BAND NAME: Spreading The Disease
LOCATION: UK
GENRE: Metal
BAND MEMBERS: Steve, Martin, Conner, Jack
CURRENT ALBUM RELEASE: Insurrection
Introduce the band in your own words…
Steve:The band formed in late 2015 by myself after many years of being in other people’s bands and not seeing the path clearly, so my missus told me to get my shit together and form my own band. Who was I to argue with the boss!.She regrets it now of course lol.
Martin: A hyper bunch of psychopaths with a compulsion to throw ourselves off things whilst playing… the higher the better.
Connor: So we are A Metal band From Dover that is angry, in your face and not scared to call out the world, because let’s be honest, it’s fucked up and until we acknowledge that, it’s not getting any better. But at the same time we are a band that does not take things for granted, we love our fans and supporters and can drink all of you under the table.
Jack: Our band is just a crazy mash up of personalities ordinarily we probably wouldn’t be drawn together in the real world but I look at these lads like my brothers now. And Steve my grandad…
Tell our readers about your current album / EP / demo release
Steve: Having already released an EP to much acclaim and being on the road for 2 years we decided it was time to give the public a full album. It is very varied, we take influences from many genres and create our own sound, often misunderstood as misguided, but we are in fact looking to create something slightly more innovative and know where were going exactly .there is anger in the lyrics, I personally have a lot to say about the world around us and many topics, I feel this is a good way to express them. The artwork has reference to the band’s name which although people think it stems from Anthrax and others, it actually has a storyline to it, such as a kind of rebirth of the planet with new generations. It is doing very well with much acclaim, and we are very pleased and humbled.
Martin: I’m very proud of the work we’ve done on this album. The production came out great and for a first release we’re extremely proud to stand up and say “here’s two year’s sweat, blood, and tears.” It’s quite eclectic but I think if you give it a chance it’ll drag you in and hold you under till the end. And if you play the whole album backwards you get an audio book of the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Connor|: Our latest album is Titled “Insurrection”, it has been very well received by reviewers and fans alike! This album is something the band considers a big step up from our debut EP, so we are very proud of ourselves.
Jack: Our current album Insurrection is a real journey of metal, there’s no real pigeon hole for it in any sub genre. I can’t comment too much as I don’t play drums on it but I’ve played it live enough times and it’s a proper barnstormer.
Who would you say you sound most like?
Steve: It is a mixture of influences, many bands say this cliché, but it is true that we have a unique style and sound, many reviews have pointed that out, we don’t sit in any particular genre, but if I had to pick one, I would say modern metal.
Martin: Gogell bordello having a baby with Sid Wilson. Seriously though an odd mixture of Slipknot, Dillinger escape plan, machine head and Linkin park with some Black flag and Deftones for seasoning.
Connor: It is very hard to pinpoint a particular band because of the many genres that are thrown into the sound we have, if anything I would say there is a lot of NU_METAL influences with a dash of old school thrash, but I like to say we have a bit of something for everyone.
Jack: I haven’t heard any bands that sound like us.
Who or what are your biggest influences?
Steve: Growing up with the Sabbs, Zep and many others and into more recent bands through the decades such as Metallica, Slipknot, Rob Zombie, Manson etc, we all have different Icons.
Martin: For myself everything from Foo Fighters to Slipknot and feed the rhino to Duran Duran. I think as a band we just draw influence from each other and a little from everything we like.
Connor: My biggest influences are bands like Slipknot and Linkin Park, bands that can be very melodic but can also shake the ground with how heavy they can get.
