Ono PalindromesFrom: Exeter, United Kingdom
Exeter indie rockers and possessors of one of the more intriguing band names of the year Ono Palindromes took some time out from thinking about palindromes that they can deploy as the title of their first album to talk to the Devil about the strangest place they've ever played, their dodgy taste in music when they were younger, why they chose their name and what is the longest palindrome they can think of.
The Devil: The Devil has been mildly critical of your name so what possessed you to opt for Ono Palindromes? What other names did you consider before finally deciding it had to be Ono Palindromes?
Andy Death (AD): Yeah the name doesn't mean anything, but I loved that. I hate the fact that you hear a band and you can bracket them- like you can usually tell who's twee, who's indie, who's punk. We're into loads of stuff, why be straight jacketed by a name? We wanted something fluid, something people could listen to with an open mind and make up their own minds!
The Devil: Who are your biggest influences?
AK: At The Drive-In, Refused, Eastern Europe, Tool.
Serge Pascal (SP): Mikey Shoes' hips and fingers.
AD: Politics, punk, sex, drugs and rock n roll!
The Devil: What was the first record you owned and what was the first record you ever bought?
SP: Owned: Pink Floyd- The Pulse; Bought: QOTSA Rated R... Post Feel good hit of the summer getting blasted out of my friends stereo at the tender age of thirteen.. Right after that I brought Michael Jackson's Earth Song on cassette.
AK: The embarrassing part, the first album I ever bought and owned was Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish & The Hot Dog Flavoured Water. If it wasn't for that album I would not be into what I am into now!!!
The Devil: What's the strangest place you've played and would you go back there?
AD: I played my first gig in Bristol when I was 14 in a function room at this place called the Bulldog. We got there with our mates and it was a pretty rough pub. We were all into our punk and stuff so we were all really excited. Anyway, I remember smashing my guitar up and taking out the venues lighting system at the end of the set- by accident of course! Anyway, next thing I know the locals came rushing in and started beating us all up. Then the landlord grabbed one of my friends round the throat asking who broke his ceiling lights- my friend blurted out the kid with the blue hair! Unfortunately, I'd got one of those one day only hair dyes and dyed my hair blue- so I legged it to the bogs and started trying to wash out this blue hair dye! Then I turned to another mate and asked if I'd got it out and he turned to me and went, “mate your hair's OK but your face is blue!” At that point I just legged it out of there! So yeah that was pretty weird and no I wouldn't go back!
AK: We played at a festival one time and it was really weird. We were playing in a tent to an audience varying between the ages of 5 to about 80. There were all these young kids as young as 6-7 dancing round at the front and a bunch of old dudes at the back nodding their heads. It was a very surreal experience. It would be cool to do it again.
SP: Truckfest 08 with an old band. The stage and audience were freaking huge. Surreal.
The Devil: Other than Ono Palindromes who are the most exciting bands on the current music scene?
AD: I love this band from Cardiff called Saturday's Kids. I went to their EP launch the other day- it was in this basement like something out of Fight Club, but weirdly to go to the toilets you had to go upstairs and above it was this antiques shop- was really cool and surreal. Also love a new new band called New Years Evil! They're kinda like what a British response to Sonic Youth or No Age/ Abe Vigoda should be!
SP: Pulled Apart By Horses. No question. Those guys kick the shit out of everything, all the time. Also Spectres. Dark, noisy little man-scamps.
AK: There are some good bands around at the moment, bands like That Fucking Tank, Part Chimp, And So I Watch You From Afar, Future Of The Left & Pulled Apart By Horses to name a few.
The Devil: If you weren't in Ono Palindromes how would you keep yourself occupied?
AK: I would probably be plotting something which would fail to materialize, exciting hey?
SP: Collecting and Painting Warhammer models and playing shit loads of Age Of Empires.
AD: I'd be becoming the British enfant terrible of film directors, inspiring a new wave of transgressive cinema and general bad taste!
The Devil: If you were interviewing yourself what would your killer question be and how would you answer it?
SP: My favorite question is: Name three pieces of music that rattle up your spine and shake your body like a hurricane (what a great question I think I may use that in future interviews - The Devil)...
My answers would be: Beirut - Guyumas Sonora, Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart, The Shins - Caring Is Creepy
AD: But seriously why?
AK: That is a good question!
The Devil: What's your favourite joke?
AK: The joke is usually on me, haha.
SP: Where does Napoleon keep his armies?... Up his sleevies.
The Devil: What's the longest palindrome you know?
AK: I found this one the other day.... Now, sir, a war is never even–sir, a war is won! ......true statement to!!
AD: There's a longer Latin one: “in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni” which means we go wandering at night and are consumed by far- so that's cool- although checking it yours is longer!
SP: I've got a longer one! Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Bette, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned. (Wow that's impressive any Devil readers got a longer one than that - The Devil)
The Devil: Is there anything else you'd like to say to the Devil's readers?
AD: Many hands make light work. Too many cooks spoil the broth. Better the devil you know than the devil that's dead... anything else?
SP: Don't cut corners. Don't get caught.
AK: Awooooogah
If you want to find out more about Andy Death favourites old school punkers Saturday's Kids then check them out below...
Go Try
MP3 - Saturday's Kids - Telling Lies To Our Children
MP3 - Saturday's Kids - Social Crimes
These tracks are all linked direct from the Saturday's Kids Last.FM site and are therefore already freely available so please don't claim breach of copyright.
Go Visit