Interview . The Blackout . w/ sean Smith (vocals) and Rhys Lewis (bass). label Epitaph .

Interviewer: Laura Schriefer . 19/04/2010 . Markthalle . Hamburg . Germany .

I did an interview with the Blackout back in december where I asked all the typical questions about their recent record, the bandname, their influences and so on. Since then they didn't publish another record so Sean and Rhys agreed to do the interview in another way this time. I showed them pictures with key words and they told me whatever came to their minds, which sometimes was pretty funny.

TATTOOS

Sean: Oh, okay.. what's that. Well, everything that involves a woman I'm going to say sex.

Punk76 (laughing): Oh come on, it's not about the woman it's about tattoos.

Sean: Yeah I know but the first thing I saw was that it's a girls back. Well, I like tattoos and I like getting tattooed.

Punk76: Where are your tattoos? Can't see any?

Sean (smiling): Hidden. Yeah, I like getting tattooed..Rhys is getting tattooed soon.

Rhys: Yeah, next month.

Punk76: What are you getting done?

Rhys: Sailor Jerry kind of stuff.. like a swallow and stuff.

Punk76: How big is it going to be?

Rhys: Uhm, not sure yet. I think I'm going to start off small and then getting bigger.

Punk76: It really hurts.

Sean: Well, it depends where it is. My friend is a tattooer and he told me the worst place to get tattooed is your little toe. So we tattooed eachothers toes and it's pretty bad! I've got my stomach tattooed and that didn't really hurt that much.. probably because I was quite chubby back then. I've lost some punds since..

TWILIGHT:

Sean: FURY, ANGER!

Rhys: I've never seen it.

Sean: Vampires don't sparkle in the daylight, they die. Well.. I don't really have anything else to say about it.

Rhys: Well, it's a Disney's "Lost Boys" (movie from 1987).

Sean: No, it's not a Lost Boys, which is one of the best vampire movies of all time, it's just for fat goth girls (smiling). Which I love but they like Twilight, I just don't. Are they making another movie?

Punk76: Yes, they are.

Sean: Well, if I get casted, Twilight is brilliant, if I don't get casted, Twilight is dog shit.

Punk76: Would you want to be the good vampire?

Sean: I'd probably have to be the bad vampire I think.

FOOD:

Sean: Aaawww, that's a nice picture.

Punk76: Yeah, isn't it?

Sean: Food.. it's delicious. Yeah, I love food.

Punk76: Do you try to eat healthy when being on tour?

Sean: I try but most of the time it ends up getting something at Burger King because we don't really know where everything is in the cities we play. Like I love sushi, I could eat sushi every day but sadly I don't know where every sushi restaurant is in the world is so I have to eat the "Chicken Royale" which is known as the "Long Chicken" in Germany.

Punk76: Is any of you a vegetarian?

Sean: Nope. We're all normal meat eaters.

Punk76: That makes it easier.

Sean: Are you a vegetarian?

Punk76: No, I'm not.

Sean: Good girl!

DRUGS

Sean: Let's see.. well you've put drugs and a syringe where there are no drugs really.

Rhys: Well it depends..

Sean: Yeah, Rhys takes heroin every day.

(both laughing)

Sean: And then vitamins after to keep his body up with the heroin. Well.. I guess we're not fully against drugs, I mean heroin and stuff is stupid.

Rhys: I'll never do heroin

Sean: Again.. (smiling) but you know, someone smoking a joint could be really happy, like Bob Marley.

Rhys: Yeah, Bob Marley.. Take me to your dealer.

MICHAEL JACKSON

Sean: Excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent. Michael Jackson is excellent.

Punk76: Alright, I think I got it.

Sean: Brilliant. The guy who produced our album, Jason, told us a story his friend engineer worked with Michael Jackson and it was before the time where you had autotune and stuff and it was all on tape so you had to go back and record it all rather than record sections and Michael Jackson was always note perfect. And that's something you will not find anymore because you don't need to be a perfect singer anymore and I'm definitely one of those people. But yeah, computers can make you sound perfect where back in that time he was just a really good singer and a good songwriter as well.

Punk76: What's your opinion towards all the scandals that surrounded him?

Sean: To me nothing was proved. And yeah, I'm gonna say innocent until proved guilty. Even though he paid money but I think it was just to stop it anyway.. so. Rhys was all for it.. and I once heard Rhys saying "He should be allowed to have sex with children because he wrote Thriller". You said that, didn't you?

Rhys: We all said that! (smiling) No, honestly I think it was just people making something up to sell things.. he was the biggest artist ever.

