Back in 2002 my small town adolescent age group only listened to the pop punk and nu-metal that were spoon fed to us by Kerrang and MTV. This was until Alec Empire’s “break into the mainstream” post-ATR solo album, ‘Intelligence and Sacrifice‘ was injected into these very medias.

The album ripped into your ribs with its hard cannon thumps and screaming politically-driven lyrics, making it an instant a winner. In turn, this shone light to the likes of Digital Hardcore Pioneers Atari Teenage Riot and electro mind-fuck musician, Nic Endo.

6 successful years on, Alec has his focus on new Label ‘Eat Your Heart Out’ and release of “The Golden Foretaste of Heaven” from earlier this year.

Keep it Fast had a chat with Alec Empire and here’s how it went:

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1) Have you ever been surprised about any reasons why your music has been banned in the past?

Yes. I don’t understand why any music or art should be banned. I believe that people can make up their own mind. Of course there is music which would need explaining and background information when for example somebody at a young age is exposed to it.

We have seen that even light pop music can trigger frustration in people which then can lead to actions they regret later. Very often music can be an indicator for far deeper problems. It’s important to see that.

In Germany we have the problem with neo nazi bands becoming more popular. I think it would be important to see this development in the charts for example. Now it’s a hidden problem and nobody is doing much against that. (apart from having an outdated law which bans this music – in the internet age it is more than easy to bypass that.)

2) Which Atari Teenage Riot / Alec Empire music video do you feel best suits the track it was created for?

I like many of them for different reasons. Sick To Death by Virus was probably the first video done on a small Macintosh computer. That’s why it looks so lo-fi and pixeled. Years later this became a style for electro-punk, electro clash and so on.

I love the Alec Empire vs Elvis video, because its editing is too fast for Youtube. ATR’s Revolution Action video is still a great video in its own way.

3) When creating such tracks as 2641998, do you have a structure set out, or clear ideas of how it will sound?

Yes. I set the corner stones, take a deep breath and then roll. It’s like surfing. I shape the sounds as I go along. It’s a technique I applied from Jazz. I hate editing a session like this one, so I get it right in the first take.

4) While touring recently, have you had any supporting acts that you were particularly impressed by?

Yes, The Big Pink. I love these guys. They are fun.

5) Will there ever be an official release of “Alec Empire Vs Elvis Presley” or will it forever remain a bootleg?

Yeah , it is the definition of the bootleg really…I guess that’s part of the appeal. When I recorded it, I didn’t think about how far this could go. The video is part of MOMA in New York, many people rate it as the first mash up ever made, it created this cult following all over the world. At a show a guy showed me a tattoo of the record sleever on his shoulder. I still remember any second of it, I mean the recording process.

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Alec Empires latest release ‘The Golden Foretaste of Heaven’ can be purchased on the Hellish Vortex website and the usual shops!

Links   

Alec Empires myspace
Eat Your Heart Out Blog
Hellish Vortex Shop

Sorry for the lack of updates; I’ve currently been extremely busy what with starting evening classes and as such, I’ve only had time to eat, sleep and go to work (although  still managed to play loads of Team Fortress.) Normal service has returned, although I’m having my computer upgraded this weekend so no posts until it’s fixed.

Time for an interview. After my piece on Scream! Shout! Say Nothing’s rather excellent debut album, ‘The Animals Still Run This City‘ I was lucky enough to be contacted again by their label manager to see if I would like to ask the band some questions. I was more than happy to oblige and here are the results….

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1.)  First things first. Can you tell me how Scream! Shout! Say Nothing came into being and why you chose that particular moniker?

Ben D: Dan and Street were looking to start a new project after their last band split up. We all knew each other through playing local shows together in different bands, so Jamie and I got involved soon after.

Jamie: Then we needed a bass player. Chris wasn’t playing bass at the time; he was fronting and playing guitar in one band and drumming in another, but because we were all good mates and really excited about it he wanted to get involved.

Ben D: We were struggling for a name and had a few ideas, none of which we were too keen on. That name happened to crop up one day (in the pub) and it seemed to stick. People seem to think we are trying to make some sort of statement with the moniker, but that really wasn’t our intention.

2.) Who are your biggest influences?

Dan: We all take influences from a lot of different genres, but collectively we’re into bands like Mogwai, Taken, At the Drive-In, Explosions in the Sky, Bear Vs Shark, Refused, Appleseed Cast…

Street: There’s a load really, but those bands are the ones that played the biggest part in shaping our sound.

