THIRD BULLET
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 24th September 2009.
Third Bullet are an alt metal outfit from Birmingham, UK. They haven't been going for that long but already have a Harley Davidson ad theme and UFC fighter Paul Taylor's ring entry song to their credit. New album Revelations is pretty special too.
James Harbidge (vocals and guitar) and Stephen Busby (bass and vocals) answer questions.
Hi guys, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well? Could you give us a brief history of how Third Bullet was formed and where you are based?
James: Me and Ste have been in the same bands together since we were 16, we've done everything from punk to americana but our passion is hard and heavy!! Matt joined the last band we put together and we decided he was a decent chap and kept him for this band. Oh, and we say we are based in Birmingham but South Staffordshire is more accurate.
What’s the rock and metal scene like where you live?
James: The scene is alive in Birmingham centre. There are dedicated metal bars and clubs but no real specific venue for metal until recently. The Town Wharf in Digbeth has done something quite special and created a scene for rock and metal. Bands are queuing up to play there and with good reason. It gets packed and its a proper dirty old live venue just like you imagine all the punk clubs in New York in the 80's to look like.
How would you describe your sound to someone who hadn’t heard you before?
James: It's always tough this question. I would say Hard Aggressive Alternative Grunge Rock/Metal
Are there any other artists you used as reference when you were building the Third Bullet sound, or was it more of a natural developmental process?
James: We are massive fans of the Grunge movement so we would have to give a nod to Alice in Chains and Soundgarden first off, but we always look to early Muse and Velvet Revolver as a reference to a lot of the stuff we write. Muse are a 'super massive' influence.
Who or what inspired you get into music?
James: Music was always in the house hold. My dad would always have Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and the Beatles. What really opened my eyes to playing music and it consuming me completely was when I was 10 or so, I was off school ill and watching top of the pops. Iron Maiden came on with Can I Play With Madness and something in me just ignited. From that moment on I was hooked, grew my hair and learned to play guitar.
I have a few big influences on my attitude to song writing too. I was working in a music shop in Birmingham when I was 15 and the manager said to me you can be the greatest guitarist in the world but if you cant write songs then you wont get anywhere, my focus changed that day. I was then briefly in a band called Bitter Tears with the guitarist from the 80's indie band Nightingales, We called him tank, and he really instilled in me the work ethic that you have to play the song 1000 times in one night until you get it right and when you get it right you play it again. Another personal influence in my development was an old band mate and best mate Paul Grimsley, He is a fantastic guitarist, has a great voice and has the best command of melody I have ever come across, every time we wrote together I always tried to match his ability for melody.
Ste: Very similar to James really. My family have always been fond of music with my Dad being into loads of bands from the 60’s. Particularly the Beatles, Hollies, Stones etc so I grew up listening to that kind of stuff but my sister also had an influence on my musical taste. She was very into the Indie scene of the late 80’s, early 90’s and listened to the likes of The Smiths, The Wonder Stuff, The Cure so naturally I got hooked on that. I then began to like the heavier stuff and made the transition from Indie to Metal via Metallica, with the Justice album being one of my favourite metal albums. I think having a broad musical background helps when writing songs and many of our influences are probably evident in our songs.
You’ve already had a song featured in a Harley Davidson advert. How did that come about?
James: We were playing a show in a rock bar in Cannock and a guy bought a CD and liked the gig. It turned out that he worked for the advertising agency Harley use for their commercials and PR. He said this song would be fantastic to use on this commercial, what do you think? Naturally we said ok. That has opened a few doors for us. They ended up using the demo version that we recorded in our rehearsal space, if you listen very carefully you can hear the click track bleeding thru.
Not only that, you wrote a ‘theme tune’ for UFC fighter Paul Taylor. Did he hear about you, or did you approach him?
James: Paul happens to have a Gym in our home town and had approached a few people to write his song, a Hip Hop fellow, another rock band and us. We have a bit of a reputation in our town for being fucking good and his trainer John asked us to write something. We demoed it in my spare room and they loved it. It gets heard by thousands when he fights and sometime you hear it on the sports channels as he enters. The version on iTunes is the demo we did in my bedroom.
