{"id":851,"date":"2018-10-07T05:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T05:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=851"},"modified":"2018-11-08T20:48:45","modified_gmt":"2018-11-08T20:48:45","slug":"lee-love-austin-rocket-the-hip-priests-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=851","title":{"rendered":"Lee Love & Austin Rocket The Hip Priests Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A unique band with an unrivaled\u00a0catalogue of singles a clutch of albums that are the top of any garage punk chart and the constant rebirth and pursuit of recognition The Hip Priests are relentless in their pursuit of the next-best song they seem to effortlessly write and release 45’s\u00a0 play memorable sporadic shows and on the verge of releasing a brand new album.\u00a0 Maybe the stars have aligned and finally 2019 will see an industry wake up and public catch on to what they’re about.\u00a0 How could I resist not slinging a few questions at Lee and Austin about what’s coming and whats been happening in the world of The Hip Priests (which usually is quite a lot)…\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A new album? What made you decide to get back into the studio to record a full-length album?<\/p>\n

OZ– In all honesty, there weren\u2019t really any plans to do one, we were gonna carry on churning out the 7 inches. But I\u2019ve never been totally happy with any of the albums we\u2019ve done, either the Recording or the mixing has always been rushed and I wanted to do one album I\u2019d be properly proud of where everything was right. So I mentioned it to Lee when we were playing in the US last year and twisted his arm until he Agreed haha.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Lee- I\u2019d sworn I wouldn\u2019t do one but then, yeah, Oz persuaded me. Part of it, too was that we had yet another person then fuck off (Joe Blow) and, in my\/our own odd twisted way, we then think we need to go and show everyone again. I\u2019m forever saying I\u2019ve had enough n part of that is we just hit a point where it was evident, despite our \u2018successes\u2019 that we\u2019d hit some bullshit Rocknroll glass ceiling.\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can you reveal the title?<\/p>\n

Oz– We could but we\u2019re gonna keep it under wraps for now until we know how it\u2019s gonna be released.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Lee<\/em>– Nah – I\u2019m gonna piss Austin off and tell you (I\u2019m sure that it\u2019s been mentioned online anyway). It\u2019s going to be called \u2018Stand for Nothing\u2019. I first heard it as a negative\/pessimistic expression but then realised how amazingly it also tied into the Malcolm X Quote \u2018A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything\u2019. It then gave it that potential duality of meaning and then I just loved it and resisted changing it. Most people will likely just read it as another \u2018Oh the Priests are pretending to be all nihilistic again\u2019 thing anyway. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How many songs will be on it?\u00a0 Did you get a label yet mate?<\/p>\n

Oz– The plan is that there\u2019s gonna be 10 songs on the CD and 11 on the vinyl. As you know mate, we were on the verge of signing with SPV Steamhammer at the end of last year and actually had a draft contract but in true rock n roll clich\u00e9 style, that all went to shit and we\u2019ve since been looking for another label to release it. Ideally, it will come out on a bigger label that can sort us some PR and better distribution, as that\u2019s what we\u2019ve needed for a few years but we\u2019ll see. If not we\u2019ll do it the usual way I guess\u2026..<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Lee\u00a0<\/em>– As Oz said, we recorded 14 so ones gone towards a single and two have been left aside for the moment. We\u2019re still trying to sort out who\u2019s definitely doing it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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How did the writing process go?\u00a0 how do The Hip Priests work? from inception to recording?<\/p>\n

Oz– Slightly different to usual in that Lee actually recorded rough demos of the songs this time and sent them round to the rest of us, which made it a quicker process to learn them. We then knocked them around in rehearsal until they sounded right and went in and recorded them. We also did the album over three-weekend sessions this time rather than one long, painful week of recording which was way better for everyone\u2019s sanity! In typical Priests style though we did end up squeezing in an extra tune a couple of days before the last session just to get another 7\u201d down!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lee<\/em>– Yeah, I bought some cheap as little Boss recorder and did rough as fuck demos with me just playing a couple of tracks of guitar and doing a couple of tracks of vocals. I guess it helped with also deciding what we\u2019d work on and what we perhaps wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 \u00a0The album started to give ideas of second guitar parts here and there. I guess the main thing that\u2019s different on this album is the writing itself in that I\u2019ve taken on different subject matters and characters even on this one. I really didn\u2019t want to do another album that primarily about my fabricated ego, getting fucked up and\/or fucking.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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You’ve gone from a four-piece to five what was the reasoning behind this move?\u00a0 What have the two new boys brought to the band?\u00a0 Introduce us and let us know a bit about them?<\/p>\n

