Interviews: Molly Karloff

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Alternative Hard Rock/Metal band, Molly Karloff from the UK. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or did it just come out like that?

There are lots of stories that I’ve read about how our name came about. The funniest was when the BBC repeated about us naming ourselves after the granddaughter of Boris Karloff. I think I once said it as a joke from the stage, and someone must’ve written it down somewhere… Haha! Boris Karloff does kind of figure in the thinking though, so the story isn’t completely untrue. I have always liked the idea of a band having a name that appears to be a person, such as Alice Cooper or Franz Ferdinand. Boris Karloff as one of the original ‘alternative’ actors kind of fitted the bill, but we decided to mix it up a bit and add some more confusion into the mix by picking a female name. As soon as Molly Karloff was mentioned, we just knew; gut instinct said that’s the name. So we went with it.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

That depends on what genre you think this is? We play what we want. It usually involved loud guitars, big riffs, and choruses, but we’re not about sticking to one thing or another; that just gets boring. If it sounds good, we keep it and the genre is kind of ignored. We don’t know any other way.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Nope. I’m the only consistent member of the band, and there seems to have been a succession of bassists and drummers who have come and gone over the years, for all sorts of reasons. The current line-up had remained fairly stable barring the odd illness, but no we didn’t know each other outside of the band, but we do now! Ha!

4. Each band member's favorite band?

I honestly can’t say that I have a single favorite band. There are a few bands that keep popping up in my playlists, and there are those who have influenced how I look at music. Van Halen got me into the whole rock scene, but eventually, I moved on to other bands and got heavily into the whole 90s grunge scene, particularly Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. Stone Temple Pilots also figured in there, and I do like the work that Josh Homme puts out with QOTSA and in the Them Crooked Vultures project, he should definitely reform and do another album.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

I don’t really know. There isn’t someone or something that inspires me consciously to sit down and write. Songwriting doesn’t really work like that for me. I feel like I’m just recording what spontaneously pops into my head. I couldn’t really tell you how or why that happens, just that it does, and I hope it carries on happening forever. You could say that I have to write songs to get them out of my head in the first place; kind of an exorcism that is just replaced by yet another song! Haha! Lyrically, I do get to decide the subject matter, but that tends to hang around social injustice or just things I wanna rant about!

6. Where was your last gig?

We last played in Oxford supporting Morass of Molasses which was really cool. They’re a band with riffs, which is right up our street.

7. Where would you like to play?

Wherever there are lots of people who want to hear us. We’re probably not dissimilar to most other artists who just want the most exposure to as many fans as possible. I’d quite like to play at some of the European festivals such as the Sweden Rock Festival or Wacken.

8. Who would you like to support?

I guess Queens of the Stone Age have to be there on the list I think. It’s not something I’ve ever given much thought to really. If there’s a fit between our bands and they will have us, then we’ll play! haha!

9. Who not?

Wow, we’ve gotta answer that? I’ve gotta be kind of mean to answer it, but I guess it’s you being mean by asking it, so I’ll give being mean a go… Kanye West. Pretty safe answer I think, never gonna happen and don’t want it to. I’m sure if he heard it the feeling would be mutual too! Haha!

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

As long as you’re well-rehearsed you’ll be fine. Accept that you’ll fuck up somewhere along the line, but because you’re well-rehearsed and know your material inside out, you’ll correct yourself quickly and nobody will actually notice. The only other thing you can do is just keep playing live. The more you do it, the more familiar you become with the stage, the better it gets. I hope that helps someone somewhere.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

I think The Darkness was quite inspirational in the way they just went and did what they wanted without worrying about record deals or any of that crap. They’re probably one of the first bands to break with the whole ’sign a record deal’ mantra and make a success of it. In this day and age record companies aren’t what they used to be, and aren’t offering bands any advantage other than taking a cut of their royalties, with the odd exception.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

I used to think it was weird that anyone would want one of our set lists and for us to sign it. I’m kind of used to that now, but at the time, I was like ‘Really?’ Not very weird, but maybe we just don’t have very weird fans?

13. What do you think of your fans?

Not weird enough. They need to get weirder! Haha!

14. What do you think of our site?

It’s very weird! But that’s good, right?! Haha! No, I’m only joking, you have a very good site and we’re honored to be included in it.

15. Something to add?

Stay weird! Are we getting beer now? For more on Molly Karloff, see - www.mollykarloff.com