It’s been 42 years since Courtney Gains celebrated his big break as merciless enforcer Malachai in Children of the Corn, a role that earned him horror icon status and a decades-long acting career spanning various genres and well over 100 credits. While growing his filmography, Gains was also quietly pursing another passion behind-the-scenes that he’s finally ready to share with the world — music.

Following the EPs Journeyman and Safe Haven in 2021 and 2023, respectively, Gains recently released the LP Liberation Day. Over eight tracks, listeners are immersed in Gains’ impeccable songwriting chops that began to take shape in his teen years. Heartbreak, modern issues and the passage of time are some of the central themes, with Americana, old school rock and even a touch of metal taking listeners on a sonic storytelling adventure.

PopHorror chatted with Gains about why it feels like the right time to dive head first this other passion, the crossover between his music and horror, how he gets past live gig nerves and where he hopes this endeavor takes him moving forward.

Years in the Making

PopHorror: Congratulations on Liberation Day and your biggest release to date! What was your musical journey to getting to this album?

Courtney Gains: I put out one other LP with my band Ripple Street in about 2006. But like everybody else in the pandemic, I was asking myself, “Who knows how long I’m gonna be around? What’s unfinished business?” And the answer was clearly getting my music out there. I put out a five-song acoustic record, which got a good response. Then in 2023, I put out a five-song EP called Safe Haven. And then this, as The Courtney Gains Group, is the most ambitious one yet, and it’s also radio ready.

I have a song called “Been Forgotten” that made it to No. 61 on Top 40 radio. Then I put out “Wander & Dream,” which is the opening song, and that got to No. 51 on the secondary rock market. Those are dreams for me. Those are milestones, to actually get a song played on the radio. “Been Forgotten” is now doing a push on AAA (Adult Album Alternative). And then “Liberation Day” is going to be the last single we push off the record. I think that one’s going to play well with the rock audience. It’s all coming together and has been years in the making, to be honest.

PopHorror: You mentioned that the inspiration for this project began during COVID. Can you elaborate on that and what made it the right time to fully pursue music?

Courtney Gains: COVID made me face my mortality. I’ve been writing since I was 15 and been in various bands. But I’ve never really said, “I’m going to go the whole hog.” It was just the right time of my life. I had moved out of LA to Savannah. I had my life set up in a way that I really didn’t have to work as an actor if I didn’t want to. I could focus more on music. And also the technology had come along where it was easier to track stuff in your home. I realized it was a perfect storm, that it was time to do it. And I was smart enough to go, “Look, don’t get caught up in perfection. Just record this first record out of your house. It’s not going to be great quality, but get it out there and see what happens.”

Now, we’re at the level I want it to be on. But it didn’t happen overnight. And I think that’s what people get caught up on — that shit happens overnight. Shit doesn’t happen overnight. Shit happens because you keep working at it. Even as an actor, I caught my first break at 18. I’d been studying in professional workshops from the time I was 13. There was a bunch of people who broke out of the workshop before me. But I just kept grinding for five years. When I broke, I never stopped. And all those people are not working anymore. But I still am because I continue to work on my craft and continue to get good at what I do.

That’s really what I’ve been doing since I moved to Savannah. There’s such a rich music scene out here. It really afforded me an opportunity to get out and play on the regular, get paid to play, work on my act and play three 45-minute sets a night. I’m building my chops and building my act the same as I’ve been building my records. And now, I’ve got the record and I’m ready to hit the road. It’s five years in the making.

Creating a Vibe

PopHorror: You have some concert dates coming up, including a Boo’s Cruise in Florida this Halloween, which looks so fun!

Courtney Gains: I’ve never done a cruise before! So that’s one of the things that came out of this. Instead of being a “booze” cruise, it’s a “boo’s” cruise. I’m hosting it and doing some signing and stuff, which is great. It’s a bunch of bands playing, including my band, so that’s going to be fun. We’ll be catering to the horror fans, doing things like “Werewolves of London.” It’s from Tampa, Florida to Mexico over five days. I’ll have my first cruise under my belt and if I like it, there’s a lot of rock cruises out there, so we’re cracking into that side of the business.

