We (and by “we” I mean “me”), here at CT Indie, love Nightbitch, especially the way they are bringing traditional heavy metal back to Connecticut’s musical landscape. They play it the old way, and should be a must see for any one who likes their metal classic and catchy. When we found out they were playing a strip bar around Halloween, we thought it was the perfect time to sit one of them down and get the scoop on what’s going on in their twisted little world. So we put a few questions to drummer/vocalist Chris Taylor Beaudette, who in addition to Nightbitch plays in a wide variety of bands, and these are the answers we were given.
Warning: If you are easily offended or false, please don’t read this.
So, why decide to play a nudie bar again, especially around Halloween?
The better question Tom, is in fact, “why not?”
Do you think the atmosphere in this type of establishment is the perfect atmosphere for Nightbitch’s music?
We love boobs and naked ladies. And we also love the whole sleazy feel of a strip club. The dark atmosphere, moody lights and the aura of sexuality that is literally writhing about in front of you, it’s all very rock and roll, very metal. It makes some people uncomfortable, like they’re doing something wrong, and that’s what we try to do with our tunes but at the same time, obviously having fun with and embracing it. Sleaze, gritty metal, booze and naked girls are Americana, and we’re an American band.
You played there before. I’m assuming it went well, because here you are, back again. Did it go as well as you expected? Any good stories to tell about that first gig there? Did the strippers, I mean “adult entertainers,” get into the music and bump n grind to such ‘Bitch staples as “Ritual Of Self” and “Sex & Magic”? (I know “Disrober” wasn’t part of your repertoire back then, but I’m sure you’ll play it now! It’s tailored made for this.)
The band has a great friend who works at this fantastic club Ruby 2’s in Bridgeport and with some convincing from the owner we were able to get in there and do our thing. They have a secondary room there they mostly use for parties, with a stage, all mirrored, with 2 poles on it and the girls don’t usually work in there since there’s no dudes. They don’t really have bands in there and we really weren’t sure how it was gonna turn out. It went amazing. We had a big screen TV playing satanic porn the whole show, great crowd and the girls were really receptive (we did some backbreaking pre-show screenings with some of the ladies at the club before hand, strictly business, I assure you). They came up on stage and danced for both sets. I had a hard time playing drums as I set my kit up between the poles, and was often pleasantly distracted by their totally pro pole work. One girl even came up and did this trick with lit matches in her… Well, it was decadent.
Or do you have any stories that won’t get you into trouble with your respective wives, girlfriends and the moral majority of this state?
One of the cool parts was that there was NO photography allowed (club) rule that ended up making it like a stag party. Kinda “hush hush.” Made for a better story too when somebody asked, “how’d it go, sorry I couldn’t make it. It was great to say, “You’ll never know how awesome it was cuz you weren’t there, pal”. And anything that might get anyone into trouble was more likely to have come from the bands significant others than any of us. Hahahhaa. We like ‘em wild.
The band also went into the studio recently to cut a new 7” (“Chainmaker”, right). How did that go? When can we expect to see it? And on what label?
Yup, the “Chainmaker” 7” was recorded just a few weeks ago, at Sonic Environments in Bloomfield, CT. Jeff Weed was at the helm, the same gentleman and studio who recorded the last Ipsissimus record for Metal Blade. He’s a phenomenal dude and we had a blast. It went really well, quite different than the first which was more a slow process. I actually recorded and mixed the Sex and Magic EP myself and it was extremely labor intensive as I’m no professional just a guy who knows a bit and has had a bunch of experience at the helm of a recorder for over 10 years. We did the music first, but at different times with the same mic configuration set up and Phil recorded vocals on his own and I added his parts. I then spent many hours mixing the songs, so it was a bit of a solitary thing for all of us. Also, I was just on the kit for the last record. When NB and Phil Swanson parted ways, we came to a crossroads and had to make the decision to bring in new blood or handle it ourselves. Before I started anything, I was a singer so I asked the guys if I could give it a shot when Phil suggested it to me and said I had his blessing. He said he thought a singer/drummer is badass. Especially for a man of my stature those are BIG shoes to fill but range wise, Phil and I are quite similar so I knew I could sing the tunes, I just had to wait and see if the boys dug it, haha. I’m happy to say they do and so I now have a different job on this one. We recorded live and used one guitar track giving this more much more of a vintage sound. it’s a little more retro, and my voice tends to be a bit more arrogant and saucy than Phil’s, sort of a poor mans Danzig meets a poor man’s Glenn Hughes but a Glenn Hughes who smokes tons of cigarettes. But we’re real happy with what we captured. It’s obviously a little different than S&M, but it without a doubt retains the Nightbitch balance of evil, sleaze and melody. We’re in talks with a few labels now, but its going to be released in the next few months for sure. It’s in the mixing stages so it’ll be a hot minute before it hit’s the streets, but I’m guessing a January release.
