Kate returns with her second Sikth interview, and this time she gets to talk to the band about cheeks, Pitchshifter, Star Wars and Dizzee Rascal.

Is the tape moving? Yes it is

Pin: Cheeky chunks
Dan: Chunky cheeks

(Me and Caz look at Dan and Pin in a weird way)

Dan: Mikee did some strange things the other night … Do you know about it?

No

Dan: Right well I’ll tell you. No hang on (to Pin) We can just tell them in the interview

Well the last interview was pretty erm…

Dan: Come on he deserves it

Fucking scary

Dan: Are you recording what I’m saying now?

Yeah

Dan: Crafty

Well I started it like a minute ago

Pin: You gonna ask him some questions – I’m gonna manage you now
Dan: (In best attempted singing voice) Cheeks on my pillow
Pin: (In same attempted singing voice as Dan) Cheek to cheek
Greg: Cheek Show
Dan: Cheek Show
Greg: It’s the new track from SikTh
Dan: Chunky cheeks. Ok go on then

Caz: How are you all doing today?

Dan: (In scouser accent) Very well thank you (turning to Yam Yam) great, fucking great
Greg: I feel good, although I felt awful earlier
Dan: We played rock city last night and we all got pretty wrecked so we’re all a bit hung over and dead

How was the Fuji Rock fest?

(Pin starts to look at me in a psychotic way)

When he looks at me like that it’s like he’s gonna kill me or something. Maniac. STOP IT! Stop it

Dan: Fuji was great
Pin: We got to meet Dizzee Rascal
Dan: Yeah Dizzee rascal was great. I mean Fuji is literally a 6-8 hour drive from Tokyo up into the hills and mountains it was amazing. Anyway carry on I wanna go and eat my dinner soon

Caz: How is the recording for the new album going?

Pin: It’s not going yet

No that questions wrong – sorry

Dan: (In childish voice) why are you asking us wrong questions?
Pin: Can we sort it out please?

It’s supposed to be how are the new tracks coming along?

Dan: They’re coming along really well thank you. We’ve basically been writing for about 8 months now. We’re closer now, I mean they’re not right yet; a few of them are more finished than others. We’re gonna have about 12 on the album. It’s gonna be more brutal and more to the point. More balls out if you like.

If you ruled the world what’s the first law you’d pass?

Pin: Not to be asked stupid questions like that

Oh shut up you

Pin: That’s all you ever say to me

You wonder why?!

Ali: To ban all emo music
Pin: Yeah that will do!
Greg: I’d make it a law where Mikee’s never allowed to bare his cheeks in public again
(Everyone laughs)
Pin: That should definitely be a law
Dan: Maybe a ritual burning of all Toni and Guy salons in Britain

Caz: Who’s the strangest person you’ve ever met?

Ali: You
Pin: You
Dan: You
(Everyone laughs)

Caz: We knew that one was coming actually

Greg: I’d like to go a bit further on that and say yeah (looking at me) you
(Everyone laughs)

Why thank you!

Dan: What was the question? Strangest person we’ve ever met?

Caz: Yeah

Dan: Alright well we won’t give you credit of being the strangest people we’ve ever met

Well I was your weirdest fan experience so…

Dan: Yeah that was undoubtedly weird but maybe not the weirdest. I don’t think you’re weird

You think I’m crazy

Dan: Yeah, you think you’re crazy

I am crazy. I admit that

Dan: If you’re sane enough to know you’re crazy then you’re probably not crazy. It’s the truth. Erm, who’s crazier than Kate though. It’s a tough one.
Pin: The guy that ripped the toilet seat off the wall and wore it around his head and got you to sign it
Dan: Well a lot of people into a band like SikTh assume that because our music’s slightly out of control that they would have to be
Greg: There were fans in Liverpool who said to Justin can we swap our shoes for the pants you’re wearing
Dan: Or the kid who licks rust from the vans in Birmingham. He might be here tonight. He licks all the vans up and down and he drinks puddles. He was quite strange. Strange isn’t the word though, more like retarded. You know it comes to a point where like acting a fool becomes acting like a complete prick and you think mate you’re gonna get diseases or some shit

Do you have any idea when the next headline tour is gonna be?

