Ringing Eardrums at Rothko

TOTALLY UNEDITED VERSION

(as in grammar as well as content)

Interview with Boy Kill Boy at Rothko

by Rebecca Smith

So Boy Kill Boy, take two. If you have been following along, I was pre-empted by MTV2 in the queue for an interview with the band. Luckily, I have a myspace addiction that I have not been able to wean myself from, so I found the Boy Kill Boy page and contacted them via myspace (mind you, I tried other methods, but there is no contact info on their website and I think I scared them off in person). I was directed to their manager who promised me a slot at their Rothko show.

Now, as you know, Rothko is not one of my favorite venues. Granted, I love small intimate places, but Rothko is more like a dank, dark coffin, with an itty bitty bar and a stage to match (comes equipped with own step stool for grand entrances), but it is all overwhelmed by two ginormous speakers so that no matter where you stand, your ears bleed. Despite the smallness, the crowd is often forced to leave a 10 foot semi-circular buffer between themselves and the stage in order to keep their faces from melting off as a result of the sound system on steroids. This often bewilders bands, and perhaps causes them to think their breath is kicking. This very well may be the case, so pop a Tic Tac, but it is primarily to preserve good health and hearing. On top of all this, this is a very New York bar, with New Yorker clientele, which means dancing is prohibited. People participate in this activity done strictly at their own peril or if they are foreign. If only Kevin Bacon would come and save us.

So it is with this in mind that I show up fairly late for the show. OK OK, I am always late, but this time there was a method to my madness. I got there in time to catch the end bit of The Cinematics, and discovered to my dismay that I wished I had arrived in time for their whole set as they were fairly good. Some of their riffs could be considered the identical twin of some Franz Ferdinand bits, but they take a departure after the opener. Strong guitar rock melodies and brazen vocals. All in all, a band I will be looking into further.

If The Cinematics were using Boy Kill Boys gear, why, pray tell, did it still take what seemed like forever for their crew to set up? Well, after listening to the interminably long mic check (again), Boy Kill Boy finally hopped up the step stool to the stage. They looked much the same as before. Chris with his eyes done up as though he were in a MAC Cosmetics advert (I still want to know how he gets them to look like that...while I end up looking as though I came out the loser in a barfight). Pete with his aber-normally long, lanky Abercrombie boy limbs sports his "cravat" (which any self-respecting American would recognize as an "ascot"--the neckerchief that all stereotypical Brit aristos or wanna-be Hugh Hefners wear with requisite smoking jacket). Shaz could pass as the stunt double for that guy out of The Strokes. And Kev, well, think of a SuperBall, now picture it in human form. Well there you are, that's Kev.

They were in a much chattier mood as compared to their Bowery Ballroom show. Perhaps it was down to the intimateness of the venue, perhaps it was knowing they would be talking to me later, or perhaps it was just due to excessive consumption of alcohol. In any case, they threatened to tell a story before playing, but luckily that was forgotten in a fit of giggles. They went on to play in a similar manner as before. Chris’s expressive eyes searched the room for someone to goggle at, Pete’s knees shook more than Elvis’s, Kev bopped, and Shaz and his hair kept time. They played:
Back Again
Killer
On & On
Suzie
Six Minutes
Ivy Parker (this is that new slower tune I liked from the previous night)
Cheaper
Civil Sin
On My Own

OK, I could pretend I knew that, or I could be honest and say I had to write them for the set list. Whatever. So this was a straight set, only interrupted when Chris invited the audience to step forward (which out of the kindness of their hearts and at risk of great personal injury, they did), or when he was trying to figure out the (dirty) name of some dance troupe or something (being my innocent self, I was lost), or when some weird guy inexplicably pulled a foam beer cozy/caddy from the depths of his knapsack to put on Chris’s bottle. They finished up their set (“Thank you, New York, Good Night!”) and I allowed them about 5 minutes reprieve. I was determined not to lose my quarry that night, but I figured it would be to my benefit and theirs to allow them to clean off the stage sweat (ewww gross-good call).

So, since Kev seemed to be the most responsible, the easiest to manipulate, or he was just the first one I spotted, I pounced on him again. The poor boy. I think I may have scarred him for life now. Oh well, the show must go on, so I set him to gathering the rest of his crew together, and prepared myself for the inevitable wait. I sat down against the wall in hopes that I could be camouflaged by it so the weird creepy photographer guy would back off (again, if you have been following, Rothko appears to be a breeding ground for photographers). Finally, some of the boys meandered over with a purposeful look to them. Hi hi hi, shake shake shake…..right so.

A bit of background:

“We, us three [Chris, Pete, and Shaz], met at school. Where we grew up there’s a pretty strong scene for music,” Shaz shares, “I used to be in a Brit pop band.”

So clearly the boys from Essex underwent a bit of evolution from then to now.

Shaz: “We needed something good. Kev is the catalyst of our success.”

So bringing Kev in provided some cohesiveness and professionalism to the group, and the added bonus of a bass player. But that can’t possibly be all a band needs to succeed. What about marketing strategies and building an audience? What about myspace?

“Well, myspace is a way of quick contact with fans. It’s word of mouth magnified,” says Kev.

Shaz continues, “Yeah, its like a forum for word of mouth.”

Cool, so, your audience is increasing and the dimension of space and time are decreasing. To that end, what differences have you noticed among audiences at home and abroad.

(A pointed look from Shaz) “There’s really no way to compare audiences in that way.” (Translation: What a schtyooopid question, you daft cow.)

OK, moving right along. What about the venues you’ve just performed at?

Kev states that the Bowery Ballroom was much like a lot of their performances in new cities or showcase events like SXSW, “There’s a bit of a ‘Right, impress me’ kind of attitude.” So that is what they aim to do. They use these showcase events as they are meant to be used, to showcase themselves as a new—and impressive—band.

He admits, “We were surprised by the response to Boy Kill Boy last night [Bowery Ballroom show]. We expected it just to be some industry folk and the press. We found out it was sponsored by the British Council of something or other.”

Aha, I knew there was a reason the Brits seemed to be out en masse.

So now that you have been across the pond, what are your plans for the future?

With the look of Pinky and the Brain about them, Kev says “We’re going for total world domination.”

Shaz supports with, “We’re going to do the fucking whole world at once.”

One can just hear the evil maniacal laughter.

Pete puts in, “Yeah, I’m working on my Super Suit.”*

Chris retorts, “You would do. Odds on it’ll have a cravat!”**

*Pete did not actually participate in the interview. This quote is completely the invention of my troubled imagination.
**Yeah, same again for Chris.

So Boy Kill Boy promises to be back stateside come summer. Their album will be out in the U.S. in September, but you can get most of it on i-Tunes at present.

So where to next?

Kev unabashedly announces, “Anywhere that’ll have us. We’re whores when it comes to that.”

Oh and on that note, “Kev is single” (unattributed).