Here’s my recent interview and an introduction to a Boston based carnival style alternative-cabaret rockers THE VENETIA FAIR. Their new album “Every Sick Disgusting Thought We’ve Got In Our Brain” just dropped on March 1st and received loads od great reviews all around the world. It’s not straight up punk rock thing, so don’t expect an East Coast hardcore destruction here, but do mark my words that there’s nothing to worry about ;) In their sound, you’ll find a mixture of different influences, from FOXY SHAZAM, pop rock and pop punk band like THE USED, developing early PANIC AT THE DISCO era vibes. Another interesting thing is that they translate their sounds to a fierce and theatrical live show, leaving fans wondering what they just experienced. Strange? Funny? Stupid? You be the judge!
Hey, guys! How are you? How’s Boston after the terrible happenings earlier this month? Were you somewhere near the place of impact and the threatening hours that followed?
Hey guys, we’re pretty much dead over on this end which is a good and standard thing. As for Boston, well Boston is gradually getting back to it’s usual fuck hole functioning city vibe. The marathon events really threw everyone for a spin. No one is ever prepared for that sort of thing or really knows exactly how to deal with it, but the city really came together and handled what needed handling. THE VENETIA FAIR is mainly on the outskirts of the city. Although we frequently take trips in and out of the city none of us were in the heat of the situation. If you or anyone would like to help those affected by the tragedy I did a quick cover song that’s available at switchbitchrecords.bandcamp.com. All proceeds go to The 1 Fund Boston Benefit.
Alright, but I guess nothing can beat the celebration of your new album, “Every Sick Disgusting Thought We’ve Got In Our Brain”, dropped on March 1st, right? How do you feel about the record at the moment?
Correct, that shindig did drop on the 1st of March and it dropped hard and HEAVY like a ton of bricks on a whore’s crack baby! This record is a collection of all of our finest sick and disgusting thoughts. So of course we fucking love it! We’re also under the assumption that everyone will HATE it, as they should.
:) What impact did your Kickstarter campaign have on the band’s activities in the months after the success? What exactly has been founded by your fans?
Holy hell, the kickstarter literally pulled us out of a pond of our own urine we were all drowning in. That being said…we hated the kickstarter cause we like swimming in piss. It granted us the ability to do everything our fans wanted us to do which was write/record a full length, hire some amazing players to perform on it, press the record, publicize the album and the tour, make a music and lyric video and a few other special secrets we like to keep in our sleeves.
You used a lot of additional instruments on the album. Which one do you think was actually your best choice and why? What did they bring to the table?
With the creativity and skill of our horn section I’d have to say that was the best choice. Some of the parts we had written w/ out the horns (we thought) sounded pretty sweet, but once we explored some brassy ass slides, mutes and noises it really took the music to another place which I would almost want to say is now a staple of the album.
What else do you remember about the recording? How was it working with Steve Sopchak?
We have a love hate relationship with recording. I don’t think anyone likes the overhanging stress knowing that this is permanent and is what everyone will here. Especially in that we changed all of these songs HUNDREDS of times before bring them into the studio…and that is a real thing that I’d like to hope will never happen again. Steve Sopchak is the nipple of all titty money. There is no one better than that man. He has an ear of gold, incredible knowledge of everything that is worth knowing, shoes of a nerd, strong grasp of the 90’s, and mainly knows how to make our record heavier and better than anyone else’s. Sorry bands, it’s true.
:) Is there a particular song that has won over the crowds so far? How is the response to the new album?
I really the “The Day I Set Them Free” seems to stand out. Not because it’s our single (well yes because of that too) but the song is one of the most recent / most relevant songs we wrote for the record and I think the band related to it the most which really showed on the recording and comes through live as well. Not to mention if we have a good day and nail those harmonies live (which doesn’t happen) you can really hear it in the crowd’s response as well (no you can’t). I haven’t heard bad things about the album in general, but there HAS to be kittens out there that hate our guts. Show your faces pussies and tell it how it is!
Who is your target audience? :)
Chris would say hot chicks. Correction…hot underage sluts. I kind of feel like it hits the 15-25 yr old range pretty well although with this new record I really think it would appeal to a larger audience. I would love to be able to pack out a 21+ bar as well someday and be able to hang with some old cats. That’s just be because I’m old as fucking stone. What?
