On Saturday 22th of February, the
Gothic rock band The Nosferatu will be playing live at Temple club in Athens
featuring original members Vlad Janicek and Louis DeWray from the original 90s
era line-up.
First of all, what triggered the formation
of The Nosferatu? Was it a need to express yourselves and create new music again
or to fulfill something that was long ago left unfulfilled?
This is a long-complicated set of
circumstances but to be brief it was instigated by myself. Some sudden life
changes made me re-evaluate myself and I realized I missed music too much to
keep myself any longer in a self-imposed exile.
Witnessing the “official” band (a term I
do not recognize as it was not authorized) descend into a shadow of the
original concept also contributed to my decision to resurrect my vision of the
band.
Your lineup consists of original
members Vlad Janicek and Louis DeWray from the original 90s era line-up
together with Rob Leydon and Chris Clark. All of you have been involved in the
Nosferatu story in various eras, but now for the first time all together with
this particular lineup. How do you feel that this lineup of the band stands?
Both from a professional and personal
point of view this is possibly the most harmonious and slick lineup I have
played in. All members have a very dedicated attention to detail and quality
and integrity permeate every aspect of our performance and writing.
Rehearsing has been an absolute pleasure
from the start with the guys.
Nosferatu was considered one of
the major Goth bands of the 90s. Your overall image and sound, blending old
horror films with esoteric dark music with a romantic feel, a flare for the theatrical
and the dramatic, has left its mark. Do you feel that this type of Goth needs
to be served to the audience of today as a reminder of what once was?
We always stood alone during a time when
the scene began to fragment and dilute. From the start the aim was to present a
vision and style that connected the lyrical and musical elements to a visual
expression in artwork and stage presentation.
I still believe we fill a void missing
in the scene, but time will tell how big that void is!
This isn’t the first time that
two bands share the same name. The same has occurred with Gene Love Jezebel for
example. Although this can be very confusing for your fans, who also witness
the rival between members, it’s the music that will justify each party in the
end. What’s your opinion?
Firstly, I am a 50% owner of the band
name Nosferatu, I never gave any authorization or permission for Damien to use
the name.
But we decided rather than create a war
to take a higher moral stance. The reason to use The Nosferatu has many facets
but the prime one is to indicate a difference.
We felt we had to demonstrate a
difference although minor and the use of “The” is partly to indicate we are the
real band. Real in terms of attitude and aspirations.
Apart from live appearances,
should we be expecting new material from you in the form of a new album?
It is very much our aim to complete a
new album, currently 3-4 new songs have been composed and are already mostly
completed. Perhaps I am being too ambitious but having my creative energy
revitalized I firmly believe its possible fans might see something by year end.
How do you feel that you will be
playing live in Athens? What should the Greek audience expect from your
upcoming show at Temple?
We are very excited and honoured to be
playing Athens, I know first hand the affection and loyalty of the Greek fans
in the scene to our songs. Being able to finally present them with a show
rammed full of classics as well as an opportunity to air some new songs is very
nice.
Our Hellenic audience should expect a
professional, dramatic performance with many classic songs some of which were
rarely performed live previously, played with a style and panache in keeping
with the founding principles.
Interview by Nick Drivas
Categories:
INTERVIEWS
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