Interview with Scarlet and the Spooky Spiders
www.myspace.com/scarletandthespookyspiders
Nattsol: So tell me how it all began?
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: Everything started in November of 2003 after a Cramps’ show here in Italy from the idea born from Scarlet Spider’s sick mind.
We liked the feeling to re-create some good rock’n'roll with creepy atmospheres and some punk rhythms we wanted to use. We started to practice under the name of «Sunglasses after dark», then after the arrival of the guitarist Lerch, the name was officially changed into «Scarlet and the spooky spiders».
Anyway, the whole story is in one of our songs who tells how «Spooky Spider’s Gang» formed so when the new album will be released, you all will know our real origins.. EhEhEhEh…
Nattsol: Did you have any previous experience, or may be there’re some current side-projects?
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: We all comes from previous (and various) musical experiences. Lerch and Bollox are still running 2 side projects, one is a punk band named «PNC» and the second is a Rock’N'Roll cover band who plays just for fun.
Nattsol: Did you have any replacements in your line-up?
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: Yes, indeed! We could answer to this question in a «less diplomathic» way, but it’s enough to say we started with another drummer and then, «luckily», a spider named Bollox get into the spiral of the insane atmospheres of the band. This drove a lot of advantages in terms of musical skills and from the human point of view. Enough said that today’s members are the definitive and best ones!
Nattsol: For now can you say, have you realized all of your ideas in music you wanted to? Just it usually happens that in the creating process some ideas go away and some new take the place.
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: The work in the practice room can be highly productive or can have high levels of «up’n'downs» but until we’ll be animated by the fun we have and the fun we give to the people, that means we’re following the right direction.
Normally we have a live setlist which includes 20 new songs added to the old ones of the minialbum, that’s why we consider ourselves more a live band than a studio band. We love to gracelessly dance, together with the people who comes at the shows, on the cadenced rhythms of our horror tales.
Nattsol: Mary0 of ‘The Last Days Of Jesus’ recommended me your music. He said that it sounds like the mix of ‘The Cramps’ and ‘The Damned’. What do you think about this characteristic? And what else do you prefer in music?
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: Mary O is not only a great friend and a beautiful person, he’s also an incredible artist and we all admire him a lot. We honestly have to admit that we’re very happy about what he told you about us. If a musician like him find something of us that remind him to these two bands, it means we’re working well, especially because Damned and Cramps are a source of inspiration for us and are also milestones of what we consider «punk».
Beside these two bands, everyone of us have musical preferences, but in general, we find common points mentioning Ramones, Misfits, Batmobile, Lords of the New Church, Bauhaus, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Christian Death and talkin’ about contemporary artists, the Hardcore Superstars :-P
Nattsol: So tell me more information about your first mini CD.
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: The Mini Album has been recored the very fist period we started playin’, just to make some promotion of the band and have the chance to play around ..Europe.., and infact it happened exactly that way.
Concerning the lyrics, are tales and stories inspired by old horror comics, like «tales from the crypt» style, with some innovation and our typical black humor. Just in example, in the song «Zombie Werewolf» there’s the riff taken from «the ….Munsters….» theme.
Is not necessarily to punctualize that the song «Garbageman» for us is more than a simple cover version, it’s a tribute to our idols! ;-)
Nattsol: And once again about your discography. There’s written in your profile that ‘The Spiders are about to get back to the studio to record a sequel of their first bite CD. New album will be available around April/May ..2006.’.., and there’s no any updated information. So and the label isn’t signed too….
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: Ahahahahah, good question! Since now, we always self-produced our work, and this costs a lot. We always used the money we get from the live shows for pay the recording studio and the printing of the CDs. New album is ready since 2006 but, due to several appearances in various compilations (New Dark Age, Bats from Europe and Ghoulies Tunes, only to mention some),we decided to postpone the release. Then some labels asked us to send them some material because was interested to work with us and now, we keep our fingers crossed waiting for good news! ;-)
Nattsol: Next question is about your auditory. So how many people usually visit your shows? What are they? Tell me about the stage you’re in, in.Italy..
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: Ahahahah, it’s difficult to say a real number,it depends a lot by the venue’s size… let’s say from 300/400 people to 800 all mixed from different cultures and scenes.
But in Italy, the Underground scene is quite small, it’s hard to have normally the people’s amount average mentioned before, even if we have our best record of crowd in a show in the deep south of Italy. Anyway, in Lisbona, there was a lot of italians on front of the stage who supported us and gave us the energy to do, with no jokes, a superb show.
Nattsol: You took a part in many festivals. What of them were the most important for you?
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: Every Festival has his own importance. For us doesn’t matter to share the stage with important and famous bands or have shows in big cities, even if we had that chance and we did it. An event, Festival or not, give us strong feelings according to the human and musical relationships that born and grow inside the event itself. All these relationships can be with musicians as well with the people from the crowd that stop us and offer a beer. It’s only rock’n'roll, isn’t it?
For sure we’ve been very lucky on finding a promoter and partners that are becomin’ part of the Spooky Family, same we can say about people that was our fans and now are mainly great friends. All in all we’re a band famous also for our after shows!!!
Nattsol: And of course I want to know some specialties about your show at ‘The Drop Dead Festival’.
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: The Drop Dead Festival has been a great experience that gave us the chance to improve ourselves and live an experience in a new country we’ve never been before. We really hope this initiative will go on for long time and we hope to be again a part of it, if not as performers, as audience. We also have to say we met a lot of old friends and we did a lot of new ones!
Nattsol: And the last question. Tell me about the plans of the ‘Scarlet and the spooky spiders’ for the nearest future.
Scarlet and the spooky spiders: The plans are simple: play, play, drink, play, play, drink, meet more people at the shows, let people have fun, play and drink again and hopefully comin’ to pay you a visit in Russia!
Questions: Pall ‘Nattsol’ Zarutskiy
“Grave Jibes Fanzine”
