Last Updated on 11:36 AM by Nikos Nakos
When the dreams come true… is the only introduction you must write for this group!
I welcome you to Metal Invader! I wrote as an introduction when the dreams come true, so tell us how is that journey?
Kind of blurry to be honest! We have gone through a lot in our short time on the scene.
Lemmy, I’m not sure whether I should make a question or just leave this name and just let you fill in the blanks. How did this legendary man change your lives and how did you take his death?
We owe this new album 100% to the Major of speed rock. Lemmy has given us a great gift in having our album ‘Desperate’ out on his label and be a part of his legacy. Lemmy is God! And he is still with us. His music is just as important now then it has ever been. It means everything to us that he believed in Barb Wire Dolls. We first met Lemmy on the famed Sunset Strip in Los Angeles the first night we were there. We chatted about Greece and our love for the first wave of punk back in the 70’s. Throughout the years he would get demos from us and eventually he came to our residency shows at the legendary Whisky A Go Go. Lemmy had started Motörhead Music to put out Motörhead albums but to also continue his legacy with new bands. He asked us to be on his label and to have Barb Wire Dolls be his first new band release. We of course were thrilled! I mean, Motörhead!!! They are everything that we stand for! They dont follow any ones rules about how to be and sound. Lemmy is a true innovator and we will miss his guidance.
Your new album’s title is called ‘Desperate’ I guess we are talking about a kind of autobiography?
Every album we do is an autobiography. We write about the frustrations and the fury of living in a society created to control the weak and feed off of the great. Greatness comes from desperation. We had no interest in leaving Greece when we started the band. But when we lost all our money we had saved for so many years putting on a rock festival that failed because it was the first year of the crisis, we were desperate and needed to find a way to survive. We were open now to anything that came our way. So when we were asked to come play the USA, we sold cars, surf boards, equipment, anything that had value just to buy our tickets there. Since then the world has opened its doors to us. If you think you are stuck and can’t find a way out of your problems then you are not desperate enough to figure it out. You find yourself doing things that you never thought were possible when you are desperate.
What do you feel different about this album apart from the apparent better production?
‘Desperate’ is a progression from our debut album ‘SLIT’ that was done with indie mastermind Steve Albini. The songs that were written for this new album have more melody and is slightly less “angry”. Its’ just the way the songs come out. ‘SLIT’ was written during the hardships that us Greeks were going through with the crisis hitting and people trying to stand up. ‘Desperate’ is written as an answer to that. It is a rebel album that enforces hope and courage to be your own person and be strong in your decisions in order to not let the outside world affect you.
How do you see the Greek DIY scene and do you feel nostalgic of these years?
It’s grown so much! When we first went to Los Angeles the press in Greece were writing that we were the first punk band from Greece to play and tour the U.S. There are so many punk bands now in Greece and some of them have even come and toured the U.S.A and Europe. They are getting more active and i think that the crisis has helped get people motivated to make something happen for themselves.
I think it’s obvious to ask about your experience in the huge Wacken! I’m expecting all the details.
It was a great experience for us. We had been introduced to the festival by the singer of KREATOR, Mille Petrozza. Mille wore our Barb Wire Dolls t-shirt while headlining Wacken in 2014. After that we knew that one day we would have to play such an amazing stage like that. When they asked us to play it this year we were very excited. It sells out every year to 80,000 tickets. It is a massive festival that is legendary! Our show had a great crowd and they filmed the whole set with many cameras that can be viewed online.
Your shows are explosive and provocative to say the least and as it seems the fans adore them. What boosts you for these performances?
We allow ourselves to be free on stage. There is an explainable energy that happens between the audience and ourselves that make our shows so exciting. Every show is different depending on the crowd. We are constantly feeding of each other and it is the audiences show just as much as it is ours. It sometimes gets so crazy that Ive ended up in the emergency ward in England from being pulled of stage by crazy fans. I was almost arrested in Texas for “indecent exposure” and “inciting a riot”. So, yes, we have had many crazy experiences that cannot be written in an interview that may need to be written into a book when the time is right.
Are we going to see you soon in Greece?
We just had a small show for our album release party at ‘The Ikarus Artist Commune’ on Crete. We have been given photos from legendary rock photographer Bob Gruen to use in our album art work for ‘Desperate’ so he flew out and joined us for the album release party and had his own photo gallery put up there for the event. We are all looking forward to more shows in our home country.
You added another guitar in the group. How come did you think that something was missing?
We added a rhythm guitarist recently to add to our live show. Remmington used to be our bass player but then when Iriel Blaque joined the band, Remmington moved to guitar.
Many talk about you as the new face of punk/rock! Are you endorsing this title?
I’m sure the people that said that believe it. As for us, we don’t really care about titles but there does need to be some change in the music that is being put out there. We started this band because we were bored and fed up with the punk scene. It had become boring and predictable. Punk used to be about being different and expressing a true rawness from the soul. Every avenue of music should have a chance to find its market because at the end of the day, we all are looking to have a soundtrack for our lives.
I hope you understand how much ‘Isis Queen’ looks alike the goddess Debbie Harris. I’d like to know how much did she really influenced your music and your style.
Debbie had a very unique style. She copied Andy Warhol’s hair and made it her own which enviably started a huge trend. She also wasn’t afraid to be sexy and feminine while luring you in with a swagger attitude and almost masculine confidence. I’m very influenced by the first wave of punk from back in the 70’s musically and visually. That era influences me because it was important to stand out from the rest and bring something new to the scene. None of the first wave of bands sounded or even looked like each other. It was all about being unique and expressing yourself without caring what others thought about you. We have a very obvious DIY ethos in our way of doing things and it all comes from needed to express ideas and thoughts without trying to fit into other people’s expectations.
I leave you the last words. I thank you for this interview and hope to see you soon a gig somewhere.
Being a band from Greece, i think it’s important to say a few thing to the people that are reading this in our country that can relate to the struggles that have found us in the past few years because of politics. Find a creative outlet for your frustrations. You are creating your own fate every moment, so choose wisely and follow your instincts because life is so worth enjoying. Leave the drama aside and make things happen for yourself. It is possible. You have the power. It’s all within. To find the power and voice that is inside every one of us and to discover ways to live a life full of possibilities and fulfillment. We all have the capacity to re-invent ourselves and create our own destiny. You have to do it for yourself and you will find the power is just waiting for you to take charge and release it creatively. Activate your thunder and watch the world embrace you. Rock, riot, and rip it up! See you in the pit.