HEAVY
WATER
Heavy Water is the kind of
the band that earns your respect immediately. They are a band that is not
afraid to innovate and renovate the music and expand its horizons with
their genuine and original sound. "Angry Ballerina" is their first demo,
so here we have Markus, the band's drummer saying a few things about Heavy
Water and the current socio-political and environmental situation...
1.FIRST OF ALL CONGRATULATIONS
FOR "ANGRY BALLERINA"!
Hello again Chrissy and Nick. First
of all, thank you for your interest and the interview – glad you think
about my new band!!!
2. SO, HEAVY WATER IS A REALLY YOUNG
BAND CONSISTED OF VETERANS IN THE MUSIC SCENE. CAN YOU POINT OUT THE MOST
IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND'S HISTORY AND TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT
YOURSELVES?
Well, I’ll tell you one thing straight
off – right now we’re a 3 piece band without a bass player. Our EP was
supposed to feature the bassplaying of Drew Wright (x-Hellbastard), but
because of one thing or another it didn’t work out (basically Drew learnt
and wrote his basslines and never bothered turning up to the studio) –
(which was on his doorstep native land of Newcastle – me and Markus (drums)
are from the same area and traveled 350 miles from our homes here in the
South of UK). So I did it… and we invented a “false” bassplayer!! There
have been no real “important” parts of the band’s history so far… hmm?
What can I tell you about us? Well, there’s really only me and Markus –
Markus is pretty much dedicated to the drums, he really loves the
drums!!! And me, well, I love the guitar, all the instruments. We’re seriously
into what we do you know… it’s just sad that “other” people have fucked
us around. We have a guy who we auditioned (Rich Parker) for vocals, he’s
a total character and would make a really good frontman, but as of now,
we don’t even know if he’s gonna cast. He really likes his alcohol. What
else? Oh yeah… It seems that no one is out there to measure up to us… else
we’d have a solid lineup by now. Surely!!?
3. IF I ASKED YOU TO PRESENT THE ALBUM
YOURSELVES, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL TO THE FANS? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT?
GIVE US SOME INFO ON IT PLEASE...
Well… “Angry Ballerina” is like
our first demo really, the production is alright… BOTH the covers are awesome.
Pics/lyrics/ etc etc. The EP itself is under half an hour. There are 6
tracks and there is some fine whizzkid guitar playing on there courtesy
of x-Skyclad guitarist Dave Moore. There’s also some balls out “rocking”
heavy caveman tunes and some “indie” commercial-esque “pop-ock”!!
(Why don’t you just print our biography along with the interview??). Three
of the EP tracks are on a clear vinyl ltd. Edition 7’’ single, on a Japanese
record label – write for details if interested!!? There is a limited edition
sleeve too. I got the idea to print those up because I’m a lover of things
that look old. The brown paper packaging effect is really, really cool
I think, the sleeve, cd label and biography all printed on that old, recycled
brown paper looks really good, especially with that cool ETCHING print
by my artist friend on the front cover. I don’t believe I’ve seen a cd
like it ever!!! And there have been quite a few people that have commented
on it saying it SHOULD be officially released with this original and cool
sleeve!! Hey – Great!!! Me and the drummer (Markus) had 3 two-hour rehearsals
to get those tracks together… I have to say, it’s your job to describe
our music, presentation. I do think it’s a cool demo release and I KNOW
the next release will be so much better, by far!!!
4. WHY DID YOU NAME THE ALBUM "ANGRY
BALLERINA"? I MEAN THERE IS NO SONG UNDER THAT TITLE... WHAT DO YOU WANT
TO SUGGEST WITH IT? I CAN'T SEE THE CONNCETION AMONG THE LYRICS AND A BALLERINA.
PLEASE CLEAR THINGS OUT FOR ME...
WHY should ANYTHING ANY band does
ANYWHERE live up to anyone else’s expectations!!!?? So what if there is
NO song called “Angry Ballerina”. So what if no one understands at all.
I came up with the title “Angry Ballerina”… and I think it’s really cool.
