A quick chat with... Black Veil Brides

Clad head to toe in leather and metal studs and with faces covered in eye liner, Jeremy "Jinxx" Ferguson and Jake Pitts talk about the image, the music and blowing shit up...


What does a Black Veil Brides show involve?
Jake (guitar): Well you can see how we look, but it isn’t just about how we dress. We put on a killer show as well.

Jinxx (guitar/violin): And our fans bring a lot out of us too. They come dressed up like us and have a lot of energy so that adds a lot to it.

Jake: We feel that energy so we throw it right back out.

How long does it take you to get ready before a show?

Jake: About half an hour to an hour. We have a system now, we’ve been doing this a while.

Jinxx: I can almost do it with my eyes closed.

Image is clearly very important to you, do you think it’s just as important as the music?

Jake: Absolutely. You’ve got to have the whole package. It’s boring if your favourite band dress like they work as a grocery store or something.

Jinxx: That’s not rock ‘n’roll man. If you’re gonna put on a show, put on a show. We’re entertainers.

Jake: You’ve got to look the part.

Black Veil Brides was the the brain child of Andy Biersack (lead singer)…

Jake: Yea he came up with Black Veil Brides and had a vision of what he wanted. It took a while for everything to come together and to find the right people.

Did you find it hard to fit into his vision of the band?

Jake: Not at all. It was the perfect fit. We met and it just clicked right away.

Jinxx: It was what we all had in mind for the band as well, before we even met Andy. We all shared similar interests in the same bands.

Have you noticed a different reaction to the band in the UK compared to America?

Jake: We have really dedicated fans, wherever we are. I think we just have more fans here.

Jinxx: I think people get us a little better over here as far as what we’re trying to do. Especially the rock ‘n’ roll aspect of what we do.

Jake: And this will be the third time we’ve been on the cover of Kerrang!, so that’s pretty cool.

You’re clearly influenced by a lot of 80s metal bands, most notably Kiss, but are there any acts around at the moment who inspire you?

Jake: Musically, I listen to a lot of metal stuff like All The Remains and Unearth. Avenged Sevenfold are a huge influence too.

Jinxx: As far as image though, there aren’t too many bands that are doing what we do.

Jake: And now we’re all in our favourite band!

How does new album ‘Set The World On Fire’ differ from your debut record ‘We Stitch These Wounds’?

Jake: Better song writing and the production quality is a lot better. Overall, I think it’s just a much better record. It’s easier to listen to because it sounds better.

Jinxx, you play violin for the band. Do you think violin is becoming more rock ‘n’ roll these days?

Jinxx: Yea, there’s people like me out there, dressed like this playing violin so I suppose so. I’d like to incorporate a lot more violin in our live shows later on, like a violin solo maybe.

What’s next for Black Veil Brides? ­

Jinxx: Tour, tour, tour.

Jake: We’re doing ten headlining dates and then we’re going to tour with Avenged Sevenfold. We’ll have Christmas off and then go to South America in January.

Jinxx: We’re also releasing an EP by Christmas time.

Jake: We’re booked up all the way to the end of next year.

Are you nervous about touring with Avenged Sevenfold?

Jinxx: Nervous? No, we’re excited!

Jake: It’s an arena tour so it’ll be the biggest tour we’ve done so far.

Jinxx: We’re stepping it up.

Jake: We’ll do as much as they’ll allow us to do, otherwise we’d be blowing shit up.