Are you looking at getting signed to a major label or are you going it alone?
James: This is a massive question, there's pros and cons on both sides. As it stands we do everything and its not easy and there’s no manual on how to write, produce, do PR, contact booking agents, plugging. I wouldn’t do it again if I knew how much time it would take up. This is where the Harley thing helps, people are more open to talking to you if you have something solid to back you up.
We would love to sign to a label but now we are starting to make ripples in the industry it would be more on our terms than there’s. We would have signed anything a year ago but with the knowledge we have accrued we have become a little more savvy about this industry. I doubt a record company would have been interested in us a year ago. We did approach the big players Road Runner, Visible Noise and even Powerage but they are not interested in signing an unknown band. Record companies these days want the hard work done for them i.e. you have built your own fan base or you have already recorded and paid for your own album and they license the album and release it. Then if sales are good they will pay for your next record. Its shit but that’s how it is.
Onto your debut album REVELATIONS... how long has the album been ‘in the making’?
James: We have been writing since late 2006 but only decided to go for it last August 2008 when I read an article on a band in classic rock who pre sold copies of their album to pay for it and that’s what we did. We managed to get half the money by doing that. It’s a good way of doing it and the people who invest feel a part of something.
What has the response been like so far?
James: The response has been amazing!!! We were doubting ourselves at one point, we knew it was good material but would anyone else? Over the years me and Ste have had interest from EMI, WEA and Gut records but we always got passed up on so that plants seeds of doubt.
The reviews so far have been very good and we have managed to get regular airplay on BBC6 Music Rock Show and Planet Rock Radio. We were also play listed on Total Rock Radio in London so take up has been fantastic. Kerrang Radio in Birmingham, however, have failed to seize the opportunity and jump on the success story. You would think our local rock radio would be behind us, but you are lucky if you get a reply to an email or you get to speak to somebody with any clout.
We are going to be on the cover CD of Classic Rock Magazine in November , they invited us as opposed to us paying to be included which often happens, and the CD will be reviewed in there at some point which is a big step forward. We also did our first interview in an American publication, MUEN Magazine, they will also be reviewing the album in Oct. That came about because of the Harley thing.
Do you have any favourite moments on the album?
James: I actually had laryngitis when recording this so it was very stressful. I’m just glad the vocals turned out good. I’m really happy with how “Something Sinister” turned out. We never demoed that and it was the last song we wrote so it was good to hear it come together. That happens to be the track that most people single out and talk about so it’s a good job we got it finished.
Ste: I think we’re all very proud of the end result as we were working to an extremely tight schedule to record and mix. “Deviation” is the track that does it for me though. It was one of the last songs to be written and encompasses our sound perfectly. It’s hard and heavy with plenty of anger and aggression but with excellent melody. And I love Matt’s drumming on this track in particular and it sounds brilliant live! “Day by Day” is a close second.
Any plans to make a video and get your butts on MTV?
James: We are going to do a live video in December of the new song we will release as the next single its called "Your a Disgrace" its about the the filthy suite wearing bastards who take our money and clean their moats with it. Bastards.
Did it feel special as you were recording it?
James: It was tough. We had little money and little time. We worked with Gavin Monaghan who has worked with everyone in some capacity, he's just done Scott Matthews album and work with Editors, Twang, Kill Switch, Robert Plant, Rolling Stones so it was great to work with him and learn some good studio techniques we can apply in our studio.
Like I said we were under pressure. Ste and Diddy (Matt) got their stuff done in one or two takes and we had the bass and drums for all 10 songs done in the first day, then it was a couple of days on guitars. We had a failed day on vocals because of the laryngitis but that came good in the end and 3 days to mix. It was definitely an experience and hard work, we hardly slept for a week. It would be nice to have a massive budget and a week to record drums then a week for bass, just to indulge a bit I guess and relax. I suppose the pressure added to the rawness of the album.
