Grace and Alex interview in London

Alex Vega, Grace Khold and Marco in London with Red

Grace Khold
& Alex Vega -
Cosmobar,
London.
Date -
October 7th
2005.

Noizefront: How did you get started in the music industry?
Grace: Alex? Your have longer experience than mine.
Alex: Okay, I started playing guitar in 1991. I am single. Too busy wasting time
playing guitar!
NF: How old are you? Because fifteen years is quite a long time to play guitar.
Alex: I am quite old.
NF: You can't be that old..
Alex: Twenty Eight.
NF: Oh, so you aren't really that old.
Alex: No? I feel my age.
NF: Twenty eight isn't old.
Alex: Okay, okay, he is older. [They laugh, pointing to Marco.]
NF: Okay, Grace, your turn to answer now
Grace: I started playing pretty late, during the high school years. I was playing
bass guitar in a very small death punk band, you know nothing serious even if I
really enjoyed that band, it was pure non-sense, we were playing at some very
low levels Ramones and Carcass covers during the same shows, people just
didn’t get the point eheh. My first “real” band experience was in Twilight, a
pretty interesting dark-wave band with some really good song, what a pity the
main songwriter and mastermind, a guy called Alberto, left to another city looking for a job. After that I start playing as a techno-trance-
industrial Dj in local clubs and raves for a long period of time but the scene soon became way too poppy for my tastes and I quit the
whole thing for years. When I met Darin in Helsinki I had been planning to set up a band for a while, but this time I wanted to make it
big and go pro.
NF: Excellent, okay.
Alex: Excuse me, [insert sleazy Italian accent here.] I have to tell you my whole history here too.
Grace: The story of your life..
Alex: I started playing guitar with some local/cover bands, just death metal stuff for about two or three years. My first “real” band (for
real I mean professional attitude) was Spiritual Ceremony, I joined in 1996. This band played an interesting mixture between classic
melodic death metal and psychedelic elements, very cool stuff. After this experience I formed a new doom-gothic band for two/three
years. I wrote all the music, it was really melodic and depressing stuff. But sadly this band never started in the right way because I had
great difficult to find the right singer for the songs. Curiosity: the bass player was Davide and actually I play with him in Klimt1918 J ).
So, between 2001 and 2003 I joined Spiritual Front. It was my first experience in the “modern” music world: I mean, recordings (but
only in 2003 anyway), live gigs in Italy and abroad, hard rehearsal time etc. With this band I recorded a 7” EP for Hauruck (“No Kisses
on the Mouth”) and the split CD “Satyriasis” with Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio (actually released for Cold Meat Industry). In april 2002, I
joined Klimt 1918 and I recorded with them two albums. You know, for that period it was like the perfect band where I can play!! I
love (and still loving) the style and music of the band. First album, “Undressed momento”, was released for My Kingdom Music (an
Italian label) and recently re-released under license for Prophecy Prod. The second was released in april 2005. It’s called “Dopoguerra”
and it is the first album of the new deal we signed with Prophecy Productions. And then, in December 2004, Victor called me and said
'Alex, do you want to play with Dope Stars Inc,?'. Alex Vega here, ready to start my friends! J
NF: How does it feel to be the new guy in the band?
Alex: Very very well!! I love Grace. We had a relationship. [He laughs, joking.] No, seriously.
Grace: So don’t you love me?! [Does a neck roll, with his hands poised on his hips] Bitch...

is more into Industrial stuff, Darin is pure fuckin rock 'n' roll attitude and I put as well my classic melodic style, gothic/wave parts,
guitar solos etc. Seems like this machine works well ‘till now! *lol*
NF: It's actually really hard for us to describe what you music is like. Same question Grace.
Grace: The main idea was creating a pure rock’n’roll band projected in the times we live, you know something extremely modern and
hi-tech but still raw and energetic. Electronic music and all the new underground musical currents just were the perfect tools to shape
our vision in this direction
NF: Okay, we wanted to move on to your art and design, so how would you describe it?
Grace: [He laughs.] What do you exactly mean? It’s such a wide topic.
