ASHTRAY ELECTRIC
PHOTO BY: Adriaan Louw  l  WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/ashtrayelectric

YOUR DEBUT ALBUM TITLED “BONJOUR” WAS RELEASED IN APRIL LAST YEAR. IS IT ALMOST SECOND ALBUM TIME?

RUDI: There are always talks of a new album. We’ve started working on some new material but there are no definite dates etc for a new album.

ANDRE: Yeah, we itching to play new things live so we sating to mix things up a bit, but in terms of a new album we wanna make sure the 2nd one doesn’t disappoint and that might take time.

RUPERT: I think we all would like to hope to release a second album before the end of the year, but we will have to see what happens. The song writing for the next album will definitely take some time.

REGARDT: I would say so. We have been working on numerous projects in the last 4 months which made it quite difficult to focus on our new album. We finally have time set aside to write and compose some new music specifically for the album.

AS MUSICIANS YOU PROBABLY ALWAYS HAVE ONE OR TWO SONG IDEAS FLOATING AROUND. WOULD YOU SAY THE MUSIC THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WRITING LATELY HAS CHANGED A LOT COMPARED TO THE BAND’S OLDER MATERIAL?

REGARDT: Definitely. I think 60 ideas is more accurate! As time goes by you grow as a person and I think that it reflects in the music. As a band we also made a conscious decision to move forward and progress with our music. I don’t think you should box yourself in; there are so many avenues to explore. People are probably expecting more of the same which could have worked for us but personally we want to expand our perimeters.

ANDRE: We have tons of idea floating around. Some are rubbish, some are funny, and some are awesome. One needs to experiment to progress.

RUDI: Yeah for sure. We’re working harder and becoming better musicians / song-writers every day. One needs to progress to stay ahead I think.

RUPERT: Absolutely. The older material was basically created while we were jamming in the rehearsal studio. I think the older material is a bit more simple in a way than our new stuff. Not that the older stuff are necessarily not that good, I believe less is more especially when it comes to music, but our song writing has definitely changed quite a bit since then. Now a days there is a lot more time spend on songs.

TOWARDS THE END OF NOVEMBER LAST YEAR THERE WAS A POST ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE ABOUT HEADING INTO THE STUDIO FOR A COLLABORATION. IS IT STILL A SURPRISE OR CAN YOU TELL US MORE?

RUDI: Yeah, the colab is still on its merry way. Due to touring and stuff the song just hasn’t been finished yet. Maybe one of the other guys can tell you who it’s with… ha ha.

ANDRE: Haha. It’s not a big secret but it’s not set in concrete yet. So would rather plant the seed of anticipation.

RUPERT: Ja, I know there has been some delays with the colab due to touring and so on. It is still on its way. Hopefully the song will be finished some time soon this year. I never thought Ashtray Electric would do a colab with this great artist, it is a exciting project so if all goes well it will be out soon.

REGARDT: We are still going ahead as planned… It is the first time we are doing this sort of thing. I’m hoping to finalise everything in studio next week and if all goes well it should hit the radio stations soon after.

SINCE YOUR DEBUT ALBUM WAS RELEASED THE BAND HAS DONE A LOT OF TOURING. WOULD YOU SAY THE BAND HAS SUCCEEDED IN PROMOTING AND INTRODUCING ITSELF ENOUGH TO LIVE AUDIENCES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THAT MOST PEOPLE NOW KNOW WHAT ASHTRAY ELECTRIC IS ABOUT?

RUDI: One would like to think so. If the amount of people at shows that know the words to the songs are anything to go by then yes, I think we have definitely succeeded on some sort of level.

RUPERT: I think we have succeeded. We try our best to get our music out there. Sometimes we get to places where we never played before, and then see people that sing along and know some of our songs.

ANDRE: Success is relative I guess. What ever we’ve achieved it’s been fun getting there. So fuck it.

REGARDT: It’s hard to measure really. A good couple of shows went down last year. I’m happy to say that we really performed as much as we could. In my opinion we succeed in terms of introducing ourselves to the country. We sort of formed a sturdy foundation where we can work from.

WHAT SHOW OR VENUE THAT YOU HAVE PERFORMED AT WOULD YOU RATE AS THE MOST “INTERESTING” FOR WHATEVER REASON SO FAR?

RUDI: ‘Interesting?’ The best would probably have to be Kirstenbosch. Other than that Hotbox Studios in Pretoria is a pretty ‘interesting’ venue - it’s literally a backyard and you play on the ‘stoep’. Amazing venue and vibe though.

RUPERT: For me the most interesting venue so far was a place called the CCHQ - somewhere in Mellville I think. I can’t remember what the name was exactly, but this venue was like nothing we have seen before. The whole place is decorated with antiques, and all sorts of things that you don’t normally see in venues. It sort of looks like a horror house / Halloween vibe kind of place. Very cool spot, we would definitely play there again sometime.

ANDRE: Yeah I think the most interesting was CCHQ in Johannesburg. It’s an old antique store that has been converted into a bar decorated in old Rocky Horror style. It’s awesome.

