BAND OF THE WEEK - nON sTOP eROTIC cABARET - ASBURY PARK VIBES

YOUR MUSICAL PAST AND PRESENT IN ONE RUN-ON SENTENCE.

dD: Non Stop Erotic Cabaret started out as club DJ’s, creating mashups and remixes in our spare time to play out, and then progressed on to creating original synth pop classics.

SORRY, BUT WE HAVE TO ASK … WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND YOUR BAND NAME?

dD: Non Stop Erotic Cabaret was the debut album from Soft Cell, and as well as being one of our biggest influences, it is pretty much the only album we both own and love.

tF: Dave Ball and Marc Almond also started their musical career at Leeds Polytechnic, which is one of the paces we both used to DJ. dD: Unfortunately, the name made us incredibly hard to Google, so we created #nSECmUSIC so people could find us and our music online. Asbury Park Vibes’ Band Of The Week - Non Stop Erotic Cabaret - #nSECmUSIC 7 November 2020

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND TO SOMEONE WHO HASN’T YET HEARD YOUR MUSIC?

dD: Imagine every classic synth pop song you have ever heard, from Kraftwerk to The Weeknd, rolled into one, and you have the sound of Non Stop Erotic Cabaret.

tF: That should just about cover it.

HOW DID THE STARS ALIGN TO BRING YOU ALL TOGETHER?

tF: Damo and I met at a music festival, got on really well, and he invited me to DJ at one of his club nights.

dD: Fortunately for me, he turned out to be awesome, and the rest is history.

IF BANDS WERE REQUIRED TO HAVE A SLOGAN … WHAT WOULD YOUR BAND SLOGAN BE?

tF: Why don’t you just switch off your television sets and go and do something less boring instead?

dD: We did, and so can you. We always prefer to be creating rather than consuming.

A PROJECT YOU’RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THAT YOU’RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.

tF: We are still promoting our first single, Connected…

dD: Available now on all major platforms!

tF: …which is doing really well, and along with doing lots of interviews like this one, we are getting a lot of reviews, airplay and streams all over the world from the US and South America to the UK, and Europe, and from South Africa and the Middle East through to India and Japan.

dD: Our music has travelled faster and farther than we ever could have imagined, which is particularly amazing as it was created by two blokes from Yorkshire who rarely leave God’s Own County.

tF: The world needs uplifting, positive music, especially right now, and our fans really seem to appreciate the unusual way we have of looking at life, and the way we write catchy songs which express how we feel about things.

HOW DOES THE BAND FLESH OUT A SONG FROM START (IDEA IN YOUR HEAD) TO FINISH (RECORDING)?

tF: We work in separate studios in different locations, and although we only live a few miles from each other, we rarely meet except to rehearse or perform.

dD: It sounds kind of odd to some people, but it really does work for us, and we find that we get much more done than when we used to work side by side.

tF: A lot less chat, and a lot more music.

dD: It’s not that we’re not friends, because we are, but electronic music, particularly at the writing stage, is all about one person being in control of their part of the process, as opposed to being in a conventional band, which often relies on you all being in the same place at the same time to make it work.

tF: When it comes to our creative process, I make an instrumental using GarageBand on my iPad, give it a title, and then email it to Damo.

dD: Then I create the lyrics, usually based on the title, record the vocals, and send it back to Timmy to see what he thinks.

tF: I then send across all the individual loops, with an idea or two about how I think it might work, and Damo arranges the track to creates more space for the vocals and adds, as one reviewer put it, “sonic garnish”.

dD: That did make us laugh, not least because it’s absolutely true. I have been building up a collection of legal samples for years, and when I wanted, for example, a German woman saying “This number is not available”, which I did for a recent track we wrote called Walk Out The Door, all I had to do was deep dive into my hard drive, pull it out, and stick it in.

tF: All of our tracks have these little touches in them which Damo loves to add, and which always make me smile, as I never quite know what he is going to come up with when I send him the original instrumental.

dD: We make music for fun, and we think that shines through on pretty much every track we create.

tF: If it’s not fun, then what’s the point?

dD: Exactly. When it stops being fun, we will just stop doing it, and do something else instead.

tF: Once Damo has a mix ready, he sends it back to me, and then we bat it backwards and forwards over the internet until we are both completely happy with it.

dD: At that point, we upload the finished demo to our SoundCloud page and make a video which we upload it to our YouTube Channel.

tF: So, whilst we only have one official single out, there are also 20 - 30 other tracks and videos which our fans can enjoy just by Googling #nSECmUSIC.

WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE BEST SONG YOU EVER RELEASED, AND WHY?

tF: Connected…

dD: Available now on all major platforms!

tF: …is our first official single, which obviously we think is the best thing since sliced bread, or we wouldn’t have put it out, but I think our second single "Mr. Moogie," which is out in early 2021, is even better.

dD: I agree. A lot of reviewers have compared Connected to the work of Daft Punk, which we totally get, and we are definitely flattered by, as those guys are awesome, but whilst we love them, and their early tracks in particular, "Mr. Moogie" is a lot more akin to Kraftwerk meets The Pet Shop Boys, which is probably much more like what we are really about.

PICK ONE WORD THAT BEST DESCRIBES WHAT YOUR REHEARSALS ARE LIKE.

tF: Spontaneous. Like our live and DJ sets, no two rehearsals are the same.

dD: Hilarious. We don’t take ourselves, or anything else for that matter, too seriously.

ANY MUSIC VIDEOS PLANNED OR IN PRODUCTION?

tF: We have a whole load of videos already on our YouTube channel for people to enjoy, but we have recently got our hands on a huge green screen which will almost ceratinly feature in our forthcoming live performance videos.

dD: The lack of opportunities to play live in 2020 has been frustrating for us, so once this second period of UK lockdown is over, and we are officially allowed to meet up again, we will be recording, or maybe even livestreaming, performances of some of our tracks to show people what we are really all about.

LET’S GEEK OUT FOR A SECOND … TELL US WHAT YOUR ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PIECE OF MUSICAL EQUIPMENT IS RIGHT NOW.

tF: The Linn Drum. I use it on almost all of our tracks, and I love the way it sounds.

dD: The TC Helicon VoiceTone Synth. I run all my vocals through it to add character.

WHICH ARTIST OR BAND INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A MUSICIAN?

tF: Dr Alex Paterson from The Orb. Pure genius

dD: Vince Clarke. We were lucky enough to meet him a while back, and he is living proof that you don’t need an ego the size of Saturn to make it in the music business. The man is a God of synth pop, and yet he is incredibly humble about it. Wow.

AN ALBUM THAT’S HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON YOU.

tF: Dare by The Human League. It’s poppy and peculiar in all the right ways, it was years ahead of its time, and because of that it still sounds contemporary now.

dD: 101 by Depeche Mode. One of the best live albums of all time, which really demonstrates the overwhelming majesty of electronic music when it’s played live.

VOCALIST YOU ADMIRE THE MOST?

tF: Billie Eilish. I love the way she just does what she does, and doesn’t give a damn.

dD: Do you know her middle name is Pirate?

tF: I do now. It kind of suits her.

dD: It does, doesn’t it?! I have been a lifelong fan of Prince, one of the greatest singers, dancers, and multi-instrumentalists of all time.

tF: Do you now his middle name is Rogers?

dD: I do. I always thought “Prince Rogers Nelson” sounds like a scandalous headline from a 17 th century tabloid.

tF: You’re right. It does.

GUITAR SOLO THAT ALWAYS GIVES YOU GOOSEBUMPS?

tF: Kool Thing by Sonic Youth. One of the most exciting things I have ever heard.

dD: (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult. It’s usually edited out of the version you hear on the radio, but it’s just so unexpected and odd. It takes what is quite a repetitive track to a whole new level, which is kind of the point isn’t it?

MOST BAD-ASS BASSIST?

tF: Peter Hook from New Order. How many bass players have a style and sound of their own which is so instantly recognisable? Nobody does it quite like Hooky.

dD: Robert Trujillo from Metallica. The man is a complete Bad-Ass, and his work with Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves show what a versatile player he is, from funk to punk, rock and metal, that guy can do it all.

tF: Are we actually closet rock fans?

dD: It would certainly appear so…

DRUMMER WITH KILLER CHOPS?

tF: Rick Buckler from The Jam. He was just so inventive, whilst also being rock solid. Weller and Foxton would have been lost without him.

dD: John Bonham from Led Zeppelin. He was anything but rock solid, in every respect, but he was a self-taught drummer who actually made music on the drum kit, which is not an easy thing to do, and when you hear him bouncing off Jimmy Page’s guitar riffs, particularly when they played live, it’s a thing of wonder to behold.

tF: Maybe we should start a rock band?

dD: Non Stop Erotic Zeppelin?

tF: Non Stop Erotic Jam!