NF: Who would you compare yourself to? Your work is very abstract..
Grace: It’s quite hard to give a good descriptions of all those shades and influences that melts in my work. At the very beginning
everything was very spontaneous, I just used to sit down and let this stream of visions flow out of my mind, I also used to experiment
with different techniques and materials, from traditional painting to typography or photography, mixing them together and getting really
excellent and extravagant results. However it was the Design Academy to teach and give me the final tools to dominate much better the
whole thing. I’m definitely more mature now.
NF: How did you get started?
Grace: It’s a natural skill I was born with. When I was very young I spent most of my time drawing monsters on my parents’room
walls. I think visual design and art in general was the most obvious development of this huge passion and “talent” (let’s call it this way)
I had.
NF: Who is your favourite artist?
Grace: I love H.R. Giger and Dave McKean, but that’s pretty obvious
and common I think. I adore Salvador Dalì (people should also check
his minor works) and the whole surrealism current, some
Russian de-constructivists but also contemporary artists like Floria
Sigismondi.
NF: We actually wanted to congratulate you on the design and the
artwork on the Neuromance cover.
Grace: Oh really? Thank you.
NF: It's incredible.
Grace: Thanks a lot, the only thing I regret is that I didn’t have time
at all, I was in such a rush since I was going to graduate at the same
time. I really had to focus on it and do my best to make such a wide
artwork in such a small time.
NF: But still, it is amazing.
Grace: I hope the next one is going to be even better. If I will have
enough time of course ehehe. Well, actually I already know how the
new DSI album artwork has to look like, but I guess it’s a question
of green since I need some extra people with specific skills to help me
with it.
NF: Okay, going back to DSI, what is your favourite song to perform?
Grace: Maybe Theta Titanium or Infection 13 because... [interrupted]
Alex: Defcon - 5.
Grace: [He looks to Alex.] Well, maybe that’s yours, but it is not my
favourite. Not mine.
NF: Okay, [laughing], Alex, what is your favourite song to perform live?
Alex: Erm, I can say Defcon - 5 and Rebel Riot.
NF: Okay, excellent songs actually.
Grace: Playing our heaviest and fastest song at the very beginning it’s like a war declaration, the DSI sonic manifesto. It’s the best
way to say we are gonna kick your ass, you know, a way to make things clearJ
NF: Have you got any future plans for touring or perhaps a world tour?
Grace: Yes of course but I am not 100% sure yet because we are about to sign with a booking deal and probably everything will start
in few months, maybe the next summer we will start touring seriously, I really hope so because I definitely love to be on the road!
Alex: And I want to play in London.
NF: We want you to play in London too.
Grace: Yeah, that would be awesome, I love this place. We’ll do our best, but you know, touring is really expensive, ain’t that easy at
the very beginning to reach every corner of the world.
Alex: Just a guitar, just me with a guitar.

for it. Hopefully your band will sooner or later become successful and you could afford to pay your bills!
NF: What advice would you give, Alex?
Alex: Okay, what?
NF: What advice would you give Alex, for someone looking to get in to a band and in to the music industry?
Alex: Patience, PPP. PPP… patience, persistance and pain… PPP. PPP
NF: What can DSI fans expect from a live show?
Alex: A lot of fun, a lot of energy, kick some ass. [He laughs.]
NF: What would you say Grace? What should fans expect from a live Dope Stars Inc show?
Grace: Four pretty guys asking for free booze! Naaa, seriously….flesh and blood, sweat and adrenaline but also a huge sonic assault.
Something in the middle between a rave party and a Dead Boys gig I think. Broken speakers and shiny make up.
Alex: ..a lot of vodka red bull!!
NF: We had a lot of fun at the show, [the Dope Stars Inc Record Release Party, Club Zoe, Milan, 30th September.]
Grace: Thanks a lot but to be sincere we didn't play so well. it wasn’t easy at all, especially because we woke up so early in the
morning and drove by car the whole way (which is A LOT!) and we were tired, so extremely tired that we were definitely not at our
best. We will do better next time!
