"we've never been very into following genres or trying to set up our own, we just make the music that we enjoy"
This band have worked so much they have actually started wearing make-up.The four piece "Electro Shock" group have certainly taken the music world by storm. Playing hundreds of venues across the country, playing with some well established bands and working alongside some of the big names in production. The band start touring again at the end of April, so before they come to shock the bezeebuzz out of you live, Altsounds.com gathered a little Q & A with the band....
[altsounds] Your Myspace page is all run by yourselves, have you chosen to do this to connect with the fans?
John Be: Yeah, we try and stay as close to our fans as possible, they're the reason that we can do what we do at the end of the day. My space is definitely a good way of doing that, its a good way of gaging how people are reacting to all the things we do. We also try and get out into the crowd to talk to people as much as we can at every show, so there are a few ways that we try and connect with them.
Laurence: It's getting harder as the page is getting a little crazy with lots of hits but My Passion has always been about a connection with fans, it's a bit of a cult and we want people to be part of the success and to feel part of something a bit special, it's not an overnight thing.
[altsounds] If we couldn't see promo photos of you, how would you describe your 'look'?
John Be: We've got quite a striking image, a lot of hair, dark markup, waistcoats, shirts, ties, neckerchiefs, braces etc, but to us the image is just one part of our whole live performance, we also put a lot of effort into our lightshow and the energy we put in on stage, so its kind of hard to explain the look without the whole package.
Laurence: We've always been into bands that have a big impact musically and then enhanced live visually. We always want the liveshow to be an event that would stick in the minds of people for the rest of their lives. The look is just a part of that.
[altsounds] You mention the great author Tim Burton on your webpage, are you all big fans? If so what is your favourite book by him?
Laurence: Tim Burton creates some great images in his films! I think that we definitely share a lot with him. The dark ideas and imagination along with some ray of light and a bit of hope in there too, it's a bit otherworldly and it's like some crazy dream. One of his classics has to be edward scissorhands and i'm looking forward to the release of his version of alice in wonderland.
[altsounds] "Electro Shock" sounds like a new genre? Is this something you have tried to create, and can you explain the style?
John Be: Not really, electro shock is just one way we use to describe our music, we've never been very into following genres or trying to set up our own, we just make the music that we enjoy and hope that people enjoy it too.
Laurence: There are always new genres being used for us and that's really encouraging because it means we don't sit right in one scene. We love a range of music and we have also wanted the music we make to show that wide influence. I think My Passion is the alternative to everything else, it's for people looking for something more, something thrilling.
[altsounds] What have you found to be the most successful technique in self-promoting the band? I assume the internet has worked wonders for your fanbase.
John Be: Yeah myspace and the internet in general have really helped our fanbase, but its more of a way of communicating to the fans, the best self promotion any band can do is just to get on the road as much as possible and spread the word that way.
Laurence: The internet is just one part for sure. It's when people really see it live that the love is cemented and from there people keep in touch with all the news online. My Passion has been very much about going out and performing to everyone possible, that's where you grow as a band and that's where you learn the most.
[altsounds] 'Corporate Flesh Party' is set to be your new release next month, explain the name and how excited you are about the record.
John Be: The name corporate flesh party is basically us saying that there are a lot of people in all corporations (not necessarily just the music industry but including them) that as soon as they see something that other companies are chasing, they try and get their piece of it, not caring about the product, or the people behind the product.
Laurence: We are all in the corporate flesh party whether we like it or not. It's up to us whether we lay down and let it play us and take us for all we are worth or whether we choose to stand up use it to our own advantage and overcome all the vultures, its about making your own way in this world and going out and creating your success not worrying what other people think or sitting back and waiting for a man in a office to give you a suitcase of cash and then starving your mind and creativity and throwing your bones out of the backdoor when he's had his piece.
It's an album about following your dreams and it captures where we are in our lives right now and we couldn't be happier.
John Be: Its our debut so we are ridiculously excited about this one! We've had the finished version now for a while and its burning holes in our laptops. We just want the whole world to hear it. Its something that we are very proud of.
[altsounds] What was it like working with Jon Mitchell on the record? Typical 'Muso'? Or laid back?
