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May 2, 2006
An Interview with the Flametrick Subs
The following interview with Clem Hoot and Miss Fortune, of the Austin voodoobilly band The Flametrick Subs took place in the middle of their April 9th live performance on the Howdylicious and Trash-o-matic Garbage A-go-go radio shows (KUCI 88.9FM in Irvine, CA) and was conducted by Trash-o-matic host, Filthy Rotten Wes.
Filthy Rotten Wes: Why don’t you both introduce yourselves for our listeners?
Clem Hoot: Well, I’m Clem Hoot. Lead guitar, some vocals, I guess, for The Flame Trick Subs.
Miss Fortune: I’m Miss Fortune. I play drums.
FRW: Can you tell us about the other members briefly?
Miss Fortune: Buster Crash is rhythm guitar, lead vocals,....general sense of humor.
Clem: And Lefty DeMarco, upright bass.
FRW: I’m gonna ask you right now, who’s the bad influence in the band?
Miss Fortune: Lefty.
Clem: Definitely Lefty
FRW: How so?
Clem: He’s evil, pure evil.
Miss Fortune: He’s always slipping bottles of alcohol into our luggage.
FRW: It sounds like he’ll be your downfall.
Clem: That’s right...He’s the T.V. thrower.
FRW: You are actually out here, playing a few shows to promote your new album “Voodoo Doo.”
Clem: That’s right.
FRW: What are your upcoming stops along the way?
Miss Fortune: Vegas baby! That’s next! We head out tomorrow to the Double Down, Tuesday and Friday.
FRW: You’re gonna be there during Viva Las Vegas. So all the folks out here who are heading there can see you play as well?
Miss Fortune: Right.
Clem: As early as Tuesday the 11th and then on Friday the 14th .
FRW: Are Satan’s Cheerleaders going to be performing with you at these stops?
Miss Fortune: Yes.
Clem: Yeah. We (The Subs and Satan’s Cheerleaders) played last night in San Diego, down at The Zombie Lounge and the night before at The Doll Hut. It was a packed house. We love playing there. And after Vegas we’re heading to Prescott, Arizona to play with The High Rollers -our good buddies- Then Albuquerque, and then heading back to Austin.
FRW: Sounds good! And I’ve heard that you usually make two stops out here, in California, during the year. Can we expect you again out here later in the year?
Clem: Oh yeah.
Miss Fortune: Around October or November.
FRW: Now, for those who are less worldly and do not know the story about the Cheerleaders, can you tell us the story of how they came to be a part of the live performance?
Clem: Wow...yeah. We’ve actually just had a ten year anniversary with the girls. They’ve been dancing with us a better portion of these last ten years now. Before that, we were just, you know, good old boys from Waco. Haha!
Miss Fortune: It started out as a joke one Halloween and they never went away. But we’re happy about that.
FRW: And I’m sure that a lot of the viewers are happy about that too!
FRW: Now, one thing that I’ve noticed with your albums is that they’ve got a number of cover songs. You’ve got The Sonics’ “Psycho” on the new album and Warren Smith’s “Uranium Rock.” How does the band go about choosing a song to cover. Is it a unanimous decision?
Clem: We play a lot of live shows and it’s the songs that really go over well, usually, that we feel “well, lets give this one a shot in the studio.” And that’s why, I guess, we’ve come up with some of those songs.
FRW: Amongst yourselves, do you feel you’ve got pretty diverse taste in music?
Miss Fortune: Oh yeah.
Clem: Its insane.
FRW: Where does that take you?
Clem: Oh gosh...Well, I think its more of what the common bond is among us. We all like Johnny Cash. That’s a huge influence on us. We all love The Ramones, The Cramps, Iggy Pop
Miss Fortune: Just a lot of old rock and roll from the 50's, 60's garage bands. That’s where a lot of it comes from... Just not wanting to do the same covers that everyone always does, pulling out our own original ideas from these roots.
