Fearless
Vampire Killers have their fingers in many pies; and great pies they are too.
With a new novel just released and comic
book on the horizon we headed down to London’s Super Comic Con at the Excel
Centre to have a chat with the guys.
Click below for an exclusive interview and
VLOG…
So Comic Con just opened a matter of hours
ago and it’s super busy already; are you enjoying it so far?
KIER- It’s always one of those things
that you have to just take in an absorb the atmosphere
LAWRENCE- It’s not like being at a show
or whatever. The thing is at gigs we don’t cover our merch desk, so it’s very
strange selling stuff to our fans; it feels very odd. You get to spend more
time with people than usual.
Have you guys been to anything like this
before, as fans of Comics?
K- We have done another comic con
before which was cool and that was our first experience of anything like this. We
have more stuff planned; today is only the start.
So you have the novel here today; Militia of The Lost which is the story
behind the first album…
L- I’ve been writing it for about 4/5
years. We released the first book, Rupert
and Evelyn and this is the second one. It just took a long time to get out
so it’s really cool.
And you have a comic on the way- The Vigilante…
RYAN [Radley, illustrator]- Yeah, I’m in
the process of drawing that at the moment.
L- So yeah, Ryan was a fan of the band
and I saw loads of their artwork on Tumblr and thought it was really cool. So we
found out who it was and it just worked.
K- Ryan has a knowledge of the back
story that not many people could really have, so it’s perfect.
Your live shows as a band are so
theatrical, but is it nice coming here where everyone is theatrical and dressed up?
K- Yeah it is, apart from now I feel underdressed.
Usually it’s us that are the weird ones. Comic Con is very free and eryveryone is
so accepting and friendly.
You guys are touring so much; is it hard
for you to fit in events and things like these?
K- We just tour as much as we can but
if we’re not then we do as much other stuff as we can. And it’s really fun; our
guys geek out. Drew is in his element meeting authors and artists and it’s
great. We will do these things for as long as we can.
So after this you’re on the road with Black Veil Brides who you’ve toured with
before. People compare you to them, is it nice to get back out with them?
L- Yeah definitely. We’re doing a warm
up show with them at London’s Electric Ballroom so that’ll be a nice way to get
into the tour.
K- They warmed a lot to us on the last
tour we did with them; we got on really well. They must like us because they
keep taking us out with them [laughing].
Do you find it hard to be on the road doing
the music stuff and trying to write the books as well?
L- Yeah, it’s so hard to write on the
road. I had to write the last stories when were on tour with Black Veil Brides. I would be in the dressing room and we would
have two hours between soundcheck and going on stage and I would just be
writing. It was such a horrible experience and I hope that I never have to
write like that again.
Do you need to have the opposite of that to
get your writing done?
L- Yep, literally the opposite; I need
to be in a silent room, locked away.
In terms of planning the writing and books;
do you have that set plan or do you find it’s more free flowing?
L- It’s not free flowing, at all
[laughing]. About six years ago I wrote a thousand years of history
K- As you do! [laughing]
L- That is the problem that I have; I
can’t deviate from the history. It’s like it’s real to me and I can’t change
stuff so I have to stick to the plan.
Do the other members of the band read over
it before it’s done?
K- No; a lot of it I’ve never read. There’s
a lot of it so I’ve probably read about half. I can’t even start to comprehend
that. My role in the band is more of the business side of things. For me to
understand even half of what is going on in his head would be a big task. It
makes Lord of The Rings look like
some fanzine
L- No way! [laughing]. But yeah, my
books aren’t kids’ books at all; some of it is pretty sinister place. My head
is sinister; but I’m a nice guy normally.
In terms of how you two work together (Ryan
and Lawrence) with you doing the illustrations Ryan, how do the two fit
together?
L- Drew is adapting the story into a
script and so the three of us liaise about stuff but Ryan has such a grasp of
what it is I don’t really need to change much.
R- Guns aren’t my forte, so I usually
have to make them bigger I always bare that in mind now.
K- Size is everything [laughing]
L- We work so well though and Ryan doesn’t;
have an ultimatum at all. When you would with someone who loves what you create
then it makes it so much easier. The story can’t be changed; the world I want
to create is a horrible place to be.
R- It’s not sugar coated; it’s not a
nice place
L- There will be novels set before that
which aren’t like this but this world has get to a peak of enlightenment where
everyone is equal and it is ruled by this beautiful, brilliant leaders but then
it all comes down. That is what this book’s about; it’s reality on fantasy.
And back to the music; after Black Veil Brides tour you are heading
out on your biggest headline tour to date. Are you looking forward to that?
K- We had a little taster at Takedown Festival so that really god us
in the mood
L- There is nothing like your own
audience; our fans are Takedown were
just going insane, it was amazing and chaotic. I want to be in people’ faces
and up close. Can’t wait for the tour.
Buy Militia of the Lost HERE
http://fearlessvampirekillers.com/