DEAR SUPERSTAR
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 22nd March 2010.
Manchester 'gutter rockers' Dear Superstar released their latest album Heartless in 2008 and have pretty much been touring ever since. On the back of their latest jaunt with Heaven's Basement, we thought we'd catch up with them and get the inside gossip on where they go next.
You are just about at the end of your mammoth tour. How has it been?
D.S.: The tour has been killer. Every show has been slammed out and we’ve been kicking it with our best friends Heavens Basement and The Crave every night. It has been like a month long wrecking ball, working its way around the whole country. We actually started this back in December with Heaven’s Basement and New Device, but we’ve managed to keep it rolling until now! It has been a wicked journey, I’m pretty gutted to be going home!
Are you tired out now or could you keep going for even longer?
D.S.: Hell - I could go on forever, but we’ve been touring for pretty much two years solid now.. We’ve seen some euphoric highs and horrific lows, so we’ve got a lot to write about! So we’re gonna start writing our new album now until the summer – so watch out!
Have Heaven’s Basement been the dog’s bollox to hang around with, or do you all hate each other now? ;)
D.S.: Haha.. Those guys are like brothers to us, in fact it’s almost like we’re all in the same band! We’ve toured a lot together, we did a bunch of European shows together with Papa Roach and then the Buckcherry tour, then we’ve been out together on the headline dates since December.. We could never hate those guys – I love them to death!
How about all the guys in Dear Superstar? Do you still like each other?
D.S.: We love each other, and always will!! We’re tighter than ever now and so psyched about the Summer and getting our new album together. I would genuinely die for any member of Dear Superstar and our crew! Hopefully I will never have to, but I’d stand tall with any of them if the time came!
Have there been any stand out moments or gigs?
D.S.: The past few years have been such a roller coaster, we seem to keep making our horizons our middle ground! Partying with Tommy Lee in Copenhagen, touring Europe with Papa Roach and walking onstage at Donington are the times that I will never forget, no matter how fucked up I get! haha
Has there been a lot or partying, or are you far too restrained for that sort of behaviour?
D.S.: There comes a time when all musicians have to grow up and hang up their party boots…. We’re a fucking long way away from that!!! We’ve always been known as the party, bad-ass band but with our relentless touring – we’ve had to put the brakes on recently. However, this tour we really stepped things up and re-affirmed ourselves as the UK’s most grotesque and diabolic villains!
What is your drink of choice, and has there been a lot consumed during the tour?
D.S.: Our rider is pretty simple…. Sailor Jerry’s and Jack Daniels!
Go on tell us some of the best antics you got up to behind the scenes...
D.S.: We live by the rule “what goes on tour, stays on tour” – but on the last show with Heaven’s Basement in Oxford, we covered their amps, monitors and drum-kit in hardcore gay porn… And filled their stage water bottles with pure vodka! That certainly got the party started!!!
Have you been mixing the set list up each night, or is it easier to stick to a winning formula?
D.S.: I generally mix things up, just to keep those cartoon characters (commonly known as Dear Superstar) on their toes! But we always keep things flowing with a set backbone!
Have you played any covers that have gone down especially well, or is it originals all the way?
D.S.: Yeah, we’ve been doing a pretty fucked up cover of Lola by The Kinks recently! I’ve always loved that song, just coz it’s so screwed up and raised an eyebrow or two back in the 70’s! Some people love it, others think we have totally raped a classic – but that’s kinda what Dear Superstar are about. No one just thinks “oh, they’re ok I guess”… People either love us or despise us – I get a kick out of that!
How would you describe the sort of performance Dear Superstar gives on the live stage?
D.S.: Ball’s to the wall rock n roll, played as fast as possible with as much snarling, cackling, screaming and debauchery as possible… Basically, it’s a fucking bloodbath!
Do you use any special equipment or instruments on stage?
D.S.: No, we’re not into all that bullshit. We play with bands all the time that are using samples, triggers and other synthetic noises… We’re just 5 scrubbers from Manchester, who play honest rock n roll – the way it should be!
What pieces of kit could you not live without?
D.S.: When we’re on tour, there are 5 things I cannot live without (all very Mariah Carey of me I know). 1. Morning Coffee 2. Berocca 4. Clean Socks 5. Mobile Phone 6. Rum
Have you been writing and playing with ideas for new songs during the tour?
D.S.: We’ve been on tour almost endlessly for the past few years, so we have only written a handful of new songs – all of which we have been playing live on the past few tours. We’ve got so much to write about and so many new ideas, we’ve decided to lock ourselves away until the summer to write our new album! I’m in the studio right now, as we’re doing this interview – and the new tracks are just flowing out of us!
Are there already plans on the table for another tour?
D.S.: Of course! Dear Superstar are built for the road, so we always have something set up to look forward to. Like I said, right now we are working on the new album, but then we will be touring Europe again for the festival season and then back to the UK! As always, everywhere you turn you’re gonna see Dear Superstar this year!
Is there anyone else you’d love to tour with?
D.S.: We’d love to get onto Crue Fest at some point in the future. We were lucky enough to go along to Crue Fest in Belgium last year and we had a blast – so would love to get on the whole tour! We’ve been blessed with some amazing tours like Papa Roach, Buckcherry, Bullet For My Valentine and with our best buddies Heaven’s Basement – to top those would have to be pretty special!
When can we expect the new album?
D.S.: Well we’re writing it now, so later this year I hope! From what we’ve done so far – it’s gonna kick your ass!!!
What sort of path are you going down on the next one? Will it be more of the same or are you heading off at a tangent?
D.S.: Honestly, I don’t know right now. We’re always developing and getting better musicians and better friends – so that really affects our writing in a positive way…. But it will always have that unmistakable, nefarious and debauched sound to it! Our next album will be the definitive Dear Superstar album for sure!
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
D.S.: Back to writing this album! We’ve been working on a track called “Models” today – it’s an absolute killer!
Anything else you would like to mention?
D.S.: Always! Buy our album or download it, rip it or just shoplift it – I don’t care!! Just get a copy of our latest album “Heartless”, spin it, get naked and drag your asses to a show!!
Thanks again to Dear Superstar for their time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of the band's last album Heartless here.
http://www.dearsuperstar.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/dearsuperstar