Dan: The answer is no idea but it will be on the back of the new album when it’s released which I don’t dare say when it’s gonna be
Pin: It’s gonna be on the cheeks of the new album

That’s gonna be the word of the interview

Dan: (To Pin) don’t be cheeky
Pin: I’ll try not to be
Greg: Does everyone like my bar?
(Greg holds out a bar that once said cheesy but now says cheeky after he attacked it with a marker)
(Everyone laughs)
Dan: You should give it to Mikee
Greg: I’m gonna
Dan: There must be other stuff you can do it to
(They all start searching through the food bag on the floor of the van)
Pin:Carry on carry on

What has been your highlight of 2004 as a band or individually?

Pin: Fuji rock
Dan: Individually, erm…I dunno really

Which member of the band has the worst habits on tour?

Pin: Mikee’s just actually got the worst habit
Dan: If it’s not mass masturbating it’s mass pissing
Pin: Pissing and getting your arse on a mates pillow quite close up to his nose is not really on
Dan: Erm, we’re only kidding Mikee’s not that bad. Worst habits? Erm, well Pin’s farting is probably one of the worst, it’s one of the more harmful…
Ali: Mikee losing stuff
Dan: Justin’s drinking problem…Justin is a bit of an alcoholic. Really can’t take his booze and he becomes incredibly violent
Ali: And because of his size he becomes really pesky
Dan: He just gets in the way
Ali: Like a Jack Russell
Dan: You could put him in a room with Hulk Hogan and he’d swear he could beat Hulk Hogan’s arse when he’s drunk. He’s immortal. I could think of other words for him but …

Do you think of touring as hard work or the best fun ever?

Dan: When it’s like this, this tour’s been the best fun ever, some tours are hard work. If it’s one with a band like Mudvayne who are compete wankers, it’s a pain but I mean this Pitchshifter tour has been great, not that we socialise that much with Pitchshifter but I dunno they’re generally nice guys and a lot of the fans at the shows are ours so it’s cool

What’s it been like touring with Pitchshifter on their last ever tour?

Dan: It hasn’t really had any symbolism to us. I think to Mikee it has because he was a fan. Erm, none of us have ever really been big Pitchshifter fans…
Pin: It’s just great to be on the road cuz I mean this year’s been pretty quiet for us really
Dan: Yeah it’s been confined to studios for ages
Pin: Next one
Dan: We’d better speed it up actually chucks because …

You’re the one answering…

Dan: Good point

Caz: If you could star in the remake of any film what would it be and who would you play?

Dan: Star Wars and Luke Skywalker

Caz: We’ve had two lots of Star Wars today. Jason from Pitchshifter said he’d be C3PO

Pin: I’d be Darth Vader – But I’d rewrite the script and I’d kill everybody
Greg: (In his very impressive Yoda voice) I would be Yoda. Hmm yes Yoda
(Everyone laughs)
Greg: I’d probably be Leather face from Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Dan: Yeah, but you’d kill even more people
Pin: I’d like to re-create the end scene of erm Brain Dead. That’d be amazing
Dan: I’d like to do Titanic again and be Jack but basically survive and stop the ship from sinking. That’d be great

I’d drown her

Greg: Or Shogun Assassin. That would be amazing
Dan: Or a film with a really fit chick who hasn’t been fucked. Do a remake of that and change it
Greg: I’d fuck Princess Leia man. Leia would be getting laid.
Dan: Layer Princess Leia

What is the actual meaning to ‘Hold My Finger’? Cuz we found out from the last interview that what Mikee was saying was…

Dan: Bollocks. Well to be honest ask the cheeky chappy himself
Greg: Basically it’s about being so stoned that you cant get an erection
Dan: ‘Hold My Finger’ is saying hold my finger because my cock’s not worth holding
(James interrupts the interview as the band needed to sound check)
Dan: Well we’ll cut the interview there and finish it later

(Interview continues with just Dan)

Testing, testing

Who are your heroes or idols?

James Hetfield – Metallica. Big idol. Erm Billy Joel. Erm that’s probably about it really

Just two?

Yeah that’s fine. Want me to speed up?

It’s up to you

Yeah, well I’m answering these questions so

Exactly, answer as long as you want. Are you anxious at all about releasing your second album after the first one was such a big success?