There us a HUGE connection going on in a visual way – you may have just
missed it? I don’t like to conform. Not really. I’ve been releasing records
with self explanatory album/7’’ sleeves for over 20 years!!! Why do YOU
wish to fit us into nice, safe, descriptive bracket?? A nice labeled box
that is easily understood? I am AGAINST THIS IDEOLOGY!!! Look at the color
sleeve of the EP, see the cyclone/whirlwind coming down in a chaotic vortex
to earth? … Well, THAT is your “Ballerina”, your angry NATURE…FEMALE (GAIA)
mother earth being pissed off and ANGRY!!! Hence the hint of civilisation
(look at the T.V. aerial sticking out in sillhouette from the rooftops…)
MOTHER EARTH (BALLERINA)/ STORM-CYCLONE ® ANGRY AT ® (Television
Aerial, etc.) HUMANITY/Civilization…Do you see? I had the same reaction
as you have had from some Belgian friends. Odd. My brother saw it and complimented
us on it STRAIGHT AWAY!!! He understood it at first glance and thought
that the concept was really, really good. I am actually quite amazed that
you, Christine asked THIS particular question and then further on you compliment
Heavy Water in question number 6 (!!!)? Whether I like t or not I think
it is our duty to be as UNCONVENTIONAL as possible. There are too many
bands out there being NICE and SAFE and PLASTIC. We naturally rebel against
that cause it’s in our blood from youth (don’t forget that in 1976-1977
me and Markus were little “Spikey-top-punk-rockers”). Haha! All in all,
we like NON-CONVENTIONAL attitudes – so, why not be different? In 1984/1985
I had my escape from London avant garde punk rock band “The Apostles” and
formed a band that 10 or so years later would see ,any worldwide bands
playing THAT style of music!!! BUT at the time, it was far too “METAL”
for the punk/hardcore kids and far too “punk/hardcore” for the metal fans.
Of course I’m talking about Hellbastard. He, Chrissy at school we were
the kind of kids that your teachers and parents warned you about. Not “THUGS”
or “BULLIES” we just QUESTIONED everything. We enjoyed SUBVERSION and DIFFERENCE
and not just going along with the nice, safe ESTABLISHMENTARIANISM!!! We
shouted: “Think for yourself!!!” “Be yourself at all times!!!”.
5. WHY DO ALL SONG TITLES HAVE THE
WORD ANGRY IN THEM? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO STATE WITH IT?
Well, we’d like to show how HAPPY
and CONTENT we are with the way our lives are being run!! We wish to show
the sheer joy of our \totalitarian system!!! The world is such a nice place,
full of love and peace and fluffy kittens and dreamy clouds and lovely
soft emotions and everything id do lovely!!! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh!! Come
on Christine!!! Why do you think we have the whole “Angry” word plastered
over everything!!! COME ON CHRISTINE!!! This isn’t like you!! SHAME ON
YOU!! A bright, intelligent grade A first class student like yourself!!!
You should know better!!! It’s merely a concept if 2004 suddenly became
1969 or 1971 we’d probably have the best “concept album” in the world!!!
Ha! Ha! Ha! It all boils down to ANTI-AUTHORITARIANISM. Each track is like
a STATEMENT if it WAS a full album it’d be THE HEAVY WATER MANIFESTO!!!!
There is no really sinister thinking behind the titles… it’s all just simplistic
and easy to understand, you know, and yet there us a EXTREMITY to the whole
EP we deliberately went over the top with the “Angry” sentiment because
it was fun, in fact, it wasn’t even conscious decision that was made!!!
I just merely DID IT from a natural thought process. No plan involved whatsoever!!!
Me and my fellow Geordie mate and drummer, Markus, came from relatively
the same background…especially within our early musical realms. We saw
extensions of our own beliefs in the monochrome vision of Anarcho-punk
politically charged D,I,Y, rock music. Bands like Crass, Discharge, Antisect,
Amebix, Conflict, Flux Of Pink Indians, The Mob, The Apostles, Zounds,
Omega Tribe, Anti-System, Wretched – oh god, I could go on and on and on
and on and on listing bands… but the feeling/emotion and whole ideology
of these bands appealed to us because there was no FAKE GLAM/BIG HAIR image
of mediocre stereotypical rock stupidity. In fact it was all EXACTLY the
opposite!!! There was no hidden agenda, justa truthful and educational
mirror effect of our fucked up world. The whole punk rock thing taught
us more than we learnt at school.
6. I WROTE IN MY REVIEW THAT YOU ARE
A RARE BAND. A TRUE ROCK BAND THAT MAINTAINS THE RADICAL, UNCONVENTIONAL
AND REVOLUTIONARY ELEMENTS, THAT I THINK ARE THE TRUE AND MAIN ESSENCE
OF ROCK MUSIC. I THINK THE REASON ROCK MUSIC WAS CREATED WAS TO AWAKEN
PEOPLE AND H?LP THEM CONFRONT THE OBSTACLES OF LIFE. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO
SAY ON THAT COMMENT? DO YOU AGREE?
