INTERVIEW WITH SPIT LIKE THIS
(Wildgirlsins for La Estadea)

Answers in red by LORD ZiON (vocals)

"We saw Alice Cooper in London and his spirit is alive in the islands: his true heirs are the British Spit Like This, a volcanic mingle of punk, sleaze, gothic, and gore, with concerts in which first aid kit is always welcomed.

On 20 th October they release the first single of ther debut, We Won't Hurt You (But We Won't Go Away), that will be out in November. By email we interviewed the singer, Lord Zion, who with the bassist Vikki, is the soul of the project"

1. The name of the band is Spit Like This, is that "spit" a "spit" on conventionalism?

We like people to make their own interpretation of the name. There is a certain attitude about it that we love, a punky defiance and it does sum us up. What can I say? You either SPiT LiKE THiS or you do not!

2. You say you have no rules, is Anarchy the way to follow in music?

It depends what you mean by anarchy? For me it is a Punk term (musically speaking) but the true punks are long gone and have been replaced by watered down facsimile's of proto-punks. No-one is going to ever recapture that energy again, so why bother trying? The punk scene from the 70's was born out of anger and defiance. In 2008, we don't really have anything to be angry or defiant about, so why pretend that we are hard done by when we aren't? Our version of anarchy is simple: we do things our way by our own set of rules. If that is anarchy, then so be it. Personally, I think it is more about believing in something. After all, we are deliberately setting out to be anything other than what we are. I think we are more subversive than anarchic.

3. For defining yourself, you say: "there are three simple ingredients that make a band great: songs, looks and attitude. Spit Like This has all 3 in abundance." How is this statement translated to reality?

Simple: we have all 3. Whether a person LiKES the songs, look and attitude of the band is irrelevant. To deny we have them would be churlish. There are bands that I positively abhor (Nirvana, for instance), but I can see why people loved what they did. They were the anti-heroes of their time; we are the heroes of ours.

4. You comment that nobody does anymore the things the way you do it, is it music business full of spoilt children with no idea of how to rock?

Abso-fuckin-lutely! I cannot tell you how many shows we do where the support band arrives, parents in tow, with loads of brand spanking new top-of-the-range gear. That is so bogus it is untrue. Bedroom rockers that should stay behind locked doors. They sneer and mock us for all our stage props and our battered gear but, the proof in the pudding is when we hit the stage and show those preppy twerps what rock n roll is REALLY about. They swagger around drinking JD out of the bottle thinking they are the next Nikki Sixx (just before Mum takes them home in the people carrier) when, truth of the matter is, they are just a wannabe. Rock is an attitude, not a pose. It is something you live and die by. These children should live a bit of real life before even attempting to get up on stage. The fuckwits.

5. Your shows are crazy. Are teenagers safe in your hands? What can we find in your concerts and where does your inspiration come from?

No-one is safe in our hands. And that is just the way it should be. Sometimes someone will take a dislike to us whilst we are onstage (you know how idiotic piss-heads can be), but they will soon learn not to fuck with SLT. One swift kick from one of Vikki's stilettos or a smack in the face from her bass soon shuts them up. People get dirty at our gigs, they get offended, the get morally outraged. They misunderstand. They get angry. They get confronted. Perfect. That means we are doing our job properly. There are only two possible outcomes we want from a gig: love or hate. If there is anything inbetween, we aren't doing our job properly. Inspiration from our shows come from the best showmen in rock: Alice Cooper, Kiss.. all that nonsense. We put on a SHOW.

6. You had an EP in the Top 8 UK rock charts. How does an underground band achieve that?

By not being lazy. It didn't happen because of some magic, secret formula. Any success we have achieved comes from a simple mix of sheer determination, self belief and bloody hard work. If you miss one of those ingredients, forget it. If you don't live and breathe your band, forget it. If you prefer to party rather than work hard, forget it. There has to be nothing else of any significance or importance in your life. Then, and only then, might you stand a slim chance.

