Suicide Bombers – Sonic Orgasms!

We had a chat with Chris Damien Doll about upcoming CD “The Sex Tapes”, and since he’s always great to interview, we also talked about The BACKSTREET GIRLS, the TRASHCAN DARLINGS reunion show, and Norway’s rock’n’roll scene in 2015…

So, since you’re about to release “The Sex Tapes”, a new 6 song CD. Tell us a bit about it (the recording, the songs…) How different is it from your debut album “Criminal Record”? Why this title (is there some hidden sex videos on the CD!?)?

The SEX TAPES is an unbroken stream of music and soundbites, giving the listener the opportunity to dive into “the best movie never made,” or focus on the songs one-by-one, like on a conventional record. Pure rock’n’roll innovation! We are very proud of it.
It’s the download single that grew into it’s own release. We had a few songs we’d been working on and when the middleeight of BLADERUNNER (TOKYO NiGHTS) fell into place, Lazy got antsy… we all did… and Lazy thought we should release it as a download single, so we could play it live and give our fans something new while they’re waiting for the next album.
Then we were invited to contribute a song to a Backstreet Girls tribute album and all of a sudden we had two songs. When the second round of songwriting for the next studio album started, we realized we had too many great songs for one album and thought, “why not do all these songs that are ready as it’s own standalone mini-album release”… and we did.
We recorded at Pinehead’s Audio Saloon, which is basically C Slim’s Sonic Boom Boom Grotto, and it worked great. Maria Maxwell mixed and mastered it at DogEgg studio, which is also where all the soundbites are done, and did a brilliant job.
I don’t think these songs are that much different from our first album. It still sounds very much like the SUiCiDE BOMBERS and all the songs are great. The record will be released on the 2nd of March, so not many have heard it yet, but those who have love it and the videos for DEVOLiCiOUS BOYS and BLADERUNNER (TOKYO NiGHTS) are doing well on our youtube channel; suicidebombersmusic
The title came about as Lazy and myself were in our hotelroom before a gig somewhere, having a few drinks with the TV on in the background, when a documentary of Celebrity Sex Tapes came on. You know the kind… Some girl signs a deal with a porn company to make a sex tape for a lot of money. Then, when the tape is “leaked” she’ll utter a light protest and sue to add to the controvery, the case is settled out of court and all of a sudden she’s famous. It’s the cheapest way to become a celebrity, so we figured if that shit works for rich girls in LA, imagine what it can do for intergalactic superstars such as ourselves. There are no videos on our Sex Tape, the orgasms are purely sonic.

The line-up is a bit different since the first album, right?

Yeah, we got C Slim, the Thunder Mechanic, on bass and backing vocals.
He’s a brilliant guy! I have known him for years and even produced a few of the albums he did with his previous bands. We’ve had more than one drink on more than one occasion, so to speak. He’s a fantastic bassplayer. Right on the money like the fucking Panzer Divison at full force! His backing vocals are brilliant and he’a able to hit all the high notes. We can’t say enough cool shit about him.
Bitch Commander James Nero quit a while back. When things started happening for both the SUiCiDE BOMBERS and his own band the KILL CITY BANDITS at the same time, he had too much on his plate and had to make a desicion. He was the first member of this band, apart from me, and a great guy, so it was sad to see him go, but we are all still good friends and I think both bands are better off for it. The world now has two brilliant bands rather than just one, so everyone motherfucking wins!

Have you been playing a lot to promote “Criminal Record”? Are you satisfied with how the album was welcomed?

We’ve been around Norway a lot and also done shows in Sweden and Denmark and we are very pleased with the way the album’s been welcomed. We got nothing but great reviews for it! 7/10 in Classic Rock Magazine and 8.5 / 10 in Metal Hammer Norway to name but a few. We set out to make a classic debut album and judging from the reviews and fan feedback, I think we achieved that.
There’s even a fan who tattooed the bat and SB logo from shoulder to shoulder on his back after seeing us live one time! That’s a real honor! Most bands never see anyone tattoo their logos and the ones that do have usually been playing for decades and released lots of records. We’ve only been together for a few years and released one album. When someone goes out and tattoos your bandname, you have really made an impact. You just gotta love that! … So we hired him as our booking agent and have never gotten more gigs.

“The Sex Tapes” is self-released, but you didn’t use the crowdfunding thing like so many bands do nowadays. What do you think about crowdfunding?

We love crowdfunding and had every intention of doing it. We were looking into different options, but was thinking about the next full lenght album, as we didn’t wanna do crowdfunding for a download single, you know. When The SEX TAPES started to grow into what it’s become, it all happened so fast that we never had the time to finalize any crowdfunding. But we’ll try again with the next release.

Do you have any favourite songs on “The Sex Tapes”?

