Hello Helena. It's cool talking to you, especially since your band and I are neighbors here in central New Jersey. When I first heard the name of your band, I couldn't help but wonder if you sounded more like David Bowie's Spiders From Mars or Rockets from the Crypt. Introduce yourself and your bandmates and talk about your sound.

I don't think we sound like either of those bands (laughing), but your comparison sounds pretty cool. I'm Helena, the vocalist, and I'm originally from northern California. Bones, the bass guitarist, is from southern California. Our drummer, Dan, and our lead guitarist, Johnny, are both from New Jersey. Bonesy is from a military family that moved around a lot. They ended up here. Me, I did the rebellious thing of moving as far as possible away after I graduated from school. As a band, we have very varied influences: Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Disturbed, and Godsmack. Individually, we all have our bands and musicians that inspired us as musicians. For me, it changes all the time, but somebody who has always been there as an influence on me is Axl Rose. He's got a vibrant personality to go with incredible talent. John's really into Godsmack, but he watches old DVDs from classic bands. He's wearing out the copy of his Led Zeppelin DVD, and Jimmy Page would have to be called one of his major influences. Dan's drumming influences are Lars Ulrich, Gene Hogland, Dave Lombardo, Vinnie Paul, and Jason Rullo. Bones was influenced by legends like James Jamerson and Jaco Pastorius, and more current bassists like Les Claypool from Primus. Music fans can hear our sound at our MySpace page, www.myspace.com/spiderrockets, and at our website, www.spiderrockets.com. I'd describe our sound as loud, aggressive rock with our metal, punk, and jazz influence tossed in. We're not a traditional loud rock band, and we're hard to compartmentalize. That works for us and against us as well.

Spider Rockets' latest record is called "Ever After." Tell me all about it.

It was originally released in 2006 on Halloween. We were signed to Screaming Ferret Wreckords back then, and the philosophy was the slow process of using this CD as a tool to bring up the next CD. That approach is fine because we want to work hard, do everything we can while doing it the right way, and we don't take any shortcuts. The record was available at the label's website, and we did shows up and down the East Coast and a little in the Midwest. When Screaming Ferret got national distribution this summer through Ryko, they took us on as well for national distribution, and we're also hoping to get European distribution through Locomotive Records. Part of the process between artist and label is trust-building. We've done everything we've been asked to do and have promised to do. I think they believe in us because we're true to what we say. The band Lillian Axe is also on Screaming Ferret/Metro City Records. We reached out to them and talked about joining up with them on part of their fall tour. We're lucky that they agreed to take us on, and we're so excited. As far as our record "Ever After," fans can hear song clips from four different songs at our MySpace page: "Something More," "Simple," "So High," and "Too Far." Our website is up, but a few elements still need to be added. We should have additional clips there when we finally get the whole page going. Our publicist, Chipster Entertainment, is working to get our music added at some Internet radio stations as well. Retail shoppers can go to Virgin Records in New York City or Jack's Music in Red Bank or visit Amazon, CD Universe, or Best Buy online. Our producer, Martin Bisi, who's worked with Dresden Dolls and Sonic Youth, is very eclectic. He's influenced us by steering away from the norm. He opens us up to playing parts of our music in a different way than we would have thought of doing it.

Since Spider Rockets is not a brand new band and "Ever After" is not your first record, let's talk about evolution. How has the band evolved in the ever-changing musical landscape in the 21st century?

As a songwriter today, I have more of a precise sense of what I'm looking for. Before, it was more general. I was just writing the song. I'm able to hone in and know what I'm going after as far as the emotion I'm trying to get through and the feelings that I want to squeeze out of my songs. There is always so much more to learn. Our drummer and bass guitarist are fairly new. Over the last year, we've jelled together really well. We feed off each other. "Ever After" is more edgy and left of center in some ways than our previous record, "Flipped Off." That was more traditional hard rock. "Ever After" was both challenging to make as well as to get heard. It's always a fight, but if you believe in what you're doing and keep pressing forward, things will go your way. I believe that anything worth doing shouldn't come easy and it certainly hasn't. But it's been a great ride. You're so right Dave about the ever-changing industry. I'm not a techno-geek, but our guitarist Johnny reads about equipment and he keeps up. He loves it. For me, it's more about songwriting and performance. Writing a great song is not about having great gear and recording equipment. MySpace wasn't around when Spider Rockets started. It's been a great thing for us. It makes the world smaller and that's an awesome thing. Satellite radio is cool, even though we're not on any stations yet. As we drive around, listening to satellite radio exposes us as listeners to many bands we'd never hear on terrestrial radio, especially more extreme metal bands.

