Stevie Teaze is the lead guitarist in one of Norway’s most incendiary Sleaze Rock bands: Suicide Bombers. We caught up with him recently to discuss the their upcoming album, his time in the band, and his history with music.
Rob: Good evening Stevie! Thanks for talking with us at The Rockpit, How are you?
Stevie: Good evening! All is good here! Thanks for having me!
Rob: I see you guys have a show tomorrow, I’m curious what the feeling of waiting to play a show is like for you?
Stevie: Yes! We’re playing a show here in Norway tomorrow! It’s already sold about 200 pre-sale tickets! So it’s gearing up to be a great show!
As for waiting to play a show, It’s usually preparing all the gear, Stage clothes etc. and just “loading the batteries” so to speak.
Rob: That’s awesome! What I’m meaning though is as an artist does it make you excited, Nervous, a mixture of both? I’ve never really asked an artist that before but I’m interested to see what it is like in the time before you play a show?
Stevie: I’m never really nervous before a show date, I’m definitely more excited than nervous.
Rob: What’s your favorite part about playing live?
Stevie: Definitely the energy you get from the crowd! And performing your own songs in front of an audience! Can’t beat that feeling really.
Rob: I can only imagine! Concerts are the closest thing I get to a spiritual experience, That energy and connection between the band and audience is unlike anything else. I bet on the bands end it’s extremely powerful, Especially when you have a good crowd.
Stevie: Yes, the best feeling is when the crowd energy is really special and responsive! Then you just feed from the energy.
Rob: Are you guys going to be playing any of the new songs at the show tomorrow?
Stevie: Yeah, we’re playing three songs from the upcoming album! So that’s always exciting to see and hear the crowd reaction to new songs.
Rob: Speaking of new songs, You guys recently released the first single from the upcoming record “Dynamite Playboys” and DAMN is that song KILLER! It’s like early Guns N’ Roses meets KISS but with a punk rock edge that I consider one of the defining aspects of your band’s music, Is this song a good indicator of the rest of the album?
Stevie: That’s right! It was supposed to be released on Spotify today (Oct 20th), but it’s on the way on digital platforms as soon as possible! You can read more about it on our latest post/update.
But nevertheless, It’s amazing to see and hear all the great feedback on the single! We’re really excited about it, and not to mention the full album!
Thanks! Those two bands are definitely an influence so we’ll take that for sure!
It’s definitely a good indicator of the rest of the album! What I can say about the album, The title is “All for The Candy” and it’s without a doubt our best record to this date! Packed full of hits and high energy songs! With some surprises here and there! To sum it up, It’s just a really strong record with amazing songs! You guys are definitely going to enjoy it! It’s another or two notches up from our previous record “Murder Couture” so if you enjoyed that one you’re most likely going to enjoy this one!
Rob: I’m definitely looking forward to it, I’d love to review it if you guys are doing advanced listens for music press. You guys go from strength to strength and Murder Couture was my favorite Suicide Bombers album to date, The new song has me really excited for the album. What’s your favorite song on the new album? I know that’s always a difficult question for an artist to be asked.
Stevie: We’re doing advanced listens for music press, So that’s definitely an option for you! I’ll let you know when we’re doing those and let the rest of the guys know about it!
Thanks a lot! We’re always looking to improve from album to album and it seems that the fans/followers feel we’re doing so, That really means everything to us and keeps us razor focused going into creating the next album!
What’s my favorite song on the album? That’s really a difficult one on this record! Because I have so many favorites! “Dynamite Playboys” is definitely one of my favorites! But if I had to choose one it would be the next single “Tonight Belongs to Us” It’s just an arena rock anthem with a blistering guitar solo and a really strong and catchy chorus of course!
Rob: If the information I found in researching your time in the band is correct it shows you joined Suicide Bombers after the Suicide Idol album was released, Am I Right?
Stevie: Yes, that’s right! They finished up their tour dates in Spring 2017, Right after the release of “Suicide Idol” and I joined them in the summer of 2017!
Rob: How did you joining the band come about? Did you know any of the other guys prior to joining?
Stevie: Yeah, sort of! My previous band before joining the Suicide Bombers actually opened for them back in 2015 I believe, So I met Chris and C-Slim back then. Lyle joined the band in 2016, So he was a new face to me when I auditioned.
I got a private message from C-Slim on messenger where he asked me if I was interested in auditioning for the band because someone had recommended me for the gig, So I accepted the offer quickly and went to the first round of auditions 2-3 weeks later. Then I got to the next round and got the gig! They said to me after I joined that they really made a choice to hire me on the first round, But they wanted to finish off the auditions.
I just vibed with the guys really quickly and learned my parts and played them with all my confidence and conviction! So I had a really good feeling about the whole scenario!
Rob: What was the name of your prior band?
Stevie: Renegades was the name of that band, We unfortunately never released any material on Spotify, ITunes etc. or on physical formats.
Rob: How did you go about learning the songs, Did Chris work with you on it?
Stevie: I just learned all the parts by ear and then Chris just showed me the parts I missed or played a bit incorrectly.
Rob: That’s really cool. I interviewed Pontus from Confess a few weeks ago and he said he put the songs on Spotify and just worked it out by ear as well, I admire that ability.
Stevie: Cool! Confess is a really great band! I enjoy their songs a lot actually!
That’s really the way to do it in my opinion, To really trust your ear and listen to all the details that you can.
Rob: You guys have a very high energy sound that has been very consistent throughout the albums Suicide Bombers have released, how do songs come together for you guys?
