ROCKULUS MAXIMUS INTERVIEW WITH LUKE OF ULYSSES MAY 2013

ULYSSES- Psychedelic Power Popster Pandemonium
Ulysses the band talk to The Dedicated Rocker Society Magazine USA
interview by The Dedicated Rocker Society

UK indie rockers Ulysses Luke Smyth (Vocals / Guitars)Julyan Wells-Cathedral (Bass / Vox)Tom Sartoryal (Guitars / Percussion / Vox) and Shane Maxymus (Drums / Vox) released ‘Everybody’s Strange’ in 2011 with the explosive opening number “Eye On You”. These guys were taking classic rock, glam and power pop to a wholenother level. Now with their latest release ‘Kill You Again’ the guys are
shooting for the stratosphere and beyond. Sometimes dark, sometimes funny, sometimes over the top and sometimes sunny, these guys bring the whole kit and caboodle of songs and production all wrapped up tightly in a package worth
presenting. If you tune in and drop out with an open mind, your ears will take you on a trip far and beyond anything thing you could imagine. We caught up with Ulysses and asked them some questions;

DRS: Thanks guys for taking the time and we are truly enjoying the CD. So tell us, how you guys got together and what your main goal was for the band.

Luke(Vocals / Guitar): No problem man - appreciate the opportunity! Well, I’ve been doing musical things with Jules for a long time now in various forms, we met through rival bands on the scene, that sort of thing. Shared a girl or two too probably! Tom & Shane came on board more recently, having become available from other bands that were winding down - we’d been admiring them from a distance for a while. Our only goal really was a shared love of kicking ass with
great songs & having fun & camaraderie - we have a Beatle-esque chemistry even, when all four of us get together, mixed with an us versus the world ‘f*ck you’ attitude!

DRS: Was there any difference in recording ‘Kill You Again’ from the last CD?

Jules (Bass): We wanted to get more of the live can’t-keep-a-lid-on-it madness in there this time, so some of the backing tracks might be from the first evening Luke presented a new song to the rest of the band, totally live, no headphones, guitar amps in the same room as the drums - so spill everywhere, with most of the guitar solos being done then too so it’s all glued in there &
then, with no going back, even though there’s a bit of a production job going on afterwards with the vocals & overdubs etc.

DRS: Could you list your influences and what you drew from each band?

Luke: Paul McCartney is a biggie for me, solo & with The Beatles - tunes, experimentation, eclecticism, bullishness. The Black Crowes in the Marc Ford-era for the mystic bad ju-ju psychedelic soul trippy-ness. David Bowie for pretty much the same reasons as Macca but with added cross-dressing!

DRS: Have you guys ever played in the U.S if not when can we see you?

Tom(Guitar): Shane played drums in Las Vegas with an Elvis impersonator - it was the highlight of his wedding trip so he told us!
Luke: Not played in the U.S. yet alas, there was talk of us coming over to Long Beach to do a social thing and a couple of shows as well at some point with Rival Sons but when they might be free I don’t know - one day!

DRS: What was it like touring with our (L.A.) very own Rival Sons?

Shane(Drums): Amazing! Rival Sons are a true Rock ‘N’ Roll band & really great guys. We had a lot of fun with the band and the fans, plus all the shows were sold-out - couldn’t have asked for more!

DRS: Do you guys ever play any covers if so what are they?

Shane: On special occasions we’ll bust out a cover for a friend’s birthday like The Faces’ ‘Stay With Me’ & as we’re playing The Cavern in Liverpool tonight for the International Pop Overthrow Festival we thought it’d be fun to pull out ‘The End’ by The Beatles with the drum solo into the three rotating guitar solos into
our last number ‘Eye On You’ as a special tribute.

DRS: Not only is your music fun, but so are your videos and you keep pumping them out. Who is the brains behind the videos?

Jules: I tend to put the videos together, me and the boys use our own secret bunker to film them, then I put them into my magic machine at my El Greco Films laboratory.
Luke: Our very own bass player extraordinaire Jules is the evil mastermind behind our videos, we do a bit of to-ing & fro-ing between us but mainly it’s his own mad genius, I don’t think he even really realizes how good he is at it. More videos on the way too!

DRS: We assume you tour in a van or bus, what do you guys listen to in your spare time?
Luke: We’ve been listening to a lot of Spirit recently in the bus, Black Crowes ‘Southern Harmony’, McCartney 2, Julian Cope ‘Fried’ is a fave too & a compilation of songs from The Singing Detective TV series - all second world war era or pre stuff, The Rutles is always on at some point, especially if we’re going to Liverpool(!),
Tom: Don’t forget the old Marlboro Man tape - we can’t listen to it any more as the love bus has gon e digital.

DRS: How do you think we can get people to hear your music here in the States?

Luke: I’m not sure really - spread the word, get it to some grass roots DJs, tell a big band that would like us about us so they can mention us in their press that sort of thing I guess - any help gladly received!
Tom: We want a Ulysses cover band to do an open top bus tour in every state and on every street corner showering the crowds with signed photographs and lyric sheets so they can sing along when we visit.

DRS: What has been the greatest point of your career so far and what’s your main goal for the rest of 2013?

Luke: Highlights for me so far were the Rival Sons tours (Leeds in particular was a blast), Llama Festival 2010, IPO Liverpool each year, meeting fellow minded individuals out there, be they other bands like Rival Sons, Magic Tractor, The Muggs, or music fanatics, getting a biggie on the press front when they really get it, getting this album out!

Main goal for 2013 is to build on what we’ve done so far, we need to get on another tour with a big band, hopefully getting to Italy and Spain later in the year. Plans are already afoot for the next album too!

DRS: Any parting words for your fans in the U.S. and worldwide?

Luke: All I can say is thank you to anybody who’s bought the album, shown us support, had a chat, asked us to play with them, asked to cover us in a mag, got in touch - no-one can expect mansions & limos anymore - the joy is in the meeting new people, the experiences & the work.Anyone who’s sharing in the vision - long may we all reign together!!!

THANKS GUYS..
We’d like to thank Luke and the blokes from Ulysses for taking the time to chat with us for The Dedicated Rocker Society. Take our advice, if you’re looking for something new, true and out of the blue, then take a ride with Ulysses by picking up their latest, ‘Kill You Again’ the follow up to 2011′s ‘Everybody’s Strange’. Check out their FB page and tell them The Rocker and The Atomic
Chaser sent ya!
- The Dedicated Rocker Society

for more info on Ulysses, please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/ulyssesgb