In conversation with Steve Conte.

With Horns and Halos now bedded in, and picking up some well deserved plaudits, are you now in a position to sit back and take a fans eye view and consider that it's a damn impressive body of work?

Aw shucks, thanks man! Now I know you’re gonna ask me a bunch of questions about the writing of the Horns And Halos album but the last thing I want to do is to come off sounding self-important  because I wrote the lion’s share of it…I will just speak the honest truth on what took place and what my thoughts were during the process.

Personally, I tried to not let any of the “success” of our 2011 Sensory Overdrive album put pressure on the writing of the new album. I knew it would be a big change from the pop-metal sound of the last one and hoped that the fans would take that leap with us. It’s like a whole new band now with different players & writers so I knew it would be great in it’s own (completely different) way.

That being said, I hoped it would be considered as you said, an “impressive body of work”. I find that when I set out to write an album’s worth of songs I get in a pretty serious zone. I’m proud of how it turned out…not to mention that this band fucking ROCKS!! A really great bunch of talented, creative dudes…

Those who are aware of your song-writing from your own projects, bands, and past associations with others will be able to hear your influence across the breadth of the album. You must be proud of the part you played in bringing this release together. Do you consider it a job well done?

Absolutely…and I appreciated the opportunity to write for such a rock icon as Michael. To hear him singing my lyrics and melodies was quite a thrill.

When Ginger left the band someone had to step up to the plate and become the main songwriter. Sami, Dregen and I had been stockpiling song ideas but Michael had a couple of busy years with his Finnish TV show and in fact, he told me that he was “blank and out of ideas” for songwriting. So I took it upon myself to be the one who made the riffs & chord sequences into actual songs by giving them subject matter, lyrics, melodies & hooks.

Stylistically, I think what I brought to the Horns And Halos album was a more “power pop” sense of melody and a soul thing that comes with being an American blues/R&B based player and singer. Ya know, what went in is what comes out…my childhood record collection & listening 70’s soul music on the radio everyday is what shaped me.

On Sensory Overdrive I think that Michael welcomed Ginger’s guiding hand because of his 20 year career as a successful songwriter but at the start of the Horns And Halos writing sessions, Steve Conte The Songwriter was still sort of a “best kept secret”….so I had to win everybody over. There was talk of bringing in different writers but once I wrote “Ballad Of The Lower East Side”, zeroing in on Michael’s days in New York and making it fit him as if it were his own song - I was in.

A lot of people know me as either a guitar player or a singer but I’m equally adept as a songwriter and have been writing & recording my music as long as I’ve been playing & singing - since the age of 10. I’ve just never had the kind of success in any of my bands that earned me that huge following. I was on my way with Company Of Wolves (Mercury Records, 1990) but when we left the label in 1992 and I didn’t get re-signed with my next band, Crown Jewels I had to think of some way to make a living. So I went off to play guitar with other artists like Willy DeVille, Eric Burdon, Billy Squier and eventually New York Dolls - but I was constantly making my own records independently.

If you listen to those independent albums of mine; Crown Jewels - Spitshine (1996) & Linoleum (1998), The Contes – Bleed Together (2003) and  Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth - Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth (2009) you can hear the wide range of styles that have served me well for creating music for people like Michael and David Johansen.

What was the actual writing process like? Did it flow easily, and are the band as a whole comfortable in how you all provide ideas and then shape them? Does everyone have their voice heard, as it sounds as if it has that inclusive gang mentality of all for one and one for all to it?

We would get in the rehearsal room and jam on people’s ideas. Someone would start playing a riff or chord sequence and we’d all join in, or not - if we weren’t feeling it. Dregen & Sami brought in a lot of stuff like that; single riffs, grooves & chord progressions whereas I was the one to bring in completed songs with melodies, lyrics, chords and riffs, all in place. There were also a few songs that Michael contributed some lyric and melody ideas to.

As far as “music” goes, everybody in this band comes up with great ideas for their own parts but for lyrics, since English is my mother tongue and Michael sings in English, I was the man to write most of the words. I’m pretty adamant about leaving out clichés and “slogans” (unless there’s a damn good reason for it). In fact a lot of this lyric writing was stream of consciousness around a subject, more like painting with words. Initially, I was hoping for some more input on lyrics & subject matter but once the band saw me deep in “writer mode” they just backed off and let me go to it. In the end I was happy about that because it all turned out fine…I even surprised myself at times!

