VLADIMIRS
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Please a little bit of
history? -Hello, Brian of the Vladimirs here. We formed in 1996. We were all in other bands at the time (Brian/Bad Samaritans & Squared Away), (Marquis/Thorns Of The Carrion), (Ash/Estuary & Thorns Of The Carrion), and (Doug/The Blame). We decided to do something more fun to take a break from our other bands and write about our other interests (ghosts,vampires,zombies,insanity...fun stuff). Marquis Thomas had some songs written and we loved them so we decided to record. It turns out lots of other people loved them too, and we thought "hey this could be big". We have been doing it ever since. The line-up until recently has been Marquis Thomas (vocals/guitar), Ash Thomas (drums), Doug Nevels (bass), and me Brian Day (guitar/vocals). Recently Ash left the band to pursue his other band Estuary. He has been replaced by drummer Eric Tuffendsam. Please tell me a little about every member, age, family, interests,work and something bad about every one? -Well, Marquis is 23 (i think), Doug is 30, Ash is 27, and I (Brian) am 33. Newcomer Eric is 22. We all like some of the same things like music (record and cd collecting), food, beer, sex, movies, alien cover-ups, secret societies, religion, history, typical things. Marquis is into movies more than the rest of us. Doug is into tattoos. Ash is into metal, metal, metal the most. I am into collecting music and guitars. Eric is into computers and recording. Of course you´re being compared to Misfits, comment)? - That is not necessarily a bad thing, but the Misfits had only a little influence on us. We are all into a lot of other bands way more than we ever were into the Misfits. I don't think any of us has even listened to the Misfits in years. We just happen to have similar aspects. I don't think we sound that much like them. Which other groups are you being compared to? -The only other groups we have been compared to have been Motorhead (for our music, not the vocals) and Carnivore. Oh yeah, and once someone said we remind them of Concrete Blonde. But, i think that is quite a stretch. Many people would say that you play horrorpunk, what about that expression? How would you describe your music yourself? -I would say we started off that way and we still have elements of that. But, we have evolved to where we also do songs that are more metal also. And our lyrics aren't always about zombies and such. We also get deep into the darkness of the human mind. More psychological, "'horrorpunk' of the mind". Like a 'Twilight Zone' episode or an old 'Alice Cooper' song. Of course we still have the fun "zombie" song from time to time. How many records have you done, I have only Night Gallery and The odds are against us, which other records have you done and how can I get it? -We have 5 cd's out now: Vladimirs (self-titled debut), So Fine Cocubine, Night Gallery, Hits And Near Misses, and The Odds Are Against Us. The first cd is out of print for now (but not for long) and the others you can get on Ebay, thru our website, or from http://www.bloodandgutsrecords.com We also have one 7" and have appeared on MANY tributes and comps. Blood And Guts is the label we recently signed to. They are great and very reliable. They have a great selection of music and music related items. By the time this interview comes out, they will have released a new Vladimirs cd entitled 'Scars Of The Vladimirs' which is a best of from the past 8 years. It also has one unreleased track. There are other places online to find our cd's also. With the release of our new upcoming cd 'Serpent Girl' fans should be able to find our cd's at their local stores and thru major distributors. And they can always send me check or international money order to: Brian Day 1911 Acorn Drive Cincinnati, Ohio 45231 USA. And I will send out the order myself. Which type of people comes to your concerts? -We have a mix from punks, skins, goths, horrorpunks, rockers, and metalheads. That is because we have a little of each influence in our music. Because we like all of that type of music. Is there any good bands in your home country? -There are tons of great bands here. Since the famous bands get enough exposure anyway, i will name some you may not have heard of: Nim Vid, Graveyard School, Eerie Ln., Blitzkid, Calabrese, Soulless, Guttervamps, Kill City, etc... What is typical swedish? What do you know about sweden? -I have a friend who has been there several times. He says it is great. So I assume it is very nice there. I know that a lot of great music comes from Sweden and you have some great concerts. Have you heard any swedish bands? -Yes, Yngwie Malmsteen is one of my favorite guitar players. As well as bands like Dream Evil, Entombed, Nocturnal Rites, The Haunted, Vintersorg, Casket Casey (also on Blood And Guts Records), and lets not forget Europe (I like their older stuff best). Great musicians. I have heard that playing a musical instrument is highly encouraged in Sweden, and that there is much financial support to learn/study music. Which reviews have you got on the new CD? -We have got some really good ones from people who can understand and appreciate the diversity on our new cd. But even the one who didn't really like it (one review) still did not say it was that bad. Our next cd 'Serpent Girl' is back to our old style as some may be able to tell from the 'Serpent Girl' track on the newly released 'This Is Horrorpunk 2' compilation, from Fiendforce Records. Mostly great reviews, that makes us happy. It seems like a lot of people like the more technical playing for a change. A break from the 3 chord punk rock that we usually do. Do you care about reviews? -Yes. We like to know that we are reaching people. We won't let a bad review destroy us. But it's sort of like someone saying that they don't like a picture that you drew when you spent a lot of time (and money) trying to get it right. Either way we have fun making it, we love it. Which is the most peculiar review you ever have got? -Well, one time after a show in New York I gave some kid with a 'zine a copy of our cd to review. He said he liked it, but he compared us to Murphy's Law (the old NYHC band). I don't think we sound much like them.
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Your name Vladimirs, where does
it comes from? -I think it is important to
have a name that sticks out, but it is hard to come up with a good one
that isn't already used. I think that Jody Fosters Army was one of the
great punk band names. And a great band too. When you do songs, is it
important to have a lyrics which is about Most embarrassing record in
your collection?
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