:D
Do you plan to sign with a label? I bet there’s a line of them begging you to join their rosters :)
Yeah, there’s a long ass line outside our door, I should probably go let them in for a cup of coffee, but it will distract me from this interview. Hold the phone.
What’s the furthest you traveled with THE VENETIA FAIR?
Well our old bassist Sam should answer this because he has gone to space. I think he brought his bass there as well as our album to jam to w/ the stars, so that counts as “with THE VENETIA FAIR” no? Boring answer: we’ve gone all over the U.S. not Alaska and not Hawaii.
Boooo… You have announced a couple of dates for you NJ/NY in May. Any plans for a bigger trek in the coming months?
HELLYES! After these two dates we are going to wrap up our kickstarter rewards, cover songs, personal songs and hit the ol’ dusty tour trail. We have a few plans and options which will be released when definite.
What were some of the best gigs you’ve played this year? What crazy things have you experienced during one of your recent road trips (except getting your van crashed :))? Any anecdotes to share?
All of our shows are awesome (to us and no one else). One’s that stand out are The Dirty Dog in Austin because we made a bunch of new friends and fans, and we were at SXSW so that whole mentality was radd as dicks. Another was at a place called Swayze’s in Marietta, GA because this crazy crew known as the CUT THROAT FREAK SHOW opened and closed our set. They were out of their minds and made us look like pussies and therefore we want to up our game and go on tour w/ them. Crazy things you ask? We try and take as much acid as possible about 20 minutes before we pull up to shows in hopes of running the van through the venue. If we succeed or not we then proceed to load our gear into the nearest dumpster. Do you approve?
Definitely :)
Hope I get to see you live in Europe someday. What are your plans regarding conquering the Old Continent?
You can see us…all we need are 5 plane tickets (actually 6 unless Asspoop can embezzle one). I’ll email you my address to send the tickets to, we’ll hop on the flight of your choice and figure out the conquering situation upon arrival. Deal? If you can try and do it after July 1st that would be good cause that’s my birthday and I want to see my Dad cause he’s a hairdresser you know.
:) You are well-known for your cabaret approach to rock music. Where did the ideas come from? What inspires you to produce such theatrical live shows and continue the path of this genre and style?
Video games, soundtracks, noises, cartoons NOT BULLSHIT BANDS, maybe some bullshit bands that we listen to. Probably has to do with some of the bands we listen to. There are some bands we like. As for live shows..what’s the fucking point of playing well? You already did that in the studio…let’s have some fun and give these kids a reason to come out and not just listen to your record on CD or more popularly stolen off pirate bay (I do it to from time to time BUT ONLY FROM RICH BANDS which is no excuse). You bring your dancing shoes, we’ll bring the blood, you bring the fuck you.
Alright, you’re about to unveil a new video for “The Day I Set Them Free”. Shoot me a line or two about it. What can we expect?
Expect Asspoop as a child, Asspoop as an adult, some positive messages like gambling, cigarettes, fireworks, guns, pranks with a touch of our live antics. That was a nutshell. Did you want that in a nutshell? I can offer it in a clamshell but it’s going to cost you.
Sweet :)
What are the goals for THE VENETIA FAIR this year?
Get richer, more famous and die more.
What’s the reason for constant telling “fuck you” to your fans? Is it suppose to make you tougher? :)
fuck you…you don’t think we’re tough? Well we’re NOT. We’re just 5 pussies and “fuck you” is the new “what’s up” But how cheesy is it when bands hop and stage and say “What’s up people?” “How’s everyone doing on this ….night?” “Let me here you make some stupid noises” “let me see you put your stupid hands together even though you’d rather die”…”fuck you” is just fine.
Fair enough! I’m gonna used it in my next interviews! :D
What’s your message?
No rules
How would you chart out your future for, let’s say, 5 years from now?
Planes, Hot tubs, our own brand of Whiskey, hangin’ out w/ Puff Lion and Snoop Mongrel.
I’ll see you in 5 years then!
Thanks so much for your time. Anything else you’d like to add?
Think for having. Come to shows, buy/steel/share our record, give us the finger…See you there!
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