While the album is of course a group effort with everyone contributing how much percentage wise of Horns and Halos would you accept credit for?

Percentage-wise, I wrote 2/3 of the album. Musically speaking, everyone performed their butts off on this album and all of our individual personalities came through, making it a group effort. But as far as the actual “writing” goes, some contributed more than others. When it comes to songwriting I have quite the memory for details. Here’s a breakdown:

Ballad Of The Lower East Side –

Music/Melody/Lyrics by SC

Saturday Night Special –

Music/Melody/Lyrics by SC

Don’t Block The Sun –

Music/Melody/Lyrics by SC

Child Of The Revolution –

Melody & Lyrics by SC

Music by SC (verse/chorus/bridge) & Dregen (pre-chorus & intro guitar riff)

Stained Glass Heart –

Melody & Lyrics by SC

Music by SC (pre-chorus & chorus) & Dregen (opening guitar riff/verse)

Eighteen Angels –

Lyrics & Melody by SC

Music by SC (chorus & horn part/ arrangement), Dregen (opening guitar riff/verse) & Sami (pre-chorus)

Soul Surrender –

Lyrics by SC, Melody by SC & MM

Music by Sami **MM got credit for coming up w/ the Reggae groove

Ritual –

Lyrics by SC,

Melody by SC (verse) & SC/MM (chorus)

Music by Sami

Half The Way –

Lyrics by SC

Melody by SC (verse/pre-chorus) & SC/MM (chorus)

Music by SC (opening harp/guitar riff, verse/pre-chorus) & Sami (chorus)

Hands Are Tied –

Melody & Lyrics by SC

Music by SC (Chorus & horn part/ arrangement) & Dregen (opening guitar riff /verse) **Karl & Sami got credit for the great “groove”

TNT Diet –

Lyrics by SC/MM (mostly MM)

Melody by MM

Music by Dregen/Sami/MM

Horns And Halos –

Lyrics by SC (verses/bridge) & MM (chorus + a couple of verse lines)

Melody by SC (verse/bridge) & MM (chorus)

Music mostly by Dregen & Sami (some of bridge by SC)

Title by Dregen

Happy Neverafter –

Lyrics by SC/MM,

Melody by SC (chorus/pre-chorus) & MM (verse)

Music by SC (bridge/solo) but mainly by Sami (intro/verse/pre-chorus/chorus)

Rock And Roll Bounty –

Lyrics by SC

Melody by SC (verse/pre-chorus) & SC/MM (chorus)

Music by Dregen & Sami

How long did the recording take?

About 5 weeks to record, and then a long time to mix (it was done via the internet with 5 guys in different parts of the world…)

Were you all in the studio together for the majority of it, or as with many modern albums was there points when you had to record guitar parts and vocals separately and then weave them into the over all sound of a track?

We were all in the studio recording together to get the real live feeling of the band. After we nailed each song we kept the bass & drums and over dubbed guitar parts (for better sounds), solos, vocals and any other stuff like piano, horns, percussion.

How difficult was it to time manage the recording, as apart from other members having their own projects you have been working on your own album that is being released as part of a pledge campaign haven't you?

I’ve been juggling schedules my whole life so it’s not a big deal to me. We all just blocked out the time to be there in Stockholm for over a month, so we couldn’t do anything else. By contrast, I recorded and mixed my solo project “The Steve Conte NYC Album” over the course of 2 years, stealing time whenever & wherever I could to get it done.

(FYI - until January 18^th people can still order the digital download of it here: http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/stevecontenycalbum)

You pulled in an impressive list of fellow musicians to assist you with this one. Members of Foo Fighters, The Wildhearts, New York Dolls, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Hanoi Rocks, Georgia Satellites, Alice Cooper, Mink DeVille, Hellacopters, The Urban Voodoo Machine, Mott The Hoople, Backyard Babies, The Wallflowers, Company Of Wolves, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Ian Hunter, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. It's like a roll call of honour spanning the decades. Can you let us in on how that has went?

At the time that I decided to make this album I was living in The Netherlands but since I have my own studio in NYC of course I wanted to record it there. That meant that I had to pick the songs and the players that would work well together doing NO PRE-PRODUCTION REHEARSALS and send out quick guitar/voice song demos to the guys. Then I booked two days to record the basic tracks.

It was good because the songs were simple and since no one knew them very well when we got into the studio it kept things raw and on the edge. We’d run through it once or twice and then start recording!

