Xxl
XXL is a great example
of well played, catchy and melodic classic 80s hard ‘n’ heavy. This French
band is dedicated heart and soul to this band. Ladies and gentlemen here
I present you rock ‘n’ roll itself!
1. HELLO! CAN YOU TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT
THE HISTORY OF XXL AND HOW YOU MANAGED TO GET A CONTRACT WITH ANVIL CORP.?
PRESENT US THE CURRENT LINE UP.
Pete: Hello! Nice to meet you, Nick! Well,
XXL were born at the end of 1998… But the current line-up is only almost
2 years old: Terry on the lead guitar, Meghann on the drums and Jessica
on the bass guitar and me, on the rhythm guitar and vocals. Terry and I,
met in 1986. And we finally formed XXL at the end of 1998 as I told you…At
the end of 2002, Eric Torres, our Coach (and obviously the fifth member
of XXL) told us: ”You guys, need to record an album…” And so did we! We
recorded at the “8 p.m studio” in Lyon (where we are from). We recorded
“live”, to “get the true sound” cause we are a “Live band” above all… Eric
got the deal with Anvil Corps, cause….He’s the “Boss” and he knows exactly
what to do. We trust him… He knows his job very well.
2. YOUR MUSIC CAN BE DESCRIBED AS HARD ‘N’ HEAVY.
A SOUND THAT WAS VERY FAMOUS IN THE LATE 80S. DO YOU THINK THAT THERE ARE
STILL PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THIS KIND OF SOUND?
Pete: First of all, I would say that, we don’t
know to do anything else…It’s printed under my skin, our skins…You know,
a few days ago, I met a guy who told me: “Hey, I listened to your “First
Blood” album, it kicks ass and it reminds me of the good old times…” That
means to me, that the real good things will never die… Sometimes it’s good
to “look back” and remember what you listened to…I mean, Yes, lots of people
still listen to this kind of music…But…We just play the music we feel…That’s
the story…
3. YOU NAMED YOUR ALBUM “FIRST BLOOD”. WHY? IS
IT PERHAPS A SYMBOLISM BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR DEBUT ALBUM OR DID YOU WORK
SO HARD TO COMPOSE IT THAT YOU BLED IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE?
Pete: That’s an excellent question, and…Both
of the reasons are right…”First Blood” is a total accomplishment…And we
worked very hard to make it possible. We gave our soul, heart and our “blood”
to do it…It was like a birth…What are the first things you see when a baby
comes? You can hear him cry and you see blood…Right? And, in a certain
way, that was our story…Pain and joy…
4. THE BOOKLET DOESN’T CONTAIN ANY LYRICS, BUT
ONLY BAND PICTURES. WHY DID YOU DO THAT? AREN’T YOU INTERESTED IN THE LYRICS
THAT MUCH AND YOU ONLY FOCUS ON THE MUSIC?
Pete: Well, you know, only a few people are
really interested in lyrics, but that doesn’t mean that we tell “bullshit”
in our songs… We wanted, first of all, to present the band in the booklet.
It was, in fact, a choice…Images tell more than words…
5. WHICH KIND OF THEMES INTRIGUE YOU
TO TALK ABOUT?
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM?
Pete: Our songs speak about life, love, motorbike,
women, legends and some of them are about the human race (“When our children
pray”) and one of them tells everything ‘bout the band (“Dynamite”)!! I
don’t want to sing some shit in our songs, you know. Terry and I bring
the music, and I am responsible for the lyrics…
6. THE COVER ARTWORK IS VERY GOOD. WHO PAINTED
IT AND HOW IS IT CONNECTED TO YOUR MUSIC AND LYRICS?
Pete: This is the result of a common friend
to Terry and I: Alex. He’s tattooing in fact. One day, we came to him,
and said: “Man, we want you to do a special thing for us…We want you to
make our cover album. We want a cute lady but not sleazy…” And he made
it! I think that this cover tells everything about us…When we talk, in
our songs about women, we don’t do it in a sleazy way…It’s sweet…And cute.
We wanted something beautiful, we got it, that’s it!
7. FROM THE PHOTOS I SAW IN THE BOOKLET I HAD
THE IMPRESSION THAT THE BAND IS A COMBINATION OF BOTH YOUNG AND EXPERIENCED
MUSICIANS. AM I RIGHT? HOW IS THIS WORKING? DO YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS OR
DOES THE ENTUSIASM THE YOUNGER MEMBERS HAVE HELP YOU MORE? HAVE YOU PLAYED
IN ANY OTHER BANDS BEFORE FORMING XXL?
