Published: March 28, 2009 9:45 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight March 2009 Edition
ILLICIT STILL
ILLICIT STILL
Take four talented musicians from the UK who all share a deep love for Metal and Rock and merged them into a kick ass band they might look like the guys from ILLICIT STILL. Malcolm Desira, Mal the Voice, is the perfect choice for the vocals of the band; powerful, forceful, and haunting (at times). He blends nicely with the bass of Kenny T aka, "The Bass", the electrifying guitar playing style of Stevie "Peps" Laing, and crazy drums from hell of Kevin Murphy, THE MIGHTY K. I recently spoke to Mal who completed an interview with our Webzine. Here is what developed from this online meeting.
Isaac: How do you sum up 2008 for ILLICIT STILL?
ILLICIT STILL: 2008 was the beginning of something a bit special. From a standing start and going though 3 bass players we now have a settled line up, established ourselves as a kick arse live act and released our first CD "Monsterz of Rock".
Isaac: What do you feel was ILLICIT STILL's biggest accomplishment for 2008?
ILLICIT STILL: To be honest, still being there for 2009. With all the line up changes and the delays that it brought about there were times when we thought we wouldn't survive.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
ILLICIT STILL: Huge variety of influences in the band. For me, it's Metallica, no question. They are damn near perfect. The power and passion they generate just sets my pulse racing like nothing else, but also love the bands that have real quality vocalists like Deep Purple/Led Zep/Rainbow/Alter Bridge. For Kenny, our bass player, it's the Sex Pistols and Iron Maiden. For Kev, our drummer, it's Motley Crue and for Steve, our guitarist, it's Van Halen.
Isaac: What has drawn you to each other musically?
ILLICIT STILL: Probably just one thing. The total love of what we do. It doesn't matter whether we play to one man and his dog or a packed house, we just get off on playing, and to be able to perform some of our all time favourites is just a privilege
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel ILLICIT STILL will bring to the music industry?
ILLICIT STILL: Passion. It's the comment we get at our gigs time and time again and it's not something we try to do. It's just there. We love the 70s/80s style of metal and I think you'll see that when our original material hits the airwaves and gigs in the summer. If we can play a small part in keeping that genre alive, then that would be great.
Playing live is what we live for. We're not that bothered about record deals and the like. Don't get me wrong, that would be great if it happened, but it's not the be all and end all for us. Playing live to our fans and giving them every ounce of energy that we can is what is most important to us.
Isaac: You guys are from the United Kingdom. What has been the biggest challenge that you guys have faced capturing an international fan base?
ILLICIT STILL: Funny enough, the International fan base has been easy. Europe and the U.S. seem to really dig us. The UK is a bit of slog for metal right now and that can get a bit depressing. The best example I can give is that we have literally in the past week been picked up by a major (and I DO mean MAJOR), promoter and producer in NYC who both think we have something really worth pushing. Wish I could name them, but final details of the deal are still being worked out, so wouldn't be right, but we will announce the names very soon. We haven't had a sniff of anything like that at home. All they seem to want over here are bands like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand.
Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
ILLICIT STILL: Can only speak personally and that would be the mighty James Hetfield. To be able to get an insight into how he comes up with such killer riffs and blends the vocals in with them so seamlessly would be just awesome. He is the master.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
ILLICIT STILL: Out and out balls to the wall 70s/80s style metal.
Isaac: What is your definition for Metal/Hard Rock?
ILLICIT STILL: Again, purely a personal opinion, but easier to say what it shouldn't be and that is just a wall of noise. There are some bands out there that go under the banner of "metal" that for me are something completely different. Metallica are pure metal, Sabbath are pure metal, Maiden are pure metal, but each of them have melody in there [music].
Isaac: What type of feedback have you received from your live performances?
ILLICIT STILL: Three recurring themes:
1. Our recordings just don't do us justice
2. The passion we generate on stage
3. How many of the numbers we do really sound like the original artist.
Isaac: What can fans expect from your latest CD, "Monsterz of Rock" released on 15 January 2009? What is the inspiration behind the CD?
ILLICIT STILL: Quite simple. Our take on 5 of our favourite songs. Not sure about the inspiration, but the aspiration was to do our little bit to help keep the golden era of metal alive and kicking.
Isaac: What can fans expect from ILLICIT STILL in 2009?
ILLICIT STILL: Loads of gigs all over the UK and given what I said earlier about the promoter/producer in NYC, we hope to have some original material hitting the airwaves in the summer and if that goes well there is talk of a tour taking in NYC/Boston and Philadelphia, which would be the coolest thing ever for us.
Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
ILLICIT STILL: Hey guys, thanks so much for your support so far. We will never forget that without you we cannot do what we love to do.
Isaac: Final words from ILLICIT STILL...
ILLICIT STILL: Quite honestly I do believe that 2009 will be the year that ILLICIT STILL breaks through to the next level. We really want to get to see as many of you as possible for 2 hours of pure metal mayhem. Come along and se us if you get the chance, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
One other thing. ALWAYS do the thing you truly believe is the right thing to do. Don't let the politically motivated motherfucker tell you otherwise.
Finally, you only get one shot on this planet. Never give up on your dreams. I didn't and I'm now having an absolute blast with ILLICIT STILL.
