Vitriolic Niceties
Fresh from their headlining tour with King Adora and just one year old, My Vitriol have been tipped for greatness by every music paper worthy of their existence. Signed after playing just 7 gigs and with only 3 singles yet to boot, the foursome have been busy all summer racking up every major festival from Glastonbury to T in the Park. We managed to catch up with guitarist Seth Taylor, bassist Carolyn Bannister and drummer Ravi Kesavaram at Sheffield Uni as they awaited their debut slot as support to Mansun.
BUZZ: This is your first night as support to Mansun. Are you nervous? Carolyn: "Yeah, we've just come off the headline tour and are just getting used to playing again." Seth: "I'm not that nervous -- as we're supporting, not headlining, the pressures off a little bit"
BUZZ: How's the vibe of the tour been with King Adora and crackout? Seth: "Very good. I met Crackout in Wales and they seemed really nice. King Adora are lovely guys, really easy to get on with."
BUZZ: What do you think you can offer today's music scene that makes you stand out from crowd? Seth: "Better songs! (Laughs)"
BUZZ: There's being a lot of pigeonholing concerning the sonic identities of bands today. How would you define your own style? Carolyn: "Like a pigeon in a hole! I'd say the easiest thing a journalist can do is to reference to another band it reminds them of."
BUZZ: How surprised were you to be signed after only playing seven gigs? Seth: "Very! We're still getting over that -- it feels very weird as everything's happening very, very quickly."
BUZZ: Who are your influences? Seth: "We've all got different influences, which is what makes it sound that much more interesting I suppose. My influences include Blondie, Radiohead and even bits of Sepultura! so it's all diverse."
BUZZ: You've being getting compared quite a lot to Nirvana haven't you? Seth: "We used to… I think it's wearing off now!" Carolyn: "I think a lot of bands are going to have this streak of Nirvana in them -- it's just the timing of the whole thing. But they were a good f**king band." Ravi: "People hear different things -- someone the other day was saying Cameleons to me and it was like 'what?', then someone else said Roxy music. It's quite nice to hear that 'cause it's difficult to pigeonhole us."
BUZZ: So your sound is somewhere in the rock genre, all with a bit of indie, grunge and thrash mixed in? Carolyn: "Yeah, we've done some B-Sides for the new single and we thought we'd spread our wings a bit and do something a bit different. Trying to get different sounds, different rhythms, etc."
BUZZ: Which artist dead or alive would you most like to have played Live with? Carolyn: "Debbie Harry" Seth: "(Almost orgasmic,) "Oh Yeah, that'd be brilliant -- they're lovable. And I'd quite like to go on tour with, even though it's bloody obvious, Sonic Youth." Ravi: "Prince"
BUZZ: Tell us how the new album's coming along? Seth: "We're still discussing the album title, but it's more than less finished. We're co-producing with Chris Sheldon -- we've recorded a load of tracks and we'll just choose the best from those. It'll be released around MARCH 2002 and a fourth single will be coming out with the album -- most of the tracks off the Delusions Of Grandeur EP will be on there."
BUZZ: Why did you re-release Pieces when it's already appeared on a double A side single with Always Your Way? Carolyn: "The first single was a double A side to the demo. We did a thousand copies and they were being sold for silly amounts like thirty quid. It just wasn't fair -- people want to hear the songs, so we re-released it. Also, we re-arranged the songs sound; we were still finding our feet when we originally recorded it."
BUZZ: You've had a lot of media exposure recently. Has it at all gone to your head? Seth: "No, it doesn't feel real…it's nice seeing some of the artwork, but as far as photographs go I think I've only seen one photograph I like of myself -- it's always like Oh God no!"
BUZZ: What was your most memorable gig? Seth: "It has to be Leeds or Reading, the main stage thing was great -- last year we were punters and this year we're playing main stage -- it's crazy! T In The Park was pretty amazing too."
BUZZ: What are your hopes and expectations for the future? Seth: "It'd be nice to headline some more big gigs and play at more some festivals… and we hope to be touring Europe next year."
