A New Star Rising Up to the Heavens

Interview with Richie, Jonny, Chris, Robbie and Sid of Heaven’s Basement by Nicola “Nix” Crichton

It’s no secret that Pure Rawk has been a fan of this lot since the start. It’s safe to say that they are the most promising band of musicians in the past ten years. Good news for fans of good music is that they’re back with a toe tapping, fist to the air, body moving batch of new material and some very good prospects on the horizon.

Nix had a chat with Richie, Jonny, Chris, Robbie and Sid about the new band, where the name came from, a bit of light on the disappearance of ‘Roadstar’, new material, gigs in waiting and how they plan to put themselves firmly back on the map.

Nix: In a nutshell, what does Heaven's Basement stand for?

Richie: Being a positive force with an attitude and life that people can be a part of. We're constantly trying to look forward but we also want to carry on where our predecessors left off. Being in a rock n' roll band is the best thing in the world and we want to be able to stand alongside our influences and say that we helped take rock music to the next level. It's on the ascension. There are loads of brilliant new bands out there. I suppose we stand for them and everyone else who wants to do what we do.

Nix: You've got a harder edge to the music and the music is a lot more experimental – is this what we can expect from here on out?

Richie: Yeah, we're always trying to better ourselves and look to take songs into a direction that we haven't been before. We're constantly learning and trying to improve on the last song. Being in a band should be about evolution and growing artistically. You're always looking for a new way to get your point across.

Nix: Why did you choose to go under the name Heaven's Basement? What does it mean?

Chris: It was an accident really. We were at a party at Richie's house and went for a jam downstairs in his basement. Sid said "so we're all going down to Hevanz basement" and we thought it was cool and stuck with it. Thinking of a band name can take a while, the fact that it came so quickly and we all liked it straight away said to us it was meant to be.

Nix: How would you summarise the past few months for Heaven's Basement?

Robbie: Its been fucking awesome! The most productive and fun time we've ever had as a band. Ideas are coming from everyone at the moment, the creative juices are really flowing and were just totally capitalising on all the good energy around us at the moment. So yeah pretty cool.

Nix: Where do you get your inspiration for writing from?

Richie: Everywhere and everything. Sometimes you don't know something’s inspired you till you listen back to a song you wrote and hear it in there, your like " Fuck, I didn't think I gave a shit that much!" or "Fuck! I need therapy!"

Nix: I ended up seeing your first live performance at the Purple Turtle in London last year under the name 'Thunderdonkey' – you went on to play a few secret showcase gigs under similar names after that – was it weird playing live together in front of people after so long?

Robbie: A little bit but I think mainly the weirdness was due to being called Thunderdonkey! On stage is the only time any of us feel that we're where we should be! You look around at the guys around you and any weirdness disappears in a second! On stage is where we all most comfortable.

Nix: It can't go unsaid about the previous incarnation of the band and leaving the name behind to work on this band. It was an obvious shock to your fans and the full story has never come out. Can you shed some light on it to put the story to bed?

Richie: It’s no great mystery. We felt as a band, that we weren't really moving forward. A meeting was called with our old management where we hoped to resolve the situation. It didn't go very well obviously and I think there was a general feeling on both sides that it was better that Roadstar be left on a high before it turned into something rotten.

Nix: What else were you up to whilst being out of the spotlight?

Jonny: We all had a bit of time out for the first half of the year, did our own thing. I was working in a studio for a while recording different bands, that was great. I really learnt a lot in a short space of time. Richie went back to Brighton and played a few gigs with his friends down there. Sid went to Jersey for a few months with his guitar and Rob spent the whole time out at parties! Chris went into medical research I think!

Nix: With regards to a management deal, John Germinario (JNG Management, USA) is your general manager – how did that come about?

Jonny: Once we had recorded a few tracks we thought were good enough we wrote down a list of 20 managers we would like to work with. We sent cd's to them and the response was better than we could have thought. We ended up meeting with most of them but to be honest, when we met John there wasn't any doubt in our minds he was the right man for us.

Nix: What are your favourites out of the new songs that have been recorded?

Sid: That’s like asking someone to choose which one of their kids they love the most …

Nix: Any bands you've seen or heard recently that you'd like to give a shout out to?

Jonny: The latest Silverchair album is outstanding. Also you should check out a band called BlackMarket.

Nix: What are the plans with regards to start gigging?

Sid: We'll be announcing some gigs soon. We're in the process of sorting out a London show but in the meantime; keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground. You may see us around.

Nix: What's the plan with doing your first release?

Jonny: There are a few options at the moment. We haven't decided which label we want to go with yet but we're thinking about recording an E.P. before we do the album. We have so much new material it won't be just a few tracks from the album, it’s going to be 4 or 5 completely different songs and it'll just be a limited run of a 1000. We want to give people something to have while they wait for the album.

Go to their official website or check out their MySpace for further information and tour dates. A few dates have already been confirmed on the band’s official MySpace.

Words; Nicola “Nix” Crichton, images courtesy of Heaven’s Basement archive plus live shots filmed at a secret gig in Manchester by BitchinRock Photos. The first video on this page by Heaven's Basement is 'Executioners Day', the second is 'Saint Routine'.

© Pure Rawk 2008