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Interview with Kliff
McBurtney of Beatallica
September 2008 by Metal Mark |
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What do you get when you cross the Beatles and
Metallica? Well, in this case the answer is Beatallica the band who
combines songs by the two artists mentioned above. A joke band they
may be, but they have been going for seven years and have knocked a
couple of EPs and the full length "Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreat Pub
Band". I recently interview bassist Kliff McBurtney to learn more
about this band.
Tell us a little about the history of your band.
Kliff McBurtney, Lead Bassist here. I thought it best to give
you the Wikipedia synopsis: The project was founded in 2001 by
original guitarist "Krk Hammetson" and singer "Jaymz Lennfield". The
EP A Garage Dayz Nite was recorded for the annual Spoof Fest concert
held in Milwaukee, as a memento of that year's concert. A few dozen
copies of the EP were handed out to friends. Later that year, one of
those CDs made its way to Milwaukee resident David Dixon, who
created a web page that included mp3s of the songs and named the
band "Beatallica". The band was unaware of the webpage until Dixon
finally met them in the summer of 2002, carrying a stack of fan
emails from all around the world. Beatallica gave the webpage its
blessings, and after further urgings from its internet fanbase,
recorded the EP Beatallica, also known as The Grey Album, releasing
it online on April 1, 2004. Later in 2004, the band (including
bassist "Kliff McBurtney" and drummer "Ringo Larz") started to
perform at live venues nationally and internationally, with a stage
show incorporating elements from both Beatles and Metallica
performances. They also played as an opening act for Dream Theater;
Mike Portnoy even joined the band on stage for drums on one
occasion. Beatallica would go on to perform with likes of Motorhead,
Testament, Kreator, Sepultura, LA Guns and play huge summer
festivals worldwide, including Milwaukee's Summerfest, Germany's
Earthshaker Festival, The Netherlands' Kings of Metal festival, and
Korea's Busan International Rock Festival. In 2007, the band's
current line-up of Jaymz Lennfield (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Grg
Hammetson (lead guitar), Kliff McBurtney (lead bass, backing vocals)
and Ringo Larz (drums) went into the studio to re-record many of Krk
and Jaymz' original songs and write some new compositions for their
official debut Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band. May 2008,
marked the release of Beatallica's single; All You Need Is Blood
recorded in 13 languages as a worldwide thank-you to the network of
Beatallica fans known as Beatallibangers. The band added Belgium,
Czech Republic, and Poland to the list of places they have toured.
So what are you currently up to? Have you
begun working on any new material?
This Summer marked the Japanese Sony release of both Sgt. Hets, and
All You Need Is Blood. We are currently working on album #2, whose
name I can't divulge at this time due to legal concerns. |
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You
released “Sgt Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band” back in 2007. What
was the reaction to it?
Nothing but good news on that front. Everyone seems to enjoy the
reworked, mastered tunes, as well as the new material on that album.
The original release even went to #1 on the Japanese Tower records
charts, prompting the Sony re-release.
Did you ever get anyone who just didn’t get
what you were doing or were angry with what you were trying to do?
Jaymz (Lennfield) keeps a folder of all the hate mail and threats
that we get sent to us. As of yet none have followed through. As a
precaution though I have taken up Kung Fu to kick anyone's ass who
tries to start shit.
What are some your favorite tracks off of your
“Sgt. Hetfield’s” album? Why?
I always say that my favorite track is the Bass solo, primarily
because no one else will. That segment of our live show allows me to
creep inside our |
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fans' brains a
little and lets me showboat a bit. Beyond that I would have to say
Cthulu for its creepy coolness, and Sgt. Hets/and the Reprise for
the tight vocal harmonies.
I believe most or all or most of you are in
other bands as well as this one. So what other bands is everyone in
and what kind of music do they play?
Jaymz is in several, mostly Irish trad and Celtic rock ensembles.
Grg is in an original rock band called Crumpler. Ringo, while not
currently in another project, has played in various prog-metal
groups. As for myself, (Kliff) I am with a punk group called The
Crusties and also bassist for God in my church's Praise Team.
Samples of all of these can be heard on our site,
www.beatallica.org
Is Beatallica the main project for everyone is
everyone just trying to balance all their projects at the same time?
Beatallica has grown to be some kind of monster starting from its
humble joke beginnings to becoming an internationally touring
outfit. We try to balance our lives as best we can under those
circumstances.
Do your consider yourself a tribute band, a
comedy/joke band or just a rock or metal band? Or all of the above?
Why or why not?
I would say we are a rock/metal, comedy/joke, duo-tribute band. Or
in other words the world's first Bash-up band. We do it for the love
of both the Beatles and Metallica, and for the fans who won't let it
go away.
So what should someone who comes to see you
live expect?
I like to thrust my bass bayonet in fans' faces if they aren't
thrashing hard enough. They should expect to come have a good time,
drink a few beers, and have a laugh while jamming to cool tunes.
Do you use any props or much of a set?
Our props have been slowly disintegrating since our inception but
there are gravestone crosses, a submarine, and I'm trying to sew
back together the black meanie hand of doom. Those and more costume
changes with each release keep us pretty busy moving shit around. |
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What bands have you played with?
Dream Theater, Testament, Motorhead, Clutch, Los Straightjackets,
The Hidden Hand, The Punkles, OmegalorD, and many many more than I
can list right now.
What have been some of your memorable shows so
far in your career?
Earthshaker fest in Germany, The Busan International Rock fest in
Korea, Kings Of Metal festival in the Netherlands, Summerfest right
here in our own hometown - Milwaukee, playing BB Kings' and the
Bowery Ballroom in New York, to name a few.
What are your thoughts on “Death Magnetic”?
Thanks to Metallica for giving us more ammunition, I call it job
security. It is nice to hear a return to their heavier sound, but
they should have included a Death Magnetic magnet with it.
If you could only listen to three albums over the next month then
what would you pick and why?
Currently in my ipod playlist rotation are Adagio out of France,
Symphony X out of New Jersey, and Learn to Speak Japanese. The first
two because I really enjoy the balls out awesomeness of technical
prog-metal bands like that. The last because Beatallica is hoping to
make it over to Japan in the not too distant future.
Is there anything else that you would like to
say about your band or your music?
Come visit us on Beatallica. org or myspace/beatallica. Sign up on
our forum and say hello to all the other Hybrid Children of the
world. Come see us, and bang that head that doesn't bang when we
come to your town!!! Then get us a beer, thrashing makes us
thirsty!!!
Cheers, Kliff McBurtney
www.myspace.com/beatallica |
www.beatallica.org |
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