Dead Boy Productions

 

01/19/07
Hell Cesar

Dead Boy Productions with Hola Ghost

 

First off Please Introduce yourselves?

HP1: I’m singer and guitar player Hola Pete 1, Our bass player Jeppe is on vacation in Norway !

707: And I’m the drummer Ghost 707

Where does the name Hola Ghost come from?

HP1: The Name Hola Ghost kinda came to us as we were working on the soundtrack for graphic artist Gris Grimly’s debut movie "Cannibal Flesh Riot"; I had bought an old drum machine Roland TR 707 to work with on the project, but somehow we ended up writing songs as well and it seemed like the drum machine animated us to do so. So being kind of a ghost-drummer that almost seemed to have the willpower to create a band around itself, hello ghost was the obvious thing to say... But since I bought the 707 from an old Mexican guy who won it in poker game it seemed more right to name the band Hola Ghost. The whole Mexican thing you’ll have to ask Ghost 707 about...

707: I'd rather not talk about my past!

 How did Hola Ghost get started?

707: Id been outta business for a while when Pete picked me up in 2004 and got me going again. Supposedly it was only for the score for this cannibal movie, but it was way too interesting to work with a rock band to let it stop there, so we kept on writing material and got some shows going and here we are...

Talk about Gris Grimly.

HP1: I met Gris while I was touring USA with my ex-band Nekromantix. We share the passion of the obscure art in movies, comic books, music, paintings etc. and liked each other’s works, so it wasn’t hard to agree that working together on a project could be interesting. Having some beers together we came up with the idea of Gris drawing a cannibal tale as a comic book, and me doing a soundtrack for it. It was to be released as a double 7" vinyl with a booklet in between the two discs, the same format as the "Magical Mystery Tour" from 67 by The Beatles. But after drawing a page or two Gris wanted to make a movie of it instead, so we said,” Fine, we’ll do the score" and so we did. We’re all rather pleased with the result, and talking about working together on a new project. Looks like its gonna be another cannibal-tale but not quite as humorous this time. Suits me fine, as I hate repeating myself. I don’t see Gris doing that neither and I respect him for that!  

How was the tour and touring with Gris and Cannibal Flesh Riot?

707: Fun! Man I love playing live... It’s a show off and the boys gave me a drum solo... I mean how many drummers except from Lars (Ulrich) get that these days?

HP1: It was interesting to be on tour with the whole concept. Kinda like a carnival convoy traveling around. Just missing the ghouls and a bearded lady he he... It was also interesting to meet the psychobilly audience I have due to my past, with this new thing. I was exited and nervous cause this is all fresh, new and my own stuff.

707: Our own stuff!

HP1: Yep...anyway, people seemed to like it for what it was and it was interesting to cross over to Gris’ fan base and have them cross over to us! 

So Peter talk about the bands you were in like Schwrzwld, Nekromantix, Mad Sin, and how your guitar style led you up to Hola Ghost? Wasn't Jeppe in Schwrzwld?

HP1: I met Jeppe back in 1980-something not much. We were painting wild style graffiti, drinking Schnapps and listening to punk rock together. We both started to play in a new wave Goth-rock band late 80´s. I’d been away forming Nekromantix with Kim and recording the first two albums "Hellbound" and "Curse of the Coffin", but when I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" I needed to do a guitar based rock band so I hooked up with Jeppe and my brother again and formed Schwarzwald Library, named after the location of Martin Heidegger’s summerhouse... or "Scwrzwld" as we call it now.

We released 3 albums and wrote and performed the music for a Berthol Brecht play before going on a break that was still on... Meanwhile I rejoined Nekromantix in late 1996 with my brother on drums. While releasing the last 3 albums we enjoyed the whole rise of psychobilly from being unknown underground to being a one of the famous last subcultures not sold out... It was a blast and I was living only of playing music for a while. - A dream come true!

But in order not to repeat myself I had to move on. So when Gris and I came up with the Cannibal Flesh Riot - project I got to do what I always do "ROCK" but in a new connection. I smelled fresh air and I was off to new experiences. That’s also one of the reasons we try to keep a Spanish/Hispanic touch to the music in Hola Ghost; we wanted to challenge ourselves by combining something we knew with something we didn’t. At the same time I’d heard a lot of great bands mixing this with psychobilly on the US-west coast, and I found that very interesting. Finally the Ghost 707 has "flamenco feet" or how the hell should I describe it... That’s more or less how I got to where I am now.

At the moment I’m also playing guitar for German psychobilly legends and long time friends Mad Sin. I love this style and it gives me opportunity to travel the world and meet old and new friends doing what I love the most: ROCKING !

