Wednesday, April 27
World Goth Exclusive: Killing Miranda Interview
Here's a treat for all you young goths out there - an exclusive D!HP interview with Rikky, Killing Miranda's elusive and occasionally outspoken vocalist.
In the interview, he talks about the split from Nightbreed Records, HP Lovecraft, Charmin toilet tissue and the thorny subject of being a goth...
First of all I want to check, I believe that some or all of you are
from Nottingham, is that right?
The Nottingham connection I think comes from our first label who were based there. We recorded an album in their studio and spent maybe the best part of six months getting drunk in various Nottingham venues. Mainly the Tap and Tumbler.
But otherwise no. I'm a Tyke, Aliens an Essaaax boy, Belle's from
Camden and Irish is well...erm...
It is said that the first rule of goth is that you deny you are a goth...
So with that in mind....are you a goth band?
If that's what people want to call us I don't really care. It's a cliche I
suppose but we really are not interested in categories. On a personal level
I've got older and got a family and I'm far less concerned with being
"popular". My relationship with music is my own, and it's entirely organic.
I write the songs I want to write that have meaning to me and my life. It
really is as simple as that.
Your albums have got progressively heavier and heavier, would you say that this was intentional or just the way that the Killing Miranda sound has developed?
I think we've got better able to express the intensity of some of the songs.
We're better musicians and as such we can play tighter, faster and more
expressively than once we could. There is some anger in the material so I
guess if we're better at expressing that then in places it will sound
heavier, but I don't know if there's been a conscious desire to get heavier.
I've heard that your next album might be going in a more electronic
direction, is this the case? If so, why have you taken this decision or was it a natural change?
I have said here and there that I would LIKE personally to try something
different on the next album. To be fair I haven't entirely got the others go
ahead on everything they've heard but the songs I've been writing have been
attempting to go in a variety of new directions and utilise a different
format to the last two albums.
This is mainly because I tend to get bored unless the songs I write can make some kind of quantum leap. And when I say "more electronic" that means utilising technology more mainly. In terms of direction I simply want to bring in some influences I think I've not quite dared before but really love personally. I feel liberated enough to do things that may seem crazy to some, even the other guys...but that's my way.
You seem to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the music
press, why do you think this is?
All I can really say to explain this is that music journalists are not the sort of people whose company I enjoy. Maybe it's my Mexican wife rubbing off on me but I like people I have a real connection with and music is not a big part of that so much as family, friendship and respect. The UK music press are what they are. Maybe they are right and I'm wrong, I really don't care anymore. All I want is to be happy and respected, it's a different thing from the quest for celebrity status.
The lyrics "Dreams in the Witch House, kiss from your poisoned mouth" feature on your Transgression by Numbers album. Is Dreams in the Witch House your favourite HP Lovecraft story then, or if not which is?
It's not actually. My favourite is one called "at the mountains of madness". Good old Howard Phillip is a real inspiration to me, not because he's a good writer (in fact in many respects he wasn't) but because he saw the world we think we see every day is basically a facade. And he was a reclusive psychosexual loony. Just like me.
You have always used a lot of cool samples in your songs. Are they all
generally from horror films? I'm particularly intrigued by some of the
samples on your latest album. Where are they from or can you not reveal their sources?
Erm. Best not on the whole. I choose samples that seem relevant and often from films I think influence our music. Crazy statement ? Not at all. On the whole I think cinema is a more realised art form than popular music and anyone who can't take their influences from what's actually around them but slavishly copies someone else's record is probably successful.
What is your favourite Horror Film of all time?
I'm going to put my neck on the line and say that the remake of The Grudge blew me away big time. I haven't been that frightened in ages. Maybe right now it's my favourite, but since this is probably due to recent exposure I'd have to be fair and say The Exorcist.
What do you think about the sudden explosion of Deathrock on the UK
goth scene? Do you think your music caters for people who like this genre of music because lyrically you are very dark, or do you not really care?
I preferred Snickers when they were called Marathon. And didn't Charmin toilet tissue used to be called something else ?
I feel like Marlon Brando is "last tango in Paris"..." I'm gonna get a hernia if you keep going on about names".