YES, I agree. We are honoured.
And you are correct!!! One of the Sex Pistols once said something in defence
of their own stupidity about NOT looking into their recording contracts
and letting their manipulative “manager” sort out the band affairs (and
destroy them in process) - it was along the lines of: “A true rock 'n'
roller only wants to play the music, not have to fuck about with details
and paperwork”, etc. Yeah, how true!! You have really hit the nail on the
head here!! But things can be so difficult when one person is organizing
everything for a band, like artwork, promotion, shows, organizing rehearsals,
record contracts you know. Oh shit - I really suffered with Hellbastard
and Nero Circus with things like this... ANYWAY, yeah... I have to point
out that this question is very valid to our early influences within music.
The whole point of music to me is to convey feeling and emotion... a message
that can influence, especially for the letter!! For too long have we put
up with the MEDIOCRE, INEPT, BANAL, INADEQUATE BULLSHIT that passes as
“music”. MEDIA CONTROL want passive restraint within the commercial sale
of modern “pop/rock music” and naturally fashion goes with this, it is
a concerted effort to keep people numb and blind and it works. It's worked
for years and years. Keep us stupid and lame and we ask no questions. ASK
NO QUESTIONS= This is what the controllers want. An easy job, a fucking
easy job of keeping us blind and dumb, numb and servile. This is one of
the main objectives of control. It is the number one reason why a society
regards which film/T.V. star is having sex with who more important than
a famine in Africa or a massacre in a country that seems so many miles
away...who the fuck cares anyway?? We live in a system that regards the
theft of money more detrimental than the murder of a human being. It is
fucking Obscene. With a capital “O”! Sorry to digress... Yes, your observation
is correct, BUT are we fools to ourselves?? Who hears our music??? We have
no record label, no separate management other than ourselves, etc. So what
and where can a band go with this?? Right now we don't even have a solid
line up (other than me and Markus), no bass player...etc. I'm sure we'll
overcome these obstacles though. No worries.
7.WHERE DO YOU DRAW INFLUENCES MUSICALLY
SPEAKING AS A BAND? COULD YOU MENTION SOME BANDS YOU REALLY LOOK UP TO?
Actually, I can answer this really
truthfully and say: “We don't “draw” influences from any “bands” really.
It seems that when we get together and play, what comes out, just comes
out. In all honesty. Can you HEAR any other influences in there?? I could
point out some similarities I think. Talking of which, we certainly “inspired”
the U.S. band “CLUTCH” - if you listen to track #2 on their 2004 “Blast
Tyrant” cd, well, it's our (my) main riff in our track “Angry Menial Workers”.
Check it out!!! Hmmm? Bands I have (and do) looked up to eh? Well, in the
70s and 80s I have to say: Sex Pistols, Crass, Discharge, Hellhammer, Venom,
Slayer, Celtic Frost, The Melvins, P.I.L., Antisect, Amebix, Pudimentary
Peni, all that stuff. But now, well I listen to all sorts of music these
days, so... Mel Torme, Mike Oldfield (Chopin, Handel, Strauss, etc), 16
Horsepower, Black Label Society, Bela - Fleck, Hanson Borthers, old punk,
old metal, eg Anvil, Tank, Warfare, Groundhogs, Hell, etc etc. Oh, just
about everything. If it has emotion then it's worth listening to in my
book. Jazz and old 1920/30s “Crooner” music is a big fave of mine at the
minute.
8.I FEEL THAT HEAVY WATER WOULDN'T
EXIST IF MUSIC AND LYRICS DIDN'T WORK TOGETHER, WEREN'T COMBINED... I STRONGLY
BELIEVE THAT MUSIC AND LYRICS REVEAL AND EXPRESS THE SAME BELIEFS AND IDEOLOGIES
IN DIFFERENT WAYS. BOTH YOUR MUSIC AND YOUR LYRICS ARE REALLY ELOQUENT.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US...
Well, that's very kind of you to
say that Christine. Unfortunately, I can't really answer this one. We just
“create” - we are not really our own critics. We just do what we “do”...