Pete: You’re right! But I would say that there
are 3 generations in XXL…Terry and I (the old boyz…), Jessica and third,
Meghann (he was only 15 when he joined the band…). The work is really easy,
we play and don’t waste our time to question ourselves all the time… Jessica…She’s
so sweet you know, but so aggressive on stage!!! So is Meghann, cause he’s
very “visual”! You know, when you’re on stage, someone else stands inside
of you…Jessica and Meghann give us the Youth, the young blood… It helps,
for sure…That kicks our asses!!! We played in different bands before, but
nothing serious…XXL IS SERIOUS. But, the bad experiences taught us so much…
8. NOW, I’D LIKE TO KNOW, WHICH BANDS AND MUSICIANS
YOU CONSIDER AS A MAJOR INFLUENCE FOR YOU AND WHY? NAME 5 OF YOUR ALL TIME
FAVORITE ALBUMS.
Pete: Jessica ( Ladies first!!): Metallica,
Iron Maiden, Sinergy…
Meghann : Children of Bodom, Sinergy, Def
Leppard, Kiss…
Terry : Mickaël Schenker, Kiss, and all
the good old 80’s bands!!
Pete : Kiss, Whitesnake, Ratt, and all the
good old 80’s bands!!
9. YOUR MUSIC I THINK IS IDEAL FOR LIVE SHOWS.
SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE APPEARANCES? WILL YOU PLAY OUTSIDE FRANCE
AS WELL?
Pete: You know, in France it’s hard to play
loud and heavy Rock…Cause I think that France isn’t “Rock”… Every time
we have the opportunity to play, we do it!!! And…of course, if there’s
a chance to play outside of France, we’ll F…K run to it!!! It’s so good
to play and to give pleasure!!!
10. THE LAST TRACK ON YOUR ALBUM IS A MEDLEY BASED
ON KISS SONGS. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THESE SPECIFIC SONGS AND WHAT DO THEY
MEAN TO YOU? ARE THERE ANY OTHER BANDS YOU’D LIKE TO COVER?
Pete: First of all, Terry and I are great
fans of this great band…Our dream would be to open for these guys…You know,
as far as I’m concerned, I discovered R’N’Roll with KISS, I was …around
5 or 6…Terry is also a great fan, like Meghann… So, that’s why we wanted
to make it…A kind of tribute, in a way… If we had to choose all the best
songs of KISS, this medley would have been around…10 OR 15 minutes long,
cause lotsa KISS’S songs are great!!! But we had to choose some of them,
relating the great moments of their carrier. But that’s an exception…We
are XXL above all…
11. WHICH ELEMENT DO YOU THINK LACKS OR IS RESTRICTED
IN YOUR MUSIC AND YOU’D LIKE TO EVOLVE AND EXPAND IN THE FUTURE?
Pete: You know, a first album is an important
“step” for a band, so, now, I think that anyone who recorded an album would
be able to say: “Well, if I knew, I would have changed this part or this
one…” In a certain way, we can say that if you want, you can always see
something which is restricted… Now, it’s up to us to do “better” next time.
But we’re always playing what we’re feeling…
12. IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD
IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
Pete: An emotion? I would say, the tears and
the smile, the joy, cause our band is made of it. If it was a painting?
It would show the Fire, the Earth, the Wind and the Water, cause they’re
the Life…
13. WHICH WORDS WOULD YOU SELECT TO DESCRIBE “XXL”
AND YOUR MUSIC IN GENERAL? WHICH IS THE MOST OBVIOUS ELEMENT IN YOUR SOUND
AND DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE MANAGED TO CREATE YOUR TRADEMARK?
Pete: Just listen to the title ”Rock all nite”,
and you will understand what we believe in… It’s a kind of hymn for us…Don’t
let anybody tell you what you have to do…Some people always cry about their
life…But look around…It ain’t so bad! Don’t cry, raise your head cause
the best is to come… But I would say : Rage, when we’re on stage. Love,
cause we love our public and respect it…Power, cause as you mentioned above,
we’re a live band…
14. WHICH FAMOUS PERSON WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE AND
WHICH PERIOD OF HIS LIFE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE?
Pete: Everyone has an idol or something like
that. But we don’t want to be the “replica” of a celebrity, no… This can
help you reach your goals… But no, we’re happy as we are…We are proud to
be ourselves…But when you think about all these bands like : Scorpions,
UFO, Kiss……You can’t help thinkin’: “Wow! These guys have been lucky to
live all those things!!!”
15. THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK YOU ANYTHING
AND YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?
Pete: We just want to say that it was a pleasure
to answer your questions Nick!!! So long! Maybe in Greece, who knows? If
there’s an opportunity, we’ll come to see ya, for sure!!!
Nick “William_Kidd”
Parastatidis
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