A couple of albums later
and we now have the new cd. It's called Defiant and I think that pretty
much describes the tone of the lyrics and sound. Back in the early
eighties there was Maggie Thatcher and a whole raft of ‘them and us’
issues. What drives and motivates you to write the songs now?
I'm always inspired to write lyrics, I loathe injustice and cruelty
and unless the the world stops being unjust and cruel I'll always have
subject matter. And even if things were perfect I'd be able to write
about how great everything is etc !!! Also I play guitar now so I have
can make a noize musically as well as lyrically. I sometimes wake up
in the middle of the night with a tune in my head which I have to sing
into a tape deck, or a lyric I scribble down in the dark.
Picture - Grilly
The one thing I notice
is the lack of any autobiographical songs in there. Taking a band like
the Distillers, Brody’s lyrics are nearly all autobiographical
externalized into a rage. How much of you is there in the lyrics and
when will you ‘show the world your best lyrics’?
There's plenty of me in
the lyrics, but I can empathise with others and write from their point
of view as well as my own. Actually 'You can't do that', 'The Story of
My Life' and 'Fast Forward' ARE autobiographical. I don't know when
I'll show the world my 'best' lyrics, as I hope to improve all the
time. I think you'll find that my worst lyrics are still a lot better
than some peoples' best...... I've heard some stuff where you'd have
to be deaf or daft to think their lyrics were good !!!!
If someone had told me
30 years ago that I would be giving a 5 star review to Vice Squad’s cd
‘Defiant’ in 2006 and defending it I would have said ‘fuck off you’re
mad’ but that’s what happened. I have it as a well produced hard
hitting cross between the Runaways, Motorhead, Girlschool, L7,
Plasmatics and the Exploited. What’s your view of the album and how
does it compare to the rest of Vice Squads body of work? What's the
reaction been from fans and critics?
I think it's the best thing we've released so far, but we're half way
through the next one and it's already sounding better than Defiant.
The fans love it, some like it more than the old stuff. Most of the
critics liked it too. You always get a few bitchy comments but they
tend to say more about the bitches than the album. And of course not
everyone likes the same sort of music so you'll never get everyone to
like every song. There's a song on the new album called 'You don't
fool me' which says a lot about critics !!!
We expected the album
to just be ignored or slated without anyone listening to it properly
because that's what's happened with all our albums in the past, so we
were very surprised and pleased when it got rave reviews.
We recorded Defiant
in my front room on limited equipment so I'm very pleased that you
like the production. This is the first time I've told any interviewer
how it was recorded, we were waiting for someone to say we'd 'sold
out' and spent a fortune on recording studios and producers. You can't
get more DIY than recording it yourselves in a front room !!!
Picture - Grilly
One thing has happened
and that’s your voice has changed and developed. I described it as 40
a day growl, to harmonies and softer. Have you had training because
touring must rip the hell out of your vocal chords?
Years of gigging three times a week with the Bombshells trained my
voice. I smoke about 5 cigs a YEAR, a long way from 40 a day! I just
have a natural 'overdrive' in my voice, like Little Richard, Noddy
Holder etc. I occasionally use my 'clean' sound, (usually on harmonies
to get a different texture) but as with guitars I prefer the
distortion! I don't think clean, sweet voices sound authentic in Punk,
Punk's like the Blues, it needs to have rawness and dirt to convey
feeling. I also do the 'thug' voices because I can sing really low in
a geezer's voice for backing vocals that require 'barking' !
Do you agree that the
States is where most of your popularity is now? Your album’s
production definitely seems geared towards the States and looking at
your touring itinerary the States seems to confirm this. Have you
given up on the UK now?
The USA is a lot bigger
than the UK so we do have a bigger fan base there, BUT we are not
giving up on the UK. We have more UK gigs this year than we've had for
years, thanks to Stu's dogged determination. Check out
MySpace for the full list of gigs.
The UK scene was going
down the pan, we tried playing over here but there wasn't much
interest, but the last couple of shows we've done here have been
brilliant, so here's to a hopefully invigorated UK Punk scene !
We'd started work on
'Defiant' before SOS made us an offer so it wasn't intentionally aimed
at the US market, the Americans think it sounds very British.
