First to step up to the plate batting for the 'Grand Fury' team, since 1995, after a major team turn around in music direction and with the teams line-up, if you haven't guessed it by now, then read service604s first interview with a rock n' roll maveric.
This interview was taken after the BellRays headlining gig at the Mean Fiddler.
I don't know where to start, we've been around since 1992, various incarnations. The line up you see now has been around sonce 1995. We have four albums out. Selected tracks from the last two albums are out on an album called "Meet the BellRays" on Poptones, and we have a bunch on 7", different things that no one seems to know about.
Why was there such a big contrast between "In light of the sun" and the latter albums "Let it Blast" and "Grandfury"?
well In light of the sun was the old line up, and bob played guitar, now he plays bass, I wasn't in the band, there was a different drummer and there was a keyboard player, they was also a different approach , and slowly those guys just faded into the background.
What do you think of Nu-Metal?
Some of its okay. some of it seems to run into a brick wall. Stylistically its like they don't know what to do with it. You got some real good players out there, and I think they get tied down by trying to be a charcter f yourself, thats when you hot a wall. Some bands are good, I guess Soulfly would be Nu-metal. I think they're fucking great. They're real direct looking. For a while punk rock was the vangaurd of music, all new ideadscame from punk rock, and for a while it was heavy metal, and punk rock dropped it, you know, there were just a few bands moving forward, and the Nu-metal bands are trying to do that, trying to be the vangaurd, but theres not too many of them.
If you could offer one piece of advice for generation X, what would it be?
Try and learn to talk to people. Now a days people are hung up on slang, and getting down with their friends on the street, and you know the world is too big, you have to be able to talk to people. Its a lost art. I mean, when I was a kid, I'd sit in my room and learn how to play guitar. I never thought I'd be in England, Japan or Germany, and not everyone speaks english, and I grant you they don't know your slang. So if you can learn to communicate with these people instead of looking at them as weirdos or freaks because they don't speak the same language as you, you realise that everyones the same as everyone. Too many people don't realise that.
Where the hell did you get the name "The Bellrays" from?
Bob, the bass player, he made a list of names. When you're thinking of names for a band you kind of sit around, make a list, you know...The chairs, The TVs, you know, you name everything. And well somehow, he came up with that one, and it just stuck out I guess. Plus, when you go to a record store, you see the Beatles right next to the BellRays. We're big on the Beatles, its a good place to be next to.
What do you reckon of the Hives?
The Hives, they're okay, they do the whole 60s garage thing okay. I think theres bands who do it better, they got some ctachy songs, and you-more power to them, they're nice guys. I don't know where they'll take it. We played one show with them at Brixton Academy, they're nice guys, and they put us on a CD (Kerrang!) with loads of bands on, that was real nice of them to do that. I like some of their tunes, but their records dont sound like they do live, that kind of throws me off abit, well we'll see what they do next...
Any last messages Qoutes and/or such like...?
Yeah-dont throw beer cans at us, it hurts.