|
MM - Ok, lets
start with something easy and break you in gently. When was the band
formed and where do you all hail from?
Andy: The band formed on Xmas day 2000. I shit you not. We’re
half English, half Welsh, and we came from our parents’ insides.
MM - Rumour has it that you've lost Adz your drummer. That's a bit
careless of you, can't you remember where you left him? No seriously,
would you like to introduce us to the band and tell us what's happened
to the madman behind the drums.
Paul: Chris sings and plays guitar, Andy clangs the bass and
sings, and I play guitar (better than Chris).
Chris: Adz had other commitments and knew that he had to solely
concentrate on the band so he called it a day.
Andy: Yeah, his garden allotment business was taking off with
branches opening all over North Wales, the bastard’s making more money
than us!
MM - Have you found a suitable replacement to take his place yet? Does
he/she have a name and when will we get a chance to meet them?
Chris: We’ve been playing with a guy called Jan Beck, he’s a
fantastic musician and a brilliant person. We’re not in a rush to
replace Adz, we’re just gonna keep playing until the time is right.
Andy: Jan is approachable at all the current dates, but
unfortunately he’s mute so conversation can be difficult.
Paul: And he likes driving the bus as well. Which is nice.
MM - The band have released a number of singles in the past and you're
about to release your debut album. Come on then, tell us all about it.
What's it called, when's it out, what songs are going to be on it etc…
Chris: It’s called Now Or Ever… kind of a picture of our
lives so far, the different emotions we had to deal with to give it the
diversity it has. Out on 29th July. Buy it to see what’s on it, it
kicks ass.
Andy: In other worlds it’s about drugs an girls an mental
dispositions, the usual shenanigans, and it fuckin rocks like a
frustrated baboon.
Paul: It’s produced by Greg Haver and contains 12 lovely gems
of artistic beauty, or 12 bangin Rock tunes, depending on your point of
view.
MM - For the uninitiated, how would you best describe your music and who
do you think it would most appeal to?
Paul: I don’t know, I hate being asked this question. Just buy
it, it’s good.
Andy: Hard rock, with catchy tunes and massive singalong riffs, a
variety of different styles of elements, it’s a good drug album
Chris: I think it’d appeal to anyone who enjoys a good tune…
distorted guitars and is emotionally unstable (ha ha). Can’t really
describe it, the songs are too different – something for everyone.
MM - I have to ask, what was the idea behind all that cling film on the
TripleX Sun video? Very naughty, verging on outright kinky if you ask
me!
Chris:
That’s how we dress when we go out for a night on the town. People
always say they want to see more of us… maybe we took it the wrong
way.
Andy: Yeah, we’re trying to win over perverts.
Paul: It was to hide our tits.
MM -How can the readers keep up to date with
what you are all up to? Do you respond to personnel emails yourself of
does your record company deal with all that?
Paul: The record company is staffed by monkeys, they can’t use
computers so I do it myself. The website www.rellies.com
is updated all the time.
Andy: We deal with personal emails, we like getting them – for
a bunch of cunts we’re pretty approachable and friendly really.
MM -Has anyone in the band ever had a stalker or freaky fan yet? Have
you ever been given anything dodgy by a fan before?
Andy: We toured with AntiProduct, so of course we have weird
stalker fans. People seem to enjoy making up email addresses and posting
to us, very strange, why don’t they just say who they are?
Paul: Andy gets all the freaky fans. Bass players always do.
MM - What bands did you grow up with and how have they inspired you in
creating the style of music you perform now?
Paul: Loads of AC/DC, they steered me down the Heavy Rock Road.
Andy: Therapy, Lee Harvey Oswald Band, Led Zep, they all made me
fall head over heels into Rock.
Chris: I grew up listening to Queen, Dire Straits, The Eagles,
Chuck Berry and The Wildhearts. I think they all have their small parts
to play in our music, it’s what I’ve been accustomed to, so their
styles are a basis for our music.
Andy: Yeah I think you can hear our influences through the songs
to an extent.
MM - At what age did you decide you wanted to be a musician/performer?
Who did you want to be when you were younger? Who was your idol?
Chris: I was 10 years old when I bought my first guitar – a
Strat copy – that’s when I decided I wanted to be a performer like
my idol, Brian May. It was his hair that did it for me.
Paul: In 1988 I bought “Blow Up Your Video” by ‘DC. From
that point on I wanted to jump around stages like Angus Young.
Andy: I was a late starter, probably around 16 – Angus Young
and Steve Harris were my idols. And by the way, Slash made me stand the
way I do, not Peter fuckin Hook as everyone keeps saying.
MM - What has been the response from the music media in general with
regards to the band and its music?
Andy: Everyone seems to love us at the moment with a couple of
exceptions.
Chris: The press have been very receptive to our music and I
think they mostly enjoy it.
Paul: It’s all good. And who can blame them? We fuckin ROCK!
MM - Triple-X Sun is probably my all time favourite Relatives songs as
its just bursting with energy and fun. What is your favourite song so
far and why?
Paul: “Everybody’s Cynical” – it just Rocks like an
utrer-great-big-fuckin-big-clanging-pounding riff-monster. It’s been
my favourite since we first played it together.
Andy: Dunno really, it’s usually the newest one that becomes my
fave. Going through the recorded stuff it would have to be a tossup
between Advocate, Big Soles or Now or Ever.
Chris: Yeah, my problem is I get bored with things too quickly
and always look forward to what’s next rather than what we’ve done
before, but I love playing them all.
MM - What was the last CD that you bought and what is the most
embarrassing disc in your collection?
Chris: The last album I bought was QOTSA’s 1st album. Don’t
really have that many CDs, about 5 or 6 in all.