I recorded the basics with drummer Rich Pagano and whichever bass player was slated to play on that particular track. On the first day we had bassists Sami Yaffa, Dennis Dunaway and Keith Christopher come in to record one song each. On the second day my brother John came in and laid down bass on four songs.  A third tracking session was done a few months later for  the song “Anytime At All Times”. I did that one with just Rich on drums and me on acoustic guitar (later, I overdubbed the bass myself).

After getting the basics down, the next step was to record semi-final takes of all my electric & acoustic guitars, mandolin, dobro, slide, etc. and then make good rough mixes for the guest players to play & sing to.

Some of the guests “sent in” their tracks via the internet (we all use Pro Tools); Rami Jaffee sent me B3 organ & piano tracks, Ginger sent me a guitar solo, Kyf Brewer sent me a piano track and his daughter Coco’s BG vocals, Paul-Ronny Angel sent me a harmonica solo and Crystal Taliefero sent some beautiful vocal tracks. Everyone else, I recorded while in the room with them; Sylvain Sylvain, Michael Monroe, Tracie Hunter & Phoebe White, Boris Kinberg & Kenny Margolis, Dregen, and Paul-Ronny (vocals).

It was like “casting”. I’d think of a part that the song needed and cast it - who is right for this role? or - where can I use this person’s talents? Some times I got stuff that I wasn’t expecting but instead of staying married to an idea of my own, I would “go with the flow” and figure out how to make what was given to me work.

For the true guitar/recording geeks: The basics were recorded with guitar amps in my own studio’s live room while drums & bass (DI & amp) were recorded in Pagano’s studio next door. I recorded many of the basic guitar tracks on my Gibson J-160E acoustic, both direct and through my Vox AC-30. If I tracked on electric, it was either on my ’68 Tele, ’59 Les Paul Junior or ’70 Les Paul through my ’67 Marshall Plexi.

In fact how did you manage to get everyone on board for the project?

Incredibly, I just told everyone that I was doing a solo record and would love them be on it…and they all said YES without blinking an eye. Either I have some really sweet friends or I must be respected in some way…

How was it being in charge? In all projects there has to be some give and take, but when you are the guy sitting at the head of the table the final say has to be yours. Do you relish that role?

Most of the time, yes. But when it came time to sing the songs, which was more than a year after recording the music, I was losing a bit of perspective so I called in some of my producer friends to just record my vocals on 4 of the songs and to be that extra “ear”.

Would you describe yourself as a workaholic, or is it simply that creating music is something that defines you and as important as breathing? I guess what I am meaning is does it feel like work because apart from the Michael Monroe album and the NYC release you got together with the Crazy Truth guys and also recorded a covers ep? That's some solid song-writing and recording hours right there an a very short space of time.

Nah, it’s not like you think. Compared to others I really do take a long

time to do things…but that’s because I’m also trying to live a full life as well; raising my son, learning a new language (Dutch), maintaining many non-music relationships, and doing freelance music work (live gigs, sessions for film & tv soundtracks, commercials, other artist’s albums, etc.)

For example, that Covers EP took more than a year to record - and it was only 6 songs, recorded practically LIVE. But when you are stealing time between tours and real life (plus dealing with studios and other people’s availability) it narrows down the chances you get to chip away at a project. We cut the basics in one day and then I went back to the studio once a month (sometimes once every two months) to do overdubs, sing and then mix and master.

And to close this interview. What do you do to relax Steve? I mean seriously. Do you even know what down time is? ‘

Relaxing…hmm…well, I do listen to music, usually old jazz, blues or world music…and read; poetry, fiction, biographies, etc.  I like to attend arty events; Flamenco and Tango performances, theater, opera, ballet, museums, galleries, etc. Cooking is also good…I make a modified version of my Grandma’s red sauce recipe (with lots of red wine!) I used to SCUBA dive but it’s been a good 10 years since I’ve been on a trip. And then sometimes I just end up on the couch after a day’s work with a quality TV series like Breaking Bad or The Sopranos…

Thanks Mainy! And thank you folks out there for reading.

I hope this sheds some light on who I am and what I do…

Cheers,

Steve Conte

Michael Monroe - Glasgow Cathouse - 29/11/13

The lead up to the Michael Monroe show in the Cathouse in Glasgow was rather low key with word of mouth from the fans being the main promotional push.

