interview with Witche's Brew

Have any of you played in other bands? Mirko - Yes, we all did, we all have different previous experiences before Witche's Brew, me personally, I have cut my first record with the hard core Italian band “ Disper-Azione” in the eighties, I have also recorded with many other bands in the USA.

How is it that you started playing music? Mirko - I started as a kid, my oldest brother bought a guitar and I couldn’t get away from it, music was always a big thing in my house so it came kinda natural. Some sort of rock record was always playing in our home so I had it in my ears all the time, I begun trying to play along some old Beatles and Stones songs only to develop in heavier stuff and realising I could do my own things. Then the Ramones came by and all of a sudden you didn’t have to be a super professional musical student anymore, they really revolutionised the whole musical scene.

What are your names, who plays what, how old are you?

Mirko - My name is Mirko Witche Bosco, I play guitar

Demis Bianchi is the bass player and background vocalist, he was also lead vocals on our album “ Against the Grain” before we decided we needed Mark.

Mark Blacks is the lead singer.

On the drums we have Frankie Brando

We are all in our forties, some in their early, some others, like me, in the late.

Have you had any previous members? Mirko - Yes we have, the band was founded under a different lineup, I am one of the former members and here and there somebody joined in only to decide that they rather pursue different occupations. Among some popular “ guests “ we had Nik Turner, from the Hawkwind, who sings and plays those crazy flute parts in “children of the sun” on our album “Supersonic Speedfreaks”, as well as Martin Grice, playing on different songs, etc, etc.

Did you make music even when you where young? Mirko - Certainly, as I said before my first album was recorded in the eighties, '85 to be precise, I was pretty young back then, and it wasn’t even my first experience with a band.

Where are you from? Mirko - We’re from Como, Italy, I am Italian even though I lived most of my life abroad, mainly in New York City, as well as Dublin, Ireland and a bit here, there and everywhere, Mark is from South Africa, he’s half english and half italian, Demis and Frankie are from the Como area as well.

What year did the band form? Mirko - The Witche’s Brew formed in 2007

What’s your style of genre? Mirko - Well, It may seem weird but that’s a difficult question to answer, I don’t really think about styles or genres when I play, I do what I fell like doing and on top of that I don’t like labels. Different kind of magazine and various press have tried to label us before, comparing us to Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Hendricks, as well as more modern stuff and tried to put us in a certain category; we’ve been labeled Heavy Metal, Stoner, Doom, Sludge, Psychedelic and a lot more of more modern crazy styles names, but even though I don’t really feel like saying that they all missed the spot, they didn’t quite hit it either. The only comment that could agree with me is that we are a Rock’n Roll band.

What inspires you? Mirko - Life inspires me. All of our song are about our feelings and our way of life, things that really happened to us or that affected us in a way or another. I have been told that a lot of people can relate to some of them. Depending on my mood I get inspired in a different way and trust me, my mood is pretty eclectic. I'm inspired by everything, the most beautiful and the most ugly things that happen, and I think that that refects in our music, somethimes willingly, sometimes unconciously.

How often and where do you rehearse? Mirko - We have our own rehearsal studio so we can do it whenever we want, mainly is a couple of times a week if we don’t have any gig lined up, but sometimes we do little rehearsals before gigs on purpose, I don’t really like to get to gigs too reheased, everything is too perfect and sterile then, I always liked a little bit of unexpected snag on stage as well as in life in general, otherwise all of our concerts would be all exactly the same and that would be boring for us and unfair to our fans. A concert should be unique, it is not a record.

How have you developed since you started with the music? Mirko - I think we have developed in a very unnatural way, or maybe we have undeveloped. Usually a band would start off by being confused about their music and finding their set style along the way. On the contrary we started out trying certain things only to find out that we wanted to go forward with the discovering of the possibilities, we're always trying to reach fields in wich we haven't cropped before. Rather than making it easier we decided to make it harder, but that’s the fun of it all, and we are still developing all the time, we always try to push the envelope. But we are still a Rock’n’Roll band in the end, and R’n’R precludes a little bit of ignorance, overdevelopment doesn’t belong to our way of making music, for that you have computers, we still plug our guitars in the amp and shoot.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Mirko - We do, Demis is the owner of a pub and I’m the owner of a tattoo parlour, other than that our interest include drinking, women and motorcycles, in no particular order, sometimes all at the same time.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? Mirko - Yes we are looking for a booking agency, sombody serious, a lot of the booking agencies that got in touch with us weren't too interested in what we were about, but only looking to get the most financial gain out of us without moving a finger; don't get me wrong, I totally understand that everyone has got to make a living, but I was thaugth that you gotta earn it too, we all work hard for our money and I am totally willing to share it with whoever worked with us to make it happen but dont' ask to get paid upfront for something that you know you will never do.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? Mirko - Our previous albums have all being issued by a record label that’s been good to us, I don't have a bad word to say about them, but we are now ready to be working alongside a high quality label, somebody interested to develop a serious relationship. Since Mark joined Witche's Brew we have a whole new approach to what we are doing and I feel that the band has reached a different level. The new songs are definetly one step forward since the last, there's a brand new vibe in the air and we're looking around us for new horizons.