Period. Personally speaking music and OUR lyrics need to go together, cause
I couldn't write a really CHEESY set of lyrics and feel “serious” about
them. then on the other hand, there are no restrictions or rules in what
we do. There's a good free-vibe to the band, NO RULES. NO “SET” FORMAT,
you know. It's like we've entered this “JAZZ PHASE” and done so UN-CONSCIOUSLY!!
BUT YES!!! OUR “FORMAT” (if there is one) for writing songs DOES have a
“RULE” (we just don't acknowledge it - that's all!) Haha! Our “thoughts”
are really: “Oh well, we just DO what we DO and that is really it. In the
post today a cassette arrived from our DWARF-DRUMMER, it has drumbeats
on and I have to arrange guitar/bass lines/vocals to it. Oh, well - the
last time I sent Markus about 5 ”finished“ tracks on tape (guitar only),
so it's my turn. Fuck!
9.NOW, LET'S GO TO A HUGE CHAPTER..
THE LYRICS... I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT I SEE ARE YOUR
MAIN INTERESTS AND THE TOPICS YOU DEAL WITH IS THE CURRENT S?CIO-POLITICAL
SITUATION, THE WAR, THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT.. HOWEVER, I FEEL
IT'S BETTER IF YOU SPOKE FOR YOURSELVES. PLEASE ANALYSE ALL THE SONGS ONE
BY ONE...
Ooh dear...Ok, I will sit here
and do this for you Christine, well, the first “track”... “Angry Caveman”
(intro...) came from a completed (NEW) KING FUEL track and when King Fuel
split, I just kept the idea and used it for Heavy Water... We like it,
9it's described quite well in our biography). Everyone says it SHOULD be
a FULL song. So, when I get the time - I'll do it. IT ROCKETH like a WWII
GERMAN PANZER TANK. Don't you think?? We seem to think it does. MY strange
bass playing on it gives another dimension to the “WEIGHT” and “FEEL” of
the track. It's a catchy, foot stamping piece of Headbanging fucking art!!
When the drums kick in, you know it's a rock 'n' roller of a Groovy, Heavy
piece of music. We say: “IT BITES”. Next up...“Angry Art”, well well what
we have here is a short rock 'n' rolling... (excuse my attempt to label
this...) toe tapper. Under 2.20'' this lyrically stems from myself reading
far too much Charles Bukowski, there are even a few lines of his from some
early poems he wrote. Most of it is a Lewty original - but (I can't remember
the exact line/s) a few of the lines are definitely BUKOWSKI. I love the
line that is included in the lyrics (but isn't even used) - something like
“Those who do not create ART, will not understand art...”. Something like
that. I guess the whole thought process whilst writing thse lyrics is about
the stupidity of 90% of humanity accepting what they are told is THIS or
THAT. Blind acceptance, you know? Historicity tells us that “GREAT ART”
is This artist or That artist and most of us just believe that, without
question... History tells us that Keats, Byron, Shakespeare, etc etc. were
the “GREAT” poets and we believe this and accept it. This foolishness and
folly starts (of course) at school and the young don't know ANY better,
so it's just accepted as FACT. Fucking brainwashing again... “Angry Art”
is probably about more than this but hey at least you get the idea somewhat.
The most “mellow” and “poppy” song is “Angry Flower”, it is very catchy
and in places very melodic. Ideally we didn't want a male voice on the
track, we'd have preferred a female voice on this song in particular. Musically
the track was instigated by a friend of ours and I simply arranged it all
and me and Markus jammed it until it had a bit of order... Verse/chorus
(no lyric)/verse/chorus (no lyric)/etc etc. Middle section/ 1/2 verse/end.
Lyrically I was inspired by reading about the diamond king, de Beers...
“...The bloodtrade is a lucrative one...” people dying left, right and
centre just so that some greedy fucking parasitical BASTARDS can earn MORE
money and MORE money...and... The whole track is quite “hippy-ish” and
the non lyrical chorus reminds one of a 60s vibe. it's all very peace and
love maaan! Aaah next we have “Angry Menial Workers”. This is all about
the murdering of our most important asset whilst we are alive...TIME. What
do we do with 8,9 or even 10 (and for some people a whole lot more) hours?
