Date: 16th April 2006
Place: Ayre Hotel, Kirkwall, Orkney
How did you come up with the name Imperial Vipers?
Wevs: We like The Vipers, and we saw the word 'Imperial' at a hospital.
Ash: No, it was a shop.
Lofty: I thought it was a hospital...
Wevs: Yeah, I'm sure it was.
Ash: Imperial Vipers just suits our sound as well, I think.
How did you all meet and what made you decide to play together in a band?
Ash: Me, Corky and Bim went to school together. Wevs is Bim's brother, he went to school with us as well but he was in the year above. We hooked up with Lofty at a pub. We were sick of a lot of crap bands about, and we wanted to make our own band.
How long have you played your instruments?
Lofty: [drums] Since school.
Since school...?
Ash: You played since you were really small, didn't you?
Lofty: Yeah, maybe about... 5?
Ash: Little drummer boy!
Bim: [bass] About 10 to 15 years.
Corky: [guitar] Since I was about 12.
Wevs: [guitar] About 15 years.
Ash: I started singing in a church choir.
Lofty: Did you?! I never knew that.
When did you realise music was something you wanted to do seriously?
Ash: Four or five years ago.
Wevs: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, when I spoke to Flea, that's when I realised it was something I really wanted to do.
Wevs, how did your travelling inspire your songwriting? Did it help you to arrive at the core sound of Imperial Vipers?
Wevs: No, not really. It helped with the lyrics, but the sound is developed by the five of us. There are some songs about it, though. I went to Hawaii as well.
You said you played acoustic material with Ash while you were in Australia. Has any of that material appeared in Imperial Vipers' songs?
Wevs: Yeah, the b-sides on our first single has acoustic versions.
You're releasing an album soon - what do you feel are some of the stand out tracks on it?
Wevs: Some days I prefer one, other days...
Ash: Yeah, it depends on the mood you're in as well.
Lofty: Yeah, it changes every time you listen.
Ash: Well if we have to name specific tracks, maybe Streets Of California.
Wevs: We didn't think it'd come out as good as it would. That's one of the songs inspired by the travelling, actually.
Wevs, you're the main songwriter, but how much do the others contribute to writing?
Wevs: Not much really. I come up with the words, or an idea, and Corky normally plays around with riffs.
Ash: We all work on it and develop it into a complete song.
How long has it taken to write the album?
Wevs: 29 years. [laugh] It only took two weeks to record.
Ash: Last few years, when me and Wevs got back from Australia really.
Wevs: Four years.
Ash: The strong songs have stayed with us, and then we write new ones to replace weaker ones, so that all our songs are strong.
Wevs: Yeah, fittest ones survive kinda thing.
Do you think your music has progressed while you've been writing?
Wevs: Definitely, yeah. Not just the songwriting and music, but the musicianship within the band as well.
Ash: Yeah, we've progressed a lot from last year, and last year we'd progressed a lot from the year before that, so this time next year, we'll hopefully be even better.
Wevs: We're always trying to get better.
You've toured all over the UK and in Europe - where have been your favourite places to play?
Ash: Paris was good.
Lofty: Czech Republic.
Is there a difference between the audiences here and overseas?
Ash: Yeah, in Europe they're less worried about what people think of them. In the south of England, for example, they're less scared to show they like something if it's not in fashion. But as you go further north, people are much more open minded.
You've been compared to Guns'n'Roses and Sex Pistols - who are some of your main influences?
Ash: Loads... but The Clash, definitely. We've got quite an English sound. So many bands make really good rock music, so it's hard to put your finger on one band, and we strive for our own sound. So many bands are reviving 80s rock music, and we get called classic rock, but there is a lot more to us than that.
Any new bands out that you recommend?
Ash: Towers Of London. They're good mates of our's. There are lots of average bands about, I can't think of any others, so yeah, Towers Of London.
Wevs: Do they have to be new? John Fruscriante, Jimmy Page...
Ash: [laughs] Yeah, look out for him, he's gonna be massive! Oh, and another good band are Disarm.