NF: We think you did an incredible job. After waiting a year to see you perform and I [Red] never thought I would see you guys play
live, being American and the fact that it just happened to work out the way it did, I was not disappointed at all. You couldn't tell. We
have been fans of DSI since the EP, [10,000 Watts of Artificial Pleasure], so it was very exciting. When the album was released, we
didn't know what to expect, whether it would be much better than the EP..
Grace: We’re working on it, you can expect some serious shit in the short run ehehhe
NF: We are really looking forward to that. Okay, do you have any crazy fans?
Grace: Yes, we do.
[Everyone laughs.]
Grace: At the very beginning I was getting a lot of presents and postcards,
It was very nice!
NF: What is the most crazy / weirdest thing you have received from a fan?
Grace: I think the worst is yet to come, that’s why I’ll ask Alex Vega to be my
personal Vega guard. The think I liked the most was a set of Tim Burton’s
“Oyster Boy” characters, I love it!
NF: Yes, you are going to get bigger, I mean, Dope Stars Inc are going to be huge.
Grace: Well, thank you so much, I keep on crossing my fingers and praise the lords
(of the new church);)
NF: What about you Alex, do you have any crazy fans?
Alex: Yes. Of course.
NF: Do you get sent anything really crazy, any weird presents?
Alex: Presents? No.
NF: So nobody has ever made you uncomfortable?
Alex: No, no. [He laughs.]
NF: You are very lucky, we have heard some stories..
Alex: [He laughs.] No, they are very nice. They are great, they love our music.
And I love our fans too.
NF: Where do you see yourself in ten years time and what would you have liked to
have achieved?
Alex: Ten years? In the next ten years.. I don't know, probably still playing… dunno!
NF: [Laughing] With DSI?
Alex: Yes, I hope!!
NF: And what about you, Grace? Where do you see yourself in ten years time?
Grace: Well, I really have no idea but I really hope to be playing good music still. That would be one of the main goal. And of course, I
would be nice if I could skip worrying about bills:
NF: So you could pay your bills then?
Grace: [He laughs.] Yes.
NF: What is the one CD that you can't live without? Your favourite CD?
Grace: That is really hard because I have a lot, and I mean A LOT. But maybe, at the moment, I would say Smack, do you know who
they are? One of the best rock 'n' roll band from Finland ever! And of course my private bible… Shotgun Messiah’s “Violent New
Breed” and Ministry’s “Land Of Rape And Honey”/”Psalm 69”.. By the way, I almost forgot KENT, they are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Swedish indie rock at its best! Also a lot of 80’s shit, you know that Tears for Fears/Duran Duran synth-pop oriented stuff. And damn,
TURBONEGRO!!! Can’t live without them especially since all my friends are dead;)
NF: What about current bands, bands that are around today?
Grace: This is really hard, let me think….I guess Zeromancer, Rob Zombie, KMFDM, this kind of stuff. Mhm, I like them very much.
I’m also enjoying Combichrist, he works so fucking well when you’re high on the crime….and Backyard Babies!
NF: Alex, what is the one CD you can't live without, you favourite CD?
Alex: What, actually? There is more than one.
NF: Tell us all of them..
Alex: There is a band called XP8, you know? [He laughs, pointing to Az].
NF: We will definitely check them out, we promise.
Alex: And another band called Klimt 1918, you know, an italian band….
[Everyone laughs.]
Alex: Ehi, It’s my other band!! ahah
NF: Haha, we thought you would bring them up again.
Alex: You have to check out our new album “Dopoguerra”. And Birthday Massacre, they are fuckin great!! And then… Mhh new
album from Apoptygma Berzerk, Dredg, Combichrist…I’m listening to a lot of stuff actually!!
NF: Okay, we have some Noizefront questions that we specifically ask everyone that we interview. So, which of the seven deadly sins
do you think best represents you and why?
Alex: Sins?
NF: The seven deadly sins, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Lust...
Alex: That is a hard question, I would say I don't really know. [He laughs] A bit of all of them! All seven of them.
NF: What about you, Grace? The seven deadly sins.
Grace: All of them! With rocks.
NF: Is there one more than the others? Or two?
Grace: Oh, can I pick three? Lust, Anger and..
