by Stella Kim
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Here’s an interview with Acey Slade, the main man of Trashlight Vision.
ACEY SLADE: I am Acey Slade.
SK: What are you up to?
AS: Our album, which has been out in Japan and Europe for about eight months, is finally getting released in the U.S on July 10th, so we’re doing a couple of shows to ruffle people’s feathers, let people know.
SK: Going anywhere soon?
AS: When the album comes out, we’re gonna do a couple shows on the East Coast then we’ll head over to Europe and Japan. When we come back, we’re gonna tour the States for a couple months, then back to Europe and Japan. That’s the plan.
SK: Tell me a little bit about the album being released in the U.S.
AS: A lot of Alibis and Ammunition was recorded
while we were on tour. Some of it in the U.K, some in this weird studio
in Rhode Island, a lot in Philly. I came up with the cover art and the
design. I love the whole burlesque theme but wanted to add to it a bit.
I feel like when we were writing that album, we were finding ourselves
as a band. We found that deep down, when we were really pressed to look
at ourselves and do some self-examination, that we were nothing but some
rock’n’roll dirtbags, haha. So on the new album, we are able
to kind of push out a little bit more. But at the same time, if you didn’t
like the last one, chances are you won’t like this one either. And
if you don’t like rock’n’roll, you won’t like
us!
SK: So the album had been released in Europe and Japan for months. What took so long to release the album in the U.S? Was it hesitation on your part to choose the right label or difficulty of shopping your kind of music?
AS: It was a little bit of both. I think American labels right now are ambulance chasers. Whatever they think is hot, they’re gonna run after. They don’t have much creativity or imagination. With Trashlight, I don’t think they need any creativity or imagination. It’s been really frustrating, like people say “You guys are like Guns’N’Roses meet Green Day.” I don’t necessarily agree with that, but okay, they’re two of the biggest bands in the world, so what’s the problem? Then a lot of times people are like “You don’t sound exactly like Green Day or like Guns’N’Roses.” But you know, all the bands that influenced us didn’t sound exactly like anybody. They weren’t genre-specific.
SK: How has Alibis and Ammunition been received in the U.K and Japan?
AS: Very well. Kerrang magazine gave us four out of
five, and this Japanese magazine gave us ten out of ten. I wanna know
who paid for that!
SK: For people who have never seen or heard Trashlight Vision, finish this sentence. You’d love Trashlight Vision, if you...
AS: If you love getting naked and rubbing icy hot all over your body.
SK: You’re the frontman in Trashlight Vision as opposed to what you were in Dope and Murderdolls. This is also your band, your vision, your songs. How do you feel about that?
AS: It’s cool. It’s a lot harder. Quite honestly, it’s a lot harder than I thought it would be, but it’s certainly more gratifying. The side guy thing is cool ‘cause it’s kind of like being on a vacation, where as this is having to be on the clock twenty-four-seven. But I like that. I mean, if people wanna take time out of their day to talk about me, then cool.
SK: Are you in charge of the band’s business side as well, like management?
AS: No, we
have a manager.
AS: I met Joe Letz, who’s filling in the drums tonight, when I was touring with Amen. He lives two blocks from my house. We were good friends, so when we were auditioning drummers and wanted to play some shows, I was like “Hey, what are you doing?” He plays in a band called Combichrist, and they had one month break in a touring cycle.
SK: No, I meant what happened to the original drummer, Lenny.
AS: Let’s say things didn’t work out.
SK: What does visual mean to you and Trashlight Vision? For instance, Murderdolls was obviously a visual-heavy band.
AS: With Trashlight, I wanted to do something similar but with a little more depth to it. Even though we’re still a trashy, sleazy rock band, I wanted to do something that appealed to people beyond that horror punk crowd. I wanted to do something with a little more sleaze in it. The analogy that I always use is Murderdolls is Motley Crue, this is Guns’N’Roses.
AS: Definitely playing the Download festival in England. The compliments we’ve received from Charlie from UK Subs. That was very flattering. He’s a big supporter of us. That’s cool ‘cause he’s a pretty legendary guy. When I toured with Amen, I got to be friends with Nikki Sixx, that was pretty cool too. And playing in the Roadrunner United thing, that was really, really cool. I’m not a metal guy, but I certainly know how big and important those metal guys are or were, so being of that was like, who the fuck am I?
SK: What about lowlights? The moments you thought you were gonna give up.
AS: I never thought about quitting. But the lowest point
probably was when I was attacked by a skinhead in North Carolina and had
to stop the tour. What really sucked about that was the label we were
signed to was bankrupt. Like as we signed the deal, they were going bankrupt,
which we didn’t know. They hid it from us. I guess they were hoping
they were gonna get money back. So we ended up out on tour with no money
when they were supposed to give us tour support, then this guy attacked
me out of nowhere after a show. I thought I was gonna lose my hearing,
and we had to cancel the rest of the tour. That really sucked. That was
really, really frustrating. I did two more shows after that to prove a
point, but the doctor said I could lose my hearing if I continued, so
we had to stop.
SK: You’re obviously a New York City guy now and seem to have been around for a while. As you know, old school New York City rock people tend to grieve and lament the state of the rock scene, understandably. How do you feel about that? Are you pessimistic about it or do you have a “fuck it, we’ll make it better” spirit?
AS: Part of the problem is you got all these people bitching, pissing, and moaning, but they don’t come out to any shows. So they really only have themselves to blame. Like you go to Cleveland, you play there on a Monday night, it’s nine o’clock, and there isn’t anything to do. There’s a lot of ground between New York City and L.A that has only a Seven Eleven open all night long. And these are big cities. I think New Yorkers take that for granted. They’re like “Oh, fuck this, let’s go home” till we’re playing arenas. I think that’s a big mistake by a lot of New Yorkers. I kind of like the fact that the scene’s dead to an extent. There are probably some bands that disagree, but I honestly feel like we’re the only band carrying the torch right now. I take a lot of pride in that. I like being the only dangerous, trashy rock band in New York right now, like Toilet Boys, Ramones, the Throbs, or Cro-Mags. And I take a lot of pride in that. I don’t feel bad about it. Makes me more unique, I guess.
SK: A lot of fans are hoping for the Murderdolls reunion. Any chance of that happening?
AS: I don’t know. I really don’t know. That’s an honest answer. I have no idea. I would love to do it again, I really would. But there’s a lot of politics involved. There’s so much happening with Trashlight. I mean we’re about to record a second album with Daniel Rey. He’s a New York City legend. He did Ramones, Misfits, Hellacopters. If you’re a New York punk’n’roll band, you’ve passed through his production skills, so we’re really honored by that. So if Murderdolls wanna get back together tomorrow, no fucking way I’m passing that up.
SK: Final words?
AS: Watch your Munsters reruns. And if you hate your scene and hate your town, fucking move. Just sitting on your ass and complaining gets nothing done!
Trashlight Vision’s debut album, Alibis and Ammunition, will be
released on July 10th from Rock Ridge Music in the United States.
