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interview from
missminx.com, april/may 2003
The
inimitable UK band Spit Like This are certainly not to be messed
with. We got rock vixen and Spit like This bassist Vikki to tell
all...
How
and when did Spit Like This form?
Spit Like This was formed in late 2000 when I first met Z in a
club. After a long drunken conversation we discovered that I was
the perfect partner in crime for the rock n roll disaster road
show he had in mind.
Describe
your sound
It’s a wall of sound. Not in a massive thrash attack way but
layers of sound. It’s actually quite lush and rich sounding.
An xfm dj (Kevin greening) congratulated us on inventing a brand
new genre of music that he called goth glam – and I guess
that’s good a description as any! Most that hear it are left a
bit confused and very overwhelmed but always come back for more,
such is the genius of spit like this! Every song is unique,
different and unlike every other yet it still sounds like SLT. I
hate it when you get a cd and every song sounds the same as the
one before. We’ve done 2 cd’s so far and haven’t repeated
the sound or style once – and this isn’t a deliberate thing,
it’s just the way it happens. The live line-up consists of
vocals, main guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, 2nd guitar, 3rd
guitar.
What are your influences as a band?
Think motley crue crossed with the rocky horror show whilst
metallica gets fucked by adam ant and you’re getting close!
What was the first record you bought?
Honestly, I can’t remember so I guess it wasn’t a life
changing one! I was pretty poor when I was a kid, but I do
remember when I was about 4 or 5 playing my dad’s Beatles
records which I guess were my first records really.
What has been the best gig you've played?
It was actually a private one we did – invites only – mainly
old friends we’ve made over the years. We plied them with
booze then just let the chaos ensue…
What are your fans like?
We have the coolest fans! Every day new people discover the spit
like this universe and book their place on board – it’s
great! We have a street team that runs into the hundreds and
thousands of people that get in touch. They seem to like our
attitude and the fact that we haven’t played it safe. I
don’t know what’s happened in rock and metal over the last
10 years but it has got dull. Very dull. It’s full of lifeless
characters who don’t seem to get up to much. The danger
element has completely been lost. Our fans seem to like the fact
that we dare to say fuck you to the people most other bands
would be kow-towing for.
So
do you have loads of guys throwing themselves at you at gigs?
I don’t think they’d dare even try! Shortly after slt got
together, me & z got together. We’ve spent the last couple
of years working really closely to get where we are now and have
gone through a lot together to get here. Our journey has taken
us to some strange places! We were penniless alcoholics needing
a bottle of vodka a day to keep the demons away. Then we sold my
used panties of ebay to get cash for instruments etc through to
where we are now with our own label, a pocket full of songs, a
head full of ideas and hearts full of passion! The closest I get
to male groupies is when some dumbfuck from a trailer park in
Kansas sends an email ‘send me naked pictures of yourself’.
Wankers! Literally!!
What rock females do you admire?
I really admire Chrissie Hynde. She’s got the balls to stand
in front of thousands of people and tell them that not only is
she a woman, she’s a vegetarian and if ya don’t like it,
FUCK OFF! I also think Debbie Harry is pretty cool. I appreciate
female rockers who don’t take shit from people and who don’t
let themselves be categorised as being ‘a female rocker’.
Fuck being a ‘female rocker’, I’m A rocker and apart from
the whole cock thing I ain’t that different from a male
rocker-I’ve sure as hell got the balls to match the best of em!
What bands did you listen to growing up?
I listened to all the stuff that was on the radio in the
80’s.I mean ALL of it! The radio was always on to drown out
the sound of my parents trying to kill each other. When I got a
little older, I started to listen to rather an odd mix, I
started out with a load of punk stuff, (vice squad, x ray specs
etc) and then onto the kinks and T-rex and then through to stuff
like metallica, poison and motley crue. I still love all the
stuff I listened to on the radio when I was a kid though. Duran
Duran RULE!
Have you any funny stories from being with the band?
Erm, well I could be here forever on this one, Z and me tend to
get up to some dumbass stuff when we’re bored/drunk/both.
OK, Z has a tendency to set fire to things (people) when he’s
drunk and there are flammable things (wd40) close to hand. We
usually then spend a few hours setting fire to each other just
to prove that its perfectly safe while the person with the
singed eyebrows gets the fuck away from us ;) We also had some
fun with the whole selling used panties thing, one american guy
wanted the pants to be pissed in. Z pissed in them and we sent
them to the guy who claimed "I got hard as soon as I opened
the bag". Z has pretty powerful piss.
What's the best thing about being in a band?
Not having to work 9-5 and suck the corporate cock (z’s not
corporate) Getting to play cool music, hanging out with people I
like the whole time. I get to be myself 24/7. I don’t have to
save it for the weekends. The sex/drugs/rock n’ roll part is
pretty cool too.
Why do you think there are less girls than boys in rock?
Well, in the uk it’s partly due to the fact that we live in
such a disgustingly weak-minded society that no-one person seems
to have individual thoughts. The country seems to think in one
collective thought. It’s way too fashion conscious so all
little girls want to be at the moment is pop stars like girls
aloud (nazi’s). and the rock girls that do come up seem so
contrived and fake, who the fuck would want to copy that? There
are no strong female role-models around, and I think a lot of
girls are intimidated by what they perceive as a male world.
