Vice Squad have been on of my favouritegroups for many years and now Beki have been so kind and answered my questions in this last days of august 2006.
.The members in the group now, which band have they played in before?
-The band members are
Paul 'Lumpy' Rooney, Lead Guitar.
Mike 'Mildred' Giaquinto Bass Guitar.
Tone 'Noisy' Piper, Drums.
Beki Lead Vocals and Guitar.
We have all played in lots of bands.
.
Please tell me a little about every member and their age, interests, family
and something bad about every one?
-Lumpy's interests are songwriting, guitar and music production,Mildred's are Girl Bothering,eating,smoking and drinking,Tones are smoking and drinking and hitting things with wood, mine are guitars, writing songs, making noise and drinking.
Ligotage, what happened to them?
-I'm not sure, I think Mo is in Brazil, Linc works in information technology and Steve lives in York.
D
You(Beki) did a solo career also, is it anything she/you will continue with?
-I'd like to do a solo album of original songs, but at the moment I'm busy writing for the next Vice Squad album.
The new CD , how does it sound?
-It sounds better than anything we've recorded before. I had a lot more say over how this one sounded so I'm really pleased with it.
Why an american label? Wasn´t it any english labels interested?
-We've never had a domestic release in America so we're pleased to have an American label release our album. It doesn't matter very much where the label is based these days as most people buy cds via the internet. Our biggest following is in America so it makes sense for us to be on an American label.
What´s the difference with playing nowadays if you compare with 20-25 years ago?
-It's much better now, the more experienced you are the better you are. Also the audiences are more into it these days.
Which of your songs is the most wanted on your concerts?
-It used to be `Last Rockers' but now people shout for 'Westend Stars' and 'Voice of the People'. Even though the album was only released 2 days ago people are asking for 'Defiant', which is great.
Which is your own favourite?
-At the moment it's 'Britain Is Still Burning'.
Have you played any of the new material out now, if you have how have the
audience take it?
-We've been playing songs from the new album for months now and they've been going down a storm. We put the songs up on our web site (www.lastrockers.com, www.vicesquad.co.uk) so a lot of our audience got to hear them before the album was released.
When you do music, which is most important, is it to have good lyrics, good
melodies or to have a refrain that people remembers?
-All three are important! I hate singing bad lyrics so I'm strict about writing meaningful words, but obviously the riff and vocal melody are just as important. It's easier to get your point across if you put your words to a good tune than it is if it's a boring tune.
Politic and music, does it go hand in hand?
-Life is political whether you like it or not, so if you are a struggling musician you tend to write about political issues. If you are a pampered pop star you don't because you are comfortable and selfish. Of course there are great bands who don't sing about political issues, but Punk always had a political edge so I don't see how you can call yourself Punk if you don't stand for anything.
Best political band?
-The Clash.
The different styles in punk goes not always together, why don’t we try to
get them together as a unit, wouldn’t we be stronger then?
-Of course, but there's always been that bitchy, divisive element in Punk, which tries to separate people. Unity is best!
Are you still live in Bristol or where does Vice Squad have it’s base
nowadays?
-I have lived in London for over 20 years, as has Lumpy and Mildred, and Tone is a born and bred South Londoner, so we are based in London.
What do you know about Sweden?
-Not a lot, but Lumpy toured there in a different band many years ago and says the beer is ridiculously expensive! He also says that everyone spoke excellent English. I have heard that you have higher standards of welfare for farmed animals than in the UK, which is interesting, seeing as the UK is supposed to be a nation of animal lovers.
Have you been here and played?
-No I haven't, but I'd like to.
Have you heard any good swedish bands?
-Yes, Clawfinger.
Many punks have become old now(young in the heart), is it pathetique to see
the old punks or doesn’t age matter?
-I'd rather see an 'old' punk than an old non-punk. You either rock or you don't, ageism is just as bad as racism, sexism and speciesism, just another way of controlling and limiting people, i.e a load of bollocks.
Why did Vice Squad had so long break? And why did you start to play again?
-I never stopped playing, I just played under a different name. Lumpy and I have played in bands together for years. People kept on asking me to play the old Vice Squad songs and as the old recordings were constantly re-released I couldn't get away from the old stuff, so eventually I agreed to do Holidays in the Sun (big UK Punk festival) just to see how things went. To cut a long story short we played in Slovenia and I fell in love with the scene again and I was back aboard the ship of fools!
Please rank your five favourite records, five favourite concert and five
most important things in life?
-This is hard because I change my favourites all the time and how can you have only 5 favourites, but for now I'll say Complete Control-The Clash, Bomber-Motorhead, De-Control-Discharge, Manhands-So Unloved, Problem Child-AC/DC.
As for the five most important things in life I guess it's Loved Ones, Animal Rights, Music, Guitars and Health. Not necessarily in that order as if you don't have health then everything else is pretty meaningless.
First, last and most expensive record ever bought?
-Can't remember, I haven't bought a cd for ages as a) I'm broke and b) Record companies and bands sometimes give me cds. I've never bought a collectors item record, but I do own a few because I have white labels of my own stuff and other bands.
ext, en bra melodi eller att ha en refräng som folk kommer ihåg?
-Alla tre är viktiga! Jag hatar att sjunga dålig text så jag skriver bara meningsfulla texter men oftast är det ett riff och en vokalstämma som är viktiga. Det är lättare att få ram sin åsikt om du sjunger fram dina ord till en bra låt istället för en tråkig låt. .
Politik och musik, går det ihop?
-Livet är politiskt även om man inte gillar det så ifall du är en kämpande musiker tenderar man till att skriva politiska texter. Ifall du är en popstjärna så gör man inte det eftersom man är bekväm och sj
Most embarrassing record in your collection?
-I'm not embarrassed by any of them, I pretend to be embarrassed by ' Tijuana Trumpets' yet still use it as an intro for Vice Squad shows.
How does your audience look like today?
-They're all gorgeous! A mixed bunch of female and male, young and old, spikey haired, long haired and shaven headed.
Futureplans for the band?
-A tour of the West Coast of the USA in the Autumn, various European festivals and some UK gigs, a possible tour of Brazil, so lot's of stuff in the pipeline. And we're writing a new album.
For yourself?
-As I said before I'd like to do a solo album. I've written a few songs for it but I'm currently writing the next VS album so it will have to wait until that's finished. I don't do anything other than music so all my plans are tied up with what the band's doing.
Wisdomword?
-'This one goes to eleven' and 'Have a good time all of the time'
Something to add?
-Yes! We hope to play in Sweden soon.
Visit us at:-
www.supersociety.com/vicesquad
And you can get the new album "DEFIANT" from :-