Reading the dead man´s diary with The Spook

Firstly, introduce yourself to our readers

- Hello, here is Ross Feratu, one of the guitar players of THE SPOOK.
I also do the computer and manager parts in the band,
do the layouts and graphics and keep an eye on our websites and myspace-site.
Sounds really busy - so it is!

The Spook has been around for awhile, tell us briefly about your history?

- Well to tell a long story in some sentences: we started back in 1999
to write our first songs. We did NOT cover any MISFITS songs "to learn" about horrorpunk.
We did our own stuff right from the beginnig. We recorded 4 Songs for two demotapes.
Each sold 150 times and after that we did a split 7" with those dudes from Frankenstein Drag Queens.
This 7" was sold out in quickly, too.

Then in early 2000 we get in contact with André and People Like You Records and we did an MCD/10" and later in 2002 we releases our CD/LP on PLY Records.
Then we get rid of bad things: we fired our singer out of quality and personal reaseons.
We found Dean Roca in early 2004 and started writing new songs for some compilations and 7"es.
In mid-2005 we changed our drummer and got Vic Chains, the man with the hardest punch in Gravelands, and start preparing for our next album.
We wrote about 15 songs and in April/May 2006 we entered the studio and recorded new 13 songs with a little help of Mille (KREATOR), who co-produced the album.
In June/July Andy Sneap got the data and mixed and pre-mastered the whole stuff.
It sounds awesome, man! Right now we are looking for a new and better and more honest label.
We are dealing with several labels and by the end of this year we hopefully can reveal a official release date of "LET THERE BE DARK".

What made you take the name Spook?

- Well, the name THE SPOOK was some kind of the best name we thought of back in those days.
We had a lot of suggestions for a name but we took THE SPOOK,
which is still the best to our opinion.

Tell us more about the term GRAVEROCK?

- The term GRAVEROCK for us is more or less our own music style.
We are not only punkrock, not only metal and not only rock.
Our lyrics are dealing with magick, death, love, heaven and hell - so there need to be more than just plain Horrorpunk.
We love to call our music GRAVEROCK for it gives us all a wider range of options for development.
We can unfold more creativity and there are less limits for us.
I mean, we are writing songs for seven years now, we cannot and will not do the same on every album.

From what I´ve understood, The Spook were recording and mastering a new
album last summer, how is this project coming along?

- All recordings are done and mixing, too. Only the final master will be done soon - as soon as we fixed the deal with a new label.
We are ready to release, we want to tour again in 2007 - all over Europe!

What can fans expect?

- Fans can expect 10 to 13 songs of stunning GRAVEROCK!
We have some fast songs, some mid-tempo songs and one or two slower songs.
All are full of power, melodies, grooves and melancholy.
The songs are more developed and structured than the ones from the "Some Like It Dead" album.
I mean, there are three years between those albums.
It's a normal process for a band.

Any plans for touring and possibly coming to Finland?

- We will definitely tour in 2007.
If the album is doing great in Europe we will tour Scandinavia for sure!
We need a good distribution and booking agency but after all we will come to Finland, too!!
We have several fans in Finland, as we know from all the feedbacks.

From the studios to the next question, about songwriting, any special rituals or places to get you going?

- No, not anything special. Mostly we write the basics of the songs with three or four band members down in our rehearsal chambers.
Anyone who is having a great idea, riff or hookline for a song throws in that part and we start playing and jamming.
After that we collect the best parts and build a good song-structure.
We try out several ideas and we work on the songs again and again until we have the final version and all of us are pleased.

Let´s talk about influences, what/who have influenced you the most?

- Well, there are a lot of influences. Mainly each one of us has different influences.
So I can only talk of myself: Glenn Danzig, Rob Zombie, NIN, Manson, Entombed,
Faith No More, Glucifer, All, Black Flag, Bad Brains, John Zorn and a lot more!

This is the question I always have to ask, favourite horror movies?

- Okay, here you go: House Of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Reject, Alien 1-4, Dracula, Frankenstein,
The Grudge (asian version), The Others, Shadow of the Vampire ... and lots more.

Following the previous question, what do you think about the hollywood
way of re-making every single old classic horror movie?

- Well, I like some of the ideas, but I do not share interests in movies like the US movies Grudge 1 + 2 and such.
Those movies are more boring and destroy the magick of the original ones.
It seems like all 30 years they are doing remakes of all the classics: like the originals in the 30ies,
then the Hammer productions in the 60ies and 70ies and now the are doing those remakes again.

Back to the Spook´s, what do you expect from the future?

- Well, we want to start with a new label and want to support the record by touring a lot.
We want to do one or two cool video-clips for the album.
We want the album to get cool reviews and lots of promotion and features.
All peaple should hear the new THE SPOOK as there are some more developments that need to be heard!

Coffin is calling, the creepy green light is yours!

- Okay, some final words, right!?
I thank you very much for your engagement and support!
Right now, me and my wife Beccy Lavender (www.beccy.net)
are preparing for our upcoming clothing label called SPOOKABELLA Clothing (www.spookabella.com),
which will only be for the girlz. In JAN 07 we will launch our website incl.
onlineshop, models, music and more.
Make sure, you all check the sites below!! Thank you and creep in touch,
"Let There Be Dark" will soon be out in spring 2007!!

- Ross Feratu

- -
THE SPOOK | Graverock Deluxe
www.thespook.de
www.myspace.com/thespook
- -
SPOOKABELLA Clothing
www.spookabella.com
www.myspace.com/spookabellas

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