Oz– We\u2019ve talked about getting another guitarist for a long time just to fill out the sound. In smaller venues we\u2019d get away with it through sheer volume but when we played some bigger festival shows it was noticeable in places that it was lacking an extra guitar. Mike had been pestering us for a while to join and as some of the ideas Lee had for the new album were needing a bigger sound, we decided to give him a shot. Having just auditioned drummers and found Des we couldn\u2019t really be arsed with auditioning again for a guitarist so we just told Mike to come down and if it worked he was in, simple as that. It does sound fuckin huge now too and Mike\u2019s got the rhythm side of things nailed. I guess what they\u2019ve brought to the band, as well as their playing, is some new enthusiasm cos the rest of us are pretty jaded haha.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Playing\u00a0shows sporadically\u00a0around shit island to a rabid audience of people who actually “get it” must make up for those that don’t get it?\u00a0 Are people afraid of the Hip Priests?\u00a0 Songs like the last 12″ (‘No Time’) left the listener in no doubt about how you view what’s going on here in 2018 is the album going to be songs of a similar vein?<\/p>\n

Oz– Haha, I\u2019d rather play to a bigger rabid audience, <\/strong>to be honest, but garage\/punk ain\u2019t ever been a big hit in the UK really has it? Rather than being scared of us, I think most people are still oblivious to us as, despite everything we\u2019ve done, we\u2019re still kinda under the radar to most people. The album\u2019s a perfect mix I think, there\u2019s some similar stuff on the state of the UK as well as tunes about wasting yr life playing this stuff, surviving as a band for over 10 years, the narcissism of social media\u2026\u2026just no songs about fucking.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lee<\/em>– I still think people here especially don\u2019t get us and we\u2019ve never been welcomed into any of the Island\u2019s nepotistic \u2018punk rock\u2019 scenes or it\u2019s middle-aged seaside specials. We still exist totally under the radar \u2013 and because we\u2019ve always been committed to the idea that we\u2019d never beg or brown nose anyone it\u2019s been a hindrance. But then again, how many other UK underground punk or whatever fucking bands are on their 24th<\/sup> 7\u201d single, 4th<\/sup> album and get invited onto bills with the Hellacopters, etc. \u201cHey, boys \u2013 you can come to Holland all expenses paid and play with RFTC, The Turks and the Hellacopters or play with The Anti Nowhere League in some bogging seaside town?\u201d. Haha. As regards \u2018No Time\u2019 being a prelude to the new album. Yeah \u2013 I guess it was in a way. It\u2019s pretty fucking dark in many places. I\u2019ve always been socially and politically aware but it wasn\u2019t something I\u2019d really allowed to come into my writing, bar just expressing anger and admittedly worthless negativity but then I got to the point where I simply couldn\u2019t stop it. I could have rattled off 14 songs about the state of the UK but chose to kinda make it snapshots of other things too, none of them very cheery though! Hahaha. From the sociopathic psychos that you might find in any town (actually written the day after meeting some scary bloke in le Pub early this year) to Mainstream brainwashing media, Zombie Social Media, broken relationships, woeful self-medication, etc I imagine it\u2019s sounding like a laugh a minute! \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You’ve played with some immense bands over the last few years and taken your blitzkrieg\u00a0to mainland Europe\u00a0– is there a different take on what you do over in Europe is there less judgment of a band like The Hip Priests?<\/p>\n

Oz– They just understand rock n\u2019 roll better in Europe and support live music in a way that the UK doesn\u2019t. Some of the festival lineups we\u2019ve played on have been ridiculous in terms of bands we love (The Hellacopters, Zeke, RFTC, New Bomb Turks and Nashville Pussy all on the same bill!) and that would never happen in the UK. In fact, you\u2019d be lucky to ever get The Hellacopters or the Turks back in the UK.<\/strong><\/p>\n