ROLLING STONES OR THE BEATLES?

tF: The Stones. They had a kind of exciting sleazy glamour to them right from the off. They were proper rock and roll. The Beatles were always too clean cut for me, musically and in spirit, especially in the early days.

dD: There’s nothing clean cut about being the house band in a Hamburg strip joint! I have always loved the sheer inventiveness of The Beatles. To go from Please Please Me in ’63 to Sergeant Pepper in ’67 in just four years was extraordinary. How many other bands could do that today, and still take their fanbase with them?

tF: We are very different people, aren’t we?

dD: That’s why it’s such a strong creative partnership. Imagine if we were the same.

tF: I’d rather not.

dD: We’d be Bros.

tF: Perish the thought.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PRE-SHOW RITUALS?

tF: Running up to the show we’re all about getting the equipment set up and the sound right. It’s quite complicated to get it all sounding the way we like it.

dD: We always do the sound check wearing our civvies, and it’s not until we don our astronaut suits and helmets just before we go on stage for real that we actually become Timmy Faith and Damo Devotion, and can perform as Non Stop Erotic Cabaret. Up until that point, we’re just the roadies.

FUNNIEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE ON STAGE.

dD: When we played the Beat-Herder festival, there was a large group of young ladies dressed up as old ladies who pushed their way to the front and danced throughout our entire set like a bunch of mad things, and it was quite surreal to look up and see a bunch of pensioners frugging away to our tunes.

tF: I also tried, and failed, to smash my guitar at the end of a set once, like a true rock star. All that happened was one of the fret marker dots popped out. I’ve never tried it since.

IF POSSIBLE, DESCRIBE WHAT PERFORMING LIVE FEELS LIKE FOR YOU.

tF: Before: like a dental appointment. After: Like getting the all clear!

dD: No fillings today, mum!

tF: Performing live, and entertaining an audience, is what it’s all about, and there’s nothing quite like it.

dD: It’s the most fun you can have with your space suit on.

tF: Apart from going into space.

dD: Well, obviously.

IF YOU WERE SECOND ON A THREE-BAND BILL, WHICH BAND WOULD YOU LOVE TO BE SUPPORTING AND WHICH BAND WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO OPEN FOR YOU? [GOOD CHANCE TO PLUG A NEWER BAND YOU REALLY LIKE]

tF: I have always loved Pavement and The Specials, but I wouldn’t like to put one of them above the other with us in between. Maybe if we toured, we could swap round each night like they used to do on the Two Tone tours? I would also love Greg Wilson on the decks before the show to get the crowd going, and again at the after show party back stage.

dD: Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode on alternate nights, with us supporting them, with our support every night coming from a Leeds band called The Vat Egg Imposition. They were the last band I went to see before lockdown, and they were amazing. Their lead singer dresses like a giant egg. Enough said.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR FANS GET FROM YOUR MUSIC? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE THEM TO KNOW?

tF: We’d like them to know that positivity and creativity are the way forward, not just for us, but for everyone, everywhere. You can sit around moping about how hard your life is as much as you like, but nothing is going to change if you’re not prepared to do something about it.

dD: Well said. We also hope that, no matter how hard life may be, listening to our music helps our fans forget about their troubles, even if it’s just for a few minutes, and that they have as much fun dancing and singing along to our songs as we had when we were making them.

MOST DON’T ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BELIEVE THAT WHAT THEY REALLY WANT ... CAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN. CLOSE YOUR EYES AND VISUALIZE WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR ULTIMATE SUCCESS. WHAT DO YOU SEE?

tF: Happiness.

dD: Fulfilment.

tF: We’re not really about fame and fortune, dating super models, and going to film premieres and parties and the like. We do what we love, and we love what we do. As we say in Yorkshire, that’ll do.

dD: We just want to do what we want to do, when we want to do it, and how we want to do it. Anything else that comes on top of that is just a bonus.

tF: Having said that, we would like to be the first band to play on both the moon and Mars, but Elon Musk isn’t replying to our Tweets.

dD: We even wrote a song about him called Outta Space. Nothing.

tF: He’s a busy man. I suspect organising the post-landing entertainment is quite a low priority.

dD: Elon, if you are reading this, have your people call our people. We’re suited, booted, helmeted up, and ready to rock the universe!