Do you feel more attached to the goth scene or the metal scene because many people view you as a crossover band? Do you agree?
We're a crossover band yes. Because we're not out to repackage bullshit and sell it to the gullible. Because we don;t subscribe to the lie that a band should try to have "a sound" and "can write for an audience". People who say the likes of that are exploiting people's need for identity. I think that's low and I will not do it.
"crossover" artists are the only true artists in my opinion. Anything else is elitist by nature and cynical in intent. Don't swallow it boys and girls.
Is the goth music scene and goth in general a bit of a cliché? Is the
goth music genre a bit of a dead end and does being classified as goth limit your general appeal?
Probably. But classification is nothing to do with us. As I've already
intimated, people can call us country and western if it makes them happy. Goth probably fits best because we like Bauhaus, grotty clubs and girls in fishnets, but then nobodies perfect. Hell I even wrote a poem in sixth form called "dark angel", but then back then I masturbated too much and smoked weed, which is for hippies and chavs innit.
It says on your website you were on the BBC TV show Inside Out, what
was that all about?
Something about the goth scene. Surprise surprise. I got to say " I've always been attracted to the dark side" on TV. Which is true. I love Darth Vader.
When reviewing your Consummate album, Mick Mercer said "It's like Billy Idol songs being played by giant robot owls" Is this a fair assessment?!?!?!? Have you ever been compared to an enormous bird before?
I think Big Bird is a Muppet isn't he? So yes I suppose I have.
What do you think of Marilyn Manson?
I likes his second and third album. He has a big nose. His missus is very nice thank you very much. I heard a rumour he was Kevin's best mate in The Wonder Years. But then I found out it wasn't true and I cried.
What happened with Nightbreed? Did you fall out? Was it an amicable
split?
No issues really. The label kinda lost allot of it's logistics and money and we needed to move on. Plus to be fair Trevor's endless "campfire stories" were making us suicidal.
What do you think of the Nottingham goth scene?
It was great in the late 90's. Seems a bit depressed now. Which is an
oxymoron if I remember my English language A level stuff.
Finally, one last burning question - Have you ever worn a pair of fake vampire fangs?
Yes! I was seven years old and it was Halloween.
Here's a treat for all you young goths out there - an exclusive D!HP interview with Rikky, Killing Miranda's elusive and occasionally outspoken vocalist.
In the interview, he talks about the split from Nightbreed Records, HP Lovecraft, Charmin toilet tissue and the thorny subject of being a goth...
First of all I want to check, I believe that some or all of you are
from Nottingham, is that right?
The Nottingham connection I think comes from our first label who were based there. We recorded an album in their studio and spent maybe the best part of six months getting drunk in various Nottingham venues. Mainly the Tap and Tumbler.
But otherwise no. I'm a Tyke, Aliens an Essaaax boy, Belle's from
Camden and Irish is well...erm...
It is said that the first rule of goth is that you deny you are a goth...
So with that in mind....are you a goth band?
If that's what people want to call us I don't really care. It's a cliche I
suppose but we really are not interested in categories. On a personal level
I've got older and got a family and I'm far less concerned with being
"popular". My relationship with music is my own, and it's entirely organic.
I write the songs I want to write that have meaning to me and my life. It
really is as simple as that.
Your albums have got progressively heavier and heavier, would you say that this was intentional or just the way that the Killing Miranda sound has developed?
I think we've got better able to express the intensity of some of the songs.
We're better musicians and as such we can play tighter, faster and more
expressively than once we could. There is some anger in the material so I
guess if we're better at expressing that then in places it will sound
heavier, but I don't know if there's been a conscious desire to get heavier.
I've heard that your next album might be going in a more electronic
direction, is this the case? If so, why have you taken this decision or was it a natural change?
I have said here and there that I would LIKE personally to try something
different on the next album. To be fair I haven't entirely got the others go
ahead on everything they've heard but the songs I've been writing have been
attempting to go in a variety of new directions and utilise a different
format to the last two albums.
This is mainly because I tend to get bored unless the songs I write can make some kind of quantum leap. And when I say "more electronic" that means utilising technology more mainly. In terms of direction I simply want to bring in some influences I think I've not quite dared before but really love personally. I feel liberated enough to do things that may seem crazy to some, even the other guys...but that's my way.
