Patricia: Upright bass & vocals
Nekroman: Guitar & vocals
Geoff: Guitar
Niedermeier aka Henrik aka 009: Drums
Kamilla: Go-Go
No-No: Go-Go
Wes Kirk sits down with punk rock super group the Horrorpops at the Brickyard in Vancouver. Before today, half the band has never been to Canada
Patricia: This area is fucking cool, though. It reminds me of where Kamilla and I used to live in Denmark.
Was it the east end of town? Its always the east end.
Nekroman: It was the west. Its different on the other side of the world, right. Its the mirror image. I think in China its the south.
This is the first show of your Canadian tour, but youll be back soon for the Warped Tour. Are you excited?
[Hell yeahs all around]
Nekroman: Were excited just to be on the road because we spent the last month and a half writing songs and recording them.
Is the new album all together?
Geoff: Its called Bring It On. Itll be out sometime in the fall.
Is there anything strikingly different about this album?
Henrik: Its a trip-hop, electronica album.
Patricia: [Pointing to Geoff] Hes strikingly different.
Nekroman: Its hard for the band to say, because for me, were just doing the same thing.
Henrik: It sounds like a Horrorpops album
Geoff: To me, coming into the band on the second album and being able to compare it to the first album [on] which I didnt play in at all, its a little more full sounding and a little heavier, but at the same time its more melodic. Its not heavy like death metal or anything; its more rock and roll, but at the same time its also more pop.
What is so cool about the upright bass?
Patricia: Nothing
Henrik: I fucking hate that thing
Geoff: Its bulky. Its hard to transport. Sometimes sound engineers at clubs dont know how to make it sound at all. Those are the good points.
And do you [to Nekroman] design them?
Nekroman: I do build bass. In this case its a customized by me.
What is the Danish punk scene like?
Patricia: Its non-existent
Nekroman: Its not non-existent; its a smaller country.
Patricia: Its like living in a mid-state small town. If you see a punk on the street with a Mohawk, either you know the persons name or you will go and ask.
Geoff: It would be like living in Saskatoon.
Is there much of a Rockabilly scene out there or are you guys just weird?
Patricia: Whats that?
Ha. Do you know how hard it is to come up with the right word to describe your band?
Patricia: We call ourselves rock and roll.
Nekroman: Every scene in Denmark is small. It doesnt matter which one.
Geoff: Weve moved out of there. Now we live in L.A.
Henrik: [Mumbles something about a piece of shit country]
Geoff: Henrik has just excommunicated himself.
Where does the sort of 50s, rock and roll influence come from?
Nekroman: I think we are influenced by everything from Dolly Parton to Motorhead, to new wave. I mean we all have our backgrounds.
Patricia: There are six people in the band.
Geoff: Basically music from any era starting in the 20s through to modern day.
Nekroman: The good thing about this band is that there is no Ahh, thats too heavy metal when somebody brings something new in. Its like, Thats cool, lets try it out.
Yeah. The first I heard of you guys was Where They Wander from Give Em the Boot, which is pretty straight up punk rock.
Patricia: Yeah but, every song on the album is different. If you introduce Girl in a Cage to a ska loving person, they would be like Fuck yeah, this is gonna be ska. But theres only one ska song and one surf song. Thats because we are six people and we do have all these different influences and its all about having fun. So if were having fun in the rehearsal room, and we say Hey, lets try a surf song. Well see how we can play it, or can we play it, and thats how it starts. Same with the new album we try to play a country song.
Nekroman: Stuff like that you cant do if youre in a punk band, then you cant play a surf song. If youre in a rockabilly band you cant play a punk song. This is a band where we can play everything.
Patricia: Thats why we call it rock and roll, because it covers all of it.
Henrik: It usually starts by me walking out the door screaming I hate this band, and then I come back and say okay and [imitates something like a monkey playing drums]
Nekroman: and thats when the creativity starts.
Patricia: With Henriks anger. And after he leaves, the real work starts.
Geoff: Its a melting pot of different styles. It keeps things interesting for us as players, and I hope it keeps the record-buying fans happy. And hopefully they dont feel we are such-and-such type of band and not pigeonholing the band. Like everybody said, we just play what we enjoy playing, without any boundaries.
Something that creeps through all of the bands you guys have been in is the image of horror. Do you guys have any favorite monsters or B-movies?
Patricia: Not me. I hate them.
Kamilla: I love mummies.
No-No: Vampires!
Henrik: Frankenstein. The old Frankenstein.
Geoff: Everything from Nosferatu and on. Anything, really. If its good and its horror then its good.
Henrik: Yeah. Anything from the 20s to present.
One place the combination of influences comes together most clearly is with the Go-Gos. How important are they to your live show?
Patricia: They are part of the band. There is no them and us.
Geoff: As far as the live show goes, the dancers are as equally important as any one of the musicians.
Nekroman: When I go to a show, people can be good, but if they just stand there, I may as well just sit at home and listen to the record. I want to look at something, and I think we all agree on that, (and they do) and it takes some of the weight off our backs because we dont have to be freakin out.
Patricia: Thats not the reason Kamilla and No-No is in the band, its not just because of the show
Henrik: Its because they smell good.
Geoff: They offset the guys.
Patricia: Were together, the six people we are. Before music, before anything, theres friendship. And were together because were friends, not because we want to look a certain way.
Geoff: Except for me and Henrik.
Henrik: I hate those bitches.
[To the go-gos] How much time do you guys spend rehearsing?
Kamilla: Two minutes a day.
Nekroman: But every day.
Geoff: They do half a song a day.
Any new tattoos?
[Nos all around]
Henrik: Its been like a year for me.
Nekroman: Were too busy.
Are there any pre-show rituals that I am interrupting??
Patricia: We need your babies.
Geoff: The babies and goats will be here shortly.
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