Post by AndyLaRocque on Feb 10, 2007 12:32:51 GMT -5
Interview with Cradle of Filth Keyboardist Rosie Smith
1. Firstly, how are you?
Cold! We're in Canada at the moment and I've just been for a walk and the snow soaked through my boots! Otherwise I'm pretty good.
2. As a little introduction to the fans, give us a bit of background?
Well, I grew up just outside London, but I moved with my parents to Dorset when I was twelve. I did a music diploma at Weymouth college, which is where I met and joined my first band 'Jack's Back'. They were totally the opposite to Cradle, very easy-listening and poppy, but I wrote a few songs with them and we gigged around the south. The last I heard the drummer was playing with Tracy Chapman! I played in a few bands around that time, including a Tina Turner tribute band which I played saxophone in (Again, totally the opposite to Cradle!). I went to Salford University when I was twenty, and that's where the band 'Sugalo' was formed. I also wrote music for a few short films, and I'm in the process of writing a rock opera, although I've been writing it for about three years so the chances of it ever being finished are somewhat slim!
3. Tell us about your first impressions of the CoF guys?
Total and utter idiots! Only joking, sort of! I'm not going to lie though, at first I wasn't sure about any of them! It is hard to be taken seriously as a female musician in the metal genre, and I got the impression that they weren't all that keen on having a girl in the band. And it's always hard being the new one, because everyone knows each other and it takes a while for a group to except a new person (Although I would have thought Cradle were used to that by now!!).
4. And your impressions of them now, after touring?
Slightly improved I suppose! I think I have proved that I'm not going to sit and cry in the corner because I've broken a nail, so they have accepted me a little bit. I have formed a couple of pretty good friendships within the band, and although I know it's very much a dog eat dog industry, I genuinely care about all of them (Except that bass player, what's with his sideburns!!).
5. Did you ever meet CoF before you played with them?
No, my audition was the first time I met them. After that I spent two weeks in the studio with them rehearsing, and then I did my first tour.
6. You appeared in the Temptation video. How was that?
Brilliant, I spent an hour getting my make-up put on, and I was in it for about two seconds! It was the first video I'd ever done, so the whole thing was new to me. I hate cameras, and we were all filmed seperatly, so being on my own on the set in front of a camera was very scary for me. But I did it, and I was glad because now I know I can do it again and there's nothing to worry about.
7. Was it difficult learning all the keys for the tour set list?
The actual parts weren't that difficult, the tricky bit for me was following the blast beats. The band is so tight, and that has obviously come with practice, and once I got used to them and the way they played, I was ok. We all follow the bass drum, and I have never really had to that, well not to that extent anyway, but I practiced and practiced, and now I can't imagine playing any other way.
8. Do you have a favourite song to play?
My favourite song to play in the current set is definatly 'Dusk and her embrace'. The only plroblem is I get so into it that it's over before I know it, and I'm always really disappointed that it ended so soon! My favourite to listen to though is 'Tonight in flames' from Thornography. It's so catchy that I go to bed every night humming it!
9. How do you find the travelling so far?
Generally I love it. Like everyone I have my down days where I feel like getting on the next plane home, but I am getting to see places that I have never seen before, and when I remember how lucky I am it usually cheers me up. The only problem for me is that the rest of the band have all toured these places before, and they aren't always interested in seeing the sights, so I have to do a lot of it on my own. I don't mind it though, it's always nice to have my own space, and to be able to do it in such beautiful surroundings is a bonus!
10. Can we find more about you on the net?
www.myspace.com/rosiecof
1. Firstly, how are you?
Cold! We're in Canada at the moment and I've just been for a walk and the snow soaked through my boots! Otherwise I'm pretty good.
2. As a little introduction to the fans, give us a bit of background?
Well, I grew up just outside London, but I moved with my parents to Dorset when I was twelve. I did a music diploma at Weymouth college, which is where I met and joined my first band 'Jack's Back'. They were totally the opposite to Cradle, very easy-listening and poppy, but I wrote a few songs with them and we gigged around the south. The last I heard the drummer was playing with Tracy Chapman! I played in a few bands around that time, including a Tina Turner tribute band which I played saxophone in (Again, totally the opposite to Cradle!). I went to Salford University when I was twenty, and that's where the band 'Sugalo' was formed. I also wrote music for a few short films, and I'm in the process of writing a rock opera, although I've been writing it for about three years so the chances of it ever being finished are somewhat slim!
3. Tell us about your first impressions of the CoF guys?
Total and utter idiots! Only joking, sort of! I'm not going to lie though, at first I wasn't sure about any of them! It is hard to be taken seriously as a female musician in the metal genre, and I got the impression that they weren't all that keen on having a girl in the band. And it's always hard being the new one, because everyone knows each other and it takes a while for a group to except a new person (Although I would have thought Cradle were used to that by now!!).
4. And your impressions of them now, after touring?
Slightly improved I suppose! I think I have proved that I'm not going to sit and cry in the corner because I've broken a nail, so they have accepted me a little bit. I have formed a couple of pretty good friendships within the band, and although I know it's very much a dog eat dog industry, I genuinely care about all of them (Except that bass player, what's with his sideburns!!).
5. Did you ever meet CoF before you played with them?
No, my audition was the first time I met them. After that I spent two weeks in the studio with them rehearsing, and then I did my first tour.
6. You appeared in the Temptation video. How was that?
Brilliant, I spent an hour getting my make-up put on, and I was in it for about two seconds! It was the first video I'd ever done, so the whole thing was new to me. I hate cameras, and we were all filmed seperatly, so being on my own on the set in front of a camera was very scary for me. But I did it, and I was glad because now I know I can do it again and there's nothing to worry about.
7. Was it difficult learning all the keys for the tour set list?
The actual parts weren't that difficult, the tricky bit for me was following the blast beats. The band is so tight, and that has obviously come with practice, and once I got used to them and the way they played, I was ok. We all follow the bass drum, and I have never really had to that, well not to that extent anyway, but I practiced and practiced, and now I can't imagine playing any other way.
8. Do you have a favourite song to play?
My favourite song to play in the current set is definatly 'Dusk and her embrace'. The only plroblem is I get so into it that it's over before I know it, and I'm always really disappointed that it ended so soon! My favourite to listen to though is 'Tonight in flames' from Thornography. It's so catchy that I go to bed every night humming it!
9. How do you find the travelling so far?
Generally I love it. Like everyone I have my down days where I feel like getting on the next plane home, but I am getting to see places that I have never seen before, and when I remember how lucky I am it usually cheers me up. The only problem for me is that the rest of the band have all toured these places before, and they aren't always interested in seeing the sights, so I have to do a lot of it on my own. I don't mind it though, it's always nice to have my own space, and to be able to do it in such beautiful surroundings is a bonus!
10. Can we find more about you on the net?
www.myspace.com/rosiecof