3.) How did you go about writing the songs for ‘The Animals Still Run This City‘ – was it quite a natural process, or did it take some time?

Jamie: It can take a while. Some songs seem to come together pretty easily, like ‘Fulfill the Roles…’, but other times we can be sitting around in the practice room doing nothing and pissing each other off.

Street: We don’t ever have anything ready before we go into rehearsal; we just jam until we like what we hear, and then it all just comes together.

Jamie: When we went into the studio to record we realised some parts – like the odd guitar part – didn’t work and needed to be re-done. We’d never had a week in a studio together, so that was a good experience and really helped us get the best out of what we had.

4.) Do you think your sound has progressed from your first release, the self-titled EP?

Dan: The three songs on the first EP were the first three songs we’d ever written.

Ben D: Anything we released afterwards was bound to show a progression.

Street: After a couple of tours and a year or so of rehearsing, we managed to find a sound that we were really happy with. We like the first EP but it’s not where we want to be now.

5.) Any amusing tour stories you would like to share? What bands have been good tour buddies?

Jamie: We didn’t get paid in Huddersfield on our very first tour and were skint, so we were pretty annoyed because we were supposed to be on a guarantee and it was only something like 30 quid. It was Chris’s birthday, so we managed to steal about 10 bags of crisps and a frying pan which doubled up as payment and a present for Chris. We spent the whole next day hitting each other with it.

Ben D: We’ve got loads of tour footage we’re trying to put together at the moment. Some of it’s on Youtube already.

Street: We haven’t toured with anyone yet, we just take whatever support slot we can get, but we’d like to tour with a band we get on with in the future.

6.) What are your plans for the future?

Street: We want to get a second album out by the end of next year.

Ben D: And get on some decent tours. Passed that, we just want to take this as far as we can.

Jamie: Street’s very ill…

7.) What are your thoughts on the current UK music scene?

Ben D: There was a time when bands like Hundred Reasons, Hell is for Heroes, Copperpot Journals and Million Dead were all releasing albums and it felt like there was an interesting British scene. It doesn’t really feel like that’s happening anymore. There are obviously still some wicked British bands out there, but I saw a poster in Kerrang a few weeks ago of all the upcoming British bands and not one of them sang with a British accent.

Jamie: We’re obviously influenced by a lot of American bands, but we take pride in the fact that we’re British and not trying to sound like we’re from California or something.

8.) What bands are you currently listening to that you would recommend to our readers?

Dan: Anathallo, Manchester Orchestra, we’re going to see The Constantines tomorrow night.

Street: The October Game are a cool band that are local to us.

Ben D: Hot Club De Paris are a good British band, and I’ve been listening to a lot of Mewithoutyou lately. They’re a great band. And Every Time I Die rules the World.

9.) One last question: is there any particular band/artist you would like to work with in the future?

Jamie: We’d love to do a split in the future with a band that we’re in to and respect. We haven’t got anyone in mind realistically. We’re concentrating on our own stuff right now.

Ben D: Working with Will again would be great.

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Cheers guys, nice work. Scream! Shout! Say Nothing’s album, ‘The Animals Still Run This City‘ can be purchased from the Scylla Records website, priced £5.99, or with a snazzy t-shirt for £11.99.  It is also available through itunes (no, not the t-shirt).

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Links

Scream! Shout! Say Nothing Myspace
Scylla Records

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By Ross Macdonald

One dark and chilly night when Mr Tim Burton was suffering a high fever and weak at the knees, he clambered into his crushed black velvet sheets hoping for a dream-filled night of marshmallows and furry things….. But as the night drew colder, a hungry Incubus with a taste for ‘The Dresden Dolls’ albums took advantage of poor old Burton. All was not lost that night however, as Portsmouth’s answer to everything sinister was born…. Mister Joe Black.

His sound is like an old lady, covered in Disney-endorsed syrup, in a mobility chair charging backwards, on fire, heading towards a Victorian style Pillow factory.

With his first full length album ‘The Bible Of The Waltzing Cynic’ he picks your brains to find all those little things you were scared as a child and bring them back into reality. From the Scarecrow in the moonlight at the end of the road, to that time you shit your pants at McDonalds, he knows all.

With a nice list of tour dates a head of him and even a nod from the likes of Creature Feature he is not doing half bad.

