Hell In The Club

Interview date

31 Aout 2013

Interviewer

Didier Philippe

I N T E R V I E W

Interview Dave (face to face)


Hello guys, can you introduce the band to those of us who are not familiar with it?

Yeah sure, we are Hell in the Club, we are an Italian band, and our band was formed in 2010. Hell in the Club is actually a project between two bands: ElvenKing, (I am the singer of ElvenKing), a metal Band and Secret Sphere, another Italian metal band. We met on stage in 2009. There was a good vibe between me and the bass player, and he told me: "Hey I am trying to make this hard rock band and I think you could be the perfect singer for us." And then he sent me some songs, and it all started. The songs were very cool and I was immediately hooked in and I liked it. This is how Hell in the Club was born.  

So I guess it's a basic question but where does your name come from?

It was the bass player‘s idea. We were thinking about the name and we made a list, you know every time you start a new band, you need a new name. And we thought: “What the fuck?! How are we going to call this band?” I think it comes from some kind of wrestling thing, something called “Hell in the cell”. He fucking liked this thing about these warriors doing their shit inside a cage. And he was fascinated by this, so he told us: Why don’t we call our band “Hell in the Club”? Like we are going to bring Hell inside the club instead of in a cage, so that’s how we got the name.

So did you come to the French Riviera with your family or just the band?

Just the band and crew.  

Is it your first visit to this area?

As Hell in the Club yeah, it is our first time here, with Elvenking and Secret Sphere we already played in France but we never came to this area so it is like a very first time yeah.

How has the organization of the festival been so far?

So far so good, people are kind and it is cool.

How did you get invited, do you know?

Our agency got an email from the guys in charge of the festival. We said yes immediately and we are happy to come here.

It seems like summer festivals are an important game for bands nowadays?

Yes absolutely, this year with Elvenking we played in 5 or 6 summer festivals in Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovakia and for medium or small bands it is the best place to play for bigger audience. Of course it is also good to do tours as a support band. But when you play in a festival you get all the attention from everybody, from huge crowds. And smaller festivals like this one are also a good way to share our music with a bigger range of people.

So do you prefer to perform at a festival, such as this one, or for a longer time at smaller shows, when you are the headline act?

Actually it is different and I enjoy both, it is very cool to enjoy the thrill of playing in a huge stage even if it is at 4.00 pm, in front of a lot of people with a hot weather and the sun shining. It is cool, because there is a good vibe but of course it is also cool to play in a club as a headline band or support act. You got a different vibe in this case.

Did you prepare a special setlist for this event?

Yes, you know we have released only one album we are actually in the studio recording a new one, so we don’t have any new songs. But I think we are going to do a cool medley for all the hard rock and rock and roll fans so there will be a couple of covers, sing-along stuff, we are going to party.

Is it more a way to promote the band or your latest album?

Yes of course, it is probably going to be our last gig before the release of our new album so yes it is a way to promote the band, to have fun, because having fun is our main point. And yes of course we want everybody to know that our next album will be out very soon.

We didn't get a chance to review your album, did it work commercially?  

Yeah it worked pretty good, for a debut album, we were working with a small label, because we decided to sign with the first one interested in our band, just to get the band out as soon as possible and play a lot. In 2012 we played a lot of gigs in Italy but also abroad. This was the coolest thing while we worked with a small label; with small means we got a big result so we were very happy about that. We are actually in talks in order to work with a bigger label, but you know nowadays it is so fucking difficult. People are interested but you never know, until you have signed the paper.

Did you know the other bands playing today?

Actually I know Snakecharmer yes - waiting for some Whitesnake classics, and I'm looking forward to hearing the other bands which I don't know.

What would you tell folks who claim you play music from the 80's?

We play the music we like. This is the style of music we got raised with. Life brought us to have many other experiences, me with Elvenking and Andy and Fede with Secret Sphere, we got into different kinds of music and made a lot of other things but our heart beats with rock'n'roll so at least with HELL IN THE CLUB we want to keep it like that. Does it have an 80's feeling?... that's fine :)

There seems to be a revival for so called hair metal/glam. Do you feel you're part of this movement?

We started HELL IN THE CLUB 'cause we had a dream of playing the music we love, the music that got us into this passion since we were little kids. So I can say that we don't fit into this "back to the 80's" scene. When these movements are born, there are a lot of "followers", it happens all the time. Fortunately there are some great hard rock records coming out these days, so we're pretty glad about that :). But a few bands will last the test of time. We are not followers and we just play the stuff we like. 

What do you want to say to folks who illegally download your music?

What can we say? Downloading music seems to be the most popular way to get music nowadays so I really don't know what to say apart from saying that I'm disappointed with that. We try to look at the silver lining and think that it's more promotion for the band. But things are getting really hard in the music business, especially in the underground. Anyway to those who want to get music for free I say "try at least to use legal ways and get music for a ridiculous price through Spotify, iTunes or other online legal services".

Do you have any other dates for the summer?

Nope, this is the only gig we made this summer since we are hard at work with our new album. We're in the studio these days and the Tribal Rock Festival was the only break we took from the recordings. It's taking a while, but we'll soon come with news about our second album!

What are the plans in the coming months for you guys?

At the moment we plan to finish the recording and mixing of the album. We’re totally focused on that. 

And finally, do you want to say something special to our readers?

We hope that French fans of hard rock and rock'n'roll will check us out. You can find our videos and news on the internet. www.hellintheclub.com or search us on Facebook, Twitter or Youtube. See ya! Thanx!


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