Psycho
A Go-Go Are:
Chris (AKA Jonny A Go-Go): Vocals
Robb: Bass
G: Guitar
Johnny: Drums
MM - When did you all met and how did you come to form Psycho A Go-Go?
Chris: We, that's me, Robb and G met at school.
Me and Robb had been in shitty pseudo-bands since we had been about 13, we
decided we were gonna try actually do something seriously, Robb knew G, we
got him in the band, started writing songs, went through a heap of
drummers until we found the rock powerhouse that is Johnny.
MM - Where do you call home?
All: Aberdeen
Robb: South Shields!
Johnny: The back of the Van!
MM - How would you best describe yourselves
and the music you play?
Chris: Elvis crossed with the Sex Pistols. The best of 50's rockabilly,
70's punk and nineties rock
G: Psychopunk n'roll. We play the devils music.
Johnny: Madness (not the band)! Noise!!!!!!!!!
MM - What do the band have planned next? Any
plans for a full UK tour yet?
Robb: Drinking & sex
Chris: We're doing another another tour of the North in the first week of
December to promote the 'Whisky Chaser EP', in the meantime, we'll be
recording the next EP.
Dates we've confirmed so far are South Shields (the Office) on the 3rd
December and Blackburn (Sir Charles Napier) on the 6th.
We'll hopefully do Leeds and Nottingham as well.
Johnny: Wish we could play a full UK tour though!
MM - Who writes the songs that you perform? Is
it a solo effort or more of a joint venture?
Robb: Everyone. It's pretty much an equal share in the song-writing.
MM - Is your material original or do you do
cover versions as well?
Chris: Well obviously we do 'Motorvate' and a coupl'a others, but we're
generally gonna be concentrating more on our stuff from now on.
The covers are alright for pleasing the crowd until our own songs get a
bit better known.
MM - Have you been approached by any of the
major record labels yet?
Chris: As a rule, I don't think we wanna be courting major label
attention, they'll only come in and wanna mess with your shit.
The way we look at it WE should CHOOSE a label. Robb's spoken to Dante
from Infernal, so we're hoping we can do some stuff with him.
Robb: Still the money you can get from a major is still quite appealing…
Johnny: ££££££££££££££££!!!!!!!
MM - Where did the name Psycho A Go-Go come
from?
G: Sam, Aberdeen's own resident rockabilly cat, furnished us with the
name. He is a legend in his own right, being the first person I know to
walk around in creepers sporting a quiff.
MM - What was the first and last rock concert you attended (other than your
own!).
Robb: Terrorvision was my first many years ago. The last was the Backyard
Babies in Glasgow.
G: First was Rocket from the Crypt on the 'Scream, Dracula Scream' tour,
they started me off on the road to rock n'roll.
The last was the Wildhearts in Newcastle on the reunion tour, Ginger made
me cry.
Chris: First was 3 Colours Red in Aberdeen, I think, not sure. The last
was Reading a coupl'a weekends ago. The Backyard Babies and Grand Theft
Audio were probably the highlights.
Johnny: I went to see Chuck Berry when I was 7 years old.
The first time I got to stay up late to listen to music. I was the only
kid there. Chris tells me Chuck Berry would have been dead though! Ghost
Berry!! The last would have been……The Who, apart from local gigs of
course!
MM - How have the music media in general
responded to the band so far?
Robb: Quite good, although the local Aberdeen fanzine voted us the 'Worst
band in Aberdeen'…it was voted for by other bands though, jealousy perhaps
eh?
Johnny:We got a good review in one of the local papers - The Evening
Express…
Chris: The largest circulation of a parochial newspaper in the world.
MM - What was the last album you bought and
was it as good as you hoped it would be?
Chris: 'The Van EP' by Anti-Product, from our very own Uncle Tun
Robb: 'Toxicity' by System of A Down, thought they were gonna be a one
album wonder but the new ones surprisingly good
Chris: METAL!
G: 'Turned On' by the Rollins Band, it's a sort of live double-album thing
from their 1989 tour.
Rollins is a very angry man. Rocks very much in places, less so in others…
Robb: Grrrrrrr
Johnny: 'Deep Purple' in Rock! Everything up to eleven, band in control of
production. Pure Rock Energy and Noise.
MM - Which band would you most like to go out on tour with?
All: The Wildhearts, best band ever.
Johnny: Antiproduct would be great as well.
MM - When you were
younger who did you want to be? Who was your idol?
Chris: Axl Rose probably, when I was about 13
Robb: Robbie Williams in a kilt ;) but really Danny McCormack
G: How much younger? I used to want to be Michael J Fox in 'Back To The
Future', that's probably why I took up guitar in the first place. The
Chuck Berry scene when he starts to disappear …
Johnny: G is Michael 'G' Cox. Music-wise it would probably be Keith Moon,
though when I was a kid I wanted to be Ringo!
MM - What Psycho-A-Go-Go song do you personally like over all the others
and why?
