What do you get when you combine a deserted drag strip, the El Paso roller derby team, the Hard Knocks Car Club, a hard rock band with a frontman in grandmother garb and some of the finest talent from Jaguars Gentlemen’s Club?
“A 12-hour party to behold,” says the aforementioned grandmother, Granny from Granny 4 Barrel. “There’s a huge shout out in order to Ricks Cabaret, our manager Bob Chiappardi and Hector and Alex over at Jaguars.”
The 12-hour fete was the filming of the music video for “Nitro Sexy”, Granny 4 Barrel’s latest single. Granny 4 Barrel touts itself as a neo-Victorian shock rock nightmare, a hybrid of metal rock.
ED spoke with Granny to find out how tech-savvy she is (she’s very active on Facebook), how she got her sense of showmanship, and of course, the band’s newest single “Nitro Sexy” which features the most fun music video Granny has ever had filming!
ED: Granny is pretty active on Facebook — how much time do you find yourself devoting to social media as a means of self-promotion? Is it a separate job unto itself?
GRANNY: I guess you could say it is a second full-time job LOL! I mean most of the social media time I spend is on my iPhone … I checked my usage recently and I’ve added an additional five hours to my day! It’s all good and I thoroughly enjoy it. Any person that’s good enough to spend the time and leave a comment deserves the courtesy of a response back. Plus that’s how you get to know your friends better. It’s one of the primary ways that everyone communicates these days. I love it!
ED: I saw a Facebook post from a few days ago that said “stay tuned” as far as upcoming tour dates, so any news you can share on upcoming tour dates?
GRANNY: Oh yes! We have a show on July 30 in New York City at Bowery Electric! The show starts around 7 p.m. and is going to kick major ass! Granny and the boys are going to be melting faces with some brand new material as well as some Granny 4 Barrel favorites! Also, we have a fall tour planned. It’s in the works nothing specific yet.
ED: In our last interview, you mentioned you “never forget this is an entertainment business” but I’m curious how you learned that lesson?
GRANNY: Since I am old school and enjoy many bands from the past, I guess you could say that’s one of the places I learned about the true value of entertainment. I mean, back in the day when you went to see a band, from the start of the show to the end of the show — the clothing, the music, the stage show was all meant to transport an individual into another dimension. I’ve always enjoyed that concept and artistic approach. I know that music lovers appreciate this as well!
I feel like the people in the audience deserve the artists’ best work on all fronts. That means they expect good music and an otherworldly experience. That’s what you get with Granny 4 Barrel and that will never change!
ED: Live shows are a huge part of your experience so how will “Nitro Sexy” fit into your setlist as far as live performances? (Not necessarily when you’re playing it, but how thematically it fits)
GRANNY: We established early on that “Nitro Sexy” was a beast of a song, so we decided to close the show with it every night. We book end that fucker by having our violin player “The Maestro” do some major shredding before the song starts and then bookend it on the backside with an extended ending. “Nitro Sexy” is the perfect song to complete the set and send all the rock ‘n’ roll children home with their hearts full and their ears ringing! Thematically it fits in because it’s fast, it’s sexy and powerful. You can’t go wrong.
Back in the day when you went to see a band, from the start of the show to the end of the show — the clothing, the music, the stage show was all meant to transport an individual into another dimension. I’ve always enjoyed that concept and artistic approach. — Granny, Granny 4 Barrel
ED: Can you talk about how Jaguars got onboard for the video and what it was like to have their talent work with yours?
GRANNY: There’s a huge shout out in order to Ricks Cabaret, our manager Bob Chiappardi and Hector and Alex over at Jaguars. Bob explained our need to have some beautiful women be part of our video. They were happy to oblige and sent us Arianna Barriero, Timber Lyn Hollands and Voodoo! Go watch the video, you can’t miss them. They were lovely!
ED: StripJointsMusic.com services gentlemen’s clubs nationwide and gets music out to their DJs, so why would “Nitro Sexy” be a great song to get played at gentlemen’s clubs across the U.S.?
GRANNY: The song at its foundation is primal! It’s fast, sexy, powerful, a little bit angry and of course fun. I think it’s the perfect addition to the evening’s agenda. People immediately feel the high-octane adrenaline that runs through this song. It’s a celebration of some of the best parts of life! Put the throttle down and crank that motherfucker up!
