Fearless Vampire Killers begin European tour and interview with Kier Kemp

Fearless Vampire Killers – European tour starts today!

From May 3^rd FVK (aka Fearless Vampire Killers) will be out on their first European headliner tour. It starts in Paris at the Backstage and concludes in Amsterdam on May 12^th.

By the end of 2015 Kier Kemp (singer/guitarist) sat down and answered some questions….

Where do you come from? How/where did you meet?

Kier: We come from a small town called Beccles in Suffolk and Luke comes from Hemel Hemstead. We were all school friend and then we found Luke on the internet. Online dating style…

Where does your band name come from?

Kier: It’s a comedy horror film by Roman Polanski.

How would you describe your music style?

Kier: It’s been called many things. I guess at the heart we’re mostly punk rock kids but we all listen to lots of music and infuse it with metal and more theatrical elements.

What are your influences?

Kier: Everything from Green Day to the Beatles and Trent Reznor to wham!

You just released an EP called ‘Bruises’ on October 23. Why did you decide to release an EP instead of going for another full length record? How are the responses so far?

Kier: Quite simply we weren’t ready or financially able to release a full length but we know it’s important to keep people well fed with music. We’re much closer to that next record now.

You recently announced the release of the book ‘Unbreakable Hearts’ (release date: Dec. 30, 2015) written by Laurence Beveridge (vocals, guitar). It’s the third book so far. Tell us a bit about the story behind it. Are the books connected? The first two books aren’t available in your online-shop anymore. Are you planning on restocking?

Kier: You’d have to ask Laurence for more info but yes the books are very connected. He’s written 3 of about 20 odd he has planned out in his head. You’d need another book just to explain its amazing complexity!

Kier and Laurence, you share/switch guitar and vocal parts for the songs. How do you decide who’s the lead singer for your songs?

Kier: Generally, I’ll sing what Drew or I write, and Laurence will sing what he writes.

The producer for your last full length record called ‘Unbreakable Hearts’ was William Control (aka William Francis, singer of Aiden). How did this come about?

We’ve been friends for many years. He’s been our biggest supporter and a bit of a mentor. When he asked to produce a record we were just like “Why the fuck not?!”

You toured a lot since the release of ‘Unbreakable Hearts’ at times as openers, but you also had some successful headlining tours in the UK. Any plans on tours outside of Europe, like the US or Asia for the near future?

We’d love to. We just need the right opportunity. As we’re self-financed at the moment it takes a big investment to get to the US and we just can’t risk that if we end up playing sub-par shows.

You toured with Aiden, William Control, Black Veil Brides, played Download Festival and more. What would be your dream band to tour with?

For me personally, probably Green Day or anyone who used to be in My Chemical Romance. Big influences on me.

A little over a year ago you launched the Obsidian Bond. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

It arose from the idea that we wanted a place not only for the fans but for all the extra content we were creating. A place where everyone there knew they had at least one thing in common! It then grew into what it is today. A fully formed social network.

Is there anything you’d like to tell your fans?