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Having
witnessed an absolutely phenomenal performance by the band at Trillions
Rock Bar in Newcastle on their recent tour with American Dog we just had
to find out more about these hard rock heroes. Ladies and
gentlemen I give you none other than Lawrence Case from Voodoo Vegas!
MM - Hi Lawrence, thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview
with us, it was great to catch up with you in Trillions?
LC - Thanks
it's good to talk!!!
MM
- The band have just returned from a full UK tour in support of American
Dog. How did that go? Were the 'Dogs' a cool band to tour
with?
LC - It was great to do our first proper UK
tour, some gigs were shit, but some were ones we will remember for a
long time, esp. Newcastle, the people up there were fucking crazy, it
was one of the best gigs we have ever done.
Our
home gig at Mr Kyps Poole was awesome, it was good kicking some ass in
front of our home crowd. The dogs were great to go out on tour with,
myself personally, I learnt a lot from Michael, he gave me a lot of
tips. They were all great guys.
MM -
To date what's been the most rock n' roll
moment the band have had so far?
LC - Playing
the Guilfest last July was awesome, obviously the tour was great.
Going back stage at Motley Crue in Cardiff last year was very
cool.
The Newcastle gig was very rock n' roll. Loads of people asked us
out to a club after the show, when we got there we didn't have to pay
for anything, and got totally wasted, everyone was buying us drinks, and
saying how much they liked our stuff. We felt like proper Rock
Stars.
MM
- I believe the band are to be featured on the Motorhead tribute album
'The St. Valentine's Day Massacre'. Wow, that must be so exciting
for you guys. How did that come about?
LC - Basically,
we played a gig at local venue Mr Kyps in September 2005 and met Alan
Burridge. He is the head of the Motorhead fan club, and Motorhead
Biographer, he was writing liner notes to a new tribute CD. He
said he might be able to get us on to the album. But we would only
have one week to learn and record the song.
At the time Carl Wilson, (Former Drummer) was in Cyprus, and we could
not get hold of him. Carl came back on the Thursday and came up
with the idea of recording 'Born To Raise Hell' - which has a very
Voodoo Vegas sound. So myself and Nick went up to London to meet
Eric Coubart (Owner of Bad Reputation Records) and talked to him about
the Motorhead Tribute Album.
After the meeting we drove back and spent all night learning the song as
we were due in the studio the next day. It was a huge rush to get
a song done in time, lots of sleepless nights, but we got it done and it
kicks ass. The album had world wide release, so it was pretty cool
seeing Voodoo Vegas reviews in French, Spanish, Italian ... and Klingon.
MM -
Stepping back in time a little, would you like
to give us a brief history on the band, how it all came about, how it's
evolved and where you call home etc?
LC - Nick
and myself, started playing together Summer 2003, playing our first gig
in Jan 2004, since then we have had 3 line-up changes, had a name
change, we had all 3 songs from our debut E.P. used on Channel 4's
Freesports on 4 TV Programme, and we were the only British Band on
Motorhead Tribute Album, St Valentines Day Massacre, (A Rock 'n' Roll
Tribute To Motorhead).
We definitely call Mr Kyps (Poole) our home venue, we have had some kick
ass gigs there, it was definitely the nicest venue on the Tour, and we
are glad to call it our home venue.
MM -
How do you feel the bands sound has developed
since it originally started?
LC - We have definitely become a more Rock
'n' F*cking Roll Band, just playing Balls To The Walls Rock 'n' Roll.
We know what we like and we play what we like!
MM - At what age did you become interested in being a performer and
what/who inspired you to join a band?
LC - When I first saw Aerosmith, I thought
they were amazing, I was blown away. Steve Tyler really inspired
me, I think he is the greatest front man ever. While I was at
school I listened to the classic's, Aerosmith, Guns 'n' Roses, AC/DC,
and I didn't care if it wasn't cool to like rock music, I just knew I
Loved it, and wanted to be a part of it any way I could.
