Vicious Bastard and Nikki Riot of
Alley Sin
Interviewer: Tawny Khat
Interview date: February 14, 2009
All photos used with permission courtesy of Alley Sin.
Alley Sin (January 2009 lineup)
This interview was conducted through email. Vicious and Nikki answered the questions together, except for a few which have the initials for which of them answered that particular question. The interview is reprinted here exactly as I received it (except for a few spelling corrections). I want to thank Vicious and Nikki once again for completing this interview. You guys are awesome!!Hey guys!!
Hey, Tawny! Thanks a lot for the attention you gave us, for the support, that you're giving us in one way or another during the past few months. That you're putting us in one category with bands like Dogs D'Amour, Quireboys and Izzy Stradlin, who are our influences, is a great honor for us. It's a privilege to be presented in Electric Pussycat fanzine and to have this interview with you!
1. Your MySpace page says, "Alley Sin started as a project by Nikki Riot and Vicious Bastard with the intention to follow their own way and attitude for rock 'n' roll." Could you explain more about your philosophy and your goals as a band?
Alley Sin started indeed as a project between Nikki Riot and Vicious Bastard. Our goal has always been to evolve into a whole band. At the moment, after a series of personnel changes, the band has its final line-up. Alexy, known to the Bulgarian rock scene with many bands, joined us as a drummer, and the bass player now is Stefan. He's also playing bass in one of the best Bulgarian death metal bands. With him we were having plans some time ago to start a rock 'n' roll project, but instead of doing this separately, we decided to invite him in the band and he accepted.
We don't have a particular philosophy, we're just a bunch of addicted to rock 'n' roll fans, who have the urge to make music. We don't do it for money, but if it comes - we won't reject it. For us, this is a way of life, the way we are on stage is the same way we're in our private lives.
2. You guys have some awesome influences. Most of them are among my favorite bands and musicians, as well. Could you get into more specifics about the bands and musicians that influence you and what it is about their music that most inspires you?
V.B. (Vicious Bastard): Surely the one band that draw my vision upon this kind of music is Motley Crue. I've been raised in a family of musicians and in spite of the communist regime, I'm cradled in things like Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Alice Cooper. In my school years I came across a magazine with an article about Motley Crue, and from then on everything for me turned upside down. So my main influences are New York Dolls, Peter Blast, Dogs D'Amour, Hanoi Rocks, Ramones, Dead Boys, and let's not forget the Joneses.
I can't really explain what that thing is, that draws me to this bands, you just hear a certain music and you say to yourself - this is it! I don't consider the music like some musicians do it - the way someone plays something. To me it's important the attitude and what I'm feeling, while I'm listening.
N.R. (Nikki Riot): For me everything started with AC/DC, but for the glam/sleaze scene Motley Crue grabbed my attention. I can't deny the influence of Guns 'n' Roses and their "Appetite for Destruction", as well as Faster Pussycat, but Hanoi Rocks, Dogs D'Amour, New York Dolls and Quireboys also had their say. Of course, not last - the Ramones. I perceive this music not only as something you put in your recorder and listen to, but really as a way of expressing oneself.
3. What is the glam and sleaze music scene like in your hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria?
To be honest, we're the only band of our kind at the moment here. Daily Noise Club is another band, which has many influences of the glam and sleaze scene, but they're quite different from us. We'd also like to mention Awake, although they're more like a cross between Velvet Revolver and bands like Alice in Chains.
In the end of the 80s/the beginning of the 90s there were many bands like that here, some even made attempts to move to the USA. Now it's difficult to see typical glam/sleaze fans with their typical image and attitude (except for us!) on the street, for which we often receive many comments and insults, but we don't care. But it's a fact that many people attend our shows and they're truly having fun. I hope we'll make a new start to all this.
4. I know you've been searching for a record label, and ended up recording your EP on your own. I think someone should sign you guys! Have you been getting any interest from any record labels?
We were looking for quite a while for someone to release us here, but yet we didn't find a publisher. There were people, who showed interest but at the end they stopped calling and we decided to release it ourselves. Anyhow it had to be out already in September. We're trying to make contacts with labels abroad to put our music into realization but to be honest, we don't have enough experience with that, and we arrange everything ourselves. If someone could be helpful - they're welcome!
5. Can you tell me about your EP, like how many tracks are on it, where can people hear some of the songs, and where can fans buy it?
