Muertos Q&A

Your name:

DeAnna Avis, singer and guitarist for Muertos.

Where are you from?

Chelmsford, Essex, via California with a dash of Mexico

Name of band:

Muertos.

Who else is in your band? 

The lovely Marc Crane on guitar/vox and the dashing Tom Lewis on drums/percussion. 

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Like a fucked up spaghetti western Tarantino film.

Who are your main influences musically?

PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Black Angels, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Raveonettes, Ennio Morricone, The Cramps etc…

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To make a song and video as beautiful and deranged as PJ Harvey's C'mon Billy – the one where she was described as a “sadomasochistic dominatrix in blood-red dress." Then I can die happy.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Every gig becomes a new the highlight - the best thing is vibing off the crowd at each gig, we love the energy and it's nothing without the audience… playing with other cool bands such as the Sly Persuaders, Wonk Unit, riding around in a van and recording a video with Bleech, basically we are always having a good time, even when things go tits up - if we're not then check our pulse!

And what’s the moment you want to forget? When we turned up to play one of our first ever shows and there was no drumkit. We had to improvise stomping the floor and got the audience to bang on plastic chairs. It still managed to work in some kind of way…

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? Our song ‘Cruel’. Its got the Muertos concoction of melodic soundscapes and haunting sounds that concludes in an explosion of feedback and gritty distortion. We want to take people on a wild ride. 

Where can we listen to it?

You will have to come to one of our shows to hear Cruel live… in the meantime you can hear us on http://muertos.bandcamp.com/releases 

Where can we find out more about your music?

Merch & music: Bandcamp – muertos.bandcamp.com and soundcloud.com/muertosband

Keep up to date on our gigs at facebook.com/muertosband

See the inside of our brains at muertosband.tumblr.com

Feast your eyes on instagram.com/muertosband

Tweet us @muertosband

Whew!

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

We have some new recordings coming out soon….. one of which is guaranteed to melt your brain. Mmmm, melty….

Nishi Q&A

Your name: 

West Addams.

Where are you from? 

We're from the Musical Mecca within the Midlands; more specifically Birmingham, UK.

Name of band: 

Nishi.

Who else is in your band? 

Ben Horsley - Guitars

James Warren - Bass

Andy Price - Drums

Bruce Oakley - Guitars

How would you describe yourselves and your music? 

Our sound is best described as neoclassical punk zydeco rockabilly, with a soupcon of grunge-rock pursuant.

Who are your main influences musically? 

The mainstay would be the classical insights of musical layering as exhibited by The Doors and Soundgarden, bedecked with the edge of reason and insight afforded by bands such as Guns N' Roses and Nirvana, tempered by the direct extemporizing of societal raconteurs like The Ramones and the Sex Pistols. 

What do you hope to achieve in music? 

As a group our aim is to be as singular in rhythmic resonators as we are individuals within the genre, connecting with our fans on a very real level and creating an experience that builds on the incredible response our Droog Addict EP has already garnered.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 

Aside from Ben's endorsement from the goodly folk of Steve Clayton Inc (www.steveclayton.com - @SteveClaytonInc) and being invited to perform at Rock Against Multiple Sclerosis charity event - (Rock Against MSUK - https://www.facebook.com/rockagainstmsuk https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ASUlssJvj70) -  the honor of being awarded Wolfman Radio's Unsigned Artists of The Month (http://tinyurl.com/p2xjhp2 - @LeeMadge) makes our shirt buttons strain at the swelling of pride.

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 

Thanks to the all powerful erasing powers of alcohol currently there are none.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 

With its timeless intro riff, groove laden melodies, and number of downloads public consensus I feel F.I.N.E. is best suited for bringing ears to our sound and eyes to our presence.

Where can we listen to it? 

On our very own Soundcloud page here - https://soundcloud.com/nishi_lives/sets/droog-addict

Where can we find out more about your music?

Aside from stopping us in the street and back stage after gigs the best places to keep track of us is through the world of the web and our social media -

Twitter - @Nishi_Lives

Facebook - facebook.com/nishilives

Website - nishilives.wordpress.com

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask? 

