In Italy 2005, Nikki Dick sought out to form a band in the spirit of 80s hair metal. Four years later, Cream Pie has relocated to Florida and is melting faces in the name of GnR, Skid Row, Crue, LA Guns, W.A.S.P. and every other sleeze rock/hair band that we love. The band's debut album Dirty Job was released in 2008, and the band continues to tour, and has discovered a great deal of success on myspace. We caught up with Nikki (guitar), Phantom (guitar), and Brian Kent (drums) . . .
FROMAN: What are your feelings on the music industry today?
Nikki: It's kinda a jungle. There are thousands bands and artists playin' all kinds of music and ready to sell their asses to even do something bigger.
Brian: I totally agree with Nikki, there are lots of bands in the music industry, and the majority of these bands are very ridiculous.
FROMAN: Who are your biggest musical influences?
Nikki: Personally the street metal of the 80's (Guns N' Roses majorly), Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Sex Pistols...and I love Chinese Democracy.
Phantom: 80s street rock and glam metal, but also punk rock and a bit of thrash metal and visual kei.
Brian: I'm influenced by bands like Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Kiss, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Def Leppard, AC/DC, L.A. Guns, Cinderella, Skid Row, Whitesnake, Hanoi Rocks, W.A.S.P., Ramones.
FROMAN: What's different about your music that makes it worth listening to?
Nikki: Oh man, I don't know... let me think... the energy, the attitude and the songs' quality I guess.
Phantom: We take it seriously!!
Brian: The rage and the spontaneity of our songs.
FROMAN: What's the worst thing that's ever happened during a live performance?
Nikki: The sound on stage is messed up almost everytime thanks to the genius soundguys that we find in the clubs.
Phantom: The drums wasn't there! hahah
FROMAN: You guys know in America, a cream pie refers to a vagina that's had a load of semen shot into it.(And note, semen ON a vagina is NOT a cream pie. Cream pies have cream on the INSIDE. A vagina that merely has semen ON it is just a messy vagina). Is this what you guys were going for when naming the band? I mean, pie is american, why not go for canoli?
Nikki: Actually canoli is an american word too. The italian one is "cannuoli". And anyway it would sound really bad. So yeah, let's think about the messy vagina and keep it like Cream Pie.
FROMAN: The music scene desperately needs more hard rockin, adrenaline powered, pussy smashing rock music. For those who don't know about Cream Pie, what will one see and hear at a Cream Pie concert?
Nikki: Surely a very good show, a lot of guitar playin', a lot of screamin', a powerful drumming, some throbbing basslines, a lot of energy, attitude, and much much fun.
Phantom: and some naked Italian guys!
Brian: Our shows are totally crazy, nobody knows what can really happen.
FROMAN: You guys were inspired by the hair metal scene. What's your all-star hair band if you could create one? Who plays what?
Nikki: I'd just leave the bands like they were, everyone was perfect in their own time. Don't make me fuck things up and create some kind of monster!
Brian: It's very easy: Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler, anything else?
FROMAN: Who gets the most pussy in the band?
Phantom: Brian, absolutely, then me! hahaha
Brian: I really don't know, we don't count the pussy we get.
FROMAN: What the major differences between Italian and American groupies?
Brian: There are no differences for me, the pussy is always the pussy!!!
Phantom: Italian groupies don't exist, those girls just want to fuck someone at the show...which is good!!
Despite its unoriginal chorus of "Wu Tang!" this new effort from two of my favorite members is pretty awesome and the video, although unspectacular, has a weird nod to Jim Jaramusch's Limits of Control (Google it). Thankfully, WT is working hard lately... hip hop needs it.
There's something about UK hip hop (excluding Dizzee Rascal) that rubs me the wrong way but this shitty song is set to everyones favorite violent viral videos which rubs me the right way... i'm confused.
With really progessive ska licks and lyrics like this gem, "Once i tried to run, once i tried to hide but jesus came and found me and he touched me down inside" Sonseed is like the Clash, only if the Clash were touched in the no no spot by their priests as children. Amen.
It's music release time, where I take a trip down to the local record store and give you the skinny on what albums are dropping this week so you can be an educated consumer about it. However, since this is 2009, the local record store is named iTunes and you've probably pirated leaked versions of all this crap anyways. That's not going to stop me from snarking on it though.
Wyclef Jean - From The Hut To The Projects To The Mansion - Oh, that's great, Wyclef. Why didn't you just call this The I'm Rich Album? Congratulations, you got that paper. Or how about Lauryn Hill Lost Her Mind But I Didn't? Really, let's be completely honest here and just call it The Black Eyed Peas Made My Existence Redundant. I'm sure that would move some units at Sam Goody.