Sean: I hear the same rumour about me everyday so imagine how it would have to be Michael Jackson.

Punk76: Which rumour do you hear?

Sean: Oh I hear hundrets every day. Well, maybe not hundrets but a lot different.

HOME

Sean: Oh, that is a picture of my house! Oh look, there's me in the bikini!

(Mike Lewis of the Lostprophets coming by)

Sean: Look Mike, what do you think?

Mike: Oh, it's my house!

(everyone laughing)

Sean: Well, good to know that we live in the same house Mike.. (smiling) I live with my parents at the moment because it's pointless to get a place because we're away so much. So when you showed us the picture i thought happy thoughts because I love my mother very much and she cooks me dinner at home and washes my dirty laundry so I guess that's a very happy thought.

Rhys: Anyone of us lives with their parents right now.. so home's the best.

Punk76: Did your parents support you wanting to become rockstars?

Rhys: Yeah, there was no disagreement.

Sean: All our parents supported us 100% from the beginning, which is strange actually. There were moments when my parents would ask "Are you making money?" and I'd answer "it's not about making money" and then he'd say "but how are you going to survive" and then I'd ask him to lend us some money. He actually lend us the money to buy our first batch of merchandise t-shirts and I don't think we've paid him back yet (smiling). But yeah, my dad lend us a van and Gavin's father built the inside so that we could live in it. And Rhys' father is a chiropractor and he breaks our backs after long tours and massages feets. So yeah, we're all very thankful for our parents and how supportive they are.

NIRVANA

Rhys: I listened to it recently.. it was one of my favourite records as a kid, when I was growing up.. awesome pop-rock songs.

Sean: Still awesome?

Rhys: Still great. Just like decent pop-rock songs. They just recorded it and nailed it.

Sean: Funny, there's a baby's willy on the cover. I.. uhm.. I recently thought about them a lot because I thought about how much I love Dave Grohl. And I decided next time I see him I'm gonna make an award and give it to him. An award for winning at life! But yeah, I'm not a big fan of being miserable, I think that's stupid, because I'm always miserable (smiling) but I'd rather listen to music that brings you up than takes you down. It's like drugs, like uppers and downers. But yeah, I never really got into Nirvana.. I got into metal very early.

ROCK OF LOVE/GROUPIES

Punk76: Actually I don't know if you know that show in the UK?

Sean: I do know the show.. but like, it's all made up, it's all written.

Punk76: Would you do something like that?

Sean: I'm not famous enough.

Punk76: But if MTV would offer you to do it?

Sean: Uhm.. I think it could be fun. It's just a sitcom where that guy (Bret Michaels) gets to kiss all the woman even though he's obiously bold that's why he's constantly wearing that bandana. It's all written, so it's not like it's a real documentary. So I'd do it for a laugh.

(the guys started looking at the girls and saying "yes, yes, yes, yes..")

Rhys: There are lots of shows like that.. like Flavor Flav and so on..

Sean: I've met Tila.

Punk76: Tila Tequila? Is she really so small?

Sean: Yeah, she's tiny. And a bit crazy. But yeah, I'd rather do something like that than work. I'd rather start a TV show and go like "love it or hate it" because I think that's what lots of people think of me, either they love me or they think "dieee" than have a job at an office.

Punk76: So you wouldn't ever want to work in an office?

Sean: No, not really. I don't like the idea of waking up early.

Punk76: But you have to get up early, too nowadays?

Sean: Yeah, but what we do isn't a job. A lot of people start a band and then complain about that but actually, it's a perfect life. We love making music, we love playing, we love seeing faces when we're playing whether it's shocked or happy. Yesterday we played in Berlin and the crowd seemed to enjoy it but there was one girl in the front row that absolutely hated it. And I loved the fact that she hated it, in between songs I was like "smile" and she was just standing there. And I was super pissed and that was amazing. So it's not a job, sometimes it's tough but nothing to complain about.. we do what 99% of bands want to do.. so now we're doing more than most bands ever do.

STRAIGHT EDGE

Sean: Oooouuuoouuuouuu.. (doing a sad sound)

Punk76: Sean, how should i write THAT sound down?

Sean (smiling): That's why I did it.

After a short pause

Sean: It's cool, I guess. It's up to the person so I wouldn't really judge for or against it.

Rhys: I've never been straight edge but I think it's kind of a close community.