The EP is recorded, mastered and mixed in Pacific Studio by Alexander Kalanov and Zhelyaz Zhelezov. We also use the studio as a place for rehearsals and for now we don't think of changing it. The cover art is done by Longevil from the Go Citizen! booking agency.
The EP includes 3 songs, which can be heard in our myspace profile - "Sweet Candy", "Bastards in My Way" and "Crazy Baby". The CD can be found at our live shows and in some stores in Bulgaria, but we're looking for a way for the production to be distributed abroad. But for now whoever is interested can write to us and we'd be delighted to send them a free copy.
Next month we're going in the studio to record more material and by the end of April/beginning of May we hope to release one more CD, that would be with 6-7 songs, and why not a complete album. But everything depends on the financial part, we foot everything ourselves and in a country where the average salary is 300-400 euro, believe me, that's pretty hard.
6. Do you have any plans to do any touring this year, and if so where will you be going?
We'd love to go on tour, but unfortunately this is again connected with the financial part. We have an idea to arrange dates in some countries in Europe, mostly in England, where we'll cover the traveling expenses ourselves, but that's again quite hard.
7. What band would you most like to tour with?
We have no claims, we'd play with everyone who invites us. Of course, we'd love to be opening for our favorite bands. You know, there are also many young bands, that we keep in touch with through myspace, that we'd also like to share a scene with, like the Adjusters, Poison Arrow, the Mansfields, The Heart Attacks, and others.
8. Where would you most like to tour?
We'd play with pleasure absolutely everywhere. And of course, who wouldn't like to play in some of the legendary clubs in the States.
9. We have many musicians as readers, so I often like to ask bands I interview about their equipment. So, what instruments, gear, and equipment do each of your members use?
N.R.: I use a Vintage guitar - a Les Paul copy - this isn't a big company but they make good copies of classic guitar models for people with limited resources, that sound great and are of big quality. I use overdrive just from my amplifier and a Boss over drive pedal for the lead parts. For live shows I use a custom made Garland head with the Laney speaker enclosure and Ernie Ball strings.
V.B.: I use a Silverton Rockit, a kind of SG copy. I don't use any pedals. I use overdrive directly from my Randall tube amp. I also use Ernie Ball or Dean Markley strings.
Bob uses a Fender Jazz Bass and a Mesa Boogie amplifier.
Our new bass player - Stefan uses at the moment BC Rich Warlock.
The different drummers that we've played with have used different sets of drums, mostly Pearl and Mapex, Zildjian and Paste cymbals. To be honest, we have finally found the guitar amplifiers that we need for our sound, and those are Fender Blues Deluxe and we'll soon replace the ones we used till now with them. For the recordings we also used an acoustic Western Fender guitar, as well as a semi-acoustic Gretch guitar. As a whole we're pretty old fashion oriented and we don't like using many effects, we want it to sound as natural as possible.
10. In your blog celebrating Vicious Bastard's 20th anniversary playing live music on stage, it mentions his difficulties with playing rock 'n' roll during the era of communism. If you don't mind, could you help those of us who've never experienced that to understand what it was like for you? (If you'd rather not discuss it, that's OK, too.)
I don't mind talking about those days. Sure, it was very difficult, but at the same time - fun and truly real, because the fans back then really fought for the things they loved. In those times it wasn't just difficult to play rock 'n' roll, it was also very difficult to listen to it. There was no way you could buy this music from a store, but we found ways of securing of it, as well as the necessary accessories. But the cops were after us all the time. It was normal to be stopped in the center of the city and to have your favorite t-shirt ripped out of your back, along with the buttons and patches, and to get busted. To be honest, those years are more than 20, I've been playing long before that, but to be playing that kind of music was very difficult and it was done on some small improvised concerts. But then, in the New Year's eve of 1989 I managed to get with my band on a bigger stage and to show the system the finger.
In Bulgaria there has always been rock music, even then, but there was the so called Direction Music, that choosed which bands could get up on Bulgarian stage and which can release albums, so there were a bunch of bands, which played "safe" rock, that could pass before the system, but even they had to get through the sieve of the censorship. Many people don't know that, but even the so called "big" Bulgarian bands at that time, in order to go on tour, had to come out in a hall with their whole show and set list, without any audience, just with a specific circle of people to watch them, they did their whole thing and after that those people said which songs and parts of the show could pass and which can't.