PopHorror: What can fans expect at a live show?

Courtney Gains: If it’s more of a covers gig, which sometimes I get offered those, it’s 70% covers, 30% originals. My covers are not going to be note for note. That’s not my interest. It’s not my jam. It’s not the musician I am. I’m going to interpret material in hopefully somewhat of a fresh way. For example, one of the songs I usually open up with is “Desperado” from the Eagles. You expect that to be a ballad, right? I don’t do it as a ballad. I do it as a mid-tempo song, and it’s great and it works. I don’t know why it works. But immediately, the audience realizes, “Okay, whatever we get, it’s not going to be what we expected.” I’ve had people go, “I don’t like the Eagles, but I like the way you do that song,” and that’s cool.

Originals, bottom line is I believe in myself as a songwriter. I’m not saying I’m the best singer. I’m not saying I’m the best shredding bass player, but I know I can write a song. I’ve known that for a long time. I proved that in LA because there, that’s all you do is originals, so you’re going to get good at storytelling. You’re going to get stuff that’s either from my life that I’m going to pour out and be honest and authentic about, or I’m going to tell you a good story. Acting and music, to me, are the same thing in that you’ve got to create a vibe. You’ve got to create an energy. You’re creating a mood to a piece of material. And I’m going to give that to you in the performance.

My originals are self-reflective. There’s a lot of breakup songs. “Been Forgotten” is a breakup record, that’s for sure. You’re basically going to experience old school rock. I’m not trying to be modern day. I just write what I like and write what I feel. Since I’m not on a label, no one’s making me write anything. I’m just writing what I want to write when I want to write it. In this record, you see that there’s pop rock, Americana, there’s one metal song “Fear the Boogie.” There’s a couple bangers in there too. It’s got a little bit of everything in it.

Putting Pen to Paper

PopHorror: Tell me more about the storytelling aspect. In addition to breakups, where do you pull your inspiration from? Are there any songs with a particularly meaningful story that you can wait for people to hear?

Courtney Gains: I taught acting for 20 years, and what you teach people beyond technique is to get out of your head. Don’t think. Because logic and art doesn’t really work. They don’t go together. When it’s good is when you’re working off of your impulses, your instincts and your subconscious. That’s when it really works. It’s the same thing with writing for me. Like I said, I really hang my hat on writing. I love to write. I’ve been writing music since I was 15. When it comes through, it comes through, and it’s an amazing, gratifying experience. Usually it’s something happening in the subconscious, just like in dreams. You have fears or things you’re working through. I might come up with some chord or write some riff or some idea generates, and then you just flow.

“Slip Away” on the record, which is very Americana and the only song without a drum, is just the awareness of what society is going through right now with the kids on the phones. We’re losing the kids to the phones. I did a movie called Benny Bliss and the Disciples of Greatness back in 2009 about this coming. And that’s when it was flip phones. It’s a rock and roll comedy about that. This guy, during electric shock therapy, gets a message from God that we’re becoming too addicted to the technology. He commandeers this band and then has this concert in the vortex of a desert. But it’s gotten to a point now where the kids are completely sucked into these phones, walking around like zombies. So, it was just the awareness of what the parents are going through and what the kids are going through. There’s a story there.

“Wander & Dream” was really about me reflecting. It was the 40th anniversary of Children of the Corn and reflecting on 40 years in the movie business. And also having left in 2018, I kind of felt burned by some producing projects. People sell you out in LA for $1.50, man. It’s true. What’s going on right now is the rise up. And a lot of it has to do with the music coming out, sharing my stories and my ideas. That one, “Wander & Dream,” is pretty personal to me.

“Liberation Day” is definitely about how we’re in this gaslighting era. Everybody’s getting gaslit one way or another. And also the life, death and the resurrection, so it has all of those things mixed into it. When I wrote that song, I was like, “Where is this coming from?” But you just let it flow. Don’t question. Let it flow and then see where it takes you. I’m pretty stoked on that song. I haven’t performed it yet live and I can’t wait. I haven’t performed “Fear the Boogie” live yet either, but those are coming up in September.

