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It’s been a few months since one of the hardest working bands from the South made their presence known in the world of the music press, landing themselves high ranking places in the unsigned polls in both Rock Sound and Kerrang!. After years of waiting for the recognition they’ve worked so hard to receive, these dirty electro-punks have exploded onto the scene and set the proverbial ball rolling, seeing the boys even making a shock appearance in Kerrang! with their own poster, unheard of for a band that is yet to officially release their debut album… “It was such a surprise to us!” laughs dashing front man Laurence René. “It’s like we’re the new generation, with ol’ [Marilyn] Manson on the back! It’s so exciting; we never really thought this would happen to us. Not yet anyway!” But with music press approval or not, the My Passion crew couldn’t care less of gaining the right opinions from magazines or positive mentions from those high in the music industry. “We don’t expect everyone to love what we do,” says René when the subject of bad reviews of their debut is brought up, “people who are just into their metal or just love punk probably will struggle with the mix of genres we have, a mix that we think is original and interesting. But we’ve always been of the opinion that if we’re happy, then that is what’s most important. We’re not here to please anyone; we just hope that the people who do give us bad reviews stay open-minded enough for the next album. It could go more industrial, there are so many different elements to our music that who knows which way it could go!” But the boys have received a lot of love for their work to date too. So much so in fact, that Dutch label Mascot flew over especially to offer them a record deal and a place as the main band on their roster. “It all happened to fast; we really weren’t searching for a label to take us on at all, we had our own agenda and it just wasn’t on our minds” recalls René. “But they came over especially to see us after being recommended by our TV and radio promotion team as they were looking for a hot new English band to champion the label. After seeing us at two of our London shows they were blown away and seemed to find it really thrilling; they made us an offer that weekend.” But finally finding themselves in the position of professional musicians doesn’t mean they’ve lost control of what makes My Passion the band they are, nor does it mean that they’ll be resting on their laurels anytime soon. “Nothing changes in our world; we still have full control. It’s a three album deal and we’ve already started working on the next one. When you’re as creative as we are there’s no time to just stand around, and now our future is more secure we can start moving forward in the way we’ve always wanted.” With such a tight knit group that is constantly striving to make it out on top, a smaller, more personal label reflects the family style working ethics of the band perfectly, allowing them to use the label to their advantage: “The people involved are really working for you and that’s what we wanted. I can phone up the boss of the company now and speak to him if I
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wanted to and not have to wait for days to get a response back just from his secretary! We demand a lot of attention so it’s good we’re the main band on the agenda, because we’re not ones to sit back and wait. Now is the time we start working even harder. It’s what we’ve always wanted.” With the option of worldwide distribution opened up to the boys, they finally have a chance to reach the furthest corners of the world, from the US to Japan. “It’s a really exciting time for us,” gushes René. “Being with Mascot means we have a budget to do a video, promotions and actually make some money back from merchandise. We’re starting to see our vision finally come together and at last we can finally start planning our world domination!”
In between being snapped up by labels and being named the darlings of the UK’s upcoming music scene, My Passion have still found time to tour, their main love in life where they out to their fans, old and new. Not so long ago, the boys found themselves playing alongside iconic 90’s band Rachel Stamp, a band that influenced the boys massively as they grew up: “They are one of the most entertaining bands to watch live as performers so it was amazing to be asked by (singer and bassist) David to play with them at the one-off show. There were a lot of old friends from growing up there, we kind of felt like the next generation. It was a very nostalgic experience as they were always such an underground band, just like us and David has done a lot of work with us in the past and had such a huge impact to make us the band we are today. There’s definitely not enough theatre or performance like that in music these days…” With debut album ‘Corporate Flesh Party” due later this month, My Passion find themselves back on the road as a kind of “celebration” of their achievements to date and René seems to breathe a huge sigh of relief as he considers the weight that may be taken off their diligent shoulders in the near future. “This might be the last tour we’ll have the do the groundwork for!” he beams. “We’ll be on the road for a month and we want everyone to join us, it’ll be like a massive party. Hopefully after that we’ll look to Europe and to the rest of the world – we’re hardened and roadworthy now, we can take it!” Perhaps most flattering to the band is the sudden reversal of roles. Where once My Passion were the young and aspiring band asking to support, the boys have suddenly found themselves in the position where young bands like them are asking for a spot to join them on tour. “It’s really great to have got to this point” says René, “hopefully we’ll be in the position soon that we can bring out bands that we love personally that have caught our eye on our travels. It’s great to give back and give other young bands the opportunity.” And true to form, the final date of the tour with be held in St. Michaels Church in Camden, London, a dramatic end to what will most likely be one of the most memorable tours in the history of My Passion…excluding a certain tour bus fire...
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“...I’d never personally piss in a cup
and throw it at someone because, I’m a modern gentleman...” “It’s a real church! But I shouldn’t think they still do many ceremonies” adds an amused René. “We didn’t want to just play the Barfly or the Underworld; we wanted to do something a little more ambitious rather than settling with just something standard. It’s a huge gothic church which we’re going to bring a massive light show and PA to and make it into a big event. It’s looking to be pretty epic and we’ve got a few friends’ bands joining us like SleeperCurve and Kyra who practically live on Lake Windermere in the Lake District where not a lot happens out there! They’re great guys who deserve to be seen.” Their previous involvement with energy drink giant Red Bull and their Bedroom Jam concerts has more than paid off, with the brand helping to fund the whole event, a method of sponsorship that up until now has been part of the monetary backing to propelling My Passion further forward in realising their dreams. “It’s definitely been good being independent by using companies to support us rather than having a label. It’s meant we’ve been able to do something a bit special and different – it definitely won’t be like any other night. Hopefully it’ll be filmed and added to DVD, but it’ll be documented in some way at least so we can look back at it.” One of the most memorable experiences in the near future for the band however will be playing Download Festival for the first time this year, fully prepared for any onslaught from the few ignorant metal fans that may take an instant dislike to the My Passion musical stylings. “I’d never personally piss in a cup and throw it at someone because I’m a modern gentleman” chuckles René, “but we’re not Panic At The Disco, we’re not going to cry about it if they do. It’s not going to put us off because we’re living our dream. I mean, I’d like to ask those people what they’ve achieved lately! There’s always people out there that respect and adore you for doing it and will hopefully give it the attention it deserves.” While many bands would feel rather content and pretty proud of themselves for finding themselves at one of the biggest rock festivals in the country, My Passion, as ever, are reaching higher: “Hopefully we’ll go up the bill a bit for next year, maybe manage to sneak in to Reading and Leeds this year too; we’re never content! It’s only a small stage this year so it’ll still be pretty intimate, but we’re so excited to be part of it with the bands we love and to be there for the whole weekend. We just hope we don’t clash with Slipknot or it’ll be empty!” jokes René. “We’re always looking for more though. We’re disappointed to not get onto the Warped tour as well!”
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With their lives snowballing as professional musicians, has the lifestyles of My Passion changed at all? “The people in our local town say to us, so that’s it then, so where’s the Ferrari?” laughs René, “but we’re definitely not counting our golden coins yet, we’re got a lot of work to do still. We can finally pay off our debts to parents, friends, whoever for vans and production and start to make a wage; it’s just the first step in our journey. We’ll always appear after shows and keep in contact with people; the only difference is that now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel! To live off what we do is a dream come true.” With the future of the band set and with some of the weight taken off their shoulders as a DIY band, the effortlessly handsome foursome are steadily climbing the ranks of the music world, with more than enough brand names from New Era to Red Bull and the music press behind them, it’s been a heady few months for them and it can only get madder. But do they think that people are beginning to take more notice of them now as a whole, and understanding what My Passion is all about? “I don’t think people will ever get it!” exclaims René, “they’re more, what the fuck is going on! We’re not a 2 dimensional band, we’re much deeper than these pop punk bands and as people watch us develop, they’ll see there’s a lot of depth to My Passion. People tend to not get where we fit but to us its rock music and it’s what we love.” For the rest of the year it seems they’ll be spreading the word of My Passion with more fervour than ever before, releasing more singles from the album and more touring in the pipeline to encourage more people to catch them for one of their exhilarating live shows: “Seeing us live is something extra, it’s something we take pride in and something we’ve invested in.” Needless to say, there’s no sign of My Passion stopping until the world is completely under their electronic-metal mash up spell. “We’re on a big adventure at the moment. We’ve achieved a lot for a bunch of young guys, almost anything could happen.” URL: WWW.MYSPACE.COM/MYPASSION
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