Rattlesnake Remedy are one of a growing group of UK bands who draw from the seventies for their influences and yet add in a touch of 21st century panache to complete their sound. As with their heroes Rattlesnake Remedy are also a band that have paid their dues, gigging up and down the country and picking up whatever support slots they could, from Ted Nugent to Sebastian Back and all points in between. Now however it appears that all of the hard work is beginning to pay off.  The debut album, 'Magic Man' was released on October 30th and with another trek round the country in support of the release it seemed like the ideal time to catch up with band to find out more..

So first of all, where did the name Rattlesnake Remedy come from?

Lee:  No one really knows it just kinda appeared, it has no meaning. 

Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Lee: We have been together about 4 years now & we have always played the music we wanna play & not music just cos it has a similar vibe to what is the current trend

Dave: We’ve never cared what other bands have been doing & so not jumped on any bandwagon but have allowed ourselves to evolve into what we are. At the start we were the only band in Birmingham to be playing this style of music.

Lee: We have been linked to bands like The Answer & other retro bands but we believe in being able to replicate our sound live & so don’t use backing tracks live such as bands like Roadstar do. 

You discarded an album’s worth of material a while ago cos you weren’t happy with it. That was a brave step to take.

Lee:  Not if you had heard it!! It was a self financed album & really was more about the band finding their own sound & style

Ben – That period was really all bout finding the bands wings & basically f**cking around with the style. 

I take it then you are more than happy with the final version of the album that's just been released

Lee: The album was recorded from a live session so it’s gonna sound the same as when you hear the tracks live

Ben: We feel it’s an honesty thing, which is why we chose to do the live sound for the album 

Do you have any goals set for the record?

Dave: I’m looking forward to the fact that people at the upcoming gig’s are gonna know a lot more of the song’s & not just the singles as at present.

Matt: Hopefully we will start making a bit of money from the band 

You must be pleased with the reviews the albums has had in general?

Ben: Yeah getting 4 K’s in Kerrang was great

Mark: Everyone is gonna have a slightly different opinion when they hear it but on the whole we are pleased with the feedback 

Gotta ask this - what happened with the Classic Rock review

Lee: To me its almost s though the album wasn’t even heard as the music is not even mentioned. Its all about spandex & 80’s sleaze rock which is not Rattlesnake Remedy’s music at all. It was almost as though the reviewer had a preconceived idea of  what the band was & wrote about that which, interestingly, contradicted with what was is the feature on us in the same issue

Dave: It almost feels to us as though the reviewer had a axe to grind

Lee: We have also heard from a lot of people who have taken the time to write letters in about the review

  

How do you go about the writing process?

Lee:  As a band we are still writing new material as it helps to keep the live set fresh by trying out new songs 

You seem to have been on the road for most of 2006, how do you cope with the constant travelling?

Mark: We love playing & it’s great to see that word of mouth is helping to boost crowds when re return to a venue. We do have holidays from the road which does us good but adding new song’s to the set gives us a different aspect to the way we see thing’s

Dave: We all think that playing live is the best advert for the band & also the best way to spread the word.

Lee: In fact there is talk of us adding dates in December & January in addition to the dates in Finland 

Why Finland?

Mark: Finland has a strange culture in a way but the audiences always go mad at the gigs

Lee: The thing is there is not really a lot to do so when a band comes to town it’s a really big event 

Over the last couple of years you've played alongside many bands including Tokyo Dragons, Quireboys, La Guns, Seb Bach & Buckcherry do you learn anything from the way other bands play or prepare for shows?

Ben: Not really to be honest

Lee: Although we got on well with Buckcherry who actually popped in to see us to say hello, a lot of the older bands don’t tend to mix 

How vibrant do you feel the rock scene is around the UK?

Lee: Some places you will go to a club where there will be loads of people having a great time but you can then travel 40 miles away & the turnout will be now where near as good. We do tend to avoid inside the M25 to a certain extent as there are so many bands who play within it. We also think that so many bands only play London, Manchester, Newcastle & Glasgow whereas we are happy to go everywhere & any where even if we do play small venues. Many bands who get a major deal will then do a video & release a album & if sales are not good enough they are not heard from again We believe in doing it the old school way. 

So where's your favourite places to play then?

Mark:  Newcastle

Lee: Gillingham

Mark: And London, although London is a harder place to play due to all the other bands playing at any one time

Ben: Birmingham

Lee: It took us a while to be accepted in Birmingham but now its great to go home & play there 

As a band who do you acknowledge as your main influences?

Mark: The Faces who were an awesome band

 Lee: Yeah they were the ultimate party band

Dave:  Led Zepplin, Free, Black Sabbath & The Faces

Lee: Free as they really showed their soul, in a way the 80’s took that all away with the whole ‘hair’ metal thing & the live shows became more about the image & the all the extras than the music If you think now Motley Crue are almost more renowned as a party band than their music. The bands of the 70’s were into what ever they wanted whether it was sex, drugs or alcohol.

Dave: The cliché is there for a reason!! 

  

What’s the best/worst thing about being on the road?

Dave: The worst has to be sleeping in a freezing van when you can’t find a hotel room when you are half drunk, dog tired & you are the only one awake while everyone around you is snoring & asleep

Lee: To me the worst is when you have had a bad gig & you know it was

Ben: The best is playing live every night & at the end of the day often it is how good you are when you are bad that counts

Lee: You also learn a lot when you have had a bad night, it’s all about perfecting the craft of performance & how to put on a good show.

Mark: Often a bad show is a wake up call for us all 

With all the time spent on the road, how are your vocals holding up?

Lee: To be honest they are hurting a bit & I feel a bit croaky this is why I tend to have a break during the set when Ben does vocals. If we are doing a long set it’s nice for me to have a cigarette & a sit down. 

Do you find it easy to revert back to not being on the road?

Lee: So much of our life on the road is scheduled its almost strange not to be told you are gonna be doing this that or the other at a certain time & you almost don’t know what to do

Dave: We will sometimes meet up at a pub & we’ll have a drink together but we will all be sitting round almost waiting for us to have to do something

Mark:  It does take time though  to adjust

Lee: I can remember sitting around the meal table with my mum, aunts, nan etc & getting asked what I had been doing & coming out with a totally inappropriate comment cos I had got so used to the vulgar on road lifestyle of no manners etc that I came out with a ‘road’ comment.

Mark: It's this vulgar behaviour that helps us to stay together as a band though 

Finally anything else you want to say?

Lee:  Please buy the album & phone Scuzz to get the Magic Man video shown in November. You can also check us out as www.rattlesnakeremedy.com or www.myspace.com/rattlesnakeremedy