PHOTO COURTESY OF NEVERGOTCAUGHT.COM
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/theywantmore
COUNTRY: United States  l  STYLE: Rock

Questions answered by Billy (Drums)

HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN AWAY WITH SOMETHING BIG OR SMALL AND MADE PEOPLE BELIEVE IT WAS SOMEBODY ELSE AND WHO WOULD YOU SAY IS THE BIGGEST “TROUBLEMAKER” IN THE BAND?

Well, I’m no master thief or anything but I have had a lot of luck steering clear of Buford T Justice. I think our Bassist is the biggest trouble maker in the band, he’s always doing crimes, he likes to get sushi and not pay.

WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL IDEA FOR THE SOUND THAT YOU WANTED THIS BAND TO HAVE AND HOW CLOSE WOULD YOU SAY THE BAND HAS COME TO THAT SOUND?

We originally wanted the band to sound aggressive without coming off as angry. We also wanted to have some slower, dark sounding songs; I think Creepshow has that type of feel. Lately we’ve just been trying to write of the kind of music we want to hear without worrying too much about what type of audience it will appeal to.

THE BAND USES “VINTAGE” GEAR AND HAS A BIT OF AN OLD SCHOOL VIBE TO IT. WHO WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOU AS A MUSICIAN TO THIS DAY?

Other than the obvious legendary ones, the drummers I’ve seen the most have had an influence on me. There was a band from Boston, called Stompbox, who my old band Tree used to do a lot of shows with. Their drummer, Zeph Courtney, was real good. I’ve also played a lot of shows with Clutch, so J.P. Gastor has had an effect on my style I’m sure. My brother Bryan, who sings and plays guitar in Never Got Caught, can also lay down some real original sounding beats. There’s a lot I could list but I think the ones I’ve played a lot of shows with that creep into my style almost unconsciously.

As far as song writing goes, I try and get ideas from movie scenes.

YOUR LATEST ALBUM IS TITLED “CREEPSHOW”. WHY DID YOU GUYS CHOOSE THAT TITLE AND DO YOU GET CREEPED OUT BY THINGS EASILY OR AT THIS POINT IN YOUR LIVES YOU MUST HAVE PROBABLY SEEN EVERYTHING YOU NEEDED TO SEE?

We chose the title Creepshow because it loosely tied in the lyrical content of most of the songs, dark, down and out, shady.

WILL MOST OF THIS YEAR BE DEDICATED TO TOURING OR ARE YOU GUYS ALREADY WORKING ON YOUR NEXT RELEASE?

We are working on new material now but we are always trying to get in front of a new audience. We’re hoping to get another tour or two going before the fall, if not we’ll keep writing. We’re hoping to have something new to release in the late fall.

HAVE YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEMPT DIFFERENTLY ON YOUR NEXT ALBUM COMPARED TO YOUR PREVIOUS ALBUMS?

We are trying not to push our new songs towards any specific sound, we try to let each song find its own identity and then decide if it works for the band or not. A lot my brother comes in with great song ideas that just don’t seem to fit with our other material. We try to be conscious not to change them to make them fit, if they don’t, they don’t.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST ABOUT THE SONG WRITING PROCESS AND IN WHAT MINDSET DO YOU USUALLY HAVE TO PUT YOURSELF IN TO WRITE YOUR BEST?

For me, the best part of writing songs is when it comes easily. I think if the ideas flow together easily it makes the song more exciting to write. You get a certain rush when you know you got something good happening and its coming without much of a struggle. We try to keep an open mind to each other’s opinions when we write; we try every idea at least once.

IS THERE ONE SONG THAT HAS KIND OF BECOME A BAND FAVOURITE AND WILL ALMOST NEVER DISAPPEAR FROM YOUR SET LIST?

There are a few songs that make it into our set list consistently, Charlotte 2 comes to mind, we try to switch it up though.

NOW THAT THE BAND HAS BEEN GOING FOR A FEW YEARS WOULD YOU SAY FANS FROM THE PREVIOUS BANDS THAT YOU HAVE PERFORMED IN HAVE EMBRACED NEVER GOT CAUGHT WITH OPEN ARMS OR IS IT TRUE THAT WHEN YOU BEGIN A NEW BAND YOU BASICALLY START AT THE BEGINNING AGAIN?

I would say it’s more like starting over. There are a lot of familiar faces at the shows but the scene has changed a lot, torches have been passed.

I GUESS YOU GUYS ARE THE TYPE OF PEOPLE THAT ONE WILL NEVER SEE BEHIND DESK. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE BEST ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE AS A MUSICIAN?

I think it’s being able to affect people; the idea is to make something that will become a kind of soundtrack to someone’s party or their drive home from work or any small increment of their life. Also just getting to meet cool people in faraway places, there’s a lot of good out there.

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

Look out for new Never Got Caught in the fall; check out Creepshow, if you dig it you know what’s up.

INTERVIEW BY NEIL VAN ZYL