Last Updated on January 7, 2024
From Beat Motel issue 10, July 2008 (I think)
Hey there, first up please give us your names and special powers.
NH: Well I’m Nick and I play bass & write riffs and drink Coors Light in the shower. Marlon is the guitarist, orchestrator and producer. Stevie B drums fucking hard and Blake is the effects man obsessed with harsh low frequency noises.
You have a very mature sound that gives off the impression that you’ve all been playing for a very long time indeed, which is in stark contrast to your obvious youth and beauty, explain yourselves
NH: Thanks! Me and Marlon have been playing in bands together since we were first able to bunk off school and listen to Sepultura in the graveyard. Marlon has been playing guitar since he was 5, Steve has been drumming for over 20 years and I’ve been on bass now for over 15 years, so we’re familiar with our instruments and capable of working individually or as a band. Me and Marlon had our first gig when we were like 16 and formed SOAC four years later in 2001 so me and him have been playing together for like over ten years now.
What’s the truth behind these mad rumours I’ve been hearing on the cider sodden punk grapevine about you lot working with Karma to Burn? If these wild rumours are true then how did it come about and what can we expect to see come out of this musical copulation?
NH: It’s true man. We got in contact with Will (the guitarist) and him and Roy (the drummer in his new band – Treasure Cat) flew over and we wrote and recorded three songs in a week. Working with the masters of instrumental rock was insane and we all ran from the same place in resurrecting new riff styles from combining the two bands though the collaboration project. We’re hoping to put it out on record – it kind of reminds me of the QOTSA / Kyuss split in terms of production but musically it’s a unique hybrid of hard riffs and dynamic soaring melodies. A total advancement of previous efforts from both bands definitely.
Do you think there is an international riff shortage we should be concerned about? Do you think George Bush and the National Society of Glaziers are complicit in this? What can we do to rally against this insidious conspiracy?
NH: There is a definite shortage. Heavy rock grooves and down-tuned metal riffs to me were the dominant force of hard rock in the 90s but now it seems to be becoming more diluted with an overemphasis on more lackluster elements. Kids who are ‘scene and not heard’ are to blame. People who understand that statement understand what I mean.
Just how tall is your drummer? Is there any truth behind the accusation leveled by Marf of Los Salvadores that you only have him in the band to reach down tins of creamed corn from high shelves to feed the addiction to this tinned wonder that the rest of the band got hooked on back in Nam?
NH: Sure. ‘Creamed corn’ is a code word euphemism here in Swale and it’s a term used to disassociate it from a substance called ‘Yot’. Marf and the LS crew are bang into ‘gam’yot’ crystals. SOAC have been called ‘drug-rock’ once or twice in the past but it’s a term we distance ourselves from.
I know you guys are friends with BOSSK, are there any plans to tour together?
NH: No. Not at all. I respect Bossk but ours bands are working very different approaches. They play about 60 shows and have about 4 songs whereas we play about 4 shows and have 60 songs. Developing the signature sound of ‘Sons of Alpha Centauri’ took precedence over playing shows for us. In fact we’ve only ever played about 12 shows as SOAC – a handful of which have been with Bossk.
Do you have anything else to add?
NH: Just to say thanks for your interest in the ‘Sons of Alpha Centauri’ project really man. We appreciate it. Check us out at: www.sonsofalphacentauri.co.uk. Feedback is encouraged.