Jack: I have a wide range of influences as I came from the hip hop scene being a beatboxer. Metal came a bit later in life for me as I discovered bands like limp bizkit and linkin park that fused genres. Now my biggest drum influence is Chris Adler (Lamb of God)
Describe your band members and what each person brings to the table
Steve: Martin is an exceptionally talented guitarist, writer and live performer, when he and I started writing it was as if the music was already made, just waiting to be played. It’s a pleasure working with him and he’s totally nuts live throwing himself from all sorts of stuff, diving into the crowd etc., Connor took over from our original Singer Adam May, he has done an amazing job and made it all his own, he works incredibly hard, has a great lyrical talent and a top live performer that we have enhanced on the road with us .he is also a noisy bugger who keeps the whole band on its toes and in stitches. Jack our drummer also stepped into the seat taking over as drummer number 4. Our original drummer Edd Saunders who was a damn fine drummer moved away to the Islands, then we had a fella called “Rich Worrell who is a great guy who often stands in for us still, following this a guy called a Slovakian drummer who was a ball of energy but it did not quite gel. We found Jack through an add and he fitted straight in, within a day he insulted us all, got right on it winding everyone up and we knew he was the right guy, he is also a great drummer who is now working on album 2 as we all are.
Martin: Connor brings the hardcore and pop punk. Steve brings the gripes, aches pains and experience of 500 years on the road. (correction, apparently its only 35 years) I bring the hype and Jack brings the humour and maddest beats (mash drum n bass with death metal. He does, its sick).
Connor:: Steve is old, Martin is insane, Jack is Apella, and i’m always either really hyper, or really Angry.
Jack: Martin – pure energy. He’s like a wound up spring and when you let him go he bounces around for hours
Conor – my bro! He’s just pure dry comedy and takes no shit.
Steve – the glue that holds us together. We d be nowhere without him. Grumpy when tired.
Do you have a band joker? If so who and what’s the dumbest prank they’ve pulled?
Connor: We are all just as bad as each other! Can’t really pinpoint a particular “prank” mainly because we are like an episode of jackass on the road.
Steve. Have to say we all get up to a lot of shit on the road specially in service stations late night haha.
Martin: I think we’re all as bad as each other. Though I think when we ganged up on Steve and gaffa taped him to the van chair as he threatened to put on some “educational music”, we may have taken it too far. Sorry Steve… I’m sure your hair will grow back….
Jack: I dunno we ‘re all pretty mental. And we all terrorise Steve. But don’t fall asleep round me, I’ll mess with you.
Do you argue over what music gets played on the way to a gig? Who wins and what’s the most popular choice?
Connor: We sometimes argue over music, if Steve gets his way we just gaffer tape him up and put our fave music on.
Martin: We’re pretty allowing of each other’s tastes. The only one who has a gripe is the old man when we play panic at the disco but otherwise we’re all pretty open minded. The past couple of months though the main hype song as were getting to the gig is Hed PE: Represent
Steve. Usually I put up with whatever the others blast at me if I am driving, every now and again I lock em out of the stereo and threaten them with death and put what I like on. If I am not driving I just put me earphones in.guns n roses are abolished.
Connor: Who wins and what’s the most popular choice? Sometimes there is uproar when Steve wants to go on his “Metallica Power Hour” in the van, we have just resorted to taping him up in the van and putting what we want on, which can consist of either old school emo/pop punk, all the way to rap and drum and bass.
Jack: Na we just whack on the Bluetooth in the van and share the tune selection .
Pick your dream band line up. Each band member selecting a corresponding musician who may be dead or still very much living.
Connors My dream band line up
Vocals – Corey Taylor, Both guitarists- Jared Dines and Matt from trivium, Bassist- whoever the fuck plays bass in baby metal, fuck what you guys say, watch him, Drummer- Joey jordison
Steve’s dream line up. Corey Taylor vocals, Geezer butler bass, guitar 1 Jim root, guitar 2 Hetfield, Drummer the fella who drums for Slipknot now.
Martins dream lineup: Dave grohl on drums and backing vocals. Chester Bennington on lead vox. Ben wienman on rhythm guitar. Jim Root on lead guitar and Krist Noveselic on bass.
Jack: Vocals – Chester Beddington and B real (cypress hill), Guitar – dimebag Darrell, Drums – Chris Adler, Bass – Fieldy
If you were marooned on a dessert island which band member would be eaten first and why?