Erm well on the grand scheme of things the album wasn’t a big success because big successes make you loads of money. Well really it has been a success. It’s sold a lot in Japan and Britain and it’s doing all right in Australia. I mean I don’t really care about that, people have got a lot of interest in the album and think it’s great and they buy it so erm it’s total it’s own entity

Who would be your ideal touring partners and why?

Metallica. Erm, just because they’ve had the biggest influence on me – erm I’d like to tour with Maiden erm we know a few of the guys from Maiden from doing some shows Nicko especially. He’s just a lovely guy so erm I’m gonna speak to him and try and sort that out sometime. Hopefully but I mean we’re not in a position to support maiden. We’re not big money enough makers. Because you know what I mean, they may never tour again. You never know

How did it feel when you performed onstage for the first time ever? With any band, not just SikTh

My first ever time was in Luton in 1998 August the third I think or something like that. It was amazing, it was what we’d all wanted to do and we just did Pantera covers and play our own songs and yeah it was amazing. It’s a total different thing to what it is now like the way you’d react to the crowd and things like back then no one knew who you were, and when you play to the people who know who you are it’s different experience all together.

Who are three of your favourite people at the moment?

My mother and my father because they’re brilliant and I love them and erm, let me think, I’ve got loads of favourite people. I like people I trust, people who are consistent. A lot of the people I know change from one day to the next but the people I genuinely know are special to me.

If you were offered the chance to be part of another band for a whole tour what band would it be and why?

Erm, what can I think big here?

Any band, any band at all.

Erm, Meshuggah.

Oh yes! Good choice

But it wouldn’t be a few practices and then get onstage it would be erm taking a time out and learning their songs. But erm, Meshuggah are just incredible.

They are indeed. Which celebrity would you most like to beat up and why? And be honest

Beat up?

Yeah – like kick the shit out of

Kick the shit out of? Erm, God, you name it, Erm, Jesus, I can’t think…

I was gonna say you can’t beat Jesus up

Well, who’s, what bands do I really hate? Erm –

Well when we were doing the interview with Jason (Bowld, Pitchshifter) we said any band that pretty much gets money out of the crap music they make or the fake music they make should be shot for a start.

I don’t want to beat them up; I wouldn’t wanna waste my time

I’d get someone else to do it!

If I could beat anyone up in the world?

Anyone – anyone you like.

Oh, Osama Bin Laden. I think. But I’d rather humiliate him. Like I dunno, make him walk down the street naked in front of loads of redneck Americans or something. Erm, with guns. Maybe George Bush to be following. I wouldn’t wanna see him naked. Anyway – you all right?

(As I bite my lip) Ow! Yeah I’m ok. Do you think the music you grew up listening to has influenced the way you play?

Oh God yeah. It’s everything. When you don’t have lessons your only influence is other bands and certain riffs, certain techniques you’ve learnt from learning their riffs. Metallica is the only one for me and Machine Head in a way, like my early kind of song writing is ripping Machine Head off really if I’m honest and I told Robb Flynn that when we toured with them. He thought it was quite funny cuz he just thinks we’re widdlers.

See I didn’t have bass lessons, I just learnt from SikTh.

Really? Well to be honest it’s a great way of doing it cuz it’s like learning how to apply an instrument as opposed to just learning it on it’s own, you’re learning how to apply it.

Well to me if someone’s teaching you then it’s their way of doing it but you might find a better way of playing.

Well that’s true to a point but there’s certain techniques that you need to learn that, that are just general techniques that everybody should know. I wish I’d had lessons in a way but at the same time you always feel like a bit of a rogue and you’re like you’ve got no one telling you what to do and you’re just doing it for yourself. It’s kind of a cool feeling and when you form a band and get somewhere it’s great.

I just put on SikTh, picked up a bass and apparently I’m good but… I dunno.

And I’m sure you are.

If you were stranded on a desert island what three things would you have with you, excluding food, water and a phone?

Erm, hopefully a woman that I love and doesn’t annoy me too much, my guitar and probably my mum. But she’d have to go and take a swim if I got cheeky with my woman, because that could be a bit embarrassing. Maybe I’ll teach her guitar and she can go and play somewhere else. Shouldn’t really take guitar lessons, she should teach herself as we were just discussing. Carry on.