Today the regime is gone for 20 years, but the same people from those bands hold a great deal of Bulgaria's music business and they're trying to tell one how things should be done. But we don't care about that!
11. Could you tell me about your songwriting process?
V.B.: All songs are the work of me and Nikki, usually one from us comes with an idea for a song and we evolve it both. And sometimes we come with the idea during rehearsal. All lyrics are written by Nikki.
12. This past December you guys played a show in Greece. We don't have very many reader from Greece, so I was wondering how the show went. Is there a very strong glam/sleaze movement there?
Yes, we were in Greece, in Thessaloniki. We have many friends and many connections with bands from there. The show was electroacoustic - just the two of us. Unfortunately, we arrived in Thessaloniki literally hours after a terrible tragedy happened in Athens, and the news was spread around the whole world - a cop shot a 15-year-old punk kid without any reason, and in Athens and Thessaloniki riots had started, there were Molotov cocktails and gas grenades flying around, thousands of people were on the streets, anarchists who were fighting with the police. And the show was moved to another place at the last moment, so there weren't many people attending, but we were received well.
Thessaloniki was a great rock 'n' roll city! There are many arts of rock 'n' roll bands - glam, punk, garage, surf, rockabilly - some of them are friends of ours, like the Bullets, the Grimes, Green Goblins, Voodoo Healers...
Yes, there is a glam/sleaze scene, that is more like in the 80s. We'd like to mention Roxy Bitch, Personality Crisis, Jailcat, Wild Machine from Athens - all of them bring back to the scene those glorious days from the 80s. They have opened for bands like Backyard Babies, Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, Misfits. And we'd like to mention that the well known Star Star of Johnny Holiday are based in Athens.
13. In May, you'll be playing a show in Novi Sad, Serbia. Have you performed there before?
Never before have we played in Novi Sad, but we have friends from the local bands. In that case we received the invitation from Mladen of Ragman (a garage/surf band from Novi Sad), who's also a glam fan. We'll share a stage with his newly reunited old band - the Corrosion. Other friends of ours are Psychosonic Boris & Hosenfefer - a great garage/punk 'n' roll band from Serbia.
14. Lastly, I always like to ask if there is anything else you'd like to let readers know?
We'd like to thank everyone, who will spend their time reading this interview, and to all of those who have supported us all the time, and those who're about to support us from now on. Check our myspace profile for news around the band. We can be in touch with everyone, who wishes that - just write to us. And at last, but not least - no matter on which corner of the globe you are - support your local scene and don't forget - rock 'n' roll is an attitude, not a trend!
P.S. Maybe it would be interesting for you to know where our name comes from. Here we're often asked that question and everyone takes it literally. But the truth is that when we're deciding how to call the band, I thought of a young porn actress, which used the name Allie Sin - a chick with tattoos, and we like the way this name sounds. But we didn't know whether we can use the same name, we decided to change 2 letters and so it came our name.
Thank you again for doing this interview for me! I'm excited to be able to let my readers know about you. I've become a big fan of your music. Hopefully, one day I will be able to see you perform live and meet you in person. I wish you all the best, and please keep in touch to let me know what's happening with the band!
In addition to checking out Alley Sin's MySpace page, be sure to read their bio on our home page. Also, check out my review of their EP, "Rock 'n' Roll Sluts"!
