PHOTO CREDIT: PRESS
WORDS BY ANSELM ANDERSON
The Midnight Devils: " Pink Halo & " Generation Durt" Reviews
The Midnight Devils are a trio that plays self-proclaimed " slam boogie-woogie rock" from Omaha, Nebraska. The band's style gains great influences from classic rock acts like Hanoi Rocks, Motley Crue & Kiss. They have been performing for over a decade, appearing at iconic venues like The Viper Room in La and the famous Whiskey A-Go A-Go.
The Midnight Devils previously released debut album Something Bigger in 2018, which produced two singles, " Pink Halo" &" Generation Durt" . These represent the loud, brash, and sleazy styles that make them so popular.
Generation Durt is a party anthem full of in-your-face lyrics, a singalong chorus, and gritty guitars.
Hello, could you introduce yourselves to the readers?
Sam Spade - Hello rock n roll maniacs! My name is Sam Spade and I am the lead singer and bass player for the glam slam boogie woogie party-until-you-can’t-anymore rock n roll band called The Midnight Devils. We are a national touring band based out of Omaha, Nebraska, USA and Chicago, IL, USA.
How would you describe Your music
to new listeners?
SS - We play down-and-dirty guitar-driven party rock n roll. It’s lipstick-covered boogie woogie rock n
roll that makes you want to get out and shake your ass or at the very least do
something borderline illegal. Most
importantly we are all about having fun and bringing the glamour back into rock
n roll music. Our music is wild, unpredictable,
and dangerous in all the best possible ways.
It looks good and it feels even better.
What are your musical influences?
SS - All three of us in the band grew up loving great rock n roll music
and it really set the blueprint for us when it came to creating and pushing The
Midnight Devils. I started off with
Elvis and The Beach Boys which turned me on to my favorite band of all time
KISS. From there I dived in deep to The
New York Dolls, Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, and Hanoi Rocks. Our drummer Jimmy Mess, is a total glam rock
freak but also brings this heavy punk rock element to the band. He loves The Ramones and The Misfits as much
as Poison and Faster Pussycat. Our
guitar player Chris Hineline, is an Eddie Van Halen nut. He brings in guitar powerhouse bands like The
Who, Ted Nugent, and AC/DC.
What is the meaning behind the band's
name" The Midnight Devils"?
SS - The band name came from an album Chris and I put out with another
band we were playing in at the time. I
always thought it would be awesome to add “The” before a band's name like The
Clash, The Rolling Stones, and The Heartbreakers. The term Midnight Devil refers to that
feeling to get as the sun starts to go down on a Friday night. The party is just about to start ramping up
and you know something incredible is going to happen. It’s about the excitement you get staring
into the unknown just thinking about the madness that is waiting on the other
side.
You have recently released a music video for " Pink Halo",
this was your debut track. Could you explain the meaning behind the track and
the video?
SS - Pink Halo is our 2nd single from our debut album. The first single is a straight up smash
rocker called Generation Durt. The song
Pink Halo is a sleazy boogie woogie tune with a massive hook and driving back
beat provided by Jimmy. The lyrics are
about having a good time with wild people.
The song isn’t necessarily about anyone in particular rather I took some
inspiration from a few people I knew over the years. With the video we wanted to do something
other than just the normal performance video.
We wanted to have some fun and not take it so seriously. We shot parts in the backstage area of a
strip club with an incredible actress.
We made kilos of glitter to look like cocaine and smoked 24k gold
joints. It was a blast and I can’t say
enough about the director Aaron Gum from Omaha, NE.
You have previously released an album called " Something
Bigger"...Could you tell readers about that...and how much it reflects the
band's sound and direction?
SS - Something Bigger is our debut album and is really our first step out
into the world. We recorded everything
in Omaha, NE, USA over the winter of 2018.
I love the songs and I think we definitely put out a strong 1st album. We also learned a lot and have come so far
over the past two years as musicians and performers. With us it’s all about finding that sweet
sleazy groove and delivering a massive hook that the entire crowd instantly
knows. For our 2nd album expect a lot of
the same thing, big choruses, shredding guitar solos, raunchy lyrics, and
heart-pounding drums. This time around
we have learned and will be bringing even more heat to the table.
What is the band's recording
process like?
SS - We always try to make a conscious effort to do everything as live as
possible. We try to do everything in the
same room with everyone feeling the same vibe.
The songs usually all get put together in Chris Hineline’s basement then
we take them and ramp them up to maximum, trim the fat, and get down to business. Each one of us is no stranger to the studio
so it usually a pretty straight forward balls to the wall process. After everything is done then we go out and
raise some hell and blow off some steam.
We all grew up listening to amazing rock n roll bands. Those bands wrote the blueprint on how to do
things. We just follow that blueprint
and try not to stray too far off the path.
I understand you were in the
middle of a tour in suport of The Quireboys when the pandemic struck.
What was it like to perform with them? And how beneficial is it for bands
starting off to be able to gain that experience?