Andy: I am the Money single by Therapy. Most embarrassing is a
collection of Levellers hits, I’m ashamed of that but it’s a part of
my past and I’m coming to terms with that. The Therapy helps ho ho.
Paul: The last CD I bought was The Best Of Duran Duran. For my
mum’s birthday. Honest.
MM - What type of music do you personally hate to listen to?
Paul: Reggae. What a crock of shit. Makes me sick. Should be
banned, I tell ya.
Andy: Jangly Indie shit, monotonous “I’m too fuckin cool to
try” shoe gazing shite, it makes me sick if I’m stuck listening to
that fuckin dross!
Chris: I don’t really hate any type of music, if it’s good,
it’s good; but if it’s bad then I’d least like to listen to
Country and Western. Bad Country is shit. Extra shit.
MM - What was the very first concert that you ever attended and did you
ever think one day you would be the one standing on the stage in front
of all those crowds of cheering people?
Chris: First gig: Bush and 3 Colours Red in Manchester. 2500
people going hysterical, I thought, “I have to do that!”
Paul: Headswim a few years back. They were crap and didn’t
really inspire me to get onstage.
Andy: A school dinner hour gig, I think they were called Nil
Extremezi, I fuckin loved it and thought, “I want a bit of that”. I
nicked the singer’s shades and wore them for years after that.
MM - Which famous person would you most like to be stuck in a lift with
and what would you do with them?
Andy: Jenna Jameson, oh fuck, the things she could teach me, ha
ha.
Paul: Shakira. We’d play Monopoly.
Chris: Mila Jovovich. I’d start rubbing my head then pretend to
faint. I’m sure she’s the right woman for me so she’d come to my
aid, give me the kiss of life and fall head over heels in love with me.
I just need the chance…
MM - What song is guaranteed to get you up on the dance floor and
what song would you use to seduce a potential mate with?
Chris: A few beers and I’d dance to anything. I enjoy it,
specially if there’s women dancing cos they mistake me for Ricky
Martin on a regular basis. I’d seduce a potential mate with
“Peaceful and Easy Feeling” by The Eagles to relax her, then whack
on “Suck On My Chocolate Salty Balls” by Chef.
Paul: “Back In Black” is my fave tune ever, seduction wise it
would be “What do you do for money, honey” by AC/DC!!
Andy: Anything by A would get me up, good time drinking tunes. Seduction
tune. Hmm. Nine Inch Nails and a collection of chemicals, depraved drug
music. Or am I giving away too much here?
MM - Which do you prefer, the actual creation of making a new release,
or the glitzy rock n roll lifestyle that follows when you hit the road
with it?
Chris: Both elements are so different. Creating has its rewards
– when you listen back to something that’s just been recorded that
started in your brain, that’s great - and playing live, the rewards
come from the people that you play to – seeing the audiences getting
into it is really enjoyable.
Andy: Yeah it’s a different buzz live, playing storming gigs
and getting out meeting people and getting in a lot of trouble, I fuckin
love it.
Paul: I like both but I think performing has just got the edge.
MM - What are your best qualities and what are your worse traits?
Chris: You tell me…
Andy: Loyalty and honesty, always the best approach in dealing
with people. Worst traits – getting too messed up. And picking my
nose.
Paul: I make good big spliffs.
MM - If you were to win the lottery this weekend, would you (a) dump the
band that day and go and live the life of Riley, or (b) plough most of
it into the band to ensure they had the best possible chance of success?
Andy: Got no choice cos I have no interest in doing anything
apart from this, I could be rich but I’d be bored to fuck. I think
I’d plough the cash into the band but that’d also fuck us up coz all
we would do would be to convert the money into drugs.
Chris: I enjoy being in a band more than anything. If I could be
in a band with a lottery win, that’d be even better.
Paul: If I won enough, I could employ a stand-in look-alike.
MM - Are any of your regular cyber surfers and if so do you tend to hunt
around the web for different sites or do you tend to check out the same
old favourites?
Andy: Surfing’s an ace way of passing the time, I search out
all sorts of sites – wherever the links take me – music and porn
rule LOL
Chris: I only really go online to check my email.
Paul: I play online chess a lot. Yawn.
MM - What does your typical weekend consist of? Are your sociable
creatures or home bunnies?
Andy: If we ain’t gigging then it’s press stuff or practicing
in the day, then drugs and town at night, out to see bands or just do
the clubbing and getting fucked up thing.
Chris: Yeah if we’re not gigging we’re meeting mates in town
or in someone’s house. Beer’s always involved somewhere, I’d say
we were pretty sociable people.
Paul: If I’ve got loads of cash I’ll hit the bars, otherwise
I just slob around the house.
MM - What is your long-term aim, what do you personally hope to achieve?
Andy: To reach as many people as possible, and to experience as
much as possible. You only have one chance at this life so doesn’t it
make sense to experience everything you can with what little time you
have?
Chris: everything I possibly can, experience as much as possible
in my lifetime so I can go to my grave smiling with no regrets.
Paul: I’d like a big pile of cash, and my own island. Plus
world domination for the band. Not too much to ask, is it…
MM - Lastly, is there any thoughts you would like to share with all the
readers out there?
Andy: Winners take drugs, losers deserve it. We fuckin Rock. If
you ain’t seen us then you don’t know what you’re missing out on.
We fuckin rule!
Paul: Don’t cross the streams…
New single Everybody’s Cynical (SPANKCDS03) is out on July 22nd. The
debut album, Now Or Ever (SPANKCD03) is released on 29th July. Both are
distributed through Shellshock and should be in all good record shops.
And some shit ones too, no doubt.
|