I never thought I would have to say it but it seems
that The Grand Astoria is a bloody unappreciated band. It is a psychedelic stoner /
heavy project from Saint-Petersburg ,
Russia
Hello Kamille! What
kind of news are you ready to share? Have you already packed your baggage for
another tour?
Hey, buddy! The things are almost packed but
it's always a very nervous rush that starts few days before the tour. I have to
decide which books to take and what music to upload to my mp3 player, very important
hehe!
The Grand Astoria
That was our regular tour for 60 days, the way
we like it. We played 40 shows, had to be more but some shows were cancelled.
It was quite the same actually.. the difference was maybe in that we played in
some cities we never been before like Oulu in
north of Finland , we also
had few good festivals in Estonia Baltics , Poland ,
Germany , Holland ,
Czech Republic and Scandinavia . I am looking forward to France , Spain
and Portugal
You have 4 full-length
albums, 2 Eps and also took part in few compilations, what kind of program do
you prepare for this Autumn?
The set-list contains songs from all of the
albums and few songs from forthcoming EP, we try to change the list of songs we
play before each tour
The Grand Astoria
The main reason is that I don't like to do the
things I already did musicwise. I don't want to be predictable. I like all the
songs I wrote but I want to move forward. I heard only good words about new
album so I am quite happy with the response.
The band balances onto
such genres as stoner, psychedelic rock, heavy metal and punk; do you feel
recognition from some of these scenes?
Not so much. I can't say that classic
metalheads dig what we do, the same with punks, I even heard that punk
community here in Russia Slovenia
Your activity is
something unique – a damned lot of gigs, a couple of solid and professional
albums, but Walter still didn’t call you to play Roadburn, did something
cardinally change for last 2 years for you? That’s right – it’s a continue of
previous question!
It changed in a way that now I don't worry that
much about why bookers and festival don't invite us. Few years ago I was very
upset with this fact cause to my taste the most of the bands that play on that
kinda festivals are very boring. I don't want to judge anyone but it's my
opinion. Suddenly at one point of time I stopped being nervous of this fact and
understood that just the fact of making music makes me happy. If somebody likes
it - I am very happy, if not, - I just don't care. I do it for myself first of
all.
Kamille you did take vocal courses, can you say that you could continue to move along without such
education? And is it important for you to evaluate band’s sound, discover
something new for yourself and maybe listeners?
Yes, I think I am improving. Very slowly, but I
am doing my best. Here is the time for some big news. in November one of my
friends Danila will join the band as the permanent (I hope) member as the
second singer/keyboardist and noise generator! So we will be five people on
stage. Can't wait to start playing with this expanded lineup. This means more
good vocal melodies, more harmonies and the better quality of live performance.
You already work over
new album, how will it sound ? Will you keep a bit of “Punkadelia Supreme” in your
sound or will you take a step radically further?
Yes, we already recorded most of our future
album. It will be another step for us, can't describe it so far, but I want to
release it in the near future, so it won't take long. Money is the only issue
right now. We have to pay for the studio.
Can you name some
songs which represent The Grand Astoria
If you are new to The Grand Astoria it's better
to start with our longest complex songs, they represent us the best: Score, To
Whom It May Concern, Something Wicked This way Comes, Wikipedia Surfer,
Salvation Is Near and others. I like writing long songs and I will keep on
doing this.
What kind of merch did you prepare for this forthcoming tour? Do you have few more t-shirts with Gandhi and
Ugly Billy playing chess?
For this new tour we made the tees with
simplified cover art of the last record. We will make more of Gandhi t-shirt
later. We also try to change the design of our merch quite frequently.
How often do you see
drunk people at your gigs? Does it disturb you or is it okay for rock gig?
From time to time. I have no problems with it
if they are not throwing anything on stage. But luckily it never happened.
How does the process
of producing The Grand Astoria
We still need some money to finish it, but I
hope it will happen this autumn.
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