Connor: Probably Steve because he’d annoy us a lot
Martin: Steve. He can’t run away.
Steve. Probably Connor as hes a big laddy, should get the odd steak from him lol.
Jack: Probably Steve. If only to stop him moaning about being stranded
What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you while you were on stage?
Connors: Funniest thing on stage, when me and Martin made a bet that we couldn’t get a conga line, if we did I got him a drink, and we got a fucking conga line going.
Steve – Russian Cossack dancing at another gig, Martin in a Santa skirt recently, I have seen people knock themselves out twirling a microphone, drummers fall of the stage backwards, Me playing bass furiously right out on the wing of the stage and with so much echo than when I returned centre stage our singer re plugged in my bass and many more..some with other bands of course..
Martin: Probably messing up a backflip on stage, as I didn’t realise I’d torn the muscles in my shin during the show, leading to me landing on my head. That was funny because I got slapped by the promoter for making her think I’d died.
Jack: Kit malfunction. My beater on my kick pedal came loose mid song in a double bass part and there was only left foot off beats being played.
You’re asked to select a band to tour with you as support. Who would you choose and why?
Jack: Lamb of God. Steve: Slipknot. Martin: Slipknot. I mean I’ve seen them enough times but they all seem to be really lovely guys and they always bring it live. So that would make us step up our game. I feel like we’d learn a lot on that tour. Learning from the old pro’s. Though if you mean supporting us? Our friends from Choose Us Not Them
Connor: Slipknot, without a shadow of a doubt, or Rammstein.
If you could bring back one music personality who would it be and why? You get one choice so this is a group decision.
Jack: Chester Bennington, way too early for that dude.
Steve: John Bonham if I could see Zep original line-up play.
Martin: Chester Bennington. The world lost a light that day.
Connor: You get one choice so this is a group decision. Freddie Mercury, because I would have loved to have seen him live with Queen, the man’s voice is one of a kind
If you could name any one item that would be delivered no questions on the band rider what would you choose and why?
Jack: A midget stripper.
Steve: The black nectar/ Guinness.
Martin: A food challenge from every town we play. You said no questions asked.
Connor: Chicken Kastu curry, all day, every fucking day
You’re stuck on a night off mid tour with just a games console and a handful of games for company. Do you choose Call Of Duty, Zelda, Need For Speed or do you just raid the mini bar?
Jack. Need for speed but has to be NFS Undergorund 2. Not into games tbh so raid the mini bar.
Martin: Raid the mini bar as a band then play need for speed horizon on a race each and take the piss out each other’s inability to control the cars
Steve: I am not a gamer tbh, so I would definitely raid the bar and get pissed hopefully so I don’t have to sit gawping at the others playing games for hours.
Connor: Can i do all of the above? I’m just greedy to be honest
If the band got offered an amazing major label deal but it meant a change of image to something you are uncomfortable with and censorship of lyrics would you take the deal or walk?
Jack: No way, take us as we are or fuck off !.
Steve: if it were a lot of dosh advance I’d say fuck it lets do it for a while then do our own thing.
Martin: I’m comfortable with everything, so that wouldn’t bother me. But censorship? Get f****d!!!
Connor: 100% Walk, Freedom for the artist is all that makes me happy to be in a band, if I lose that, there’s no fun for me
In the event of the end of the world what’s the first song on your post-apocalypse playlist?
Steve: Standing on the edge of the world/Sabbath .
Martin: A perfect circle: Lets have a war.
Connor: In The End by Linkin Park
Jack: Lamb of God – Ruin
Who has the worst habits on tour?
Steve: has to be Martin takes his shoes off after a gig and near kills us all which is just one but there are a few and we all have bad habits.
Martin: Me probably. Eating terrible food on the road is awful for my bowels.
Connor: When I sleep I snore so loud I keep everyone up, to the point Steve has started counting my snores like sheep to go back to sleep
Jack: Steve and Conor snore like pigs
Describe the local music scene of your hometown and how you fit into that as a band?