Merging Music and Macabre

PopHorror: Tell me how “Fear the Boogie” came together. It’s the heaviest song on the LP and gives major Ozzy Osbourne vibes.

Courtney Gains: Thank you, Ozzy vibes! The guy that I co-produced this record with, Wal, his lead in that song is just fantastic. He had gotten a Drop D guitar, got all stoked, decided to send me all these tracks that he’d been working on. I heard five or six songs and that riff was the one that jumped at me. And I had just finished shooting the movie The Barn III and there’s three characters — a pumpkin, scarecrow and the boogeyman, who is played by the director [Justin Seaman]. There was the concept of the boogeyman already in the back of my head.

But also, when I did the big touring of Children of the Corn for its anniversary, we finished by going to the biggest horror and sci-fi film festival in Europe, SITGES Film Festival. When we screened the movie, the guy who was hosting goes, “I have to tell you something, man. In Barcelona when I was a kid, we’d pass around the VCR tape of your film. You were known as the Boogeyman of Barcelona.” I was like, “Oh, my God, no way.” Between the character and that story, “Fear the Boogie” was already percolating, but we wrote it specifically for The Barn III. I’ve seen the other films and knew the kind of music the director liked, so we definitely were like, “Let’s go metal. Let’s go a little harder than normal.” It came out great and I think Wal’s lead in it, just the way he strings that whole thing together, is just kickass.

PopHorror: Is there anything you can share at this point about The Barn III? About its potential release date and the character you play?

Courtney Gains: It hasn’t gotten distribution yet, but it’s doing a ton of film festivals. The director just sent me a trailer and he’s looking at where he might want to premiere it to give people a first real look at it. It’s showed recently in Houston and then it’s going to the UK for Fright Fest, which is massive. It’s almost in a film festival every week for the next month or two. It’s really kicking ass. I would love for it to come out by October.

And as far as the film itself, this vision started when Justin Seaman was a child. He started drawing these characters when he was a kid. He made the first movie The Barn about 10 years ago and went through the complete growing pains of trying to make your first film, having to reshoot and wonder, “Do you really want to be a filmmaker?” And he got through it. Then he ended up self-distributing, which led to him starting this company where he goes to conventions and sells DVDs for all kinds of little independent filmmakers now. People in the community love him because he’s a champion for the independent.

The first version of The Barn was ’80s style, the second was ’90s style and the third version is 2000s style, which means it’s more serious horror. Horror got a little more serious, a little more mainstream. My character is the guy from the first two movies, Josh Harper, 30 years later. He has, for 30 years every Halloween, made sure these characters do not come out again because they wipe out the whole town. Of course, his nephew ends up invoking the three bad guys again and all hell breaks loose.

It’s by far the biggest budget Justin has had so far, but it’s still modest. If you’re a horror person and love special effects, especially old school effects, this movie is for you. There are a zillion kills in this thing. The second act is just kill after kill. It’s going over really well with horror fans because they love the old ’80s style VFX versus the CGI. It’s all practical effects. For the budget, it’s just amazing what they’ve accomplished.

PopHorror: It’s always nice seeing practical effects in such a digital-heavy world.

Courtney Gains: A lot of the indie films are doing it because people enjoy it. Fans want it. They harken back to the ’80s horror, and that’s practical effects. It’s just more fun.

Introducing a New Side to Horror Fans

PopHorror: What does it mean to not only still be such a fixture in horror after 40 years, but still be doing new films in the genre?

Courtney Gains: I think because of the 40th anniversary, there was a surge of offers that put me back on people’s maps. I did a handful of cameos and the lead in The Barn III. I have a lot of genres I’ve been in, but horror has gone completely mainstream. People want those films, so that’s really what’s doing it. I always say, I don’t love horror — horror loves me. But I take pride in being an actor. I do multiple genres and if you look at my resume, I think I’ve proven that I can. I’ve done comedies, dramas, period pieces, whatever. But the horror world… I think of it like if you were looking at politics, the right and left margins where the loudest voices are. Horror is the loudest voice in cinema. Horror fans love horror. They don’t care if it’s good, bad or indifferent. They will watch everything. They’re passionate about it. It’s a place where I get offers because of my reputation as it were.