Ste: We were under a lot of pressure due to the lack of time but we had spent months tirelessly rehearsing each song so that each of us knew our parts inside out. I think this really paid off in the end and is reflected in the finished article.
You’ve been getting a fair slab of radio airplay. How does it feel hearing one of your own songs on the wireless?
James: You know what? its great! Especially when the singer of your fave band introduces it (Bruce Dickinson on 6music) but with every step you take you just put it down to a good bit of plugging and move on to the next radio station or magazine. When you are doing it yourself its hard to just stop and enjoy the little bits of success you’ve had because you have a mountain of emails or CDs to send out and follow up.
Sell us the album in ten words or less...
James: Hard, Aggressive, Anthemic, fits the zeitgeist, music with a conscience
Do you get chance to play many live gigs? Any plans on doing a major tour on the back of this release?
James: We are booking lots of shows all the time. If we see things going well then we can warrant a tour, unfortunately we sometimes have to treat the band like a business but we only have so much money we can put in. We have tried getting good support slots with big bands but these days you have to buy on to a tour, this is probably an industry secret but all those bands you see supporting your favourite bands like Bullet For My Valentine, the Lost Prophets etc have all paid their way on to the tours. and it can cost anywhere between £2000 and £20,000, a band we get on really well with tendered for the 30 Seconds to Mars tour, £8000 they offered and still didn’t get it. So the bands supporting aren’t there on merit a lot of the time. We have made a couple of good contacts though in this area and we are confident of the odd one off gig with a big band, we just can’t say when.
What is a Third Bullet live gig like?
James: Very dark, very sinister, not much talking but you will be amazed at the amount of noise a 3 piece can make. We often get people asking if there is an extra guitarist off stage.
Ste: It’s always a real compliment when people comment on the sound we create. As a 3 piece you have to work extremely hard to ensure that the live sound doesn’t suffer from a lack of musicians, but the compliments we receive confirm that we don’t.
Do you mix your originals with a few covers?
James: We don’t do many covers really.
If so, which ones do you play?
James: We have played Plug In Baby by Muse a few times and I think the next cover will be Dio Holy Diver, Dio has an immense voice.
What’s the best band you’ve ever seen live?
James: Velvet Revolver 10 times or more, they are the last of the rock greats, I don’t see anybody filling their shoes. Muse are a very close second, their shows are stupendous and of course Iron Maiden. Crosby, Stills and Nash were amazing too, and The Eagles. Saying that, Ben Folds puts on a great show and Ryan Adams (not Brian) is mesmerizing. And how can I forget AC/DC at Wembley this year, that was something I will never forget.
Ste: Mars Volta for me. They can get a bit self indulgent at times but the overall show is amazing. For tightness and album perfection then the Eagles take some beating, and Crosby, Stills and Nash were superb earlier this year. I love the atmosphere of a Slayer gig though, they probably have the most dangerous crowds.
What are your favourite 5 albums of all time?
James: I've always wanted to be asked this question so I am going to give you my top 10 in no particular order:
Velvet Revolver - Contraband
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Pearl Jam - Vs
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
Montrose Avenue - Thirty Days Out
Crosby Stills Nash and Young -
De ja Vu
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
The Band - The Band
Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight
Mastodon - Crack the Skye.
I could go on!!!!!!
Ste:
Mars Volta – Frances the Mute
Nailbomb – Point Blank
Metallica - ...And Justice for all
Tthe Cardigans – Long gone before Daylight
Pink Floyd – Wish you were here
Slayer – God Hates us All
Joni Mitchell – Blue
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Deja Vu
etc etc!!!!! They are the ones that come to mind at the moment.
Do you have a good rock ringtone on your mobile phone?
James: I think so. It was Fucking Hostile by Pantera but I just changed it to Muse(are you picking up on a theme here)? Stockholm Syndrome and my text alert is Mastodon “The Wolf is Loose” intro.
Ste: I don’t, cus I haven’t worked out how to use tracks for ring tones on my iPhone yet!!!
Do you live the rock ‘n’ roll dream...or, if not, do you even want to?