Clem: We like the obscure ones, we don’t like to do what everyone covers.
FRW: Well, speaking of obscure, here’s where the obscure questions come in.
FRW: If the band were to star in its own cult movie, a la Guitar Wolf in “Wild Zero,” what would it be about? Would it be a horror? A comedy?.....An epic, perhaps?
Miss Fortune: A Three Stooges movie.
Clem: You hit the first two right on the head.... Lots of blood.
Miss Fortune: Lots of gore...flying heads.
FRW: Any movie plans for the present?
Clem: Well, we have a new live DVD coming out, which is really cool. We recorded it at Antone’s back in Austin.
Miss Fortune: Its called “Six Feet Deep in the Heart of Texas.”
Clem: Yeah, it should be ready in a couple of months. We have a couple of cool features on it, like a Buzz Bomb music video that we shot last year here. And there’s some weird animation on there, so you can look forward to that.
FRW: So we can expect the DVD to come out later in the year?
Miss Fortune: Yes.
FRW: If tomorrow the band found out that it would be headlining a live, one night only, sold out performance in Hell, who would you choose for an opening act?
Miss Fortune: Alive, dead, whatever we want? It doesn’t matter?
FRW: Yeah, that’s why its in Hell.
Miss Fortune: Ha! It would be everybody we knew.
Clem: I was thinking Buddy Holly would be perfect.
FRW: Anyone else?
Clem: Oh yeah, tons...Satan. I hear he plays a pretty mean guitar.
FRW: Moving on....Between me and you Clem....This one’s kind of hard for me to ask...If some charming, sophisticated radio DJ were interested in taking Miss Fortune’s hand in marriage, what would it take to win her over?
Miss Fortune: (laughs)
Clem: Oh man....I don’t know...a billy club?(laughs)
FRW: So go caveman style?
Clem: I guess.
FRW: Is violence the only thing that warms her heart?
Miss Fortune: Rufies...
Clem: Kitties?
Miss Fortune: Violent kitties!.... Kitty zombies....that like to drink whiskey and...dress in vinyl...and drive ‘55 Chevrolets......and drugs.
FRW: I’ll start figuring out how to do go about doing that...
FRW: The band is stranded on a deserted jungle island and pineapple and coconuts are just not cutting it. Who would be the first to be made into a “Stew of You,” so to say?
Clem: Lefty.
Miss Fortune: The Cheerleaders
Clem: Oh, yes! The Cheerleaders! They’re more meaty. Chomp! Chomp!
FRW: That sounds like it would be good eating!
Clem: You’re getting us in trouble here!
FRW: Lets see. So, we can look forward, next fall, to seeing you around the California coast. But until then, how can fans or those interested in finding your music or learning about upcoming shows do that?
Clem: We are quite independent. I guess the best way is “Flametricksubs.com”
Miss Fortune: And we’ve got a spot on Myspace!
FRW: Well, I’ve got to say that meeting you all in person has been really an honor because not only are you excellent musicians, but you are nice people. I can tell that you really care about your fans, you care about the music...and its really an honor having you out here tonight.
Clem: Hell yeah!
Miss Fortune: Thank you! We love it!
Clem: We love the west coast and can’t wait to come back!
Miss Fortune: We love your shows! Yours and Wanda’s (Howdylicious!). They’re amazing!
FRW: Well, thank you! And I’d like to thank the two of you and the rest of the band for coming down today.
Clem: Right on!
Check out The Flametrick Subs brand spankin’ new full-length album “Voodoo Doo” on the Texas Flat Lizard label! Also remember to tune in to Wanda’s Howdylicious (Sundays 8PM-10PM) and Filthy Rotten Wes’ Trash-o-matic Garbage A-go-go (Sundays 10PM-Midnight), both on KUCI 88.9FM in Irvine, CA. (streaming live online at www.kuci.org )!
Posted by DJWanda at May 2, 2006 10:05 PM