John Be: John Mitchell and Ben Humphries were amazing to work with, they really keyed into what we are all about and became part of our group. That connection was one of the most important things for us because of how close we are. We still keep in contact each week with them now, once you've gone through the making of something like this you have a connection forever. John's very laid back but focused on what he is doing. We all love recording and we don't need to be coerced into working, so if he has a “not laid back” side then we didn't come into contact with it. We just saw the artistic side, getting excited about the small details that also get us so excited.
Laurence: It was so important that these guys were as excited as we were about this album. It's our first and its really the introduction into a huge adventure. They loved being a part of it and we fed off of that enthusiasm everyone wanted to create something that hadn't been done before and to capture what we do live.
[altsounds] Alot of bands are taking the independent label route, how has it been for you setting up 'Style Suicide Records'?
John Be: We've had to put in a lot of work to bring the company into profit, a lot of touring and living below the breadline. But we love being on the road so for us it was the only natural way, especial seeing the difficulty that the major labels are having these days.
Laurence: Style Suicide was something we started because we needed a base to release our music and because everything else that was on offer was either surrounded by bullshit or just not as good as we could do ourselves. Its been so great achieving so much on our own and really rewarding, obviously there is only so much you can do on your own and the world is a huge place but up until now style suicide has served us really well.
[altsounds] I can imagine it being a full time job on its own, let alone the touring, partying, studio time and whatever else you get up to.....
John Be: we are very lucky to have a good team around us, so the “company” is wherever we are, as long as there is Internet then style suicide is working hard, we are also our own agents, Merchandisers, web designers, promoters which probably takes up most of the time. Its a small family right now and its good to know everyone is working hard.
Laurence: Ha yeah there isn't much partying time right now but a I think each show provides us with that pleasure and adreneline. Running the whole thing on our own has nearly killed us at times but I think its been so important for this band to become established on its own and ready for the next step into the wider world. All this work makes you more grateful for what you achieve in the long run.
[altsounds] In fact, that is a good question, what do you get up to in your spare time?
John Be: spare time??? whats that?
We've had a very full schedule of touring and being in the studio for the last 2 years, so we haven't really had a whole lot of time off, I suppose when we are home we try and spend as much time with loved ones as possible Simon and Laurencehave their own clothing ranges that they put their time into, Jon is restoring an old MG, but I think there is almost always something to do if its myspace, web work, or developing flyer designs or a new tshirt, or booking a tour, we also send out all our own merch from our online store, so that takes up a lot of time. All very exciting I know ;-)
Laurence: I'm tired after just hearing john's explanation. All I can say is we are lucky that we are enthusiastic driven young men. There's a lot to do and not enough hours. But as we grow it is becoming easier and the spare time is good to just switch off for a few hours and rest our minds and our bodies before throwing ourselves back into the next adventure.
[altsounds] What was it like receiving a personal message from Jeffree Star asking to do a UK tour? Did you think it was a hoax?
John Be: Surprising! Having one of the most famous people on myspace drop us a message is surprising enough, but we were so excited when he offered us the tour, especial as it was our first major tour was kinda crazy to be dropped in at the deep end.
Laurence: Yeah we are very different to what Jeffree is making but its was a great opportunity and we were excited that what we were doing excited him enough to invite us to his circus just through the internet.
[altsounds] You have your own clothing label right? Who designs the artwork for it?
John Be: We all do, if anyone has an idea then they show it to the rest of us and if we all like it we get it made, I think Laurence has have probably designed the most though.
Laurence: Everything goes through the band, so I come up with design and people say what they like and whether they'd like to see anything else on the tshirt. I think its a good way to work, Ken our father, guru, poet came up with the majority of the album artwork and I worked with him on that and some of the designs have stemmed from that so the ideas can come from anywhere and we try and keep it bold and exciting to match the music.
[altsounds] ...and finally is there anything you would like to say?
Laurence: I'd like to encourage people to come out and see my passion this summer on the tour for our album! The london show will be a big event and will be filmed for a future dvd. We didn't want to play one of the standard tour spots so we are going to be taking over a church in the centre of camden and putting on a crazy lightshow, it's going to be the biggest and most ambitious event we have ever done.