James: When we were getting nowhere I did, it was easy to polish off 1 1/2 bottles of JD and stick anything up my nose that was going. Getting in to scrapes with the law and chavs but you mellow as you get older, and a good women can have a taming effect on you.
Ste: Couldn’t agree more. And it takes longer to recover from hangovers!!
I’ve seen mention that you are conspiracy nuts. What’s your favourite one?
James: There's so many holes in the "Official" 9/11 story. You only have to spend an hour researching it yourself to see that things don't add up but, if I email them to you I will be put on a list somewhere and snuffed out ;-)
Also there is a big movement for UFO disclosure going on world wide coordinated by the disclosure group. The group consists of American generals and army staff, ex NASA scientists, the ex defence minister of Canada, UK army officials, Navy, air force personnel...not to mention air traffic controllers and, the icing on the cake, NASA astronauts Edgar Mitchell and even Buzz Aldrin. They had a live conference on CNN last year with all these people giving testimony. You got to ask yourself if these decorated and esteemed people are putting their reputations on the line. There must be something in it.
Ste: There’s varying degrees of belief in conspiracies in the band. James is obsessed, I’ve got an interest but I remain somewhat skeptical and Matt seems to have no interest at all!! I’ve read some of the 9/11 stuff though and I must admit there’s questions to be answered.
What’s the worst conspiracy theory you’ve ever heard?
James: Jade Goody is still alive!! Gavin, our producer, was telling us about it, he put forward a convincing case but that’s just daft. Also that aliens had something to do with the twin towers.
Have you come across any concerning you personally yet?
James: This is going to sound stupid but this really happened to me. One night I sent our old manager an email outlining the whole new world order stuff with names and dates, a whole essay. Things then started getting strange, I had things go missing from my house and I live alone, things of no significance. In the same week we were rehearsing and writing Something Sinister when my car alarm went off. We ran out side and, bear in mind, we rehearse in a really secure place with massive steel spiked perimeter fence.
Nobody was there but the next day my brand new car's engine seized up and no one could tell me why. The AA guy said sabotage could be the answer. A brand new engine never seizes up, that's what every one kept telling me and if I had been on the motorway I would have been a gonner. Then when things were going crazy my neighbour's house opposite got burgled only they didn't take anything they just smashed the house up and aimed a lit light at my house, a paranoid mind could have taken it as a warning. Any way coincidence or not I got "Something Sinister" out of it so the paranoia did us a favour really.
Ste: ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz!! At least we got a good track out of it!
James: Yeah I tell that story a lot.
What do you get up to when you aren’t being a rock god? Do you have any interesting hobbies?
James: I don’t have any other interests other than music. I like recording bands, playing the producer.
Ste: I’m a big football fan, and I spend a fair amount of time playing and watching.
Where do you see Third Bullet heading in the next 5 to 10 years? Do you have plans for world domination or are you just taking each day as it comes?
James: In my dreams we are headlining Donnington and writing songs with Slash and Matthew Bellamy. In reality its one day at a time.
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
James: I’m going to watch a Muse documentary then I’m gonna catch up on some Giza Pyramid conspiracy. Did you know scientists have found machine and drill marks in the granite and the limestone used to build it and that they built the pyramid to include the value of pi in the construction even though pi was supposed to be unknown to them?!!! Got you thinkin?!!!
Ste: I’m going to scoff a nice Chicken Biryani, with Peshwari Naan!
Anything else you would like to mention?
Ste: As of 19th Sept the album is now available on iTunes. The album is also available on CD from our myspace page in the UK/EU and from CDbaby.com in the states. thirdbullet.co.uk will be up and running soon and the CD and other merch will be available from there.
James: Also Classic Rock Magazine in November will contain "Something Sinister" on the cover CD in the November issue. We would appreciate it if you could tell everyone you know about us and even tip off some of the magazines, managers and record companies.
Thanx for this opportunity and the great review and the questions were great.
The new Third Bullet album is out now and available in all reputable retailers. Check out the review on Rock Realms here for further details...
http://www.myspace.com/thirdbullet
