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EIGHTEEN VISIONS
“A gallery with different pieces of artwork”
Suiciderock: Can you tell us some main facts about the band, how you started? Eighteenvisions: We are from California and the Band exists for about 10 years, and has always been that kind of highschool-garage-band. We really started going about 5 years ago. That was the time when we started to put out records and stuff like that. Suiciderock: If someone would describe your music as a piece of art, what would that be? Eighteenvisions: It would be more of a gallery with different pieces of artwork. There is a dark side to the band, there is a light side to the band. Musically we range from heavy to melodic, between of Rock and stuff like that. It's kind of everything. Suiciderock: Have you fulfilled your dreams as a musician? If not what’s left? Eighteenvisions: You can always have more dreams. But we definitely fulfilled a lot already. I mean coming overseas from the states was a dream, going on tour in first place was a dream, before that putting out a record was a dream, when I was younger I never expected something like that. Everytime something happens and something’s getting better and better is like fulfilling a dream. Suiciderock: Who is responsible for the lyrics? Eighteenvisions: James has written all the lyrics for the records, except on the new CD. I wrote a little intro and one more song, and our guitar player wrote one song on the new record "Obsession". Everything else was written by James. Suiciderock: Is there something that inspires you for the lyrics? Eighteenvisions: For both things I wrote, I was inspired by relationships and girls I had. James always says that it's hard for him to write about something which is not attached to him emotionally. it’s always about relationships, family members, friends, dreams or something happened to him, it’s all very personal. Suiciderock: What is it like for you to tour in Germany. Is there a big difference between touring in Germany and America? Eighteenvisions: A very big difference. Especially the obvious things from going somewhere to find food to go and get stuff for your guitar and so on. As we don’t live here and don’t know the places it’s easier for us to get some things done in the States, like fixing your instruments. Also the kids are different. it’s hard to tell. For example last night we played in Stuttgart and the kids where very excited. We had to do encores and everything was fun. But the first one of these five shows was Hamburg, and it was kind of boring. We got no real response, people where just standing there, hardly moving. You try to do as much as you can on stage, but you can’t force them to get into it. It was totally different from the UK. Kids there were so excited. I don’t know if it’s about the people, or the vibe...no idea. We get on stage and try to do our best every night and just see what happens. Suiciderock: You had to cancel your show in Baltimore after just playing 4 songs. What did happen? Eigtheenvisions: We were playing and there was a drunk guy on the dancefloor, in the pit, and he got a bit to rough. I didn’t see it by myself, someone else told me the story. He was getting to rowdy and so the security guard pulled him out, and the drunk guy tried to bit the security guard so another security guard came over with a flashlight and started beating this guy. A friend of us watched the show and saw it. He told us it looked like little ketchup packs flying around but it was blood, because he was beating him so bad. And our tourmanager who was doing the lights was watching it as well and told us the same. So one Security guard was holding and the other one beating this guy. After all that, one Security guard maced him in the face, so OC mace was going around everywhere in the club. So everyone was just covering their eyes and everyone was coughing and ran outside. We were playing and I thought there was a fight so people go outside to fight or to watch it. Something like that happens now and then. But our tourmanager ran on stage, told us to stop, grapped the mic and explained real quick what happened. So this was the end of the show and the cops came within five minutes. We had to cancel everything, that really sucked. Suiciderock: What happened to the security guard? They were fired? Eighteenvisions: Ah yeah, one of them in particular was fired after they were explaining stuff outside. There were the cops, the security guard an out tourmanager taking about the situation, and our tourmanager was super pissed off, explaining the cops what happened. After it was all said and done, this guy got fired. Suiciderock: In January you released your album "Obsession". Can you tell us a bit more about the recordings? Eighteenvisions: We came back from a tour, and had one month to play the songs and arrange them how we wanted them to be. Then we met with our producer and did two weeks of pre-production, recorded the songs with him and changed some things, got some new ideas in and finally got it. So we went into the studio for about one month recording everything. We took some time off for Christmas and then went back to the studio to mix everything. While we were mixing the record, that was when SONY came in and told us they liked our record a lot. So after all we got more money for the recording and actually remixed it again with Ben Grosse who already worked with Marylin Manson. He did the final mix. Then we mastered it and it came out in the States last June. So that was the whole process. Suiciderock: What about your future plans? Will you do another tour? Eighteenvisions: Yeah we are working on it right now. We get home in two days, and this will our first time off since last march. We will have two month off, just playing a few home shows here and there, and then we have to do some Canada dates. I think we'll gonna do a whole U.S. tour and then maybe come back to Europe.
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