An Interview with SPiT LiKE THiS

SPiT LiKE THiS has its very roots in a spitting competition between Lord Zion and Vikki when they met in a club in Croydon. The band started as a humble 'bedroom project', but after the creation of two EPs, the ambitions of the band were extended. They placed an ad for a drummer and when the expected auditionee cancelled, they called Vile Gilez for the audition instead. Cyndi, the guitarist, was also found online. Lord Zion gave him a call, told him what the band was all about and it fit in with what he was looking for. This line-up has been together since November 2006.

Up until recently, Lord Zion was responsible for writing all the music; simply because he had been in other bands and hated compromising musically. When Spit Like This started, he wanted to write the songs so there would be no compromise. However, their follow-up album, planned for a late 2010 or early 2011 release, has been written by all of the band members. Lord Zion admits to have got his need for creative control 'out of his system', and is 'LOVING the results' of the collaborative writing. "If you have a band that gets on well and respects each other, it is the best way to write."

What would you say is your main inspiration?

Well, inspiration comes from everywhere and anywhere. Any number of things can trigger a cool tune. Recently, for instance, we wrote a song called "The Life And Times Of The Suicide Kid" which was just a title that I scribbled down coupled with a vague melody. I sang it to everyone and, an hour or so later, we had written what is now my favourite song of ours. Other times, it might be a drum beat, guitar riff, something overheard or a million other things. As long as you keep your eyes, ears and mind open, inspiration can come at any time. Thematically, we tend to write about sex, freedom and death. Those are very loose definitions of what we write about but it covers a whole gamut of things. We will never run out of things to write about!

Who would you say your target audience are and why?

Anyone that likes us! We don't limit ourselves in that way by trying to appeal only to one demographic. We have found that anyone can be a SPiT LiKE THiS fan. Looking out into our audience, we will see anyone from a 14 year old goth girl to a 45 year old classic rocker, and everything in between. As long as people are there to have a good time and be entertained, all are welcome.

We do appeal to a lot of "loner" types though. None of us were the popular kids at school so all have that kind of independent personality that tends to develop when you aren't accepted by the crowd. You soon learn to just be yourself. I think a lot of people recognise that in us and are attracted to that. We give those people that aren't mainstream people a safe haven. No-one will ever judge you at a SPiT LiKE THiS show - we are all in this together.

What does a band like you guys like to get up to in your free time?

I don't even know what free time is. Seriously, I never have a day where I am just vegging out at home doing nothing, I am always busy. As well as SLT, Vikki and I run the clothing company we set up to fund the band, SMELLYOURMUM.COM, so any time spent away from the band is spent doing that. It's hard work but you need to have a strong work ethic to be in a band. It's not for the faint hearted or lazy! I used to be really lazy, in my early band days, and most of my time was spent just shooting pool and hanging out. Result? We got nowhere! I soon learnt that there is no easy ride, you have to buckle down and just work 24/7, or go and do something else instead.

 Is there anything you would like to say for the fans and people of EGL Magazine?

Yes, please come and see what SLT can offer you! We just might be that missing link in your life. Great music, amazing live show and we don't look too shabby either. Your first port of call should be our website, www.spitlikethis.com - from there you can explore to your heart's content. And then GET INVOLVED.

What future plans and up coming events do you guys have?

Well, our debut album was released in the UK on 2nd November. "We Won't Hurt You (But We Won't Go Away) - Ultimate Edition" is a 14 track album which includes a bonus music track PLUS a bonus music video. It also comes with a cool, large pull-out poster. So that is very exciting for us. The rest of this year will see us promoting that at the Hellfire festival, Rock Of Ages Festival, Hard Rock Hell and a few other shows along the way. February 2010 sees our album come out across Europe. We will be supporting that with overseas shows and also an appearance at the first SFX Weekender, which should be awesome. We will continue writing for our second album and I think the summer will see us playing festivals and recording album #2. Traditionally, we have released material quite slowly, but we want to come back quick with the second album, just to build on the momentum!

Lord Zion - Vocals

Vikki Spit - Bass

Cyndi Rott - Guitars

Vile Gilez - Drums

Madmut is EGL Magazine's shiny new writer. He loves music, ice cream and big trucks. If you would like to have your band either reviewed or interviewed in EGL Magazine, please do get in touch.