So it was heart warming to see so many people turn out for it, and I can only imagine what size of venue would be required if there was a real splash of the cash to promote it.

The opportunity to see them in a small venue is not one to be sniffed at though.

It is in this sort of environment that you can feel that they energy that they generate can barely be contained.

It's very doubtful that collectively there is a band right now anywhere on this planet that put so much into a show.

I've said similar often, but there's no other way to frame it.

Right now they are the act who are setting the benchmark that others need to aspire to.

As is usual now the band take to the stage individually and exude a relaxed approach that when Michael joins them is given just one second to serve as a watershed before they all explode into action.

It's akin to a starting pistol going off with the whole band racing for the finish line.

Nothing holds them back.

Got Blood isn't the opening, and is left to midway through the set, but the lyric 'GOT BLOOD IF YOU WANT IT. YOU GOT IT, I'LL BLEED IT FOR YOU EVERY NIGHT. I'LL SPILL IT OUT IN BLACK AND WHITE, BLACK AND WHITE' sums the performance up.

Like the Stones here's a band who will give you everything and spill it all out on the stage.

It's relentless.

The stereotypically named high octane show writ large in neon.

With a mixture of Hanoi Rocks fans bolstered by New York Dolls ones who are drawn to the show due to Sami and Steve participating, and added to again by a fair amount of Lemmy Kilminster fans who were seduced by Michael when they opened for Motorhead, it was certainly a broad church of rock fans in attendance, but all shared an equally high level of appreciation with songs from across Monroes whole career - and some punk covers - hitting the spot and drawing out lustily delivered responses from everyone.

Prior to the gig I had heard some grumblings about Dregens no show as he is promoting his own solo release, but Rich Jones doesn't simply hold the position as a hired gun.

Instead he's the perfect fit.

The replacement cog that slips into the machine and and refuses to let the performance slip from the grasp of the band.

Similar to when Dregen stepped in to cover the departure of Ginger you can't find one criticism to level at the guy.

He's standing shoulder to shoulder with the rest of them and delivering knock out punches in every song.

I could say the same for everyone involved.

Karl and Sami are unflagging.

Steve Contes guitar flourishes and backing vocals provide a dimension that is often missing with other bands, and his song writing contribution on the latest album provides a solid framework for the set to hang on.

As for Michael Monroe. He is the whirlwind holding court. The storm bringer casting a spell over the audience.

As limber as ever he covers every inch of the stage, the space in front of it and the barrier separating the fans from him.

He's Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger all rolled into one, and still he holds tightly to that androgynous sex appeal long after any man has any right to.

Did I say this was the best band in the world just now?

Okay. I did, but it's worth repeating.

During the set - as mentioned - pretty much every part of Michaels career is hit with the exception of his stint as Jerusalem Slim (Don't write them off and seek out the demos of the album).

Hanoi Rocks is of course well represented, but Demolition 23s take on punk rock that was such a welcome blast so many years ago is also all present and correct.

Dead, Jail or Rock and Roll from his sophomore solo release was dusted off and sounds better now than it ever done before, while the material that we could call the Michael Monroe Bands songs featured comfortably with Horns and Halos getting a solid outing.

The covers were of course sublime. A bit of The Damned and Eddie and the Hot Rods is always welcome.

As the performance ended I had two thoughts.

The first was I wonder when we can do all this again, and the other was that it would be pretty cool if they all organized a rock and roll circus tour with the supports being made up from all the members other projects, as Steve Contes new album is stunning, Sami's Mad Juana would work well, Dregen has his own thing and Rich and Karl sprinkle magic over everything they do.

Now I'd pay top dollar for that.

Looking forward to Dregen now.

In conversation with Purple Valentino

The band certainly couldn't be described as new kids on the block, so do you want to give us a run down of the prior projects that led to the formation of Purple Valentino, and then how they led to the formation of the band?

(Dougie) Ha ha yeah you could say that.

It’s pretty cool being in a band that is this happy, and where things happen because the people involved all like each other and are all involved in the process of making the music, which we all love.

How did it start? Me and Scott (bass) and Marc (guitars) knew each other from years gone by when we played in a band called The Jades which was a mishmash of all sorts of genres but was never really that serious. Also in that line up was Mo, the original Purps drummer. He left for New Zealand last year, and then we found Glen to replace him.

Many years before that, Marc and I played in a sleazy glammy outfit called Far Gone.

We made a mini album in the early 90s which I’d love to hear again.