Keep it fast had a chat with Joe Black about preachers and arse tattoos:

Do you ever get different reactions when performing on the street than on stage?

People seem a lot less shocked on the street surprisingly. They don’t seem to mind their children hearing….

What is the most bizarre thing somebody has said to you after a show?

“Sign my arse; I want your signature tattooed there!”

If Fred Durst ever tried to make a comeback (again) and wanted to use one of your tracks for his background beat, would you be interested?

The Limp Bizkit paedo man? Of course I’d let him. There would be no greater honour, except being Patrick Moore’s bitch- that would be pretty good.

Have you any thoughts on ‘expanding’ your music to use other instruments over time, or would this be betraying the Joe Black genre?

The album uses around 15 instruments on average per track. That can’t be done live, but we make up for it. I’ve recently expanded the live show to around 4 people, but it varies.

If a megaphone-wielding preacher implied that your music was from the belly of Satan and you should cease instantly, what would your reply be?

Yes indeed it is, and we know where you live, we know where your brother lives, we know where your sisters live, we know where your mother lives, we know where your father lives, we know where your brain washed adopted children live, and we are not happy my dear sir. Now make amends for this comment, or I shall strike you down like a clubbed seal!

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Below is a video that captures the mind of Mister Joe black entitled ‘Child Catcher‘

If you want to hear more simply go onto his myspace here.

There is a lesson to be learnt about bands and that is always give them a chance as you may just find a gem. Of course at the same time there can be some terrifying ‘how are these famous??’ bands, such as 30 Seconds To Mars. But before I start one of those fucking annoying comment wars like on every youtube video, (no YOUR mum) I will cut to the chase…

One of my links led me to Lancashire’s Alternative to every music genre, Bikini Black Special. The 5 piece seem to have put on their dark worship robes at a full moon and thrown into the pot every type of music they can think of. But instead of a explosion of shit occurring on the final synth loop, these guys have completed the impossible. Or have they? Actually they have!

With a beautiful female vocal range mixed in with snapping bites from the male backing, it makes you listen to the lyrics rather then the usual Friday night pub band where they are just shouting to the drum beat (bark, bark!). As for the music itself, it is better to just watch the video at the bottom of this page.

Keep it fast spoke with Bikini Black Special to find out what is going on in their subversively seductive minds:

When you walk onto the stage to an audience who doesn’t know who you are, how do you try and make an impression to the crowd?

By standing impassively in a line, as if the Pet Shop Boys had somehow magically reproduced and staring, just… staring. Alternatively, usually what we do speaks for itself, just go in hard and loud and kick the whole thing off as we mean to go on.

Is there any difference between the tracks you record and performing them live?

Not really, no – we’re pretty proud of the fact that we do this big wide studio sound out there in the big wide world. We make a few more mistakes live, like.

Do you have any BBS followers? If so do they dress up for the occasion?

There’s a few dotted around – we keep seeing more and more of our world-famous Zombie Invasion t-shirt in the crowds, and occasionally bump into them on the street. We have a pretty wide fan base, ravers, metallers, old folks, and of course the fairly intense acoustic folk contingent – so they all dress quite variably.

Have you had any offers to have your music featured in a b-movie? If not would you accept offers?

Some animators wanted to use BBS tunes for the soundtrack to a movie about an alien invasion being battled by a tea drinking private investigator. Never heard any more about it. We’d be delighted to be on a B-movie soundtrack though, especially if we could be extras in the movie, zombies or aliens or something. Even better if there was a scene in the movie with zombie/alien band playing in some zombie/alien bar. It’s the dream.

If you were performing live and there was a power cut, could you still give the crowd a good time? If so how?

Using Laura’s firelighting skills, Paddy’s culinary skills, and Bobby and Andy’s raw physical strength and powers of intimidation, we’d cook Jonti and give everyone a good feed.

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Below is live footage of them playing the track Nagasaki… Enjoy!

Links:

Bikini Black Special official myspace page

Since Essex duo Kunt and the Gang were introduced at Christmas by Keep It Fast everybody has has being reading about them! As you will see from our ‘most popular’ list they have even beaten interviews by Ex super band Some Girls and Electro-Industrial duo Angelspit! How is this possible some of you may ask?

It looks like over the last couple of years they have penetrated the minds of all under 30’s with their sexellent tales of multi-way wankage, obsessive thoughts of ‘front bottoms’ and of course a true milf ‘ballad’ to Carol Vorderman.