I also want people to keep an open mind with this band, don't just see a picture and form an opinion on that, listen to the album and keep a fresh head. My Passion is an ever evolving monster and we don't expect everyone to be ready to accept it but what we are doing and what we are creating is what we love and we hope that this will appeal to people who want to venture outside of the box
www.myspace.com/mypassion
www.mypassionfashion.co.uk
Catch the lads at a venue near you!
[altsounds] Your Myspace page is all run by yourselves, have you chosen to do this to connect with the fans?
John Be: Yeah, we try and stay as close to our fans as possible, they're the reason that we can do what we do at the end of the day. My space is definitely a good way of doing that, its a good way of gaging how people are reacting to all the things we do. We also try and get out into the crowd to talk to people as much as we can at every show, so there are a few ways that we try and connect with them.
Laurence: It's getting harder as the page is getting a little crazy with lots of hits but My Passion has always been about a connection with fans, it's a bit of a cult and we want people to be part of the success and to feel part of something a bit special, it's not an overnight thing.
[altsounds] If we couldn't see promo photos of you, how would you describe your 'look'?
John Be: We've got quite a striking image, a lot of hair, dark markup, waistcoats, shirts, ties, neckerchiefs, braces etc, but to us the image is just one part of our whole live performance, we also put a lot of effort into our lightshow and the energy we put in on stage, so its kind of hard to explain the look without the whole package.
Laurence: We've always been into bands that have a big impact musically and then enhanced live visually. We always want the liveshow to be an event that would stick in the minds of people for the rest of their lives. The look is just a part of that.
[altsounds] You mention the great author Tim Burton on your webpage, are you all big fans? If so what is your favourite book by him?
Laurence: Tim Burton creates some great images in his films! I think that we definitely share a lot with him. The dark ideas and imagination along with some ray of light and a bit of hope in there too, it's a bit otherworldly and it's like some crazy dream. One of his classics has to be edward scissorhands and i'm looking forward to the release of his version of alice in wonderland.
[altsounds] "Electro Shock" sounds like a new genre? Is this something you have tried to create, and can you explain the style?
John Be: Not really, electro shock is just one way we use to describe our music, we've never been very into following genres or trying to set up our own, we just make the music that we enjoy and hope that people enjoy it too.
Laurence: There are always new genres being used for us and that's really encouraging because it means we don't sit right in one scene. We love a range of music and we have also wanted the music we make to show that wide influence. I think My Passion is the alternative to everything else, it's for people looking for something more, something thrilling.
[altsounds] What have you found to be the most successful technique in self-promoting the band? I assume the internet has worked wonders for your fanbase.
John Be: Yeah myspace and the internet in general have really helped our fanbase, but its more of a way of communicating to the fans, the best self promotion any band can do is just to get on the road as much as possible and spread the word that way.
Laurence: The internet is just one part for sure. It's when people really see it live that the love is cemented and from there people keep in touch with all the news online. My Passion has been very much about going out and performing to everyone possible, that's where you grow as a band and that's where you learn the most.
[altsounds] 'Corporate Flesh Party' is set to be your new release next month, explain the name and how excited you are about the record.
John Be: The name corporate flesh party is basically us saying that there are a lot of people in all corporations (not necessarily just the music industry but including them) that as soon as they see something that other companies are chasing, they try and get their piece of it, not caring about the product, or the people behind the product.
Laurence: We are all in the corporate flesh party whether we like it or not. It's up to us whether we lay down and let it play us and take us for all we are worth or whether we choose to stand up use it to our own advantage and overcome all the vultures, its about making your own way in this world and going out and creating your success not worrying what other people think or sitting back and waiting for a man in a office to give you a suitcase of cash and then starving your mind and creativity and throwing your bones out of the backdoor when he's had his piece.
It's an album about following your dreams and it captures where we are in our lives right now and we couldn't be happier.
John Be: Its our debut so we are ridiculously excited about this one! We've had the finished version now for a while and its burning holes in our laptops. We just want the whole world to hear it. Its something that we are very proud of.
[altsounds] What was it like working with Jon Mitchell on the record? Typical 'Muso'? Or laid back?
John Be: John Mitchell and Ben Humphries were amazing to work with, they really keyed into what we are all about and became part of our group. That connection was one of the most important things for us because of how close we are. We still keep in contact each week with them now, once you've gone through the making of something like this you have a connection forever. John's very laid back but focused on what he is doing. We all love recording and we don't need to be coerced into working, so if he has a “not laid back” side then we didn't come into contact with it. We just saw the artistic side, getting excited about the small details that also get us so excited.
