MC: It seems like just yesterday when we saw Skeletal Family in NY and last interviewed you, but over three years have passed! What are some of the things that have been happening with SF? How did your 2007 tour go? (The tour shirts are simply awesome, by the way.)

KH: Well we had a bit of a quiet 2006 due to Stan breaking his ankle very badly but in 2007 even though I say so myself we really seemed to catch fire performance wise. We even surprised ourselves. Most of our shows were over in mainland Europe and we’ve had some of the best receptions we’ve ever had. People are digging the new material just as much as the old which has really encouraged us.

MC: How was Bats over Milan? I would simply love to attend this festival!

KH: Bats over Milan was really cool. To be honest it probably wasn’t our best performance of the year that accolade would probably go to the Gothic Festival in Waregem Belgium. It was great to meet some really cool people. The 2 bands that really stood out for me were New Days Delay and of course Bohemien. Saying that however I was impressed by what i saw of the others as well inc Eat your Make up and Stompcrash.

MC: You recently told me that you have started working on the new SF album. How it is going? Will there be any surprises? (Don’t give them away!)

KH: Surprises? Well I suppose to us it will seem like an evolution rather than a revolution. The main thing is we are working so well together these days which is only to be expected as we’ve been together longer now than the first time round!!!

MC: One of the great things about Skeletal Family is that when you reformed, you didn’t just try to cash in on the past, but you went in new directions which built on the past instead of just imitating it. This is not an easy thing to do, and some bands have genuinely tried but weren’t able to succeed. What were some of the key factors in the success of Skeletal family?

KH: Well we never set out to re create the past. We just wanted to get back to doing what we love best which is making music. I suppose a key factor is that we JFDI playing and writing what we want without slavishly trying to follow some blueprint. Lets face it the past is a great place to visit and to learn from but you shouldn’t live there full time.

MC: We had talked about this a bit before: what are some of the challenges that a European band faces when they want to tour North America? What has to ‘come together’ before it can happen?

KH: The sad fact is that for an independent band like us operating on a DIY basis (which is the way we want it!) we have no record label backing and we have to pay our own way. The Atlantic is a damn expensive thing to cross so even if we were to do a show or shows in the USA on a no profit basis any potential promoter would be looking at an outlay of approx 3000 USD just for the flights from the UK. There is also the work permit situation I think that technically the last time we were in NYC we were playing illegally. Bearing in mind that most of us also have full time day jobs there is also the time factor which would prevent us doing a long enough tour to spread the costs.

MC: In the past few years, it’s gotten sort of ridiculous with all of the labeling that people have tried to attach to bands. I suppose it began as a legitimate effort to differentiate between styles, but after a certain point it juts got more confusing as people disagreed over what the labels meant. Some club flyers literally list 15 different genres! I have noticed that more and more bands have eschewed the labels and just call themselves “rock and roll”. What are your thoughts on this whole situation?

KH: Labels - LOL that’s always a good one. We tend to say we’re a band, we don’t even bother with the rock and roll bit. We’re happy for anyone to call us whatever they want. You won’t catch us saying we’re not a goth/deathrock/postpunk band. Yes I agree the labels can be confusing. Just take the term Deathrock which doesn’t mean quite the same thing on different sides of the Atlantic. I do think however that some of these labels are invented just to fuel the vanity of a few people who like to think they’re into a genre inhabited by a selected few chosen ones. Hell I’m probably guilty of it myself, some of the stuff I like even I haven’t heard of it’s so obscure.

MC: I’ve been interviewing bands for about five years now. I have noticed that established and well-known bands are frequently friendlier and more cooperative than relatively unknown bands with just a local following. I would have thought that it would be the opposite. What do you think are some of the reasons for this?

KH: Well I suppose they could be trying to create a mystique about themselves. Personally I regard that attitude as a load of misguided bollocks and you don’t get much more profound than that!

MC: I was just listening to Sakura. What was the inspiration for some of the great riffs on “Nightclubbing”? In a way it reminds me of the late Swing era, especially combined with Claire’s vocals! Also, I had forgotten about your great cover of Devo’s “Gut Feeling”, until it hit me just now like a train that took me right back to the ‘80s. How did you decide to cover that particular song?

KH: Ah well in my younger days I did used to sit in with a local big band playing Ellington, Basie etc on the alto sax. We basically wanted to do a reasonably faithful cover but sleaze it up. The Devo cover was for no other reason than that we like it! Also it’s something we occasionally end a show with if we’re feeling particularly gonzoid that night.

MC: You and I share an interest in History. Besides Richard III, which we’ve discussed at some length, do you have any other historical figures or eras that you are particularly interested in? Here in the US, it seems like most people know or care very little about the past, is it the same way in the UK, or are people more aware of their history?

KH: I’m afraid that most people in the UK are fairly ill informed as well. I’m not an expert on any one era. TBH it all fascinates me at the moment having done some work on my family tree ( I discovered I have 2 cretins and one idiot amongst my family which I take a perverse pride in ) I’m most interested in local history over the last hundred years or so. A lot of it is in danger of being forgotten such as our local dialects. Some of the words I used to use as a child mean nothing to my daughter’s generation and I see farming implements in museums that I’ve actually used. But basically anything that contributes to the story of what we are today!

MC: Is there anything else you’d like to add? Thanks for doing a second interview with us, Karlheinz! Skeletal Family RAWKS!

KH: No problem whatsoever. I’d just like to say we are exploring any avenue available to get back to the states and hopefully one day we’ll do it because we aren’t planning on giving up anytime soon. Best wishes to everyone. K

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