Steve: Truth is my experience overall of local scene for many years was not great, it has great musicians but bands never seemed to want to go the extra mile ,though there were exceptions. That said, these days it’s a pretty thriving place with bands now getting out there and doing well which I am proud of. The scene venue wise is poor but we do have a couple of gems like the Harp restrung club and The Lady Luck bar in Canterbury, the Walmer in Deal which are great gigs with great people. Kent has always seemed to be a bit of the map to the music industry for some weird reason.
Martin: A lot of post hardcore, classic rock or covers bands. But we play well with most of them as we’ve all been doing this a long time and they’re old friends.
Connor: It’s a pretty decent scene, people come to shows and have fun, and we always get a decent turnout when we play local, people know who we are now so it’s always fun to see old and new friends at shows .
Jack: Down in Kent the metal scene is not particularly thriving. We get more bookings out of area than locally .
When writing new music is it a collaborative effort or is there a main song writer?
Steve: generally Martin and I write the songs or we bring a made song to the table and then we develop it, however Connor does most of the lyrics and Jack puts across his opinion too and between us all what comes out the other side is pretty cool even if I say so myself.
Martin: We all have a huge input but all of the ideas come from me and Steve as far as the basic riff’s and structures.
Connor: We all write, we all have different ideas we bounce off of each other for different parts of the songs, we all have different influences as well, but we use it, where most bands would disagree over it, it’s more of an aid for us to let the creativity flow .
Jack: Martin and Steve write the riffs and structures. Then I’ll lay the drums to them suggesting some alterations as it builds. Then Connor listens and writes the lyrics with a little help from everyone. Final product is a group effort but main structure is Martin and Steve.
Some bands have goals for albums, the UK Subs for example recorded an album for every letter of the alphabet. Do you have any goals for future albums?
Steve: We like to keep exploring, moving forward and surprising people, so they are never sure what the next song is going to be like !..so we write accordingly. There is an overall theme I guess, so much as we like to be topical with our lyrics down to our views and beliefs but not in a preaching manner just observational.
Martin: We’re going to do an album for every genre of music. I can’t wait for the yodelling one.
Connor: Have fun, just have fun and enjoy what we do, and hope that people have fun with us.
Jack: Just to progress into a well rounded band with an awesome sound.
In the modern on-demand music scene is the concept album dead or do you feel there’s still room for them
Steve: I like the idea of a concept album but it has to be done right, not many manage it though I have been inspired by and is one of my favourite albums “Operation Mindcrime/Queensryche” which I think did it amazingly.
The albums have a bit of theme going on, but not conceptual , they are individual songs but do have topics that we feel strongly about and the theme is a kind of re-setting of the planet as we know it.
Martin: I think it would have to be extremely well thought out and relevant to today’s issue without sounding dated in a year or two. It’d be tricky but I don’t think anyone’s done one of note for a long time so maybe it’s coming to the right time.
Connor; If done correctly yes, if there is a message and good enough concept of course.
Jack: It depends on how good the concept is and how it’s delivered. But no not dead .
The hardest step for any band today is going full time, is this something you envisage being able to do in the future?
Steve: We would like to hope so. We work very hard, we plan our moves as a band, we look toward approaching the right people and working with them, radio and press is a huge help to an upcoming band on many levels, we have been touring for near on 2 years and promoting the band wherever possible, working with some great DJs, writers, promoters, venues etc. to create a buzz, get the name out there, and I feel that by and large we have now done that. We are now at stage two, new full length album, video on Scuzz TV, more great reviews, and now we have a good manager in the US and already looking toward hopefully bigger and better plans for 2018. Can we earn a living out if it, well that I don’t know, but I do think that if you work hard make the right decisions, work with the right people, show respect and humility, and support everyone else too where possible, you might just get the right breaks.
Martin: We’ve all got the passion and the drive to do it. I don’t think transitioning would be too hard. We’re very lucky to have the most supportive family and friends. Of course it’s going to take sacrifice and hard work hey, who likes their jobs anyway?