Laurence: It was so important that these guys were as excited as we were about this album. It's our first and its really the introduction into a huge adventure. They loved being a part of it and we fed off of that enthusiasm everyone wanted to create something that hadn't been done before and to capture what we do live.
[altsounds] Alot of bands are taking the independent label route, how has it been for you setting up 'Style Suicide Records'?
John Be: We've had to put in a lot of work to bring the company into profit, a lot of touring and living below the breadline. But we love being on the road so for us it was the only natural way, especial seeing the difficulty that the major labels are having these days.
Laurence: Style Suicide was something we started because we needed a base to release our music and because everything else that was on offer was either surrounded by bullshit or just not as good as we could do ourselves. Its been so great achieving so much on our own and really rewarding, obviously there is only so much you can do on your own and the world is a huge place but up until now style suicide has served us really well.
[altsounds] I can imagine it being a full time job on its own, let alone the touring, partying, studio time and whatever else you get up to.....
John Be: we are very lucky to have a good team around us, so the “company” is wherever we are, as long as there is Internet then style suicide is working hard, we are also our own agents, Merchandisers, web designers, promoters which probably takes up most of the time. Its a small family right now and its good to know everyone is working hard.
Laurence: Ha yeah there isn't much partying time right now but a I think each show provides us with that pleasure and adreneline. Running the whole thing on our own has nearly killed us at times but I think its been so important for this band to become established on its own and ready for the next step into the wider world. All this work makes you more grateful for what you achieve in the long run.
[altsounds] In fact, that is a good question, what do you get up to in your spare time?
John Be: spare time??? whats that?
We've had a very full schedule of touring and being in the studio for the last 2 years, so we haven't really had a whole lot of time off, I suppose when we are home we try and spend as much time with loved ones as possible Simon and Laurencehave their own clothing ranges that they put their time into, Jon is restoring an old MG, but I think there is almost always something to do if its myspace, web work, or developing flyer designs or a new tshirt, or booking a tour, we also send out all our own merch from our online store, so that takes up a lot of time. All very exciting I know ;-)
Laurence: I'm tired after just hearing john's explanation. All I can say is we are lucky that we are enthusiastic driven young men. There's a lot to do and not enough hours. But as we grow it is becoming easier and the spare time is good to just switch off for a few hours and rest our minds and our bodies before throwing ourselves back into the next adventure.
[altsounds] What was it like receiving a personal message from Jeffree Star asking to do a UK tour? Did you think it was a hoax?
John Be: Surprising! Having one of the most famous people on myspace drop us a message is surprising enough, but we were so excited when he offered us the tour, especial as it was our first major tour was kinda crazy to be dropped in at the deep end.
Laurence: Yeah we are very different to what Jeffree is making but its was a great opportunity and we were excited that what we were doing excited him enough to invite us to his circus just through the internet.
[altsounds] You have your own clothing label right? Who designs the artwork for it?
John Be: We all do, if anyone has an idea then they show it to the rest of us and if we all like it we get it made, I think Laurence has have probably designed the most though.
Laurence: Everything goes through the band, so I come up with design and people say what they like and whether they'd like to see anything else on the tshirt. I think its a good way to work, Ken our father, guru, poet came up with the majority of the album artwork and I worked with him on that and some of the designs have stemmed from that so the ideas can come from anywhere and we try and keep it bold and exciting to match the music.
[altsounds] ...and finally is there anything you would like to say?
Laurence: I'd like to encourage people to come out and see my passion this summer on the tour for our album! The london show will be a big event and will be filmed for a future dvd. We didn't want to play one of the standard tour spots so we are going to be taking over a church in the centre of camden and putting on a crazy lightshow, it's going to be the biggest and most ambitious event we have ever done.
I also want people to keep an open mind with this band, don't just see a picture and form an opinion on that, listen to the album and keep a fresh head. My Passion is an ever evolving monster and we don't expect everyone to be ready to accept it but what we are doing and what we are creating is what we love and we hope that this will appeal to people who want to venture outside of the box
www.myspace.com/mypassion
www.mypassionfashion.co.uk
Catch the lads at a venue near you!
