PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
SPOOKSHOW INC. have just revealed a stunning video for the track, Virtual Insanity, which is plucked from their recently released double album, Visions of The Blinded World pt. I & II, out via their own label, Thunder of The Distant Planet. We grilled the band about the sound and background:
What is the full band line-up, who sings and who plays which instrument?
Lucky Spook – Songwriting, lyrics, guitars, programing, samples.
Soltex-vocals.
Sharaz-drums, bass.
How and when did the band form?
Spookshow inc. story started in 2001 when Lucky Spook came back to Vilnius (Lithuania) from 1,5 year long stay in UK and met Soltex. The band they formed was called Planet Dogbone first, and in 2003 band name changed to Spookshow inc. At this time Vilnius was recovering from post-soviet lethargic slumber and embracing western culture, rock music included.
When and how did the band really start gelling and solidifying?
After time spent in UK and being exposed to new possibilities of music production in form of DAW, use of samples and other technology, Lucky Spook knew pretty well what kind of sound he was after. Idea was to mix emerging styles such as breakbeat, drum-n-bass etc. with rock and metal riffs, adding different atmospheres with the help of samples and other new production technologies . Possibilities in sound shaping and production were many and Spookshow inc. took advantage of these right from the start.
Who are your musical influences?
As for influences, the biggest one for Lucky Spook was Pink Floyd, especially The Final Cut album. For Soltex it was Pantera. Looking back into the youth years, Lucky Spook studied classical guitar for a couple of years before turning his attention to electric guitar. At the time of forming the Spookshow inc. I was into Ministry, Faith No More, Paradise Lost (which remains one of my favourite bands to this day), Die Krupps, Skinny Puppy, White Zombie, Prodigy, Young Gods, Aphex Twin, Nick Cave, NIN, Marilyn Manson. Another of my all-time favourite is Tricky.
Where did the name of the band come from?
Name of the band came from Rob Zombie song Spookshow Baby. In addition to that, I always loved theatre and circus and in a way, it seemed like natural thing to call the band Spookshow inc.
In your opinion, how is your band different from all the other bands out there?
Spookshow inc. is different from other bands because we mix and blend a vast array of styles and genres. Many bands stay true to one chosen direction-genre. In this way Spookshow inc. is different. We try to use most of expression possibilities of sound production that both instruments and modern technology has to offer. Some styles like good time funk and direct blues influences we try to avoid using #, because these do not fit our ideology, but otherwise we are open to most of the possibilities. One part of these are modern beats, be it drum-n-bass, break beats, sub bass, ethnic instruments like didgeridoo, sitar, wind instruments, ethno percussion and countless other. When writing songs, we aim to create a sort of cinematic movie-theatre atmosphere for a listener. But we are conscious of not getting too far out into avantgarde territory- still, the songs have conventional structures like intro, verse, chorus, outro, it’s just that we use many different sounds. Some songs have up till 200 separate tracks.
If a deaf person were to ask you to describe the sound of your music, how would you describe it?
I would refer to such topics as movies, circus, books, controversies of modern society and religion, history and mysticism. Dynamic and provocative sound attitude, music aimed at the listener who is not afraid to explore sounds beyond the mainstream genres.
Where can we find your social media sites?
https://www.facebook.com/spookshowinc/
https://spookshowinc.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/spookshowinc1?lang=en
https://soundcloud.com/spookshow-inc-1
