Information
Author: Mourning
Translation: Insanity
Formazione
Samara Kain - Vocals, Guitars
Martha Lewis - Guitars
Monica Nix - Bass
Dave Guy - Drums
Today I have the pleasure of talking with Samara Kain, frontwoman of Gasoline Thrill, this British band has just released its debut "Burn" which we reviewed, so let's see who are them.
Hi Samara and welcome on Aristocrazia Webzine, how are you?
Samara: Very well. Thank you.
It's been a year since when we met you as Catfight, why did you choose to change to Gasoline Thrill?
We noticed that another band in the US was called Catfight and it was hard to find us on the Internet because if you google Catfight, you’ll find loads of videos of women wrestling or cats fighting so we decided to change our name to make it easier for people to find us on the Internet, a name no one had. We also felt it was time to change and find a name that described us better and the music direction we are taking . Gasoline Thrill is more dynamic and filled with energy.
From an all-female line up now you are a women trio with a man, Dave Guy, at the drums. What happened? A change of direction?
That’s right! Dave came in just to record drums on the album and as we were looking for a drummer after the departure of our previous drummer and as it worked so well with Dave in the studio while recording the album, we asked if he could stay . Dave is really tight and brought the right energy to the songs. We also get on so well with Dave so here we are!
Let's start from the beginning, please tell us how the band was born, which are the fundamental stages of your artistic growth and introduce us the members of the band.
The band started in 2009 by myself. I had a few songs ready and then spent a year finding the right members. Guitarist Martha Lewis joined me first followed by bassist Monica and lastly Dave Guy. Once we got together, everything went pretty fast. We recorded and released our EP in Dec 2010 and a year later our single was ready followed by our album Burn which was made available digitally last month and physically on May 2nd 2012. Our songs, we believe, keep getting better and we’re maturing as a band. Having everyone joining the writing process from when they joined enriched the creative force that we are.
What is evident after some listenings of the album is that this project is the continuation of what you did in the past: the musical choices, that set-up that allows you to change from the purest Rock to the one mixed up with Grunge and Punk. Did your musical tastes change during the years? Which are the albums that formed you as an artist?
I wouldn’t say that my musical tastes changed but that I embrace more musical genres or artists as I grow (in age and musically). I’ll always like what I listened to as a kid , as a teenager and as an adult. Whatever you once loved musically, you will always love but you will add more to your library so to say as you grow. I always loved punk rock from a very early age and the genre is so wide and so rich with so many bands that you can always innovate playing punk rock esp if you can incorporate other genres in it : Grunge, rockabilly or even metal . I don’t know what albums formed me as an artist but I can say that some albums/songs/artists made me want to pick up the guitar and play every time I heard their tracks and that’s Green Day, Social Distortion, The Misfits, The Ramones, The Distillers, Joan Jett And The Blackhearts and Hole.
So much adrenaline but also catchiness, nice rhythms and catchy choruses, how much is it difficult to create a good song today? How do you create a song, both about the music and the lyrics?
I don’t think it is difficult to create a good song; it is just hard to have it heard among the zillion bands and music available today. Yes our songs are both about the music, the groove, the lyrics, the energy and emotion.
Surfing the net, I read in another interview that you and Monica live your lives in different ways, pessimistic vein vs optimistic vein, is this comparison helpful when you write your songs?
Haha, yes Monica always keeps a happy ending, a positive note to her lyrics whereas I m just cynical lol Martha isn’t that positive either lol It is great to have different messages, different vibes for lyrics yes!
How much was it difficult to create "Burn"? The studio work, the recording, the varied stages, is it difficult to enter in a studio and see that your work is taking its shape?
It wasn’t difficult, it was just hard work and pretty tiring because we sadly have to work as well so we would work all day and spend all our evenings and weekends in the studio which is pretty tiring and takes longer than if you had 1 month solid, full days in the studio. The way we did it meant little sleep so it was physically challenging. We also had a very small budget so we couldn’t waste time with taking breaks and it was full on from the minute we were in the studio.
With the wisdom of hindsight, are you completely satisfied of what you did?
Since we had a small budget, we had to work around the engineer and couldn’t take the time we wished mixing and mastering but we’re all happy with the result and needless to say that we were super happy when it was completed. I m very satisfied with it but wished we had a bigger budget and more time to do it to make it sound exactly like we sound live.
Was it entertaining to make the video for "Not Afraid"? Do you have any anecdote happened during the filmingthat you want to share with us?
Yes it was a lot of fun and again we worked hard as we only had one day to do it all so no time to fool around lol. No anecdotes except for when came the time to credit everyone on the video interview that was done on set, we almost made a mistake and credited Paul Bugler , the director’s assistant as Paul Burglar and the fact that he was wearing a t shirt that looked like he was real burglar was funny ;)
Check it out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOib8ijYhl4.
UK is surely the land of Rock, from the 70s hard rock scene to the coming of metal with NWOBHM, to the post-punk/dark, electronic, brit-pop eras and now also the alternative one, it's really difficult to think about United Kingdom without talking about Rock. How do you live this situation? Which are the bands with which you have relations and you shared the stage with in some live shows?
That’s true and it makes it quite difficult for a band to break through here because there s so many great bands over here, so many shows , so many choices that it is hard to stand out. We shared the stage with so many local and national bands. We had the chance to open for Die So fluid and I personally was delighted to open for Rose Tattoo when I toured with Nemhain and meet Mick Cocks before he died.
When we talk about female Rock usually we think about big names and not so useful for comparisons, now taking account of the fact that the charts are made mostly for the look of the band, who are the other female musicians with which you'd like to work withh for a live show with Gasoline Thrill?
You’re very right! I personally would love to tour with the likes of Horropops, Dragster, Civet and we’re in talks with the Smears and Obsessive Compulsive for a few UK dates.
You have aggressive and captivating traits, from what I saw in some vides the stage presence, is important in the Rock world, what if I compared you to Brody Dalle (singer of splitted up band Distillers and Spinnerette, and also Joshua Homme's wife)? Is there anything in common with her way of living her music and her body?
Yes she is definitely an artist I really like. I loved the Distillers and really like Spinnerette too. Loved the energy and rawness of the Distillers and her warm voice in Spinnerette. She wasn’t afraid to move on with a new musical venture and kept true to herself rather than cash in on what was working so well although I would have loved another Distillers album!
Compromises and softer attitude to sell more copies or fuck the labels and their tricks? You self-produced your work, is this the right way to keep your music genuine today?
No compromises!! Incorporating ideas or suggestions from a producer we want to work with is something we’re totally for but not from anyone who isn’t feeling the music. No way! I agree that self producing your album is a safe way to keep your music genuine.
Next future: promotion, tour, another video?
The album is coming out physically on May 2nd, another video possibly. We are currently writing new material for a new album or EP. We’ll be touring in September to promote Burn and then go into the studio to record our new songs.
Thanks for the time spent with us, the last message for our readers is up to you:
Thanks a lot for YOUR time and your support. Join the thrill seekers team here: www.facebook.com/GasolineThrillUk.
