BIBLE OF THE DEVIL FROM CHICAGO IS THE KIND OF BAND UNAFARID TO ROCK THESE DAYS. THEY TAKE THE BEST FROM PUNK ROCK, HEAVY METAL, HARDCORE, 70'S HARD ROCK AND MELT IT TOGETHER IN A DIRTY,FRESH AND COMPACT SOUND WHICH PROVOKED AN EARTHQUAKE WHEN PLAYED IN THE GARBAGE DUMP HEADQUARTERS!! IF THE HOOKERS ARE DEAD, FANS OF BASTARD ROCK DON'T BE SAD, WE HAVE JUST FOUND THE RIGHT BAND TO ROCK YOUR HEADS OFF. I DROPPED SOME QUESTIONS TO MARK AND GREG AND THIS IS WHAT WE CAME UP WITH...

M- Mark Hoffmann (vocals, guitars) G- Greg Spalding (drums) All pictures by Di Kulka

GD- A brief band history for the unaware readers...

M - The original incarnation of the band was hatched in late 1999. Greg and I both used to play guitar, but he switched to drums because we couldn't find a drummer who shared the vision back then. We went a couple of years as a three-piece, expanded to a four, and booted a few people out here and there. That's how we've arrived at our current crucial lineup.
G- Yeah, we've gone through quite a number of unraw band members, a ton of bullshit, and many days of drugs and alcohol to make us forget how many people do not rock in this world.

GD- In my opinion, your album "Tight Empire" mixes the goods of metal, hot rod punk, thrash and stoner rock, did this connection come from different musical backgrounds or what?

M- Certainly. Everyone in this band has a very large record collection. We are definitely fans of all those styles you mentioned, but we dig all kinds of shit. If you were to come over to our headquarters for an evening of foosball and bong tokes, you'd hear us spin everything from Sir Lord Baltimore to R. Kelly to Trouble to Steely Dan and everything in between.

GD- You guys come from Chicago, what about its musical ongoings?

M- We get asked this all of the time. I think people are tired of us saying that we think Chicago's "scene" is an over-rated shitheap, because we sound so jaded. So, let me instead say that it's just like any other big city's music scene. There's great stuff here and there, but predominantly it's a lot of self-deluded people with bad ideas. Oops, did that still sound jaded?
N- You could be in a lot worse places than Chicago. Like Afghanistan. I'll bet the scene sucks there.

GD- Good Hard rock and metal are pretty much dead in my eyes nowadays, what are your fave modern bands, and what such music would need to rise again to its past glory status in your opinion?

M- Dead? Not you too!?! With all due respect, I don't think you're looking hard enough, bro. There's some great shit going on right now in hard rock and metal mang! Here in the states there are amazing bands like High on Fire, Drunk Horse, Cherry Valence, Federation X, Fleshies, Camarosmith, Zeke, Filthy Jim, Queens of the Stone Age, and of course, us. Over in Europe, it's fucking awesome to see Turbonegro back again, and we're definitely pleased to see The Darkness achieving success. I just saw The Darkness last night here in Chicago, in fact. Totally reminded me of the best aspects of Slade and early Queen.
G- I think bringing rock back to its massive status would require bands to make their music and lifestyles more dangerous without it seeming like they were forcing it. Bands have forgotten how to have fun and have become enormous pussies. Rock has definitely suffered because of it.

GD- Bible of the Devil... what's behind this moniker?

M - Basically, it was conceived as a euphomism for rock n' roll itself. We've heard tell of a quote from the late crypto-fascist U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond describing the music of Elvis and the Beatles as "the bible of the devil" back in the sixties. I would like to make it clear that our band name has no religious significance whatsoever. There's too many people talking about that bullshit already. The original idea was to call ourselves "Ball Deep", but we didn't think we'd go very far with that moniker.

GD- Hey, getting back to the hard rock status question, I know all those bands and I think they fuckin' rock too, but this lead to another question: genres. How do you feel about people calling punk, or stoner rock or whatever else music whose roots are all sunk deep into old metal and hard rock? And I say upfront, I don't care about those definitions, but you know, reviewing records is a hard work!!

M- I agree about reviewing records being hard work for sure. I have done it in the past myself, and I know how easy it is to delineate bands into categories. A lot of reviewers out there seem to comment on styles and genres that they don't know jack shit about, though, and that makes for some pretty shoddy music journalism. On that note, we've been lucky. I think I've only read one or two really harshly critical things about us (so far), compared to an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. Whenever I read something like that panning us or a band I really stand behind, it's usually pretty obvious that the reference points aren't there. Like when Maximum Rock n' Roll called our first record "third-rate Sabbath", or the Village Voice pigeonholed us as "another drunken band from Chicago trying to sound like AC/DC." Of course we may like those bands they're saying we sound like, but it's pretty obvious the reviewers with their hands on that record haven't got a clue about 95% of the other influences we draw from. Thus, I don't go away from their negative criticism insulted. I go away lamenting the lack of rock knowledge possessed by your average music critic. Maximum Rock n' Roll, in particular, is almost always good for a laugh when you read their reviews section. It's always a contest for which reviewer can land the harshest dis of anything not sounding like '77 punk (snicker). Please, do yer homework, kids.
G- Maximum Rock n' Roll to me is like "Minimum Rock n' Roll." If you rock and get reviewed in that magazine you'll probably receive a very unfavorable review. However, if you're some shitty punk band that sounds like The Descendents or Operation Ivy you'll get your dick sucked.

