Kiss my Acid is an young punkgroup both to age of the members and a s a group. They comes from Ireland and here is Freda the one who answers the questions from me in their first interview ever. Oktober-2015

Please tell me a little bit of history about the        group?  I know you’re not so old group!

 "Well we have only been together as a band about 3 or 4 months now!! We are the babies of the punk scene, the lowest of the food chain, the scum of the earth... Haha just kidding! Pretty much I (Freda) had been trying to start up a punk band for fucking ages, nobody would take me seriously, I had all these songs and nobody to play them with, then out of the blue Tom contacted me and a week later Rick was introduced to the band and we just went from there! We got together and started practicing every week at a rehearsal studio here in Dublin called Loop and the music just really came together!! Within a few weeks we were playing our first fucking gig!"

Please tell me a little bit about every member in the group right now, age, family, work, interests and something about everyone?

"We are all 23, Tom is the oldest, he's a roadie for one of the local bands here, he loves his Buckfast, smokes, women, and Podge and Rodge. Rick studies media production in college and works part time as a security guard, personal interests are weed, friends, music, his ma, and Seinfeld.  Freda pretty much manages the band and revolves her life around music 24/7. She is big into Green Day, boozin', gigs, travelling, songwriting, music and art"

I can hear much different influences in your music much L7, Lunachicks, Donnas etc here in your music? Am I right? Favourites from the past?

"Yeah L7 are fucking great, The Lunachicks too, I love bands with ballsy women! Although I wouldn’t see them as a MAJOR influence on our music. Were more heavily influenced by bands like Green Day, Nirvana, Distillers, Joan Jett, The Runaways, Misfits, The Stooges, Bad Religion, Pinhead Gunpowder, Bikini Kill ... Even bands like Wavves and FIDLAR are fucking great!.. A lot of 50’s,60’s, 70’s bands even.. The List goes on. Inspiration can come from anywhere."

Kiss My Acid are you satisfied with the name?  How did it come up? You weren’t afraid that some bands have taken it before you? Is there any deeper meaning with it? Which is the best band name you know?

"Yeah it’s completely ridiculous and silly, just like us! So it suits. A lot of people mistake us for some psychedelic fucking hippie band which is pretty funny, but yeah we originally had a list, we tried picking names out of a hat but that didn’t go too well, but we thought Kiss My Acid was the best and it wasn’t taken either. There is kind of a story behind it, apart from being a cheeky and snotty play on the words "Kiss My Ass", you could say the acid part relates to our trippy colorful front woman being fucking fried in the head from too many hallucinogenic drugs. But that’s another story."

What´s the best thing about playing live?

"We love playing live! There are so many things about it that are an amazing feeling but one of the main things about it is having fun and seeing everyone else having fun. We like to get everyone involved in our set. You have to talk to your audience. We even got the singer of one of the other bands up to do a cover of Suspect Device by Stiff Little Fingers with us, which turned out to be a fucking disaster but it was hilarious! Another thing is you have to put your heart and soul into every gig, you want to give people something to remember."

And where is best to play? And the worst place?

"We haven’t played that many shows yet, but Fibbers is like the home of the punk scene, it’s where we started, its where a lot of bands started. It’s just a great atmosphere and there are always people you know. Worst place??? Hmmm I dunno man, you make a gig what it is, any gig is a gig at the end of the day!"

How is to play this sort of music in Ireland right now? Which types of bands do you have concerts together with?

"To be honest I think right now we are the only band around like us, I mean not many bands are doing what we do, you don’t get many female fronted bands in Ireland, and certainly not in the punk scene. Its a rare occurrence. We are only a three piece as well, so I think we get more credit for the style we play too, which is 100 miles an hour with bittersweet anger. Our whole thing is about being unique and original, know play whatever the fuck we want, were not gonna try and fit in with anyone else so I think we are gonna bring some new inspiration to the table!! I think more girls should pick up an instrument and cause fucking chaos!. We play wherever and with whoever you know it’s great to meet new people and musicians, but mostly play with our friends bands, Checkpoint, Turfboy, Paranoid Visions, Klusterfux, S.F.U etc.”

How would you describe your music in three words?

“We like to think of it as "Structured Chaos"... But in 3 words.. Fast, Angry, Original.”

What does punk mean to you, is it only a word or is it a lifestyle?

