Atlanta’s new power pop/glammy rock’n’roll heroes BITERS have just released a new video for “Reckless Hearts”, a song from their Earache records debut album “Electric Blood” (Out on August 7, 2015.)
Our friends at Glambone podcast interviewed singer/guitarist Tuk HERE!
Watch the full “Reckless Hearts” video HERE!
As the video for “So Many Nights” was just being released, I realized that we still had no BITERS interview on Veglam! Tuk (Vocals/Guitar) tells us about this new video, their European tour experiences and tastes in music/books/movies… and costumes!
You have just released a new video for “So Many Nights.” Can you talk a bit about it? After watching it as well as “Hallucination Generation” It seems like you have a lot of fun making videos…
I am fortunate enough to have an amazing cinematography team here in Atlanta called “Video Rahim”.
If it wasn’t to so expensive, I would do more videos. It takes a lot of time and work when you are doing it yourself.
All of our videos have been self-funded, which I am proud of. The band has so many amazing people in ATL that are willing to help us.
So many nights was especially fun and also a little out of control with all the drunk hell raisers involved, it was like herding cats! haha!
Can you introduce your new bass player?
The new bassist is Phil, a long time friend of mine who just recently moved back from L.A, and it so happened to be the exact time The Biters needed a bassist.
I needed a high harmony singer and a team player… I searched high and low. Since he moved back to Atlanta it was super convenient.
How did you get into rock music first? What was the first record you bought? The first band shirt you got?
My mother really got me into rock music. First tape she ever bought me was “AC/DC Back in black”.(still one of my all time faves).
She was at an AC/DC concert while she was preggo with me and said she touched Angus Young and his sweat got all over her..
She swears it seeped into her pores and into my blood!! haha!!
In 6th grade I got a Sex Pistols shirt… I thought I was the coolest kid in my redneck town.
You opened for DANKO JONES on his last European tour. I read in one of your interviews that it wasn’t always an easy task. Would you rather come back headlining in smaller clubs like on your last tour?
DANKO JONES TOUR RULED! I would rather do big club tours like Danko than smaller ones actually.
The reason why the Danko tour was so hard was because of our ex-manager’s lack of common sense.
He had no places for us to sleep, no merch to sell, no cell phone, couldn’t pay for the van and gear rental etc. The list goes on n on… He almost got the band black listed in Europe. The owner of the van actually called the police on us on the last show because our manager spent all the band money flying his wife over and then went MIA leaving us to our own devices, never telling us the backline and van were unpaid for… sheessshh!!! .
The last Euro tour was a diaster as well. The shows were great, the crowds were great, the food was amazing. The booking agency that did the tour gave us zero time to sleep or rest… We went almost a month on 2 to 4 hours of sleep a night.
The grueling schedule was to ensure the money we invested was paid back… The tour was so mis-managed by the booker we lost THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, putting the band in to bankruptcy and causing huge internal turmoil.
The band hasn’t toured in almost a year because we are trying to recuperate from the devastating blow. All this because we trusted someone who in the end almost caused the band’s demise.
Ok enough negativity!!!
Europe rules! They love rock n roll! and they love real rock n roll!! I wish america would step up to the plate!
You also opened for ACE FREHLEY in the US. What other bands have you opened for there?
The ACE FREHLEY TOUR ruled!!!
We have opened for Cheap Trick
Toured with Social Distortion
Wednesday 13
Riverboat Gamblers
D Generation
Manitoba (Dictators)
Jesse Malin
Last Vegas
Danko Jones
and more…
Opened for countless bands as well and a lot of headlining tours..
Favourite cities to play in the US?
Favorite US Cities:
Atlanta
Baltimore
New York
Chicago
Milwaukee
Philly
Austin
L.A…
Actually i dig em all.
You released a few vinyl records on French label Pop The Balloon Records. How did that happen?
Your first album was hard to find for a long time. What happened? Distribution problems?
Pop The Balloon approached us. Fabien, the owner is a nice guy. There was no distribution for the first album, we just sold them our selves at the merch table, then Pop The Balloon repressed them, so they started poppin’ up again.
You produced The WYLDLIFE’s last album. Do you regularly produce band?
I love to produce records… I try to produce as much as possible. Bands don’t have a lot of money nowadays, so I work for dirt cheap..I’d love to do more.
It seems like a lot of people are getting BITERS tattoos. When did 
you first see someone with one? What was your reaction?
The first Biters tattoo I saw was in Atlanta and I was stoked!!! I love it!
I have some band tattoos and the 3 eyed tiger is badass, so why not!!!!!!!???????
Last records you’ve listened to today?
Hey! Hello! (“Black Valentine”)
Ryan Adams (“Rock n Roll”)
Dinos Boys (Last ones)
Last book you’ve read?
The wind up girl, Ace Frehley‘s book, tons of metapsyhical reading…
Last movies you enjoyed?
Gravity… that shit was riveting as fuck!haha
I’m more of a true detective man..
also ,any dystopian sc-fi flick is my jam.