We kill them by going to a job that we dislike and disrespect. We go to
work and literally slaughter 8 or more hours a day, 5 9or 6) (or 7) days
a week. I work to live, like a lot of people do, but unlike some (despite
bing paid money at the end of each week) I more often than not feel quite
unhappy during those MURDERED hours. It wouldn't matter WHAT job it was,
I've always felt the same way about it.... I prefer having MY quality time
rather than some money. If I could work 2 or 3 days a week (or 2 or 3 hours
a day) and live off it, I would! factory jobs, working as a mailman, refuse
collector (etc etc) all these “MENIAL” low paid jobs that we all do everyday
- they suck away CREATIVITY, ENERGY, etc. DOON'T GET ME WRONG! I'M NOT ANTI-WORK,
I'M ANTI-WASTE!! Musically, this track is a MISH-MASH of sounds... We actually
had a better version of this track, but the engineer Michael Lambert LOST
IT!!! Yes, no shit! he “lost it” somehow... Anyway, yeah... This whole
track is ANTI-WASTE. the extremist in me really wants to say it is “ANTI-HUMANITY”...
but that's a bit too rough. So, yeah, TIME is OURS!!! The last “track”
is basically an “outro” (exactly the same as the intro), but with some
chaotic flashy lead guitar on it, courtesy of Dave Moore, WHIZZKID, WIZZARD
- GUITAR GENIUS.
10.YOU HAVE A TRACK NAMED "ANGRY BUSH".
THE LYRICS ARE TAKEN FROM KONTRABAND.COM. WHAT'S THE CONCEPT OF THIS TRACK
FOR YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SHOW?
“Angry Bush”, well Markus the drummer
came up with the idea of a heavy ANTI-BUSH message on one of our tracks,
so we made the music repetitive and put the Bush SPEECH over the top...
it was more Markus' idea than mine, I think it's great though! It fits
in with our our punk rock ideology of ANTI-AUTHORITARIANISM, so it's THUMBS
UP from us!!! Let's face some truth Bush is, beyond doubt, a MEGALOMANIAC.
It's that simple isn't it?!?!?! Not only does he perpetuate religious,
nationalistic worldwide aggression, but he is also fucking us all right
in the ass by raping the eco-structure of NATURE and pushing us toward
WWIII and gaping BLACK HOLE of pure species extinction. I'll end my summary
of this track by saying that I personally do not think, because of the
strength of the superpower politic we, as humanity, can... “MAKE IT”. I
believe it will take a huge intervention from another race to stop us blowing
our planet to shit.
11.BY THE WAY WHAT DO YOU THINK OF
THE WORLD POLITICS AND THE ROLE OF THE U.S.? THE SITUATION IS DISGUSTING
AND UNBERABLE I THINK. MASS DESTRUCTION AND DEATH OF INNOCENTS... WHAT
DO YOU THINK OF ALL THESE? I AM VERY INTERESTED IN LISTENING TO YOUR POINT
OF VIEW, SINCE YOU ARE FROM ENGLAND AND YOUR COUNTRY IS THE ONE THAT HELPED
AND SUPPORTED THE U.S. AND BUSH TO BRING ALL THIS DISASTER ON THE WORLD...
Please read the above again. Ta!
12.LET'S TALK A BIT ABOUT THE ARTWORK.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT AND WHY DO WE SEE "ANGRY BALLERINA" IN 2 DIFFERENT
ARTWORKS? WHAT DO THEY SHOW AND HOW ARE BOTH COVERS RELATED TO YOUR LYRICS?
HOW WERE THE ARTWORKS INSPIRED?
My friend at the post office here
in Bath/U.K. did it. Well he is a fucking GENIUS called Sam ILlard and
he designed the color sleeve, he's got a degree in I.T. and computer graphics
and is a really, really talented guy... I got to know him quite well because
we work in the same section of Bath and we both see eye to eye on many
things. he gave me an album (cd) one day and I said “Oh, are they a good
band?” and he said “I DID IT... It's MY cd”... I just looked at it and
thought “FUCKING HELL!!!” Sam made this cd my himself at home on his pc.
The production is incredible!! the artwork is FANTASTIC!!! I was really
impressed!!! Sam puts up with a lot of shit from me, I really owe him -
you know. I'm forever taking into work bags of BLANK cdrs and asking him
to copy me, like 100 Heavy Water cds and this cd and that cd... etc Ha
ha ha!! it's got so BAD now that Sam has actually become my personal TAILOR!
