Ascension: In Italy, a lot of people have compared Cinema Strange to Sex Gang Children, because of your vocal tone, and to the Virgin Prunes, especially because of your way of dressing and singing... what about it? Do you subscribe to these opinions? Do these two bands influence your sound?
Mik: I guess we compare more with those acts then to the Rolling Stones. I mean, a wooden bookshelf isn't a tree, but you can compare the two better than a bookshelf and a bird. And those two bands don't directly influence our sound, but we are fans. If we take anything from them, it's inspiration, not influence.
Yellow: We've always had profound respect for those acts. They really seemed to transcend the genre and that has always been our objective.
Ascension: Your sound has been labeled as "batcave"! You're very young... why have you been influenced so much by this twenty-year-old kind of dark music?
Mik: I'm actually more influenced by 100-year-old dark music.
Yellow: BATCAVE?! 100 YEARS OLD?! I don't know about all of those things, but I can imagine that the criteria that all those rumored "Batcave" bands used to form their music/style were not dissimilar to our own criteria. Which consists of the inclusion of various subliminal nuances that will prompt lovemaking, psychedelics and depression.
Bonzo: I don't think the music has anything to do with the Batcave sound, but the visuals are similar in many ways.
Ascension: Have you finished the recording of your second album? What about the new Cinema Strange material? What are the differences from your first album?
Mik: Yes, we've finished recording it. The recordings on the first album span several years, but the album presentation may deceptively show a quick transition to the place where the new album presently sits at. It was actually a slower evolution to get to where we are now.
Yellow: I disagree on the first point. I am of the opinion that the recording is not done. True, we have submitted everything for the release of an album in January, but the spirit of this recording endeavor will never die.
Ascension: Tony Lestat from Wreckage is a friend of ours. He releases a lot of compilations... so we call him "Tony Compilation". I've seen that you've been involved with the "Songs of Terror" compilation. What about your track ("Legs and Tarpaulin", inspired by "King Pest") on that CD? Did you play that song in Raben? And what's your opinion about these kinds of releases?
Mik: Yes, we played it in Raben. And I haven't thought about it enough to form an opinion about the compilations.
Yellow: I'd say I speak for the band when I say that on the first Tony Wreckage comp. we appeared on ("Goth Oddity- A Tribute to David Bowie) we felt very estranged from the other groups on the album, with some exceptions. But it wasn't until the voluminous European comp. appearances occurred that we fully realized our incongruence with the rest of the current scene. We seem to be a lot closer to the acts on Tony's compilations.
Ascension: What do you think about the American Goth scene, especially the LA/California area Goth scene?
Mik: I stay indoors most of the time.
Yellow: Unless Element is playing.
Ascension: You're one of a few American bands that have played in Europe. What do you think about the European/German scene? What are some differences with the American scene?
Mik: I don't know, I'm in the tour van or the hotel the whole time... Really, though, the scene seems quite fine.
Yellow: Well, yes, it is okay. Especially the preserved '80s hairstyles.
Ascension: You have a lot of fans here in Europe... Have you ever met here someone so strange or crazy that it amazed you?
Mik: It's hard to remember when you're drunk so much.
Yellow: Yeah! In fact, the last time we were in Berlin, I was ambushed by a fellow at the K17 that looked exactly like me. After a couple drinks I don't remember too much except that we ended up in bed together and in the morning we took a long, luxurious shower and then I played a great show that evening in Hannover. Oh, wait...
Ascension: What do you think about festivals like the one in Raben in September (Autumn-nights) or the one in Dornbirn in April/May (2001, the Judgement Day festival)? In Germany there are a lot of festivals during the year, some big (like the M'era Luna) and people come from all over Europe to be there. In Italy the situation is not so good... and in the USA?
Mik: The festivals were fun... but that might be the liquor talking. Everything's fun when you're drunk, man.
Yellow: The Herbstnaechte as well as the Judgement Day festival were really some fo the best experiences we've had so far. I would attribute that to these three reasons: 1. For festivals, they had more moderate venue/attendance sizes. 2. Because of that, our interaction with the crowd can be a LOT more personal. 3. We find that the overall energy at the festival does not exceed our own capacities while drunk/underslept/terrified of the architectural specs of the buildings we play in.
Bonzo: The USA has two big festivals that I'm aware of. GothCon and Convergence. And actually, Convergence is going to be in Canada for 2002, I think. None of us have ever been to either of them.
Lucas: I have! Oh, wait. No, I haven't.
Ascension: Are you planning a new European tour? Some ideas to touch Italy? (I hope so, personally...)
Bonzo: Yeah, I'd like to send the troupe overseas again in early 2002. And I hope a visit to Italy can be arranged!
Yellow: No, never again.
Ascension: What do you want to say to the Italian readers who don't know CINEMA STRANGE?
Mik: It would be quite fine if you bought our album.
Bonzo: Yeah, that would be great. And please join the Cinema Strange army: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/cinemastrange
Yellow: We were asked this question once before by an Italian publication. But at the risk of sounding redundant, my words to the Italian reader would be: "Viva Fellini!"