{"id":14845,"date":"2021-03-14T05:00:08","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T05:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=14845"},"modified":"2021-03-11T21:43:13","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T21:43:13","slug":"black-spiders-andy-ozzy-lister-interview-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=14845","title":{"rendered":"Black Spiders – Andy “Ozzy” Lister – Interview exclusive"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Firstly, What brought about the reunion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a total shock to me to be honest. I for one was missing being in a band but hadn\u2019t said anything to anyone else. Then I received a message from Pete asking whether I\u2019d be up for getting Spiders back together. I said I was, but only if everyone else was too. To my double surprise, the messages came in one after the other from the other guys, so we were on. Obviously, it didn\u2019t pan out with Tiger Si which was a real shame.<\/p>\n

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Was there a plan when the band got back together for a new album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As soon as we\u2019d decided to give it another go it was business as usual, which with us means; album, tour, repeat.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>How did the record come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I say it was business as usual it soon became apparent that our usual way of working wasn\u2019t going to be possible. One factor was Tomo didn\u2019t live in the UK anymore so we needed to find a new way of doing things. This was initially Pete and I meeting up and going through ideas we had and that Irwin and Tomo had emailed through. It was going well and then COVID happened. It didn\u2019t take long for us too realise that we could carry on writing the way we had been apart from the meeting up part. Soon we had more songs than we\u2019d ever had as a band going into a studio to record an album. As soon as the restrictions allowed it we went into the studio and laid down the first three tracks. At that point I\u2019d never even met Wyatt.<\/p>\n

With liver performances being such a big part of the band was it difficult to plan a new record knowing you wouldn’t be able to hit the road?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t really affect the planning part it\u2019s just been really strange to finish an album and not have any gigs to play. I hope it hasn\u2019t damaged us too much, I do worry that being away means we\u2019ve been forgotten about some what. Usually we\u2019d make a statement through doing gigs, without that I feel we\u2019re a bit like Samson after a scalping.<\/p>\n

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What about live streaming this release show was that a tough decision\u00a0to make? again it’s such a weird time did the lockdowns afford you the time to get the songs to a point where you were super happy with them and not be rushed which might have happened if you’d book shows and a tighter deadline?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re not doing a live stream show, it\u2019s just a virtual release party. Personally, I hate all this Zoom stuff, I\u2019ve not had one good experience with it as I can\u2019t seem to engage the same way I do when people are in the room. I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be fine though as long as I don\u2019t have to say anything.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ve never really had deadlines as we\u2019ve never had a label telling us what to do. That\u2019s good and bad at the same time because it means we also don\u2019t have a label telling us what to do. We have to find our own way and make our own timetable. Or not. With these songs, we didn\u2019t overthink them and that meant the process has been fast for us but not rushed.<\/p>\n

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Tell us about the new record?\u00a0 What songs are on it and how were they written did you do anything differently this time? I guess, trying to be positive\u00a0what excited you about writing and recording the new record?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are thirteen tracks on the new album. One of them is a cover which is something we\u2019ve never done on an album before. At first, I was against it but I\u2019m trying to be more open-minded and less \u201cblinkered\u201d in the way I see the band.<\/p>\n

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The writing process was very different, as I suggested earlier. I think it helped us to bring our ideas into focus more. There\u2019s been less compromise and with that the ideas are more direct. I think it\u2019s as good as anything we\u2019ve ever done before at the very least. It really is an album of the 21st century, even though it doesn\u2019t sound like 21st-century music. We wrote it all via email, playing guitars and singing into computers, playing along to an electric drum kit. Who would have thought technology would actually be helpful!<\/p>\n

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Recording the album was a great experience, from the first day when I met Wyatt for the first time, heard him play and thought to myself \u201cwe\u2019re going to be alright\u201d. As well as that it meant we could get out of the house and have some sort of feeling of normality, all be it socially distanced. We had this new mindset where positivity ruled. In the past it was just the opposite; if one person didn\u2019t like something, it was gone. Matt our producer said he\u2019d never worked with such a negative band before and I for one was determined to turn that on its head. I\u2019d been one of the main culprits for the closed-minded approach and I wanted to change that and enjoy it, especially after not having it in my life for a few years.<\/p>\n