So as Kunt and the Gang release their third album ”one last wank and one last cry” which is the final to the wank/cry trilogy, we ask them a selection of intimate questions:

What can we look forward to if we slip in this new album into our players?

You can look forward to such a barrage of filth that you’ll feel the urge to run a flannel over your knackers when you’ve finished. I think this album has some of our best songs yet, “Men with beards (what are they hiding?)” is already becoming a firm favourite at gigs, and “I’m gonna lick you out” seems to be making ladies moist.

Has there being any pressure/conflict between you and Little Kunt in the making of this new album? If so dare we ask?

He’s been pressing me for more of an input, so I humoured him by letting him sing a couple of duets. He was off his face on crack most of the time so you didn’t know whether he’d be turning up at the studio waving a Swiss army knife around or crashed out at home with a pantful of runny big jobs.

Where do you get your inspiration from to make these masterpieces?

It stems from having a lot of time on your hands, which invariably turns into having your cock in your hand. I thought I would have run out of ideas by now but the more you tour, the more people that come up and tell you about the time they shit themselves and you think, oooh that’s gonna make a good song!

Has the lovely Carol Vorderman ever left feedback on the track you made about your feelings for her?

I was sure when I wrote the song that she would hear it, feel the love and it would end up in me inserting my manhood into her frontbottom. Unfortunately that still has yet to happen, but also I haven’t heard anything from her lawyers which makes me think maybe she hasn’t heard it yet.

If you could of had any guest vocals on the new album, who would they be?

It would have to be some female pop star I was trying to get my end away with, so we’d end up stuck in a booth together and I could barricade the door and do a Joseph Fritzel. So to rephrase the question: ‘Which female popstars would you like to take hostage and systematically abuse over a period of several years?’… It would probably have to be any of Girls Aloud apart from the wafty ginger one, Belinda Carlisle, her out of Altered Images, Billie Piper, Rihanna, Beyonce, Nina from the Cardigans, Kim Wilde circa 1981, Avril Lavigne (as long as she didn’t bring any of her fucking dreadful records) or Shakira.

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There we go! That explains it all then! Below is the fantastic track ‘men with beards (what are they hiding?) from their new album:

Links

Kunt and the Gang myspace

Official site

Just as Keep It Fast had all but cleaned up that last piece of pumpkin and horrible scared mess from the floor, we got a late ghoulish interview entry to scare the pants off of us!

However it doesn’t matter what time of year it is for Liverpool horror-rock 5 piece Zombina and the Skeletones, they are always in the mood for terror!

Covered in blood and dressed to the eyeballs in rotten flesh, they are deeply independent, refusing offers from many major labels. They have influenced a “horror punk” movement in the Liverpool area but they remain the kings so far!

Supporting the likes of The Misfits, Wednesday 13 and the mighty GWAR, they are nothing to be sniffed at! No Sir!

Zombina and the Skeletones have recently been touring all around the country and even fronted a zombie prom! But as they are such nice people they still have enough time to talk to us about the Wolf Man and the end of the world:

1) If you had to perform at an all groaning zombie nightclub, how would you get their bodies swinging?

Spit some blood, peel off a little skin here ‘n there. Not much different from our normal shows!

2) If the band could pick a song to be murdered to in a horror flick, what would it be?

That’s an amazing question! It would have to be New Orleans Incident! That’s one of our songs that covers that very event, well, more or less!

3) If you could play any spooky venue from the silver screen, where would it be?

The vampire gang’s hangout in The Lost Boys, or on the staircase at The Munsters place!

4) Do you have any favourite lyrics from ZATS that could get a B-movie scream queen started?

Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! EVERYBODY’S GONNA DIE! Cuz it’s the end of the world!

5) If you could have any one universal studios monster to be a extra band member just for Halloween night, who would it be and what would they play?

Wolf-man playing a really lively, growling south American style percussion set-up!

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Zombina and the Skeletones are still touring up and down the rotting rolling hills of England so check them out! Also by the end of the week I will be reviewing the Halloween EP they have released free! Want to know where you can get it? Well I will tell you soon

When the team threw cyber shapes to Angelspit a few weeks back there was a supporting act that really took my eye, known as the almighty Ego Likeness.

The beautiful sounding duo took their name from Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel Dune and began as an experimental/ dark trip hop project. A demo called “Songs From a Dead City’, recorded on a four track, was released in 1999.

By 2000, Steven Archer and Donna Lynch were moving the project in a darker electronic/dance direction, resulting in a self-released full length album entitled “Dragonfly‘.

Through the years they have progressed onto a heavier rock sound which really reflected when they played live. As Archer danced in and out of the green beams of the stage lights, ripping into his riff-tastic guitar, Lynch wrapped the tunes up in a fine layer of vocals.

Their third full length album, “The Order of the Reptile‘ (release date July 4th 2006, Dancing Ferret Discs) ventures back into the realms of heavy electronica, with a spicy pinch of trip hop and darkwave.

I got a chance to speck to Archer about burning venues and the almighty Hoff! This is what he had to say:

1) To a person in the crowd who has not heard if you before, what can they expect?

Dark, electronic rock. Female vocals, guitar, atmospheric synths, that sort of thing.

2) What is more important to you, producing the music or performing it?

They are opposite sides of the same coin, just different ways of getting our ideas out into the world. The live show is a very kinetic experience, where we can directly interact with the audience. The studio is more of a direct extension of ourselves a place where we can explore and develop ideas.

3) What is the weirdest thing a fan has said to you after a show?

Honestly, I wouldn’t know where to begin with that one. Weird is so relative. It’s always strange, yet flattering, when people you don’t know tell you very personal things, which happens fairly often.

4) When I saw your show earlier in the month you came across as very confident in your performance and successfully rocked the place! But were there any difficult gigs in the early days of the band?

Sure, there always are. But after 300+ shows, we have worn most of the edges off. Apart from the venue burning down while we are on stage there’s not much we can’t handle. We always try to turn any problems into learning experiences.

5) If a D-list celebrity, say David Hasselhoff, decided to cover one of your tunes for personal gain, would you be flattered, or sue their asses off?

Hey, if he’s good enough for Germany, he’s good enough for us.
Plus, anyone with a talking car is all right in our book. No need to be litigious.

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Below you can listen to one of my favourite tracks taken from their 2004 album ‘Water to the Dead‘ which is funny enough named ‘Water to the Dead‘, Enjoy!

If you like the track why not cheak out thier offical myspace area or cut to the chase and buy all their cds!

DIY punk/funk/rock heroes Jetplane Landing (as featured here) return to Keep It Fast – this time with words of wisdom from frontman and owner of Smalltown America Records, Andrew Ferris. He had this to say about various gig experiences, their style and some notes on New York’s finest art-punks. Read on….

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1. What bands influence your sound/style when you play live? Alternatively, do you have your own approach?

I enjoy bands that are technically awesome and have good grooves. Norma Jean, Mastodon, Radiohead, Fugazi, The Cribs, Shellac, Les Savy Fav, Blues Explosion, The Roots…

2. What is the best gig you have ever played? (When/Where/Reaction/Reasons)

The most memorable show I’ve ever played was at Reading Festival 2003 – it was the biggest audience we’d ever played in front of and the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in music. The worst conditions we ever played was an MTV2 gig in a Snow Dome in Milton Keynes. It was so cold I couldn’t feel my fingers; but strangely we were super-tight – maybe all bands should record in sub-zero conditions.

3. Any amusing anecdotes from previous tours you would like to share?

Cahir was electrocuted in Cork during a soundcheck and during the electrocution’s nine seconds – I truly thought that he was going to die. Although this was very traumatic for all involved at the time, it’s now one of the funniest things I can think of happening.

4. Have you ever had any problems/trouble at any shows? E.g. with fans/promoters, etc.?

Once in Winchester the in-house sound engineer walked away from the board and wouldn’t help us out in any way whatsoever. Raife (JPL Drummer) got up from behind his kit, parted the audience and went to find him to ‘have a word’ – which resulted in the owner of the establishment pulling a baseball bat out. I didn’t see any of this and when Raife came back to the stage he just said ‘it’s sorted, let’s go…’. He’s very handy like that – we call him ‘The General’. On another occasion Raife bounced a bottle (plastic I hasten to add) off a member of the audience’s forehead – but that’s a story for another occasion.

5. When do you expect the band to be back on the live circuit, touring “Backlash Cop’?

I would like to do some shows towards the end of 2007/beginning of 2008 – Backlash was built to play live and we’ll certainly be taking a tour out in the near future.

6. Would you ever let William Shatner cover “Calculate the Risk’ in his own unique way, ala in the style of “Common People?‘

Only if he let’s me do the backing vocals.

