 Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 16/02/2009(UTC) Posts: 2,543  Location: Jamaica Thanks: 27 times
Was thanked: 34 time(s) in 28 post(s)
|
Interview with Billy Jacobs Billy’s Profile
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Band: Failed Youth
Instrument: Vocals; Piano
Other Projects: None ‘As I approach Billy, he looks up from his newspaper and smiles. A ciggerette hanging limply between his lips and his pint remaining untouched next to him. He took the ciggerette out of his mouth and stubbed it out on the pub table, leaving it like a sickly yellow skyscraper protruding from black rubble. He sticks his hand out and shakes it firmly, introducing himself with equal firmness.’
T: Hey, thanks for giving us some of your time. Firstly, it’s the question everyone’s had on their lips since you announced the line up for it – when’s the album going to be out?
B: Well we’re hoping to get it all nice and recorded sometime around 18th of January. We’ve already got a few artist’s who’ve already recorded their tracks and their awesome. My mate Jakey Comatose is sounding brilliant on a Bright Eyes cover and I’m surprisingly looking forward to hearing Stephanie’s take on Sade’s track ‘Soldier of Love’, because believe or not I do think she’s got a nice voice and she’s actually a decent lass so it’ll be good. Also really looking forward to K.I.C.K.A.R.S.E. and what they’re bringing to the album – it’s going to be an original like ours, and only the second on the album and will be released as a single after ours. But yeah, it’s coming along nicely and it’ll be with you early February.
T: You touched briefly on Jakey Comatose there, and you two have spoke of your friendship a few times in the past. How long have you known Jakey, and how close would you say you are to him?
B: Well I can’t exactly remember where we met, I think it was at one of the Birdie ceremonies though or at one of the after parties or it could have been in the Dirty Bastard – ain’t got a clue. But na I wouldn’t like to say how close we are together – for fear of being called a puff more than anything. But he’s definitely a great lad and when we went on tour with him earlier this year it was probably the best tour I’ve ever been on and it was amazing to learn from such an artist. I mean as widely different as most of our music is – on a lyrical level he’s definitely someone I look to for influence and take parts of his talent on board, and even down to a performance level I love the way he controls the crowd when playing live.
T: And you also said that you do like Stephanie Fierce there, what did you mean by that? As far as the public knew, you had a vendetta against basically every single pop musician in existence.
B: Oh come on now that isn’t really very fair. I mean sure I don’t like pop but I don’t not like the people who are involved in it. She’s a nice enough girl and she speaks her mind which I most respect about her. I mean I’m not saying I’d bang her or anything I just think she’s alright. Besides, I get the feeling Jack already has. Not that I’m saying she sleeps with junkies, just the way he looks at her in a kind of ‘I know your underwear’ way. Although he looks at most women that way. And I’ve never had a vendetta as such against pop, I just dislike mainstream music and media, and the way people leap on the same old average stuff and never appreciating anything, you know, like, original?
T: What are your opinions on Mind? They’re one of the major up and coming bands this coming year and their appearing on the album.
B: Well they’re a great bunch of people – very like-minded to us I guess. I would say mind the pun, but that would just dig me in a deeper hole. But anyway, yeah they’re a good band. They’re cover of Anarchy In The UK’s fucking awesome and of course from one Hardcore band to another I’ve got the upmost respect for them and wish them the best of luck in this fucked up industry. I’m sure they’ll do great, and if they don’t, I’ll buy a million copies of their stuff to get it on the charts cos they deserve to be up there – better than that Panic! or Ryan Ross Hernandez shit.
T: You don’t like Panic! then?
B: Not particularly. Well, not at all. I just find them an uninteresting mainstream load of pish to be honest. It’s just bland and boring. As much as they campaign ‘oh we’re rock we’re so revolutionary’, it’s just the same old boring shiyte. It’s not made any better by the fact that Ryan’s a fucking obnoxious asshole. He obviously knows how to sell a personality, how to sell music and how to sell the members but what he doesn’t know is anything about being a decent guy, anything about making music or anything about.. well, point is – he’s a dick. And the worse thing is the fact he has the balls to go and shit all over the work of other bands. I mean he’s never done anything to me, but I’ve seen what he says to other people and I don’t think he has any right to attack other bands when his band makes shitty music anyway.
T: Okay, fair enough. What would you say to critics who say the band have ‘sold out’ and that fame has gotten to your heads?
B: Fuck that. We’re still fucking mental. Did you listen to our last album? It was dark. Very dark. Sickenenly dark. But still intelligent. Jack’s a genius, that’s what people don’t realise. Our lyrics are complex, witty, angsty and rebellious – all in one line. We bring diversity to our song’s by playing deep, dark, menacing hardcore tunes and sticking exciting, interesting lyrics on top. And I mean I’m not Ryan, so I won’t go and blab about my lyrics but I think I like to bring elements of that into my lyrics too. And fame gotten to our heads? Naa. I take that as our drug use. Yeah, we set off anti-drugs, and now Jack’s on everything illegal apart from steroids – very conscious of his balls, our Jacky boy. But seriously, if you have the money – and we donate a lot to charity as well as our spare time, but if you’ve got the money why the hell not? It’s not like we cost the NHS anything we’re both members of private hospitals. We’ve always said – live fast, die young. My mate Ben in The Lost’s gone sober and gotten clean, but he’s got a bird. I don’t like women. Fanny’s and tit’s are awesome, but the actual women are usually complete cunt’s and not worth it.
T: Finally, what are the band going to do with the album after the charity one?
B: We’re going to record another album, hopefully it’s going to be really experimental. Probably political punk – that’s what we’re going for. Lyrically it’s going to be the usual but we want to spunk our discography up with something a little different. Frank Zappa style crazy. Also after that not sure, hardcore probably. But that’s too far ahead, right now we’re just going to tour tour and tour some more and record shit whenever we get the chance.
T: Thank’s very much for your time Billy, good luck with the album.
B: Cheers mate.
‘Billy smiles and stands up, taking out another ciggerette and leaving his still untouched pint on the table and walking out the pub doors with not another word. A strange young man, and definitely very interesting. I for one am looking forward to his autobiography.’
- Interview by Thomas Nelson Edited by user 10 January 2010 05:46:04(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified |
