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Artist: Crystal Kicks Date:
22nd February 2007
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| MM - Would
you like to give us a brief history on the band, how it all came about,
where you call home etc? Dave - Home is always gonna be Dumfries, That’s where I grew up, went to school and met my band mates. That’s how the band started; we were just five mates that liked the same shit. Flintii - I guess I’d call it Punk n’ Roll – it’s just simple up-beat music with a harder edge. As for the audience, anyone and everyone, they’re no specific group of people that will like it and no one else. Jaysyn - I don’t really like labelling music, but if I had to, I guess I’d call it “punk-rock to dance to”. Y’know, it’s got the punk-rock energy, but with a little bit more sophistication and melody. Diki - Well, it doesn’t take a genius to realise there’s a huge 80’s-sleaze revival going on right now, and loads of bands we know are getting lumped into that category. I guess it’s our reluctance to accept that label and just do our own thing that sets us apart from the other unsigned bands at the moment. Flintii – I don’t think there is really a band out there that we directly sound like. You can hear our influences in our music but you can’t listen and say that we are ripping someone off! We take the best bits of what we like in a band and do it better. Our stage show is what helps us a lot. I hate going to see a band and they just stand there. It’s so fucking boring. I like bands that go over the top with everything, Run around, climb up stuff, make the audience part of the show. Even the drummer should be out there doing his bit. Even if you can’t afford to fly your kit around the room, come out from behind it and climb around the room yourself, talk to the crowd bring the show to them as much as you can. That is what will make them go away at the end of the night wanting more and you will be remembered. Diki - You also have to have the full package, the music, the look and the stage show. In the music biz these days you have to have it all or you haven’t got anything. Flintii – I was 9 when I started drumming, I saw a pipe band playing and thought the drummers were cool as fuck so I said to my parents that I wanted to join a pipe band and they talked me into playing a drum kit instead. I guess I owe it to them. Jaysyn - Seeing Bon Jovi play live at Ibrox when I was 8! They had fireworks and everything; it was an awesome show! When you’re that young, attending such a huge event can have a lasting effect on you; I knew from that moment onwards that I wanted to play in a band for a living. Diki – I started playing guitar when I was 13, My Big Bro is a guitarist so I kinda took it from him. MM - Some people sit around and wish for things but nothing happens, however, you guys are a motivated band. What do you really think you will be doing in a year Diki – Just what we are doing now but on a bigger scale Flintii – Still driving around the country in a clapped out old van heading to gigs. Playing awesome shows, getting drunk and selling a lot of merch. Jaysyn - To be honest, I’m a real optimist, so I like to think that by this time next year we’ll be touring the US or something; ideally with some record company backing so we won’t be completely broke when we get back home! Dave – Our sound is just what happens when we play together. We are all into really different styles of music from each other, but at the same time we all have a love for bands like Backyard Babies, Motley Crue and Poison. When we first started playing together we came out with the sound that you now know as Crystal*Kicks it came pretty natural. As for the image we love standing out from the crowd. The whole leather, skinny jeans, crazy hair, eyeliner, chains and sunglasses look is something we were drawn to. There are loads of bands kicking around today that are living in the 80’s with the Glam era, which I totally love but that sort of image doesn’t really fit our music and doesn’t fit us as people. Jaysyn - Our sound and lyrics come from our bottom of our hearts. We make sure that when we write a song, it’s something that we would to listen to and something that we have a lot of faith in. Of course, we draw a lot of inspiration from our favourite bands (e.g. Backyard Babies, Buckcherry, Motley Crue, and Velvet Revolver) and I guess they subconsciously influence us, but we don’t make an effort to sound or dress like them. MM - Where did the bands name come from and what does it represent to you? Can you remember any of the other names that were considered at the time Flintii – Hahaha!!! I’ve been dreading this day! Well we kind of stole the name, “Crystal” came from Canadian rockers Crystal Pistol and “Kicks” came from a Glasgow band The Cherry Kicks. It was me that came up with it. I sat for days with a bit of paper just listing words, there must have been like every bands name and half the dictionary written down just so I could put words together and make something that sounded cool. Jaysyn - Now every time I think about it all I can think about was sitting backstage after opening for Hanoi Rocks and Andy McCoy saying “Crystal*Kicks is that like Crystal Meths man? That shit fucks you up!” MM - How does the song writing process work within the band? Is it down to one particular person or do you all get involved Flintii – Usually one guy would come up with a riff and someone will come up with a chorus and a verse and a middle 8. Dave always writes the lyrics except maybe for a few lines here and there. But we all have say in how the song goes. How many bars to play where the breaks are and stuff like that. It's never really just 1 guy in his room writing loads of songs for us to play. That idea doesn’t really work for us. MM - Crystal Kicks have a great stage show, but who was the first band you saw in concert Jaysyn - Like I said earlier, Bon Jovi when I was 8. I think that was for the “These Days” tour….they still had big(ish) hair then! Flintii – I grew up seeing a lot of bands and musicians as all my family are musical. So I don’t remember the first, but the first “BIG” band I saw were Alter Bridge, awesome band! MM - Who, in your opinion, is the greatest genius of all time in the music business and why Diki – Dregen (Backyard Babies) The guys great at everything! Flintii – Tommy Fuckin’ Lee, he’s the reason I play the way I do. He even got out from behind the kit and proved he could play guitar and front a band. He’s a really talented guy. Jaysyn - Oh, that’s a tough one. Loads of musicians and bands have influenced me, but none more than Nikki Sixx. He wrote some of my favourite songs, and has great style (both in fashion-terms and bass playing), so he’s my personal hero. MM - Name your favourite 5 albums of all time and what they have meant to you personally Flintii – Backyard Babies, Making Enemies Is Good – Not a bad song on it, cool cover, 1 of the first rock n roll albums I bought. Alter Bridge, One Day Remains – Such a good drum sound, first band I saw. Great live band and Scott is one of my favourite drummers. Motley Crue, Red White and Crue – Everyone loves a greatest hits album...all the good stuff and none of the crap. What a legendary band. The Ga*Ga*s, Tonight The Midway Shines – These guys were awesome. We were meant to be playing with them before they split up to! Gutted! Gun, Swagger – Best thing to come out Scotland since Irn-Bru and I fucking love that drink! Reminds me of the Christmas Diki and me spent with Dante the bass player. Jaysyn - 1) Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magic – great bass grooves, filthy lyrics and a massive drum sound: a hugely influential album for me. 2) Extreme: Pornograffiti – apparently, Nuno Bettencourt was only 19 when he wrote, “Get the Funk Out”! That never ceases to amaze me. 3) Avenged Sevenfold: City of Evil – Every song on this album is incredible, they’re definitely the most talented American band of this millennium. 4) The Police: Zenyatta Mondatta – My dad is a huge Police fan, and they provided the soundtrack of my entire upbringing. This is my favourite album of theirs. 5) Busted: A Present For Everyone – Really Catchy Songs Diki – Backyard Babies, Stockholm Syndrome – Great Songs. Velvet Revolver, Contraband – All the best parts of a GnR with a way better front man. Lit, Self Titled – Catchy as fuck songs with great riffs, totally under rated band. Backyard Babies, People Like Us – Enough Said. Backyard Babies, Making Enemies Is Good – Just another great album from an awesome band. Dave – Anything By the Backyard Babies, Contraband by Velvet Revolver, Anything By Blink182 they have all fucked me up enough to be where I am today! Jaysyn - I know it’s an old cliché; but I’m in not in it for the money, so I don’t care about earning royalties or any of that shit. I just want as many people to hear the songs that we worked so hard to create, so they can appreciate them too. For that reason, I have no problem with people downloading music. Our band owes a lot to Myspace as well; we’ve gained a lot of fans since we put our songs up on that site. Flintii – A lot of my music is downloaded so I ain’t going to complain. MM - If you were doing a gig on a desert island and could only bring one instrument with you for the whole band, what would it be and why Diki – Guitar I Guess Flintii – Bagpipes. They're cool as hell and Scottish! Jaysyn - Probably an acoustic guitar, although I hate to admit it. You can tune one to compensate for the bass, it doesn’t need any power to work, and it’s probably the best song writing instrument…so aye, it’s gotta be the guitar. MM - Tell us something that most people don't know, never have known, and probably never would know about you if they don't read this. Jaysyn - Um, I’ve known Flintii since we were like 4 years old. Is that an interesting fact? Flintii – Although you may have guessed, it takes me about 30/ 45 min to do my hair! Dave – I Like Llama's! Diki – I eat shit loads but cant put on weight for shit! MM - For you, what were the 3 high points of 2006? Dave - Opening for Hanoi Rocks, Opening for The Glitterati and doing our first UK Tour. Flintii – Opening for Hanoi Rocks, Opening for The Glitterati and doing our first UK Tour. Diki – The Glitterati Gig, Playing with Hanoi Rocks and doing our first tour. Jaysyn - 1) Our UK tour, in which we learned some valuable lessons and made some great friends. 2) Playing with Hanoi Rocks back in June; those guys are living legends. Connie Bloom was playing with them too! 3) Surviving the year! MM - What do you hope 2007 will hold for Crystal Kicks? Dave - A lot more of everything we did in 2006 without the bad bits. Diki – More Touring, less car crash’s/ breakdowns and to get a record in the shops. Jaysyn - A world tour, major record deal, moving into our rock star mansions with our supermodel wives. Flintii – Record in the shops, Some bigger gigs, new fans and a lot of travelling around the rest of the world, there’s so much out there I’ve never seen so that would be good. International fame and a big ass recording contract would be nice to. MM - Finally is there any messages you’d like to pass to all our readers out there? Crystal Kicks - Thanks for taking the time to read this. Now go to www.myspace.com/crystalkicks and check us out. Hope to see you all at our show sometime! MM - As someone who was lucky enough to catch the band when they played with The Glitterati last year, I can confirm they really do kick ass. Check them out, I promise you won't be disappointed. |
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