SS - We were pretty nervous at first to be joining up with a group of
guys that not only are incredible musicians but that we looked up to from back
when we were growing up. The first night
was tense but The Quireboys completely knocked our socks off and we we fell in
line pretty fast after that. They are an
incredible band and put so much heart and soul into every performance. We really can’t thank them enough for giving
us that great opportunity. It was
unbelievable for us not only from a performance standpoint but as a band. We got to watch them every night and really
learn from their show. That’s how you
become a better musician. Just take it
all in and put your own spin on it. From
the business side we were able to reach a whole new audience that might not
have heard about The Midnight Devils before.
The Quireboys being an English band put us in front of a ton of their
fans from the UK. The exposure was great
and really gave us the boost we needed on our debut album.
What is a typical Midnight Devils
Show like?
SS - For lack of a better term, our shows are a party. Everytime we set foot on the stage or turn on
our amps we get that feeling of a jet engine starting up. It’s really amazing to be apart of and watch
happen before your eyes. Our crowds look
amazing and really brings the heat, they go out and drink and do drugs and live
up every second of the night. We are
there to throw a huge celebration and have a blast just as much as our fans
are. The other aspect is that everyone
is welcome and adds to the insanity. We
love looking out and seeing punks, metalheads, goths, drag queens, classic
rockers, hot chicks, hot dudes, glam rockers, pro-wrestlers. Our shows become this communal rock n roll
part and everyone is coming no matter who they are. We bring a lot of energy but we also vibe
very hard off the massive energy the crowd is sending back our way.
The Midnight devils have performed at some
legendary venues acroos the states such as Whiskey a Go Go in LA, The Viper
Room in Vegas and The Rocklahama Music Festival. What was it like to perform in
those places, and how much does the audience play a role?
SS - I was just talking about this today on one of our Facebook live
videos but of course we have a ton of “Dream” venues on our bucket list. We have crossed off a bunch over the last two
years but there are still some places that we are gunning for. We love the big venues with the huge stages
and tons of rock n roll history. When
you step on stage at a place like The Viper Room in LA you get a sense that you
are standing on rock n roll history.
Venues are only half of the equation though. The crowd of maniacs standing in front of the
stage is by far the biggest factor in all of this. We have played huge shows like Rocklahoma but
we have also played a show in New Orleans at a skateboard park between the
train tracks and the interstate. Both
shows were great but I will never forget that night in New Orleans hooking our
amps up to a gas generator and playing next to a burning mattress. That right there is rock n roll. It’s not the venue necessarily, it's the
people and the party that make great shows.
Do you have dream venues/ festivals you
would like to perform at?
SS - Yes absolutely. With The
Midnight Devils we are the best when we are on the road slugging it out city to
city. We have played some amazing places
all over the country but I know there are still so many more we want to
reach. I personally have not gotten to
play in Detroit. Being a KISS fan,
Detroit Rock City is the tops as well as New York City but this will happen I’m
certain. Our biggest goal is to get The
Midnight Devils over to Europe as soon as possible. We are hungry and ready to take this party
internationally and bring our style of glam rock to Europe. Let’s be honest when we say that rock n roll
in America at this time is an uphill battle.
European fans still appreciate this style of music and still go out to
support bands no matter what. We are
just looking for a little luck and the right person to get this thing in the
air.
How have the band handled things
throughout the pandemic?
SS - Things have been pretty tough but they have been tough for everyone
all over the world. We lost out on half
of our tour with The Quireboys with no signs of a makeup tour. We got added as the support act for Loudness
on their US Tour but it got pushed back until October of 2021. We have lost out on a year's worth of shows but
so has everyone else. I am so thankful
that the three of us have stayed healthy and have not contracted COVID. We decided to take the off time to start
working on our sophomore release and we hope in the next month or so we will be
able to get out and make this album into a reality. The hardest part has been staying positive and
mentally focused on our goals.
Everything is bad bad bad all the time and we are ready just like
everyone else to get out and start the engines again. So patience has been the most difficult
aspect of the pandemic.
12.
what are the plans for The Midnight Devils going forward?
SS - We are planning on heading to Chicago, IL, USA to cut our next
album. The goal is for this album to be
produced by Chip Z’Nuff and ready to roll by April/May. We will be doing a few videos for the singles
as well as releasing the album on colored vinyl. We have teamed up with Aaron Wayne at Samurai
Management and we have some big goals on the business side. As far as touring goes we aren't really
holding our breath on anything. We are
looking at starting back up at the beginning of April with some warm-up shows
in Colorado. If large scale touring
doesn't come back around I have a plan to start booking shows like we used to
do. Punk rock tours across the country
to small bars and house shows where ever anyone is able to safely make some
magic happen. Then in October if
everything goes well we will be joining Japanese heavy metal band Loudness on
their US Tour. Things look good but it’s
still just a waiting game.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGu_DsfHbzI9clQ0VrJRxw
https://www.themidnightdevils.com/