PopHorror: It’s definitely getting bigger with each passing year, especially thanks to the horror conventions. Do you do much of those?

Courtney Gains: I started in the beginning of the whole thing about 20 years ago. I didn’t realize that was the beginning, but now I do. It’s a little oversaturated now. The Children of the Corn 40th anniversary was kind of my swan song, so I’m not really doing conventions anymore. But if something cool like the cruise comes along or it’s a signing and my band gets to play, I’ll do it. It’s a win win. And any chance I have to play for the fan base, I’m down for that because I know what’s going to happen. There’s going to be that look on their faces before the gig starts, like, “This is either going to be a hilarious train wreck and we’re down for that, or this could be good and we’re down for that.” And then after the first song, they know I’m not gonna be sucking. It’s not that hard to exceed people’s expectations about what an actor can do music wise. The bars are pretty low, I find. Once they get over that first song or two, they realize, “Okay, it’s gonna be fun,” and they just have a great time. But it’s a great chance for me to show my fan base that I have something else in me. And I also think that people pigeonhole the fan base like, “Oh, they’ll only listen to metal.” I don’t think that’s true at all. I think people are much more well rounded than that and much more nuanced. Are they digging “Fear the Boogie”? Yeah, they are, and it makes sense why they would. But that’s not to say they’re not open to something else.

PopHorror: What’s the response to Liberation Day been like so far from your horror fans?

Courtney Gains: People have been pretty supportive and pretty surprised. Like I said, the bar is low. [laughs] “Fear the Boogie” has gotten a big response. We released that last October as a single and it certainly is catered to the fan base. But if I really wanted to sell out as quick as I could to get famous, I’d create a metal band called Malachai. There’s actually a guy [Ari Lehman] who has a band called First Jason, and he was the Jason in Friday the 13th. He spawned an entire music career off of nothing but Jason songs, and he tours and they’re good. He plays a mod keyboard and he rips. But that’s not what I’m gonna do. That’s not my heart. But it can be done and he’s done pretty well with it. I think there actually was a band named Malachai.

PopHorror: Have you come across any fans of just your music, someone who heard you on the radio or at a gig and has no idea about your acting background?

Courtney Gains: It happens at gigs a lot. There are movies that come through Savannah and big stars, so they’re just looking for that. They’re not looking for someone like me, and so a lot of times I’m off the radar. I’ll play a whole set three hours a night and most people don’t know me, which is great. It’s an honest response. It’s also funny when all of a sudden, you see their eyes bug after their get on their phone and figure out my name. They’ll Google some movie and then there’s a different response, they’ll want to take pictures or they’ll want me to sign something. But I like the anonymity I get out here, where a lot of times it’s just based on what they’re getting from what I’m doing musically.

PopHorror: Is this sense of anonymity something you’ve been wanting? To be known for something beyond what you’ve done on the screen?

Courtney Gains: Definitely in some ways. Children of the Corn is a big shadow. Even though I had an overall great ’80s run, that’s still the one because like I said, the horror fan base is the loudest voice out there. It was definitely a time in my career where I was looking for that movie that was going to eclipse that and I could be “taken seriously.” But now at this stage in my life, I realize how lucky I’ve been to have the career I have had, to last as long as I have and how amazing it is to have a bunch of movies from the ’80s that people still talk about 40 years later. I could have never predicted that.

So now, I have a different perspective where I’m thankful. At this stage of my life, it’s about enjoying the moments. As I get older, if I have one good moment in an acting scene, I cherish that now where I used to be like, “I have to be great for the whole thing.” It’s the same with the music. You’re playing, playing, playing, it’s going fine, and then something magic happens and you feel it in your gut. You know this is a moment and you just try to ride that wave and enjoy it. That’s where I’m at. I’m at the point where I figure I can do whatever the hell I want. My goal is to get my music out and I’m doing it. We’re just milestone after milestone. You hit a milestone, go for the next one. We’re at a really fun and interesting point and I believe we’re ready for the moment. We’ll be playing in front of some bigger crowds, going all the way to Ohio to play two nights at these giant biker rallies, we’ve got a thing in Tennessee, Alabama and the Boo’s Cruise. We’re starting to open for some cool bands and it’s like, “Let’s do it. Let’s show up and show out.”