NO SHIT, he modified his postman uniform (trousers) and I thought...WOW!
they ROCK! “Can you make some of my trousers fuck off at the bottom (flare
out) like yours?” - Sam being a kind gentleman said: “Why, of course I
can, Mr. Lewty!”. So, the next day I brought him a pair of jeans and a
pair of combat trousers - the bottoms of which I want to be flared like
his P.O. trousers. I'm still waiting for them, but I'm sure they'll be
excellent when he's done'em on his sewing machine at home. ANYWAY, the
inside of the color sleeve (the sun set design etc) is a photograph that
Sam took from his bedroom window... Great isn't it?!?!?! Yes! Sam is undoubtedly
a genius. He doesn't know it yet, but I'll be asking him to complete the
artwork for the second Heavy Water cd and ALL things ART-WISE that I'm
personally involved in. The “other” cd sleeve, the one that comes in the
cool “old style” brown paper sleeve was out together by another friend
of mine at the post office Niel Gwillim. He too is quite a genius and we
go to see 16 Horsepower play live wherever they come here in the U.K. The
design on the front was done by a friend of mine. She's a MAD eco-freak,
Zac. It's an etching from a series of 9 prints - all different with all
different slight color hues, really lovely designs - all of them. Anyway,
Niel originally put it all together on white paper and I quickly started
printing it all on BROWN RECYCLED packing paper. IT LOOKS SOOOO OLD AND
COOL. I might be a genius too!! Ha ha (I probably am, like). From where
I'm sitting here in Redneck Radstock I can see a field full of cows, I
bet they are genius' too!! My cat, Padda definitely is, even Sam Illard
admits that. Padda was a stray cat, we just took her in - made the mistake
of feeding her once and that was it, she moved in, 5 minutes later. Sjhe
now OWNS the place, little furry cow!! She's right here now looking at
me and cleaning herself. She thinks she is the queen in this sunny garden
on July 29th. Anyway yeah. It's cool looking that both cd sleeves have
matching cd labels, bios and all. Great art eh?
13.YOU HAVE A FEMALE BASSIST, KATHERINE
HELL. WHAT KIND OF COMMENTS DO YOU GET ON THAT SUBJECT?
Katherine Hell us a figment of
my twisted imagination. If we do a FREUDIAN ANALYSIS of this, we'll probably
discover that IF I was a lady instead of a BLOKE, then Ms. K. Hell
would be how I'd like to see myself!? It's an “ego and id ” thing. She
sounds like a nice girl!!! Well,I invented her, I attempted the bass on
95% of the songs. It's ok I guess? Everytime we come close to finding a
bass player they seem to show good interest and then they just leave us
in the shit. Hmm... would you want to play in a band with a DWARF and an
eccentric postman? Hahaha! it's very difficult and sometimes we are jamming
in the rehearsal room and I'm like... “Hey Markus!! Can you drum along
to this cool riff...?” and I look behind the drumkit and there's NO MARKUS!!!
Where is he?!?! Then I hear a little...“HOI!!! You are standing on my leg
and head!!”, “Get off me you clumsy twat!!” etc etc - Yes Markus is so
small you can almost crush him accidentally by turning around ON THE SPOT
YOU ARE STANDING ON!! He is always cursing and using foul language too.
He swears like a trooper!! Foul mouthed little bastard!!
14.DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR A TOUR
OR LIVE SHOWS IN ORDER TO SUPPORT "ANGRY BALLERINA"?
We've been offered quite a few
live appearances in the UK, USA and Europe BUT we need a STABLE line up,
a solid bass player and a female vocalist would be nice. We don't want
to be just another typical band. We're itching to play live, but not just
yet. We need to sort out a few things first, you know.
15.WHICH ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
I KNOW YOU HAVE 5 NEW SONGS READY. DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME A FEW THINGS
ABOUT THEM? WHERE ARE THEY LEADING YOU ARTISTICALLY SPEAKING (BOTH MUSICALLY
AND LYRICALLY)? WHICH ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES YOU CAN
PINPOINT FROM THE "ANGRY BALLERINA" SONGS?
You, Nick and The Veil will be
among (if not THE) first people to receive a cdr version of our new recording
when we complete it in November 2004. I will only say that the production,
art, songwriting and general “feel” of the cd/music will be 10.000.000
times better than our current EP. Just wait and see!! All I can say is,
it'll be DIFFERENT!!!
16.IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT
WOULD IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
Chrissy, this is an absolutely
excellent question!!! And I will (feebly) attempt an answer for you...
