We are very honored to present you the interview that Budderside gave to Rock Overdose and to Konstantinos Sotirelis. The band talked about their debut album, "Budderside", their deal with UDR Records and their next plans. Enjoy!
Rock Overdose: Hello! Welcome to Rock Overdose!
Budderside: Thank you for having us.
Rock Overdose: How it’s going on the band’s side these days?
Budderside: Never better. We are just back home to Hollywood from our European Tour. We are so proud to have played the legendary Wacken Open Air festival. We had 3 weeks of shows in Germany and Sweden, including the Malmo Festival. We had the time of our lives and are dying to get back on the road. Now that we are home, we’re playing out locally and just took first prize in the “517” Santa Ana Band Wars, last night!
Rock Overdose: Your debut album, called Budderside, is scheduled to be released on the 23rd of September. How do you feel?
Budderside: We’ve never been so excited. Our whole lives are in these songs. We’re getting a lot of great reviews from all over the world. The album really is a step onto new ground for Rock N Roll and we love when people are open to it, and “get it”. It was great to play Europe and get “one on one” with our new friends/fans. The music seems to touch people exactly as we hoped it would. There is a deeper connection than words can express. It’s only when you really listen, loud, or share the experience live with us, that you truly understand what Budderside is. We hope the album touches millions.
Rock Overdose: A couple of months ago, you released your music video for the song “Pain”. What’s the feedback so far?
Budderside: 35K views so far, isnt bad! The video has been well received. The song really has a deeper message than the video concept plays out. There is a lot of angst and revelation in the song itself. The lyrics are directed toward people who always think they’re better than you and try keeping you down. The song is about learning to rise above all that and being strong, being “cool”. To overcome the “Pain” that comes everyday. The video is just FUN! It was fun to create, fun to shoot and fun to watch. The song is really catchy, so we love getting all the messages from people telling us the song is stuck in their heads. The feedback has been very positive.
Rock Overdose: What are the lyrics of the album about?
Budderside: Well, like I just described “Pain”, each song is a different story. Another truth. Another episode in life where the excuse of “how it is” didn’t match up with how we saw it! Our music allows us to express ourselves to you, and with you, on a different level, another plane. “Genocide” brings to life the feeling of hopelessness when trying to please others. How, so often, giving into what someone else wants from you is exactly the opposite of what should happen. If you know you’re standing up for what is right, never back down. If someone tries to destroy you, you must quickly bring those people to realize that it is they who will be destroyed. “Genocide” is the fight against the meaning of the word. Allowing others to dictate who you should be or how you are is genocide for all. To them we say “Fuck You’! “Ska Bra” taps into stories of missing my friends while they were in jail for some bullshit reason. Usually they were good people who just needed help. It’s a reflection of how we hurt the ones closest to us. It’s an anthem for all of us who feel life hasn’t given us what it promised yet. It’s a cry out to God, asking he see us for what we really stand for and to give us the opportunity to do something great with “The Gift” he gave us… LIFE! Phil Campbell from Motorhead does an amazing guitar solo on “Ska Bra”. “X-Girlfriend” was written while being Motorhead’s drug dealer, on and off the road. My girlfriend at the time was the Kingpin of Hollywood’s Speed Underground. I was doing a lot more than I was delivering and let me tell you, I was delivering a lot. I’ve spilled more dope on the floor in one day than most celebs get checked into rehab for in a lifetime. The line, “Rock-a-band-around-the-world” in the song means exactly that. We would make sure there was always enough to go around, no matter what. No matter what the risk. It was “Life”. The song takes a step back in the chorus to reflect on “The Party”. I saw myself on the floor of bathrooms all over the world getting high. Hiding from everyone else. The guys from Motorhead are a different breed. They keep going no matter what. Back home, off the tour, I lost myself in addiction and almost killed myself doing drugs on a daily basis. I wrote this song feeling like no one cared I was killing myself. Like they were all laughing while I was dying. It made the other druggies and junkies around me feel better knowing they hadn’t “lost it” like I had. I was a mess. Little did I know the song would see me through the day I was free of all that bullshit. So, to all that laughed and did nothing to help me, I sing… “watch me wandering, FREE”! “Clear Blue Sky” is a child-like look at the world and seeing how different it is compared to how it should be. “Open Relationship” is about lust and love. It’s a song about that spark and undying flame that lights up between two people, sexually. Also, appreciating someone for who they are and not holding someone in contempt for anything they’ve done. Loving someone without trying to own that person. It’s an ideal, actually. I have yet to see it done, ha ha. Accepting another the way you want to be accepted, not caged. I would do anything for someone willing to do that for me. “My Religion” is just that! Taking all religion, mixing it all together until they are unity. You and I are the same God. The song looks at the world in disgust and laughs. What else can you do but fight to make it a better place? It talks about the mistakes we’ve made, the elderly homeless without jobs, the children dying in our militaries, the liars leading our countries and the fact that we have the power to change it all. As Budderside, we see a very bright future for the world. Follow us! “The Envelope” is a look at the miracle of how much the body and mind can take. It’s limits. Again, a huge reference to drug addiction, this one is really a psycho-circus ride for those not afraid of “pushing the envelope”. “Let This One Breathe” is a trip down Abortion Lane. It’s so hard to come to grips with, or truly understand the way life works, right and wrong. Being selfish or doing the right thing can only be decided through the eyes of the beholder. Or can it? What truly lies on the other side waiting for us? We will all meet our maker, and we will all meet what we’ve made. “Can’t Wrap My Head Around You” isn’t too hard to figure out and speaks for itself.