Picture - Grilly
How does the US punk
scene differ from the UK one? Is there really a UK one still and does
punk still matter with so much cross breeding and influences from
other genres?
US punks and UK punks
have a lot in common, there don't seem to be any huge differences
anymore. I used to think the US punks were more diverse and accepting
of other music fans ( skinheads,metalheads etc ) but if you look at
our audience here in the UK you'll see they are just as diverse, we
have Animal Rights punks, skinhead bruisers, Goth lesbians ( Lumpy's
favourite ) and teenage girls and assorted spikies.
As long as there are
Factory Farms, Estate Agents,Rent Pimps etc then punk matters.
Sometimes cross-breeding makes a species stronger. I think punk is
about spirit as much as music, I think it's stronger today than it's
ever been.
Vice Squad is Beki
Bondage. True or false? In the old version of the band this caused
ructions. Is Vice Squad more a band now?
I was by far the one
most affected by being in Vice Squad and was the only original member
who didn't give up music and try to pursue a 'normal' way of life, so
in that sense I ' was Vice Squad'. But I certainly wouldn't discount
the input from the other members and it isn't fair to imply that the
band didn't matter. I've learned that it's better to NOT be the front
person and if I had my life over again I would be a guitarist, that
way you can move from band to band without your past following you
everywhere. A singer isn't going to get very far without a good band,
( NEVER underestimate the importance of dedicated musicians ) and the
best way to work is as a tight, committed unit. You always need
someone to lead, not necessarily the same person all the time, but
that doesn't make you any less of a unit. I feel more part of the band
now than I did in the old days.
Heroes and heroines and
why?
Bruce Lee because he changed the way the west looked at oriental
people and was more graceful than Nureyev, Joe Strummer because he
rocked and he believed, Janis Joplin for her talent (to sing like that
before you've even hit 30, she died at 27, is miraculous), Einstein
and Newton for being veggies. I also like Pink, wonderful voice and
pro-Animal Rights, so a Top Girl.
A girl, a Gibson (SG) and a stiffy?
Guitars – Fender or Les
Paul and why?
I Can't believe you're asking me this one --- a fucking
Fender ??? !!!
Compared to a Les Paul ??? !!!! Are you having a laugh ? The Les Paul
is the best guitar of course ! It's got humbuckers as opposed to
single coil pick-ups, It weighs more so it is a better weapon on
stage, it's fucking beautiful compared to the plank that is a Fender ,
it has endless sustain and all the great Rock and Punk players use
them. They are hand made with a neck through body as opposed to the
neck being nailed to the body.....Is that enough or do you want some
more...? !
Note that Hendrix only set fire to his Fenders, he never burnt a
Gibson. Lumpy once brought a Fender into the house in spite of
warnings that I'd set fire to it. When we returned from a drinking
binge I did indeed ignite it with lighter fuel and then was obliged to
piss on it as we were in danger of setting fire to the curtains.
But seriously, ALL guitars are wonderful (except acoustics - fill 'em
with concrete and stick a couple of EMG's on them) it's better to
have a Fender than be an Estate Agent, but the Les Paul Custom is the
best guitar. It's a Beast of Beauty. In fact I've got a stiffy just
thinking about it.
Would you have believed that in 2007 nearly 30 years after performing
that Vice Squad would still be going and a force still to be reckoned
with? Beki Bondage then and Beki Bondage now. How have you changed and
what have you learnt? What have Vice Squad still got to offer?
I never had plans to give up music and become 'normal' so I always
assumed I'd be making a lot of noize somewhere. I've only changed in
that I'm more of what I was then with a bigger voice and vocabulary.
I've learned that some people are c**ts but that the little spark of
light in some makes it worth carrying on. I've learned to be resolute
and to stick to my guns. Vice Squad have loads to offer, it's worth
coming to see us for our new drummer Kev alone ! Being on stage with
this band is like sitting on top of a speeding train, it's the best band
I've ever been in. People either give up on rebellion and get ground
down by ordinary life or they end up in a position where they've nothing
to lose. I guess I've been at that point for a long time, and the more
you do something the better you get at doing it. We've had to scrape by
for years so it would be interesting to record in a commercial studio
with a producer like everyone else and see what comes out, I always
believed that Lump and me were good songwriters but we've always had
weaknesses in and around the band and at last we feel we have everything
in place.
