thechainsawmafia.com - Nekromantix: Psychobilly at its best

Interview by Mafia writer, Tessara

If you're a fan of music and horror, chances are you've heard of Nekromantix. They're a psychobilly trio with tongue-in-cheek titled songs such as "Jack the Stripper" and "Horny in a Hearse."

Fronted by Kim Nekroman and his infamous coffin bass, Nekromantix was formed in '89 in Copenhagen. Mr. Nekroman took time during their busy recording schedule to talk to me about tough beginnings, great horror films and the psychobilly genre...

TCM: Were there any bands that helped you early in your career and do you feel a duty to help upcoming psychobilly bands?

NEKROMANTIX: Nope we were on our own haha. And yes to a certain degree I do feel obliged to make sure the psychobilly genre stay alive. I do what I can to put hardworking "new" bands on the bill or bring them on tour.

TCM: “Demon's are a Girl's Best Friend" has a different sound than the previous albums, what brought that about, are you proud of that album and did it reach more of the mainstream than the others?

NEKROMANTIX: Hmmmm, I think that everytime we make an album it sounds different from the prior ones and "Demon's..." was no exception. I'm actually equally proud of all Nekromantix' albums and no, we didn't really reached a mainstream audience.

TCM: How do you feel about the way psychobilly is changing? Many of today’s bands such as Stellar Corpses sound different than psychobilly of the past.

NEKROMANTIX: When Nekromantix entered the psychobilly scene we sounded different and as a matter of fact, I'm all for the constant "change" or evolution.
One of the things that I love about psychobilly is the very diversity in the music. It would be boring if everybody sounded the same and if newcomers copied what is already there.

TCM: What is your favorite international city to play?

NEKROMANTIX: That is a very hard question to answer but playing Los Angeles always gives me a rush.

TCM: How was the recent tour with Rob Zombie?

NEKROMANTIX: The Zombie tour went great. It was interesting playing in front of a different audience. It was very good exposure for the band and a great experience.

TCM: Kim, did your experience in the Navy help prepare you for touring? If so, how?

NEKROMANTIX: Haha well I guess so....I learned how to cope with being away from home and how to leave in close quarters 24/7.

TCM: Are there any unrelated genres you take inspiration from?

NEKROMANTIX: I don't really take inspiration from psychobilly, so the answer would be: yes. I love music and are not too concerned about categories.

TCM: During your career how has the record industry changed and what affects has it had on the band?

NEKROMANTIX: Yes indeed it has changed. It really hasn't had an effect on Nekromantix. We've always been on small indie labels where promotion was either low budget or non existing. The changes (internet etc) has affected the industry in general but I think the ones that suffers the most are major labels.

TCM: When did you decide that you wanted a coffin bass and how is it constructed?

NEKROMANTIX: Our very first show was video taped and when I was watching myself playing a "normal" upright bass I thought to myself that I needed something different. The idea came from the Nekromantix coffin-logo.

I've made many coffin basses over the years but the very first one I used a neck from an upright bass mounted on a real childs coffin.

That was sort of the prototype and throughout the years I've improved and perfected the instrument. As we speak I'm finishing one of two brand new coffin basses.

TCM: What are your top 3 favorite bands/musicians?

NEKROMANTIX: That depends on my mood and my answer would change throughout the week.

TCM: What’s your favorite Horror film?

NEKROMANTIX:That would be "Nosferatu" without a doubt.

TCM: If you could have written the soundtrack to any movie, which would it be?

NEKROMANTIX: That would also be "Nosferatu"

TCM: Tell us about your best live show.

NEKROMANTIX: Oh I cant even come up with a specific one on top of my head...a great show is one where we ofcourse, play Nekrotastic and where the audience and band energy becomes one.

TCM: There’s a new album in the works, can you give us some information about that?

NEKROMANTIX: Yes the album is almost done and apart from that I'm not really able to give more info right now. All I can say is that we are hoping and planning on a mid May release.-Cheers, Kim

Check out Nekromantix on Myspace!