GD- First thing I know about Chicago is Horizontal Action magazine. Do you guys know that and what do you think about it??

M- That's a cool mag, for sure. Porn and Rock n' Roll together again for the first time! I can definitely get down with some of the bands they endorse, others I find very mediocre. My main criticism is that they don't pay much credence to underground metal, and thus they ignore a whole grip of bands that are down with pretty much everything they're about also. I would include us in that category. That said, I almost always pick up their new issue.
G - Horizontal Action is good for rock, but it seems to be beating a dead horse. The bands rock, but they are very limited in influences and ultimately won't last. I'm definitely into the porn and rock combination, but the mediocrity of bands is what kills it for me.

GD- It seems like me and you share the same vision of keeping rock evil and dangerous: what do you think of bands like the Confederacy of Scum ones? In your eyes, what a band needs to be good?

M- So many things, my friend. On the top of the list are tunes, chops, experience, balls, a sense of humor, and moxie. If you hang around this business long enough you can spot these characteristics a mile away. You can spot them when you first meet or see a band play, often times before they even set up their gear, fer chrissakes! It's rare. I don't listen to a whole lot of that Confederacy of Scum stuff, but Antiseen is killer, and our buddy Steve from Filhy Jim is playing guitar with Cocknoose now. He goes by "Throbbing Bill Boner" when he plays with them, incidentally.

GD- Your Cd will be reissued soon on Dead Teenager Record label. Can you tell me how did you get signed and something more about it? Is Raw Deth your own label?

M- Raw Deth is totally our own creation. We were pretty confident someone would pick TIGHT EMPIRE up, so we decided to just do an initial pressing of 500 on our own label to get it out there. I would recommend picking up one of those copies before Dead Teenager re-releases it. The artwork will be different on their version, and perhaps you can sell that shit on E-bay someday.
G- With us getting signed to Dead Teenager was very much like how we have always done things in Bible of the Devil--you just do it. You send your album/demo in to a label and then hound them until they realize what CRUCIAL music it really is. Basically, you tour as much as you can, keep making albums you give a shit about, and then talk, talk, talk, to labels. Eventually is works out. Someone will believe in what you're doing. We are definitely looking forward to being labelmates with Zeke and Speedealer. It makes it all worth it.

GD- Do you like weird cinema and genre flicks?? If so, tell me something about your likings...

M- Weird cinema? Always! Especially snuff films. I'm kidding. I can say we're all fans of any sort of rock n' roll footage we can get our hands on. Whether it's Turbonegro, old Metallica, or Michael fucking McDonald, there's always something you can glean from watching a band's live footage. It could be something you can "borrow" for your own band, or it could be something you'll remember NEVER to do on stage because it is so brutally weak.

GD- Speaking of r'n'r footage, what are the worst moves you have ever seen on screen? And the best ones?

M- Hands down the most embarrassing rock n' roll "documentary" I've seen is "A Year in the Life of Metallica". I would recommend it to anyone who is in a band, even if you don't give two shits about them. Basically, it chronicles the systematic musical castration of a once-great band in the studio at the hands of Bob Rock. What a shitheel he is. Plus, there is some absolutely humiliating footage of the band members. I can't believe those egomaniacs allowed that to be released. Hilarious. I also recently saw some footage of Gary-Moore era Thin Lizzy playing a huge concert in Australia in the late 70's. I love Thin Lizzy, but Phil Lynott starts doing some totally retarded call-and-response vocal scat in mid-song like "B-B-B-B-B-Baby!" He can almost get away with it 'cuz he's Phil, but it definitely ruins the song. I then made a personal note to myself: never toss a vocal scat in one of our tunes.

GD- Any plan to tour Europe?

M- We'd love to. Wanna help us set that up? In all seriousness, we plan to get over there within the next year if at all possible.
G- Europe would be the ultimate. It's definitely gonna happen. I'm completely sick of touring the states. Europe seems to have a much better attitude towards rock music.

GD- What's the BOTDevil's advice to new bands?

M- Don't expect anything to get handed to you. Unless you're the Strokes, that ain't gonna happen. Write intelligent, challenging songs that rule, and hit the road, punky. Being a legend in your own mind (or hometown) ain't gonna get you far. Never play more than a four-piece drum kit. Five if you can somehow justify it. For chrissakes don't attempt to "fuse" rock with hip-hop, and never make irony the emphasis of your music.

G- Bands need to realize they need to constantly be doing things for their bands. Keep your band active and play all the time. You've have to be intense from day one. They need to realize they're playing for longevity. Just keep doing it and don't expect to be famous in a year. That's not the point. Also, don't play retarded equipment like solid state amps. Tube amps are the way to go.

GD- Please tell whatever you want, this is your free space, or ask me questions.

M- Be sure and check out our record, Tight Empire! Keep it raw!

Mark Hoffmann / Greg Spalding
1634 N. Campbell #2
Chicago, IL 60647

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