Room Thirteen took some time out to talk to Gene Louis of Bullet and Octane to discuss coked out bikers, and what rock 'n' roll should really be about!
Room Thirteen: You must be so tired out with all this rushing around!
Gene Louis: God yeah. I've not really had time to slow down to eat or anything... We got here at 2pm yesterday..
R13: So, what is your band about? I've heard good things about you, but why is that? What makes people like Bullet and Octane so much?
GL: Our drummer used to play in punk bands, like The Vandals, Guttermouth... old punk bands. With his punk, and our rock 'n' roll sound, we combined it. We're a four piece rock band that love to rock and roll. It's a stripped down sound, think about The Bronx with Guns 'n' Roses. We're straight up rock and roll and we've got a new album out- "In The Mouth of The Young".
R13: I've noticed bands going more towards that traditional hard rocking kind of feel in a move away from the Emo genre.
GL: It's a beautiful thing to watch... just as we're on a big label there's this revival of proper rock and roll. It's fantastic to be a part of it.
R13: What other bands from the download lineup would you recommend to fans who like your music?
GL: Guns 'n' Roses, I guess... Amplifier are great. Oh, and Backyard Babies! People say we sound alike sometimes, which is great. I like Tool as well, so fans should listen to them!.
R13: What are your plans for this year?
GL: Well, we're playing the Family Values tour soon, then in October we want to come back to the UK and play here again. It will be great to come back and tour again! We had a blast for 2 1/2 weeks on the last tour in the UK. We're always looking for more opportunities to play here!
R13: And finally... how much do you estimate you've spent on tattoos, they're pretty impressive.
GL: Well... I never went to school. So I just played music. I've been getting tattooed by this old biker... a coked out biker who used to do them for me. I sold some of my stuff to get tattoos. My favourites are these- the signatures I have on my wrists. One says "Gene Krupa" and one says "Louis Belson."- big band jazz drummers. My dad named me after these Jazz drummers.
R13: Have you been to Donington before?
GL: Well, I don't really know what much about this place...my guitarist knows everything about this place. I was pretty much drunk the last time I was here. I'd get woken up and told "you've gotta play"! A lot of the time you can just play regardless. A few beers will help you relax a bit and play better. I've played sober, drunk, cold, hungry... it's just about playing!