You seem to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the music
press, why do you think this is?
All I can really say to explain this is that music journalists are not the sort of people whose company I enjoy. Maybe it's my Mexican wife rubbing off on me but I like people I have a real connection with and music is not a big part of that so much as family, friendship and respect. The UK music press are what they are. Maybe they are right and I'm wrong, I really don't care anymore. All I want is to be happy and respected, it's a different thing from the quest for celebrity status.
The lyrics "Dreams in the Witch House, kiss from your poisoned mouth" feature on your Transgression by Numbers album. Is Dreams in the Witch House your favourite HP Lovecraft story then, or if not which is?
It's not actually. My favourite is one called "at the mountains of madness". Good old Howard Phillip is a real inspiration to me, not because he's a good writer (in fact in many respects he wasn't) but because he saw the world we think we see every day is basically a facade. And he was a reclusive psychosexual loony. Just like me.
You have always used a lot of cool samples in your songs. Are they all
generally from horror films? I'm particularly intrigued by some of the
samples on your latest album. Where are they from or can you not reveal their sources?
Erm. Best not on the whole. I choose samples that seem relevant and often from films I think influence our music. Crazy statement ? Not at all. On the whole I think cinema is a more realised art form than popular music and anyone who can't take their influences from what's actually around them but slavishly copies someone else's record is probably successful.
What is your favourite Horror Film of all time?
I'm going to put my neck on the line and say that the remake of The Grudge blew me away big time. I haven't been that frightened in ages. Maybe right now it's my favourite, but since this is probably due to recent exposure I'd have to be fair and say The Exorcist.
What do you think about the sudden explosion of Deathrock on the UK
goth scene? Do you think your music caters for people who like this genre of music because lyrically you are very dark, or do you not really care?
I preferred Snickers when they were called Marathon. And didn't Charmin toilet tissue used to be called something else ?
I feel like Marlon Brando is "last tango in Paris"..." I'm gonna get a hernia if you keep going on about names".
Do you feel more attached to the goth scene or the metal scene because many people view you as a crossover band? Do you agree?
We're a crossover band yes. Because we're not out to repackage bullshit and sell it to the gullible. Because we don;t subscribe to the lie that a band should try to have "a sound" and "can write for an audience". People who say the likes of that are exploiting people's need for identity. I think that's low and I will not do it.
"crossover" artists are the only true artists in my opinion. Anything else is elitist by nature and cynical in intent. Don't swallow it boys and girls.
Is the goth music scene and goth in general a bit of a cliché? Is the
goth music genre a bit of a dead end and does being classified as goth limit your general appeal?
Probably. But classification is nothing to do with us. As I've already
intimated, people can call us country and western if it makes them happy. Goth probably fits best because we like Bauhaus, grotty clubs and girls in fishnets, but then nobodies perfect. Hell I even wrote a poem in sixth form called "dark angel", but then back then I masturbated too much and smoked weed, which is for hippies and chavs innit.
It says on your website you were on the BBC TV show Inside Out, what
was that all about?
Something about the goth scene. Surprise surprise. I got to say " I've always been attracted to the dark side" on TV. Which is true. I love Darth Vader.
When reviewing your Consummate album, Mick Mercer said "It's like Billy Idol songs being played by giant robot owls" Is this a fair assessment?!?!?!? Have you ever been compared to an enormous bird before?
I think Big Bird is a Muppet isn't he? So yes I suppose I have.
What do you think of Marilyn Manson?
I likes his second and third album. He has a big nose. His missus is very nice thank you very much. I heard a rumour he was Kevin's best mate in The Wonder Years. But then I found out it wasn't true and I cried.
What happened with Nightbreed? Did you fall out? Was it an amicable
split?
No issues really. The label kinda lost allot of it's logistics and money and we needed to move on. Plus to be fair Trevor's endless "campfire stories" were making us suicidal.
What do you think of the Nottingham goth scene?
It was great in the late 90's. Seems a bit depressed now. Which is an
oxymoron if I remember my English language A level stuff.
Finally, one last burning question - Have you ever worn a pair of fake vampire fangs?
Yes! I was seven years old and it was Halloween.
