by Morgan Y. Evans
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Let’s face it. There’s a lot of pretty lackluster, wimpy ass bands preening around these days calling themselves the second coming of Rock N’ Roll (as if it ever left it’s true home down in the gutters!). Confederacy of Horsepower (from L.A., not the dirty South), are not one of those bands. That is putting it in such simple terms that even a Nickelback fan might understand it. [Aw, come on Morgan...even I have my Nickelback moments... --ed.] I mean, these guys play mean rock'n’roll. They play the type of Sleaze'n‘Roll mean spirited music that’ll make your girlfriend do crazy sex shit she never did with you to all of them. Bad person music, I like to call it. Bands like Confederacy of Horsepower, Zeke, Death Breath are all different , mostly hyper active, fast rock'n’roll bands (or death n’ roll in the case of Death Breath), but what they all have in common is they are the type of bands with the built in ability to start a bar fight in ten seconds flat. This is true dirt, not the so called “rock'n’roll” soundtrack to the majority of America who are probably protesting Budweiser’s potential acquisition by Beck’s/Stella Artois’ makers right now because they want it to “stay American” (how American sounding is “Anheuser-Busch”, people!)…but I digress.
Confederacy of Horsepower, founded by former NYC expatriate Joe Truck, is turning major heads and taking names with their hard fought and well-crafted new CD of sleazy bejesus rock, Vagabond Cabaret. I am fairly certain I heard one song, a cover of Zodiac Mindwarp’s “High Priest of Love” brag about knocking up girls or shooting babies out’ve dicks (which scared me too much to go back and check for sure). That is pretty fucked up several degrees more than Mick Jagger could have foreseen when he was writing “Under My Thumb” but also awesome if you can hang with the non-P.C. vibes and not get your whatever style female/male (to be P.C. and equal opportunity here…) undies in a bunch. Great production by Ricky Warwick (of the Almighty and Circus Diablo fame), cameos from Del James and Dizzy Reed thrown into the mix and the band kickin’ it balls out full tilt in infectiously grimy songs like “Throttlerocket” and the aforementioned “High Priest…” all add up to make this a good listen guaranteed to jolt you awake. You could never play it at work like, comparatively, some Hinder or something, which would barely bother some office clerks compared to what this stuff would do. It’s like the difference between some good blow and some bath tub meth that makes your eyes roll and fuckin’ vampire teeth instantly grow out your mouth 2 inches.
I asked band founder and bassist Joe Truck some questions about the new record, the Motorhead meets G’N’R comparisons they often get, rebuilding a rock-minded scene and all manner of other things. Dig in, if you dare!
MORGAN Y. EVANS: So, Confederacy of Horsepower! Let’s start with a multi-part mess of sort of related questions right off the top! You guys have a serious Dukes of Hazard fixation or what? Great tunes, really fun and gritty. “Mirror Mirror” feels good and rockin’ to listen to but also there’s this uncomfortable energy to it also, like watching somebody go off the deep end. Cool shit! I can see the Motorhead meets G’N’R comparisons you’ve gotten, especially the A-Side of the G’N’R LIES album.
JOE TRUCK: [laughing] Yeah, we have a WHITE TRASH fixation, thus the rebel flags, cars, n’ trashy looks!! A biker meets rock deal. We got the straight forward-ness of Motorhead with the hooks n’ attitude of G’N’R!!
MYE: How did this band come together and what does the name signify to you? Think anyone might be turned off by the word “confederacy”? It’s all context, really. You moved to L.A. from NY, right?
JT: Well to be honest I started this band because there were so few bands doin’ this kind of sleazy rock’n’roll. I had been doin’ a basic version of this in NYC called the Snake Charmers and people just didn’t get it. It was just us, Joker 5 Speed and the Sexslaves in NYC doin’ this real stripped down basic R’N’R sound.
MYE: Shit, man. People were all about ripping off the early Strokes records then… I remember seeing Joker 5 Speed stickers everywhere though. Those bands you mentioned all got around and definitely fought hard! So, then what happened?
JT: So when Snake Charmers broke up and I moved to LA. There was nothin’ like this goin' on out there either. I had heard Crank County Daredevils and wanted that kind of a vibe, so I started Confederacy and boom, 6 months later there’s 100 “sleaze rock “ bands popping up in Hollywood. Cool !! We have a scene!! As for the Confederacy name, nah. We get more shit for the rebel flag thing. They should bug SKYNYRD, not us! [laughing]
MYE: Will you tell me about the album title for the PedalToTheMetal records debut Vagabond Cabaret? I like it. It sounds roguish yet theatrical but could have some depth to it also, like the band’s material. You seem like a good time party band but grittier. Do you try to keep those things from overshadowing one or the other, the fun or “real life” sides?
JT: I don’t have to explain it. It sounded cool and you got it. Everyone digs it, so good.
MYE: Once you’d found the band, how did the whole song writing process go? You seem like a band who are having fun rocking and that the songs maybe come out of and develop from that energy rather than being too thought out ahead of time. Not that they are dumb or something, but I mean, it seems high energy and not, like, writing a Yes album or something. You guys rehearsed in an old abandoned porn theatre, right? Was it haunted by any ghostly old sluts?
