We got a chance to follow-up on our Download interview with Dear Superstar as we caught up with vocalist Micky Satiar again at their York gig in support of Heaven’s Basement. We chatted about life on tour and the band’s plans for 2010.
“Everyone is loving rock and roll again”
S] How’s the tour going so far?
M] It’s been wicked. Since Sonisphere in August we haven’t played any shows because I broke some ribs and had to take time out. We’ve been recording new stuff but it really seems like forever since we’ve been on the road. The first on the December tour was last night and the York show is the second – it already feels like we’ve never been off of the road and we really thrive off of playing live and the stage is where we belong.
S] Sorry to hear about your ribs Micky, what was the recovery process like for you?
M] Well it happened while we were messing around at Sonisphere and like I said, I broke two ribs and I took some months out. I couldn’t sing and every time I coughed I was in excruciating pain. Literally, two of my ribs were literally punched in so I had to get all of that sorted. Having so much time on my hands without being able to touch music was just killer. We spent lots of time in the studio just working on music and focusing on drums and guitars as well as working on new tracks without the vocals. We spent a lot of time up in Newcastle recording some new things up there – it’s been hard being off the road but to be honest, it’s been a bit of a blessing in disguise getting off the road because we’ve never been off it in five years. Touring all the time has killed us but we’re here now.
S] What’s the situation with new material?
M] We’ve been recording new material and we’ve got a lot of stuff done. We are just deciding whether or not to do a third album or to do something else fun but we don’t really know yet. We’ve got so many cool ideas and things to do. We’ve got such a good concept for the new album and we’re not the kind of band to sit on things so as soon as we have something complete we want to get it out there. That’s the way we’re rolling.
S] What’s the idea or concept behind the new album?
M] It’s not going to be a concept album as such, but we have a really great idea for how we want the album to sound, who we want to produce it, the kind of songs that we want on there and the kind of feel that we’ve got. Our first album was really dreary and our second album ‘Heartless’ was a bit more upbeat and we want to really document this past year on a record. We’ve had such a killer year and we owe it to ourselves to create a testament to what Dear Superstar have achieved together in 2009.
S] How has your attitude changed to the music industry and your place within it since you started until now?
M] To be honest it’s not really changed that much because we’ve always tried to do what we want and not succumb to any kind of trends that are out there so by way of the audiences that we get and the people that we play in front of, I wouldn’t really say things have changed that much but my attitude to the industry is that we have a lot more respect for it. There’s a lot more kids out there listening to rock music than I ever thought. I mean, when we did the Papa Roach tour all the way through Europe every night we played to 5,000 people – it was rammed and sold out. I’ve definitely got a renewed faith in the music industry and in the people that come to watch us in the UK and Europe. Everyone is loving rock and roll again and it’s a good thing.
S] Can you explain to us the themes and ideas behind the track ‘Her Greed My Vanity’ – is it meant to be a personal tune?
M] I guess. It’s personal to anyone really. It’s about having that superficial plastic life that you see in Hello and OK! Basically it’s about a girl – there’s always a girl in our songs for some reason – and this girl is obsessed with that ‘celebrity’ lifestyle in comparison to us and our obsession with making music. To us the money is not really that important, if it was important to us then we’d be doctors or footballers because you know musicians aren’t rich anymore. It’s about those two huge differences and that massive kasm in the middle between the bull**it celebrities of today and what musicians are now being backstage in places like Fibbers and managing to just about make ends meet. It’s never been about the money, it’s about the music.
S] We asked you a similar question in our first interview and we want to change it up slightly – If you could sit down to a meal and listen to your music with any one person dead or alive then who would you pick and what would you feed them?
M] Well first of all, I would pick the guy who was the first real rockstar to ever come out and that’s Johnny Cash – I love that guy and he had some stories to tell and if I could jump in my time-machine and show him our record I really would love to and I’d like to think we’ve carried through the ‘balls’ so to speak of what he was doing back in the day and that we’ve turned it into a more modern kind of thing. Dear Superstar are one million leagues apart but there are similarities in the lifestyle and as far as what I would feed him, probably a lot of bull**it!
S] What do you want for Christmas?
M] To be honest all I want for Christmas is to be able to make it to the end of this tour alive and then I will be happy. We finish this tour on December 18 and so we’ve not really got a lot of time to get excited about Christmas this year. This is the most intense tour that we’ve done for a long time. So long as I can make it to the end of it and get good crowds every night then that’s all I want for Christmas.
S] What’s been the biggest moment of the year?