Today is Mardi Gras in France. I saw a pic of you dressed up as an alien somewhere. What costume would you wear today?
I would go as a giant dick, and head butt women all day! jk
I read that people can order “The Last Of a Dying Breed” and give money to animal charities at the same time. Can you tell us about this?
Yes! our new manager has a charity set up so when you buy merch you help animals in need!
That’s one of the reasons that sealed the deal of him working with us..
I am def a huge animal lover and support it fully.
Are you working on a new album? Any idea about what record label would put it out?
WE ARE! We are going to do a full length this year! We have an idea of what label is going to release it. As soon as it happens you’ll be the first to know! haha!
http://www.thebiters.net/
https://www.facebook.com/BITERS
#0s paper ‘zines are always exciting, especially when they focus on our favourite music styles, which is definitely the case with this debut issue of MENTAL BEAT: You’ll find an article about the new worldwide glam rock’n’roll top 3 (PRIMA DONNA, BITERS and GIUDA), an interesting interview with Ginger (The WILDHEARTS), a great and moving article about NICK CURRAN by his friend and drummer Tommy Gonzales, some words about JANE’S ADDICTION, reviews of The Best Of Punk Magazine, MANIC STREET PREACHERS’ “Generation Terrorists 20th Anniversary Edition” plus a few other rock’n’roll record reviews, and a long article untitled “Whatever Happened To Iggy’s Jacket?” I wish I could read better! (Half of the ‘zine is in Italian.)
As you probably have guessed by now, these guys have the best taste in rock’n’roll, and I’m looking forward to MENTAL BEAT #1!/Laurent C.
How come The BITERS are not the biggest new band around yet? Let’s face it: They’ve got the songs, the look and I’ve heard that they’re even better as a live band. You would think that opening for bands like ACE FREHLEY, DANKO JONES (which is quite big in Europe) or SOCIAL DISTORTION would help… Ok, it probably does, Rome wasn’t built in one day they say, so let’s wait again and listen to this new EP released by Pipeline Records before these guys make Atlanta the new world rock’n’roll capital.
Despite a not very attractive cover, these 4 new songs show that The BITERS are still the band that rock’n’roll/glam/power pop fans have been waiting for these last years. Sure, The BITERS wear their influences on their sleeves (CHEAP TRICK – “Hallucination Generation” or THIN LIZZY – “So Many Nights”) but they know how to write and get you hooked on a song (“Hell Is For Babies” is the perfect example), and that makes a huge difference these days. On this brand new EP, the band also explores a new side of their music, slowing down the tempo with “Evil Eye”, a quite interesting 70s influenced rock ballad with an epic ending.
I’ve heard that The BITERS might be touring European clubs in March 2013. By then, hopefully Rod Stewart/SLADE haircuts and glitter rock shirts will be the new cool./Laurent C.
Real. Raw. Messy. Brutal. That about sums up the reunited band’s performance in Hollywood!! This was a highly anticipated show in this city and it was close to a sellout. The band blasted through 20 songs from all their releases, and usually at a live show you remember the beginning and end, the top and the bottom, and DGeneration slammed the crowd at both ends!Opening the show with Jesse M. shouting, “Has anyone seen my boy?”, the band blasted into the Regan Youth classic “Degenerated”, which hit like a gutter punk rock punch to the chest (much more powerful version than the RY version, but not as macho as the Los Angeles Death Dolls version), and from there it was all up hill!These guys came out sweating at the first swing, and it lasted through the whole set, as these guys still give it their all on stage, featuring all original members and a simple stage set up, much like their songs. The music is simple but carries a wallop, just like when I saw them a decade before at the Dragonfly. I never saw them at the big gigs with Kiss or Green Day, but rather in their element, where they always shined, in real and raw environments, like small and sweaty clubs. They pulled out their old trick of completely trashing the club with bags of shredded magazines, being tossed around by the band and crowd. (Note: Rebel Rebel “borrowed” this idea when we played out of town or in another country, as a feather pillow is harder for the clubs to clean up, not to mention harder to find! And magazines are plenty in any town, and all you need to carry is a few garbage bags to put the shredded paper in!) It was refreshing seeing a band that puts their all into their stage time, like it may be their last gig, and with this band, it just may well be, although there is a rumor of a new CD and full tour. All heart, energy and emotion.I personally hope they just go out swinging like at this show, and finish with grace and balls! They closed the show with my favorite song “No Way Out”, and the whole crowd was moshing and singing along, old and young together in a punky and glam unison, proving you can still rock in America!
A quick note about the opening band, The Biters. You must see them live, good full frontal energy and even better songs, straight from the Sweet/Tom Petty/Ramones/Candy/Cheap Trick school of song writing. These guys play twin lead guitars live that are off the chain, not as catchy since Thin Lizzy days, some of the catchiest pop punk trash rock out there. Good haircuts, good threads, good stage moves, good songs = Good Times!!!
Teddy Heavens
Veglam 