MHR Feature Interview with SPITBACK

[Deuce Entertainment]

MHR Feature Interview with SPITBACK:


George Vlachavas - Guitars
Nick Zografos - Drums
Arti - Vocals
Mits Pondius - Bass



MetalHeadRadio
Whats the origin of your band name?

Not ass bad-ass as many people would like to believe, lets say Spitback is when you finish a beer and by drinking the last sip you get your spit back, and there is also another story including 2 koala bears and a lot of love!!! Seriously now, spitback is something like the "eye for an eye" phrase. anyway if it sound cool enough it's good for us!

MetalHeadRadio
How long have you all known each other?
How did you meet?



We've known each other a couple of years, but the band was originally formed by our guitarist George Vlachavas in 2003 and has changed formation until the one existing (which is the kick ass one! hell yeah!) We used to play in different bands and we eventually got to jam together, so we decided that this idea was heavy enough for everyone of us. So happened Spitback.



MetalHeadRadio
When did you form your band?
What inspired you to make music together?

We started working in a regular or even daily basis about one year ago. We don't think that "inspiration" has anything to do with us, we just wanted to play powerful music that any metal head could listen to (except some epic metal fans haha!) It feels really good when George comes with a new song and we work the hell out of it, and it eventually turns to be a favorite. George does all the music and Arti's concern is the lyrics stuff. Always the jam sessions are the best we think.



MetalHeadRadio
What is your music background?

We like to call our gender "POWER GROOVE" and groove is the first thing that most of our friends notice. Though we tend to be heading towards metal paths lately! We had some musical education at early ages, but who cares about musical studies??? every single one of us loves music with it's own unique way. We just play along and it feels great..if we know what you mean hahahah



MetalHeadRadio
Who are your musical influences?

Mostly metal sounds, though everyone of us has it's own specials. lets say we are influenced by bay area thrash, Slayer, Pantera, Biohazard, Clawfinger, cool 90's stuff like Snot, Rage against the Machine, Prong, Pitchshifter, and a bunch of nu metal and hardcore bands.



MetalHeadRadio
What are your immediate music career goals? (Next year or so)

Our first and main purpose at the moment is to work the new tracks for the upcoming album.
after that we'll schedule a tour but live shows are bread and butter for us so whenever someone calls for a show we are always in. We are in search of a record label and we are trying to settle things up.
We would really like to make the band our daily business and we are trying hard for that.



MetalHeadRadio
Who handles your daily business activities? (Bookings, promotions etc.)

Our business is handled by ourselves and anyone else who is willing to help. we have some good friends in Norton Massachusetts taking care of things at the moment - Cheers Deuce!

MetalHeadRadio
Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

No record label at the moment. We had some words with a few but we keep searching for the best we can have. So if anyone is interested in our work you can easily be in touch with us.

MetalHeadRadio
Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues?
Do you have any upcoming shows?

We have performed all over Greece, in big and small venues. We have performed in a few open air gigs supporting bands as Pro - Pain, Stampin Ground, Romeo must die, Rotting Christ and more.
A European tour will be scheduled after the completion of our album, or earlier, and we also have BIG plans to visit USA for some summer shows. Destination unknown.



A favorite was the show with Pro-Pain which ended with tons of ouzo (the local extra kick ass alcoholic stuff)! We don't have least favorite venue.yet! hahaha!

We are currently focused on finishing the album, so no upcoming shows near you!
the coolest thing at the moment is that next month we'll perform on a Greek national tv show.

MetalHeadRadio
Where would the "ultimate" venue for you to play be?

Ultimate is everywhere we are able to play, cause every time it's 100% effort from us.
A big open air festival would be great though!

MetalHeadRadio
Which songs do you perform most frequently?
Do you ever play any covers?

We have about 25 tracks so yeah, there are some favorites and there are also new songs every now and then. the most frequently asked song is probably 'Faded Glory" which you can find on the limited edition self distributed album called 'Powergrooves" and on myspace. We love to play covers of Kreator, Deftones, Slayer, Korn, and Snot! We made a beat down cover of Territorial Pissings by Nirvana also! and yes we love to play covers in our shows!

MetalHeadRadio
Who writes your songs?
What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?
Who comes up with the most song ideas?



George comes up with the music and all together we make it turn into a song. Most of the times we just fit the lyrics and it's all settled up! But sometimes we jam a lot until we find what we like.
From the beginning we did not want to write songs with political concern. We have only one song talking about politics. "in a row" it's called and it talks about the 300 members of the Greek parliament and how corrupted they are. Most of the songs are influenced by everyday life, social issues and sometimes incidents that happened to Arti himself (cause the writing is all his).

MetalHeadRadio
What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in
which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

We rent our super underground moist filthy hyper technologic studio, we have all of our equipment there and we rehearse at least 4 times a week. It's good a band starts out with their own space to rehearse. Actually you can see the badly drawn graffities made by us and friends on the walls of our space in our new video "Booster"! yes, that's our rehearsal space! can you dig it????


MetalHeadRadio
How has your music evolved since first began playing together?

We just become better by watching one another play. we get to know each other better and this is very important. This is what makes music evolve. The truth is that we become harder and more solid as each day passes!

MetalHeadRadio
What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

Advice huh?? no, we will start giving advice after the fourth full length album and after we meet Kerry King in person! but things are simple as we see them. Keep playing to get better day by day and believe in your selves and as Kurt Cobain and his brilliancy said:

"All the kids will eat it up, if it's packaged properly
Steal a sound and imitate, keep a format equally
Not an ode, just the facts, where our world is nowadays
An idea is what we lack, it doesn't matter anyways"

MetalHeadRadio
What is the name of your most current CD?
Where can it be purchased?

The most current CD we have it's called "Powergrooves" and it's a mini album which is distributed only in Greece. It's like a promo for us. We have a lot of new material to work on and it doesn't represents the 100% of who we are and where we are heading towards the music industry.
We can send it to anyone in the world via mail.



MetalHeadRadio
Do you maintain a webpage or myspace page? If so what is the URL?

Yeah! who doesn't???? We have a webpage but it's under construction at the moment!
People can listen to our work, check us out or even get in touch with us via http://www.myspace.com/spitbackband


Cheers, SPITBACK