Interview, Shoctopus

Posted on 25th Mar 09 by Contributor | 1

Artist: Shoctopus
Author: Paddy Murphy

With a name like Shoctopus then they can only be a bunch of Hell"raising rockers bent on a mission for world domination. Drop"d spoke to the band about all things rock and roll.

Drop"d: Righto fellas" for those of us that don't know who Shoctopus are" please fill us in….

Shoctpus: We're a Classic/Hard Rock four"piece from" and based in Dublin" Ireland. We've got Charlie Black on lead vocals" Rob "Ripper" Dillane on drums and backing vocals" Ian "Tank" Boylan on bass duties and Stavis on guitars and backing Vocals. We love rock"

Drop"d: How's ye all meet and how did the band start"

Stavis: Well myself and Rob had been knockin' around in bands for the last 7 years. We started out in early 2007 as Shoctopus when Charlie came along and jumped on in. We played a lot of gigs around Dublin. But in January 2008" our bassist quit and stopped us in our tracks. We pushed on with bassist auditions that lasted 3 months" and started preparing to go in and record our EP. Tank came down to audition after seeing an ad online. Totally blew us away" and we all got on. It wasn't long before we were rehearsing the back catalogue" writing new stuff" and ready to gig. So since May 2008 we have been going strong" have gigged around" and recorded our Debut EP in November"

Drop"d: Give us a list of the band's influences" And your own influences. Who did you listen to growing up that made you think "fuck" I could do that". Anyone in the band into music that's completely naff"

Charlie: How are we gonna answer that….eh

Ripper: Just start namin' bands dude"

Together: Thin Lizzy" AC/DC" Guns n' Roses" Led Zeppelin" Black Sabbath" Deep Purple" Iron Maiden" Van Halen" Metallica" DiamondHead" Rory Gallagher" Jimi Hendrix" Queen.….

S: This could go on for ages….we all individually listen to all different kinds of stuff" rock" metal" jazz" folk" dance" trance" blues" classical" pop….all sorts"

Drop"d: So the whole classic rock thing….why is it so popular again" Will it ever die out do ya think and what's the future for the classic rock sound"

S: I think because the world is just crying out for some real old skool RAWK again"" Too long have there been too many "samey" bands out" no flare" in my opinion of course. Where'd the almighty riff go"" The solo"" The proper rock bands"" That's what we're all about man….riffs" melody" solos" rockin and havin' fun"

R: Rock will never die man…..nearly everyone loves to have fun" get wasted" party and listen to good tunes…..sex drugs and rock n' roll"

C: Fads will come and go" but in the end you cant beat a great rock n roll band""

Drop"d: Where's been your favourite place to play"

R: Definitely The Button Factory"

C: Anywhere"

S: I'm with Charlie on this one….any place" any time" But The Button Factory is sweet"

Drop"d: What's your favourite song to play live"

C: King of the Mountain….I just don't know what that song does to me when we play it….it just takes over"

R: Mother Tongue.

T: One For the Road.

S: I just love to play man" but I suppose it would be a song we have called StrangleHold. It's kinda different from our other stuff as it's a bit more funky" and I love playin' the chorus riff

Drop"d: Any good groupie stories" any "gig from hell" stories"

S: Aw man….we had this nightmare "gig" last year We were due to headline a show in a pub in Sligo as a favour to a band who couldn't do it. So we hauled asses and gear in a rock n roll convoy 3 and a half hours "200 odd Km" across Ireland" After a long drive we get to the venue to the surprised lookin' landlady who very politely told us "the gig was cancelled" a week before we had even left. It was communication breakdown of an order only seen in This Is Spinal Tap"
Needless to say it sucked after draggin a whole backline all the way down there and dyin' to play. We tried to sort something out but the landlady had already booked a DJ for the night and couldn't cancel him on such short notice.
So we did what anyone would do…..parked the van and the convoy and went and got sloppy drunk in Sligo Town. It was a savage night. So I suppose wasn.t a total loss eh" We'll have to save the groupie stories for the band biography

Drop"d: What's your take on the current Irish music scene" as in all things rock n roll" We in a good healthy position or are we just full of media"hyped"up posers"

R: There are great bands out there allright that are not being noticed. And the gig scene doesn't really help any. Too many gigs are too expensive to pay in. Why pay a tenner to see unknown bands and likely to end up being disappointed" And bands have to fight the smoking garden too"

C: It's easy to get gigs as a band….just not so easy to get the good gigs….a lot of "who you know" bullshit.

S: And there is definitely too many media hyped"up posers""

Drop"d: What band would you love to play with"

R: I'd love to play with Audioslave" Chris Cornell's voice is amazing man

C: Motorhead"

T: Metallica….definitely Metallica.

S: I'd love to play with Guns n' Roses from back in the day man. That would ROCK.

Drop"d: Live band or studio band"

C: We pride ourselves on being able to write good tunes" get 'em down in the studio" and deliver 'em with power" passion and intensity on stage.

S: Hells yeah man" What he said.

Drop"d: What kind of equipment do ye use" Guitars" drums" recording stuff etc.

T: I play a 5"string Dean with active pickups" through a Morley Wah" Boss Bass Overdrive" Chorus into a 1"200 Watt Ampeg Stack…..the earthquake machine.

Stavis: Yeah man you gotta hear this thing…..shakes yer bones. I play a Gibson Les Paul Standard. I love it" plays like a dream. I run it through a Vintage Rat distortion pedal" Boss Digital Delay" Boss Digital Reverb" Dunlop CryBaby Wah into my Marshall Mode4 Half Stack. Whopper sound.

R: I'm in the middle of getting a new kit" so I can't really answer that right now…..ask me again some time.

Drop"d: Tyra Banks or Jessica Alba"

Tank: Jessica.

R: Tyra Banks….I have my reasons…..and they are dirty.

C: Yes please"

S: Aw yeah…nice one….how am I to follow that.

Drop"d: Any Irish band/ singer you'd love to pound into the ground with your boot"

S: Yeah I'm sure there's a few alright…..but we wouldn't want them to know it's comin' now would we"

Drop"d: What's the plan in the next year for Shoctopus"

C: Well we're looking to gig as much as possible" and as many places as possible. We just wanna rock it man" anywhere for as many people as possible. Our website shoctopus. com is up and running" our debut EP King of the Mountain is recorded" and right now we're finalizing the art work" and we plan on releasing it later this year. So keep your eyes and ears peeled.

Drop"d: So" you've got some gigs coming up in the next while" give us some details.

S: Yeah man" we have the Emergenza Battle of the Bands Semi"finals in The Button Factory on Wed April 15th which should be a great laugh" We have been given the earliest slot know to mankind….. 7:30pm. Tickets are available from us or you can pay in at the door. It's an audience vote so come along and show your support and rock out with us.

We have a headline slot down in The Precinct" Baker Place in Limerick on Sat 18th of April. It's a Cancer Charity gig. It's "6 in" for a good cause and there'll be a few bands playing. So if you find yourself in the area" pop on in and have some rock

We're finalizing a gig in The Cellar on Dame Street" Dublin" for Friday 24th of April. Nothing set in stone yet….but for more details on any gigs and news check out Shoctopus.com or come join our friends list on Shoctpus Myspace