Rock N Roll Experience - Sex Pistols Experience - May 4, 2006 - Baltimore!

The Sex Pistols Experience are playing the Ram's Head Live in Baltimore on Thursday, May 4, 2006, & if you are a huge Sex Pistols fan, this is the closest thing you're gonna ever get to seeing the band in their prime! The Sex Pistols Experience recreates the vibe, mood, energy, & looks of the original Sex Pistols with an un-canny likeness & devotion. I had the chance to ask the guys a few questions, & here's what they had to say:

Rock N Roll Experience: Why did you choose to start a Sex Pistols cover band?

Drummer Paul Crook:- We're not a 'cover' band, its far more than that, any half arsed musician can be in any old cover band, this is more of a show, or a piece of theatre. It had been on my mind since the early 90's when the tribute band scene started up in the u.k, all the bands were being done, the Who, the Beatles, ABBA, Queen, you name it, but no-one had done the Sex Pistols, one of the u.k's most visual , exciting and influential bands of all time.! I had to do it, being as i was a huge Pistols fan, & had learned to play the drums at the age of 12yrs by playing along to their album 'Never Mind The Bollocks'. But all the four charecters had to look right, & have the right chemistry,& contary to popular oppinion, they, the Sex Pistols band, could really play their instruments too, listen to Glen Matlocks bass lines on the early stuff, and Steve Jones's guitar sound is still today, unique, and incredibly powerful. And the drumming is that of the Beatles, straight down the line, simple, yet effective. The Beatles wouldnt be anything like they were without Ringo, and the same can be said of the Pistols without Paul Cook's drumming. After being involved with other bands over the years it wasn't until 2000 when i found myself free to be able to persue my idea, so i began to advertise & start the auditioning process. I soon found the right mix of people, also mad pistols fan's, who not only could play very well, & knew the songs inside-out, but also looked the part so well too. Then off we went.

Rock N Roll Experience: Has Johnny Rotten/Lydon acknowledged your cover band?

Johnny Forgotten:- We know for sure he know's of us, we sent him a live Dvd some time ago, and he sent some of his close friends over to see us perform on our last U.S.A tour when we played in L.A, - they loved us, thought the show was fantastic, came out the back stage area to meet us & were going crazy about it all..! Then we were invited to appear on Steve Jones's Radio show in L.A, 'Jonesy's Jukebox on indi 103.1, we had a great time on air with him, singing & playing the song's on air, it was only a couple of day's later that Johnny Rotten Lydon then came on his show too, & Steve would most certainly have talked to him about us. So we've had good feedback from Glen Matlock, Steve Jones & Paul Cook, but no direct word from Rotten yet, we hope he'd see it as a huge compliment, that anyone would go to so much trouble to do what were doing. At least he can rest assured that we do it well enough to tour the world on it!! I'm sure he'd have something to say if we were doing it badly & therfore not doing the Sex Pistols any justice.!? There was rumer, in fact Steve Jones asked us, to go along to the Rock'n'Roll hall of fame awards to collect the induction award on their behalf, Johnny would have had to have been in on that, we saw it a great 'joke' on the ceremony, turn up secretly, as the announcement was made "here's the Sex Pistols" we then would of walked out..! but in the end we ran out of time to get it all arranged. We're heading back out to L.A this fall, so perhaps he might cross paths with us then. But we oftern expect him to turn up at one of the England show's, just unnexpectedly turn up, that'd be cool... so long as he liked us..!?

Rock N Roll Experience: What do you think of the "new" punk bands like Greenday & the Offspring?

Steve Clones:- Call them what you like, but they've kept the 'Punk' flag flying on both side's of the atlantic for far longer than the sex pistols did.! They've also been responsible for turning a whole new generation onto the Pistols, the Clash, Ramones etc, & that can only be a good thing, without bands like these the 'spirit of punk' might be just that, a spirit, an old long forgotten ghost.!? They keep music exciting, keep it alive, their live show's are great, and its all good entertainment. Green Days 'American Idiot' is probably THE best album i've heard in the last 5 years. Nothing wrong in that.

Kid Vicious:- Too much eye make-up for my likes, are they gay or what?

Rock N Roll Experience: Does the band also write & record original material, or are you strictly a cover band?

