Negative Creeps Interview

Negative Creeps

Interview

The Spirit Store is no stranger to the tribute band scene and the latest band to return to the scene is Nirvana tribute band “Negative Creeps”. On Saturday night I sat down with the mighty three piece to talk all things Nirvana and the music industry.

The conversation started by discussing the venue.

 “I think we’ve played this venue seven times? It’s a great venue size-wise for us, it’s one of our favourite places to play. Actually I was in the Button Factory last week to see Helmet. If it wasn’t for the Helmet we wouldn’t see bands like Korn. We started a band in the early 00’s and the core of it was basically these types of bands. We also had a love for bands like Alice In Chains it was great to see them in Belfast during the summer. Did you know Sean Kinney’s (Alice In Chains drummer) chair went on fire live on stage? He just kept playing.”

Tribute bands have a responsibility to carry on the sound and vibes of their predecessors. Negative Creeps do this by taking inspiration not only from the obvious Nirvana, but also the other bands that made the grunge scene in the 80/90’s. One of the things that made Nirvana a cut above the rest was their knowledge of the music world. There was a certain common thread between Negative Creeps and Nirvana in that sense, being able to admit the quality of the competition at the time is admirable.

“That reminds me of the time you broke my ribs Sean”  Things turned very Nirvana, “I was standing beside the pool table in a bar and Sean tackled me above the waist while someone got my legs, broke two ribs and insisted I play a gig the next day” Sean added “That reflects badly on you though because I’m small and you’re quite tall so” The image spiralled me into laughter.

 Del, Paddy and Sean are full time workers from Newry and only have time for gigging at the weekends, an impressive feat considering they play all over the country coming from Galway last week. It takes a lot of preparation to become the band and Negative Creeps have really worked hard to recreate the magic. They have also gotten very rock and roll in doing so, other than breaking ribs, there was also an incident regarding an acoustic to the head while watching a Nirvana gig.

Negative Creeps have been touring all across Ireland attracting an audience to keep on coming to live the authentic Nirvana experience.

         “We’ve been seeing the same faces come back to us at the same venues, places like the Empire keep bringing back the same people. See people here in Dundalk as well, they are mental, it feels like our home gig, they love getting up on stage with us” Sean also added, “Bouncers hate us cause we keep inviting people on stage. I remember this fella came up to me in The Button Factory after the entire crowd joined me on stage, a very large foreign bouncer told me off as he towered over me. It’s a Nirvana gig! You’re there to enjoy yourself and be violent, not to be quiet family friendly.”

 Today Nirvana are appreciated for being classic rock but that was hard for Negative Creeps to adjust to. “I met a guy in Tullamore, came up to me and said he loved classic rock, I laughed and then went, oh, I’m pushing forty so maybe Nirvana are classic rock these days, this lad was eighteen. When I was growing up classic rock was Led Zeppelin.” Negative Creeps were fortunate to grow up in an era with the greats such as, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many others, it can be hard to find an equivalent band to listen to after that. “Modern rock is terrible. There aren’t any rock bands really these days. Young people are going to discos and less and less to gigs because it’s cheaper, they’re also easier to run for a club.” A common thread in modern rock bands that the young generation are losing themselves in nightclubs rather than revolting in true rock music, myself and seven other rock and roll fans present may have disagreed, but I did understand their point.

         The audience at a Negative Creeps gig is a healthy mixture of young and old reminiscing in what was. The community pride themselves on being die hard fans which is what brings them together. From tattoos to tears Nirvana have brought people to all extents to show their love for the grunge band. Negative Creeps have had their fair share of love shown from their fans. “There was this guy in a wheelchair who hadn’t been to many gigs and we were his first gig. He was a massive Nirvana fan, he actually got a tattoo with Negative Creeps and the date we played. There was also a guy from Limerick who got onto stage and proposed to his wife.”

Negative Creeps have been playing for a decade now and are showing no signs of slowing down. Anyone who can attract a regular and devout audience, has to be doing something right. Is it the sound? Is it because they are sound? You better go find out.