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The Midnight Devils Interview with Sam Spade
ROCKNATION ISSUE 28 PAGE 33
VOODOO MOONSHINE
Hello Sam, your “Never Beg For It” CD was released via Pavement Music, how was the fan response across the globe?
Sam Spade – Never Beg For It came out on July 1st and for us that was the day that everything changed. We had been steadily touring across the US for the last
few years and when the album dropped and that was really the moment we knew we had something special. It wasn’t a huge over night kind of shock wave but
everyone was going crazy about the singles Highway 69 and Working for the Weekend. It took on a life of it’s own and that’s exactly what we were pushing for. We
knew coming out of our 2018 release Something Bigger, that we had to go bigger and badder on Never Beg For It. The world was watching now and we had to
deliver a great album. So the response to Never Beg For It has just been overwhelmingly positive from everyone. We received a ton of great reviews but at the end
of the day we wanted to make sure our fans loved it and that we continued progressing into our second album. I know it’s not a monumental achievement but we sold
out of albums on tour in Europe and could’ve sold another couple hundred more. We are nearing the point where we have to get a 2nd pressing of Never Beg For It
because we’ve sold out of the first run we pressed back in July.
What was it like in the studio with the legendary Chip ZNuff as the producer?
Sam Spade – I have to say Chip is absolutely a Rock N Roll legend, there is no doubt about that. Over the course of the last few years, we have become really close
as friends and I look up to him as a mentor as well. Going into the recording of Never Beg For It, I was nervous bringing in these songs to such an accomplished
writer and producer. As soon as we got down to work, I was like a sponge and soaked up as much information and advice as he would give out. We had the demos
for all the songs done and Chip came in and tweaked a few things here and there. I was completely blown away by how much better the songs became having a 4th
member sitting there. Chip has an ear for great hooks, melodies, and lyrics so we worked really hard at keeping the live energy of the band and bringing out the
power of the songs on tape. The sessions were amazing but I have to say the time that we spent in Blue Island, IL at his studio just being a band was unlike anything
I had ever done before. The atmosphere was so relaxed and so fun that it just lent itself to creating something very beautiful. I’ve never laughed so much in my entire
life.
The band has been touring pretty steady with the heavy hitters like Pretty Boy Floyd and Enuff Z’Nuff. What are some of the highlights of the tours?
Sam Spade – We have been very blessed to be on the road with our heroes. I have to pinch myself sometimes thinking I am sharing a van with the guys
that used to hang on my walls as a kid. We’ve traveled the country with some of the coolest bands and you really get to know someone when you are
confined to a moving vehicle with them for 12 hours a day. For me the greatest memories are those long rides where guys really start opening up. Then
the whole thing becomes more like a gang and we all have each other’s backs no matter what. From Maine to LA we have crossed the country a few times
this year and have played some incredible places. inevitably my favorite parts are when we are all hanging out having dinner or just bored walking around
some strange city. I love seeing all the old school fans come out and just go crazy when their band hits the stage. I love the jokes and pranks we play on
each other. Then when the tour ends and you finally get to go home you end up missing all the stuff that drove you crazy in the first place. Touring is just
something that is so special and unlike anything else I have ever done. You can’t get that feeling from anything else in this world.
You have a very entertaining video, a cover of one of my favorite bands Loverboy. Who came up with the idea and direction for the “Working For The
Weekend” shoot?
Sam Spade – I tend to get this story wrong but let’s give it a shot. We were sitting at Chip’s place and he said “Dude’s we need a cover for the record. Come back
tomorrow with something ready to go.” We had no idea what we could pull off in 24 hours so we drove around Chicago looking for something to eat. The Loverboy
song Lovin’ Every Minute Of It came on the radio and we loved that song. I had the idea for a big pink devil character but in cufflinks and a bow tie. Sniper said “Let’s
do Working For The Weekend as the cover. It’ll work well with the big pink devil character.” That was it. We all agreed and layed down the track the next day. For the
video shoot I knew we really wanted to focus on the outrageous colors of the band. We needed a white background to really show case the band and our new mascot
The Pink Bastard. I wrote the script about The Pink Bastard dancing around and mimicking the Saturday Night Live sketch with Chris Farley. I wanted it to come off
very loose and funny but cool and unique. Every band goes in and hires super-hot models to be in their video, we are going to do the complete opposite and create a
look and feel all our own.
If you had to tell someone what your “Never Beg For It” music sounded like, what bands would you mention?
Sam Spade – At the end of the day we are die-hard rock n roll fans and we wanted to create an album that really shows our love for this music. We put it all in there
and I do really think our influences come out. I grew up on Elvis Presley and the Beach Boys, then moved into KISS and AC/DC, before discovering The Misfits and
Rancid. So my inspiration crosses those genre styles from rockabilly into glam back to punk rock. Chris ‘Sniper’ Hineline comes at it from the guitar player side
with bands like Van Halen, The Who, and Ted Nugent. He adds the musical integrity and sonic attitude to The Midnight Devils. We are a hugely guitar driven band.
Jimmy Mess is the absolute beating heart of this band. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about all kinds of music but really brings the rock n roll realness to The
Midnight Devils. He’s street so for him you hear The Ramones, NOFX, and The Peppermint Creeps. Through all these influences we have created a unique sound
that is captured in this New Wave of Glam Rock. We aren’t a hair metal band. We aren’t a throw-back band. We are new, hungry, and excited to be making this kind
of ass-shakin’ party-all-night and even into the next day rock n roll music.
Who does the music and lyric writing for your band?
Sam Spade – Generally as a band we do everything together and bounce all of our ideas off of each other. Sniper is our musical director and really does most of
the work when it comes to the nuts and bolts of the songs. There’s never a moment in the day when he isn’t playing a guitar so he’s always sending me riffs and bits
of songs to write over. He is the dude that keeps everything together on stage as we often straddle that line of complete insanity. For the most part I write the lyrics
and I love that the guys give me the space to put all of our amazing experiences into these songs. For us the music has to be real and from-the-heart and if I don’t
believe the lyrics that I’m singing the audience will immediately feel that disconnect. So, I will bring in ideas or hooks for songs and Sniper will turn them into high-
octane supercharged anthems. Jimmy is so brilliant and helps write these songs without even realizing
it. On tour, Jimmy and I will always be hanging out or looking for trouble. Those are where the best
stories come from and he’s generally the one I will bounce idea off of at 4am. We will go out and you
know something will always happen good or bad. I’m just there to kind of chronicle everything and take
it back home and turn it into a song. There’s a total team effort there and everything we do and see is
woven into the lyrics.
Thank you Sam for taking time for this interview, any last words to the fans?
Sam Spade – Thank you so much for talking with me about The Midnight Devils and about our new
album Never Beg For It. We are so very excited to be touring our asses off this year and writing the
follow up album. In the spring we will be support Japanese metal legends, Loudness for 30 days across
the entire USA coast to coast. Then in the fall we will be heading back over to Europe to continue our
world invasion tour in the UK, Germany, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain. Thank you to all of our
amazing fans and family that have supported us from day one. We love you all so much and couldn’t
do this without you. Thanks for believing in us and giving us the opportunity to follow our dreams. This
isn’t the end but just the beginning. This is what we do and we never stop.