7. Many things have happened to you in the last months and in October you are releasing your first single, the album is out in November. What are we going to find in that debut?

Music that defies description. The thing about SLT is that we are unique. We don't slot comfortably into any defined genre. We do things our own way and that creates our own sound. We chose a manager in June, an agent in July and a label in August. These things have not happened by accident. Everyone now involved in the SPiT LiKE THiS Universe is 100% committed in breaking us through to the other side. Fuck it, we are going for the charts. Not because we want to be pop stars but because we want to BEAT pop stars. That is the point of SLT. So imagine 13 slices of music that perfectly encapsulates the SLT mantra.

8. For the shooting of the video, coming next, you told the director: "imagine if Quentin Tarantino directed an 80's rock video". Is Alice Cooper a baby compared to you?

No, Alice Cooper is our Grandaddy! He invented the whole shock rock genre. He lost his way a bit in the 80's and 90's but, that's OK, he is still a legend and you cannot remove that title from him. He pathed the way for Kiss, Motley Crue, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Wednesday 13.. everyone that wanted to dress up, look funny and put on a great show. We take a slightly different slant on it than everyone else. If you had to describe SLT it would be "the band that should have played the Titty Twister in Dusk Til Dawn".. We are always borderline cool without ever crossing over to the dark side.

9. Japan, Europe, and USA are in your agenda after the album is on wheels. Will we need some black magic so that you play in Spain?

No, you just need some screaming rockers! We will play any place that will has us. We just need some food, a bed for the night and a room full of nutters to make some noise back at us.

10. You've already packed venues of 400 people and leave 200 outside and your audiences are passionate, if you come bigger, will you be as dangerous as the early Motley Crue?

Motley Crue were only ever a danger to themselves and we have no desire to follow them on their path. It did serve them well and, to a large extent, they have made a career out of self-destruction, but that isn't the SLT way. We don't WANT to self-destruct. You can leave that to the idiot wannabes that think that it will make them a rock star. It won't, it will make them dead. We want to be around for a VERY long time so we work hard at staying really fit. But that makes us MORE dangerous because it means we can never be beaten at our own game. When others are falling around us, we will always remain triumphantly standing ready to go another six rounds.

11. You are unconventional. How did it feel like when Right Said Fred was wearing one of your tees (with the logo "I'm So Sexy I Shit Right Said Fred") and having a vip pass to one of their concerts? Was it something that could only have happened to you?

Of course! The strangest things happen in the SLT Universe, and that was one of the strangest. When I first came up with that T-shirt, I never assumed that I would one day be watching the Freds getting changed into it. But they got it, they knew it was a loving nod at their kitchness. RSF are great, in a camp big butch men kind of way. I'd rather have met them than hundreds of the idiotic "stars" that revolve in the rock scene trying too hard to be cool.

12. By the way, you have very cool tees, who design them? Which is the general concept for them? Where can we buy them?

By and large, I design them. Sometimes Vikki will come up with one (when she does, they are always great) and sometimes a customer will suggest something we like. When we first set up smellyourmum.com, it was to fund mine and Vikki's share in SLT. We knew that we couldn't get "regular" jobs as our time needed to be flexible. Our customers love the fact that, by buying a cool T-shirt, they are helping to fund a great band. This is where we are more punk that 99.9% of the so-called punk bands. Our DIY ethics meant that, instead of sitting around expecting someone to pay for our ride, we got off our arses and did something to buy our own tickets. And now we are signed, all those customers that supported us have been vindicated. So, every reader of this should, right now, go to www.smellyourmum.com, buy a T-shirt (hundreds to choose from) and support rock n' roll!

Thank you for the interview. Make sure you also check out www.spitlikethis.com and our myspazz at www.myspace.com/spitlikethisuniverse 

Single out on Transcend via Cargo on 20th October, album titled "We Won't Hurt You (But We Won't Go Away)" due November 2008.