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 Whether these London rockers make a difference to Dunstable Town Centre or not they certainly are making a difference to the London rock scene. I caught up with Ash and Wevs soon after the release of their new album 'Broken' and this is what they had to say to me.
Your album 'Broken' has now been released. Hailing from Dunstable, you have a picture of the High Street as your artwork. Talk me through your motivation behind the concept of such dereliction.
Ash (Vocalist): (Laughs) Well the picture speaks for itself really. We all grew up in Dunstable and as a town its been in decline for about the last 15 years or so due to various things and we just feel that its been left ...
Wevs (Guitarist): Its been left to rack and ruin like so many other towns across the U.K.
Ash: Its just badly thought out by planners and council people and the High Street, because of lack of investment and giving in to big corporations like the big ASDA that has been built - its still in the town - but its been built away from the High Street has just sucked the life out of the High Street, the last remaining life that their was. It was already bad as it was and we just want to draw attention to the fact that the town has been left to die.
Wevs: Its kind of like a small version of what happened in Detroit with bands like MC5 and The Stooges who are massive influences of Imperial Vipers. I mean Luton had a massive car industry and slowly they are shutting all the factories down and all these houses just pop up. I don't know what's going on there but slowly but surely once an industry goes from a town all the bars and restaurants cant survive and they close down. All you get - right across the whole country - are chains that are made to look independent but they're not.
Ash: Betting Shops, Charity Shops or empty shops and that leads to social decay. What have people got to look forward to then?
Drugs and Alcohol (laughs)
Ash: Exactly, that is the big problem. That is what most of the songs on our new album refer to. It might sound like the songs are about the typical L.A. Scene but they're not, they're about small towns in the U.K. Often towns up North, because of certain industries like the coal industry, they get a lot of press. Its just like Welsh towns that have gone the same kind of way and also the inner cities always get attention about knife crime and all that kind of stuff. The small towns always just get swept under the carpet so were just trying to draw attention but not in a negative way - were not trying to run Dunstable down - were trying to draw attention to it so that it hopefully inspires some of the powers that be to address the problems and whatever we can do to help that - We are probably not in a major position to do that so by drawing attention to the problems we feel that we have contributed .....
Wevs: And we had already used a picture of ourselves on the first album (laughs ). That would've been a quicker answer (laughs).
That follows on perfectly into my next question. How do you propose your album will draw attention to the right Authorities in the hope of creating a positive effect for Dunstable and other towns like it?
Ash: We have been told (not officially) that we have caused a few rumblings within the council but they have not come out publicly and said anything but we have heard through the grapevine that some Councillors have said that we are showing Dunstable in a bad light which is not .... well we are but we are showing what is there.
You're showing it in a bad light for a good reason.
Ash: Yeah for a good reason and to try and kick start some form of revival.
Wevs: If someone goes to the hospital with cancer, you don't diagnose it and they say, "Everything is fine" and send them on their way, you have to point out the problem in the first place for it to be addressed and this is kind of what we have done with highlighting Dunstable on the album.
Ash: Its almost like when you have protesters - all the recent press with G20 - you have to draw attention to it.
Wevs: This wasn't the concept when I started writing the album - there are a couple of tunes on there where boy meets girl and they've both got busted hearts, that kind of thing but I think there was a whole lot of stuff to write about and it was kind of like an excorsism really. I cant go and get hold of Gordon Brown and give him a good old pasting but I can write about it ....
Ash: Not all the tunes are about Dunstable ....
Wevs: From my point of view, that's how I got it off my chest and then Ash interprets it and delivers it tenfold.
Good Luck in your quest - could you write a song about my home town in South Africa next because that's even worse off than Dunstable? Your 1st single 'Check This' off your new record reached No. 2 on the Radio 1 Rock Charts and is also featured on Jamlegend. How did this all come about and what advise would you give to other bands that have not yet had the same success?
Ash: Being at No. 2 in the rock chart was a surprise to us really. We obviously promoted the hell out of it but we didn't have a great deal of radio play with it.
Wevs: Kid Rock kept us off No. 1 (laughs)
Ash: We were out playing and promoting the single and we must've just struck a chord with people. We had a little bit of press but there was nothing major around the release so it was a pleasant surprise. As for the Jamlegend, I don't know how that came about?
You've got a Jonny (IV's Manager)
Wevs: Yeah! Its had over half a million plays already.
Ash: There is footage on youtube of people playing the game to our song
That's fucking brilliant!
Ash: Its unreal, I mean, that kind of thing ... it can happen in a bands career that you just stumble across something that you're not expecting to get anything out of it and we are not the luckiest of bands so maybe we have turned a corner.
I know there are a lot of frustrated London bands at the moment that just feel like they are getting absolutely nowhere so the advise is to just carry on and keep on doing what they're doing.
Ash: I'm glad to know were not alone in that because it seems like the music press and the music industry, including a lot of promoters seem to really adore American bands coming over - the young American bands, if you compare them to the British bands are not getting a look in and these American bands are not that great and I don't know what ... there is obviously money or something changing hands, something is going on ...