What made you decide to make this music? Mirko - I think I was differnt from the others, I couldn't find my place in society, I didn't fit in anywere, music took me to those places that I couldn't reach in other ways, and on top of that I quickly realized that with music I could express myself, I wasn't looking for acceptance, I'm still not interested in that, I was just looking for interior gratification.

What are your songs about? Mirko - Our songs are about life, as I was saying before they are about things that happened, the way people see us and the way we see them, the way we live and all sort of shit happening.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics?do you write the music first or the lyrics? Mirko - everything is totally open to whoever wants to put his input in the band, mainly me and Demis come out with a riff and then develop it into a proper song, we later put down the lyrics depending on the feeling that particular track inspires us, but now, with our new family member, Mark, we're letting him do the most of the lyrics, he's the singer after all, it's not just about writing a song, it's about feeling and interpreting it.

Do you compose in a certain inviroment? Mirko - Yes and no, meaning that we don’t go looking for any certain environment but when we are in the right environment then it’s when it’s right to start writing music, otherwise you could be trying to write for days but if it’s not coming natural to you, to me it’s not even worth it, it’s gotta come to you.

Have you done any covers live? Mirko - I’m not too fond of doing covers, it’s not for me, we have our own songs to bring to the table but sometimes we like to play a tribute to what we consider being a good source of power, more than a cover I would call it paying respect to something or somebody special, in one of our latest gigs we played "Kick Out The Jams” from “MC5”.

What language do you sing in? Mirko - we sing in English, apart for being the most musical adaptation for rock music it’s also the most internationally understandable.

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs?What was your first gig like?What was your latest gig? Mirko -  well our first ever gig as Witche’s Brew was in a little place in the sticks, I don't even remember the name of the venue, with a gathering of about 30 or 40 people, our last one was at Centrale Rock Pub in Erba, I’m not exactly shure but I think it holds about 1000, It was a full house. During our career we played a couple of festivals in front of huge crowds, but at festivals, with many bands lined up, you don’t really know who came to see who. but everytime it's different and unpredictable, in some places we are more popular than in others, when we are on tour sometimes we manage to pack a place on a tuesday evening.

What ages are most of your concert attendants? Mirko - I can’t tell you that, I see people of all ages, we are a kind of music that could entertain every age spectrum. Toddlers and old people with a weak heart should’t attend, but that’s just an advice, everyone is welcome, if you think you’re too old for a rock’n’roll show, then, you are.

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Mirko - We vary quite a bit, we like to enjoy ourselves and we have a lot of material so, even though we keep what we think are the strongest live acts always in the gig, we vary a lot of the rest depending on how the gig goes by. Sometimes we also have to play longer or shorter gigs, depending on the venue.

Do you have a regular place you play live often? Mirko - Not really , we tour all over Europe, and Jordy, our tour manager, is able to get us different places every time, he’s really a fantastic person to work with, but it happened before that we played a couple of times in the same venue.

Have you had to cancel a gig? Mirko - No, we never canceled a gig, Unfortunately it happened in the past that due to logistic problems during the tours we had to change our schedule but in those very rare occasion everything was organized well ahead of time and we only had to change the dates.

Where have you played live this year? Mirko - Mainly in Holland, Germany and Italy, please don’t ask me the names of every city, some of them I can’t even pronounce them.

Where do you plan to gig the comming year? Mirko - We have a two weeks tour in Holland and Germany in the spring so far, then we’ll see, we’re willing to go anywhere. It would be great to come to Sweden.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We started a couple of years ago with t-shirts, pins, buttons, stickers etc. as well as our cds of course.