What should fans expect from Spider Rockets at a live performance?

We originally started as a two-piece band, and we must have played every bar in New Jersey. After changing into a four-piece we started concentrating on original material. We play out of state a lot, and the fans seem to embrace us because we've come so far to play instead of expecting a "New Jersey sound" like Springsteen or Bon Jovi. Bands like Skid Row and Symphony X have proven that you don't have to take that musical direction. We're playing in a lot of new cities for us on the tour with Lillian Axe. We'll be out mid-September through mid-October. Fans can expect a loud, edgy, and angry band with some non-traditional elements. We've yet to capture what we do live in the studio. That's arguably the next challenge for Spider Rockets. As far as the tour goes, we're so excited and we can't wait to meet all the people as we travel all over the country. We've been uber-underground for a long time. It'll be tremendous that music fans around the country can finally experience us and that we'll get to experience them. We're really looking forward to the tour.

My interview hopes to introduce your band to some new fans. What can your existing fans expect after the tour as we head into 2008?

In 2008, we'll be recording the new CD that we're busy writing as we speak. We also hope there'll be an opportunity for us to tour in Europe. Our existing fans, or new fans, can also check out a video we put up at our MySpace page. It's for the song "Something More." It's certainly not a million-dollar high-quality video, but you can certainly watch it and get a feel for what Spider Rockets is all about. Our website is being re-adjusted and updated as I mentioned before. We have t-shirts, stickers, baseball caps, and all of our other CDs are available at our website.

Please share your thoughts on the senseless murder of Dimebag Darrell.

To be honest, I started listening to Pantera after Dime's death. Dimebag's murder seemed surreal and incredible in the most aweful way possible. Music at its best is incredibly moving emotionally---we music freaks can attest to that and, sure, we are all crazy in our own way. But there is never an excuse for violence to each other---ever. My bandmates wanted to share their thoughts if that's okay. Bones said that Dime's death was a terrible tragedy and that it was devastating because so many people were influenced by him. Our drummer Dan also just got into Pantera about three years ago. He added that Vinny Paul quickly became one of his favorite drummers because of his groove and because he is so solid. Our guitarist John said that Pantera has been a huge influence on the metal scene. The band's feel is 100% metal. What's really cool about them is that back in the 90's, they held their ground. Metal was not "in," but they never sold out or backed down.

First off, give us a brief history on how the Spider Rockets came to be.

Johnny and I started the band in the 90s. It started out as the two of us playing every dive bar in Jersey with midi backup for our rhythm section.

Where did you come up with the name?

Johnny did---we started with Spider Monkeys but the name was taken---plus we heard stories about how spider monkeys throw their feces at people….. So we adjusted---and we changed the band name to Spider Rockets. Why rockets? It sounded right to us.

Tell us about the new album, ‘Ever After’

On this CD we got a bit more melodic, but went a bit further with the dark vibe we’ve always had. To me ‘Ever After’ has a background darkness to it. Kind of a haunting quality and sense of the gothic.

How would you say it compares or differs from previous releases?

The vocals were kinda buried on our past LP---mixed in with the rest of the instruments. This time, we put the vocals out front. Also, our songwriting has evolved quite bit.

How about lyrically? What sort of subjects/topics are Spider Rockets ranting about?

In a very general sense some topics are deception, blame, obsession and conflict. And those are just to get us warmed up.

Now musically there are several influences that shine through from time to time. Where do you pull your sound from?

I guess you can say Zep, Sabbath and AC/DC are our roots. But you’ll find influences from GnR, Metallica, Nirvana, Godsmack & System…. And, from time to time, some Stevie Ray Vaughn and some southern rock, too.

And with that in mind, do you try to aim/stick to a particular musical direction when writing new material? ( I guess what I’m trying to get at is if someone came up with some heavier or even some mellower ideas, would they be set aside as non-workable tracks for the band?)

Yeah, I guess we do---but mostly unconsciously. But, the truth is, we are still evolving, so there is plenty of room to experiment---in degrees, of course. I mean, we are not going to start writing happy pop songs or write a death metal album.

What does the tour schedule look like? I saw on the website that you mainly play only in your area. That being New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and D.C. Any talks in the works for a more broader/national tour?