That’s a tough one… I like all of them for different reasons. BLADERUNNER (TOKYO NiGHTS) and PLANETS COLLiDE really turned out great. Both songs were nearly there for so long and kinda got it when the middleparts came. They are both very accomplished musically and everyone is playing great and stretching themselves on those songs. iKill (SUiCiDE ROMEO) I love because it’s the most straight-for-the-throat song we’ve ever done. I’m very proud of the lyrics. The real aggression, anger and intensity really shines through on that one.
X.i. THiNG was the first song we completed and we all loved it so much that we have played it live ever since. It’s another high energy piece and both those songs are probably more intense than anything on the first album, even if we had intense stuff there too. BOYFRiEND (SHA-LA-LA) is a major-key rock’n’roll song and another really well written tune. I think it’s also the song we have put the most stuff on in the studio and when it was all mixed it sounded really good. DEVOLiCiOUS BOYS is of course a Backstreet Girls cover and a damn good song and we’re all very happy with our version of it.
Fuck, Laur, I can’t choose!

You recently released a video for “Devolicious Boys”, a cover of the BACKSTREET GIRLS. This band is highly underrated. Can you tell us a bit about them, and what album/songs should people listen to first?

The BACKSTREET GIRLS are rock’n’roll royalty in Norway. They have been going since the mid 80’s and are still going today, more successful than ever. Petter Baarli, the guitarist, is one of the best rock’n’roll guitarists in the world. We got invited to be on a tribute album to the BACKSTREET GIRLS. A real honor, so we went through their entire catalogue, listenining to the songs not just as fans, but trying to find a song that would fit well for us. DEVOLiCiOUS BOYS is actually from their latest album, which will give you an idea of the quality and presistence of this band.
Musically the BACKSTREET GIRLS are, among other things, a mix of AC/DC, SEX PISTOLS, RAMONES, ROSE TATTOO and CHUCK BERRY and they have developed their own style in the middle of all that. They have so many albums, so it’s hard to pick just one for people to listen to first.
Boogie ‘Til You Puke, the second album from the 80’s, is a lot of people’s favorite, but damn… Coming Down Hard, Hellway To High, Sick My Duck, Tuff Tuff Tuff and the last one Death Before Compromise… are all excellent albums. Or you can just start by watching this one from Hellway To High on youtube:

BACKSTREET GIRLS – LOADED

The TRASHCAN DARLINGS played a reunion show a few months ago, right?

Yeah… We got the sad news that our original drummer and good friend, Skinny Shotgun, died 2 years ago, leaving 2 children behind. That hit us fucking hard, man… So last year Strange? and I got together and organized a benefit concert for his kids. Skinny was a popular guy, so it wasn’t hard to get bands for the benefit. Backstreet Girls, The Carburetors, Cockroach Clan and the SuperKings all performed great sets and we ended the evening with a Trashcan Darlings show. The gig was sold out as fuck, with people coming in from all over Europe to be part of it. All the bands, and several others, also donated merchandise to be sold for the benefit. Kai Kidd of The Carburetors even auctioned away one of his guitars for the cause. It was a very humbling experience which raised A LOT of money for Skinny’s kids.

Any new band from Norway we should check out?

Backstreet Girls, of course. Kill City Bandits, Bitch Commander James Nero’s band, gets better everytime we see them and they were pretty damn good the first time too! Phillie & The Cruel Faces have gotten Paulie Z on lead vocals. We haven’t heard them with him yet, but they will be one of our special guests at the releaseparty at Gamla on the 28th of February and we can’t wait. They were a cool band before, but with him on vocals they’re gonna be brilliant. My good friend Kjetil who had success with his Trash Pop band Surferosa a few years back has gotten a new band together. They are called Razorbats and are a mix of melodic punk and 70’s hard rock. Their songs are very cool and have gotten tons of national radioplay here all during the autumn. They will also be our special guests at the releaseparty. Niterain is another band in the hard rock genera who’s been doing really well these last years and well worth checking out. Valerie is also very good. Very young guys and recommended for fans of 80’s radio metal. Great musically and great songs.

Last record you’ve bought?

The 200g Drastic Plastic vinyl releases of Johnny Thunders‘ So Alone and David Johansen‘s first solo album from Big Dipper Records in Oslo, and some cool Nikki Sudden live CDs from Easy Action records online.

Last book you’ve read?

Dancing With Myself; The Billy Idol biography. Very cool book, can’t wait for Tony James to release a bio!

Last movie you’ve enjoyed?

A lot of porn while putting together the intros for The SEX TAPES.

When are your next tour plans?

We’ll be all over Norway this spring and also on a short European Tour during easter.
These are the gigs that are booked so far:

SUiCiDE BOMBERS – The SEX TAPES Tour 2015

28th Feb – Gamla, Oslo – Norway
6 March – Chevy’s (Fredagsliven), Stavanger – Norway
27 March – Sport & Live Scenen, Hamar – Norway
28 March – Oak Metal Club, Fosser – Norway
1 April – Pub Anchor Club Asylum, Stockholm – Sweden
3 April – Prauge – czech republic
4 April – Prague zkušebny praha – klub Kantýna: Link: http://www.zkusebnypraha.cz czech republic
5 April – Wild At Heart, Berlin – Germany
11 April – Yes Yes Pub, Årnes – Norway
24 April – Vårt Hjem, Steinkjer, Norway
25 April – Good Omens, Trondheim,

And while you’re at it, check out our videos!

BLADERUNNER (TOKYO NiGHTS) – Promo video from The SEX TAPES