Poison Boys

I managed to catch up with the Poison Boys in Valencia and we hung out before their gig at 16 Toneladas.  After sound check (which defiantly set the vibe for their unique Rock & Roll vibe set to come later that evening) we chatted over beers and tapas.

Welcome to Valencia! Diving straight in, 2014 – 2024 marks ten years of the Poison Boys – is this a ten-year anniversary tour and how’s the tour going for you guys so far?

Yeah – I guess it is ten years! We hadn’t really thought of it that way – but I suppose it is.

The tour is going awesome – we are having a lot of fun. It’s our second year back touring Spain and we love it here. We kicked off on the 23rd of Feb in Porto. Porto is fucking cool and now we are here in Spain, which we love!

What sets Spain apart from America as far as touring, gigs and fans goes?

The food is much better! Generally, the culture and hospitality is much better, the people are cool and they like Rock & Roll. It feels like in the States they only like Rock & Roll if its ACDC. Here people come out and they are genuinely interested in music and there is mutual respect between the band and the crowd.

Do you think that Spain is a little like the “Pre-Digital / internet” days? Remember when someone would tell you there is a great band playing and you must go and see them to find out or buy some vinyl, rather than diving into YouTube or listening on Spotify?

Yeah definitely! The experience we have of that is here in Spain people come out to the gigs and buy merchandise and vinyl at the end. There is more old school promotion as well with physical flyers, poster and real paper ticket tickets from record stores, rather than just a Facebook invite.  We walk around town we are performing in and see flyers and posters for the gig – people see them and then recognise us! Like “Hey, you are the Poisons Boys! We’ve got tickets for the show tonight!”

How did the name “Poison Boys” come about?

So the “The Riffs” are really awesome late 90’s Rock & Roll punk band had a track called “Poison Boys”.  I’d been listening to them for years and when we formed the band it felt like a fitting name for the sub-genre, we kind of play. It’s also a tribute to them, because they rule!

2024 has kicked off with a 16 date Spanish tour, which you are half was through – what are the plans for the rest of the year?

We got load happening – we are going back in the studio to finish our next album. A France tour in June and loads of USA gigs booked in.

A new album? Is it all new material or any remastered old tracks on there?

Yeah, it’s all new except one song – which has been previously released. But we are going to keep that a secret! We have been playing some of them live for a while, and they have been getting excellent feedback.

When are you not touring or in the studio - how you like to relax?

Matt D - I watch a lot of Hammer Horror movies from the 1960's and 1970's

Matt C – I have a collection of nearly 1000 old movies on VHS Cassette

Nico - I have a dog and I like to stay home with him and chill while these two freaks out over old movies!

There are so many cool bands out there that have never made it out of their parents’ garage. What advice would you give them to take things to the next level?

Find out what you want to sound like and really get down into the nitty-gritty of how you make yourselves sound that way. You must know your art, know the history of your music and really know where it all came from. Once, you know everything repeat all time. You must know you are committed to it 24/7. It’s not a hobby it’s a lifestyle. The Horror movies, VHS tapes and dogs don’t come until you’ve made it!

You are stranded on a desert Island with a record deck (it could happen!) and you all have one record. What are those going be?

Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed

T Rex – Electric Warrior

Flamin’ Groovies – Teenage Head

You’ve recently had a new EP come out – can you tell me about that?

The new EP “Split” we have just put out, which came out on the first day of our tour – 23rd February. Its released-on Ghost Highway Records.   

A couple of months ago we also released a compilation of stuff from our early days, so I guess that could be our ten-year anniversary release in some way. It’s got stuff from our first demo in 2014, tracks from 2016 and 2018 – so yeah it covers the ten years of Poison Boys!

And finally, its ten years now – where do you see yourselves in 2034?

Hopefully we will be a lot bigger! Regardless we will still be kicking it with gigs and releases. We want to release an Album a year, tour to loads of places we have been yet – Japan, the UK and Scandinavia, Germany, we just want to keep it Rock & Roll!

You can follow the Poison Boys here:  https://www.facebook.com/poisonboys/

And check out 16 Toneladas club here:  https://www.16toneladas.com

Words & photos: Rhyan Paul