wow I’m playing guitar for this dude.. special thing for me and major accomplishment in life. I appreciate every moment and it’s very rewarding.
RAPMM: How long have you been with Ministry?
Cesar Soto: I got call to audition in fall of 2014 and did my first tour late winter/spring of 2015. A little over 3 years now.
RAPMM: I see that you have some guest musicians on this tour can you talk a little about that?
Cesar Soto: It’s Burton C Bell from Fear Factory which is a really really good friend of ours! It’s like having family on the road, traveling with all your bro’s. Burton gets up there for a few songs does his thing and delivers for the set.
RAPMM: Who else is touring?
Cesar Soto: God Bombs from east coast and Chelsea Wolfe
RAPMM: Can you tell us more about the latest album and your thoughts on the album:
Cesar Soto: Al has always written stuff for the times you know, music is a voice and you have to use that to your advantage. This new album is a voice for our time and everything that we are going through. There are so many issues going on here in the U.S., it pretty much speaks for itself, it’s a voice for the times is what it is.
RAPMM: I can’t agree more, that stage setup that I saw in Columbus with the blow up golden hair anti-nazi figures were pretty awesome. Do you guys have them on this tour too?
Cesar Soto: Yep they are up there!
RAPMM: We just got a press release that Ministry joining forces with HeadCount to empower the young people with right to vote which is awesome!
Cesar Soto: That’s pretty cool too, to be able to inform a younger audience that ya know that you do matter in times where there is a lot of influence and people start to believe hey you don’t matter. Well guess what, well you do! To be able to join forces with [HeadCount] and give kids an opportunity to voice what they believe, that’s pretty amazing.
RAPMM: They are definitely our future! I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.
Cesar Soto: Appreciate your time and good talking to you and hopefully we will see you in the next few weeks.
Cesar Soto: Thanks again and thanks to all the fans, we’ll see you at the closest show
Interview by Shawn Wiseman
Ministry Tour Dates:
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