Paul Crook:- We're the worlds No'1 Sex Pistols Tribute show, there's no room to deviate at this level, although we are all capable of writing & performing our own stuff should we ever need to in the future, but & all of us have been down that road to varing degree's of success, and on the whole its very difficult to get the breaks, especially coming from the northern regions of England, there's just not the audiences there, no money in it, no talent scouts, it a constant up-hill battle that most likely will lead to nowhere. I spent 12 years with a good band doing all original stuff, paying money to play at most venues! To next to no audience, waste of time unfortunatly. But that was in the early 90's, a time before computers & scanners, before email, everything was done by telephone, and much harder to get the word out. Which is why i decided that the Tribute band thing would be a way forward, you have an instant audience, all the hard work making a name for yourself has been done. So its not like we didnt try that route, to be original, come up with new material, but at our age, we're all almost 40yrs of age, whats the point?? We just want to have some fun with the music now, & there's nothing better than seeing a full crowd going nuts to something we're doing, all -be-it to another (great) bands music. I know for a fact that I'd never of been able to tour the world & wouldnt have so many great stories & experiences had it not for playing in a covers/tribute band, so to my mind this is/has been a successful music career for me.

Rock N Roll Experience: Have you seen the KISS, led zeppelin, queen, etc., cover bands & what do you think of them?

Johnny Forgotten:- We dont often get a chance to see too many of them as were always out playing ourselves, but we do occasionally get to see them if we're sharing the bill at a festival or something. Generally, most of them at our level are great, it really is a good way to experience your favorite band up close for less than half the ticket price.! The problem is though, there's so many of the Kiss, Queen, Led zep bands out there, all doing the same music, fighting over who's going to play the venues first, some are good, and most are terrible, there's varing degree's to the quality of these bands. Some are just 'cover bands', 4 or 5 guys hammering out the music, not always correctly, so long as it sounds something like it should, then it'll do..! Thats not good enough to my mind, it has to be done right & presented well, with attention to detail, solid rehearsals to be sure that everthing is spot-on, then you rise above that 'cover band' status, and become a worthwhile tribute show. Set a high standard for yourself & the band, that way your ensuring people who come to see the show will be impressed & return again & again, and go away from the show talking about your band for days afterwards. Thats what we want, the whole Sex Pistols 'Experience'.! By having these high standards your also doing justice to your chosen band. With the Sex Pistols - there is only 'us' out there doing it as far as i know, or the 'real' sex pistols...! But you won't see them playing live anymore, the sex pistols torch is now in our hands & we'll continue to do our best to portray it as 'they' would like it to be, powerful, dynamic, exciting and most of all, just down-right good fun.!

Rock N Roll Experience: What is the most chaotic thing that has ever happened on stage during one of your performances?

Kid Vicious:- Every show something happens, we get so many incidents, you just never know whats coming next, all the gigs tend to get quite lively, we get quite a few involving 'girls' type incidents, which is always nice.! But i don't want to go into too much detail about some the crazy things that happen through not wanting to encorage any repeate actions.! The exciting part, for the crowd, is not knowing whats going to happen next, maybe nothing.!?? Who know's.

Rock N Roll Experience: What did you think of the Sex Pistols "reunion" tour?

All band:- We all though it was great, they still had relevence in 96 as much as they did in 76'.

J.Forgotten:- And good on them for admitting it was all for the money -the'filth lucre'. They we're long overdue their pay day, their ex manager took off with all their money at the end of the 70's, so i'm happy for them that they did the tours, healed old wounds, earned some money, and raised their status to a whole new generation. AND gave a chance for all those who missed out the first time to get a 2nd chance to see the band. I'm also glad that they didnt keep quiet over the Queens golden jubilee celebrations.! There was more uk press about the Sex Pistols playing in London, than there was about the Queen turning 103 or whatever she is..!?

Rock N Roll Experience: Do you have a favorite Sex Pistols song?

Paul Crook:- The whole of the Never Mind the Bollocks album has stood the test of time, every song is a classic, one after another. It still sounds fresh today, and still influences bands the world over, if i had to choose one, purely on a favorite to 'play' on drums - 'New York'.

Johnny Forgotten:- 'Bodies', say's it all to me.!

Kid Vicious:- 'Belsen was a gas' just cos it gets the best reaction, we played it recently in Berlin, Germany, we though the place was going to explode..! or "Holidays in the Sun", when the guitar solo come's in, makes all the hairs stand up..!

Steve Clones:- I dunno, im just in it for the beer & women...and not in that order..!

And on that note, I don't think you could end an interview more appropriate than that! The Sex Pistols Experience are playing May 4, 2006 at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore...you can check out the bands web site at: SEX PISTOLS EXPERIENCE. & you can get show in at Ram's Head Live. Tix are $10 in advance & $12 the day of show...See you guys at the show!

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