Connor: We would want nothing more, and if we ever got the chance to i’d like to think we would go for it .
Jack: That would be the goal! I think we ‘re more than capable of doing it.
How important is the local music scene to you as a band?
Steve: it is important to us ,after all the people in it are our friends, family and bands, venues etc. that we all know and work with. We do not play locally too often so it makes it an event when we do. 2017 we played three gigs very much apart and they were all flat out and went bat shit crazy. The people that put on the shows are great people who we respect and have known a long time.
Martin: I think it’s an intrinsic part of why I personally wanted to be in a band. The big stages and pyro seemed so unattainable but that was my friends and peers up there getting the crowd riled up and the whole room bouncing and sweating. That, we can achieve. Do achieve. So I think the local scene is a big part of music.
Connor; That is why we need new bands to grind and work towards being the next big festival headliner, and local shows and promoters are what drives that.
Jack: It is extremely important but you can expend so much energy into getting your local scene going that you miss the boat with the rest of the world
With everything being so digital and run predominantly through social media what is your view on the importance of regional and print press?
Steve: This is a tricky one, the truth is the internet provides people with access all over the World, so used correctly it can reach many more people and it is more immediate. It is easier to edit and create magazine articles and the ability to do interviews online across the world in an instant, l live and fresh as it happens for instance, and send interview questionnaires like this one to anywhere to anyone and have it returned same day that’s a lot for a physical magazine to cope with and compete against. That’s said, I have found that even though we have instant connection ability and response in so many forms, and yet many times people do not use it and therefore I think miss how good and how efficient the net is and can be. Perhaps information overload could be a problem.
I think the internet/social media is an amazing tool that should and often does work amazingly, fast, reliable and efficient, however sometimes it can lead to situations on social media that are misconstrued, misunderstood and can be detrimental because of the lack of humanity in it, and how things come across and the whole anonaminity of it, lack of personal touch and disconnection. It does also allow for people to hide behind a screen and or ignore or be rude etc., where in my younger days things got done by phone or by meeting face to face and it was I have to say a better way as things got done. Or maybe I am just an ol fart lol.
Martin: I think the print press has a lot more credibility and holds a lot more value than an online article. Something on Facebook or on a website can be ignored and skimmed over where as in print. You’re paying money for it so you’re going to read that thing from cover to cover to get your money’s worth and so what they print is going to be taken as fact rather than clickbait or just false entirely.
Connor: The news is always important, but so is the truth, which can sometimes get lost in favour of what makes a good “narrative”. Some print press and media need to check their facts before they print/upload.
Jack: Print press is very important for underground scenes in terms of flyering in towns where shows are buts digitial is so much easier and cost effective.
What are the band goals for 2018? Anything important or any milestones to be reached?
Steve: I have a had a goal from the start of the band, find (eventually) four other great people, 3 whom I already have a great bunch of guys I respect and care for very much, as we are currently looking for a lead guitarist to add flavour to the band, write some original music ,take care in how we move forward and hopefully for 2018 I would like to see the band sign a recording contract and most importantly play bigger better events, festivals and tours both in the UK and anywhere else in the World with these guys by my side. We make a damn good unit both live and otherwise and I believe we work well with everyone else, we show respect, care and willingness to help and work together with others in the scene, we appreciate hugely any help we get and covert those contacts and those friendships.
Martin: Haha nothing we can really talk about. There are a lot of exciting developments ahead and I think 2018 is going to be a big year. We can talk about the fact we already have about 20 songs written for album two so yeah. A huge year for us hopefully.
Connor; We have toured the UK relentlessly the past 2/3 years, so now we are looking to branch out to Europe and hopefully America, to see if we can “Spread our Disease” all over the world.
Jack: To play a medium size festival and to get signed!
If you could choose to play any UK festival – which one would it be and why?
