FearlessVampireKillers-2014

“This is the most ambitious rock album of the last decade.”—Fearless Vampire Killers talk album two

Last fall when we talked to Fearless Vampire Killers and their producer William Control, all parties seemed pleased with the band’s latest work and were ready to move into a more danceable era of the band. But recently fans learned the band weren’t sure  they would be able to even release the album, resulting in their writing two more albums’ worth of material. But why? AP recently spoke to FVK’s dynamic dual vocalists/guitarists Laurence Beveridge and Kier Kemp about what happened in the interim, their new outlook on their music and themselves as artists and what is in store for their fans in the near future.

Interview: Cassie Whitt

When I talked to you last fall, and you seemed pretty jazzed on this album, then something obviously happened. What was it?
KIER KEMP:
We can’t really name names or anything, but it’s sort of a classic story of someone getting buttfucked by the Man a little bit. It’s the classic sort of “Management company takes on band. Management company thought they liked band. Management company changed band into something else.” It’s really stereotypical in that sense.

LAURENCE BEVERIDGE: We were really into the album, and then they made us hate the album. It’s hard to describe how they did it. We were made to believe that what we’d created wasn’t good. Once we realized that wasn’t true, we left the management company. Then we were listening to the album again saying, “This is amazing. How could we [have thought we were wrong]?” But yeah, because of the management company, we then wrote two albums’ worth of material.

KEMP: It’s kind of a good thing, in essence. It was a bit like a path to self-discovery. When you get your confidence dented by other people—these people were literally lawyers, like actually literally lawyers—and then you meet new people, and you start writing new material and really experiment with who you are as a band and what your sound is, you learn what you love about music and how you write together as a band and what you’re capable of doing. So the good thing about this situation is we’ve come out with two albums’ worth of material and the one we did with Wil, which we’re still super-excited about. I think the reason said management company didn’t like it was for all the reasons we explained to you last time. It really is quite bizarre. It’s bonkers. It’s a journey more than just an album. It doesn’t stick to any of the usual conformities. It’s a rock album, but it doesn’t confine itself to genres. We didn’t premeditate anything.

BEVERIDGE: Well, we tried to premeditate it. [Kemp laughs.] Our plan was to write this classic rock album with sing-along choruses, and even when we were writing it, we were thinking, “Well, this is quite normal. Everyone’s going to find this easily digestible,” and then listening to it back now, I don’t know what we were thinking; it’s absolutely ridiculous.

KEMP: I would honestly say, though, this next album is the most ambitious rock album of the last decade. [Beveridge snickers.] Honestly. It’s just bonkers.

Do you think the other material you worked on is going to see the light of day? Would you want to release something that someone pressured you into doing?
BEVERIDGE:
Yeah, because we only actually recorded two of those songs fully. We were still writing the songs that we wanted to write, but we were honing our songwriting, and every band needs to do that at some point. I think we weren’t ready to do that, and honestly now, we’ll look at those songs with new eyes or new ears or whatever and say, “What here is us, and then what here is what we should have been doing?” Because what happened out of it is we started working with a really great British producer called Dan Weller.

KEMP: He did LostAlone’s album.

BEVERIDGE: He did Enter Shikari, Young Guns and bands like that, and  because of all of [the management pressure], we ended up working with him. So, through that we met this great producer who we really want to work with. So, we’ve kind of come out on top, even though we went through about six months of misery and had been made to feel like we were rubbish, and it doesn’t even end at the album. We were driven into the ground, like [being told], “You guys are not a band,” essentially. It’s no one’s fault, because we’re a rock band, and they were pop management, and it’s just the way it is. No one was horrible or anything; it’s just we need someone to mollycoddle us. [Laughs.]

KEMP: Yeah, we need cuddles. Our new manager is pretty cuddly.

Since the last time we talked, did you go back in and revisit the album and change anything, or is it all pretty much the same way you described it to me last year?
KEMP: We’ve had a little more time to really realize the album, so we’ve got little segues going on now, and I feel now when listening to the album that it’s going to be like an actual experience more than just a group of songs. It’s got a lot of little bits, just like ambient sounds and stuff that makes you feel like you’re in a place rather than just listening.

