The streets of Melbourne are paved with Rock (and Roll)…Heaven The Axe may not be a name you’ve heard of yet… but if there’s any justice in the local rock world then things may just be about to change. As support to Swedish marauders Crashdiet on their first Australia Tour Heaven the Axe will be there to prove that we rock just as loud and just as long as the headliners! But the really great news for us is that they do have the songs to back it up…
Fill us in a little on the bands background for those who haven’t heard the name before and might want to check you out?
Were a bunch of naughty renegade grown up kids from the country who enveloped ourselves in music from a young age which lingers on forever part of us. Were rebellious and the more success the music gets the further down the rabbit hole of being an artist we go. The boys are all full blown metal heads from bands such as Damaged, Manticore and House of Thumbs. I grew up practicing singing to Alanis Morrisette and Mariah Carey all the while being attracted to metal heads and having a slight obsession with them not so much the music. I always saw guitarist Steve Watts as the king of the pack of them and I worked my way up the metal chain and married him. Now I don’t have to try too hard to write the riffs on the guitar myself. I can just think them, sing them and he plays them and then plays them to the other Vikings in the band. Its convenient and that’s how the music happens.
The band’s name conjures up a number of images but for me its bright lights, glamour, violence and metal. Where did the name come from and what does it mean to you?
Ha, ha that’s cool hearing your take on it. Yeah…that’s pretty much on the money when it comes to the nitty gritty of our life as a band…messy, dirty, metal living, creatives we are. I’m a big believer in words happening for a reason. It’s kinda scary. Like the drummer in the metal band Decapitated who was killed in the same way. It’s tragic. But songs become true as do names. I often wonder about what Heaven The Axe is really saying. Will it be that my dreams die miserably or will I be able to take my greatest light and make a massive impact? The latter is what I’m focusing on. The name came from “Heaven, The Axe and Dirty Wings” and we shortened it. Its representing an angel who has a sea change.
How did you get involved in the Crashdiet tour?
We were invited by the promoter.
And then you have the Rose tattoo support?
Yes. 8 shows around Melbourne in October, November and December.
Tell us about the new CD (Check out our reviews section to see what we thought). How long have you had those songs, or are they all new?
Some of the songs were written a few years ago some were written in the jam room. All of them were worked on for hours and hours days and days. Steve and I have been writing together for a while and we wanted to see them taken to the level we always envisaged hearing them. Unconditional Love was written when I was younger but bringing it into the bands awareness and making it translate form acoustic to the bands brand of sound was the challenge which I think Steve did brilliantly. It’s a very important song to me, it’s my family’s official song and Steve took it very seriously to make an arrangement that would be like a tattoo in my soul and it is. Just because it was spawned a while ago doesn’t mean anything…it’s a whole journey transforming yourself into being the artist that sings that song. In order to perform it on a scale such as the Sydney Entertainment Centre…I had to be “Unconditional Love” in my whole life or my voice wouldn’t be a part of it. They are very personal honest songs and that’s what connects with people. The more in tune I am with what I want to say and I’m in a point of power when I’m saying it the more people connect with it and it means something for them. Mostly these songs are about being fucking strong when you’ve been weak and making a new possibility for yourself.
We loved Masochist and Glue in particular, and love the big ballad Unconditional Love tell us a little about how they came about?
I wrote Masochist on the acoustic guitar after a night of hot sex it was pretty straightforward in the sense of being conjured as an entity in the realm of “Hey everyone I’m a hard rock song and I’m gonna make you feel validated as a hot sex loving hard rocker”. I wrote Glue as lyrics and melody on a piece of paper in my head and then Steve and I bantered about the music for ages until his point of view won and it pretty much became the best song (asshole). That was recorded with Mat “Skitz” Sanders on drums. I wrote Unconditional Love in a stint in rehab for my mum for her fiftieth birthday to thank her for sticking by me and realizing the sacrifices she had made for me. She died shortly after I sang it for her. It’s the most important song Ive ever written. So many people connect with this song. So may cant listen to it. Its too raw for them. Reminds them of too much pain they’ve blocked away that they somehow know they shouldn’t.
What is the best way to describe your live show? Why would people want to get to the show early to catch you?
Its nasty. Its in yourface and its tough. We go hard and we put on a show. Come and see it if youwant. Get an e-cigarette and smoke inside.
Which songs go down the best live?
Enemy and we do a Britney Spears cover song of “Toxic”.
Tell us a little about the local scene, how healthy is rock in the State?
Its ok. Were pretty stoked to be getting packed out headline turn outs thanks to word of mouth recommendations. Thanks to everyone who digs it.
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What’s it like as a woman to front a rock band? The coolest thing ever?
Um you gotta be a bitch. You gotta be an angel. You gotta be a wild woman. You gotta be a wife. You gotta be in control. You gotta be passive aggressive. You gotta be real nice. You gotta be a manger. You gotta cook. You gotta write the songs. You gotta be a sexatary. You gotta get up early and bustamove. It’s easy to be in a regular band of blokes playin music at venues blah blah blah. To be in a band that gets noticed and out there takes a lot of hard work and I don’t know many blokes who are capable of that hard work, creativity, drive, discipline and passion all at the same time. No I do not. And Ill say it again.
