Baxxter - November 1999

Welcome to the world of Baxxter. Lying somewhere in-between Seafood and Seattle this trio have no fears about growing up in public. The band are a hurricane of guitar driven energy and gravely vocals.

Through strong links with The Starries they are building up a strong local following. Tonight I catch them at a Bearos Showcase at the Flapper and Firkin playing with the aforementioned Starry boys and The Regulars.

G- Hi, we're Baxter. I'm Greg and I sing, play guitar and drum on one song.
R- I'm Russ, I play bass.
K- I'm Kelly and I play drums very badly, and bass in one song.
G- It all started about eleven months ago. We did our first gig a week after forming. It was here at the Flapper and Firkin. We got drunk and Kelly broke her ankle just before the gig.
K- I got very drunk and fell down stairs.
R- It was a great gig though!
K- I didn't actually feel it at the time - but man, it hurt afterwards!

K- Baxxter's a shit name; we really need to change it.
G- We were sitting in a pub on a Tuesday afternoon after college and a van drove past with "Baxter" written on it, so...
R- ...so what!
G- ...so that!!
K- ...inspiration!
G- There are actually loads of other bands called Baxter as well.
K- ...and my Uncle Baxter
R- That's why we sometimes go for the double 'x'. That and 80's metal!

G- We've played about 15 gigs; the furthest afield was Southampton. We've gone from shit to slightly less shit in that time.
K- We're a comedy pop act really.
G- We're influenced by Jeremy Beadle and David Lee Roth...
R- ...Sonic Youth, Nirvana...
G- ...Gary Barlow, Michael Barrymore - which is why we piss on stage sometimes. (Controversy surrounds this last statement. The band cannot remember saying this and are pretty vague about the whole interview. They think they might have said "That's why we're piss on stage sometimes" or "That's why we're pissed on stage sometimes". My original interpretation stands!)

G- There's a problem getting gigs in Birmingham. Mainly because there's one real venue and you are sitting in it! There's a real lack of interest; it needs more people to...
R- ...to give a damn!
G- We pull a crowd because we get around a bit! It can get a bit cliquey but it's nice sometimes. There are so may dull bands around town that it deadens things a bit
R- It would be nice if we could get a Birmingham gang...
G- ...A 'lo-fi grunge core' to quote Adam from Chemical Nation - a man who promises us the world and delivers somewhere to sleep when we go to London! Can't be bad though.

G- A final statement - Go on kids, pick up guitars and make a horrible noise!

Baxxter's debut single "Russian Song"/"Blues Murderer" was released on Bearos Records in July 2000 (Bearos012)