Lets talk about Ghost 707, what's the history why a machine and not a human ?

707: I can play shit that NO human alive would be able to, so I’m irreplaceable in this band! My sound is unique and my style unbeatably tight. I am the trademark of the sound of Hola Ghost.

HP1: - That’s all true, but there’s a bit more to it; I went through some old MC cassette demos the other day, and for all my bands I have always been doing demos with machine drums. While recording "Curse Of The Coffin" with Nekro in Luton 1992 I bough a Yamaha keyboard with an OK drum machine in it. It appears on the SCHWRZWLD debut album, and I’ve had many great moments with music accompanied by machine drums. Since they are extremely stiff or tight, it somehow open up space for me to rock. At least in a different way than with real drummers. I’ve been lucky to play with some really skilled human drummers and still do. I love that too, but a machine is just different and a lot of fun too.

What Influences Hola Ghost? Musically, movies, life events, anything?

HP1: Our background in different bands and genres are all with us in the music of Hola Ghost. We name the style "psychotic flamencore and more..." because we don’t know what else to call it. There’s surf, horror, punk, metal, Goth, psycho and even some disco brought by the sound of 707 influences in our music. As mentioned before; when starting this new project I was inspired by the southern Californian Mexican Hispanic culture combined with rock n roll. It gave an angle to rocking that was fresh and fun. I guess that’s how the "flamencore" came around. "and more..." is just to make sure that we don’t limit ourselves. We will NOT be bound by genre or style!!! - And although we may even have and belong to some of those, we need the freedom of thinking as we feel like... That freedom is what I consider the lifestyle of rock n roll to be all about; - Take NO orders from no one, do as you fucking please, have your fun and give a damn! We appreciate that and get inspired from that wherever we meet it: movies, books, paintings anything in life!

Do you guys party just as much as you work?

707: I don’t drink, drug or fuck. Working with theses boys is a party!

HP1; Jeppe and I usually finish of all rehearsals with some (sometimes more) fine Danish microbrewery beers, and touring without partying haven’t really been an option so far, for the 15 years we played together.

Favorite Films?

HP1: Cannibal Flesh Riot, original and latest King Kong, Nosferatu, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Dawn of the Dead, Disney’s Snow White, Fantasm, Timebandits, The Ruttles- All You Need is Cash, the Leone/Morricone westerns... there’s so many great movies out there.

Peter, I know you have an art background do you still practice that side of your abilities?

HP1: I am educated as an architect so I’ve had lots of drawing lessons. But just as with music, I loved drawing since I was a kid. When asked at the age of 16 what I wanted to do with my life I thought; I love playing music and drawing, but the music I hold dearest. So I decided then to gofor a professional career with my drawing skills so I’d never have to compromise my music in order to make a living out of it. But nothings black and white and I’ve been in compromising situations on the way. But right now I work as an architect for a living and play music for fun. So I get to draw and do designs professionally. I also do designs for my bands as well so I’m still pretty active with graphics. Unfortunately I never have time to just draw for fun and developed new ideas any more. Guess that’s why I don’t consider it art, but just graphic stuff.

When is the Album showing up? I just can't get enough of Hola Ghost.

707: Me neither... As soon as these lazy bums I play with get their shit together we will start recording an album...

HP1: The plan is actually to record a mini album or full length this spring, to be released just before or after next summer. Working titles are "Six Bullets" or "Armed Revolution". At the same time, and that’s why we don’t know if we have time to do the full length, we are working on the soundtrack for "Cannibal Flesh Riot" to be released with the original comic book by Gris Grimly when his DVD package of the movie comes out next year. 

Best memories with Hola Ghost so far?

707: Performing my drum solo the first time...

HP1: performing solo in Finland and LA having people yelling for the Hola Ghost song Cannibal Flesh Riot and performing it with Hola Ghost in LA having most of the crowd singing along on the chorus. Nothing beats a good band /audience - interaction live!

When are plans to come back to the states? Come to Long Beach.

HP1: Theres no specific plans about going back to the states, but when the album is out we will definitely come, and I like Long Beach, so lets try to go there as well... 

How are holidays times in Denmark?

HP1: Rainy! - That’s why I’m often on tour he he... This year I left Denmark just as fall kicked in with rain, for the Japanese late summer for 3 weeks. Then we went to Spain catching the late summer there while winter was slowly taking over Denmark. In late November we went to LA enjoying the sun there while it was long gone in Denmark. After 4 summers it’s actually OK to snuggle up inside with beers and movies while the rain howls around the lightless day outside... 

Thank you very much, Hola Ghost, but before it’s over, any last words?

HP1 and 707: You’re welcome and may there be ROCK!