The Glasgow PodcART

I was lucky enough to catch up with Acey Slade at his Stereo gig last week. Acey was totally engaging and charming and basically a thoroughly decent man! Here is the full interview where we discuss everything from Mexican smuggling to the pros and cons of Robert Smith! Enjoy……

Sean. So how are you?
Acey. Very well thank you
Andy. Acey is very well and I am a little tired

S. Late night last night?
Andy. it wasn’t so much a late night as much as not enough sleep. I woke up too early this morning.
Ac. That and the fact that when we went back to the hotel last night everyone who seemed to be at the gig, was also in the hotel bar.

S. Tori and Crip [Patchwork Grace] told me it was a nice hotel you were staying in?
Ac. yeah it was cool man, it was like staying in Austin Powers hotel! It was actually a very surreal night because it was like staying in Austin Powers hotel, and then I looked over and Andy was talking to a whole table full of very androgynous women, which I didn’t expect to see in Dumfries so….

S. Did you notice any gingers? [I am asking about gingers because I am working on the theory that there are no gingers in rock nowadays because of the volume of hair dye that is now used]
Ac and An. No not really……….
Ac. and it was pretty dark in there… and all the girls who were with Andy, it was pretty odd as they all had matching hair[ Andy’s hair is peroxide blonde, shaved at the sides] to Andy too. So they were all blonde in various forms and Andy kinda blended in with them..
An. they took me in as one of their own..
Ac. Yes! That’s how to blend in with the locals!!

S. Looking at your past you have been very busy on so many projects and also obviously Murderdolls, what is it like being out on your own and responsible for everyone else?
Ac. It’s mostly good, and the fact that the guys I am playing with just now are so awesome that it doesn’t really feel that way you know? They all step up to the plate.

S. So now does it feel very much like a band?
Ac. Yeah totally

S. What’s the reaction been like on the Tour so far?
Ac. really good. I think for a lot of people, because the music is so different to what I have done before, a few people were scratching their heads a little bit. But we knew when people saw it life it would make sense to them.

S.  Do you find that the audience has came along because of your past or because of the songs your playing now ?
Ac. I don’t really care to be honest. I mean as long as people show up and enjoy themselves that’s all that really matters you know?

S. I suppose that is the main thing, that people enjoy the show?
Ac. Well that’s one of the cool things about being a solo artist, your not trading on a name so now I feel this will give me the room to change what I am doing from album to album. I can already see were we are going next because, my albums done, but I can see where we are going as a band, I can see the direction we are going so I am already thinking about the second record.

S. So the first album, [the Dark Party] what was the process for writing it?
Ac. It was myself working with my producer Shaun Morriss [ Ror-Shak, Stakka & Skynet, The Militia] who is basically a drum and bass producer and he does a lot of electronic music. When my own band had broken up I didn’t want to get into a band again, I was thinking, ‘no fucking way!’ I have had it with bands, but I had so much stress going at the time I knew I had to be creative, I had to write. Shaun didn’t want to be in a band but he did want to work with a rock musician so it all came together.

S. Listening to the direction you are going and the songs that are available its apparent there are loads of beats involved. The beats are good, is that as a result of working with Shaun?
Ac. Well Shaun has been working as Dj Stakka for years but he was also heavily involved in the UK drum and bass scene in the 90’s.

S. So when will The Dark Party be available?
Ac. Sometime in the summer. We have been selling the EP ourselves and it has enabled us to do what we want when we want. And the accounting has been a LOT better [hahahaha] But at the same time a record company can be great for advertising and promotion. I am not really looking for a record company for the release, as I really only want people who believe in the project, not people who will  promote based on my track record. I want them to genuinely love it as much as we do. I want them to believe in this band….

S. Where did you record?
Ac. In Brooklyn, New York.

S. Was the entire recording completed in the same place?
Ac. Most of the recording and programming was done at Shaun’s place. Andy completed the guitars at his place and Chris recorded some of the drums at his place.

S. What are you listening to on the bus while you are travelling between gigs?
Ac. Well it’s cool because our driver is an old school punk guy, and we are all heavily into that, and it’s great because I haven’t listened to that much of it recently. But today we were like, ‘ok, let’s see if we can slip on something else’. Especially with Andy being a little hung over… I don’t think he was up for the dose of Rancid that we were getting. I think Andy was thinking more Cocteau Twins or something…
An. I was wanting to hear ANYTHING that didn’t have any guitars in it! [hahahha] I really wanted a moratorium on Les Pauls Going through Marshall amps today

