Heaven's Basement

A massive Rock Pulse shot of gratitude to Heaven's Basement drummer Chris for taking the time to answer a few questions for us!

RP: How have you found adjusting to just having one guitarist live, especially on some of the more complex tracks from the latest ‘Unbreakable’ EP?

CR: Very easy, the first time we discovered we we're going to be playing as a 4 piece was a few hours before a big show in Germany opening for Papa Roach. We had to slightly rework a few of the songs but its been a very easy thing, If it wasn't then we would have just brought in another guitarist.

 
RP: …and how is it going having just the one guitarist now you’re writing new material?

CR: Again, it's going great, if anything that's a bit more freedom with the writing with having just 1 guitarist. Musical ideas come together very fast between myself, Sid and Rob then obviously Aaron does his thing over that.

 
RP: How has Aaron fitted in to the band over the last 18 months?

CR: Great, he ticked all the boxes which was why we gave him the job. The first tour we played with him (May UK co headline with Jettblack) was awesome, he took that tour by the bollocks and ripped them off.


RP: How did you find working with Emmy award winning producer Bob Marlette, and how did that come about?

CR: Bob's a great guy to work with, he really knows how to get the best out of musicians and writers. He brings a positive attitude into the studio then encourages you. He discovered our band over myspace and enjoyed what he heard so wanted to work with us.

 
RP: ...and do you have any plans to work with him (or another name producer) in the near future?

CR: We plan on having Bob Marlette produce the debut album.

 
RP: What’s your opinion of music services such as Spotify – on which the ‘Unbreakable’ EP went live last week - do you think it helps or hinders up-and-coming bands such as Heaven’s Basement?

CR: It helps, the music industry is an ever changing business, people need to learn to deal with it and accept it for what it is. You can learn to make the best out of situations. Fair enough, there's [not] as much income from record sales these days but you can still make a lot from merch, live etc.


RP: When are you planning to release your first full length album?

CR: We're aiming for spring 2012 at the moment.
  

RP: Who are your biggest influences – old and new?

CR: You know, we're all fans of music no matter what style or genre, it's heathly for a band to be like that. If we were all fans of just one or two bands we'd end up just sounding like a poor version of that. There's obviously the old classics in there (Zep, Aerosmith, GnR etc) and so many newer bands on top of those.


RP: And, musically wise, what guilty pleasures can you admit to?!

CR: Personally, I'm a fan of Bjork, I think shes done some really cool stuff.
 

RP: What’s your favourite song to play live?

CR: Executioners Day
 

RP: ...and what’s the trickiest and why?!

CR: Honestly, I wouldn't say any are tricky, we don't play anything live until we have it nailed 100%.

 
RP:  Any sniffs from record labels yet?  I would imagine ‘Unbreakable’ will turn a few heads!

CR: Yes, I don't want to give anything away but we have some exciting news coming soon.
 

RP: As one of the two founder members of the band, do you feel like Heaven’s Basement is your band or is a more like a democracy?

CR: Not at all, it's completely a democracy. I'm proud to be a founding member along with Sid. It's our baby but it's also Rob and Aaron's baby now! We discuss all decisions as a band and we don't do anything unless all four of us are happy.

 
RP: Finally, what are your plans gigs wise over the next few months, and into next year?

CR: We have a few bits coming up such as High Voltage festival and the Keith Caputo acoustic tour but most of this year will be taken up with writing the album and recording it towards the end of the year. 2012 will be a different story, it'll all be about the live side of things then.

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As soon as Heaven's Basement announce their big news we'll let you know, but in the meantime checkout their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HeavensBasement and catch them live at High Voltage on 24th July 2011.

(c) Tobester @ Rock Pulse July 2011

Images courtesy of Heaven's Basement July 2011