Tori Amos - Midwinter Graces - Hey, does anybody still listen to Tori Amos after that hideous American Girl concept album thing where she pretended to be a bunch of ca-raaazy dolls? I'm waiting for somebody to raise their hands. It probably isn't helping matters that she's a dead ringer for Kathy Griffin these days. Midwinter Graces is a "seasonal album," which is usually called a "Christmas album" when an artist's fanbase isn't composed of aging goths who think Jesus is dumb.
Bon Jovi - The Circle - The pride of New Jersey returns for another attempt at convincing people that being from New Jersey is cool in any way. I would really like to do a "People Of Wal-Mart" thing that's "People Of A Bon Jovi Concert." I'm sure it's just the prime cuts of the human race there.
Wale - Attention Deficit - This guy's been doing pretty good on the mixtape circuit, but that's not a promise of quality from his first solo LP, which features production from Mark Ronson, 9th Wonder, and more hipster favorites. Throw in a guest appearance from Lady Gaga and I'm going to put this one under "extremely skeptical," subfiled under "white people." But you never know - it could end up hot.
Dashboard Confessional - Alter The Ending - Is this a thing that people still listen to? I thought this guy's joke got old in like 2002, 2003 tops. He plays the acoustic guitar! Imagine that!
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: THE DEAR HUNTER CLICK PIC FOR INTERVIEW
September Concert Calendar
Manhattan/Brooklyn
9/04: Mavado / Bounty Killer / Beenie Man /
Serani @ Hammerstein Ballroom
9/06: Benny Page / LionDub / Starkey
@ Public Assembly: BK
9/06: Irie Jamboree @ York College: Jamaica
9/08: Rubblebucket @ Brooklyn Bowl: BK
9/08: The Roots @ Highline Ballroom
9/11: John Brown's Body / The Black Seeds
@ Bowery Ballroom
9/12: Bill Laswell Presents: Method of Defiance
@ Bowery Ballroom
9/17: Face To Face / Pegboy @ Gramercy Theatre
9/18: Groundation @ BB King Blues Club
9/18: Dub War / Mary Anne Hobbs @ Love
9/19: Skream / Benga / Drop The Lime @
Le Poisson Rouge
9/20: Thursday @ Bowery Ballroom
9/22: Face To Face / Pegboy @ Irving Plaza
9/25: The Pimps Of Joytime @ Brooklyn Bowl: BK
9/26: Dub Trio @ Knitting Factory: BK
9/26: Brothers Past @ Bowery Ballroom
9/27: Sunny Day Real Estate @ Terminal 5
New Jersey
9/04: Last Days Of Empire / The Casting Out / Chambers /
Stay Gold @ Court Tavern: New Brunswick
9/09: The Janks / Magic Hat #9 Party @
The Saint: Asbury Park
9/11: Westbound Train / Hub City Stompers @
Asbury Lanes: Asbury Park
9/18: Youth Brigade / The Casualties @ Asbury Lanes:
Asbury Park
9/20: Little Joy @ Maxwell's: Hoboken
9/24: Rorschach @ Asbury Lanes: Asbury Park
Philadelphia & PA.
9/04: Rubblebucket @ World Cafe Live
9/05: Dopapod / Turkuaz / Josh Phillips @ The Fire
9/18: Immortal Technique @ Trocadero
9/18: Thursday @ First Unitarian Church
9/19: Mary Anne Hobbs @ SubDivision: Pittsburgh
9/20: Face To Face @ Trocadero
9/21: Face To Face @ Mr. Smalls: Pittsburgh
9/30: Immortal Technique @ Altar Bar: Pittsburgh
9/30: Mike Gordon @ Mr. Smalls: Pittsburgh
Washington DC.
9/05: !!! / Pivot @ Black Cat
9/06: DJ Jerome Baker III / DJ Tom Lim @ Studio 10
9/08: Motorhead @ 9:30 Club
9/17: Yo La Tengo @ 9:30 Club
9/25: Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ 9:30 Club
9/29: BLK JKS / Laughing Man @ Black Cat
9/30: Sunny Day Real Estate @ 9:30 Club
Baltimore & MD.
9/04: Ruiner / Pulling Teeth / Sick Fix @
Talking Head Club
9/06: Medeski Martin & Wood / Karl Denson's
Tiny Universe/ Dumpstaphunk / Traffic Jam @ Sonar
9/08: Down / Melvins @ Sonar
9/10: Akron/Family @ Talking Head Club
9/11: Naked Raygun / Paint It Black / Shot Baker
@ Ottobar
9/16: Mos Def / Talib Kweli @ Sonar
9/17: Matt and Kim / Amanda Blank @ Sonar
9/18: Busdriver / Mickey Free @ Talking Head Club
9/19: Face To Face / Pegboy @ Sonar
9/19: Immortal Technique @ Recher Theatre
9/20: Appomattox @ Talking Head Club
9/21: People Under The Stairs @ Ottobar
9/25: Ponytail / Crazy Dreams Band @ Ottobar