WHAT ARE YOU DETERMINED TO SEE HAPPEN FOR YOUR BAND IN THE NEXT YEAR?

tF: Get back out on the road and play to our fans at festivals around the world.

dD: And if Elon gets back to us, at festivals around the galaxy!

tF: We also have our second single, "Mr. Moogie" coming out in the new year, so we’d love for it to be an even bigger success than "Connected."

dD: Hopefully by the time it becomes a top 40 hit single, the BBC will have finally got round to reviving Top Of The Pops, just so we can be on it.

tF: Then we will truly be living the dream.

UPCOMING SHOWS, EVENTS, FESTIVALS YOU’RE PLAYING?

tF: Sadly, because of Covid, there are precious few live events in our diary right now.

dD: We can’t even play at weddings, christenings and Bar Mitzvahs, let alone clubs, venues and festivals, as the government won’t allow it.

tF: However, like we said before, we are going to make some live performance videos in my basement studio, and broadcast them to the world.

dD: Live from Timmy’s basement... it’s not exactly live from Las Vegas, but we’ll make it work somehow.

tF: We’ve built an interactive robot called Marvin who will be doing the honours on vocals whilst we twiddle our knobs.

dD: Who wouldn’t want to see that?!

WHAT CONCERT DID YOU ATTEND THAT YOU’LL NEVER, EVER FORGET?

tF: Aphex Twin, playing on stage from inside a Wendy House, supporting Public Enemy. It was quite a sight to see.

dD: Depeche Mode. There was one moment during the show where they played Personal Jesus, and where they got to the bit that goes “Reach out and touch faith” the entire audience, me included, all reached out their hands to the band in unison. Powerful stuff.

BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN.

tF: Red light spells danger. Billy Ocean.

dD: Don’t bore us, get to the chorus. Our manager at The Animal Farm Label, Ville Leppanen.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST VALUED MATERIAL POSSESSION?

tF: My record box containing my collection of vintage Northern Soul 45’s.

dD: The first electric guitar my parents bought me when I was a teenager.

WHICH OF YOUR BAND MEMBERS:

IS ALWAYS LATE?

dD: Timmy. I always end up sitting waiting for him.

tF: I do my best, but other things always seem to crop up.

EATS THE HEALTHIEST?

tF: That would be me.

dD: Agreed. I do love a good takeaway. The more meat the merrier.

IS THE PRANKSTER?

tF: Damo.

dD: Really? You’re always dressing up and doing mad stuff.

tF: Yes, but that’s just a bit of fun. Some of the stuff you say and do is actually unhinged.

dD: The voices in my head are telling me you are correct. Who am I to argue?

tF: Let’s call it a draw.

dD: One all after extra time.

IS THE TASK MASTER TO GET THINGS DONE?

tF: Damo.

dD: It’s true. I am what is known as a Completer/Finisher. I like to get things done and move on.

tF: I had to stop sending new tunes to him on an evening, because he’d stay up all night working on them, and send me a mix at like five in the morning.

dD: Music is a thief of time. When I am in the creative zone, hours can go by in the blink of an eye. Before I know it, the sun is coming up.

HAS A USELESS TALENT?

dD: We have many talents between us, none of which are useless.

tF: You never know when you might have to light a fire without matches…

dD: …or make a last-minute fancy dress costume from a bin bag and post it notes

tF: We are always creating all sorts of things and uploading pictures of them to our Social Media. Google #nSECmUSIC, and you will see what we mean.

WHEN YOU’RE NOT PLAYING MUSIC, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE TO DO?

tF: I love building things, especially home-made synthesisers. It brings me peace.

dD: I am currently writing my PhD thesis. It doesn’t sound much like fun, but I love it.

IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT YOUR “GO-TO” PLAYLIST RIGHT NOW, WHO ARE SOME OF THE ARTISTS WE’D SEE?

tF: Us.

dD: It’s true. Timmy’s our biggest fan.

tF: I like to listen to our stuff whilst I am out walking on the moors.

dD: Whereas my go to playlist at the moment is pretty much the greatest hits of synth pop: Soft Cell, Human League, Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, OMD, Kraftwerk… the list goes on and on. If it’s got a synth on it. I’m in.

tF: I also like Billie Eilish.

dD: Too late with your barrow. You had your chance.

BEST BAND NAME YOU EVER HEARD?

tF: Ken Dodd’s Dead Dog Died.

dD: I think The Vat Egg Imposition takes some beating.

VINYL RECORDS, CASSETTES, CD’s, OR DOWNLOADS?

tF: Vinyl. There’s nothing else quite like it.

dD: I used to think vinyl, but seeing as I have had a hard time getting a record player to fit into the dashboard my car, which is where I usually listen to music, I will have to say downloads. I also don’t miss carrying huge heavy boxes of records up and down club steps.

WHAT SONG IS AMAZING, YET NOT VERY POPULAR?

dD: Somebody by Depeche Mode. It’s probably the least electronic thing they have ever produced, but I never get tired of its brutal honesty and elegant simplicity.

tF: I don’t think Sonic Youth ever got the popularity they deserved. Kool Thing is a masterpiece.

AN ALBUM YOU NEVER GET TIRED OF LISTENING TO.

tF: Dare by Human League. Sheffield’s finest band’s finest album.

dD: This Is The Day… This Is The Hour… This Is This… by Pop Will Eat Itself. If ever an album deserved being described as a sonic tapestry, it’s that one. Love it.

WHAT SONG ARE YOU CURRENTLY OBSESSED WITH?

tF: This morning Damo sent me a remix of one of our early tracks, I’ve Seen The Light, and I’ve been playing it on repeat all day.

dD: Timmy told me that he always skipped the original when he was listening to our tracks back to back, so I did the remix in secret last night. I’m glad you like it.

tF: We tend to get a bit obsessed with whatever we’re working on at any particular time, and we like to listen, tweak, listen again and tweak again until we get it right.

dD: My neighbours have got used to me sitting on the driveway in my car listening to the same song over and over again. They smile and wave. They think I am a bit odd.

tF: We all think you’re a bit odd.

dD: Who wants to be normal?

WHAT SONG HELPED YOU WHEN YOU WERE HEARTBROKEN?

tF: I can honestly say I have never had my heart broken. I married the love of my life, and we are still together.

dD: Lucky old you. Whilst I too am lucky enough to have married the love of my life, and we are also still together, there was a lot of heartbreaks in my life before we met, but I don’t tend to listen to songs when I am heartbroken, I write them. I find it helps.

WHAT ALBUM OR ARTIST DID YOUR PARENTS INTRODUCE YOU TO THAT YOU LOVE?

tF: War Of The Worlds by Jeff Wayne. It’s still brilliant to listen to in the car.

dD: Johnny Cash. My parents were really into the country scene, and Johnny Cash was the missing link between country and rock and roll for me growing up, and I loved the stories he told through his songs. Still do. Maybe that’s where I get it from? A lot of our songs contain self-contained stories. I also have to say is version of Hurt by Nine Inch Nails is probably the best cover version of any song ever. Sublime.

WHAT’S YOUR BENCHMARK FOR A GREAT MUSICIAN?

tF: One that turns up on time, has been practising, and remembers what to play.

dD: We’ve been in bands all our lives, and one of the nice things about being in a duo is that only one of us can be late.

tF: And it’s usually me.

dD: Technical expertise and musicianship are all very well, but if band members are too busy or too lazy to put in the time and effort, it can make things difficult.

tF: We are both equally committed to Non Stop Erotic Cabaret. It’s all or nothing.

dD: We have both chosen all.

Asbury Park Vibes is a media publication dedicated to shining a light on the live music scene, as well as promoting the artists we love! We strive to provide show reviews, photographs, and artist stories that bring fans and musicians closer together.

Our coverage focuses keenly on the artists and venues in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York; however, you'll also catch us featuring musicians and shows all across the U.S!!! There's nothing better than the ENERGY and VIBES we all feel from live music! We're sure we'll see you at a show somewhere very soon!

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