A few weeks ago one of the biggest tours to hit Australia next year was announced – Kiss, Motley Crue and Thin Lizzy – three absolutely legendary rock bands in their own right would be hitting our shoes to give us what any rock fan could only dream of. Reading the press release there was one additional and intriguing addition… Diva Demolition – a home grown band would be opening. Who is Diva Demolition? Well to be honest we weren’t exactly sure. At the time their site was under development and their Facebook page was relatively new. Well in a Rockpit exclusive we can shed some light on that and give you a real reason to turn up early!
The Rockpit interviewed Kylie from Diva Demolition in what we found out was her first ever interview!
Mark: It must be a pretty interesting time for you guys at the moment?
Kylie: It’s been a very exciting six months! I don’t know what’s going to happen next!
Mark: I can imagine, it’s like one of those cool stories that come up only once in a while, I guess people don’t see all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. You must have worked incredibly hard for this? I was just looking on your Facebook page, with just over 300likes people must be wondering where did you come from! We know you were part of a really successful Indie band a few years ago but let’s bring that story up to date!
Kylie: You are talking about Kaleidoscope, and that was a great way to learn the craft of song writing. In the end it was a bit of a disappointment for the inevitable transition.
Mark: Yes, but that obviously led on to other things, you formed an all-girl band called Legless, who I’m told were a very good live band.
Kylie: For me, Legless was a lot of fun and a great relief! It started off as something not very serious, but then everyone loved it, and then it became an ongoing concern.
Mark: Is that all behind you now?
the end we were working the band as a cover band as well, as we had a massive debt to pay. I am hoping that Legless can still be, it doesn’t have to transcend Diva. I doubt the band will play much, but certainly it has a good back catalogue of material.
Mark: That’s great; a lot of bands are involved these days in side projects, and great to have a band that you can let off a bit of steam in!
Kylie: You know, it might work out that we get asked to play an’ eighteen band’s on the bill’ Punk show, and we would consider it!
Mark: Where did the name Diva Demolition come from?
Kylie: It came from Legless’ third album that was the title of it.
was very much a work in progress, it’s wonderful now, with the comic book and everything. It’s a fantastic site, and I would encourage everyone to go and check it out.
Mark: So, I guess the biggest news is the Kiss tour, how did that happen?
Kylie: God knows!! I don’t know how that happened! I praise my record company; I’ve always been an independent artist. We had to kiss some serious arse to get this gig! I’m glad I didn’t have to personally!
Mark: If this is what they start you with where do you go next!!
Kylie: I think the fact that our people are in conversation with promoters like Andrew McManus is a massive advantage. To actually have the ear of that guy, you can’t pay for that, that’s just his experience in the music industry.
Mark: He is an Aussie legend, and he continues to put on a lot of massive rock music acts. How did it feel when you were told you would be sharing the stage, not only with Kiss and Motley Crue, but also Thin Lizzy who have their own following all over the world, all be it without Phil?
Kylie: Well, it was mentioned in passing, we didn’t take it very seriously at all, and then it was mentioned again, and we said don’t tell us this stuff until it is actually happening, it’s a bit hard to deal with when you are so excited. I am still expecting that we won’t be on that stage! I just can’t believe it! I don’t want to get my hopes up beyond what I see today, if these gigs happen I will be amazed.
Mark: Whatever happens you are on the posters anyway!
Kylie: Yeah, even if they don’t happen, look at the exposure we got!!
Mark: It must be great for the band, and the music backs it up as well, I just heard the single that’s out now for the first time, “Derby Girls”. It’s just great rock and roll but I wonder if it might be the start of something more? We had that girl power thing back in the early nineties with bands like L-7, and such like are you reviving that for us?
Kylie: I don’t think we are trying to do that, I think that we just love rock! Rock is the soul of music; it’s become a little bit passé in the music scene, and I guess we are just old school. I am glad that we are fresh and new, and that people will be able to look at rock music again, it’s actually pretty good fun too!