Sean: Where we come from straight edge never was like a community, it was just a year when everyone was straight edge and then it just faded away. In America it seems to be more popular but in the end it's a lifestyle choice everyone has to make for themselves. And I'm not for or against it, if you're straight edge, it's cool if you're not, whatever. It's your choice.

CATERING RIDER

Rhys: Uh, catering rider..

Sean: Yesss, whose is this?

Punk76: It's a part of the Foo Fighters actually.

(Sean and Rhys studied the rider for a bit)

Sean: Our rider is nothing like this.. obviously 'cause we're not the Foo Fighters..

Punk76: So, what's the weirdest thing on your catering rider?

Sean: We've got one that we sent out for joke, just to see if we could get that. It's like a picture of Jack Klugmann who plays "Quincy", a used copy of a british porn magazine.

Rhys: A USED copy!

Sean: A white T-Shirt in small and dishwashing gloves. And once, we had all that stuff. But other than that we don't have anything weird on it really.. You Me At Six have socks on their rider. We should add that, too. Six pairs of black socks.

Rhys: Would make our suitcases lighter.

Sean: Genius idea!

Rhys: I'd say we should add one small black T-Shirt for everyone so we don't have to bring T-Shirts.

Punk76: But no special things? No special drinks or something?

Rhys: We should think about it but we never really have..

Sean: Rhys says heroin! (smiling)

(after both looked at the catering rider of the Foo Fighters again)

Rhys: But yeah, we'll take anything as long as it's free.

COMPUTER GAMES

Sean: We bring our Xbox with us wherever we go..it's on the bus now and we play Call Of Duty, Guitar Hero a car game.. we're all into computer games I guess.

Rhys: I like to play while being on tour, mostly guitar hero and football and stuff. If I would have a Xbox at home I'd play all the time so I keep it for the tour, for the down time.

PLASTIC SURGERY

Rhys: I've got some work done.

Sean (wondering): Really?

Rhys: Yeah.

Sean: What did you get done?

Rhys: Uhm..

Sean: Like your whole face? (smiling)

Sean: Alright, back to Heidi (Montag, girl on the picture). It's like straight edge, it's a lifestyle that you have to decide on your own.

Punk76: But there's a difference between being straight edge and having surgery done if you looked like this before.

Sean: Well, obviously she wasn't happy with the way she looked. If I wouldn't be happy I would get everything done. It's all about being happy in your own skin. You gotta do what makes you happy.. but the question is, is she happier the way she looks now?

Punk76: But you agree that she looked better before than after the surgery?

Sean: Well, she's not smiling on the after picture.. so, can't really tell.

Rhys: Surgery at that kind of age never seems to work I think..I think most of the time it makes you looks ridiculus.

Sean: I'm for it. If it makes you happier.. whatever makes you happy.

DIRTY LOVE

Sean: Oh, here we go.

Punk76: Yeah, it's one for you Sean.

Sean: Well, is this Dirty Love or what I feel about doing Dirty Love?

Punk76: It's about your side project (smiling)

Sean: Okay. Uhm.. don't know what to say about it. Trying to make a website for it now, I'd like to get more designs together, get it up and running..because not enough people know about it yet, so I'm trying to make it more popular. It's just going to be T-Shirts and all the designs I come up with and I like and like wearing. Because I'm fed up seeing people's T-Shirts designs and it's just something someone knocked up in two minutes, it's not very good. So basically it's just stuff that I like, I find funny and I'd wear.

Punk76: Are you involved in the designing process for the the Blackout merchandise as well?

Sean: Me and Gavin always sum up ideas.. Gavin is like the drawer, we both have ideas but he's the one that get's on his mac and designs and creates it. So yeah, we do merch for the band.

WAR/FINANCIAL CRISIS

Sean: Oh, we're leaving on that?

Rhys: A tough one.

Sean: Well, it's a very good statement, a good question. I don't know what to say about this.

In the end it all comes back to religion.. I don't believe in anything.

Rhys: Just like the muslim kind of war.. people just seem to have no common sense. Like some people use it for money, some people because of religion..

Sean: Yeah, they use their religion as a reason.

Rhys: If nothing changes the world is just going to get worse and worse and worse..

Sean: As the wise philosopher Lil' John once said: "Don't start shit and there will be no shit".

Punk76: Haha, that's a great one.

Rhys: Yeah..

Sean: Lil' John ends the interview.. yeaaaah (Sean interpreting Lil John)

After the interview I chattet a bit with the guys. All members of the Blackout are lovely persons, very easy to talk to and extremely friendly. Always a pleasure to meet them. Their show was energetic as ever, they have an awesome stage appearance.

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