Where can people buy your merchandise? Mirko - People can buy our merchandise mainly at our concerts, the cds can be found in any record store, physical shops and online shops, our website www.witchesbrew.it is currently being updated due to the new entrance of Mark in the band but soon it will be up and running and everything will be back to normal.

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? Mirko - I don’t know what to think, on one hand records are so expensive that kids can’t really afford to buy more than a few of them anymore, but on the other hand it’s a shame that hard working musicians aren’t cashing in on what they deserve. I don’t think it’s right anyway, freeloading on other people work. People tend to forget that not all musicians are millionaires, they think well, they’re loaded with dough so I’m getting the record for free, making a record is expensive and the bands should get what they worked for, and even for the millionaires bands, if they worked hard and the product is good, they should earn for what they worked at.The thing is unstoppable anyway, we’re far too gone into the downloading era.

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Mirko - I think it has changed quite a lot but, by my point of view, there are some pros and cons. It’s true that you cannot earn a lot of money by selling records like in the past, but it’s also true that there are some amazing bands out there that would pass totally unnoticed because people probably wouldn’t have bought their record anyway, for many reasons, could be the price of cds, poor distribution, lack of publicity, bad promotion and so on. Being online might give them the credit they deserve. Another good thing, always by my point of view is that live music was dieing, concerts were getting few and far between, most bands made a record and then relaxed and just stood there cashing in, since that stopped they went back on the road, that’s the best way for a musician to earn his bread and butter, live shows are everywhere again and you cannot download a live show, there’s nothing like it, every night is a different story, you’re either there or you’re not, if you miss it you ain’t gonna get the same thing twice.

What do you think of my work? Mirko - I respect it and I admire it, there aren’t a lot of guys like you out there, bringing good music to the masses for passion, spending your time doing what you like and believe in, if that’s not admirable, I don’t know what it is.

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? Mirko - I just think it was a pleasure talking to you about interesting things, if something good comes out of it I welcome it.

Do you have any role models or idols? Mirko -  Personally I don’t. There are some people that I admire but they’re not famous superstars, actors or musicians or who knows what, one of them was my father.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? Mirko - Well, the bands that are more active today find their inspiration from the older bands, so if you’re searching for inspiration from the more modern bands you’re missing the spot, but that, once again, is only my point of view.

What have been your biggest obstacles? Mirko - Probably ourselves 

What advice would you give other bands or artists? Mirko - In a music scene overpopulated by cover bands, tribute bands and imitators, my advice would be to be yourselves, if you have the capabilities of making something beautiful, don’t waste your talent by doing somebody’s else’s stuff. Make you own music, let us hear what you can do, I’d rather hear a mediocre original than an excellent imitation. We already have the original, what makes you think that I wanna come see the fakes, where is your self esteem, why in hell would you wanna be somebody else, you can’t be that bad, and by being a imitator band, you’re not gonna get any where anyway.

How do you get psyched for a gig? Mirko - We feed on the atmosphere of the venue, look at the crowd, feel the vibes. It’s like getting ready for battle. A couple of whiskeys help as well.

Do you have any new material? Mirko - Yes we do, and plenty of it. We are actually rearranging some of it due to the new acquisition of Mark on vocals. We have already recorded a couple of them and one is actually spinning on a couple of english radio stations.

What are your web sites? Our website is   www.witchesbrew.it

How can people reach you? Mirko - People can get in touch with us through our website, our Facebook page or our email : [email protected]

What are your plans for the future? Mirko - we have a good few things lined up for the future, as I mentioned before we have a new member in the band, Mark, who is bringing a breath of fresh air and things are looking up. We are in touch with a top notch producer ( Pietro Foresti ) who is interested in the band and a dear friend of mine. A whole lot of new material is ready to be recorded and we are exited to see what will come out of it. We are going to continue to tour and play around because that’s where the Witche’s Brew are at their best. Hopefully, we’ll be able to manage to come and have a gig in Sweden, I have been there a few times before and I know that rock music has a good scene and following up there, we’d love to bring our music live that far north.

Do you have something to add? Mirko -  I’d like to say that this was a pleasant time, sharing a bit of my thoughts with you, I’d like to thank you for the interest in the band and to be so kind as to bother yourself with us. When we come to Sweden come and see our show, I promise you won’t regret it.

Kommentera här: