Black Spiders some up-and-comers that are totally rockin the rock n' roll scene and frontman Pete Spiby talks to me about the band and their all new debut album "Sons Of The North" and two videos for singles "Just Like A Women" and "Kiss Tried To Kill Me". What else was said read all about this crawly creatures who call themselves the Black Spiders!
1. Tell us the brief history of your band.
Pete: We've known each other for quite a while, but had never actually all played together in the same band before.
When an opportunity arose, to play some songs at a wake for a dear friend, the nucleus of the band was formed. We ended up playing a bunch of his favourite songs (Motörhead, Supersuckers,TurboNegro,Cramps, AC/DC,New Bomb Turks)
We then recorded a couple of tunes, passed these on to a friend who worked in PR and also bumped into an old friend who managed bands, who both loved our stuff. This led onto us getting a agent and the rest is history.
2. Why did you want to go with naming the band Black Spiders?
Pete: Firstly, it was available and secondly it was a nickname I had, so it made some sort of sense.
3. Who are your musical influences?
Pete: As a band it's very broad and we do all have a wide range of tastes, but there are a lot of bands that we all love: Sabbath, Zeppelin, TurboNegro, Soundgarden, Guns 'n' Roses, QOTSA, Van Halen, Scorpions, AC/DC, Nirvana, the Hives - there is a huge list which would take you a week to read....
4. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album?
Pete: I would say that it’s straight ahead rock 'n' roll for the times. It's a relentless monster that constantly punches you in the face and then gives you a big hug, before getting back to the punching.... It's a little bit like the audio equivalent of tough love.
5. Who writes the songs, what are they about?
Pete: I'm the main songwriter on the album and they have a varied lyrical content. All of them come from life experience and have certain levels of literacy, some with multiple meanings... In the context they are in they're like a 'boys own adventure'... Some of them have a historical/ mythical theme. Living in Europe, there are endless old tales and characters to be inspired by and you can let your imagination slip away to these places.
6. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?
Pete: We just wanted to make a great rock record and as there hadn't been one to come out of the UK for quite a while, so we thought we'd have a crack at going for that title and I think we did it. We'd demo'd an played the songs live for a while beforehand, so it was easier to see the end of the tunnel where this was concerned. We wanted to take our stadium sound out of the rehearsal room and into the stadiums.
7. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Pete: No. We used guitars, drums and to some extent effects pedals we'd not used before, but it was a traditional set up in terms of guitars, bass, drums and vocals.
8. When did you start writing for this album?
Pete: The songs had started to come together in the summer of 2008 and we just carried on writing until it was time to commit to tape.
9. How was the vibe in the studio?
Pete: It was pretty good for the most part. There were some disagreements on some of the tunes and when these were ironed out it only made them better for it. We have a great producer, who knows us and knows how to get the best out of us. It's a combination for something explosive.
10. Can you go into one or two tracks on the new album? If so, can you give us the track title and brief description of how the track sounds and how it came about?
Pete: “Medusas Eyes” was a song that kind of came around when we were rehearsing altogether. It had an obvious punk vibe to it with a lot of energy, which was different to a lot of the other songs we'd written up until that point. It became about an unrequited love for the Gorgon Medusa and willing to look deep into her eyes, even though you know you would be turned to stone......
“Blood of the Kings” gives an introduction to a character called Overton Palm, who is featured in our album artwork and this becomes a small insight into what his back story and the babies on the album cover is about .. There will be more tales to come on the next record....
11. The “Just Like A Woman” video was recently released what can you tell me about it?
Pete: We didn't just want to make a typical performance video so mashed a few ideas up, based on Fight Club, Fargo, the classic ZZ Top videos from Eliminator and a lot of 'gore' and 'grind' films.... It's hopefully not what you'd expect from such a straight ahead rock tune.
12. Following that you plan to release a follow-up video for the song "Kiss Tried To Kill Me" can you tell me about that?
Pete: The song is based on a dream I had, which I remembered and a further conversation regarding serial killers and how so many murders remain unsolved and all the possibilities of 'what if', etc.... The line just popped out when we were blasting through it and it stuck... Gene is one of my favorite characters in KISS, so how could I possibly make him the villain, again...?
13. What about shows when you plan to hit the road?
Pete: We have no plans to hit the US as yet, but obviously we'd love to come over and play coast to coast. We decided to release the album to create some sort of demand and then once that happens, we can take it from there. Hopefully enough people will like what we do and we'll get to come over and win a few hearts and minds.
14. Why should people check you guys out?Pete: People should check us out because we are the truest and best new rock band you are going to hear and see. If the music alone does not convince you, then the live show will reinforce this bold statement and make you wish you hadn't doubted the awesome power of rock.
15. Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Pete: Check us out; if you like us buy the album, if you love us, but some other merchandise, it what keeps us ticking over. Help us to convince people we're worth the effort, call your local radio station and demand they play us, get the buzz going and demand we come over the the US, so we can rock you till you drop!!!
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