By Andy Law / Claire Buckley / Andy Wright
Fresh from their headlining tour with King Adora and just one year old, My Vitriol have been tipped for greatness by every music paper worthy of their existence. Signed after playing just 7 gigs and with only 3 singles yet to boot, the foursome have been busy all summer racking up every major festival from Glastonbury to T in the Park. We managed to catch up with guitarist Seth Taylor, bassist Carolyn Bannister and drummer Ravi Kesavaram at Sheffield Uni as they awaited their debut slot as support to Mansun.
BUZZ: This is your first night as support to Mansun. Are you nervous? Carolyn: "Yeah, we've just come off the headline tour and are just getting used to playing again." Seth: "I'm not that nervous -- as we're supporting, not headlining, the pressures off a little bit"
BUZZ: How's the vibe of the tour been with King Adora and crackout? Seth: "Very good. I met Crackout in Wales and they seemed really nice. King Adora are lovely guys, really easy to get on with."
BUZZ: What do you think you can offer today's music scene that makes you stand out from crowd? Seth: "Better songs! (Laughs)"
BUZZ: There's being a lot of pigeonholing concerning the sonic identities of bands today. How would you define your own style? Carolyn: "Like a pigeon in a hole! I'd say the easiest thing a journalist can do is to reference to another band it reminds them of."
BUZZ: How surprised were you to be signed after only playing seven gigs? Seth: "Very! We're still getting over that -- it feels very weird as everything's happening very, very quickly."
BUZZ: Who are your influences? Seth: "We've all got different influences, which is what makes it sound that much more interesting I suppose. My influences include Blondie, Radiohead and even bits of Sepultura! so it's all diverse."
BUZZ: You've being getting compared quite a lot to Nirvana haven't you? Seth: "We used to… I think it's wearing off now!" Carolyn: "I think a lot of bands are going to have this streak of Nirvana in them -- it's just the timing of the whole thing. But they were a good f**king band." Ravi: "People hear different things -- someone the other day was saying Cameleons to me and it was like 'what?', then someone else said Roxy music. It's quite nice to hear that 'cause it's difficult to pigeonhole us."
BUZZ: So your sound is somewhere in the rock genre, all with a bit of indie, grunge and thrash mixed in? Carolyn: "Yeah, we've done some B-Sides for the new single and we thought we'd spread our wings a bit and do something a bit different. Trying to get different sounds, different rhythms, etc."
BUZZ: Which artist dead or alive would you most like to have played Live with? Carolyn: "Debbie Harry" Seth: "(Almost orgasmic,) "Oh Yeah, that'd be brilliant -- they're lovable. And I'd quite like to go on tour with, even though it's bloody obvious, Sonic Youth." Ravi: "Prince"
BUZZ: Tell us how the new album's coming along? Seth: "We're still discussing the album title, but it's more than less finished. We're co-producing with Chris Sheldon -- we've recorded a load of tracks and we'll just choose the best from those. It'll be released around MARCH 2002 and a fourth single will be coming out with the album -- most of the tracks off the Delusions Of Grandeur EP will be on there."
BUZZ: Why did you re-release Pieces when it's already appeared on a double A side single with Always Your Way? Carolyn: "The first single was a double A side to the demo. We did a thousand copies and they were being sold for silly amounts like thirty quid. It just wasn't fair -- people want to hear the songs, so we re-released it. Also, we re-arranged the songs sound; we were still finding our feet when we originally recorded it."
BUZZ: You've had a lot of media exposure recently. Has it at all gone to your head? Seth: "No, it doesn't feel real…it's nice seeing some of the artwork, but as far as photographs go I think I've only seen one photograph I like of myself -- it's always like Oh God no!"
BUZZ: What was your most memorable gig? Seth: "It has to be Leeds or Reading, the main stage thing was great -- last year we were punters and this year we're playing main stage -- it's crazy! T In The Park was pretty amazing too."
BUZZ: What are your hopes and expectations for the future? Seth: "It'd be nice to headline some more big gigs and play at more some festivals… and we hope to be touring Europe next year."
By Andy Law / Claire Buckley / Andy Wright
