Fresh
from their tour with the legendary Wildhearts we catch up with the
hottest new band to come out of Iceland in a long time. Ladies and
Gentlemen lock up your daughters and hide the stereo, we give you Sign.
MM - Hi there, first off thanks for taking the time out to talk to us
today, we really do appreciate it.
Zolberg - Pleasure is all mine love.
MM - Would you like to give us a brief history
on how the band came about, did you know each other before or did you
advertise for like minded musicians?
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Zolberg
- Umh, well me (Zolberg) and
Eagle (drummer) are brothers and have been playing together for
14 years so it was pretty obvious that we would be in a band
together.
Sign originally started as
a different idea back in 2000 but we’ve come a pretty long way
since then and had various line-ups through the years. A.D.
(guitar) joined in 2004, now he had been my friend since way
back from school, and we used
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be in this 3 piece Slipknot vs. Korn band together but when I
asked him to join Sign he hadn’t played his guitar in some
years, he was only hired cause he’s a crazy fuck and had long
hair! Haha and then he just practised up in a couple of months.
And don’t get me started on bass players…. |
MM - Where does 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?
Zolberg - Sign came from the skies
that’s how simple that is, it fell from the skies into Eagles mouth
while he was driving home one day. What it means to us is this: we are a
sign, we are (one of many) the face of a revelation that’s slowly
forming in our world, people are totally fucked up and lost and someday
we will find our path and music is one of the best help to realise what
we feel and what we are, and also a perfect way to spread the word …
and we make sure to have one hell of a time through the whole thing.
MM - How do you feel the bands sound has developed since you first
started out?
Zolberg - How? Well it has developed a
lot! I was only 14 years old when we released our first album mind you.
I’m not gonna shoot that album down, it has some great moments but you
can hear how I’m struggling to transform my fucked teenage feelings
into sound. Whilst now we have a lot more control of what we do and
we’ve made closer friends with music in every aspect.
MM - At what age did you become
interested in being a performer and who/what inspired you to join a
band?
Zolberg - When I was 1 years old I
would just love to stand on top of our living room table, shaking my ass
to the music my dad used to play…And it only got worse as years went
by, I got my first guitar when I was 2 and I used to just walk around
all the time singing and playing. It wasn’t so much that I chose to be
a performer … I’m destined to be.
MM -
The band have recently returned from touring with The Wildhearts.
Were you apprehensive at all before the tour considering the
difference in style between you guys and The Wildhearts? What
was the general reaction of the fans to Sign at the shows?
Zolberg - Nah we’re very
aware of what we can do, and even though Sign and the Wildhearts
don’t sound the same it’s still a part of the same family
you know? And most of the Wildhearts fans took us
really well, people who attend a rock gig usually just wanna
enjoy good music and have a great time, it’s as simple as
that.
MM - Was any
towns or venues that particularly stood out to you, for good or
bad reasons, if so where and why?
Zolberg - I think Norwich was
probably one of the best for us, ‘cause we have a lot of
devoted fans who live there that came out and sang along with
every song, now that’s one of the best reactions you get if
you’re in a band.
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MM - Very often the curse
of a support band lies in a lack of audience. People do not bother
showing up before the headliner band hits the stage. Was that any
different on your tour?
Zolberg - A bit yeah, it depends on
towns though which is weird but I think that the guys from G.U. Medicine
suffered more for this since they were first on. They would sometimes go
on 15 minutes after the doors and you can’t expect a big venue to fill
up in that time (unless you’re The Beatles of course :)
MM - What song(s) do the audiences react to the
most from your current setlist?
Zolberg - We were actually doing Skid Row’s 'Youth Gone Wild' on
this tour. As a part of promotion for the Kerrang! tribute album that
will be out this summer. Everybody knows that song so we usually got
people to shout along, it was just great.
MM - Is there a downside on touring or is it all “Happy Rock’n Roll
life”?
Zolberg - Touring is a weird way of
living your life and a lot of people can’t stand it. I love every
minute of it though. It’s just the perfect dose of routine that a free
spirited rocker needs. You have to show up on time and do your job but
still get to travel, meet new people and just go crazy.
