An Interview with Danny of Velvet Star By Steve Rudd

Aspiring to bring good old fashioned rock 'n' roll music back to the masses, Yorkshire based boys Velvet Star have triumphantly made a name for themselves in Glam/Punk inspired style during 2009. In the wake of their Dirty Girl single release, the band is primed to set the music industry ablaze with their vitriolic tunes. Having played well received shows all over the West Riding, and with the upcoming release of a seven track mini album to look forward to, it should be only a matter of time before Velvet Star strikes the giddy heights of fame and fortune.

Here, in an exclusive interview with Steve Rudd, charismatic front man Danny waxes lyrical about the formation of the band, their hard rocking musical influences, and what the beckoning future holds in store for them.

Hey, how you doing? Very well thanks So, tell us about Velvet Star. How did you guys first hook up? The band was formed by myself and Corey (brother), along with Sam. We have had a few changes of drummer and rhythm guitar until recruiting Jase and Adie about eighteen months ago.

You are currently based in Goole, East Yorkshire. What's the music scene like in your area at the moment? There used to be a decent scene; it would be cool to see more happening locally again.

Have you had the opportunity to play many shows in Yorkshire? We have played quite a few shows in Yorkshire, most of them in York, Selby and Leeds. We have played a few in Wakefield, Barnsley and Sheffield. We have only played Hull once but we are playing Sharkey's in January. It will be good to meet some new people and see what type of reaction we get. What is it that so excites you about writing and performing Glam infused rock 'n' roll music?

Good Question. We just keep it simple writing wise. We don't want to win a Nobel Prize or anything; we just want to have a good time. It is Rock 'n' Roll after all. Personally, playing live is the best part of music full stop, and we all just really enjoy playing live in front of a crowd. Hopefully they enjoy us, too.

You recently recorded your Dirty Girl single at Hull's Fairview Studios. Did you find it to be an enjoyable experience, and do you enjoy playing your songs in a studio as much as you do on stage? We always record at Fairview. It's great. We always have a good laugh with the guys at the Studio and they always look after us. John Spence is a legend. He has worked with so many cool bands so it was an easy choice to record there with him. With regards to recording the tracks, I used to find it hard to get motivated when playing the tracks in the studio.

You can interact and play off the crowd when on stage, and you also get that 'buzz', but in studio it's just me and the mic which just isn't that exciting to me.

Have you had any releases prior to Dirty Girl which the rock hungry masses can get their mitts on? Dirty Girl is our first release really, but if people want to hear some of our other stuff, our MySpace page ( www.myspace.com/velvetstarband ) is the place to go.

We are releasing a mini album which will contain seven tracks soon, with a few reworked tracks. Hopefully they will carry more attitude and bit more swagger! What is next for you guys? Are you working towards recording an album? We just enjoy playing live so that is always the priority really. The mini album will be available soon. We will work towards a full album release for some time next year.

Which bands first inspired you all to pay homage to the cult of rock 'n' roll? Well we all have different tastes music. Sam is into bands like The Cult and Guns 'n' Roses, while Corey is more into Metallica and stuff like that. Jase and Adie like the 'dad' rock. I am MJ to Marilyn Manson to The Prodigy. But, as a band, it would be bands like The Rolling Stones, New York Dolls, Guns, Iggy and the Stooges which inspire us.

Finally, what is the best way for people interested in your music to make contact with you and to hear your tunes? The best place to go is to our MySpace site ( www.myspace.com/velvetstarband ) because we do most things through there and it is run by us. So if people want to check us out or talk to us then that's the place to go for sure.

Copyright © Steve Rudd 2009

thisisUll.com Featured Writer Steve Rudd
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