Page 8 - Black Velvet Issue 94

BV94 pg06-09_BV94 pg08 16/09/2017 23:34 Page 3

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 8
Danny tells Black Velvet how he thinks the game and needed some songs. He wrote way can feel like a piece of fulfillment.”
band achieved this target. some songs and we thought, ‘This could be Joel offers his thoughts, highlighting the
He says, “I think the difference was, the good,’ and then it blew way out of propor- bands’ already lengthy career in music, say-
guys trusted my opinion a bit more than tion. When we were involved, they were like, ing, “If people had told me in 20 years I’d still
maybe they did before, especially when it ‘Well, we have an idea and we’re working on be playing with Danny I would have said
came to picking out what songs we wanted, it,’ and then two months later, it went crazy.” ‘probably not’.” Continuing the fun-filled
they trusted me. Even if they came to me Danny continues, “They did a crowd- banter between the clearly close friends,
with a demo which was maybe not very good funding campaign for it on the internet and Danny pipes up and says, “That’s because
and I told them, ‘Look, I know we can do this they raised $1million in the first run, so when he hates me! For him to hang around with
justice and trust me on this one’. There were they got that kind of support they bought the me for 20-odd years, that’s pretty good,” be-
even a couple of songs, there were no lyrics real license, because in the beginning it was fore talking more about the steps on the way
on them, but they trusted me to do it, and do called something like Camp Killer, I think, he just spoke of.
it well, and that was something which came and it was vaguely like Friday The 13th, but “There is a big bucketlist of band stuff.
out good in the end. they weren’t allowed to use the real stuff We released a live album last year, which
“We approached it a bit differently in that from the films, but they were able to buy the was one of the steps. We still have the vinyl
I had more to say as the producer, but then I real license, and for me, that is something thing left, we’ve not yet released anything on
also involved the guys more vinyl. We’d like to go to
with the sound and stuff like Japan, the US, Australia,
that. It was a real team effort.” there are places and festi-
val and support slots; Kiss
aving praised their or Iron Maiden support
Hwork as a return to the would be a dream come
best of 80s hard rock and true.”
claiming that ‘pretty much
everything was better in the alk The Wire’
80s’, the guys discuss the ‘Walso boasts the
things they feel were better wonderful lyric, ‘life is no
around 30 years ago. It’s little rehearsal, it’s the final
surprise, given their back cat- show,’ while encouraging
alogue has a song with the the listener to ‘waste no
same title, that ‘Girls of the time, walk the wire,’ and
80s” is a hot topic. When the theme of making the
asked what was better in the most of life is also found in
80s, Danny is immediate in an- the lyrics to ‘Live Before I
swering, “Well, the girls”. Die’. When asked if these
He continues with a smile, are words they live by, Joel
“Well, the girls from the 80s answers immediately and
probably aren’t that good any tells Black Velvet, “We
more. Usually when we rehearse, we joke which kind of bridges over from the 80s to wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t. If you take
around and sing ‘Girls in their 80s,’ because now, because we’re in a real, licensed Friday the fact that we have families and even
that is more what they are now! There was a The 13th product which is connected to the though we don’t go on six month-long tours,
fun loving, party mindset to it all. We grew movies I watched as a kid, with 80s hair and we still put our families aside from time to
up in the 90s and that all turned around, so metal playing in the background. So it’s all time to go and do stuff like this, to do some-
we barely got to see the light side of the rock gone full circle, which is really cool for me. I thing which breaks the usual stereotype of
and roll world in the 80s. We got to see the think the video games are kind of like the the usual day we do. We go to work, we go
end of the MTV era and the big bands when movies of our time, where kids hear new home and be with our families, but still have
they started to be, well, putting out crap al- music.” the energy and drive to do this after so many
bums, basically. Rock in the 90s was alterna- Joel adds, “I think we have made new years.”
tive and grunge and kind of depressing, so fans through the game. The company who Danny offers a slightly different look at
with that in mind, the nostalgia for us was made it made these videos which went on the subject and says, “I’m not too sure we
trying to go back to that thing which we YouTube and got half a million views and our practise what we preach totally, because I
missed out on, because we were kids when song was on there, so we were like, ‘How the can honestly say we don’t try our very best
it all ended.” fuck did this happen?’” to succeed with this, but that has to do with
Aside from girls and music, the guys the fact that I am interested in other stuff as
also enjoy movies from the 80s. “I’ve always well. I enjoy my every day work, I enjoy
enjoyed action and horror movies; the cars uff Justice’ is not all about horror spending time in the garden and stuff like
and the clothes, everything. I just think the ‘Rthemes though. There are also that. I kind of want it all and it doesn’t quite
80s were better times.” strong, positive, inspirational messages to fit that well with everything. I think you have
Joel chimes in to say, “They used to be found if you dig into the lyrics, one exam- to get the most out of life but I don’t think
make hour and a half-long movies and every- ple being, ‘there’s a dream on the highway, that means having to forfeit everything to go
thing was in there”, Danny almost finishing there’s the life I always wish I had, but never for just one goal. I know some people want
his thoughts, “and now we have a trilogy, dared to try’ from ‘Walk The Wire’. On fulfill- to do that and that is OK, but I prefer to
which is three hours each time!” ing dreams, Danny says, “I think it’s not a spread myself thin over a lot of things.”
fulfillment of the dream, because I think it’s But regardless of whether they are
s mentioned, there’s a Friday The quite good to have a dream which is un- reaching their full potential with Crazy Lixx,
A13th influence on the album. They achievable; the road towards it is a lot more Danny and Joel appear very happy and con-
tell us more about the involvement some of important. I know this sounds a bit cliché, tent with their lives. “It also comes with the
the music from ‘Ruff Justice’ has had in the but I really think it is, because if you set your band now and the new additions.” After a
video game, Friday the 13th, which features dreams too low you’ll just be disappointed second to pause, Joel continues, “Not that
three tracks from the album; ‘XIII’, ‘Live Be- when you reach it. You have people into, say, we are in any way in a feud with our old band
fore I Die’ and ‘Killer’. athletics and they go for a record and when members, but there is something about the
Joel confesses, “Being approached by they are 25 and they achieve it, they are like, unity which we have now. There is a calm-
Gun Media and IllFonic was actually the ‘Okay, what do I do now? I’ve got a gold ness that lays round the whole band, where
starting point for the album. We had just re- medal, what now?’ The ultimate aim for us is everybody pulls their weight and everyone
cruited Chrisse. He was the last to join the being the biggest band ever. We know we’re has a direction; you’re supposed to do this
band, and we were discussing what to do not going to get there, because, honestly, we and you’re supposed to do that and so on,
with the album and how it should sound, and don’t put in the work and we’re not prepared and everyone take responsibility for it, which
where we were going, and at that same mo- to do everything that it would take. I have a means no one has to get upset about small
ment, Danny came and told me about this lit- family for one, but if you set the bar high you things, which can be pretty easy when you
tle idea that some guys were making this can move towards it and every step of the are out touring. We spend a lot of hours to-
CRAZY LIXX