Rob: How did EXP get their start?
Nico: First of all hello everybody. E.X.P. did start in the late 1998 by the union of two brothers (me and Luca) with 2 musicians. Names are not important, it’s much more important to let everybody know that E.X.P. is an intergalactic congress’ project runnin’ since the end of the 2nd millennium. The congress decided to put an Operative Fuzz Center on the planet, It might have been a connection between humanity and the congress, so it is. All the musicians playin’ at E.X.P. incarnate the congress presence on the planet, they communicate with the world throughout sonic vibrations. In this way all those who cares about joy, happiness and positive states of mind they get the opportunity to know the way to join the interstellar fluxes of life power, it’s called E.X.P. into human language.
Rob: What is the scene like in Italy?
Nico: Maybe you mean the heavy psych scene, so I can say that maybe there’s no scene at all. In a couple of words, there are several good bands such as: UFOMAMMUT, OJM, VORTICE CREMISI, SKYWISE, TAF...one great indie label called Beard of Stars, but it’s very difficult to play gigs around here, clubs don’t want to pay honest fees and the musical press is so fucking trendy. Anyway many people are starting to realize something good is happening around them, I trust the situation could improve.
Rob: What are some of the other bands you guys like in your area/country?
Nico: The bands I mentioned before plus Uzeda, Bellini (a side project of Giovanna and Agostino of Uzeda), the mighty jazz trio of Zu, our r’n’r bros Negrita. Maybe a couple of bands more got the right to be add to my list, but I really can’t remember them now, I’m sorry.
Rob: How often do you guys practice a week and where? and how does the songwriting take place? Like who writes the songs and how?
Nico: Ok, we got our practice space in Siena at the ex sanitarium of the city. The place has been renamed la Corte dei Miracoli, here we also built a live music space where we play gigs with bands friend of us. It’s not a club, just an open space where anybody can listen to good music for free, drink some low piece good beer and smoke its own weed. Usually we practice from a couple of day ‘to 4/5 days in a week. I in person write the most part of E.X.P. songs and lyrics. They’re inspired by different kind of experiences. For example Supa Vacuum Cleaner is a sort of a hallucinating trip I did readin’ an article about the void in the universe on a science journal, Tripscapes is the sonic materialization of one Allen Ginsberg poetry...anyway women are the best source for my creativity, tons of E.X.P. songs are dedicated to female lovely acid sweetness.
Rob: Do you guys play out much?
Nico: As I said, it’s very difficult play live in Italy. We usually play out 5/6 gigs in a month if we’re not touring.
Rob: Any upcoming tours in the works?
Nico: We’re working to release a European tour on the next springtime. By now, we decided to play just around middle Italy area ‘coz we’re really busy to prepare our first full length album and we got no time to tour at the moment.
Rob: What are some of the influences musically that is common among the band members?
Nico: It’s very difficult to reply this question ‘coz each one in the band is into different stuff. Me and my bro Luca we live at the same house, so we got a lot of common listening, overall 60’s/70’s stuff from jazz to beat garage, from Grateful Dead to the Heads. Luca Tanzini is definitely into heavy psych stuff. Jacopo is into elektronica, r’n’r and indie. Federico loves 70’s bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and 90’s bands like Soundgarden. We spend a lot of time in the same places, so often we listen to the same cds. This is the way we have common listening. In this period, we everybody love “Songs for the Deaf”, this is the most common listening among us.
Rob: A lot of people hate the term stoner rock...what do you think of the genre, the name and the band scene in general ?
Nico: I think it’s just a conventional way to realize something we are talkin’ about. We don’t hate to be considered as a stoner rock band. My name’s Nico but the word “Nico” isn’t me. I think a name it’s just a word we add to something else we need to describe. I also have to say that I consider positive each way to unification, so if one word like “stoner rock” can get the power to unify different people (bands, musicians, fans, writers, promoters, ordinary guys...), I definitely think “stoner rock” it’s ok for me.
Rob: Do you guys use the internet and how has it helped spread the word about EXP?
Nico: We are not full time web surfers, but I have to admit the net is a great instrument to do what we want to do (to get and keep contacts, information, to spread the band name, the let the world know we exist...).
Rob: Where did the name come from? Hendrix?
Nico: E.X.P. is a mystic truth. If you just speak the word, you suddenly will improve your sex appeal! All this happens ‘coz you receive energy from the supafuzzous unity power source directly in this way.
Rob: How old are the members in your band? Any of you married with children?
Nico: No, anybody is married or got sons. I’m 29, Luca 27, Jacopo 26, Luca Tanzini 31, Federico 27,
Rob: What is the agenda for EXP? What qualifies an EXP song as an EXP song and what is your overall outlook and aspirations as a band?