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Interview with: AA (Axident Avenue): Well, the idea of Axident Avenue took form sometime late in '06 by singer Violet and bassist Valentine, and the band was up and running by spring '07. Finding both good and serious musicians up here dedicated to this kind of music is not too easy, but we came out really good in our search. As to our inspiration, seeing Motley Crue at Sweden Rock Festival in '05 was probably an important factor in steering us back into rock n roll mode again. Also, discovering Hardcore Superstar at SRF the year after was really cool, as we actually had no idea this Swedish wave was going full force, hahah.. AA: Yeah, things are looking pretty good right now, and that feels great. The studio thing has taken a lot longer time than planned, as we decided to re-record basically all guitar and bass parts. It is being returned from the mastering studio these days, and will be up on our MySpace anytime now. We are not sure when the EP will be returned from the printing company, but it should be available for sale in a couple of weeks or so.. AA: The EP will consist of 5 tracks where 2 songs are brand new Axident songs, 2 remastered songs from our previous demo, and a cover song. We have played this cover live for some time now, and people seem to really like it, even if a lot of them haven't heard the original. It's kind of an obscure track that seems to be a little forgotten. We are currently checking into legal rights to release this song, to make sure we are not violating any rights. Which song is it? You have to wait and see, haha ;) AA: Yeah, we are doing an Italy tour this Easter, and we can't fucking wait to get down there and rock out, meeting a lot of really cool guys, and all those beautiful Italian girls! The whole tour started out with a few Italians seeing a show we did up here in Norway with Blackrain and Leaded Fuel. Seems they had connections with Bologna Rock in Italy, wich again is working with our booking agency Live Wire. We are starting out in Rome rock city, and I (Valentine) totally wanna start a fight to the death with drummer Lucky DeVille in the Colosseum. Of course I will die, and AA will be in search of a new bassplayer, but hey... There's no such thing as bad publicity right? ;) AA: Yep, it seems like we will be on tour in Germany for a couple of weeks in October. This is not official yet, but our booking guys seem to be in control. There's also other plans, but we'll see what happens. AA: Thanxx alot! We are really excited to play at SRF! This wil be our first, but hopefully not the last time we play there. Thanx again to all fans and friends that took the time to vote for us every day. SRF is no doubt our favorite festival, and we would have attended the festival gig or no gig. AA: Wow, thats a tough one. There are tons of cool bands to see, but let's go with ZZ Top, Lita Ford and Heaven and Hell. AA: Violet and Valentine have been band-partners for many years now. Basically playing heavy metal influenced by Judas Priest and early Metallica in various bands that didn't go to far.. Violet played guitar back in those days. Ricky got caught up in the more extreme side of the metal, and played guitar in various bands until he switched to vocals, and was later dragged out of there by Violet and Valentine so he could get back to playing guitar again. (you're welcome ;) Lucky has played in a bunch of bands like the rest of us, and also played a bunch of different instruments in those bands. Being a rock n roll drummer at heart, Ricky played him a couple of early AA demos and dragged him along for some rehearsals. EP: In recent years there has been a growing resurgence of 80s style glam/sleaze rock. What do you think is the reason for this resurgence? AA: Motley's book, "The Dirt", probably made everybody wanna be a Rockstar again, hahah. And, their '05 tour certainly got a lot of attention back to that kind of music, too. Guitar Hero probably made a lot of people aware of guitar oriented music again, too. That, at least, might have something to do with it, what do we know, hahah AA: We are probably either going full force touring behind our 2nd album, or hiding out in a rehab facility somewhere, haha AA: First of all, thanx for doing this interwiev with us! We are putting down a lot of time in the band these days, and we hope to be able to play as much as possible, and to meet as many of the people we talk to online as possible. You guys keep in touch, and tell us if you are going to any of our shows so we can meet up and have a drink or 9. See you out there on the road! Ricky, Lucky, Violet & Valentine See our Home Page for more on Axident Avenue, and our Events page for their scheduled shows. And, of course, for any other info and to hear their music, visit Axident Avenue's MySpace page.
Axident Avenue
Interviewer: Tawny Khat
Interview date: March 31, 2009
I would like to thank Axident Avenue for completing this interview. It was conducted via email. I also want to congratulate you guys for winning our contest in February and being chosen the "Favorite New Band" that month. I'm very happy to be featuring you in our webzine. Now, on with the interview!
EP (Electric Pussycat): Axident Avenue formed in 2006 out of a desire to create a sleaze rock/glam metal band. What was your inspiration for creating this type of band?
EP: Things seem to be really taking off for you guys. You've been in the studio recently recording an EP. When do you expect to release the EP?
EP: Could you tell readers about the songs that will be on the EP?
EP: Axident Avenue will be going on tour in Italy soon. Could you tell me about the tour?
EP: Will the band be touring anywhere else this year?
EP: You guys won a spot to perform at the Sweden Rock Festival. Congratulations, that's very exciting! Have you played that festival before?
EP: Of all the other bands who will be performing at the Sweden Rock Festival, which band do you most want to see perform and/or meet?
EP: Could you provide our readers with some information about each of Axident Avenue's members' background, such as how long each member has been involved in music, previous bands, etc.?
EP: Where do you see Axident Avenue in 5 years from now?
EP: And, I always like to finish an interview by asking if there is anything else you would like to let readers know?
Thanks again for completing this interview. Once you have finished your EP, please get me a copy to review. I wish you guys all the best!
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