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.
