Tiger Army - Hellcat Records

| JUNE 2007 | ISSUE 07 | ISSN 1754-3746 |
Tiger
Army
NEVER DIE
Mad Caddies
Skanking around the world
HISTORY
BAD BRAINS
Street dogS
+ SEX PISTOLS EXPERIENCE
BLONDES,
STRAWBERRY
AT BACK FOUR,
DRAGSTER, FL
ENT FUCKERS
TOMMY SCHITT & THE PUNISHM
PLUS! MORE PUNK ROCK CRAP
FOR YOUR EYEBALLS....
“In many ways, this album
is the start of a new chapter”
- Nick13.
TIGER ARMY
never d
Words by Tim Drunk
Photos by Kevin Estrada
| page 26 | JUNE 2007 |
Y:
die
Tiger Army is a band that
one cannot avoid. They have
been responsible for bringing
the pyschobilly sounds back
from the grave and with their
new album having just been
released, Cerven Cotter,
tracked frontman Nick13
down after their UK and
European tour to find out
what was happening in the
Tiger Army camp.
Distorted: Hi Nick, how are you doing?
Are you guys feeling a bit more relaxed
after your tour through Europe and
the UK?
Nick13: I’m well thanks, although I
wouldn’t say more relaxed! It was a
great tour and it’s nice to be home of
course, but I’ve hardly stopped work| JUNE 2007 | page 27 |
“When I heard psychobilly,
it seemed to combine everything I
already dug!” - Nick13
ing since my return! That’s ok though
because there are a lot of exciting things
happening and it’s shaping up to be a
great year for us.
Out of all the places Tiger Army played
on the tour which stop did you guys
enjoy the most? Why?
Sweden was a great place to play and see,
it was our first time there. London and
Brighton are two of my favorite places
in the UK: London for the shopping,
Brighton for the scenery and both places
for the audiences!
Things always seem to go wrong with
bands tour. Apparently you came done
with a serious cold before the London
show? What happened? There was
also an incident with somebody in the
crowd at your show in Brighton, care to
elaborate?
I got a throat infection in Germany, had
to go to the doctor and go on antibiotics.
We had to cancel Vienna and Munich
unfortunately. The only incident in
Brighton was a great show and a great
crowd!
What was it like being on the road with
Deadline?
It was a pleasure… great band and very
cool people.
Most of the time bands tour after the
release of their album. What was the
| page 28 | JUNE 2007 |
reason for hitting the road before the
launch of the new album?
We’ve been to the UK quite a bit in
recent years: 2005, 2006, and 2007. But
this tour was booked mostly for the
continent, where we hadn’t been since
Nov., 2002! We’ll be busy on the road in
the States through the end of the year, so
with a wait of over four years for much of
Europe, there was no reason to make it
five! We hope to return to both the UK
and the continent in 2008…
Do you think Tiger Army got the
response you were looking for from the
fans when you played the new material?
People seemed to enjoy it - at every show
we played “Afterworld” which has been
up at our Myspace (myspace.com/tigerarmy) for a few months and a lot of
people already knew the words...
Lets discuss the new album, Music from
Regions Beyond. Most of your fans will
notice that this is the first full length
that doesn’t contain a number in the
title unlike your previous releases. Why?
In many ways, this album is the start of a
new chapter.
Now with 4 full lengths under the Tiger
Army belt, what are your plans for the
future?
Our immediate plans are for a LOT
of touring. We play a record release
show in Las Vegas in late June, then
| JUNE 2007 | page 29 |
do the entire Warped Tour in the U.S.
(two months). In the fall, we do a U.S.
headlining tour, after which we head to
Australia and hopefully Japan as well.
We also hope to shoot a video for our
new single “Forever Fades Away” soon.
How does it make you feel that Tiger
Army has been one of the most instrumental bands in reviving the psychobilly
scene across the world?