BEVERIDGE: And there are four kind of distinct sections which are almost like really long songs. So in each section there are four songs, and it’s not like they’re all one song, but they all have a similar feel. It’s like telling a story and it helps put people in that mood, I hope, when they listen.

So kind of like acts in a play?
KEMP:
Yeah!

BEVERIDGE: Almost exactly that, yeah. Acts of of a play, essentially, yeah.

If you were to describe each “act,” what would you say the feeling is for each of them?
BEVERIDGE: The first act is almost what happened to us where we were chased away from what we wanted to be. The first act of it is a lot about fear and having [to hide].

KEMP: It’s actually pretty strange. This album, we wrote it before, and it’s actually almost turned out to be a premonition for what actually happened to us.

BEVERIDGE: So the first act is [about] hiding and trying to get away from everything and pull everything together and work things out. The second section is us trying to work things out, and it just getting worse, which is exactly what happened. Everyone turned against each other. It was really not a nice time. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, but it wasn’t good time. We were all really unhappy, and we didn’t know if the band—… Sometimes I’d think, “Is this the end of Fearless Vampire Killers?”

KEMP: It’s the depressing section.

BEVERIDGE: Yeah, and that section there is about our characters doing a similar thing just with more vampire-killing. Next is all about fighting back, sort of taking the fight and building yourself back up again. And the last bit is just a total assault of carnage and war—

KEMP: And that will be the album release! [Laughs.] Fearless Vampire Killers declare war! >>>

William said you guys had great songs, and you were great musicians, but it was hard to dance to your stuff. So, next time you tour, do you think you’re going to see a significant increase in dancing and people being able to interact with your new music?
BEVERIDGE: When we approached that, we realized all our songs were far too fast. So, even with some songs—I don’t know if any of our fans noticed—but on our last tour, we slowed a lot of songs down just so people could jump to it or dance to it.

KEMP: We have got a song about dancing, though. The first single is about dancing.

BEVERIDGE: Yeah, the new single is about dancing, and it’s a pretty dance-y song. I think it’s one of Wil’s favorites. That’s something we had focused on. When writing all of our songs, we were thinking about time signatures a lot more, because in the past, it was just, “Let’s see how fast we can play this song” and just pushing it and pushing it and pushing, like, “I think we can get five more BPM out of that.”

I believe that’s what you called “wankage.”
KEMP: There is a lot of wankage. Wholeheartedly full to the brim with wankage.

I think last time, you were at, like, 70 percent “bangage” and 30 percent “wankage.”
BEVERIDGE: I reckon it’s more 60, 40 [Laughs.]

Considering, you say this is “bonkers” and a lot different from your other albums, how do you think fans are going to perceive this new version of the band?
BEVERIDGE: I reckon the more dance-y stuff isn’t really going to surface for a while because although the stuff we did on the album with Wil is slightly more dance-y, it’s not as well-paced as the stuff we’re doing in the future. It’s still Fearless Vampire Killers. The thing that I love about our fans is that they basically let us do anything. I mean, we’ve released really heavy songs and really, really light songs, and they don’t really care as long as they think the song is good. That tends to be all that matters.

KEMP: It’s less about being in a scene and more about escapism and giving people somewhere they can really get involved with, and good songs, really. We don’t give a fuck if it’s got a big riff or a poncy piano accompaniment as long as it’s a good song. That’s all that matters.

BEVERIDGE: The thing with our fans is they’re—one of our biggest things is that we’re a party band, and we sing very emotional, passionate songs, and when people come to our shows, they come to have a good time. They all dress up. All the fans are always trashed. [Laughs.] We play a cover of Wham!’s “Club Tropicana.” It’s like an ’80s party song, so we try to get that vibe going. The dancier, the better. Our fans are going to love it.

Does your upcoming album follow the Grandomina story?
BEVERIDGE:
Yeah, like directly on from it, and that’s something we’re really happy about, because we almost shelved the whole concept. We were so worried about alienating people, and we found a really cool way of getting around that. Some people who really want to be into the storyline can be into it and other people can just listen to the music. We found a really cool way of separating those two sides of our fanbase without having to confuse people.

