Silver Needle
The Background:
John and Andre's paths crossed at a club on Halloween in 1999, where a mutual friend introduced them. They started writing together right away, naturally this lead to forming a band. Daniel was the second to respond to their ad for a singer. John notes the first guy was too clean - they needed "someone more dirty." They went at it to some Iggy Pop, and knew right there this was the guy. After playing four times a week for a year and a half, they had solidified their sound, with one exception - the drummer, or the lack of a steady drummer. During that year and a half, they auditioned 50 drummers. Jonas joined a year ago, and much like when Daniel joined, they all just knew it would work.
The Album:
The self-titled took two years to make. Four tracks were done in 1999 as their demo, but they turned out much better than expected, and were kept for the album. December 2000 Silver Needle recorded four more tracks and another four six months later. It had to happen that way, considering their drummer issue. The CD was done in two venues, their home studio and a studio in LA, that boasted recording for Bozo the Clown, Frank Stalone and Fear Factory. With such a weird mix of personalities, they had to jump at the chance to record with them. Production was a group effort, encompassing the efforts of the whole band, while Daniel took care of all the engineering. The best way to describe the songwriting on this CD: prolific. The prediction for their second release is less than a year - they're back in the studio now.
Best Shows: Opening for D.D. Ramone is among John's favourite shows of all time. When they opened for Leif Garret at the Viper Room, there were a lot of rock star-types in attendance; Chad Smith of the Chilli Peppers, Rob Zombie and some dude from Papa Roach. He did mention all Viper shows kick ass and shows at the Whiskey A Go Go. The sense of history he describes is expansive, since many of their favourite when they were growing up played there as well. Other favourite venues included the Dragonfly and Pretty Ugly.