M] Honestly, it’s like every time we do something amazing it’s like we turn a corner and kick the complete arse of the last thing that we did. I think that touring with Papa Roach and Buckcherry in Copenhagen was a great one for me. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue came down to see the show which was wicked. It was awesome to play rock and roll in-front of such a legend. That was a great crowd and it was definitely one of the highlights because we just had a really messed up night and playing a great show. It was definitely the best we’ve ever played. I think it was because we were hyped up by the people that we were around. Download Festival was another great moment for us. We’d been chasing a slot for years having always been on the other side of the fence and then of course we did Sonisphere with our buddies in Heaven’s Basement so that was really great. For the whole year it’s really hard just to choose one moment. So Copenhagen, Download and Sonisphere I would say.
S] What’s are the best and worst parts of being on tour with your friends Heaven’s Basement?
M] The best and worst [laughs]. I think the best thing would have to be that we get on really well and the fact that they are just like Dear Superstar. There’s no egos and none of that bull**it. We just take the pi** out of each other all day and the conversations go from the most normal things like everyday life to the most obscure and disgusting things that nobody should really discuss. So those are probably some of the best bits and the fact that we have such a great connection with such a good bunch of lads. The worst thing I would say are Sid’s [guitar, Heaven’s Basement] farts because I have never smelt anything quite like it. I don’t want to be obvious and grotesque but these things would power nuclear stations. They’re disgusting. I mean, if you look at the backstage in York tonight we have three bands on this tour – New Device are with us as well – when you are all living in the sh** together it’s bound to smell a bit.
S] What do you like about playing these smaller shows in comparison to the bigger ones you have been getting used to playing?
M] Yeah. I absolutely love playing these kinds of shows. I’ve always said that two-or-three years ago back when we were playing really small venues – ‘When we get onto the bigger stages I will really miss playing the smaller shows’. That’s because of the connection that’s there between the band and the crowd. I think sometimes you can get a little bit spoiled playing the 5,000 capacity venues because there’s about ten-foot between the band and the crowd which is why I usually end up getting in with them anyway. I get a massive buzz from performing and I don’t consider Fibbers [with a capacity of 500] to be a small venue so it’s all good and I love it. These types of gigs and stages are the ones that we are built for. People say all the time, ‘ Dear Superstar belong on huge stages’, you know what? We appreciate it but this is where the grit and the blood of the band is.
S] What’s the schedule like for 2010?
M] The schedule for next year is huge. As soon as Christmas is over then we’ll be doing a little bit more recording in January. Then we’ll be hitting the road in February for three months and then we’re in festival season and we’re going to be out in Europe doing a few things. We’re really going to be festival boys next year, that’s the big thing for us to do all of that. Literally though, next year is just going to be about touring and touring some more. I think we’re getting requested more and more to do that third album by the fans and of course by the label and now we have the material there to do it but we just want to make sure it sounds right. I guess touring is our main priority and having the four months off of the road has made us realise just how much we love it. At this time we are only two shows in but we are really physced to just play tonight and I don’t want to lose the passion and that magic but if we can record another album then great I would love to.
S] When you met Tommy Lee did you ask to get on tour with Motley Crue?
M] You know when we met Tommy in Copenhagen he was like, [Micky does his best Tommy Lee impression] ‘You guys were so fu**ed up’ and all tht kind of stuff. We had a bit of a weird night and there were people snorting pi** and all kinds of things going on. He asked us to go down to Crue Fest which was on June 27 and we were like ‘Is that an invitation to play Crue Fest?’ Of course, it wasn’t and we just turned up and partied with them at the festival in Belgium. The next one is coming up and I would like to think that we could have a place on there but time will tell.
S] Okay, our second random question – in the event of a zombie outbreak what weapon would you use to defend yourself?
M] I would go on a diet of coffee and sugary drinks only and then use my sp*nk. I’d put it into a pot and throw it at them. I reckon that would ming anybody out even zombies. Just coffee and sweets because then I reckon it would come out like a really weird sort of black, dark and horrible sludge.
S] So you guys are from Rossendale in Lancashire. Our international readers might not know too much about the place so, can you tell us anything exciting about the area and does it influence you at all?
M] I think that the thing that influences us about Rossendale is that there really is nothing to influence us. The most exciting thing that we’ve got really is a steam train that runs on a Sunday. By the same token if it weren’t for Rossendale then we wouldn’t be here. It’s not a musical mecca, it’s not a crazy town but what it is – it aspires you to be bigger than that and makes you think that there is more to life than just being there. I see the same people that I went to school with just working standard jobs and they’ve never even ventured out to have a night in Manchester, nevermind gotten into a van and driven to Prague or Finland.
The idea of living in a little square or bubble and taking the odd night out to Burnley scares the sh** out of me. It’s great to go back to. I mean some of my best friends in the world live there and it’s great but, life is bigger than Rossendale. It inspired us all to get out of there in the best possible way.
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