S. You come from a pretty small town in America, was there a scene when you were growing up?
Ac. It’s funny because Andy grew up in the next town over and we never knew it until we met in New York! I think that’s one of the reasons why we can relate so much and, I don’t know if this is the case [motions to Andy for confirmation], but where I was at, there wasn’t enough punks to have a punk scene or Goths to have a Goth scene or metal kids or whatever. They would all look at each other and go, ‘well you don’t shop in Old Navy or Gap and neither do I. So everyone kinda hung out together. I would call it more like, arts class kids. Do you know what I mean? This is what I feel like I am coming back to with this band in a way because it’s more like, when I was in my later teens,  we would take the Goth kid to see Metallica and the Goth kid would take us to see Skinny Puppy and we would ALL go to see Jane’s Addiction. I don’t know if that was what it was like for you [Andy]?
An. I don’t know, I don’t remember there being any alternative culture at all in my school. I didn’t really meet anybody else like me until I came to New York. I remember coming into a club at first [in New York] and hearing Sisters of Mercy and I shit my pants! I was just so amazed that anyone else knew about this kind of music except for me. I am sure there were people around that were just as much into this music as me when they were at home, but everyone I knew was just totally into the mainstream classic rock radio stuff.

S.You hear a lot in the UK about American radio having a very narrow playlist?
Ac and An. Yeah, very narrow!
Ac. Its so terrible……
An. it’s really narrow…
Ac. It’s like if they want to play something that’s really gonna put you on edge, they will play something from System Of A Downs first album, and its not that that’s bad, Sytem are great, but they will be like, ‘we have something that’s really cutting edge [to play] now’, but its like 8 years ago now!

S.  Do you think your song writing is a reaction to your past?
Ac. I don’t want to sound pretentious but a lot of the time my songs only make sense to me after I have written them. I am not Nostradamus or anything but I will finish a song and then a couple of months later I will be playing it and then something will happen and the song will make sense. The next song I am writing is about being rich and meeting my dream girl and living in a castle!! {hahahahha]

S. You mentioned earlier that things were different for you now because of the band, so has the song writing process changed?
Ac. When I wrote the album it was mostly me and then Shaun. Towards the end I asked Andy to play on it. With the new songs some of it Andy has written so that’s how things have changed, what we want to do when we get home is, there has been some stuff that myself,  Chris [drummer] and Percy [Bass/keys] have been working on, so we want to involve Andy and work on it that way.

Acey Slade

S. What influences would you say you had?
Ac. Well, it was more like listening to bands and knowing what I didn’t want to do. It’s like what Andy was saying, I am a guitarist and I play in a rock band. So now it’s kinda like working backwards. I know how to make a record that sounds like this….. so let’s try doing that last, you know? But things like the last UNKLE album [War Stories], a lot of J-Rock, DJ Shadow, DJ Scribbles a lot of stuff like that. We were like, ‘lets play with THAT stuff because we know how to overdub lot’s of guitars’.

S. [to Andy] I heard you when you were sound checking playing The Forest from The Cure, is that a band who influenced you? *Rookie error, Andy was actually playing ‘Lovesong’
An. Oh yeah, absolutely! I would probably say The Cure is my favourite band of all time. I mean I have other bands that I love in other ways but definitely The Cure are one of my biggest influences.
S. I think Robert Smith is a really underrated guitar player.
An. Definitely! He is a very good guitar player. Especially in the early 80’s when he was doing a lot of drugs! His whole thing was on fire, between 82-84 he was just so prolific and he was also reckless and out of control and now he is like, he has a comfortable life, he puts an album out every 4 years and it just sucks! It almost seems like there is some correlation between being reckless and obscure and producing your best work. I suppose that’s what happens when people get comfortable and rich, they just become really boring…
S. it seems to happen to everyone?
Ac. The only thing ii would disagree with is the drug thing and the correlation with the drug thing. I have been sober for years and I am not afraid to change or challenge myself….
An. but it does seem that some people are afraid or unable to tap into their wilder side [without the aid of substances]  or they just can’t do it. Some people can reach that place without the aid of drugs. I mean, Eddie Van Halen’s best stuff was all done when he was drunk of his ass!
Ac. I think what it comes down to is that, yeah, of course people like Eddie and Robert Smith have written their best stuff when they have been fuck up’s but does anyone ever remember the last album they do before they get cleaned up? They are still using but is that album any good? Probably not and it’s probably the reason that they get clean. I think the best stuff comes before anyone hits the bottom.

S. You have the burlesque performers on the tour. Is that something you have tried in the US?
Ac. No just here..

S. Who has been your favourite so far?
Ac. Spiderlady..
An. yeah.
Ac. Spiderlady from London, yeah, Veronica Valentine……
S. ok, I saw her on your myspace…..
Ac. oh, you dirty boy! You have been lookin huh? [hahahahah]
S. Well I like to do my research!!
Ac. Yeah, she was great although actually, I have been surprised at how great everyone has been so far. All the girls have been phenomenal, they really take themselves seriously.

