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lunes, 5 de agosto de 2019

Entrevista a Radarmen - Agosto 2019

 
Hi George, we met at the 27th Psychobilly Meeting in Pineda de Mar. You spoke in Spanish with me and you have accepted that this interview is in Spanish that is easier for me to ask the questions I want to develop.

You're from Los Angeles right? How is the Psychobilly scene in your city? Can you recommend some bands from your environment? How do you discover Psychobilly and why do you decide to create your Psychobilly band?

Yes, we are all mainly from Los Angeles, California. The Psychobilly scene here at home is a healthy and thriving genre for the most part. A majority of the people here in the scene are very enthusiastic about the music. Some bands from California that we can highly recommend are groups like The Quaranteds, Cigaratz, The Cursed Bastards, Spectre, The Rhythm Reactorz, and The Lost Boys whom we are all good friends with. We also recommend other bands who are not too far away from us and whom we are also friends with such as Intrepid Mutants, Quatro, Klax, and The Humanoids. Each of us discovered Psychobilly in our own way. George picked it up from his older cousin Sammy who is the guitarist and singer for his group Badluck Bandits, Jon picked it up from his older brother Ricky who is the drummer for Gamblers Mark, and Julian picked it up from a friend in high school that he would eventually start his first band with. Radarmen has always been a hobby and a sort of personal escape for each of us.

Who are the Radarmen and what instruments do you play? Do you come from other bands? Which ones?

Formed in 2011, Radarmen are Jon on double bass and vocals; George, our second guitarist and vocals, and Julian on drums. Radarmen is a Psychobilly band that was formed by first guitarist Danny, Julian, and Jon after Danny met Jon at a Meteors show. Danny left the band in 2013 due to discrepancies and George, a mutual friend of the band’s already, would become our new guitarist shortly after one rehearsal get-together. Each of us do have history with both past and current bands. Jon originally played double bass and sang in his first band called The Cosmix before starting Radarmen. George has recently started practicing again with his band Uhh Random Bunch and plans to play a few shows soon. He is the guitarist and singer in what he refers to his: Neo-psychobilly band. Julian comes from a few number of bands from over the years playing the music. He has been the original member of two other short-lived bands excluding Radarmen called The AniManiaX, his first band, and The Kit Boys. He has joined active bands over the years as well including a group called ThrillBillyz whom are no longer together and a band that he is also currently active in called Cannibal Mad Men.



What influences does Radarmen have? Only Psychobilly or other musical, movie, plastic or literal genres?

We are influenced by Psychobilly of all decades as well as both Rockabilly and Neo-rockabilly, but our influences also range from Post-punk, New Wave, Dark Wave, Electronic, Indie, Surf, some Spanish music, and good ‘ol classic rock and roll. Our brand of Psychobilly also incorporates heavy futuristic and Sci-fi influences that stems from various space nostalgia and fiction. Being different is something the three of us really admire and take heed to as well. We always aim to produce sounds with ambience, chorus, different drum combinations, and strong bass tones all while maintaining a hint of the classic Rockabilly style. We also enjoy many Action, Drama, and Horror movies of all the decades; both American and foreign films.

When did you start playing and where have you played since then? Is there a good response from the public in your concerts?

Radarmen have been playing in backyards and small venues all around California since 2011. As the years went by we have played at much larger and stapled venues within the California scene such as venues like the legendary Spike’s Bar & Billiards, The Vex, and The Airliner that are no longer standing. We have had the opportunity to travel to Phoenix, Arizona where we performed alongside The Quaranteds, The Cursed Bastards, and Cigaratz at a small, but great bar called Chopper John’s. We were also given an amazing invitation and opportunity to headline a Mexican Psychobilly festival in the heart of México City called México Psycho for their second year in 2018. We were invited by our good friends Quatro. Another amazing opportunity that we were given was when we were invited to play the Tijuanamaniac festival in Tijuana, México alongside Demented Are Go! for the first time also in 2018. Shows small or big, we benefit from all of them. It has taken some time for us to develop the fan base that we have now and we always appreciate the large number of people that come to watch us perform. The response from the public is very good. We also enjoy performing at shows of various genres that allow us to gain a broader variety of fans.

In January 2017, the German label Killjoy Records published an EP of four songs that sound great. Can you explain what these songs are about? How and when does Killjoy Records contact you?

Anna Killjoy of Killjoy Records had contacted us late 2015 inquiring about the EP we were planning to debut. She had explained everything Killjoy Records could do for us as far as printing the sleeves, pressing the records, and doing the distributing and it was an offer that we could not refuse. It took us the following year to complete the recording process for the EP and the response has been great. Our songs discuss certain Sci-fi movie subjects and life lessons. “Invasion of the Radarmen” is a song that is a statement of the intensity of our music. “Cosmic Kidnapping,” “Interstellar,” and “End of Line” are other originals that reference the stories from movies such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Interstellar, and Tron.


Are you in a good moment of creation or live performances right now? Do you plan to release something new soon?

Our performances and musical creation is going well. We are very thankful for the many shows we are getting booked for near and far. The feedback and responses from both our live performances and current recorded material that is out are nothing short of excellent. The current plan is to begin recording a 10 or 12 track album of all original material and have it finished and released by the end of this year. We have been looking forward to this for sometime now.



Do you think you can play at the Psychobilly Meeting one day? Who would you like to play with?

It would be a privilege to play at the Psychobilly Meeting festival. We do hope our music and fan base will take us there someday. It would be great to share the stage with Batmobile again along with the Test Pilots, The Frögs, Sir Psyko and His Monsters, and The Spastiks. Other acts we hope to play with someday are The Twilighters, The Ricochets, Mad Sin, Scabrox, and bands that just recently made a comeback such as Cyclone and The Rattlers! If Radarmen had a chance to play with groups that are no longer active, The Krewmen (original lineup), The Rapids, The Falcons, The Skrunch, Torment, and Rockin’ Bones would be at the top of the list!

You traveled some members of your band to Pineda de Mar and surely you would meet people from other bands. Can we know with which other bands you have interacted in this festival or in others in which you have been?

Julian had the pleasure of meeting and making a new friend Panu who plays guitar and sings for the Finland group Graveyard Bashers. Other artists that George and Julian both caught up with and met for the first time at the Meeting included Marco, double bass player of The Frögs, Ray of Tasteless and The Zipheads, Curtis Lee, guitarist for The Rattlers, Strangey, former double bass player of the Klingonz and Numbskulls, and The Twilighters from the Ukraine.

What would you like to say that we have not commented and have to know?

We would like to say thank you, Hektor Plasma, for giving us an opportunity to talk about our band and our view on the Psychobilly community. We thank all of our supporters who listen to and push our music and all the promoters who give us the opportunity to play. It is important to follow your passion and to be original when working on your art. Stay tuned for our debut album coming by the end of this year, 2019, with all original content. The invasion has begun...



 

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