Proudly hailing from Kings Lynn, Vanilla Pod has been taking their brand of punk rock all over for the last 10 years. We caught up with founding member and guitarist Steve Pitcher after a crazy, sweaty sold-out gig in Cambridge....
The Student Pocket Guide | Vanilla Pod Interview
What motivated you to start this band all those years ago? And what motivates you to carry on?
The thing that got me to start the band was because me and Gary were in a band previously together and we wanted to carry on playing together. I knew Steve the Bass player from his previous bands and local gigs. Gary knew of this young kid called Rob who kept hassling him at school to sing for the band so we decided to give the young whippersnapper a go. It all sounded pretty good so we went from there. The main reason for starting the band was to have fun and that was all really. I guess that's the main reason we are still going cause it is still fun and we still have no expectations. You can't fail really cause with Rob, Tom, Leon and Jon in the band now you can't but have a laugh cause your just hanging out with your best friends and getting drunk with them.
Apart from vanilla pod, what’s the next best thing to come out of Kings Lynn?
My son Louis is the best thing to come out of King's Lynn then Sugar Beet and somewhere after that is Vanilla Pod.
You’ve toured around a hell of a lot, what have briefly been the highs and lows of touring?
There have been a lot of highs (in more ways than one), but I guess the times in Europe have been good memories as have when we went to Hong Kong and Australia. Many many really good shows like the Out Of Spite gigs in Leeds and some great ones in London too like when we played with Less Than Jake at the Astoria.
The lows are I guess the 2 times Steve quit in the middle of 2 tours and sometimes stuck in a van for hours to turn up to play to 10 people, but we always try and make the most of it and have a few beers so it don't seem so bad.
Any funny / outstanding touring tales?
The standout one was when we were in Prague and the boys decided to brand themselves with a coat hanger by heating it up on a hot plate in the hotel room. This was because they felt the need to0 out do me cause I was getting a tattoo the next day. It's true what they say about burning flesh and cooked pork as well.
You seem to be very popular with the BMX/Skateboard scene having played the Nass festival and Urban Games a few times, why do you think this is?
Rob has been riding a BMX for about15 years now so he has always kept a close link with that scene. Basically we always sent our stuff off to those magazines and they liked it so we always kept in touch. People from Ride and MBUK have been a great help to us.
What advice do you have for upcoming bands?
Give up now!!! No I guess the main thing is don't take yourselves to seriously and enjoy it cause if you don't do that then it becomes like a job which would be real rubbish.
How do you think the scene has changed from when you first started to now?
The scene has changed because Punk Rock is much more accessible now and easier to find out about it because it has become a lot more mainstream and commercial. The main reason for this is because of the MTV generation which seems to be what alot of bands want to achieve. They seem to think the most important thing these days is to write a song and do a video for it cause that is the main way to get exposure. When we started out the main way was to send your stuff to fanzines as every town or city had someone who did one. They were the only way of finding out about cool bands. The internet has changed all that because you just have a small hand full of web zines which is a shame cause I still think fanzines are an integral part of the punk rock scene.
Is it possible to make a living from being in a band?
No not a Punk Rock band anyway.
Are you happy with how your last album came out?
I was very happy with the album. It was the first album we wrote and recorded as a 5 piece and also the first album that Tom played on so we were very excited about it. I do feel however that our label didn't support it half as well as they did Third Time Lucky which was a real shame cause I felt that if they had we could have done a lot more with it cause it got nothing but good reviews in all the music press.
What’s next for vanilla pod? A new album in the pipeline?
Yep we are writing at the moment. It's been a bit lean on the new songs department as we have been finding it difficult to find the time to get together and practice and stuff but we all have a gap coming up so we will get our heads down and get the job done.
Do you have any regrets?
No not really. Wouldn't have changed much about what we did.
Any bands local or otherwise would you recommend?
Locally there is Fletch Cadillac and Arch Stanton from Norwich, The Leif Ericsson from Stoke, Milloy from Wakefield, Billy No Mates (plug plug), Lovejunk from Ipswich, RTC from Cambridge just to name a few. Basically just go and check out bands cause you never know when a good one is gonna come along although they seem to get more scarce as time goes on.
What’s your opinion on the Myspace phenomenon?
It's cool cause I can do it myself without having to learn web design. I think it's a good way to check out bands and stuff.
Should politics and music be kept separate?
No I think politics have a place in punk rock and always have done. The only thing is that you really have to know what you are talking about because there is always someone to shoot you down. The scene would be far worse off without brilliant bands like Propagandhi.
Do you know the Rules?
I made the rules
what are the Rules?
You know the rules
Marmite, love it or hate it?
Love it
Anything to add?
Cheers for this and we'll see you in the new year.
Vanilla Pod are
Vocals - Rob Bunting
Guitar - Steve Pitcher
Guitar - Leon Muncaster
Bass - Tom Goober
Drums - Jon Waterfield
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
MySpace
Stumbleupon
Twitter