Music (Emotion)= 1. Unprecedented vitriol, 2.Gunshots, 3. A swan on water,
4. Rage, 5. Humour and 6. Pure love. Music (Painting)= 1.President Bush
being crucified (nice!!), 2.The “ESSO, EXXON, Gulf” corporates drowning
in oil whilst their families helplessly stand by laughing and I'd be pissing
on them all. 3. A meer cat doing a little funny dance, 4. A hand grenade
exploding in Bush's FACE!
17.IS THERE AN ELEMENT IN YOUR MUSIC
YOU THINK YOU ARE OVERUSING AND YOU'D CONSIDER OF REDUCING IT ON YOUR NEXT
ALBUM? IS THERE AN ELEMENT THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ADD IN YOUR MUSIC?
Yes!! Less wanky lead guitar solos,
we overused this method. Actually, we were very lucky in getting the studio
at all! It was all down to our drummer Markus... He and he alone ORCHESTRATED
the whole thing concerning the studio. Michael, the producer/technician
is Markus' old school friend. Did you know that bees can travel up to hundreds
of miles just to gather pollen for their queen? that's enforced fascism
right there for you. In nature it is anyway. Damn, there I go again off
on a tangent. Sorry. Yeah, I'd liked to do A LOT MORE and remove
certain things from our current EP, but time was of the essence. We ran
out of time at Time Recording Studio. Damn. I'd like to add a lot more
DEPTH to the tracks next time, although you have to be careful - put too
much to a song and you can spoil it quickly. Put too little... and the
opposite happens. A song needs only what the song will allow. Next time
we'll be a lot more analytical, I think. Incorporating samples, orchestral
sounds, brass sections, some jazz trumpet - that'd be cool. We'll see.
A definite is some female vocals, that's for sure!! I've already asked
Nick Parsons to do some vocals, he has a really strong good voice. He's
ex-Hellbastard (1990-1991) and ex- The Almighty and he had a really good
band called Whatever in 1992-1995 and now he has a really really good 3
piece band called Runt, their debut cd is brilliant and they are unsigned.
It's a crying shame. they fucking ROCK!
18.IF YOU COULD BE AN IMPORTANT PERSONALITY
FOR A DAY, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE AND WHAT PERIOD OF HIS/HER LIFE WOULD
YOU LIKE TO HAVE A TASTE OF?
WOW!!! What a question!! Hmmm,
I'd like to be that priest (monk?) on the front sleeve of the first Rage
Against The Machine album, I'd like to know EXACTLY what he was feeling
right before he went up in flames. Being Adolf Hitler before the occupation
of Europe would be interesting - I'd fuck things up I could keep my personality
and I'd reverse the whole nazi-scheme. Being the pope or Jesus Christ,
that'd be interesting too. Being Ulysses or an Egyptian king would be interesting.
Of course, the ultimate would be being the entity known as “God“. The knowledge
of life and everything, to know all that!!? Shit!! It'd be incredible!!!
Hmm, or would it?!! Being Joan of arc 10 minutes before going into the
Final Battle would be interesting. Or one of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombers
a few minutes before dropping those bombs, that'd be crazy, just to see
where the fuck their head was at!! and afterwards also.
19.WHICH REVIEW YOU READ DO YOU THINK
DESCRIBES YOUR MUSIC THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY? WHICH REVIEW, ACCORDING TO
YOU, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR SOUND AND YOU FEEL IT'S UNFAIR? IS THERE
A COMMON STATEMENT YOU READ IN ALMOST ALL THE REVIEWS YOU RECEIVE?
In all honesty, I haven't read
that many!! We've sent out HUNDREDS of those cds to magazines etc - not
all of them reply or even write a review. Typical attitudes like this are
the “bigger established” magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Terrorizer,...etc.
Ther are all too busy sucking up the ass of their favorite trendy new bands.
They are merely part of the Establishment anyway. These bastards have the
power to make and BREAK bands. I'll release a solo cd called “Fuck 'em
All” and call the band Mefuckilla. Hahaha! I really don't care at all.
If I did, I'd not be doing music and being actively involved in music since
1979!!! If I like it, that's what counts to me.
20.WHICH WORDS DO YOU THINK COULD DESCRIBE
IN THE MOST IDEAL WAY YOUR MUSIC AND WHICH PHRASE CAN SUM UP THE BAND IN
GENERAL?
Please can you answer this one?