It was called Taste for the Bizarre, and I really think it would still sound current.

A lot of our writing, especially Marc’s is drawn from that time.

The studio where we recorded it had a fire and our master tapes which were stored in the basement were all destroyed by the resultant flood. If anyone has it, I want a copy!

(Marc) yeah that was a real shame. Those were great days, although we were really fucking poor! The Purps story was really started by Dougie and Brian, who used to sing in the band before he was deported to South Africa. We tried to find someone to marry him but nobody would, which was strange cos he’s a right good looking boy!

So Dougie now sings.

These past few years, I’ve been making lots of demos on Qbase etc, and playing and singing everything. I’ve never stopped writing.

(Dougie) so we found ourselves at the start of 2013 without a drummer or a singer.

Glen is an accomplished percussionist who had never played in a band. When he came for audition we couldn’t believe what an amazing noise he could make with an electronic kit.

That drum kit is a key part of our sound, and always will be.

Then we decided that we wanted to add another dimension and went looking for a fiddle player.

So we got Danny in for a jam, and his chops quickly added a kind of celtic undertone which again will always be a Purps characteristic. And with that, the line up was born.

We went straight into the studio and recorded Stay, Homesick (which we wrote with our pal Debbie Murray) and a slowie called Life Aint a Disco.

That was back in June, but I still think that those 3 songs define the band as it is today.

I wouldn’t change anything about those recordings, and that's the first time I’ve ever been truly happy with every aspect of our recorded music.

(Danny) Prior to joining the Purps, the biggest gigs Id played had been……ceilidhs! Still great music and a good time but a different scene yknow?

Uni and work got in the way of playing and then Dougie tracked me down on facebook and asked if I wanted in.

An even more interesting way to finish of the weekend where I had seen Rush and Muse within 2 days.

You have been kicking about for a few years now, and the impression I get is that you want to steadily build a solid fan base first and foremost rather than make a big splash. Is that accurate, and if so is the paying your dues aspect of the music business something that you consider is important?

(Dougie) yeah I would say so, but the spread of music is changing so much in that when you make a record these days, you can stick it on the internet and it’ll either be ignored or someone will pick it up and love it, so you need a bit of luck alongside the dues paying.

We love playing live, and we are fortunate enough to have a great manager who picks gigs for us that are likely to be busy so more and more people will hear our music.

But yeah, if you want to be heard, you need to play live and you need to do lots of it.

We’ve been courted by an indie label recently who love our recorded music but they say we don’t play enough shows. So far that reason, right now, we will play anywhere.

(Marc) defo, starting from the bottom and building a fan base is part of the whole experience.

It’s what our heroes did, and we will do the same until we are too old and fucked to continue! Let me be clear : we love this shit.

(Danny) Nothing bugs me more than these X Factor guys who go from being on Tesco’s tills one day to No1 the next. They can usually sing but few can play anything. I certainly would rather have a loyal local fanbase and longevity than instant gratification today and becoming yesterday’s news.

If you were to cast a critical eye over the music scene in Glasgow what would immediately jump up as the main issues in your experience?

(Dougie) that’s easy. Pay to play is a bit of a problem, and it’s always been there. Some venues we will never play because of that policy.

It’s ok for bands like ours but if you’re a bunch of guys who have just left school and you need to punt 50 tickets to your mates who are equally skint, then pretty soon that’s going to become a pain in the arse.

We love Glasgow though, it’s the beating heart of music in Scotland.

(Danny) I have to second pay to play. It’s just not fair on the kids. (Marc) Um, dunno. Experience......not sure on this one.

We’ve not played the Barrowland yet. That’s the best rock n roll venue in the world so it’s hard to be critical of a city which is host to such a revered gig.

Having said that, someone stole my gear when we were unloading for a gig in Glasgow. I only turned my back for a second and the flight case with all my bits was gone. Me and Glasgow fell out of love that day. It was a short tiff though.

The band have steered clear of being stuck with a genre tag, and instead you state that you just want to make quality music. I can see the benefits of that, but also the downside as some people really are only looking to be signposted towards a genre. So if push came to shove would you be comfortable with embracing a reputation for being a melodic rock act as a gateway term?

(Dougie) I would say that we are a melodic rock band for sure. And if I was asked to state any one strength of this band, it’s that we know how to write an infectious killer chorus, in fact at one point I did consider doing some ghost writing for a song agency. So yeah, melodic rock. With the addition of Danny’s fiddle though it almost takes us into celtic territory. Let’s call it Melodic Cock!