I love your voice but I can’t put my finger on it so here’s my stab: ‘Dale Bozzio meets Cindy Lauper and Lorraine Lewis with a huge portion of Rock and a side of Marilyn Monroe’. You definitely have that unique sound but I think it works beautifully with the music. Am I anywhere near the ballpark?
Ha ha! No sorry not at all. Someone at a radio station in Nimbin said its like a heavy metal Alanis Morrisette. That’s about the best I’ve heard. But none of what you just said. No no no no no. But thinking about Marilyn Monroe being on the side is like seeing her white dress in the same mindsnare as mashed potatoes.
Who do you draw inspiration from?
Lyrically I draw it from mostly “the system” and how fucking misled we are by whats been laid down by the powers that be in control before us. How cooped up we are into being part of this big system that makes us work and function and act within regular parameters of expectation so others can feel comfortable about knowing what to expect from strangers and financiers can predict profits from regulating the boundaries of what it is to be human. Its about living a life free of that. That and sexy boys in muscle cars. Musically we draw from Napalm Death, Soundgarden, Nirvana, He Is Legend, Metallica. That kind of thing. Structurally laid out in a rock hit that more people can access because the brain is scientifically able to digest things in a time frame and based around the number of Pi. If we create something musically that is accessible structurally, then more people will hear what we want to say. If we make it musically intelligent, then people who know about music will promote it and those that look up to those with musical taste will get it from a respected source.
Its important for us to be underground and “discovered” through word of mouth because lets face it. Mainstream media is fuelled by money. Advertising plasters all over the walls of magazines and TVs by companies that have money. The best way of spreading our music is through making great songs with great music and having the people that hear it spread the word to the people. Angry Andersons invited us to be the main support for the upcoming Rose Tattoo shows in Melbourne. He knows what were about and that crowd is going to get a chance to see us as Angry’s guest. That’s about as great an underground recommendation as you can get and you can trust it. There’s no back alley handshakes. It’s about integrity as artists and respect. Not major financed exposure deals.
Are there any down sides to being the focal point of the band?
Yes. We agreed that the next interview that came up one of the boys would do it. But they cant “think of anything” Assholes. A lot of the work falls to me because Ive got the most to say. They are the muscle and the music. I’m the voice and they are my muse. We’re just like a family. But I don’t know about the family you came from.
What do you think makes Heaven The Axe different to the majority of bands out there?
I don’t know. I don’t know a whole lot of other bands. We know lots of people in bands but really I live in a capsule of this band family. Were really open to each other. Our lives are pretty shared. We’ve become really close. The rhythm section sleeps over half the week. The guitar tech is here too. We hang out and never stop working. We are kinda uncaring in the sense that were doing this for ourselves and we don’t care what others think. And I think that comes about because we know now that so many others think our music is what they’ve wanted in a sound, energy and force for a long time.
We know it’s hard out there. How can a young band make it these days? What’s the plan?
Without good music don’t bother. The next plan is to live your life from your heart. Connect with others. Meditate and connect to your true self because when that happens miracles occur. Work work work. Build a team. Be someone people want to work with for nothing because that’s their dream too. Live in the full possibility of your band being a success.
What will 2012 hold for you? Any big plans for World Domination?
I don’t know. We have a few tours offered to us at this point. We are playing non stop til the end of the year. That’s all I cant think of at this point.
What sort of music are you listening to at the moment?
Cockfight Shootout. Napalm Death. He Is Legend. House Of Thumbs. Abreact. I’m listening to a spoken word meditative channel on YouTube most nights called “Channel Higher Self”
If you landed that big tour who would you like to be out on the road with?
I don’t really care about the band that we might play with, by the time we make it to playing with even bigger acts than Rose Tattoo we’ll have a common respect as artists with whoever it takes so really we wont be starstruck – just have a lot in common in what does it take to be the person to get through so many shows. I’d like to be out on the road with my two kids and my ex-boyfriend to be part and two of my friends Poppet and Tania teaching them about the world we are visiting while were performing and dealing with the day. That would be ideal.
What is the best way to keep in touch with all things Heaven The Axe?
www.facebook.com/heaventheaxe and signing up to the email list at www.heaventheaxe.com. Twitter: www.twitter.com/heaventheaxe. Better still just buy the CD.
If you could have been involved in the creation of any piece of music at any point in Rock History what would it have been and why?
This album. Heaven The Axe Sex, Chugs & Rock ‘N’ Roll. Why would I want to pretend that anyone elses journey is better than mine? That’s just leading to dreams of inferiority and more than likely to believe in some lie that mass media has produced to hype up another band. Im going to be intent on believing that my music is where I’m meant to be and my heart is just as valid as any other musicians.
What is the meaning of life?
There is none. Life is empty and meaningless. We make meaning depending on our choices and the way the world occurs to us at any given moment. Choose one for yourself and be a stand for it.
Any final words for our readers?
No.
Thanks Phoebe see you in a few weeks!