Wevs: Its money or blow jobs (laughs)
I've had this theory that there is something really worrying about the U.K. Music industry, for years something has been going on and if you're not an Indie band, you're going to get fucking nowhere. You guys are being featured on Komodo Rocks podcast this month and should find this really interesting. King Lizard (who you I.V. Supported recently) drummer, Sky London is my co host on the podcast and we have this massive debate about the U.K. Music industry opposed to the U.S.A Music industry his opinion, being in a band himself is that the U.K. Is definitely the fore leaders which is quite worrying now. I don't know if its a case of, you're from the States so you carry a different title to being a local band or if its a case that there is so many middle of the road bands, everyone in London is in a band and nobody can support everybody so you always have bands as fans ...
Wevs: We played with them and they're a good band and they are good lads too. Last night for instance we had a show up in Leicester and the first band was completely different to us and we watched all the sets and we were into it. I play music because I enjoy it. I know what you're saying about the Music industry and a lot of it is fucking wrong and backwards and we do stand alone as a band to a certain extent but first and foremost, we fucking love playing and if we didn't have a record deal we would still be doing it.
On the flip side of that, I don't know if you know a band called 'Sons of Albion'? When I interviewed them awhile back, their idea is that they're going over to the States because they believe if they can crack the States, they will be recognised in the U.K.
Wevs: That's what Bush did.
Ash: They kind of did, yeah. They're not massive over here.
Wevs; We don't have Robert Plants kind of money though (laughs) but if you crack the States, there is no point in coming back here then.
Ash: At the end of the day, that's pretty much what Led Zeppelin did.
Talking about the London Monsters of Rock, Kind Lizard, reading through some of the reviews I noticed that the Sun commented that your set was too short. Did they realise that you were in a support slot or is it not time then for you to be headlining your own tours if this is the case?
Ash: Maybe. We cant control what journalists say
(laughing) Fucking Journalists
Wevs: Whether we are first or last on the bill, we get given a time allocation and we just do what we can.
Ash: We were actually surprised by the amount of people that turned up.
You guys absolutely rocked but when Wev's shirt came off, you rocked even more (all laughing)
Ash: That show said a lot about were we feel were turning the corner. We have had some really good London shows but that show was just brilliant. We have packed out smaller venues like Metro's before it closed down.
That was the first time I saw you guys playing live and you had Rev from Towers of London get up and play a song with you.
Ash: Maybe we are starting to get to a stage now that we should be booking our own bigger shows.
Wevs: Most of the shows we are playing now are headline slots but I don't mind if we go on first or last, I just want to play.
Ash: London is a tough place to crack. We have been going for a few years and we have been building up playing in London. The metro's gig was a bench mark for us with over 200 people and I think about 300 people turned up to the King Lizard gig.
And you had Mischa Barton and Lady Hawke in the crowd I believe!
Wevs: I was chatting to them after the show and they were saying that they had a great time.
Was that a fluke or were they invited?
Wevs: I got a phone call asking if I could put them on the guest list (laughing) and I said, "I haven't got any passes". I think our manager pulled a few strings and sorted something out.
Ash: I think Mischa knows Rev (Towers of London). It doesn't do us any harm to have them around.
Just picking up off the sun review, Ash, how do you feel about being referred to as Noel Fielding all the time? I think you look more like Alex Zane than Noel Fielding!
(laughs) I haven't had that one before actually but I'm getting used to it now.
Wevs: I think its just his knob size (laughs)
Ash: I've heard he's got quite a big schlong (laughs). I think if you have got long and big black hair its either Noel Fielding or Russel Brand and they just judge you by your appearance.
Wevs: This is no bullshit but a lot of bands have ripped a few things off of our band. We were at a party once and someone from a massive band came up and said, "I like your jacket" about Ash and the next photo he had almost exactly the same thing on.
Ash: I'm a style Icon.
I'm going to have to say one thing then Wev's, your 6 pack isn't going to get ripped off all too quickly (laughs) and you are going to have to listen to the podcast and just excuse it because I did go a bit doolally about you taking your shirt off on stage.
Wevs: Nothing wrong with that but I don't know what your boyfriend will have to say about that (laughs)
(laughing) I'm single (laughing). Moving swiftly along, it is my personal opinion that you are one of the most underrated guitarists on the scene at the moment.
Wevs: Really? That is really sweet.
Ash: I would go along with that.
Contactmusic.com said that 'Broken' was hugely disappointing and you're not worthy of mentioning alongside the Australian Legends that are AC/DC. How as a band do you deal with negative press?
Ash: In the same way that you deal with positive press. At the end of the day, were comfortable as a band and its taken a few years to get to where we are and I think it shows in the way we speak about ourselves and our music and who we are and what we are trying to do. Not everyone is going to see us in the same light at what we do and maybe some people don't actually get what were trying to do. Even the people that give us good reviews sometimes kind of miss the point of what were doing. One of the things we have really strived to do on this album is to make a modern rock record. We wanted to bring rock and roll into 2009 but still have the roots in the classics. We used Steve Powers as a producer for a reason as he has done a lot of modern commercial stuff.
