Dolium

After being reviewed in last months Voltcase (read it here), this month we catch up indie Goth rockers Dolium and put them through the Voltcase "10 Questions"....

VOLTCASE DOLIUM INTERVIEW:

Hi, welcome to Voltcase - how are things?!

Very well thanks. As a matter of fact, everything is finally beginning to make sense.

So, how would you describe your sound to a stranger in three words?

Depending on the mood and the stranger in question, it would either be "not for you" or "tora! tora! tora!".

What could you say to convince the lazy general public that they should check you out, turn up at your gigs and buy your music?

Well, if convincing the general public was at all important to us, perhaps we could begin by telling them how we came second in X-Factor. We could also offer free tea and biscuits at shows, use sexually explicit imagery in our videos or even hand out money to anyone brave enough to wear a Dolium t-shirt in public. It's all there for the taking. If only we were more f***ing adventurous.

What do you guys think of the Internet as a way of promoting yourselves – is it an essential marketing tool, or just another way for people to steal your music without you knowing about it?

Both, although we find it virtually impossible to get into the spirit of self promotion. Maybe we should employ one of those internet marketing companies who offer to launch a viral campaign and pretend to be Dolium fans by leaving fake messages of enthusiasm on forums and blogs across the seemingly never-ending cyber lands. As it happens, we see no real value in forcing our music on people. We have a space on the web and it's there for anyone interested in our music. We get messages of support from fans all around the world via the web and for us, that's how the internet works best. We're not really concerned about people 'stealing' our music. Record companies and publishers have been stealing from artists since the dawn of the music industry. Awareness comes in different forms. If someone illegally downloads our music and they're into it, there's a fair chance they'll want to own the physical thing sooner or later.

We try and promote as many local scenes as we can here at Voltcase, what can you tell us about your home town/s and the music scene there? Any bands that we might not have heard of that you think we should check out?

We aren't aware of any particular music scene in our current locality. In my experience, the most intriguing artists are often elusive and eager to throw themselves in the opposing direction of social recognition. There is an old woman who plays tiny toy pianos outside TK Maxx, she's amazing. Don't know her name though.

And, for anyone out there just starting out in a band, is there one piece of invaluable advice that you could give them to help them on their way?

First, remove the word 'unsigned' from your mind and replace it with the word 'free'. Now, wallow in delicious thoughts of doing it all yourself and......

So, what's the most extreme rock-star type story that's happened to you while on tour or at a gig?

Moments after The Human League said that they liked us, someone from a band called Six By Seven tried to snow on our fire by throwing a KitKat at us. How extreme is that?!

If you were interviewing yourself, what question would you ask yourself? And what would the answer be?

Q: Can I have a free album? A: No

So, what have you got planned for the rest of the year?

Right now, we're preparing to record the next album. We're also expecting to play a few UK dates in the Autumn.

And finally, the question that we ask everyone that appears in Voltcase - what does the word 'Voltcase' mean?

I don't know. Is it some sort of pressurised casket for storing the bodies of electrocution victims during the period between death and cremation?