Interview: Manor Freaks

January 2003

MANOR FREAKS is a new psychobilly© band from France. Their music is really close to the DEMENTED ARE GO, and, according to Yam, who realised this interview, they should have a great future!

 

1/ Who are the membres?

Since summer 2001, the MANOR FREAKS are:

• VINCE: Slap
• GREG: vox
• TONY: drums
• STEF: guitar.

2/ Where does the name come from?

It comes as far as the Infini!
Take 4 madmen, lock them with their instruments in a so macabre manor, wait a little bit ... and you get some MANOR FREAKS. Man or freaks ? That is the question !

3/ How long does the band exist?

At the very beginning, there were the R.I.P.'s, a band from the west of Paris. At this time, the band was composed by William to the guitar, Fanfan to the drums, and already Vince to the slap. I personnaly joined the band in 1998 to sing. 3 years of concerts and 2 members changes later, the band has changed its name to become The Manor Freaks

4/ What are the musical influences of each one of you?

Greg : For my part, it goes from Blues to Punk, including Country music, Rockab, Psycho and Gospel. I also like a lot supermarket music, it relaxes me when I'm picking up some beers. So I have the time to choose without any stress.

Stef : I would say that my personal musical reperes are much more extended ... It goes from rockab' to crust-metal, including trash, punk, death-metal... But I don't think you could found all this musics in MANOR FREAKS : the band is more a symbios between the styles that the membres of the band have in commun...

Vince : Hard rock, punk, psycho, surf, garage, R'n'R, underground rock, blues. And also Tony, Steph et Greg. They influence me quiet a lot.

Tony : It's all the same than my acolyts... with Motorhead more, and also Hervé Vilard.

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5/ Have you got a lot of dates? What are the next projects of the band?

We're playing regulary, about 2 or 3 dates per month. But we're ready to play more, if it's possible, because Steph also play with LYSTERIA, and Tony with KILLING TOMATOES.
We think we're going to record our album in 2003, just the time to polish our last songs, and to test them on the stage.

6/ How do you find the psychobilly© scene, in France?

If it's well indicated, I find it easily!
Seriously, I think that unfortunaly, the psychobilly© scene hasn't been smaller than nowadays. But it has never been very important here, in comparaison with other north European countries, where most of big festivals are.

7/ Could you describe your own musical style?

Psychos say we're playing Punk, and Punks say we're playing Psycho. I guess what we do is between the both, with all our influences. Anyway, we don't care about the style of our songs, we write and play as it comes, the raw-way, without any question. Those who absolutely need to put a musical etiquette on us can do it, we don't care about that.

8/ What are your lyrics about ?

There's a song where I talk about the Americans (they are getting on my nerves so much, that's it). But the other songs are about very important subjects, like Monsters, Sex, extra-terrestrials ... I don't want to mix music and politic, a live is not a political meeting, there a time for everything. We've got ideas, when we don't play Rock'n'Roll. We often have very serious discussions, for exemple, when we wander who's gonna get the beers ... and other philosophical considerations in the same way.

9/ What do you think about the intolerance between psychos and punks?

It sounds like a typical frenchy war. Happily, it doesn't to exist in the other countries. I personaly think that it shouldn't be : this 2 movements are very close on a lot of points. In fact, we're not really concerned. Let the dum be dummy, but open your eyes, they're everywhere!

10) Ask yourself an indiscrete question, and answer to it:

Why does the "Cow-Who-Laugh"* laugh?
Which hair grease do you use?
We use the same hair grease than the "Cow-Who-Laugh". If you see her, ask her directly, and tell her to give me back my ear-rings!

* NDT: COW-WHO LAUGH (VACHE-QUI-RIT) is the name of a famous cheese for children.

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