Interview: THE CRINGE – 18th March 2014
New York alt-rockers The Cringe are about to unleash their latest album ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’ in the UK on the 14 April and are about to tour the country in the company of Steel Panther no less. I caught up with the guys for a quick chat before the tour kicks off to find out if they have packed their spandex…
DW – Hi Guys and welcome to the UK for the first time, is this something you have been looking forward to for a while?
TC – Yes, with bated breath, in front of the mirror, with a tennis racket for a guitar.
DW – You have been doing the rounds in the US for several years but to most in the UK The Cringe will be a new name. Could you give us a quick round up of the band’s history so far?
TC – Birth, school, JC forms The Cringe, marriage, asks us pretty-boy session jocks to join, death—not necessarily in that order.
DW – Your latest album, ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’ has been out since 2012 in the US and will finally get a UK release on the 14 April. Does it feel strange to be promoting the album again so long after its initial release?
TC – We are on a kind of perma-tour; considering how long it took to make the damn thing, we figured we’d tour for at least twice that long. We should need artificial knees by the time it’s all over.
DW – Are there any plans to re-release the rest of your back catalogue in the UK on the back of this?
TC – If you want ‘em, we got ‘em; remixed in quad, of course, and “Dubly,” by Alan Parsons’s beard. Seriously, we do hope the UK discovers “Play Thing,” “Scratch the Surface,” and “Tipping Point”; they’re solid rock albums, and our egos need the boost.
DW – Given that ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’ was originally released in 2012 are there plans on-going for the next album?
TC – We’ve got a raft of rocking new material, and will even play some of it on this tour; but to quote Orson Welles, from a popular bit of American advert, “We will sell no wine before its time.”
DW – Do you tend to write on the road and try to capture the live vibe or is it more of an intense studio process?
TC – We write and rehearse all the time, but the road is more about the gig and the party; ideas tend to come at home from our big commander, JC, and then move into the band realm, where they are knocked around not unlike a ship upon the ocean, to quote Kansas.
DW – Musically you have been likened to a mix of QOTSA and the Foo Fighters, would you say this is a fair comment and are you happy with the comparison?
TC – Hell, yes, an extremely fair and well-considered perspective. We’ll take it. And run. Thanks!
DW – You have supported a lot of different bands, including recently Cheap Trick and Big Country, do you feel the band could comfortably slip into any rock tour support slot or do you have your self-imposed limits?
TC – We draw the line at Dimmu Borgir. . . .
DW – You are about to hit the roads around the UK as guests of the mighty Steel Panther, is the spandex at the ready?
TC – No, but the denim and leather duds are locked and loaded. We’ll go hair for hair with them, though.
DW – Will you be partaking in the full-on Panther tour party or will it be a quiet drink then straight to bed after the show?
TC – Shit, are we invited? Seriously?
DW – The tour is mostly sold out around the country, are you confident that the Panther crowd will take The Cringe to their hearts?
TC – Well, they’re paying their money to see a very fun, very raunchy, and very talented band, so we’re taking nothing for granted; we hope to earn their affections one big riff at a time.
DW – Assuming you emerge from the seven days of debauchery with Panther intact, what does the rest 0f 2014 hold in store for the band?
TC – After a lengthy course of Vitamin B shots, antibiotics and bed-rest, we plan to rock the crap out of our next record, and hopefully get back on the road with the mighty Panther.
DW – Many thanks for taking the time to talk to Get Ready To ROCK! and all the best with the tour and the album.
TC – Thank you, and good thing we talked before the tour; we may have greatly impaired motor skills when it’s all over.
Interview by David Wilson
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024
THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)
Featured Albums w/c 28 October 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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