Scott Holderby Interview (May 2008) Part 1

I recently caught up with Scott Holderby, and interviewed him regarding latest projects etc. Here is part one of the interview, my questions are listed first, Scott's answers are underneath:

The Questions-:

1) Firstly, you're in three bands at the moment, THE HI-NOBLES, BORSTAL HOLIDAY and HIGH SOCIETY ANGELS. How would you describe the sounds of these bands ?

2) Are you committed to one band more than any other, or is it equal in the sense of touring, laying down tracks. With whom are you most busy ?

3) How did THE HI-NOBLES get together ?

4) In the past, fans of you would have known you were into hip-hop, soul, funk, but with the NOBLES it's a very '60s garage sound. How long have you been into that ?

5) Are you planning on touring with any of the bands you are in, outside of the U.S.A. ?

6) What kind of places do you play with the bands you are in ?

7) Any plans for record releases ?

8) You recently played with one my heroes, Clem Burke of Blondie, how was that for you ?

The Answers-:

1. I would say Borstal Holiday sounds like 60s Garage-Punk..The Hi-Nobles are 60s Garage-Soul..High Society Angels sound like some Soul-Jazz, more of a modern sound

2. High Soc Angels just reformed (with some new and some of the old players) only a month or so ago.So we haven't played out yet with the new lineup.Can't wait for that..
They are all fun groups to play in and I like them all....But...Borstal Holiday is the easiest to get anything done, cause it's a trio..

3. Our first guitarist put an ad on craigslist, Seeking asshole singer who's not a total prick..I called him back and said I was auditioning a band and I would consider them..He thought that was funny and said ok..So the night of the big audition(first band rehearsal) I get the call "practice is delayed for a couple hours"..I'm already in SF so I stopped by a friends house and that friend was making cocktails,and I had a few..I was a bit pissed when I showed up,and I had white Russians in to go coffee cups..I was a bit of a mess but I was able to sing alright..Those guys loved it..I loved it..Good times..

4. I did get caught up in old soul music for many years,but have always loved the Stooges,Animals,Kinks and Who,and that garage psyche 60s sound but kind of forgot about it..It was really Otis the big O with that super fast soul that gave me the idea for the garage soul thing..Hi-Nobles had a 70s Garage sound and it was easy to put the sound together into a Garage-Soul sound..And so much fun to play....

5. As soon as there is a record the Hi-Nobles want to head over..Same goes for Borstal Holiday..We are about to press a 3 song vinyl 45,you can hear it on our myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/borstalholiday

6. Small hip dive bars and seedy clubs.We are starting to get bigger shows like our gig at Slim's with the Detroit Cobras..We also played a weekender with the Untouchables,Love me nots etc. in Las vegas..We have some gigs coming up in Seattle Portland,Salem,Los Angeles,San Diego..All west coast stuff...

7. Yes,first the 7" with Borstal Holiday,we are about halfway finished with the full length LP..
Hi-Nobles are set to record our LP in July and a H S A record is only half written so probably a few months out on that one..

8. Clem is a great guy..I got him to autograph my Blondie record for my son,and i was a bit pissed,I put it into it's protective sleeve and smudged it..He looked at and said,"shall I do it again",it was amusing..I liked all of those Magic Christians..Eddie from the Plimsoles..Prairie Prince (one of Gannon's drum teachers)used to be the drummer..Clem was a real nice fella...

HIGH SOCIETY ANGELS

Scotty's HIGH SOCIETY ANGELS, a joining of HARLEY'S ANGELS and HIGH SOCIETY, have a Myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/highsocietyangels

Check out the chilled tunes, perfect for any loungebar.

Late Nite Sinner's Links

Check out this link for several interviews/live clips etc, involving Scotty and his bands at the great Late Nite Sinner's page.

'In This Live' DVD availability

Hi people.

Okay, I've had numerous emails regarding the availability of the elusive MORDRED 'In This Live' video which was filmed at London's Marquee Club in '91.

I am able to put copies of the video onto DVD, perfect quality. I know that on Alan's old 'Everydays A Mordred Day' site there was talk of copies flying around, but I think a few of the guys were trying to use Torrent etc. I also have a few live gigs and the promo's so if you're interested....I just want to get the video out there to the fans, so I'll happily copy it to dvd because it remains one of the best rock video's around. I was at the gig and it smoked...

My contact email is: neilthemod1@blueyonder.co.uk

Just drop me your address. It's about time the video got the exposure it deserves, it was a special night.

Why Mordred should reform.

Hey ya'll...yeah, it's been quiet for a long time, that's cos' Mordred members do their own thang nowadays, but just wanted t comment that if the band were to get back together full-time, then now's the time. I've been shocked at the amount of band's reuniting for one last glimpse of fame, and even more so at the fact that the thrash scene is burning right back, unfortunately, much of it is pretty sterile and just wanting to sound like the '80s, but it's still great that bands such as Death Angel and Testament have stuck to their guns, but I've seen a lot of vinyl re-issues around. Being a big collector of vinyl I'm always on the look-out for stuff from the '80s, but I like to play it and not have it just sitting there in the cupboard gathering dust, but I can say that I own several copies of 'In This Life' and a few 'Fools Game' too, ya can never have enough, but I've also seen recent re-issues of albums by fellow Bay Area thrasher Exodus and Forbidden so there must be some kind of demand out there.

Thrash has always been with us but only bands such as Sadus have really stuck at it as so many other genres of metal have passed by, but if Mordred are havin' any thoughts about getting back together then it's gotta be now or never...if thrash is coming back then Mordred could still fill the clubs, but I don't mean Mordred with Steve Scates, I mean the real Mordred, with Scotty, Aaron etc.

The problem is, many bands who come back have a risk of embarrassing themselves, but I know, and you know that Mordred wouldn't show themselves up, they still got the soul but would it be worth just reforming for a world tour ? Probably not. However, do Mordred fans want a new record ? Are Mordred still relevant ? Well, Mordred have a sound that will never date, it's not got that cheesy thrash feel but instead spans several styles of music and the band had a big cult following in Europe, but whether another record should come out is a difficult one to answer. the problem with the nostalgia tours is that it's kinda the band's way of sayin' "Bye bye", but surely in today's climate, there is still room for the originals and the innovators, we're tired of the Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit crap, real metal fans want the late '80s back, because it only really died out when grunge came along, but grunge was faceless, metal always lives on, and nowadays there are so many corny bands tryin' on the streetwise funky crossover sound, but Mordred were, and are more than that so like I say, if they have a future, now's the time...but don't hold your breath...let's just pray...even if deep down we'll always know that Mordred will never happen again.