When and where was your first gig, and how did it go?
We first did a gig as a support act for another band called Inertia, at Omagh Methodist Youth Club. We played "Freak On a Leash" by KoRn, "Ayem Spechal" which is one of our own songs, written by Neal, our backing guitarist. We were also invited back on to do "Smells Like Teen Spirit", but the tossers from Inertia came back on and turned off our amplifiers! They are the most big-headed wastes of space around! They think they’re The Manic Street Preachers! They’ve been together for 2 years, and they’ve only done one gig! After four months together, we’re already more experienced at live performances! Our performance didn’t go down well, since we were performing Hard Rock in front of a crowd of Pop Princesses. Admittedly, it wasn’t the best gig ever, but we’ve become a lot more experienced in the short space of time since the gig, and we’re now much better, we’re glad to say!
How did the band come about?
I (Waldo) was the first member to discover a love of Rock music. I later began to play the guitar, and to preach to the other guys. Eventually, we just realised that we all love the music so much, that we just had to put a band together! Then we just decided who would play what, and began to get ourselves together, writing lyrics and organising places to practice. Simple!
Where did the name "The Inert Elements" come from, and does it have any particular meaning?
Yet again, I came up with it! As you can see, I’m the organiser! I don’t know why, but all the names I think of seem to be to do with sciences, like CH4 and Blunt Pentagon. Anyway, The Inert Elements just seemed to be the most appropriate because we’re not influenced by Pop culture, and we’re all individuals. It took us a while to settle into it, but eventually we fell in love with it.
When you started, did you take being in a band seriously, or was it just a pastime?
We’ve ALWAYS been serious about our music, from the very music. Unfortunately, this has led to lots of arguments, particularly between myself and Bryce, our drummer. However, none of us see the point of being in a band just as a mess-about. Of course, we want to have as much fun as possible, but Rock music is a serious art-form, and you have to show respect for it. We have to be serious about it! Bryce and Neal say that if we don’t make the big time, they’re in real trouble, because they have no other career opportunities!
If the band takes off, do you think you could stomach each other for another 10 or 15 years?
Well, although there are plenty of arguments and disagreements, we are all really close, so I think we should be able to stomach each other for as long as the band still has some energy.
How would you describe your music?
Well, we are mainly influenced by Grunge Rock bands, such as Nirvana, and Non-Rap Rock Nu-Metal bands, like KoRn and Rammstein, hence we call our music Grunge Metal. However, we do listen to all kinds of Rock music, apart from Rap Rock, and we are influenced by Rock N. Roll and Indie Rock etc., and you can see this coming through in some of our lighter songs.
Do you think there is room in the market for more bands like yourselves?
Sure! It’s time for a revival in hard Grunge music. There are lots of Grunge and Grunge-influenced bands about right now, such as Creed and 3 Doors Down, but the Pop fans of today need a good dose of hard, grinding, addictive Nirvana-style Grunge! It’ll blow them away!
What are the best and worst things about being in The Inert Elements?
The best thing is that we get to really express the way we feel about the world today. We can really stand out from the crowd and say what we think, and people will listen! However, this results in the worst thing. We get plenty of stick from the people who don’t understand it. We can handle it though, and the people who diss us really make the band stronger.
If you could get rid of one musical act, who would it be?
Limp Bizkit, because they’re making terrible, cliché music with pathetic lyrics, and doing it under the guise of Rock! It’s insulting! In fact, we’d like to get rid of all Rap Rock. Come to think of it, it would be brilliant if we could just eliminate all non-Rock music, because, let’s face it, it’s all meaningful rubbish!
If you were stranded on a desert island with no food (and no porn), who would you kill for food first?
Well, I don’t think we’d ever kill one of us, but since Ande’s the wee guy, we’d force him to go fishing. Then again, if a stupid argument started (which they often do), Neal would be likely to kill one of us, which would provide a handy food-source. Of course, without curry, Neal and Bryce would commit suicide anyway!