An interview with Venus Fly Trap
An interview with Venus Fly Trap
PLANT
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
VENUS FLY TRAP-Hard to pick a name that has not been used before,i liked the idea of a plant that eats insects rather than the other way round,the connections with the planets,mythology,so there are plenty of images and ideas to inspire lyrics and artwork.
Originally the idea was to get back to basics of garage,rock n roll mixed with a thumping drum machine beat with dark vox and gothy atmospherics,somewhere between the Sisters of Mercy and Iggy Pop.
How do you approach songwritng? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
We would start with a riff,just guitar and vocal,the riff would suggest a lyric and with a bit of jamming there would be an embryonic version of a song,not all these ideas would come to anything,but are kept for possible future use.ANDY DENTON(guitar/programming)would take these ideas away and come up with a basic backing track to then add more lyrics to and work out a structure,a lot of going back and forwards from rehearsal to studio,we would end up with a song we were happy with.
The most recent studio album ICON drew a lot from the Warhol quote “in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes”,the idea of being famous for being famous,celebrity,idols,the new religion.Did we create God,gods with our fertile imaginations,as a way of trying to describe the world around us,making sense of natural events like the sun and the moon.Science fiction in the widest sense,Tarantini movies,film noir,all melded together for this album.
RIFF
RIFF
How do you approach songwritng? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
We would start with a riff,just guitar and vocal,the riff would suggest a lyric and with a bit of jamming there would be an embryonic version of a song,not all these ideas would come to anything,but are kept for possible future use.ANDY DENTON(guitar/programming)would take these ideas away and come up with a basic backing track to then add more lyrics to and work out a structure,a lot of going back and forwards from rehearsal to studio,we would end up with a song we were happy with.
The most recent studio album ICON drew a lot from the Warhol quote “in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes”,the idea of being famous for being famous,celebrity,idols,the new religion.Did we create God,gods with our fertile imaginations,as a way of trying to describe the world around us,making sense of natural events like the sun and the moon.Science fiction in the widest sense,Tarantini movies,film noir,all melded together for this album.
DARKER
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
As mentioned before,do like the darker end of the spectrum with films,music,art and that has become part of my psyche and is reflected in how the music is formed.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into a live setting?
Generally we pick tracks from represent most of the albums we have done,usually the singles from those albums,tend to be more upbeat and immediate tracks.Live we use backing tracks,which have been stripped down from the studio tracks.less complex and with the sub bass taken out as the pa speakers struggle,also leaving room for the vox and guitar to fit in.
ALBUMS
ALBUMS
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into a live setting?
Generally we pick tracks from represent most of the albums we have done,usually the singles from those albums,tend to be more upbeat and immediate tracks.Live we use backing tracks,which have been stripped down from the studio tracks.less complex and with the sub bass taken out as the pa speakers struggle,also leaving room for the vox and guitar to fit in.
RELEASE
What plans do you have for the future?
At the moment im promoting the current release VENUS FLY TRAP/ALEX NOVAK-MERCURIAL CD/DL(GLASS RECORDS MODERN) a career spanning retrospective that includes the best of VFT and other bands,projects i have been involved with including ISAWS,RELIGIOUS OVERDOSE,TEMPEST,ATTRITION,NOVA STATE CONSPIRACY,THE DEN and SPORE,for people to delve into and explore further if they wish,about eighty minutes of music packed into this release.
https://glassmodern.bandcamp.com/album/mercurial-1978-2018
Hope to get back to giging,some remixes and re-issues in the pipeline…more info..