JT: [laughing] The porn theater…We’ll never tell!!! Actually 3 of the songs are songs I wrote in the 80’s with my Hollywood band Spades, a few I wrote in NYC in the late 80’s with my bands Braineaters and Rocket Angel. We used to play all over the city with Circus of Power, Raging Slab, Law and Order, Princess Pang etc…We really had a cool scene back then and we all came out of the Lismar Lounge where my girls the CYCLE SLUTS were created!! (RIP-GLEN). We took those songs ..CONFEDERIZED ‘em and wrote a bunch more and there we were!!
MYE: Yeah, I love Cycle Sluts and Raging Slab also. I saw Dale Crover from Melvins play guitar with Slab once at CBGB’s. So how did you end up working with Ricky Warwick (from Circus Diablo and The Almighty) producing the debut? How was it working with him? There are some really raw sounds, like a real band. The bass punches your skull in. You can maybe tell the bassist started the band, in a good way. You also have Dizzy Reed involved with the record, right?
JT: Well, Christine [Natanael, editor of Crusher] pointed me towards the Circus Diablo camp and I chose Ricky because I was always a huge Almighty fan, I hit him up. He heard the material in demo form and loved it. We have become really great friends, too, and he was the greatest to work with. Ricky sings and plays on the record too, as does Del James and Dizzy Reed from GUNS’N’ROSES!! All through RICKY.
MYE: You guys are furthering the grime/glam rock revival, that cool sort of fusion of sleaze and street punk that is resurfacing but also taking new twists and turns. What do you think it is about the last few years that has brought about a shift in the underground to more types of rock’n’roll influenced stuff again, I mean, including everything from big guitar bands like Priestess to the punk’n’roll stuff like the Bronx? Also,where do you hope to fit in and/or what do you want to accomplish other than ass-kicking unsuspecting audiences?
JT: Well, I love Priestess and The Bronx…but I don’t think either of them are FURTHERING this type of sound. They are both very different bands and great in their own right. We could play with either of them and feel comfortable. This whole “revival” has been brewin’ for years and finally came to a head about a year ago with Crank County and a few others getting some recognition and now US!! Yeah it’s kinda like the Sex Pistols meets Faster Pussycat vibe-wise.
MYE: “Throttle Rocket” reminds me of NYC more than L.A. Something about the energy is like a heavier NY Dolls or something but like, in a bar fight instead of in drag or nodding out. It’s got this ballsy feel but still catchy.
JT: We call it TURBONEGRO meets the DOLLS!! It’s a story song!!!it seems to be a popular track on the record and it was the biggest “band “ written song.
MYE: What got you into this kind of music growing up or later in life? It takes a certain kind of persona, to put it nicely. Not every rocker goes trash-rock, though maybe if more did there’d be better music on average. Still, you wear influences on your sleeves and have some classic ones like Alice Cooper and early Aerosmith along with some newer ones but still also are adept at writing your own songs.
JT: Alice. Aerosmith. Kiss. Judas Priest…then later G’N’R, Faster Pussycat. That whole thing. I was in Hollywood in 1988 SEEING all those bands and soakin’ it all in. Then I took that back to NYC and it’s been in me for years, just a bad ass bunch of rock'n'roll scumbag gypsies playing souped up hot rod rock!!!
MYE: Awesome. How has it been working with the indie label PedalToTheMetal? How’d you decide on them? There was a buzz about Confederacy before you had even played shows, so it seems like you could have picked from a few labels, right?
JT: We never even considered a label. PedalToTheMetal is just for our distro and we got a great distro real. But now we are DEFINITELY looking to sign with someone. The new songs are KICK ASS. We are writing with Del James of Use Your Illusion fame.
MYE: What are some things about music that make it worth becoming a Vagabond to you, for example? I mean, the obvious answer is the girls and glory, right? L.A. seems like it is maybe more happening again right now, since New York has gotten pretty sterile in a lot of people’s opinion. I still love it, but…anyway, it still takes guts to be a rocker, I guess is my point. There’s a lot of judgemental mental cases out there.
JT: These days I just do it for the fuckin’ love of being on stage, lovin’ playin'. Rockin’ out. I’m still a gypsy but I’ve got kids. I miss em!! Yeah, NYC is my HOME, don’t get me wrong, but there is NO SCENE!!!!! Go back to what I said earlier. It used to have the best scene in the world!! SAD~~but when it comes back, we’ll be here!!!
MYE: Yeah, if it does it’ll be strong and the
Earth will shake! What’s next for the band? What would you hope
to be doing by the end of the year? Also, what are some artists/peers
or otherwise that are thrilling you these days or on the flipside, are
repugnant?
‘
JT: Well, we just recorded a cover of “Backseat
Mama” for a Circus Of Power tribute record. We have an Italian record
coming out . A French CD, too. We are playin’ all over the place
in California and at the end of the year we go to the UK!! Next year JAPAN!!!
And like I said, we are writing the next record with Del James !! I’m
digging the Scandinavian stuff...Hardcore Superstar, Babylon Bombs, 69
eyes. Not digging the FAKE ASS EMO with a touch of trash that the labels
are trying to pass off as SLEAZE [laughing]. It’s such bullshit.
A hot topic GUNS tee shirt and yer SLEEEEEEAZE!!!!!!! Shout outs to Sleazegrinder
and our dude Skid from SLEAZEROXX.com We love you all!! Cheers!!
MYE: Thanks man. Good shit. Keep the faith. Balls deep.