Every once in a while you get these days when it feels like it’s
raining though (when it isn’t), but once you hit the stage you forget
about all the shit you don’t wanna think about.
The downside to it (to get back to the subject) is to go home and not
having that gig waiting for you, that really sucks!
MM - The Wildhearts have always been
known as a ‘fiery’ band with regular fall-outs between the band
members, how did you get on with the band and were they cool to you as
the support act?
Zolberg - Hell these guys are (almost)
angels in human flesh, they were so kind to us all the time and we
really hit it on and made good friends for life with everybody, there
was no bullshit going on at all.
MM - I believe the band have been asked to headline the prestigious
Trashstock 2007 festival, how did that come about?
Zolberg - I don’t really know the
whole story behind that actually but I think our good friends Donna
& Rob (bitchinrockphotos.com) forced Sign upon Jamie Riot
(responsible for Trashstock) and he saw what we’re about.
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MM -
The band recently released their new album ‘Thank God For
Silence’, perhaps a strange name for a hard rock band given
that you make plenty of noise! Would you like to tell us a bit
about the songs that feature on the album?
Zolberg - TGFS is a good
balance between partying and facing the seriousness of life. It
features sleazy subjects (in an un-sleazy way) like sex,
dipsomania and good times. But then again also focuses on Life,
love and death. |
MM - How does the song
writing process work within the band? Is it down to one particular
person or do you all get involved?
Zolberg - Let me put it this way: if I
have a vision of a song then I can’t expect someone else to know how
to make it into reality. But then again magic can occur when great minds
come together so we often jam together and come up with something but
it’s just hard when you have 3 or 4 people doing their thing all at
the same time.
MM - Your sound, image and lyrics have a strong identity to them. Is
this something you've strived to achieve or something more organic?
Zolberg - Sign is sorta blessed and I
was born with something really strong, I have a big vision and even if I
tried I couldn’t be “normal”.
MM - There are countless numbers of rock bands trying to get their names
out there. How do you avoid being another band that someone listens to
once and forgets? What do you do to stay unique and remembered?
Zolberg - That’s easy, You be
yourself, do what comes natural ‘cause people can tell if you’re a
fake or trying to hard. Either you have it or you don’t, if you’re
in band and have nothing special to offer and no-one remembers you …
You’re in the wrong business!!!
MM - Sign have a great stage show, but
who was the first band you saw in concert?
Zolberg - Probably some shitty
Icelandic garage band, when I was a kid and saw those pustule pupils do
their cover versions of Smoke on the water I thought: Ah! so this is how
you’re NOT supposed to do it, I’ll show them when I grow up.
MM - I would like to ask you some personal questions. What are your
deepest fears and desires?
Zolberg - I’ve always been afraid of
changes. I know they are what makes the world go around so I try to
welcome them. I also fear the situation in general when people use their
power for an evil deed. My desire is to make music that reflects life,
get out there and play it and make a difference.
MM -
Being in a rock band you’re bound to like a drink or two, so
who’s the party animal of the band and what’s their poison?
Zolberg - A.D. is the party
lion of this bunch, he’s always up for it. He claims that his
poison is JD in Coke but I think that he just had some bad
mushrooms when he was an infant.
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.
Zolberg - A.D. has licked my cock … and Eagles too!
Seriously.
MM - Now for a
couple of fun questions, you’re on your way to a festival and
suddenly your plan crashes and you’re stranded on a desert
island with just your band members for company. Who are you
going to eat first once the food runs out and why?
Zolberg - I’d eat myself
‘cause I have the least hair and also the guys wouldn’t be
pissed at me haha.
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MM - Thanks again for
agreeing to take part in this interview, for making such cool music and
for keeping the scene fresh. Best of luck with the new album and
touring. Finally is there anything else you’d like to say to all your
fans out there?
Zolberg - Love to all……..
MM - We'd like to thank Zolberg for taking to the time out to chat
with us today and look forward to catching the band again on their
forthcoming UK tour. If you haven't caught them live yet then
check them out, they're wicked ;) |