REGARDT: By far, CCHQ in Primrose, JHB. It felt as if we performed a show in a museum filled with antique S&M paraphernalia.

WHILE TOURING THINGS GO RIGHT BUT SOMETIMES THINGS GO WRONG AS WELL I GUESS. WOULD YOU SAY THE BAND HAS “MATURED” MORE THAN EVER DURING THIS PAST YEAR AS A RESULT OF THESE EXPERIENCES?

ANDRE: Especially when you’re self-managed, no ones likes getting the blame so we’ve learnt to do things right purely out of fear of getting ridiculed by the rest.

REGARDT: Yes, I think so. The bigger part or factor that plays out is in the relationships we have with each other. You learn more about each other, through the good times and all the bullshit that comes with it and you almost always seem to come out more refined and focussed after a long trip on the road.

RUDI: It goes wrong more than sometimes. But yes, one definitely matures and start to get a feeling for how certain shows/situations should be handled.

RUPERT: Ja we have learned a lot in the past two years, whether we were working in the studio or on the road.

DO YOU HAVE A ROUGH IDEA YET WHERE YOU ARE TOURING AND WOULD LIKE TO TOUR MORE THIS YEAR?

ANDRE: The further and wider we can go this year the better. I just get told where to be and when. Ha ha.

RUDI: We’re in the process of sorting all of this out. With all the World Cup business going down this year we’re trying to check what’s happening with other events and so on. We do have a couple of shows booked for up-country and around CT thus far though.

REGARDT: I would like to tour the coastal towns more this year.

RUPERT: We will have to see what happens this year. We do have a couple of exciting shows booked so far for January and February. I would like to play some shows along the east coast. We haven’t done too many shows along the coast thus far.

YOU GUYS ALSO RELEASED YOUR SECOND VIDEO FOR THE SONG “WHEN SEX BECOMES A SPORT” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8x8xoA4_wk). TELL US MORE ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF THE VIDEO AND WHO DIRECTED IT?

ANDRE: It was initially conceptualized on the whole night bus feeling. It’s a very interesting space to be in. Some people are going home, others going out. Each with their own story to tell but a social angst preventing us from connecting. And then we just wanted to experiment with some special effects. Very self satisfying experience.

REGARDT: Life goes on. Doesn’t matter what happens you know, things change but life will go on whether you are part of it or not.

RUDI: This is actually our third video. The guys from the African Attachment (who also shot, produced and directed) and ourselves refined the concept over a matter of weeks. It’s basically how certain actions effect other people’s lives without us even knowing about it. Or am I talking shit guys?

RUPERT: The video was directed and produced by our good friends from The African Attachment. This was the second time we worked with them. They also shot the video for ” Quite Overstared “. As for the concept, a lot people say that the video has nothing to do with Sex or Sport or whatever, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be about that. So I think a lot different things will be taken from the videe, but I think Rudi says it well.

RUDI (GUITAR) GETS HIT IN FACE WITH A BASEBALL BAT BY FRANCOIS VAN COKE (FOKOFPOLISIEKAR) AND ANDRE (VOCALS) IS HIT BY A BUS IN THE VIDEO. HOW MUCH WERE SPECIAL EFFECTS AND HOW CLOSE DID RUDI COME TO GETTING HIT IN THE FACE FOR REAL OR WAS IT PLANNED REALLY WELL?

RUPERT: There was a lot planning before these shots took action. It was exciting as I have never been involved in a shoot like this.

RUDI: There’s probably less than people think to be honest. The guys at The African Attachment took care of the VFX, it was pretty intensive but most of it was planned before hand so it all went as close to plan as these indie shoots can go.

YOU ALSO DID THE DOCUMENTARY “LEAD ME TO SEA” WHICH INTRODUCED THE BAND MEMBERS AND TOOK A CLOSER LOOK AT THE INTER-RELATIONS AND DYNAMICS OF THE BAND. YOU GUYS ARE SLOWLY BUILDING A DVD PACKAGE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT?

ANDRE: Nowadays I don’t think just releasing an album cuts it anymore. What ever medium you can connect with people is worth investigating and experimenting with.

RUDI: ha ha - now that you mention it, probably yes.

RUPERT: Yeah the DVD thing was something that wasn’t really done before for the release of a debut album, but I think it just helps to introduce the band and to give a little bit of background.

REGARDT: Setting goals and think forward, hey Rudi? Haha, nah, don’t think it’s really part of the long term plan.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR ANYTHING ELSE FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR?

RUDI: Keep a lookout for some new stuff in the near future.

RUPERT: If you don’t want to miss a show; go check out, www.myspace.com/ashtrayelectric. And any other information on the band can be found at www.ashtrayelectric.co.za

REGARDT: The second album is going to be killer man! We are thinking of launching a digital EP and then a full album later in this year. We are putting everything we have and hold dear into this album so hopefully it will satisfy!

ANDRE: Everyone should join the Facebook page to stay up to date. And 2010 is gonna be fun so you don’t wanna be left behind. Become a fan.

INTERVIEW BY NEIL VAN ZYL