Thu 17 Jan 2013

Interview with… Laurence Beveridge (Fearless Vampire Killers)

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What are you up to at this very moment?
We’re rehearsing a lot as we’re about to go into the studio to record a new, E.P.  We want to have a bit of fun with this one before we face the pressure of making another full-length album!

What can fans expect to experience at one of your shows?
Chaos, sexy chaos. Our aim is to put as much into our shows as possible, multi-layered harmonies, stupid funk-outs, unexpected cover versions; we’re not about standing still for the camera and looking cool, I’ll put it that way. If our make-up is still intact and one of us isn’t injured at the end the show then we’re doing something wrong. We’re out to provoke a reaction. 

What is your favourite song to perform live?
Necromania or Could We Bur, Darling? Necromania cause its punk as hell and is the musical equivalent to a kilo of Pro-Plus and a punch in the face, and Could We Burn, Darling? because every time we get to the chorus where everything stops our fans sing it for us. It’s awesome. 

When you’re not performing what do you do to keep yourself busy when you’re on tour / on the road?
We’re too busy on the road most of the time to do anything worthwhile. The day just disappears, driving, load in, sound check, etc. I listen to music when we’re driving, because I get car sick if I read – which is LAME! But Barrone manages to do a lot of artwork in the back of the van, and the others watch films and League of Gentleman, stuff like that. If a venue has Wi-Fi, I try and get on twitter to talk to fans, but if not I’ll work on the stories about Grandomina – the world we created that our songs are set within.

You’ve played a lot of great festivals year, which was the best so far?
Download Festival, without a doubt. We were actually quite nervous about it, we were worried people would think we were too soft, or wore too much make up. When we were announced, there was this massive backlash on Download’s Facebook, going on about how we were faggots or whatever, and then when the day came, we walked out to a packed tent, and it was obvious all the moaners were just bored lonely internet warriors who were probably too scared to even go to Download. The show was awesome, I was just grinning my face off the whole time. 

What’s the best gig you’ve ever played?
Personally, for sheer enjoyment it was probably Koko with Wednesday 13 on Halloween. I was actually nervous for the first time in years! Going on to stage in front of 1000 + people is what I’ve spent my whole life dreaming about, it was perfect. We probably didn’t play our best, but I’d never felt so alive. 

What was the first gig you ever went to?
Discounting my mate’s bands and Jazz concerts I’d see with my dad, I didn’t go to a full on rock show until I was 16. It was Nine Black Alps at Norwich Waterfront and they killed it. I think it was a Halloween show as well which is pretty fitting. Thing is, where we come from, (Beccles, Suffolk) there’s no reliable public transport, so we had to make our own shows and play to each other – there were loads of bands in Beccles back then. Because the busses stopped at like 10, you couldn’t go see bands unless your parents would come pick you up after, so most of us didn’t get a chance to see shows till our mid-teens. 

Will you be playing any new material or a mixture of your back catalogue?
We’ll play a nice combination. We’ll definitely be chucking some new songs in, but as our set’s pretty short, we’ve got to keep it lean and sweet. It’s going to be like a cricket bat to the balls: quick, but you never forget it.

Which other artists are you listening to at the moment?
Coheed & Cambria, Lost Alone, Arcade Fire, the Killers new album, Bill Fay, Devil Wears Prada’s new stuff, we’re all super excited about He Is Legend reforming as well.

Which song do you wish you had written?
You Win Again by the Bee Gees. It just has such a perfect melody that keeps building. These past few weeks in the rehearsal studio I’d get it up on my phone and play it down the mic when things get a little heated. It’s a situation diffuser. 

Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Elton John. 

Plans for the rest of the year?
Record like the Beatles, practice like the Karate Kid and hopefully finish the sequel to our first novel, Ruple & Evelyn.

See Fearless Vampire Killers live on the 2013 Kerrang! Tour next month

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