7. One last question: Why do they never play Les Savy Fav on the radio, the only punk band left in America?

An excellent question and one which I can’t answer fully. One can only imagine that it’s due to the fact that the band have previously had no budget with which to leverage the UK or US Radio market. It costs a lot of money to get played on the radio and this means that you should consider most of what you hear as an advertisement. I think Tim is too busy with making stuffed animals and curtain fabrics to worry about it though.

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Thanks Andrew, some good stories! I look forward to Jetplane Landing’s return to the stage with eager anticipation.

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Links

Jetplane Landing

Les Savy Fav

Smalltown America Records

What is Biggleswade? Most people think this word is was used by beggars in the 15th century where they would use the ‘biggleswade strip‘ to receive the finest copper coins in the land in exchange for showing a bit of leg.

In fact it is my home town and the birthplace of “the best shit band ever” Ratpigeon.

Formed in 2002 as the infamous cult Spazzcore Deluxe Da Action Pumppa (Beefcake), Ratpigeon showed what they were made of to a small audience in 2003 and actually made a woman cry in a heap of sadness… Maybe her kitten had just been flattened that day by a obese gentleman, but Ratpigeon knew they were on the correct pulse.

After playing through a series of houses (one of which I was honoured to witness as they performed with a 6ft “man’s member with love spuds” behind them) they are now hitting London with their increasing loving fans!

Having opened for acts including UK Subs, Splodgenessabounds and Kunt and The Gang, Ratpigeon are still abusing the ears of the world with their brand of music fuelled by a mutual love of 80’s glam and metal, old school punk rock and British loonies such as Mark E Smith and John Otway.

The keep it fast team spoke with the singer Luke to find out how “sexellent” they really are:

If Ratpigeon are mentioned in your home town it seems everybody has heard about you and even people seeing you in London for the first time walk away grinning at the end of the show, why do you think this is?

Without sounding cliché I’d like to think its because we are genuinely original, I mean people say they have never seen a band like Ratpigeon, but that could be a bad thing as much as a good thing, there’s probably very good reasons why no bands sound like us, probably because most people have some degree of decency and taste.

Obviously our tendency to rock out like motherfuckers and not give a shit what we say/do onstage may also contribute to this. Sometimes we like to move.

The words we choose to sing may cause some smiles ,usually ones such as “Fuck’, ‘Cock’ and ‘Piss’.

Does any of the members dress up for the performance?

We’re all dappa guys. Though I do tend to change my clothes before I perform. I like to pay homage to all my favourite bands of the 80s by wearing some flamboyant outfits, it adds a visual aspect to the performance.

Like watch any 80s glam video,the music is usually amazing but if these guys were wearing plain white shirts and had sensible haircuts it just wouldn’t be the same. Fun, OTT, party rock n roll is bound to make a comeback soon and I for one am gonna jump on the fucking bandwagon when it does and cause a stir, albeit minimal one.

Has any fans decided to do more then just nod their heads to your tunes?

One thing I’ve noticed is we seem attract a lot of boys, mainly in their late teens who have large beer-bellys and like to take their shirts off, drink beer and act like Neanderthals. I like encourage this sort of irresponsible behaviour .

Once someone invaded the stage when we were playing dressed as a Mexican wrestler, me and Graeme decided it would be funny to kick him to the floor and sit on his face, smack him with our guitars and stuff whilst playing, we then realised it was one of our mates.

What is the worst performance you have done? Was it a bad crowd or bad playing?

One of 2 shows here.

We played Rhythms of the World in 2005, we were booked on to play Club 85 about 3 in the afternoon on the Sunday. I was pissed by about 12, I think Graeme was too, Jack was on a comedown from the previous day’s magic mushrooms and Alan wasn’t happy for some reason.

We came out to play and although some of our mates were there, the sea of mothers with pushchairs and young children we saw making up most the crowd spelt a recipe for disaster.

Knowing the only way we were going to go down well was if we walked on and did a series of songs from the childrens TV show Wigggles, we walked on ,did our usual set, played really badly and walked off to less than half the people we walked on to.

Then there was the time we played the Phoenix in Hitchin when Graeme got so pissed he collapsed mid song and spilt beer over the amps. But we found that funny, even Alan who’s stupidly expensive amp was temporarily broken.

What is the best thing someone has told you at the end of a show?