Well, on the one hand I’m glad that the
music has been more acknowledged
around the world. On the other hand,
it’s time for the scene to step up and start
delivering some original bands that are
worthy of the attention the music is receiving now! The classics are the classics,
but many newer bands seem content to
imitate rather than innovate.
Much like many kids who look at Tiger
Army and say that band is awesome,
which bands did/do you look upto? And
why the psychobilly route? What attracted you to this specific sound?
The Misfits and the Meteors were big
bands for me growing up. Before
psychobilly, I especially dug early punk
and 50’s rock’n’roll & rockabilly. When I
heard psychobilly, it seemed to combine
everything I already dug!
How do you feel about the current trend
of psychobilly? It seems like more and
more bands are popping up with stand
up basses, more creepers are been worn
and the quiff is making a comeback.
The style is cool, but for bands it’s got to
be backed up by good music that’s hopefully taking some chances and doing
something new…
With music being such a large part of
| page 30 | JUNE 2007 |
your life, if you weren’t in this band,
where do you think you’d be? Have your
friends and family always supported
your choices when it came to music?
That’s a tough question - music’s saved
my life in many ways. The only other
thing that ever held any appeal was
writing. So I think I’d be dead, in jail or
a writer. Luckily my family has always
been there for me and some good friends
as well.
Which new bands do you recommend
people go check out? What about some
classics that Tiger Army fans need to
hear?
I haven’t heard any new bands lately
that have moved me, but I’m still looking. A band that is both a classic AND
makes great new music is The Quakes,
one of the only U.S. psychobilly bands
that I hold in high regard. If you
haven’t heard them, you’re missing out.
Last one before I let you go... Is there a
story behind your name, Nick13?
It comes from my first band “Influence
13” with Jade Puget (later of AFI) and
Geoff Kresge (later of AFI and Tiger
Army for a time as well). It went into
everyday usage to avoid confusion with
another “Nick” when we moved to the
East Bay…
We wish Tiger Army all the best with
the new album and see you when you
get back to the UK again. Thanks for
your time.
Thank you! Everyone keep an eye
on tigerarmy.com for info on our
return, we look forward to it!
www.tigerarmy.com
www.myspace.com/tigerarmy
“The style (psychobilly) is cool, but
for bands it’s got to be backed
up by good music that’s hopefully
taking some chances and doing something new…” - Nick13
REVIEWS
Don’t take our word for it, make up your own mind!
MUSIC FROM
REGIONS BEYOND
Tiger Army
(HellCat)
It has been awhile since Tiger Army have
put out a new release, their last being
the 2004’s widely acclaimed III: Ghost
Tigers Rise. Music from Regions Beyond
starts a new chapter for Tiger Army, for
one, it is the first full length that doesn’t
have a number in the title. Their sound
has also shifted. Now don’t go throwing
your hands up in the air and verbally dismissing the band - the direction at first
also seemed a little more poppy to myself. however after a good few listens I’ve
actually found the album really good. It
showcases a band that knows what they’re
doing and at the same time sticking to
their roots but pushing the boundaries of
what they’re capabale of. Nick 13’s vocals
are at an all time high. Songs such as Afterworld and Hotprowl will appeal to the
| page 54 | JUNE 2007 |
Tiger Army fans while the more poppy
Forever Fades Away might get their noses
up, but the song in question is a musical
gem. It moves away from the standard
rockabuilly beat and borrows from the
pop text books. The combination however makes for a brilliant single. Again,
many die hard fans may not enjoy this
new album, but I would strongly recommend you give it a good few listens before making up your mind. Music from
Regions Beyond is a landmark album for
Tiger Army, they’re steppping up to the
plate and are delivering well crafted songs
without loosing touch with the dark pyschobilly that they’ve become notorious
for. As Nick13 sings, Tiger Army never
dies, it is a statement they clearly live by.
RISE UP
Strawberry Blondes
(DeckCheese)
This debut echoes the energy, voice and
the entire genre mixing of their more
famous predecessors The Clash. However this isn’t a cheap rip off wanabe, and
they aren’t exactly the 1st band to imitate