(Danny) As much as I cant stand genre tags (apart from good music and crap music), I would have to agree on melodic rock. That is to say that what we have done so far is melodic rock, who knows where things will go.

To be fair though, I reckon the best genre tag would be Epic Rock, cos that’s how we feel right after we play!

(Marc) I dont care what people want to call us, if they like us. There’s too many bands about that take themselves far too seriously and are precious about what genre they fit into. I don’t care.

The main thing is that our music is enjoyed by some people.

If that continues to happen, as it has been this year then I’m really happy.

We all understand the importance of remaining humble.

Now that I have mentioned melodic rock it would do you all a disservice not to mention that there are some glam rock undertones to the material to. Now of course some will cringe at the term glam, but it's more the street level punky vibe that's going on. Sort of a mix of the Dogs D'Amour and maybe a poppier take on Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicides adventures as the Suicide Twins. Is that fair enough?

(Dougie) Christ is it that obvious!!? I adore every aspect of McCoy and Suicides writing, particularly in their projects away from Hanoi Rocks. I’m pretty sure that comes across loud and clear in my writing too.

There’s a song on our last album called This Alchemy that echoes Hanoi’s “Tragedy” shamelessly. Sorry guys, just couldn’t help it!

(Danny) Is it wrong if I admit I have no idea who they are?! I’d agree with the glam undertones though. For me true glam is Ziggy era Bowie, Sweet, Slade, etc. While maybe considered poppy in the 70s, relistening to some of Sweet’s stuff, theres some heavy stuff there and like us, catchy tunes and lyrics.

Slade always had that street punk vibe too to me, even after abandoning their skinhead look. Plus they also had a fiddle so I would be bias wouldn’t I?!

(Marc).....sure is, those guys played a huge part in my musical upbringing. I once shared a drink and a cigarette with Nasty Suicide in the Cathouse one night. He was subsequently ejected from the premises. I’ll tell you about that another time!

Do you think that sometimes people are missing that element in the music?

(Dougie) D’you know, I’m ok with that. I think we all acknowledge that our music is attracting a mainstream audience, for example we have had lots of radio airplay in Brazil recently and when I look at our facebook page, I can’t imagine that most of these new Brazilian fans have even heard of Hanoi and all those other bands that I love.

If I owned a flux capacitor, my first destination would be Sunset Strip 1989!

That must’ve been a fucking naughty time to be living in LA.

(Danny) the glam element or the street punk element? I don’t think the glam element is missing, look at everyone from The Darkness to Lady Gaga.

She’s as glam as they come at the moment. Street Punk? I know it’s still there.

Perhaps not too many bands have hints of both elements. I think that we do.

You recently opened for The Bermondsey Joyriders, and are about to debut at the legendary King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in support to the equally legendary queens of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that are Girlschool. Are supports like this useful in getting the bands name into the view of the people who you think the music would appeal to?

(Dougie) OMG The Joyriders were such lovely people. I’ve got some cool snaps of Gary Lammin playing my old telecaster. That was a great night, and Martin Stacey told me that our songs were “soooo fahkin tuneful” which was a cool thing to say. He didn’t have to do that.

Support slots like those are essential.

Again, our manager James really knows what he’s doing in that respect. Girlschool I can’t wait for. I still have the tour shirt I bought at the same venue in 1992, but this time around we will hopefully meet them so I’m gonna bring all my vinyl for them to sign.

We’ve got 35 mins to convince people, so it’s going to have to be a hard and fast delivery, with no fucking around, no ballads and no stories.

(Danny) That’s how it’s supposed to roll isn’t it? Back in the day Mott the Hoople supported Bowie, Queen supported Mott, Thin Lizzy supported Queen and so on.

By doing support slots for whoever we can, we get our name out there.

I think we are intuitive enough as a band to adjust it slightly to suit the audience. So for the Girlschool gig we’ll be taking it heavier but we are equally happy to tone it down.

(Marc) you bet, but aside from that its a huge buzz for me getting to play on the same bill as bands I was listening to when I was younger.

They say that you should never meet your heroes but it’s been pretty cool so far!

As is normally people will always bemoan the state of the music business, but it is true that it is changing rapidly and mainstream success is at the moment stretching away from rock acts. What do you think will be the reaction to this? Will there be another golden age of rock? Is it even possible to comprehend that happening? Would you advocate the 'going it on your own' angle that the Kickstarter campaigns allow artists to participate in as an alternative to the age old attract a label template?