Turning Anxiety Into Bravery

PopHorror: What’s it like for you getting on stage after a career of being on sets, in front of a camera? When you started this up a few years ago, were there nerves? If so, are there still?

Courtney Gains: Oh, I still suffer from nerves. I’ve been playing in bands since age 20 and I always get nervous. And if I’m having to actually be the singer too, that’s even more nerves. For me, and I do it sometimes as an actor too, if I can tell I’m tight, I have rituals I do to get myself focused and get myself breathing. That’s the bottom line. As an artist, if you’re nervous, the first thing that happens is you’ll lock your knees, which then means you’ll lock your hips and that means you won’t breathe. But you don’t know it. You’re just freaking out, so you don’t know you’re not breathing. And you can’t have that as a singer. You might be able to get away with it as an actor — even though your work’s not gonna be good, at least you can speak. But you can’t do that as a singer, you have to breathe. So, I make sure that I get myself relaxed, slow my breathing. I get my anxiety out, which I also have rituals for. I get myself centered, look in that mirror and say, “You want to be here? You wanted to be here. You created this. Go have fun.” You just get your game face on and you go. Either you’re a performer or you’re not.

And my whole career has been me performing. That’s all I’ve been doing. If you’re auditioning, do your thing. If you’re playing in a band, do your thing. The great thing about getting these gigs in Savannah the last few years, you’re gonna be there for the next three hours whether you like it or not, so get the fuck over it and get on with the gig. Are you gonna suffer for three hours? Maybe the first couple songs you’re nervous, but by then the nerves have passed and you start enjoying yourself. But if you ain’t scared, if you ain’t got fear, if you ain’t nervous, you ain’t on the court in life. Athletes, everyone, they all suffer from anxiety. That’s what makes you brave — you step on the court. Anybody can be in the audience and go, “Ah, that sucks.” I call it the Beavis and Butt-Head factor. Anyone can watch something and go, “That sucks.” And it might suck! But the flip side is, could you do something better? That’s what’s funny about Beavis and Butt-Head — they can’t do anything. As an audience member, you can say something sucks. There’s no doubt about that. But they’re not the brave person on the court, the person putting it out there. The brave person has to be willing to fail in front of people, and that takes guts.

PopHorror: I completely agree. And I always believe that if you’re a little nervous about something, it means it’s important to you.

Courtney Gains: Exactly. There’s something about performing in front of people. There’s a vulnerability and an intensity to that because you’re being judged. The fear is the judgement. You’re afraid, “Oh, I suck. They’re gonna hate me. Nobody cares.” The main way to get out of that is to focus on the work. What is it you’re trying to accomplish in this scene as an actor? What is it I’m trying to convey in this song as a musician? Focus on that. And if you click with that, if you get to that place of authenticity, they will get it. People recognize real when they hear it or see it.

PopHorror: Looking ahead, what else can fans look forward to? Is there anything else you hope to accomplish in your career?

Courtney Gains: No matter how much you accomplish, there’s always a sense of more. But I’m in a place in my life where if I never acted again, I could live with it. I could say I’ve been there, done that. I’m just looking for roles I can get excited about. Is there something I can sink my teeth into that makes sense? That’s what I’m looking for as an actor. Doesn’t matter the genre. It just matters, is this a role that I could do something with? As a musician, the goal is clear — it’s to share my music with the world. It may sound cheesy. [laughs] As long as I’m taking those steps right now, I’m progressing. Putting out the record is a big step in that direction. Getting on the road now is a big step in that direction. I’m going to be curious where we are as a band and where I am as a person, as a musician, by the year’s end. Each time you step out of your comfort zone and you’re able to pull it off, you’re a little different. You’ve expanded your strike zone.

Thanks for speaking with us, Courtney! Keep up with him on Instagram at @courtneygainsofficial and @courtneygainsgroup.