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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?
LC
- Before we were called
Voodoo Vegas, we had a really shit name, COLD EARTH, we had to
change it to get on to ST VALENTINES DAY MASSACRE.
Voodoo Vegas means, us being in a kick ass UK Rock Band, rather
than Cold Earth being in an inexperienced band from Bournemouth.
Plus Voodoo Vegas make a great Tattoo.
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MM
- How would you describe your music and what can our readers expect from
a Voodoo Vegas live show?
LC - A Rock 'n' Roll Show that hits you in the gut and makes you
scream YEAH! Loads of crowd participation, loads of energy and lots of
good times. We definitely have a great time playing a VV live show
and hope the crowd have a good time watching one.
MM - How does the song writing process work within Voodoo Vegas?
Is it mainly one or two individuals, or more of a team effort?
LC - Before, Nick and myself took charge of
the writing, but now with Ash and Simon in the band all 4 of us write,
we are getting some good stuff. And writing like that brings the
band closer together.
MM - Do you have any news on when there will be a full album release of
your material?
LC - We will be recording a new live
album this month to get the new line-up recorded.
But at the moment the Rock world waits with baited breath, we were
discussing with Bad Reputation to record an album at the start of the
year, but that never happened. So we are still looking at the
moment.
In a way I'm kinda glad we never got to do the album as it would not
have been right, we are sounding so Kick Ass at the moment with Ash and
Si in the band, this is what Voodoo Vegas is supposed to sound like and
it's only gonna get better.
So when we do do an album, it will be the real sound of Voodoo Vegas on
it.
Any labels interested please get in contact!!!
MM - Which songs do your fans enjoy
being played live the most, and what are your own particular favourites
and why?
LC - Nearly every gig we play we get
people saying they Love TAXI DRIVER, Sweet Mary Jane, also gets a great
reception, as well as our new song Don't Spin Me. We all love playing
High 'n' Dry, really good song to play live.
MM - What's the 'grand plan' for your band? Are you aiming for
anything like fame, fortune, artistic acceptance etc?
LC - As much touring as possible,
hopefully get to do an album and just keep on having a great time
playing great gigs and enjoying as much Rock 'n' Roll as we can get our
hands on!!!
MM - What are you listening to these days yourself? Old classics
or modern bands? Do you ever listen to music that is very
different from what you do, if so what?
LC - I heard a shit load of American
Dog during the tour, but apart from that I listen to the classics
Aerosmith, Guns 'n' Roses, AC/DC.
I saw The Quireboys last year and they blew me away. One of the
best gigs I have ever been to.
I also really like Toyko Dragons and Red Star Rebels, would love to do a
gig with either of those guys.
MM - In three words, how would your best friend describe you?
LC - MR NICE GUY
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MM -
OK, a two part fun question now. (A) If you could have anyone
locked in a room so that you could torture them for a day, who
would you choose, and how would you torture them? (B) Now turn
the tables. Who would you most like to be locked in a room
with for a day and how would you like them to torture you?
LC - (A) During the American Dog Tour,
Dave Ling from Classic Rock was at one of the shows, he told me
he didn't like our stuff, so I guess we would like to torture
him, by playing a Kick Ass Voodoo Vegas show just for him.
(B) I guess after saying that, we would let Dave Ling torture
us, I think we would have to if we ever want to get a good
review in Classic Rock.
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MM
- Tell us one thing about yourself that not many people know.
LC - Get me drunk and I'll tell you
anything!
MM - What's the most precious thing in your life right now, who or what
could you simply not live without?
LC - VOODOO
VEGAS, VOODOO VEGAS, VOODOO VEGAS
MM - Finally, do you have any words of
wisdom for our readers out there?
LC - Keep on
rocking, stay true to yourself, even if everybody tells you it's wrong.
And have as much of a good time as possible.
MM - With that we'll bid Lawrence goodbye until the next time and hope
it's not too long before they grace a stage 'Oop North' again. |