If you had the chance to tour with one band past or present who would it be?

Metallica.

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you?

Erm, very progressive, erm, very intense, very musical, very theatrical, very heavy, erm, we’re dynamic.

Me and Grumpy Jack Dan already came up with the answer to that one…

Go on…

Fucking amazing. We thought we’d have to have that in….

Well if you put that in put editors edition.

Yes! Do you think bands are categorized too much by music critics and fans?

Oh of course yeah. Funny thing about it, and people say this a lot now that people in bands who are told they are in some sort of scene never considered that they were. I mean a lot of them are. I mean this pop punk thing I mean people play up to it you know the kind of person that goes yeah, yeah I’m in an “emo-core” band they deserve what they get. D’ya know what I mean? I mean if that’s what you call yourself then have it. But erm…there aren’t that many bands that are actually that original and they deserve to be categorized to be honest. Bands that are original, like us for example, I think we are, erm, I think the category should be that they are SikTh. Obviously we’ve taken influences from all our idols cuz we’d be geniuses otherwise you know what I mean? You have to learn from someone but it’s about applying it yourself. I mean there wouldn’t be any Metallica without Maiden and bands like that erm, but James Hetfield’s still an original songwriter, well in his day he was.

Yeah but now he’s just…but we wont go into that …do you have any traditions for before during or after a show? And don’t say loading up or I’ll kick you…

Erm, no I won’t do that. Before during and after… Erm Traditions? Erm, apart from having a poo, that happens before every gig. Taking my shoes off, I never play in shoes.

I noticed that
Caz: I noticed that as well

Did you? I’ve never played in shoes.

I told you I pay too much attention.

You do! You shouldn’t be looking at my feet.

Yeah but when you put your foot up on the monitor you cant help it.

Oh yeah. See my mongy socks.

And when like you play the academy two it’s just like a flat surface so you can see your feet.

I love that venue, that’s a wicked venue.

I hate Wolves. How did you come up with the name SikTh?

Erm, it was our ex drummer, one of my good mates, Gaz Grover, who’s now the drummer in Aconite Thrill, we just were talking about six people and stuff like that, there was six of us, it was a bit of a pathetic conversation, we sound like a boy band, but when he came up with SikTh it was kind of like add a “th” on the end so it was annoying. It just stuck. If we were picking it now we wouldn’t have gone with it probably. Because it’s a bit, sounds a bit like sick and we never really realised that at the time, but people might think we’re trying to be like (makes sick noises) “sick” which we’re obviously not but erm, it’s the only thing I don’t like about it but that’s how we got it.

Me and my brother can’t say the like when you’re talking about the date sixth me and my brother say SikTh.

Well if you look in the dictionary, in the brackets it tells you how to pronounce sixth. But it tells you to pronounce it SikTh.

Well we couldn’t pronounce SikTh at first and now it’s like “how the fuck do we pronounce sixth”.

Well that’s the thing you’re not supposed to say sixth you’re supposed to say SikTh, that’s what the dictionary says, there’s no such thing as sixth. I don’t know how you’re gonna put this into writing that’s gonna fuck your er, that’s gonna fuck you right up. Anyway I’d better go in cuz my hands are getting cold.

Well I only have one last question. Is there anything you want to add or any last words you want to say?

Anything I want to add…Thank you for your lovely commitment to SikTh, you’re much appreciated. And have a lovely birthday. I’ll drive all the way to give you the bumps. And don’t take that the wrong way!

Caz – it’s Kate birthday soon, I want to know how much you would cost.

What you want us to play for her birthday?

No she wants to buy you

Oh you want to buy me?

She wanted to ask that obscure question.

I’m priceless. But I’m sure for the right amount of money I’ll be your slave for the day. Well I don’t have any money but here you go – as a small present.
(As Dan hands me his plectrum)

Thank you. Well thanks for doing the interview; I know you’re a little hung over so thank you, I appreciate it.

Anytime love, Thanks for doing the interview, I enjoyed it.

Thanks again to the band for the interview! You can find out more about them by checking out www.sikth.com.