Marco: Gluttony.
Grace: ..yes,absolutely Gluttony.
NF: Tell us a random fact about anything?
Grace: A random fact?
NF: Yes, one of those useless facts that no one else seems to know.
Grace: Well, I can say that Rome is a place
Marco: Come back to hell!
Grace: [Laughs.] Yes, it is like hell. It is really hard, there are a lot of people, so many people everywhere and basically doing the
easiest thing in the world can almost kill you.
NF: We are going to Rome in November.
Grace: Okay.
NF: Where should we visit in Rome while we are there?
Grace: You mean in club or places?
NF: Yes, we will be there for three days.
Grace: Okay, tourist places…, there is the “subbacultcha” club where Az plays, [they laugh] you should go there and there is a place
close to my heart in the “Testaccio” area: a great sushi bar where me and Alex are always going, like every two days. That is where we
will go once back!
NF: That sounds great, okay so Alex tell us a random fact about
anything.
Alex: [He sighs heavily.] Once upon a time..
[Everyone laughs.]
Alex: ..there was a big tree of jeeg-robot way up in the garden
and..
where you don't want to live in. The city is wonderful, really
breath-taking, but living there it is so chaotic, it is really like hell..
Grace: This is real fact, not bullshit.
Alex: ..a boy waited by this tree and the robots grew up but this
tree never grew up and..
Grace: And he is still waiting!
Alex: ..and he is still waiting by the jeeg-robot tree. Still waiting.
[Everyone laughs for five minutes.]
NF: Do you believe in ghosts?
Alex: No, but I want to see some to believe.
NF: What about you, Grace?
Grace: I wish I would. I would like to see one of those. Maybe Elvis. Or rather Gengis Khan.
Alex: What about in London, are there ghosts in London?
NF: There are a lot of ghost stories in London. Anywhere you go there is a ghost story, especially in the cemetery, also in the Tower of
London and on the Jack the Ripper tour.
NF: If a fan were to bring you a carepack while you were on tour with things that you wanted or that you missed from home, what
should they bring you?
[This takes a few minutes to explain what a carepack is.]
NF: Like socks, or t-shirts..
Grace: It really depends. The thing I would appreciate the most is someone who hand makes something special just for me. And
booze. Did I mentioned Booze? eheh
NF: Same question Alex.
Alex: Me? Huh?
NF: If a fan was to give you a present while you were on tour..
Alex: Oh, a present? [He grins.]
NF: Yes, [laughing] what would you like?
Alex: Cd's.
NF: Okay, what Cd's?
Grace: A car! And a space shuttle.
Alex: A dress.
NF: A dress?
Alex: Yes, yes, a dress.
NF: What kind of dress would you like?
Alex: A sexy dress.
Grace: A wig! Yes, a wig!
Alex: A what?
NF: A wig, for your head, fake hair..
Alex: Ah, a wig, okay, yes I need a wig.
NF: We think you look good without hair though, it suits you.
Alex: A coloured wig.
NF: Would you like a wig like Grace's hair? Or like Marco's?
Alex: Coloured wigs, I think.
NF: Okay, pink or green..
Alex: A violet wig. Yes, violet.
NF: Excellent, violet.
[Everyone laughs.]
NF: Is this a fetish? Do you have Trichophilia, a hair fetish?
Alex: Sometimes.
[Everyone laughs, he rubs his head.]
Alex: I can be very..
NF: Are you a Doraphilic? [Love of skin or fur.]
[They all collaspe with laughter.]
NF: Okay, this has got to be good..
Alex: We have..erm..a lot of fetishism.
NF: did you find anything in London?
[Marco and Alex are still laughing and rolling around.]
NF: Come on, what did you find that was so interesting?
Alex: We were trying to find something to remain alive and we… we must stop there.
[They are still laughing and both blushing.]
NF: Alright, we are going to ask you some rapid questions now that we ask everyone we interview at Noizefront. We will give you two
options and you just tell us which one you prefer.Okay, KMFDM or Raymond Watts?
Grace: KMFDM, no way. That’s my law.
[Alex shakes his head.]
NF: Neither?