Several people have asked us where we get our drugs from. Even though we practically never touch a thing apart form alcohol. And we’ve had to sign autographs for some crazed American women before. Some guy said our music was “rude”, not “rude” as in offensive, “rude” as in radical, cowabunga dude surfer speak shit.

One guy came to an early show and gave us an awful review, I think saying I should get a job doing sound effects for the next Godzilla movie. A fan of ours (we didn’t have anything to do with this) tracked the guy down sent him some rude emails. We nearly got in trouble for that.

But seriously the best thing some guy ever said to me was John Otway’s bassist, I can’t remember the words but he showed some level of faith in us and told us to stick to it.

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Fantastic! Well the keep it fast team hope that Mad Mac will Glam up and show off some of his bad ass moves next time they play!

It seems that the word “sexy” has evolved through the history of mankind and for the better!

A few hundred years ago the “sexy” word would only been thought of if you first downed a dozen warm fly ales and then looked at the person to the right of you… Of course, everyone would wake up the next day and pray to every God that they didn’t pick up a “lady of the night“. It looks like Angelspit has changed all of this!

The Electro-Industrial duo know as DestroyX and ZooG have been Thumping the ear drums of their eager fans since 2004.

The first impression from the press shots is that they are over dressed to the eyeballs but completely in the right way, from the sexcellent fitted pvc harajuku style ring leader suits, to the industrial blades used as a mohawk. This style would even make Prince (formally know as/symbol/squiggle) blush.

With their deep bass beats, stylish “riot” lyrics and techno rhythm, this is not for the Robbie Williams fans, but perfect anyone who is into the Gothic industrial scene!

With their debut album ‘Krankhaus‘ released in 2006 and a tour heading around the world (including England in October ) they are not going to be stopped.. Keep it fast spoke to ZooG about sexual ecstasy and Star Trek shit:

When you walk onto the stage to an audience who doesn’t know who you are, how do you try and make a impression to the crowd?

Firstly, I’m always nervous…VERY nervous! I usually can’t eat for about 6 hours leading up to a gig. We’ve done about 30 gigs…I should be over my nerves by now, but I’m still always very nervous.

Weather the audience know us or not, we give each show everything we have. We’ve had gigs where people have travelled for 4 hours to see us – so we try to give them the best show we can. We try to be sincere and try to deliver as much energy as we can.
We are always completely exhausted after a gig. Giving our energy to the audience is crucial to our show.

We never intended Angelspit to be a live project…but the more gigs we play, the more we enjoy it. Our songs are becoming increasing orientated to live performance. We toured Australia with our latest CD Krankhaus six months before it was released so we could test it on the audience. Many tracks were re-written after the tour to make them more punchy.

You have a fantastic sense of style around the band but when you are on stage what is more important: The look or the energy of the performance?

ENERGY!

We seem to have a sick pleasure in walking onto the stage looking as good as we can, then destroying ourselves and making our “prettiness” smudge.

Maybe it’s a statement about uncovering the myth of glamour…maybe it’s just us having fun.

Is there any classic bizarre stories of anything that has happened on stage or backstage?

At Wave Gotik Treffen it was so hot that DestroyX got sun tan marks on her legs from her stockings during our 40min set…it was so hot!

Has there been accidents when you have performed?

Only gear blowing up or suddenly not working. Nothing major though.

We use a electronic instrument called a Theremin. It’s like a synthesizer that makes notes when you wave your hands in front of it (without touching it).

Often our theremin makes unexpected sounds that are VERY psycho. We played a gig once where the theremin made this really freaky deep sound and the sound guy obviously liked it because he had this look of sexually ecstasy on his face.

I found his facial reaction so funny that I started laugh during a “really serious intense moment”.

What is the best thing someone has told you at the end of a show?

“You have inspired us to start a band”

It is the greatest honour for someone to let us inspire them. This modern world is devoid of inspiration, and we are increasingly devoid of the power needed to act on our dreams.

There is nothing greater than the ability to inspire and motivate. Our society does not need another drone in a suit dedicated to making money. We need more artists and dreamers to inspire us to “do” and “think” for ourselves…and for the common good and all that Star Trek shit…

Below is a sample of the track ‘A la Mode, A la Mort’ taken from the album ‘Krankhaus‘

Of course keep it fast will be there for the show in London, shame it is not this weekend!

Note: If you click on the pictures it will let you know who took them, thanks!