You also recently played bass with Kingdom Of Sorrow on three dates of this summer’s Mayhem Festival. How did that come about? And how did it go? But more importantly how did you get Kirk Windstein to wear one of your shirts at the hometown Hartford gig?
One of my oldest friends and band mates, a kid I grew up with, Charlie Bellmore plays for KoS and I just got the call. I actually got confirmation at a Nightbitch gig after we played so I partied extra hard that night. Chuck writes a lot with Jaime (Jasta) and his brother, another of my oldest friends Nicky Bellmore who plays drums for Toxic Holocaust and owns a killer studio called Dexter’s Lab in Milford. They did the most recent KoS record there and were going out on the road for Mayhem. A few different bass players were doing the gig, problem was the first bassist Bubble from Devildriver, threw out his back and couldn’t do the last 3 gigs before his replacement came in. That left them with no bassist. Chuck trusted in me knowing I could handle the tunes and do it quickly with no actual practice so he suggested me and they agreed. I did the Comcast Center in Mansfield Mass, Day 1 of “Heavy MTL” in Montréal and The Meadows (I’m not calling it anything else) in Hartford. It was an amazing experience and the first time I’ve done something that big and commercial. Montreal was the best, amazing food, gorgeous women, and a absolutely amazing Island park that it was held on. Really felt like a Euro-fest. Met a ton of great people, and got to see a few great performances by Megadeth, In Flames, Cryptopsy, Machine Head and Red Fang. Now Kirk, Kirk is amazing… I had more in common musically with him than anybody on the bus, probably because I shoulda been born the year he was. Chuck played him NB before I got on the bus so he knew what I did, and he was into it. We got along real well and I gave him a shirt and he rocked it in Montreal and Hartford. I still don’t know if he wore it so much because he liked it, or because clean laundry is hard to come by on tour. Either way I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
How many other bands are you in besides Nightbitch? I’m counting at least 500, but I could be wrong. Here’s a chance to set the record straight.
Oh Christ, this is already wordy so I’ll try and be to the point….
Treebeard- I’m the singer and bassist. Stoner metal with clean vox and mystical themes. It’s a lot of fun and with dudes I went to high school with who came from the ashes of another band Covin, which played out for years. Charlie Bellmore plays live 2nd guitar for us. Soon to release a 7 song mini-LP.
The Black Noise Scam- drums. Punk rock/crossover band I joined a couple years ago. Really fast Black Flag style tunes, with a killer guitar player, Warren Brelsford of The Vultures and Old Man Lady Luck. He’s a monster. All the guys are great friends, it keeps my chops up and is a blast to play.
Kings and Liars- Live bass. Charlie Bellmore’s rock project that I help him out on, with bass and backing vocals. Really great stuff, a mix of modern rock with some serious riffage. Just enough to make it true but not too much to scare off a lighter crowd. Soon to be releasing the 8 song record Charlie just finished.
And finally my oldest band, Garbage Barge, which I’ve been in with Reverend George since 1998. Primus, Gwar and SOD thrown into a blender. Offensive and caustic. Also featuring Charlie Bellmore, and Al Chavez from Ipsissimus… a tangled mess of inbred bastardized sons of metal. Too lazy to push forward and too stubborn to quit we have been releasing, recording and playing for 13 years cuz it still makes US laugh and I’m sure the band will outlive me.
What are the future plans for the band?
Well after this 7” we’re trying to finish up 2 more tunes and we have enough for a LP. We want to get these tunes tight and that’s a lot of practices from a band that can’t seem to actually practice at practice for more than an hour or so at a time. We need breaks to drink beer, smoke cigarettes, watch terrible films from the 70’s and listen to Judas Priest. Once we get that recorded we plan for an indie release and another trip back over to Ireland and Europe and visit some buddies we made at Dublin Doom Day 2. We would like to get out there after promoting the record at home for a bit. Got a few mini-tours in the works for 2012, and we’ll be rocking selected shows November-March but we’ll really be hibernating through the winter. Besides, after the show at Ruby’s we’re going to need a few months to recover…
Ruby’s 2 Halloween Bash Featuring:
Nightbitch
Thrillhouse
Saturday, October 29
Ruby’s 2
2362 Fairfield Avenue
Bridgeport, CT
10 pm - $10 (free admission with costume) – 21+ - BYOB
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