(Dougie) Good question. Society is rapidly changing. But a good social media agency can get you on the radio quickly.

Ant Collins from Real XS is a big fan of ours, and we ended up on his playlist cos we were so tenacious about it.

As a genre, rock n roll is completely safe and well in my view.

I think that our music is enjoying a renaissance in that there are loads of bands touring who have been on hiatus forever. I’m really looking forward to seeing Nick Royale and Dregen at the Cathouse in December.

Between them, they have made my absolute favourite records of the last decade.

Whats Kickstarter? * Fan funded project

(Danny) Ian Hunter said that, ‘the golden age of rock and roll will never die, as long as children feel the need to laugh and cry’..

I think there will be another golden age. Things go in cycles.

The current Simon Cowell produced stuff is this generations

Tin Pan Alley. Blues/rockabilly acts such as Imelda May, The Jim Jones Revue, Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa are all amongst the new trend coming through.

Prog is also going through a similar revival.

The trouble is no matter how good something is, once an act is too popular, a new underground rock movement forms to push out the establishment!

2013 is rapidly moving forward towards making way for 2014. So can you tell us if you have the new year mapped out and what do you have planned for it?

(Dougie) Yeah there are plans for a tour, or probably 2 short tours. We are playing the ABC in Glasgow on 4th Jan and already have work confirmed with Dan Reed, who’s new album I’ve been playing on repeat all year. We’ve just finished filming a video for our single “Stay” which we persuaded the film school at Cardonald College to produce for us. We even got Dave Beaton (drummer from Yashin) to act in it with his wife who is a glamour model. It’s all done in the best possible taste of course! So we will get that out there as soon as we can.

This coming year though its all about hard travelling, getting in front of audiences, as our new pal Dave Sharp (from the Alarm) told us we had to do.

I felt like saying “mate, your poster was on my bedroom wall when I was 16!!”

Thought better of it. But he’s right, it’s all about taking this message to the masses.

(Danny) The same thing we try and do every year, try to do what we do, but better than we did it yesterday!

(Marc) I wanna be sedated!  

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Michael Monroe - Horns and Halos

Three albums into his post Hanoi Rocks career (2^nd phase) and Michael Monroe is looking to close the gap with the past.

Everything has come full circle in the best possible way, and with his band he is redefining the rock and roll landscape again by dragging us all back into the gutter where we can imagine that the stars are within our grasp.

While I was impressed with the debut, and it's proper studio follow up, they are now relegated to being magnificent rungs in the ladder that we stepped on as we made our way to Horns and Halos.

When Ginger moved on to pastures new I mourned his passing right up until it was announced that Dregen was on board, and then I did that dance around the room that you would rather others didn't know about.

The shading he has brought to the material is no better, or worse, than what Ginger brought to the band, just different, and equally as entertaining.

With Sami Yaffa, Steve Conte and Karl Rockfist, and Dregen of course, backing up Michael on stage, in the studio, and on the song-writing this may just be the best band on the planet right now.

In fact you can scratch that.

Right at this moment in time no one is coming close to touching them.

Between them all they have an enviable track record and best of all they have the gang mentality that all great bands need.

Everything has simply clicked into place.

The piano in Child of the Revolution, the guitars in.....well, in everything actually.

It's them against the world and the rest of the world may come in as a poor second in this fight.

There's nothing you could throw at them that they would flinch away from.

They deliver one hundred percent, one hundred percent of the time.

The guitar work dueling back and forth between Steve Conte and Dregen is sublimely and ecstatically fluid.

It's rock and roll nirvana.

Blisteringly good.

There was probably a moment when Sami and Karl were listening back to the album when they looked at each other and smiled knowing that they had built a foundation that was unshakable.

If so, then they were right.

You could build a skyscraper on the back of their input and no storm would topple it.

Michael is the consummate ringmaster throughout.

The icing on the cake.

A glam punk demigod dipping into reggae, clash styled sonic attacks and New York Dolls blues influenced sleaze while barely taking a breath.

Any self respecting rock fan would be in thrall to this.

The frightening thing about it all is that in reality the band are still in their infancy to.

If world domination doesn't materialize then I'm kicking off a revolution as who really wants to live in a world that doesn't celebrate such life affirming music as this?