Stevie: Chris and C-Slim are the two main songwriters, But Chris writes most of the songs! Both of them deliver complete demos with the basic song structure, Then we refine them at rehearsals.
But this time I actually contributed on one of the songs, The melody aspect of it though.
Rob: Which song?
Stevie: “Take It Off” is the name of the song. Just to mention, It’s not similar to the KISS song with the same title.
Rob: Tell us about the recording of the new album, When did you guys start and do you guys record in a studio or remotely?
Stevie: We started recording the drums in early 2022, Then we recorded the rest of the instruments remotely at our own home studios. The drums were recorded at C-Slim’s studio as we usually record them.
What’s new for this album is that we’ve been working with Trond “Teeny” Holter of Wig Wam and he’s been mixing this album and Maria Maxwell has done the mastering, So the total mix/master is sounding HUGE! Our best mix to this date without a doubt!
Rob: You guys are from Norway which is a neighbor country to Sweden and Finland, between those three countries you have some of the most exciting rock n roll in the world right now. Is there a big rock and metal scene where you live?
Stevie: Yeah, that’s right! Sweden and Finland are definitely the countries with the best rock/metal scene, And with lots of great bands and great music!
Here in Norway we’re mostly known for our Black Metal scene, but the rock scene is a bit more narrow. We’re playing with two great Rock N’ Roll bands tomorrow night! Kardang and Duckwalk Chuck, So that’s definitely gonna be a great combination! With us in the lineup as well!
As for other bands we have The Cruel Intentions, Razorbats, Wig Wam, Notörious, TNT, and Stage Dolls among others.
Rob: I’m a big fan of The Cruel Intentions! I’d love to see catch both of you live. Have you ever played together?
Stevie: Me too! I’m fortunate enough to know the guys a bit too! Great guys and they have fantastic music!
We’ve never played together actually! It’s been talked about, But we’ve never gotten the chance to do it. Hopefully sometime in the future! Because it would be a great duo and they’re great guys in general!
Rob: That would be an epic show to have Suicide Bombers and The Cruel Intentions on one bill, I think that show would blow the roof right off of the venue.
Stevie: The roof will definitely have a weak chance of surviving that gig!
Rob: You hear people say rock n roll is dead, But I think we’re actually living in the best time since the early 90s for this genre, There’s so many great bands right now including you guys. Does it feel that way to you?
Stevie: Yeah! I’m not agreeing to the whole “Rock ‘N Roll is Dead” statement! That’s for sure!
I feel like the whole genre is getting more and more exclusive and it’s thriving a lot! Like in the early 90’s as you say! There’s so many bands nowadays that it’s really tough to keep up really!
But nonetheless, The genre is doing really great in my opinion! And let’s hope with tv/streaming series like Peacemaker/Stranger Things that Rock ‘N Roll/Hard Rock/Metal music is becoming more and more mainstream!
Rob: Peacemaker was a huge push for bands that don’t break through over here in America, Wig Wam had a huge hit thanks to that show and I shouted “Holy Shit!” at my TV when I heard Hardcore Superstar playing at the end of an episode. I definitely think that show and Stranger Things are getting younger kids into rock music, I see more getting into it than I was for quite awhile. So that’s definitely hopeful.
Rob: How old were you when you started playing music and what artists inspired you to pick up a guitar?
Stevie: I got into music when I was about 10/11 years old and AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, and Metallica were my first inspirations and what I listened to a lot back then!
I picked up the guitar when I was 13 and believe it or not but games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band etc. really got me intrigued to learn the guitar for real!
But I definitely developed a passion for it right away, Because I just kept practicing and practicing and enjoying the whole journey of it!
My earliest guitar heroes/influences were definitely the mighty Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young, Slash, Gary Moore etc.
With Eddie and Gary making a really big impression on me!
Rob: You had great influences! I mentioned Pontus earlier, Guitar Hero was actually what got him into playing as well. That’s really fascinating. Those games are fun, I’ve heard a rumor they might make a new one. I personally wish they’d make one I can synch iTunes to and play along to the music I listen to, Imagine playing your bands music on one of those games. That would be awesome!
Stevie: Thanks! I’ve also been really blessed with having a dad that introduced me to a lot of the bands I listen to to this day and especially back then!
One of my uncles also gave me a lot of bands/input when I was playing and learning! He plays guitar too actually!
Haha, that’s fun to hear! I guess me and Pontus are from the same generation as we both got into guitar for the same reasons! Those games are a lot of fun, It would be great if they made a new one and that’s a really cool idea actually! To be able to upload your own songs that you would like to “play” would be a great addition!
Rob: It’s an interview tradition on this site to end an interview with these two questions: first, If you could be there to witness the recording of any album ever recorded which one would you choose and why?
Stevie: Okay, that’s an easy one for me at least haha.. I would definitely witness the recording of Van Halen 1! To be able to see Eddie just ripping Eruption in one-take and see and hear the whole band just deliver all of those great songs in the studio! I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it!
Rob: That’s a great choice! And lastly, what is the meaning of life?
Stevie: Hmm.. I’m not the guy to ask that question, But I believe the meaning of life is to enjoy what you do, Have great people surrounding you, and just live life day by day not worrying too much about the future.
Rob: Good advise! Thank you very much for your time, it was a pleasure talking with you.
Stevie: Likewise! Enjoyed the interview very much! Have a great weekend!
Rob: You too! Have a great show.
Stevie: Thanks! We’re looking forward to it!