KEMP: There will be more on that later, though!

BEVERIDGE: More on that later. [Laughs.] So, yeah, it directly follows on from the last [album], and what we’re going to do is: There are going to be stories to go with each song on the next album. It’s going to be much more conceptual, in fact. Most people haven’t even read the book because half of it isn’t even out yet, and it will come as people are listening to the new album, so they’ll be able to visualize what’s happening while they’re listening to the music if they choose.

Last year, one of my editors and I wrote a debate column called “Art Vs. Artifice” because he tends to think concepts and building worlds within albums and setting these grand moods often detract from rather than add to an artist’s work. He just wants to hear someone play something genuine. My point was that arguably, the building of a story, creating an arc and a space where people can exist creates more loyalty and a more lasting legacy. Do you think that’s true?
KEMP: Definitely. And, also, whether it’s fiction or not, everything is inspired by real life experience. So, just because you’re telling a story through lyrics doesn’t mean it’s any less real. Everything we’ve written about has really happened.

BEVERIDGE: If you only wrote about stuff that was genuinely real and you only drew from real experiences, you’d be able to write about three songs. Like, “You Slept With Your Girlfriend Once,” “One Of Your Parents Has An Alcohol Problem.” That’s about it, and then you’re kind of done for. Unless you live in Sudan—and I don’t think any of these rockstars live in Sudan—so none of them have really experienced any real pain. They’re not seeing their child murdered in front of them. So, you see what I mean? It depends where you draw the line. All the people that artists think are writing about “real” stuff, like some people may say, “Bruce Springsteen does that,” but Bruce Springsteen doesn’t do that at all. He is a [storyteller]. He writes fiction and creates the songs that sound blue-collar and everything, but they’re actually stories.

There’s only so much a person can relate to this one story this one guy is telling about how he broke up with his girlfriend. When you wrap it in a little more metaphor, more people can take it in and make it their own.
KEMP: Yeah, exactly. But then once we say that, we always make a effort to make sure that our lyrics do have that personal quality to them as well. We’re not, like, singing about flying around on dragons. We’re singing about real emotions and real stuff.

BEVERIDGE: within this world, but it’s not necessarily describing the world.

KEMP: The reason people like novels so much is you can relate to a character, and you can see your own experiences in them and even though this person might not be real, you’re sharing common ground.

BEVERIDGE: Even if this person is, like, a space pilot. He’s still having emotions and experiencing things. It’s escapism. Escapism is great.

KEMP: Lord Of The Rings did all right.

Can we expect big news stateside from you guys this year?
KEMP: We’ve just started rearranging our team with a load of new people. We’ve got an agent now who is very U.S.-centric. We’re hoping to be touring in the U.S. a lot more in the coming year. I’d like to get out to Warped Tour next year. The U.S. is our home away from home, and everyone there when we came over was amazingly accepting, so it’s definitely going to be a focus of ours to do as much there as we can in the coming year. Around this album, you should be seeing a lot more about it in the U.S. There will be better distribution out there, so people will be able to get ahold of it a lot easier. And we will be back over to play live, ASAP.

Is there anything else that is crucial to know about the album or anything you want to tell your fans?
KEMP: I want to thank them for their patience and let them know that it’s going to be worth it in the end. We’ve put a lot of work into making sure this is something they should really enjoy, and we’re not going to release it in a conventional way. I think it’s going to be a bit more of an event than your average album, so hopefully they’ll get something out of it.

BEVERIDGE: I just really want to thank our fans, because essentially, they’re what saved us. We were, like I said, really unhappy, and then we did these three warm-up shows for this festival we were doing in Machester, and as soon as we got on the stage, we realized the show had sold out. It was a small show, but it sold out, and we were like, “It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, because our fans have come to see us. They still care about us, and despite [how] we’ve been gone this whole time, they still love us. That definitely gave us the boost we needed, and once we’d done those three shows and the festival, we decided we needed to book a tour just to play to everyone, and that was really, really good. We did a sold-out show in London, and everything just felt much better, and things have just looked up every since. Everything’s looking up and up, and it’s all because of the fans. So, cheers. ALT