DM) Does Adam West himself know of your band and your obvious
tribute in the name?
JS) Indeed he does. Back in 1992 when we formed, a friend
of ours was working on 'The Morton Downey Show' and they were
doing a Batman TV show reunion. My friend went up to Adam West
and said that his friends had formed a band in Washington, DC,
named after him. Apparently, Adam West said that he had heard
of us and to wish us the best. He also said,
"Great name!"
In 1994, when Adam West's autobiography came out, The Washington
Post called me to play at the Hard Rock Cafe in DC for West's
book signing appearance. We were psyched for the publicity, but
unfortunately, the whole thing fell through... as these things
often do.
DM) What have been some of your favorite gigs so far then?
JS) We opened for Electric Frankenstein in New York City;
that was a great gig. Anytime we play with the Candy Snatchers,
it's fun gig. Recently, we've been packing the Velvet Lounge
in DC and doing some killer gigs. We've recorded a bunch, so
we plan on releasing a live album soon.
DM) Do you ever cover other bands songs when you perform live?
JS) We've recorded cover songs for our fan club singles and
for various tribute compilations. Right now, we occasionally
perform "Burned My Eye" by Radio Birdman, "Supernaut"
by Black Sabbath, and "SWLABR" by Cream. We're playing
at an Iggy and the Stooges tribute show where we'll do "Search
& Destroy" and "Real Cool Time." We try to
only play one cover, if at all, in our sets.
DM) You still print some of your releases in vinyl, why?
JS) The 7" 45 single is the best medium ever! A band
can put its two best songs on it, it's cheap to produce and cheap
for the buyer, and the artwork can be exceptional. Contrary to
what the music industry will tell you, vinyl is alive and well
all over the world. And in most cases, vinyl sounds superior
to CDs. We sell out all of our vinyl pressings, so somebody's
buying it!
DM) What bands music do you love and buy?
JS) I'm really into the Scandinavian rock these days. Bands
like the Hellacopters, Gluecifer, the Turpentines, the A-Bombs,
the Robots, etc. There is so much incredible rock-n-roll comin'
out of Sweden and Norway. It's outstanding. I recently went on
tour with the Hellacopters for two weeks in Scandinavia and it
was awesome.
DM) Did you have any interesting adventures in Scandinavia?
JS) Scandinavia was incredible. I had *only* interesting adventures...
but I'm sworn to secrecy. I made some good friends over there.
DM) Where would you hope to be a "next step" for
the band?
JS) My thing with Adam West now is to keep writing the best
material possible. I am so proud of our latest CD '13 de luxe',
and the recently written songs that will appear on various 45s
on various labels. I also want to concentrate on more touring
and an international tour, possibly to Spain or Sweden. We have
a fan base over there, so why not?
DM) How did you develop a fan base in Spain and Sweden?
JS) We have a 7" single and a 10" EP coming out
on two Spanish record labels. They dig us over there... what
can I say? Also, by being friends with all the Scandinavian bands
and doing interviews in the magazines, I've promoted us very
well there too. Soon, we'll have a record coming out in Sweden,
so a tour seems inevitable.
DM) Will the record in Sweden also be released in America?
JS) I hope so. It's supposed to be a Hellacopters/Adam West
split 7". The Hellacopters' label Psychout Records was gonna
press it with one sleeve and on colored vinyl and I wanted my
label Fandango Records to press it with a different sleeve and
a different colored vinyl for the US pressing. We're still working
out the details.