 “To me it’s always been a lifestyle, It’s about doing things your own way, total freedom of expression and a good sense of individuality, it’s an attitude and personality towards life. And anybody who has that attitude can defiantly write a punk song! The term “punk” gets thrown around so much now a days people kind of lose sense of what it originally stood for. It’s not a fucking competition on who has the most studs on their jacket or the biggest Mohawk, what bands you listen to… It’s more about being free, being an individual and being YOU! And more importantly, not being afraid to be you! People parade around with their middle finger like FUCK THIS, FUCK THAT, FUCK THE SYSTEM, FUCK YOU.. That’s all well and good if you actually really mean it, but it’s just sad when people try to be something that they are not just to impress everybody else. I always say it’s better to stand out than to fit in.”

How do you see on downloading, mp3 and that stuff?

“Yeah who gives a fuck, we all do it like, but some people like to have a physical copy as well, it’s more sentimental that way. It all depends though, I like to collect rare Green Day CD’s and vinyl’s I wouldn’t dare download them because it’s just not the same you know?”

How is it to live in Ireland now? Politically?

"It’s not TOO bad I guess, I mean other countries have it worse off than us, but still there is a lot that needs to be changed around here, and nobody is really doing anything about it, most people just complain and do fuck all. Then the majority of people are like "yeah we are anti this and anti that, let’s go march against it and make signs..." But then nothing is really done about it in the end you know? There defiantly needs to be a REAL revolution soon, not just for our country, in fact, the world! If Kiss My Acid ruled the world for a day, there would defiantly be some sort of movement!"

Is there any good bands from Ireland now?  Is the punk scene big? How is it in your hometown?

"Yeah there are a lot of great bands to come out of here, some old and new. A lot of bands that go unnoticed too, and not just in the punk scene. Most of our friends are musicians and are really talented and write some good shit! The scene here is mainly in Dublin and Belfast, Dublin's scene is pretty small as it is, that’s why we are all so close and everyone knows everyone and looks out for each other. We all live in different towns, where I live is a place called Newbridge about an hour away from the city, and I AM the punk scene there pretty much, there isn’t even a proper music venue in my town, there’s nothing to do here, that’s why I started going to Dublin and how I met everyone"

What do you know about Sweden?

"Awh I’ve heard Sweden has a big punk scene, there is always gigs going on, sounds like a great fucking place for our sort of music! A few of our mates from England called The Antiseptics played over there this year and we heard nothing but good things! Hopefully we get to play there soon!"

Your lyrics, who does them and what influences you?  Can you sing about such a “simple” thing as love and come around with that?

"I (Freda) write all the lyrics, they all come from a very personal place. I write about whatever influences me, mostly experiences I’ve had, stories, people, how I feel, memories etc. Yes of course. I have written about love before many times, and heartbreak too, and I probably will again. Wild Ones and Love, R.I.P are linked together, like two parts to a story, falling in love and falling out of love. But lyrics are defiantly one of the most important parts of the music in my opinion”

Is there any subject that you never will write anything about??
"Never say never, yknow? That’s limiting yourself, Kiss My Acid has no limits. I write about whatever I want, whatever bothers me, whatever I feel.. But to answer your question, I don’t think I could ever write a meaningless song.. Like something totally lazy with no meaning just for the sake of it, I couldn’t do it. That’s not my style, I either write a story with characters or I put my heart and soul into writing lyrics that come from a personal place because it’s important. It’s what inspires people and influences them, people feel like they can relate to lyrics, sometimes they can even change your life or views on something. Especially in punk, you have to make a bold statement! That’s the best kind of music, its real."

Politics and music, does it goes hand in hand?  Which is your most political song?

"It depends on the music, but yeah I think punk and politics have a vicious history together. We have a song called Revolution on the EP. It definitely has a political streak about it, if you listen to the lyrics you will see what I mean, I wont to give too much away."

Best political band/artist?

" Oh God, there’s so many to choose from, Rage Against The Machine, Stiff Little Fingers, Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, System Of A Down....  but I guess first thing that comes to mind is Green Day with American Idiot. That album was a fucking masterpiece, and a big bold statement about what was going on in America at the time, they were one of the only bands to come out and take a stab at the government, and yet twist the album into a story with characters to represent different aspects of what was happening politically or not.. It´s fucking amazing and anybody who thinks it’s not a punk album can fuck off!"

Do you think that music(lyrics and so on) can change anyone’s life, I mean people who listens to music?

"Absolutely 100%. I mean they changed mine, I’m sure I speak for a lot of people on that one"

Your cover on your CD looks really nice, is it important to have a record cover which shows people which type of music you play? Your favorite record cover?  Who does your covers?

"Thank you. It’s not necessary, but I think good artwork to represent the theme throughout an album or whatever is pretty cool. My favorite cover would have to be Green Day "Dookie" it’s like a fucking Where's Wally poster, you just could stare at it for ages. Rick's is Wavves "King Of The Beach" which is pretty cool too. I (Freda) do all the art work, I wanted it to have a meaning behind it. The diamond represents being individual and bold and unique among a world full of people’s shitty opinions"

Is it important to get out physical records of your stuff? Why or why not? Label now? Is that good?

“Yeah like we said before, some people like to have a physical copy as well. And also it’s good to support your local scene!! I mean it’s not in any way about the money, but the amount of time effort hard work and cash put into making the EP, it doesn’t deserve to be branded as worthless yknow? And we are unsigned at the moment, probably will be for a while, our friends are talking about setting up a D.I.Y label soon and we got asked to be the first band to sign, but its top secret government illuminati information so my lips are sealed"

Please tell me a funny thing which have happened during your career and under some gig?

"Funny shit happens all the time, when things go wrong we just laugh about it. Probably not related to your question, but one time Ricky went the whole day wearing odd shoes and didn’t even notice. One A.d.i.d.a.s high top and one Nike low top. It was fucking funny we had hangovers so it was acceptable"

How does your audience look like? Which is the biggest band you ever have played together with?

"Our audience is usually a mix of punks, friends, family and drunk people. Which is the best audience to have! I would say Billy Liar who is pretty big in Scotland or Paranoid Visions who have been around since before the dinosaurs.”

Please rank your five favorite records, five favorite concerts and five most important things in life?

Freda:
(Records)
1. Green Day - Insomniac

2. Nirvana - Incesticide

3. Distillers - Coral Fang

4. Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop, Drop & Roll

5. Pinhead Gunpowder - Compulsive Disclosure
(Concerts)
Green Day, Emirates Stadium, London, ‘13

Green Day, Brixton Academy, London, 13’

Green Day, Marlay Park, Dublin, ‘10 

Rebellion Festival, Blackpool, ‘11

Rebellion Festival, Blackpool, ‘12

Rick:
(Records)
1. ALT J - An Awesome Wave

2. FIDLAR - FIDLAR

3. Nirvana - In Utero

4. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magic

5. Wavves - Afraid Of Heights
(Concerts)
1. Foo Fighters Marlay Park ‘07

2. Faithless Oxegen ‘10

3. Alt J - Rockwatcher ‘13

4. Alkeline Trio The Academy '13

5. Rise Against Oxegen '10

Tom:
(Records)
1. Dookie

2. The Wall

3. The Wickerman Soundtrack

4. Monthy Python Sings

5. 48 Hours By The Irish Skidrow
(Concerts)
1. The Wall,  Aviva

2. Green Day, Marlay Park

3. Stiff Little Fingers, Temple Bar Music Centre

4. The Pogues, The Olympia

5. Jerry Fish, Whelan’s

Is it boring with interviews? Is it much interviews??

"This is our first interview so we aren’t bored of them yet haha"

If you could choose five bands from the past and the history and nowadays and both dead and living bands to have a concert together with your band. Which five would you been chose?

Green Day
Nirvana
Distillers
Sex Pistols
Joan Jett
 

Is music a good way to get out frustration and become a nice person outside the music??

“Yeah absolutely! Especially punk rock, not only can people work out their aggressions, but they can become really educated and inspired by it too. Being an angry person doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not nice, I am a nice person but a lot of people just piss me off!”

What is the most oddest question you ever have got in an interview?

 “What is the most oddest question you ever have got in an interview"… 

Which is the question you want to have but you never get. Please ask it and answer it?
Rick: “Are you single?”  “Yes, yes I am.”

Future plans for the band?

“We plan to take over the world duhh!!! Haha Ah no, the next step for Kiss My Acid is recording another EP and doing a U.K tour in the very near future, we want to get our music out as much as possible, and have some new material in the making, we cant wait for the world to hear it!! Oh and play as many fucking shows as humanly possible! It’s what we love and do best ”

Any words of wisdom?

"Life is pretty silly so you might as well be silly"...