Robbie Williams to mention just one.
Wevs: The guitar solo for the track 'Another Suicide' was done 32 or 33 times off the bat and it all sounded exactly the same as far as I was concerned and he was just sitting there watching the T.V.
Ash: A lot of the time you don't think that he is actually listening and you end up pushing yourself to actually get his attention and he would just turn around and say, "that note in the chorus is slightly out", and I would say, "not it wasn't" and then listen back and realise it was.
Would you use Steve again for your next album?
Ash and Wevs: Definitely.
Ash: What we would love to do is ... this album wasn't done on a budget at all but it was within the constraints of a studio working day where you turn up at a certain time and you finish at a certain time and I think that's the way he likes to work and he has been doing this for a long time and he is a family man but we would love to just go to a big country house and set up a big studio and just immerse ourselves. We recorded this album at Battery Studio where Steve works from and I would get a tube there because I live in London. Its nice but it would be great to just get away from here and be completely immersed in making music and have a bit of leeway to experiment with stuff even if it doesn't end up going anywhere.
After listening to your album on repeat for days on end and totally falling in love with the track 'Broken', I couldn't wait to see you guys play live at the Islington academy as on the album the guitar layering is immense and very technical and I was wondering how you were going to rise to this challenge in representing to a live audience. Talk me through playing this song live.
Wevs: For me now its quite easy compared to some of the other songs. After recording it we did wonder how we were going to do it. Before we recorded the album version the demo version was completely different and Steve pulled out the bits he wanted to hear and it really worked. We were playing it at break neck speed with a double time bit in it and the whole song was like that. When we went into the studio, Corky normally records his guitars first but for a lot of this album I did my guitars and as you say, the layers on that - before I did this album I was a purist in that sense, I'm putting down guitar tracks with one guitar only but Steve addressed this differently and said that were in the studio to make an album, not to recreate a live show. On that song I've put 11 guitars onto that track.
Bloody Hell
All the parts on there is all my playing. There is an ebow which basically makes the string vibrate so you get this distinctive sound in and out of the whole song. I also used some of Steve's guitars like a PRS, a Pete Townsend SG which I used for most of the album. I rocked up with all my Gibson guitars and I didn't even get to use them. Coming to play it live was almost like learning to play the songs again. I wrote them, demo'd them and got them ready to play them live, recorded them and then had to learn to play them again.
Ash: I think with the live arrangement of it we had to decide what the most important guitar parts were.
Wevs: I think we got it right.
Ash: Yeah I think we did. Corky actually plays some of the parts that Wevs played when recording it because he did so many layers of guitars onto it. I think we've nailed it. The couple of times that we have played it live have been quite exhilarating.
Wevs: I think 4 of the tracks on the album have got programming on them as well. That was another thing that Ash and I didn't want to do, like the keyboards but once we had heard it we wanted to put programming onto a lot of the songs.
Ash: I didn't like it when I first heard it. I took away a CD of the raw tracks and I had it on my iPod and was very proud of it but when it came to the programming it did make a big difference to it and I was just not used to hearing it like that and I was dead against it but I was really surprised that Wev's liked it.
Can we be expecting to see Imperial Vipers at any summer festivals or tours this year?
Ash: There is a tour in discussion but as far as festivals go, its a bit annoying bug bear for us.
Wevs: One of the festivals we were told, not by the top dog but by someone who works at the company that we would be at a certain festival this year - the top man says you're on it this year only to find out that our management haven't approached it because they think its in the bag.
Ash: We have had to battle for everything that we have got so far but I think this album is changing peoples opinions. If we can get people to listen to it within the industry the doors will open a lot more.
How much would you pay to get on a festival?
Ash: Its not about us - its how much our record company would pay really.
I've heard some of the fees that bands have paid to get on download this year and its fucking shocking!
Ash: We want to play on merit. Sure, if our record company wanted to give them a bit of a backhander we wouldn't be opposed to it ...
Wevs: A bit of buttering up but I mean ...
Ash: The whole industry over here is pretty corrupt.
Its not corrupt, its fucked up.
Ash: Yeah, its a closed shop to a lot of people and for bands like us, decent British rock bands ...
Wevs: If bands are paying money to get onto festivals, when advertising, they should show how much each band played to get on there on the fucking poster so that the fans know what's going on.
Ash: Its the fans that are getting ripped off at the end of the day because they're not getting the bands that deserve to be there because of their music.
I think I'm going to do an article on the whole fee thing that is being charged. Stir up the industry just a little bit!
Finally, what is your reality? Sex, drugs and rock and roll or something more mundane?
Ash: (laughs)
Wevs: Well, I like all of them but I have a bit of trouble with the drugs one because you cant get any decent bugle (laughs)
Ash: Everyone has mundane stuff in their lives.
So its not all about the sex, drugs and rock and roll?
Ash: You have to have your feet on the ground and live in reality.
- Tazz Stander
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