What
advice would you give to others wanting to be in a band?
Well, to do it how I did it… buy a bass, drop out of school,
leave home, get a load of tatts, buy a bottle of vodka and ROCK!
Seriously though, aside from all that, you have to be dedicated.
It’s not endless parties and limos. I’ve never worked so
hard in my life. My day is normally 18 hours long and for the
whole of that time, I’m working like a bitch to move things
forward. It’s fucking hard work but I’ve never wanted to do
anything else and I wouldn’t know how to do anything else.
The rewards are pretty cool though ;) One thing to remember is
not to be intimidated by anyone or anything. If you don’t ask
you don’t get and if you don’t give something a go you’ll
spend the rest of your life wondering ‘what if???’
What do you hope for with the new line-up?
To get this baby out on the road and to show a generation of
kids what a real rock n roll band is about. We go to so many
gigs and get so many demos sent to us and it seems that about
99.9% of bands treading the boards lack imagination and are so
incomprehensibly dull, you may as well have stayed at home. We
intend on changing that and have big plans…
Tell
us about Smell Your Mum
It’s another part of the Spit Like This universe. It started
off as a slogan/logo on a t-shirt that z made before I met him
and has become our range of offensive t-shirts and a webshite (smellyourmum.com).
it’s our bread and butter. Anyone can wear the clothing but
most won’t and that’s fine. If you’re too much of a pussy
to wear one of our tees, get off the bus now and go listen to
westlife instead.
How does it feel when you see people wearing your Tshirts?
Pretty fuckin’ cool! I know that we’re supposed to be a bit
aloof about this sort of thing but fuck that! Every time we sell
a t-shirt, sell a cd, see something written about us, hear
something about us on the grapevine, we love it! whatever anyone
tells you, this is a big ego trip. All a rock star really wants
is mass adulation and love, it’s just how you go about getting
it that defines you. We have certain rules that we live by and
certain guidelines that we have and, when we get there, we will
know it was done without compromise. Each and every step of this
journey has been fought for tooth and nail.
And the future of Spit like this - what plans do you have for
2003?
Well, we’re really looking forward to touring. As clichéd as
it may be, that is, ultimately, what we’re about. We’re
basically entertainers and that’s what we want to do. We take
our music very seriously and we take what we do very seriously.
We just don’t take ourselves very seriously. Once someone gets
that, they’ll get Spit Like This. Too many musicians have
their heads stuck so far up their arses they can’t see the
wood for the trees. They can’t see why they’re really there
and are totally missing the point. Every penny we make goes
straight back into Spit Like This. It might be to fund the next
lot of freebies. It might be to make the cd packaging better. It
might be to get a killer backdrop made. Whatever – we like to
give bang for your buck. We could be playing a shitty hell-hole
somewhere but we’ll still put on a killer show. Even if it
were to only one person – we’d respect that person enough
not to shortchange them. We’ve done a lot of the behind the
scenes stuff to get to a certain point. We’ve done two cd’s,
established our smell your mum t-shirts, set up our own label
and people are beginning to come to us. That was always the
plan. Build it and they will come.
Find
out more about Spit Like This at their website SpitLikeThis.com
Music
to to enjoy whilst kicking westlife repeatedly in the bollocks
Compiled by Vikki from Spit Like This
1. Motley Crue - All In The Name Of
Ok, not their best or most famous tune but Icannot think of a
reason better than 'all in the name of rock n roll' for some boy
band destroyin'!
2. Adam and the Ants - Beat My Guest
The killer b-side to 'stand and deliver'. Total punk rock
anarchy and talks about beating people with big sticks. hoorah!
3. Faster Pussycat - Don't Change That Song
We may be kicking westlife in the bollocks here but that doesn't
mean there's no room for some irony, does it?!
4. Kid Rock - Fist of Rage
Ok, we're changing the mood now. We've moved on from comical
anger and shifting down a gear to full out nastiness. those
muthafuckas are gonna wish they'd never been born...
5. Vice Squad - Powerdrill
Fast, heavy and aggressive. loads of loud guitars - the westlife
antichrist.
6. Cats in Boots - Long Long Way From Home
It's a song that just makes me want to stomp. Repeatedly.
7. Ben Folds Five - Song for the Dumped
I might be getting tired by this point so this song would just
fire me right back up and remind me how bloody angry I really
am!
8. Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Angry Inch
Atotal punk rock blast from start to finish. Here's where the
headbutting could start.
9. Spit Like This -Not Dead Yet
Well, Ihad to bung at least one in here! And this ends on about
180 beats a minute so, by the end, westlife should be total mash
potato.
10. Shotgun Messiah - I'm a gun
It's big, it's brash, it's loud and should drown out their
girlie squeals quite nicely.
11. L.A.Guns - No Mercy
Because that's what they'll be getting, no mercy :)
12. Kiss - Rock and Roll All Nite
By now, westlife will be no more, I'd have claimed one more for
rock n roll so it is time to be most triumphant and party on,
dude!
©
2003 missminx.com
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