Mark: I think you’ve put your finger on it there, the thing for me looking at a band like Diva Demolition, is that it is bringing the fun back, back in the eighties, rock music was all about fun and having a good time, and then it went all serious and alternative. There are not a lot of bands out there these days that put on a great show, Kiss and Motley Crue, of course being great exmples. Is that what it’s all about for you, bringing the party back to music?
Kylie: Yes, and Sherree and myself, our roots are solidly in rock music, that’s what we cut our teeth on as teenagers, and we have played in rock bands all our lives and we can play, a lot of people think girls can’t play!! It’s a common misconception, a girl band, they are shit!!
Mark: Of course before the tour, you have some more dates with the Aussie icons, The Angels.
Kylie: We have to thank Doc Neeson for a lot of things actually. We supported Doc on his solo project here in Brisbane, and we have a bit of a solid history with him. Strangely enough we met up with him about five or six years ago, in Adelaide and had a chat, when you meet your icon, it inspires you and you hope that a bit of their greatness may rub off on you.
Mark: He really is an Australian icon; I met him once very briefly, and he seemed like a great guy, who still loves his music after all this time, and he is a real stand out Australian singer with a unique voice and personality.
Kylie: Yeah, and not only that, he is Australian in the sense that he is out there with his audiences, he’ll hug them and sign stuff for them all night! It was a lot of fun being with him for a couple of days on tour. I think without that connection, we wouldn’t be here today.
Mark: That’s what it is all about, taking opportunities and making the most of them. You have been around for a few years and it looks like this tour is richly deserved. You have all the tour dates in Australia with The Angels, but I see Doc isn’t coming over to the West.
Kylie: It will be good for us, we have never done a national tour with a band before, we have done local supports and that’s it. It’s also hard for an independent band to do that, as the pay’s not great, you have to pay your own way and that sort of stuff. To have a record company support a tour on a national level is fantastic and also scary as obviously it comes out of your pocket!
Mark: So, exciting times ahead, and we wish you all the best with that. One question, I was asked to ask you, and now is the chance to sell yourself to our readers here in WA, is why should we get there early to the Kiss show? It will be our only chance to see you.
Kylie: I’m not sure what’s going to happen after these gigs, there has been a bit of discussion, about us heading overseas for a while, it is just discussion at the moment, but the people we work with are amazing and if their ideas do come to fruition it will be an amazing ride for us all! In answer to your question, you can say you will be the first people to see the band live, we are a fresh band, we only do our second show on Saturday night, and so this is the very early stages. I am confident we will amount to something, and so you can say you were there.
Mark: So, in a few years Kiss will be supporting you?!
Kylie: Yeah, right!! I would like to think that maybe in a couple of years’ time we could maybe do a tour in Australia where we could fill all our venues. That’s always been the hardest thing for new local bands: putting bums on seats.
Mark: It is hard, when you think of the Aussie bands that have hit that level over the last decade; there are not a lot that have managed to take it to that level at home without making it overseas first.
Mark: Just a couple of quick questions before we go. If you could have been a fly on the wall, or been involved in the creation of any piece of music in the history of rock, what would it have been and why?
Kylie: That’s a very good question! It would have to be Zeppelin IV; I would have liked to be a fly on the wall to see how that band worked together with Bonham, his timing is unique, and no digital programme ever will be able to emulate that feel that he has, and I say that as a bass player.
Mark: The easy one to finish, that we ask everyone, is what is the meaning of life?
Kylie: There is no meaning to life, it is in the moment!
Mark; Nice answer! Thanks very much for talking to us, it is much appreciated.
Kylie: Thank you, and congratulations, you are our first ever interview, you are the first!!
Mark: That is fantastic, and you did very well! Best of luck to you, keep in touch, and hopefully we can catch up in Perth before you start that plan of world domination!
Check out: http://divademolition.com/