Alex: No. I don't like.
NF: My Sixth Shadow or Dope Stars Inc?
Alex: mhh.. Dope Stars Inc. !! What a question….
NF: Urban Decay or Maybeline?
Alex: Erm..Maybeline, Maybeline. Grace, answer the next question, Urban Decay or Maybeline?
Grace: Oh, definitely make up.
Alex: Which one?
NF: Would you prefer Maybeline or Urban Decay?
Grace: Mac or Make Up Forever. And for the lips I suggest you some whale sperm directly imported from U.S., you recognize it from
a small rounded-yellow packaging.
NF:Is that what you use?
Grace: Yes, definitely yes.
NF: Jagermeister or Vodka?
Alex: Jagermeister. We all drink Jagermeister.
NF: Good, we know what to buy you for shots later.
[Grace grabs the dictaphone back at this point and holds it to his mouth, speaking in to the speaker.]
Grace: This is a message we are sending to the Jagermeister Headquarter. We NEED endorsement NOW!! What do you think?
NF: I'm sure they will see what they can do. [Laughing.] The occult..
Alex: The occults or Madonna?
Marco Madonna.
NF: Madonna?
Marco: Madonna.
Grace: What are you talking about?
NF: UFOs or ghosts?
Alex: Ghosts.
Grace: UFOs.
Alex: Jeeg Robot!!! But also Goldrake and Daltanious.
NF: What do you think of President Bush?
Grace: To be straight I neither like the politician nor the man. But this is such a wide topic and there are so many things to take into
consideration. I just hope America will have a new and wiser president as soon as possible otherwise the world order we know will
slowly sink into pure chaos and from chaos to self destruction. Do you think It’s a quite apocalyptic view? I would rather say realistic
just think about the resources of the planet…
NF: You have a lot of piercings, how many do you have?
Grace: Ah, seven at the moment.
NF: Can we ask what they are?
Grace: Just the ones you can see, ah lip, tongue, ears because they are real piercings, nipples, I have more..
NF: Okay.. [everybody laughs.]
Grace: ..let's leave a question mark..
NF: Any tattoos?
Grace: Not yet, I’m gonna get my first one as soon as I come back to Rome. I’m actually waiting this Spanish tattoo artist to come
there since I think he’s the right one for me.
NF: We figured that you would be a little bit more..
Grace: Yeah.
NF: Would you design your own tattoo?
Grace: Yes.
NF: Would you design a tattoo for someone else?
Grace: I don't know, it is a big responsibility, but maybe I would, it really depends who’s asking.
NF: Alex, you don't have any tattoos, do you? Any piercings?
Alex: I had one piercing but it rejected.
NF: Do you think you will get any more?
Alex: Maybe, I don't know.

And then we were off to find drink and dance the night away! Thanks boys!

Alex: Yeah, sure. I knew Grace from the “club life”
during some parties in Rome and I knew Victor because I
played with Klimt 1918 a gig with My Sixth Shadow
[Victor's other band] two years ago. And anyway I often
met them at clubs and parties in general. I didn't know
Darin but I met him when I joined the band, of course.
And you know, I love these guys, I want to marry all of
them!
NF: How would you describe your music? DSI, how
would you describe it?
Alex: DSI? Erm, a great mixture, lots of different styles
of music. We mix together our different influences..
Victor is the main composer/songwriter, he has the classic
metal attitude with the guitar but he’s also able to put fine
electronic arrangements in the songs/general sound. Grace

NF: What advice would you give to someone who was looking to get
in to a band or get in to the business?
Grace: Do you want me to speak the truth?
NF: The truth, definitely the truth.
Grace: The best tip is to look for something else, maybe go working
in a pub or get a real job because you will be broke and fucked up for
the rest of your life. Sometimes people think being in a band is
something cool or funny, the best way to get a lot of girls or booze
but actually this is just a small piece of the whole cake. Being in a band
means fun, wild parties, satisfaction when you get the results you’re
craving for but also sacrifice, regrets, and hard hard work.
Alex: ..get a life!
Grace:It’s an hard job but if you really like it and want it then you go