Chris: The new one, 'Sneakers and Creepers', but seeing as no one's heard
it yet, I'll say 'Heartbreak City'.
It's one of me best efforts lyrically I reckon, every word rings true.
G: 'Rock n' Roll' probably, it always gets the kids up dancing, and me
too. I get to rant in the middle too.
Robb:Yup, 'Rock n' Roll' gets my "Hell Yeah!"
Johnny: 'I Love America', because everyone else in the band hates it!!
MM - What's the worst chat-up line you've
ever heard/used?
Robb: Get your knees dirty
Chris: No line, just putting me arm round them and marching them off. Last
time I did that I sprewed on the girl and almost got into a fight with her
Dad.
G: Um…I generally hate chat-up lines, but I guess :
Girl : Why do they call you G?
Me: Cos I always hit the G-spot.
Don't laugh, it worked.
Johnny: I've always loved you (she said).
MM - What sort of audiences do you attract
to your gigs?
Chris: Pretty mixed, from old school rockabilly types through to
nu-metallers.
Robb: Students are the worst, fucking cunts, try their hardest not to
enjoy themselves by only buying one pint and speaking shit through the
whole set like it's some kinda tea party, it's rock n'roll for fucks sake!
Johnny: Some of the audience comes from other bands, 'cos Aberdeen hasn't
got particularly big Rock audience. The folk that come love it though!
MM - How can your fans find out about what
the band are up to and where you will be performing?
Chris: Check the website:
http://www.psychoagogo.20m.com
And join the mailing list by mailing me at psychoagogo1@yahoo.com
MM - Name your three favourite songs and tell us why you like them so much.
Chris: At the moment I'll say: 'Anyway but Maybe' By Silver Ginger 5, cos
it's the greatest mix of heaviness and poppiness; 'Urge' by the Wildhearts
cos the lyrics are fucking brilliant; and 'I Wanna Be Sedated' by Ramones,
cos I DO wanna be sedated.
G: My all-time list has been hopelessly corrupted, instead here is this
week's top 3: 'I Hate You' by The Monks, 'People Ain't No Good' by the
Cramps, and 'Mood Swings and Roundabouts' by the Wildhearts.
Robb: 'Good Life' by Weezer because it's such a great pick-me-up song;
'Half hour Heartache' by The Yo-Yos cos it's like: "I've just split with
my girlfriend and I don't care"; and 'Weekend' by the Wildhearts cos lifes
all about the weekend ain't it? I love a good weekend, 'specially one you
can't remember.
Johnny: Aargh! Too difficult a question…It'll probably change next week
but here goes: 'I Get Around' by the Beach Boys because it's pure fun.
'Bike' by Pink Floyd (with Syd Barrett) for pure "banal" madness! 'Search
and Destroy' by Iggy and the Stooges for energy and noise; and
'Substitute' by The Who (for a substitute). Aargjh too many….
MM - Is there any particular films you like
to watch over and over again?
Chris: 'Swingers', 'Fight Club', Star Wars Trilogy…
G: 'Fight Club' until I had my episode. I've been watching quite a bit of
Japanese cinema lately, 'Seven Samurai' and Manga-classic 'Akira'.
Robb: Again 'Fight Club', 'Ghostbusters', (classic line up), and
'Transformers The Movie' Orson Welles last and greatest role!
Johnny: Recently the Indiana Jones Trilogy are the only films I have
watched repeatedly. Though music videos and the A-Team get watched a lot.
MM - What's your views on the current music
scene?
Robb: I fucking hate it.
Johhny: It's like a damp squid.
Chris: Looks like emo is gonna be the next big thing, but it's all swings
and roundabouts, good-time, greasy rock n'roll will have it's turn again.
G: The mainstream scene's always several steps behind the underground, but
they always like to take credit for 'new' innovations in sound.
You'll be reading about rock n'roll being the next big thing a few years
from now in the NME while we're off doing something else.
MM - What did you do last Saturday night?
Chris: It'd probably be more interesting to ask about Friday, which was a
bit debauched.
Last Saturday I went to see 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch', which was this
fucked up musical about a transsexual rock star whose operation gets
botched. Hence the angry inch. It was pretty good actually, kinda like a
new Rock Horror.
G: I planned on a quiet night. Heading down to the local shop for a loaf
of bread, I was set-upon by bees. Damn those bees.
Johnny: I stayed out at my mother's. We got stalked by a wild animal at
night while walking through fields of sheep. So it seemed anyway. The
sheep were all shit scared and not because of us!
Not a typical Saturday Night!
Robb: ?
MM
- How would you
best describe the bands mood right now?
Johnny: Merry!
Chris: And looking forward to recording the next EP, it's gonna fully
rock. The next tour will also be fully rock.
Robb: We are all happy, but not Chris 'cos he's a moody cunt!
G: Good.
MM - Lastly, is there anything you would
like to say to all your fans out there?
Johnny: Please keep coming to the gigs and buying the records!
Robb: Thank you and goodnight!
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MM
- How would you
best describe the bands mood right now?