S. So was it your idea?
Ac.Yeah.

S. It’s a great idea!!
Ac. Thank you!

S. So the next 12 months, what does it hold for you?
Ac. Well actually, I want to stick with this. Everyone has been really receptive to this,  the whole idea behind this tour was, the economy sucks right now, everyone is having a hard time financially, and people could pay even more money than they are paying for tonight and they will see 3 bands, set up their shit and then get done. For me, this has become so uncreative. The live scene has become so uncreative, and I wanted for people to go, ‘right, we can go and see this band, or there is like a whole thing going on with this’. I wanted people to see there was more going on other than a just a band standing on the stage and playing, and I wanted to give people more bang for their buck you know? So the burlesque thing came to mind because I often feel there is not enough space for women in music, there should be more space for women in music but at the same time if you go and see a tour were it is all girl bands that are playing then that in itself can seem, almost like it is segregated in a way, and I think that can work against it. I don’t want it to even be an issue. So for me, I love the idea of being able to show women in power, to show women being creative. I mean they are not playing, but they are still performing in a creative capacity.

S. Is there anyone in the future who you would like to work with?
Ac. To work with? Are you still talking about the dancers?
S. [hahahahahha] No….
Ac. I know this sounds kind of goofy but, when you’re in a band you can kinda give away responsibility too easily sometimes. You have the idea, ‘well we are all gonna put in 25%’, but it never works out that way, and there are a lot of people who don’t ask, or can’t be bothered working for that 25%. So the thing that has been great with this is that it kinda started off with me doing things, but now it has got to the stage were it is, ‘well he is good at that and this guy is good at that’, and just musicianship wise we are all different but we are all the same and I am just really excited to be able to work with my band just now.

S. You have the album [The Dark Party] coming out later this year, what are your hopes for the album?
Ac. I have been really lucky with the career that I have had, and I have had highs and I have had lows, and at this stage I am just gonna put the music out because I like it and I really don’t give a fuck what happens! I mean if good things happen with this album then that’s great, but I didn’t do this album for record sales which is kinda ironic because this is probably the most mainstream record I have recorded, but that wasn’t the reason why I did it. I did it to challenge myself, I wanted to see if there was something else I could do. The cards were down, my band had broken up, it was time to say, ‘are you really a creative guy? Can you really do something different?’ Just the record coming out is gonna be good enough for me.

S. Any rock star vices on the tour bus?
Ac. I have gotta have coffee! I need to be heavily caffeinated all the time!! Andy would be sunglasses. Chris is always eating so his would definitely be food. Percy, I am not sure what his is. Actually he is always on his computer!
S. Yeah I noticed that!
Ac. Yeah, that’s what’s been really cool about this tour. We have all been able to find each other a little bit as we didn’t really know each other that well before. Outside of that its just the usual stuff, AK47’s, amputee porn, methamphetamine you know, we smuggled a couple of Mexicans over, and you know that when you fly they say you can’t have any soil from another country..
S. yeah…
Ac. I snuck a piece of dirt in!!!

S. Ok time for the quick quiz…
Nirvana or Pixies?
Ac. We were talking about this in the van and I was explaining that I didn’t become a Nirvana fan until Kurt Cobain killed himself. We were talking about the whole, pseudo tortured artist thing. I am a massive Manics fan and you know what happened with Richie, I didn’t really get Nirvana and then when he killed himself I was like ‘whoa, I get it now. He really wasn’t kidding’. Because there was so many bands at that time, you know rip off bands, and I wanted to see who the real deal was and obviously with Nirvana, Kurt was the real deal so I went out and got all their albums although I suppose the Pixies came first right? So I am gonna say Pixies for originality.

S. Have you heard the new Manics Album yet?
Ac. No, its out this week right?
S. Yeah, I got a listen to it and Steve Albini has produced it. It’s definitely the best thing they have done since The Holy Bible.
Ac. Great! I will be honest with you, they have done the arena rock thing and the stadium rock thing and the impression I am getting from them now is like, ‘lets do this album for us.’ And I think that’s really when you are going to get your best stuff.

S. On the bus, whiskey or beer for the rest of the guys?
Ac. Neither, Vodka!!

S. cars or bikes?
Ac. I live in New York so I am gonna say bike.

S. Finally New York or LA?
Ac. New York!!!

Big thanks to tour manager Jamie, Nick from ENPR and of course the legendary Acey Slade and Andy for being, well, legends!!

Sean McCann

sean@glasgowpodcart.com

http://www.myspace.com/aceyslademusic

Catch Acey Slade on tour