We are working on getting some midwestern dates in the mix for the beginning of the new year. Also, we’ll be branching out further south. Do we want to tour nationally? Hell yes and we’re actively looking for a tour that makes sense for us.

I also read on the bio sheet that you guys had the opportunity to play the Popkomm Festival in Berlin, Germany. How did you get involved with that and how did it go? How well was the band received over there?

We were offered the opportunity to do Popkomm and of course we said yes. As it turns out, they told us that we were one of four North American bands chosen—so we felt pretty honored. The festival was great—well-organized awesome venues and great sound. Everyone was very professional and we were treated well. It was a great start for us in Europe and we look forward to returning and doing more there.

Where would you like to see the band, say in the next five years?

Continuing to grow musically and moving forward. Writing, recording more CDs and touring.

You getting much airplay yet for the new album?

We got top adds in FMQB and CMJ as a start and got a good team working on our behalf on the radio angle. Right now the CD is mainly with metal radio—we’re thinking of expanding that in the new year to other formats.

Other than the website, where can you find your merchandise/CDS?

The new CD will shortly be available in stores regionally--I believe the game plan is to put it in stores in the northeast and then, branch out. And, of course, we have CDs and merchandise available at every live show.

Anything you’d like to add?

Our website and myspace sites both have links to buy merchandise and CDs. You can also get the new CD on Screaming Ferret Wreckords’ site at www.screamingferret.com.

On the other website I write for there is a section called Haunted Happenings. This is where people in the music industry share their experiences with the paranormal or a haunting they have witnessed/been a part of. If you have a story to share, please do.

Actually the studio in Brooklyn where we have recorded the last 3 times is haunted. It was an armory during the Revolutionary War. A soldier from the war supposedly haunts the place. We never saw the ghost but one time in the middle of the night while we were listening to a final mix we saw a door close by itself. Kinda creepy.

First, how would you describe your sound, and what bands have influenced Spider Rockets’ sound?

Loud rock that runs the gamut from caustic to the otherworldly--with vocals that can be haunting to witchy, bitchy to sweeping and grating to seductive. I guess you can say Zep, Sabbath and AC/DC are our roots. But you’ll find influences from GnR, Metallica, Nirvana, Godsmack & System…. And, from time to time, Stevie Ray Vaughn and some southern rock, among other stuff.

Hard Rock with a female voice has, apart from a few exceptions, always been a bit of a peculiarity. How do you feel about the male-dominated genre?

I don’t dwell on the fact that there are many fewer females than males in rock music—what’s the point? I love making music and my music of choice happens to be loud rock. So that’s what I do.

The direction of your album is somewhat dominated by your voice, but also the drums are very much in the foreground. Was that a conscious choice?

The vocals were kinda buried on our last LP---mixed in with the rest of the instruments. So this time, we did consciously choose to put vocals out front. It’s interesting that you think the drums are prominent, too….

How did you come to pick "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles to cover? Are you a big Beatles fan?

We started playing around with “Helter Skelter” at a practice a while back. To be honest, it was kind of a random choice. The song has such a cool wacked energy and we loved messing with it. One thing led to another and we recorded it and put it on our new CD, “Ever After.”

Your Myspace Web site was hacked into, it appears. On your Myspace page you seem to have a lot of friends (many of them seem quite strange). How do you feel about the information society we live in today and the purpose it serves for today's youth?

We don’t find our myspace friends strange…. We have a diverse group and that’s a very cool thing. About the “information society” question: without getting too deep--we think the web can be a great tool for communication & information.

How do you feel about musicians mixing music and political attitudes?

To each, their own.

You have been to Berlin, Germany, for PopKomm . How did that gig come about, and what did you gain from it? Was this your first trip to Europe?

We put our name is the hat for Popkomm and got picked. As it turns out, we were one of four North American bands chosen to perform, so we felt pretty honored. As an experience, it was a great start for us in Europe and we look forward to returning and doing more there.

What are the band's touring plans?

We are starting regionally and expanding outward.

What else does the future hold for the band?

Touring, writing and recording.

Is there any final message you'd like to convey to your fans and to Metal Express Radio readers around the globe?

We love creating and playing music. We are not everything to everyone, though, and are not interested in trying to make people like us through interviews like this. We have our own sound and some love it and some don’t. That’s the way things roll. It’s a big world out there with many sub-genres within genres of music--probably a lot of stuff that’s not what you are used to hearing. What’s pretty cool, though, is people that keep open mind and listen.