Bubbly, funny and full of smiles with a love of leopard print, Viki is like a ray of Spanish sunshine on the shores of Blackpool. Aggy Gillon joined her for a chat about their new album ‘Toxic Time Bomb’ which features two exciting guest appearances. They also discuss the history of the band and how they have evolved over the years. They still have a love of silly songs but also a passion for speaking up when the world is pissing them off. They’re not here to preach but to be unapologetically themselves, just three friends doing what they love.
You guys played yesterday. How was your set?
Brilliant, we introduced a couple of new songs because we have a new CD out. We hadn’t practised the songs too much and they seemed to go OK. It was great and I love the Casbah stage.
How many Rebellions have you guys played?
Oh my god I was going to look that up. Um, I’m not sure. I think this might be our fifth or sixth we have played possibly. We played an after show years and years ago. Then Steve and I stood in for a band called Glitter Trash and that was the first time on one of the Rebellion stages. Then the following year we played as Viki Vortex, that was really cool. I can not remember but I can send this information to you later…at some point *laughs*
What does Rebellion mean to you?
It’s a really nice atmosphere, it’s super friendly. You get to discover new bands and meet new people. I just love it because it’s like coming back to a familiar place.
Like coming home?
Yes. Yes definitely like coming home. Because we live in Spain we only see a lot of people once a year over these four days. It’s just brilliant, I love it.
You have probably been asked this a million times but what is the story behind the name Viki Vortex And The Cumshots?
Steve, our guitarist, was in a band in 1977 called The Spurts. They were asked to reform, they were from Essex. They were asked to reform for some reunion gigs. I said something about how I always wanted to learn how to play bass. They had a bass player obviously and I then I stood in. I came up with the name with a friend of mine outside a pub in London and it kind of rolls off the tongue. We kind of thought it was an offshoot of The Spurts. Steve was still singing and he said well actually if we are called Viki Vortex And The Cumshots then you should probably sing. I said well OK and that was that.
You guys have a new album out, can you tell me about that?
Well, back in February 2020 our drummer who lives in Brighton came over to Spain for rehearsals. We had all these new songs, we had about ten. We rehearsed and it was great! And then COVID happened. We were supposed to fly over the following month to record because our recording studio is in Brighton. Then obviously that was that! So for two years.
You had to sit on it for two years?
Yeah we had to sit on it for two years. We wrote a couple of new songs in that time as we had nothing else to do. Obviously we couldn’t rehearse because we couldn’t all get together. So finally this year in June we went over and we recorded the album, twelve songs in eight hours. Recorded and mixed. Which was apparently a record for our engineer. He was a bit surprised *laughs*. We thought let’s just record as many as we can and we managed to get all twelve. We have a couple of guest guitarists which was really fun. What happened was Del Strangefish from the Test Tube Babies was in the same studio the next day. I said ah you can lay down a little guitar track for us and he was like yeah alright then! We were like oh! OK! Cool. So I sent him the song and the next day he did one take and did his bit on ‘Toxic’. With the second guitarist guest, I work with Daryl Smith from Cock Sparrer on a lot of design work. I mentioned to him that Del had done this track and said do you wanna do one? He then went yeah alright then. I was a bit surprised as I was only joking *laughs*. So he did it for one of the other tracks which is ‘Times Up’. That was really really cool!
What is the album called?
It’s called ‘Toxic Time Bomb’. I have one here…
Oh thank you so much! Can’t wait to give it a listen!
So yeah twelve tracks it’s our biggest album yet! It’s our 4th CD.
When was it you guys started?
Probably 2009 I think, that sounds about right. We had a couple of drummers in Spain. Steve used to roadie for The Long Tall Texans so he asked Theo one day if he wanted to drum for us and he said yeah alright I can give it a go and we have stuck with it.So it’s been the three of us ever since.
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What would you say inspires you guys?
At first it was all fun. Our songs were about drinking, having fun and silly songs. Then I guess we kind of got a little pissed off about the situation in the world basically. With the politicians and all the crap that was going on so we started writing more songs about that, that are quite political. Which is kind of weird. We still have a few songs about sex and porn mags and porn movies because why not.
It’s good to mix it up
Mix it up, yeah. You don’t want to preach to people. Theo wrote a few songs which is cool as with the Texans I think he’s only written one song.
I think with the punk scene it’s a good scene to be able to do political music as a lot of people do care. We like to get drunk and go crazy but we also care about what’s going on in the world.
Yeah exactly. I think there are too many people that dont. I think it’s important that you do care, that you go out and vote and you try and make a change. You know, do what you can. I think we all have our bit to play.
Absolutely. I have to mention that I love your style! It’s very glam and flamboyant. Have you always dressed like this?
Yeah I guess so. Obviously everything has to have leopard print.
Oh yeah!
Obviously *laughs* I was a bit disappointed in myself yesterday I dont think I wore any so I wore it all today *laughs*
Actually…it is everything you’re wearing isn’t it *laughs*
Yes *laughs* I was a bit hungover this morning so I kind of looked in the mirror when I got dressed and went well that will do *laughs*
Are you guys here all weekend then?
Of course.
It’s always good when you can play and enjoy the festival. Are there any bands that are an absolute must see while you’re here?
Definitely Rumkicks. They played local to us in Spain three weeks ago. They stayed with us for a couple of nights which was really nice. We saw them last year and we were like wow! Blown away.
What Is the punk scene like in Spain?
It’s good. We’re a bit unusual and I don’t think people know what to make of us over there. We’re not like a Spanish punk band at all. Which is fine. It’s super friendly.We have Barcelona down the road and there are a lot of gigs going on there.
What do you envision the future to be for Viki Vortex & The Cumshots?
Keep doing what we’re doing. You know, we are enjoying it and as long as people will come out and listen then we’re going to keep doing it.
Have you got any more shows coming up this year?
Not so far. It is a bit difficult with Steve and I being in Spain and Theo being in Brighton it makes it quite difficult. Hopefully Theo will be coming out in October and we will be doing some shows out there. We’ll probably come over around Christmas time and try to do some shows in Brighton probably.
Have you got any last words for your fans that came out and seen you yesterday?
We really appreciate it! It was so nice as it has been four years since we last played in 2019. We didn’t play last year and obviously with the COVID shit. So nice to see people that have been fans and seeing people wearing our t-shirts and we love it. We love the support because you know, we’re only a little band. We’re just three people, three friends that are having fun. We have no pretence about anything. That’s just us and for people to enjoy it and to see people bopping along it makes my heart sing. I know that sounds really cheesy but…
No, not at all! Thank you so much for talking to us!
Viki Vortex & The Cumshots – Facebook
Interview and photos by Aggy Gillon