Rock Overdose: How did the deal with UDR Records came up and how do you feel being in this label?
Budderside: Around the same time I met Lemmy, I met Todd Singerman, our Manager. Todd and the guys would stop by my place from time to time and have a jam. I had a whole house full of instruments and recording equipment. Phil was constantly throwing down guitar on our demos. In the middle of writing “Pain” Todd poked his head through the door and said, “That’s a hit!”. Lemmy, Todd, Phil Taylor, Phil Campbell and Mickkey always encouraged me to be like them. Always made me feel like an equal even when I was far from it. Lemmy would let me work on lyrics for Motorhead songs with him all the time. It was unreal. Todd kept a close eye on me as I turned my life around and started singing for legends left and right. Sobriety got me very focused on what I wanted to become. As a singer I shot for the stars. Endless lessons and practice lead to replacing singers I always looked up to. Still, something was missing. To us, being a band means writing our own songs, not being someone else’s puppet. When I called Todd to tell him know I was ready to put my own band in the studio, he and the whole Motorhead family stepped in and have been kicking ass ever since. It’s meant to be!
Rock Overdose: Do you have any touring plans so as to promote the album?
Budderside: The band plans on constantly touring until we die (laughs). That’s the Motorhead Music creed, isn’t it? Motorhead never stopped touring. I hope the same for us. We’ll have a strong European presence in 2017. We are so proud to be in the capable hands of our booking agents at UTA and look forward to bringing our show around the world over the next year. The rest of 2016 has us touring the US. We hope to reveal a special announcement about who we’ll be out with very soon.
Rock Overdose: When did you decide to start the band?
Budderside: I believe I was 5 years old when I tugged on my father’s pant leg and told him I wanted to be a Rockstar. My first attempt turned into so many. Eventually we found each other. Rich, Stoneman and I made our promises to each other to see this thing through since the moment we jammed together for the first time when I was still a teenager. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve kept our promise. Johnny has some catching up to do with how well the rest of us know each other. But, we have him doing plenty of that and he doesn’t seem to want to quit. The last two years have seen Budderside growing into something far greater than ourselves and he’s a huge part of that. We all are. We’re a family now.
Rock Overdose: What difficulties did you face up during the composing and the recordings of the album?
Budderside: What difficulties didn’t we face (laughs)? Earning the money. Making it happen. Fighting off disbelievers. Fighting failing relationships. Fighting with each other. Working endless hours to work more endless hours. Having zero free time to do anything else. Finding the perfect sound. Making every note perfect. Finding the most talented people to accomplish impossible performances. Getting enough sleep. Dealing with FUCKING LOS ANGELES TRAFFIC (γέλια)!! Making your dreams come true is a full time job. It’s not easy. But, I am not complaining. In the end, with Paul Inder Kilmister’s divine influence, we produced an album we love. We almost died writing these songs. We would have died to make this record if we had to. Now, we want to share it with you and we won’t stop until we have.
Rock Overdose: What are your goals and dreams for Budderside?
Budderside: We want to play shows at all the places like Madison Square Garden, The Staples Center, Donington and Wacken’s Main Stages. When we play we want all the people there to sing our songs along with us. We want to make our label, UDR/Motorhead Music very proud. We want to make Lemmy, Phil, Mikkey and Todd proud, our friends and family proud. We want our music to be heard all over the world. We want to share life with all those who hear it. We want to overcome the impossible. We want fortune, fame and success on every level, yet, remain down to earth and real like you and I… and Lemmy. We want to write more songs and record more albums. Right now, we just want that “Big Break”! We need our heroes like, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, Steel Panther or any huge group like these to believe in us enough to take us out on the road with them. It’s all about who loves you and who is willing to give you that chance. With your help, we believe that can happen. Will you help us?
Rock Overdose: Thank you very much for this interview. The last words are yours.
Budderside: Please follow us and give us a “like” on our Budderside Facebook Page. Subscribe to our Budderside YouTube Channel. Follow us on instagram, Twitter. Get yourself a copy of our debut album BUDDERSIDE on Amazon and iTunes
For Rock Overdose
Konstantinos Sotirelis
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