Kieronononon

Big Beat / techno / punk from Hull - check em out now!

Hi, welcome to Voltcase - how are things?!

FLOATSTARPX: Hey, thanks for having us.
GOATBOY : It's raining outside - but I'm nice and warm
ORTA: Things are awesome!

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

FLOATSTARPX: well, we usually say "brutaltechnopunk", but in this case
I think that would be a bit of a cop-out.
GOATBOY: definitely.
ORTA: I'd say "awesome sexy music"
FLOATSTARPX: yeah, or "maintain strong erection"....
GOATBOY: what about "world's largest casino"...?

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?

ORTA: because it's better than listening to train noises.
FLOATSTARPX: Quite often when people go and see a band, afterwards they're like "they were ok", or worse "they were pretty tight"
GOATBOY: Yeah, when you see a band and your only comment afterwards is about how 'tight' they were, there's obviously something wrong.
FLOATSTARPX: Like Orta sort-of said, we're not background music.

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?

GOATBOY: When we started the band - the internet was our primary
method of promotion. We booked our first gig through internet
connections, and it was the ideal doorway to expressing ourselves to
the outside world. We were all living in Hull when we first started
playing, and a few local promoters were initially giving us excuses
about being 'too left field' - but the internet let us reach the ears
of people who appreciated what we did and led us to play gigs like
Bizafternoons and Dragons Ball who will put acts who are not afraid to
break the boundaries. So yeah, the internet has been a very positive
thing for us.
FLOATSTARPX: ...and somehow once we got that ball rolling, the 'too
left field' worry seemed to disappear.
ORTA: We also sell our CDs & DVD online, through roxxor2's online
shop, we put videos on youtube, and we're pretty keen on the whole
myspace/facebook thing. We love things like last.fm, all of us have
discovered music we like through it. I think there's real potential
with services like last.fm. And when I'm away in Brazil, it's the best
way for us to write and communicate.
FLOATSTARPX: We're browsing your site. Hey, I recognise Sophia
Disgrace - I used to talk to her in a club in Croydon. I doubt she
remembers me, that was years ago. Small world, eh? That's something
the internet's good for, coincidences.

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?

GOATBOY: In Hull the scene was pretty cool, there's a lot of art-rock
in the form of Santas Buggerboyz and the immense Axl Rose Jazz Funk
Experience. We used to play with a lot of prog bands, notably one
called Franks, and the post-rock-noise Clauberg Opera. I've even been
playing with a 1920s-40s jazz band, which has been getting great
responses.
FLOATSTARPX: Because of what we do, we found that mixed line-ups
worked really well. We had a hip-hop trio open up, followed by an
80s-pop style outfit, and then us. That was a really good gig.
GOATBOY: Of course, there's the normal 'indie' scene, which isn't our
cup of tea. Hull has lost a lot of its underground scene. A lot of
places have closed down. We had the luck to play the White Room just
before it finally closed down. They got in a lot of acts from out of
town. Of course, there's always the Adelphi.
ORTA: When I'm in Brazil, i'm flying the roxxor2 flag over here.
There's a big alternative scene. Back in the UK, we've always been
fortunate enough to be able to arrange gigs out of town. When there's
only 2 venues in one town, it's a shame to have to stick to them!

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?

FLOATSTARPX: Listen to a lot of music. Listen to a lot of your own
music. Buy a whiteboard between the band, and use it. To be honest,
you'll only end up drawing rude things on it - but amongst all of
that, it's a real good creative tool. Argue, but don't fight. There's
a great mixing video by David Gibson, have a watch of that. Get the
popcorn out.
GOATBOY: Do something different, take inspiration but don't copy -
it's easy to do but not as fulfilling.
ORTA: Learn how to use a computer.
FLOATSTARPX: We used to live by the rule of 'do it properly or not at
all', but unfortunately this lead to several cases of the washing up
not being done 'at all'. So now the rule is just 'do it properly'.

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

GOATBOY: Errm - we filled the back room of a University Union with
about 100 red balloons and stuck them all to the ceiling. Afterwards
we drank a load of shit champagne we found which didn't belong to us
and deafened a bunch of volunteers. Is that rock'n'roll? It's not
particularly extreme...
ORTA: I tried to break in to my own car using a hammer.. We'd locked
the keys in the car, with all the equipment in it - and there was
about 30 min's 'til soundcheck. Awesome Kev (K^on roadie extroadinaire)
filmed the event and was taunting me through the whole process. I
missed, dented the body work, and Kev called me a dickhead.
FLOATSTARPX: We've had to run away from a lot of random parties...
usually for different reasons. Goatboy once drenched some girl in
water and had to make a speedy exit with Orta...that didn't go down so
well.
GOATBOY: We had to leave another one after FloatstarPX decided to
dance on a table and broke it under his stomping feet.
FLOATSTARPX: Yeah, that was awesome. During a gig once, we got
heckled by a really big aggressive man.. he was there for an 80s cover
band, and I guess we didn't quite fit his expectations. We played
through it, everyone else there was loving it. His funniest heckle was
"Get off..... I mean it!".

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

GOATBOY: Question - How many girls has Orta spoken to? Answer - Orta
has never spoken to a girl.
ORTA: awwww. Question - Who is the hairiest member of Kieronononon?
GOATBOY: Answer - Unsure - but orta cant even grow a beard
FLOATSTARPX: Question - What is a good breakfast cereal? Answer -
Rice Krispies.

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

FLOATSTARPX: We're all really really busy. With lots of things. We
stay busy, because we get twitchy otherwise. We've already started
writing new material, and we'll be focusing on that towards the end of
the year. We've all been dabbling in other projects as well - which we
find helps. Not all of our ideas are suitable Kieronononon material,
so it helps to have somewhere to chuck them, even if it never gets
heard - it works as a goood filter.
GOATBOY: for example, i've been playing upright bass with a jazz
band, and float has been working on some art-visualisation-music-toy
that he won't explain in great detail, as well as roxxor2... Orta's
been jacking off a lot.
ORTA: yeah. writing new music is a big focus, we're really psyched.

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

GOATBOY: An ECT patient
FLOATSTARPX: What's an ECT patient? Maybe a voltcase is when someone cuts the power in a court room, to delay their trial long enough to get off.
ORTA: I bet you get this all the time - electric suitcase.