I hate fitting something into a clear definitive bracket. That's just safe.
Our next cd might be all piano with my cat Padda and Markus' baby crying
all over it. Who gives a fuck?!
21.YOU ARE AN UNSIGNED BAND... WITH
WHICH CRITERIA WILL YOU SELECT A LABEL? WHAT DO YOU WANT THEM TO OFFER?
WILL YOU SETTLE WITH ANYTHING AS LONG AS YOUR ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED?
When/if we sign to a label we want
them to sign the band cause they SEE perfectly where we are coming from.
I'd want to personally meet their staff and KNOW that they at least dig
what we do. We will not just accept the first deal that comes along. We
put too much effort into all this for some smiling “handshakes all around”
man to fuck it all up for us. We can learn from our past mistakes.
22.YOU ALSO PRINTED SOME TSHIRTS. COULD
YOU TELL US A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT THEM? HOW MUCH DO THEY COST AND HOW
CAN THE FANS OBTAIN THEM?
Well, a friend of ours in the USA
made them. She's the editor of “RockBottom” magazine, PA. They weren't
EXACTLY what we had in mind, so they aren't available, BUT Marcy is great
at doing custom design shirts!! Anyone interested please email her at:
[email protected].
23.SCRUFF BEFORE FORMING HEAVY WATER,
YOU FORMED QUITE MANY BANDS... I MEAN STARTING FROM HELLBASTARD BACK IN
THE 80S AND MOVING TO NERO CIRCUS, TO SIDEWINDER, THEN TO KING FUEL AND
NOW WE SEE YOU WITH HEAVY WATER. THE MUSICAL CHANGE AND TURN FROM THE BEGINNING
TILL NOW IS HUGE. WHY? DOESN'T THRASH METAL EXPRESS YOU ANYMORE OR ARE
THERE OTHER REASONS?
I don't know!!? Musical disinterest??
Some people say Nero Circus played “stoner rock” before it became “trendy
and fashionable”. People tell me that Hellbastard in 1984-85-86 were “well
AHEAD of their time...”. You know - growly chunky vocals (like Hellhammer)
and heavy fast or slow thrash etc etc. Well, I don't know, I've spent time
in bands so long as that particular group can stay together. I've also
spent time in bands where, so long as everything is going well=SMILES ALL
AROUND, but the minute something bad happens or something goes wrong, THEY
RUN A MILE. People (certain people/mentioning no names) think they will
get INSTANT “fame” and “notoriety”, if not, then they are off. I don't
like this kinds of people. People tell me I'm like Lemmy Kilminster or
the guys from Slayer, I KEEP GOING TILL I CAN'T GO ANY FURTHER. You know?
Good. That's me all right and besides I like music and playing, recording,
etc. I love the whole “band-family” feeling - so why not? Everything I've
done since 1984 with The Apostles onwards has always been “HEAVY”. There's
no HUGE difference at all. You are WRONG. Listen to Hellbastard, Sidewinder,
Nero Circus, King Fuel, etc - listen to those cds, they are all fucking
heavy and similar. Just like Heavy Water too. I see no “HUGE” difference
at all!
24.BY THE WAY I KNOW THAT YOU WERE
THINKING OF REFORMING HELLBASTARD. WILL THIS GOING TO HAPPEN OR NOT AFTER
ALL?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! Because the people
I'd like in the band live too far away (Nevada,U.S.A./ Ancona, Italy/
Chicago, U.S.A. and Switzerland). I came close to reforming Hellbastard
a few times, but no, it lived for almost 10 years - that's enough!
25.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
Yeah, you are probably wondering
WHY I answered this in handwritten pen. Well, I can't help it. It's the
“personal touch”. I like that and I've been doing this for over 20 years.
Thanks Chrissy and Nick, you and your brother do some really COOL things
and support TONS of bands in all different ways. Thank you again for your
support with King Fuel (R.I.P.) and now Heavy Water!! You asked some very,
very cool questions there Chrissy. I admire you all the more for that!
I really enjoyed doing this interview! Thank you!!!
26.LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE TO THE READERS
ALL AROUND THE WORLD...
Hello people around the world!!
Feel free to fuck things up now, whilst you have the chance, cause when
you are 65 or dead you can't do jackshit. Play it unsafe! Be creative and
walk AGAINST THE GRAIN! FUCK THE NEW WORLD ORDER!!!
Christine Parastatidou
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