Steve: Hammerfest because despite how hard the band works and having gigged with pretty much most of the bands that have and do play, we seem to get overlooked and I know we will impress. It would be nice to belong to the Hammerfest family, that said we would be thrilled to play all the large festivals so we have our fingers crossed that with plenty of hard work and achievements the band will earn its place and be offered a slot on each of them or most of them, this would make us all very happy. Better still Wacken, Sweden rocks…
Martin: Personally I’d love to play download as a lot of my heroes have but I’m happy with any festival. Things like fire and forge and upload festival last year are a chance for all the bands to catch up and feel like the “scene” isn’t all broken up. It’s us and fans against the world at festivals. And they always feel like a big old party.
Connor: Download, no question, having been there a few times the vibe there is like no other place, so welcoming and positive, would love to play it one day.
Jack: Definitely download for the prestige.
If you could be endorsed by any companies who would they be and why?
Steve: as a bassist I would like to be sponsored by Ampeg or Gallien Krueger, Fender bass or music man. And of course Jack daniels. I would add “Durex” to this, we think given the name it would be a great partnership for them and us alike, we do have our own brand now though lol.
Martin: Durex. I mean it’s all in the name. Though I wouldn’t complain if Mesa, Marshall, Fender or D’Addario came calling either.
Connor: Durex? Because our initials are STD.
Jack: Vic firth, remo and paiste. Always need the breakables! Oh and nike so I can get all the air MAX I need!.
If you could play God for a day – who would you make an angel and who would you send to hell? And why?
Steve: I would send Trump and May to hell and to heaven anyone who gives themselves freely to helping humanity and of course my Wife.
Martin: I’d make Steve an angel because, damn, that man works his arse off for very little thanks. I’d probably send Kim Kardasian to hell though. Just to watch the plastic melt.
Connor: Jeremy Corbyn and my Mum, Angel. The entire Tory party plus Donald Trump, Hell.
Jack: Id make my mum an angel and I probly send my dad to hell.
Do you have a message for fans of your music?
Steve: I would like to thank everyone of them for their support and for liking what we do, that there is more to come for them and we do what we do because we so enjoy it but specially gives us pleasure when people like what we do. We hope to see you at the gigs and please come say hello we enjoy getting to know as many fans as possible .
Martin: Are you insane? It’s terrible!!!! Seriously thank you guys for the support. I love seeing you guys at the shows bouncing away and sharing the stage with us, I can’t thank you enough.
Connor: Without you there is no Spreading The Disease, I wish i could high five all of you and keep supporting us and Metal \m/.
Jack: Keep listening we ‘ve got some killer new stuff coming this year. I’m excited for the new album there’s some great material so far.
Here is your opportunity to end the interview with some final words on a subject of your choice….
Steve: On a personal note, those who know me and work with me know I am easy going, genuine, caring, generous and happy to help, I am also very determined, strong willed and fiercely proud of our band and the people in it .sometimes specially on social media people judge, take the wrong impression and get involved when not knowing the facts, this has caused hassle and the wrong impression of me and that is a shame. I say to them ,get to know me and understand that I am simply doing my job .we all have our faults and get on peoples nerves but you learn to understand where they are coming from and move forward as friends. I have been in this business for many years and doing all sorts of things from a young age, also having to learn the hard way due to a lack of infrastructure where I lived and having to act and learn fast to get things done. This, and having the privilege to have worked alongside some amazing people in this business many who are no longer here or have now retired. I than all of them for the imprint they left on me.
Martin: Buy the album and come to a show before cu… I mean trump and Kim-jong ping-pong blow the planet up! We make slightly less noise than them. Also someone please slap some sense into our government before they truly screw it up.
Connor: What do you call a dog that can do magic? A labracadabrador! Much love to our friends and fans! 2018, STD is coming for you.
Jack: Donald trump is a massive prick and Theresa May looks like a human shaped piece of dry skin with a wig on. Fuck politicians .
Big thanks to “DEVOLUTION MAGAZINE” for supporting us, and being a great conductor for rising and new talent everywhere.
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