At the recent American Head Charge tour Room Thirteen had the time to catch up with Luke Bell (vocals) and Harjeet Birdee (guitar) from Panic Cell.
R13: So the music press has labelled you as 'Classic rock/metal music gone post millennium'. Are you happy with this label? Is this how you would describe your music?
LB: I suppose it's rock, it's heavy but it's certainly got a lot of rock influences. It's as good as description as we could come up with, we're quite happy with it.
R13: Are you planning to release any new singles?
LB: The album 'Bitter Part Of Me' is out at the moment.
HV: No. We've done a couple of promotional videos from that, the tracks 'Save Me' and 'Thousand Words' and we're going to be having another video on telly next month, which is 'Away From Here'. It should be a bit mad. It was shot just before we went to Texas. We're playing live in the video and we've got a guy juggling fireballs, he nearly set himself on alight on the set, he was very drunk and breathing fire, it looked really impressive.
LB: We're going to see some of it when we get back from this tour and go through the first two or three edits.
R13: So how was South By Southwest?
HV: Fantastic.
LB: Really, really good. Austin was just an amazing place to be.
HV: Nothing like we thought it would be. We thought it would be red-neck country but it was very liberal. It's not a 'festival' festival. It's like if you imagine Oxford Street and every other shop or bar is a venue that will have ten bands playing throughout the day.
LB: Fifty venues, about thirteen hundred bands were playing.
HV: So all these bands just descend on this town and apparently all the locals move away for a week and it's just crazy. But if you're in the industry and you want to stick out some new stuff...
LB: Yeah, everyone in the American music industry goes there. They go looking for new acts to sign or showcasing acts that get to different people like agents, managers, promoters.
HV: It's a music theme park. We're in negotiations at the moment as we're moving away from our label because they don't have the clout to release singles. They're an independent label and it was an idea to go out there to get more industry people aware of Panic Cell and I think it's worked.
LB: We've already got interest from bigger labels.
R13: Any labels you can mention?
HV: No we can't. But basically the more people you can make aware of what's going on in the nicest possible way the more offers you're going to get. That was the general idea of going to South By Southwest.
LB: We've had more reactions from different sections of the industry from it so it was definitely worth it. We got in with Chris Ingham from Metal Hammer who organised a British Metal Night, so it was us, PDHM,hsa Biomechanical (they were great), Viking Skull and Raging Speedhorn. The five of us went out there to play and it was a real experience.
R13: So are you appearing at any UK festivals this year?
LB: We are confirmed for the Bloodstock Open Air, which will be fun, Children of Bodom and My Dying Bride which will be interesting. We're waiting to hear about some of the other ones. The possibility of Download because all the major acts have been announced now and the guys then usually tell the slightly smaller bands and up and coming bands.
R13: Who are the best band you've toured with?
LB: American Head Charge definitely. We played with them in December and as soon as we heard they were coming back here we jumped at the chance to do it again.
HV: This time we're sharing a tour bus with them which is a whole different ball game. It's all a bit out there, they're lovely guys but you never quite know what they're going to do next.
R13: Have they influenced you or your music?
HV: I must admit they have for me. I mean I've been watching Karma [Cheema - guitarist AHC] on stage and learning a lot. There's not many other Asian guitar players. He does what he does and he does it really well and I think we all take in a bit of what we see them do.
LB: We can learn a lot from them because they're experienced, they are a phenomenal live act. We like to think we could get up there to those levels and play some great shows, go over to the States and do well.
R13: What superhero attributes would you want?
HV: X-ray vision, isn't that a surprise!
LB: Shit, you stole my one.
HV: You'd like to know what women want like read their minds.
LB: Fucking right. It's clairvoyant or clairaudient?
HV: Have you made up a new word there?
LB: I'd also like to be massively strong and look good in a leotard.
R13: That leads us to the final question. What would you dance to if you were wearing a tutu?
LB: Something by the Darkness?
HV: What's one of them?
[An explanation of a tutu is issued]
HV: I couldn't contemplate wearing one of those. What do you reckon I'd dance to?
LB: Loyalty! [American Head Charge]
HV: Yeah, I'll go with that!