Nico: Hopefully We’ll enter studio on December to jam our first full length album. It’ll be one big, long trip throughout alchemical wisdom. The music will run straight ahead for over 70 minutes. Ideally the album will be divided in 4 musical sessions connected to the 4 colours of the alchemical process toward the philosophal stone: black, white, yellow and red. Each one of these it will have a visual dimension on stage. When the album will come out E.X.P. will play 4 gigs in 4 magic places, each place and gig will represent a colour and a particular moment of the process. After, all the following gigs will be booked in order to represent a circle running between 1 (black) and 4 (red). The sound will be heavier and more psychotrippin’ than ever, all the fuzz and acid psychedelic doing’ a song one E.X.P. song will be contained. Check it out and you’ll be not disappointed!
Rob: Here is the part of the interview that we at StonerRock.com call 13 stupid questions...if you weren’t a rocker, what would you most like to be?
Nico: a Latin lover for sure!
Rob: What was your worst gig and why? What was your best gig and why?
Nico: The worst gig we ever did it was last year at one club I can’t remember the name (I’m not politically correct, I really forgot its) in the north Italy. The promoters did pay us ½ of the fee, but the ugliest thing it was there were no girls at all and we’ve gotta pay for drinkin’! The best one it’ll be the next one and the next again....
Rob: top three movies, books and albums of all time?
Nico: Movies: all those my mind have produced in 29 years of a human life!
Books: Douglas Adam’s hitchhikers guide, H.G.Wells’ time machine, a cook book I received from my parents.
Album: E.X.P.’s Pachamama, the STOOGES’ 1st album, GREATFUL DEAD’s Anthem of the Sun.
Rob: how often do you surf the net and what do you mostly do while online?
Nico: Not so often, I don’t like stay home for a long time. When I’m on line I check new friends out and promote E.X.P. overall.
Rob: what is your favourite city and venue to play, and why?
Nico: It’s a city called fuzztown, 2 parsec on the left of Orion, on a planet called supaLǥ. Why? It’s difficult to explain, I fear don’t exist words to explain these perceptions happening outside this planet atmosphere ..your mind and your have to be at one E.X.P. materialization on your planet, this is the only way for you to understand.
Rob: what is the most rock `n` roll thing you’ve ever done?
Nico: Me and god talking of doom scene and iconography while Jerusalem was in the air and a cup of magic tea in our hand. .
Rob: What’s the most rock `n` roll thing you’ve seen someone else do?
Nico: god and and the Masticator Of Frequencies (MOF) eatin’ 2 big atomic mushrooms during the 2nd world war on this planet.
Rob: what`s your worst "bad trip" story?
Nico: God and MoF’s digestion after they ate those big ‘shroom!
Rob: What’s the most painful thing you have ever witnessed at a rock show?
Nico: when I was walkin’ with my feet naked on a wet stage handin’ cables while we was jamming delirium. I still can’t believe I’m still alive, I was one step to be electrocuted!
Rob: how old were you when you first realize you wanted to rock?
Nico: it did happen 4 or 5 life’s ago when I was livin’ on Saturn and I was a rock.
Rob: what`s the most embarrassing job you ever had?
Nico: To cure god and MoF after the ‘shrooms effects did hang over ...
Rob: what`s your favourite ice cream flavour?
Nico: The pangalactic tutti-frutti of course!
Rob: if you could date any rock star dead or alive in the world, who would it be?
Nico: Definitely J. Cipollina and J. Garcia still alive.
Rob: Movie star?
Nico: I really don’t know, I just love movie in my head, all the stars are forever alive and dead inside there.
Rob: what would be the ultimate dream gig of all time line-up be, with your band opening? Limit to three bands please (including your own...) and where?
Nico: We already played on the Fungal Planet with a lot of intergalactic guest star. It was cool, I really don’t dream anything more.
Rob: Any last thoughts for the StonerRock.com community?
Nico: I think that women and men might produce more love and more satisfying sexual activities. I think we everybody might to find the power source inside us. I think we everybody might to spend our energy to have more fun. I think I don’t need drug to be happy. I think a real kiss is more powerful than an artificial state of consciousness. I think that an artificial state of consciousness is funny. Everyday I think about all the girls I kissed in my life. Everynite I think about all the girl I’d love to kiss and I’ll kiss. I think I love them everybody. I think my guitars love them too. I think I’d love to kiss all the girls reading these words. I think that someone of them is thinking this all sounds very freaky man chauvinism, but I don’t care and I wish to kiss you the same. I think I can go on for a very long time with my thoughts, so I think it’s much better you stop me, Rob. Thank you, you’re a friend. E.X.P. Operative Fuzz Center: www.expsupafuzz.com e mail: lefantexp@hotmail.com
