Shazam Meets… The Smoking Hearts
Exciting up and coming rockers The Smoking Hearts release their debut album ‘Pride Of Nowhere’ on Monday 8th March, the album launch will take place at London’s South Of The Border on Old Street. We caught up with lead singer Lethal to chat a bit about the band, the live show and life in general.
So where are you guys from originally?
Bedfordshire, it’s that place that smells of city and looks like country. About an inch North of London on a map.
How long have you guys been together?
As a band, The Smoking Hearts haven’t existed for very long at all, only 2 or 3 years, but the members of the band have known each other for years – Nobba and Calvin go back years.
What inspired you to start a band?
Doing what we wanted, and choosing to do something other than be stuck in another nowhere place, doing nothing of any significance. The band actually came about in a kind of mish-mash way; we’d all been in bands before all of which were sort of being put on hiatus. Born from the ashes if you like, like a phoenix. I do happen to know however that Barker learnt to play guitar to stop the Devil making work for his idle hands. That boy has Lucifer in his fingers.
Who are your influences?
It’s a pretty diverse mix, musically drawing on anything from Mötley Crüe to Faith No More, Blink 182 to Some Girls and just about anything anywhere in between.
Who are your favourite bands to listen to?
According to my iTunes top 25, the top five most played are: The Nerve Agents, Mad Capsule Markets, Slipknot, None More Black and White Zombie.
Is the DIY ethic important to you?
Yes and no, it’s been completely unavoidable, so it has had a part in shaping who were are, what we do, and how we do it, but we’re not a DIY band per se. Some parts of The Smoking Hearts are DIY esque, (our work ethic for example) but some elements of the DIY ethic I can’t even come close to holding dear. F**k, it can grow very f*****g thin doing everything for yourself, all the c*****g time.
What does a standard Smoking Hearts show involve?
Blood, sweat, carnage, glory… We have a tour booked for March and all the dates are on our MySpace.
Where was the new album ‘Pride of Nowhere’ recorded?
Lost Boys studio, in what can only be described as the middle of nowhere; Jupiter’s moons are closer to civilisation than this place is. It’s f*****g cool though at the same time, really chilled, nice place to rock out. Got very sweaty making the record come to think of it, it was 14 brutal days and nights of non-stop rock and roll.
What is your favourite track from the album?
Personally? George Street Wrestling. Just sums up everything we’re about for me. Having a f*****g blast whatever you’re doing.
What is the best gig you have played to date and why?
Not the last one we did, I smashed my shin to oblivion on our air raid siren. F**k me it hurt. Eurgh, I dunno! Couple of London shows stand out, Club 333; they banned us from returning before we’d even left the stage… Maybe not the best show to put down but man, I had a f*****g ball that night. It’s hard to really put one show above all others. Good gigs for me are everyone having fun, the crowd, us and even the venue staff. Raucous, messy, debauched fun.
What’s the dream for the band – where do you want to be in two years time?
I want to go multi-platinum, our name in lights, world tours, girls, money in my bed. The whole works.