Aside from a huge thank you to all the Dames & Droogs who have downloaded our EP and helped take us from a rehearsal room to the worlds stage and out across the global radio airwaves. I'd like to quote Joe Perry of Aerosmith and say 'Let the music do the talking'.

Debut EP from Ric Birtill

THIS is The Preston EP - the debut release by Ric Birtill.

It features five songs about religion, romance, employment, agoraphobia and alcohol and is inspired by his life in Preston, Lancashire.

If you enjoy what you hear, find out more about Ric at www.ricbirtill.com, www.facebook.com/ricbirtill or www.twitter.com/ricbirtill

The Dropper's Neck Q&A

Your names: 
Lloyd Mathews & Chris Blake.

Where are you from?
Essex, England.

Name of band: 
The Dropper's Neck.

Who is in your band? 
Lloyd Mathews (Lead vocals), Chris Blake (Lead Guitar), George Barrows (Rhythm Guitar), Danny Keene (Drums) & Jack Turner (Bass Guitar).

How would you describe yourselves? 
Our style is somewhat difficult to describe, it mixes influences from various genres, predominantly punk and garage rock with elements of rockabilly/psychobilly and much more. We like to think of ourselves as a dark, noisy, and unique band. Our high energy shows has earned us a fantastic reputation across Essex, London and the South East.

Who are your main influences musically? 
These range from punk pioneers such as The Stooges, The Cramps and Misfits through to more modern acts such as The Eighties B-Line Matchbox Disaster, Gallows and Pulled Apart By Horses.

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
I think the dream that anyone has when they first pick up a microphone, guitar or drums sticks aged 11/12 years old – to be known for your music, to be able to live by making music. We’re not fame-hungry or looking for some kind of celebrity status but to be able to leave the day job behind and make a living doing what we are all passionate about – writing, playing, recording and performing our music.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 
Standing on a stage and hearing a crowd chant your name is the biggest buzz there is. We’ve played some packed out shows at venues such as Chinnerys in Southend and Dublin Castle in Camden (both of which we are playing again early 2013) and just knowing there are 100+ people here to see you perform is incredible. (Lloyd) As a lead singer and front man I feed off a crowd. I always put on the best show I can but the more people that are there, the wilder I go, and therefore the wilder they go – I love to step out amongst the crowd and go crazy.

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 
A few weeks ago, after a few latecomers (it was a Sunday morning) we were rehearsing and it was going really well. Our new bassist Jack had recently joined us and had picked up all the material really quickly. We were finalising a couple of newer tracks for our album and the session had been really productive. About an hour before the end, we were having a quick fag break and Danny realised he hadn’t got any cash on him for his share of the rehearsal payment so decided to quickly drive to the nearest cash machine. Ten minutes later, we were all still standing outside when Danny came flying down the wet, muddy dirt track leading to the practice room at about 40 miles per hour, heading straight for my (Lloyd’s) car. Luckily, he managed to quickly turn. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to brake in time and drove his two month old car straight into a tree – prompting me to say “why did he just do that?” He was pretty angry at the time, stomping around in the mud, so we sort of packed up our gear and left him to it, on the phone to his step-dad. It may be a ‘moment you want to forget’ for Danny, but we’re not going to let him forget it any time soon as, actually, it was hilarious.

If you could choose one of your songs as an advert for your music, what would it be and why? 
It’s hard to say really – a lot of our newer material hasn’t been recorded yet because we’ve been waiting to record a full album the best we can rather than putting songs out in dribs and drabs. The album will contain some pretty catchy stuff, although still in our dark, raw style, and also contains some more experimental ideas and some really loud, noisy tracks. ‘Abrasive’ would probably be the best advert if we had to pick one – the song contains a mixture of the raw, chaotic energy but at the same time is quite catchy. Furthermore, out of all the material which will feature on our album, it is one of the tracks we have been playing live for the longest so despite not having a recording of it, our fans are very familiar with the song.

Where can we listen to it? 
Here’s a live video of it from Chinnerys a few months back, its pretty good quality for a live video. We’d rather not let you hear a rough demo of it, you’ll have to wait until the album is released!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWZ3oL6X_Fg

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/thedroppersneck (FB)
@thedroppersneck (Twitter)

Anything else you’d like to say about your band that I forgot to ask? 
Come see us live! We won’t disappoint. That’s all.