Location: Rock Cafe / Postojna / Slovenia
Interview date: 03.12.2009
Miha Narobe is the drummer of the up-and-coming new-wave groove rockers FlySpoon. On stage, these guys come across as a tightly focused crew of five musicians who knew from the get-go what they wanted and where they were headed. They build on the solid backing of a massive wall of sound made of smeared, heavily distorted guitar noise, which is cut through on one side by a furious rhythm line and on the other by the phenomenal, rugged, “grunge”-tinged vocals of singer Jani Premužič, whose raw destructive power convincingly brings emotions to life.
After the gig in Postojna on 03.12.2009, part of the “Epic RockLine Contest” (RockLine report HERE), the band sent us a cheerful Miha for the interview. With his good cheer and constant smile, he honestly seemed to have loads of adrenaline left over even after the show, and he could have drummed another 40 minutes without any trouble if the band had had them.
RockLine: First, the typical question. How come you decided to take part in the Epic RockLine Contest?
Miha: Well, at this stage any chance to play is more than welcome for Flyspoon. It’s a new experience for us. We pick up experience with every single gig. We also heard from musician friends that this place, Rock Cafe here in Postojna, is one of the best in Slovenia as far as the club scene goes.
RockLine: How long have you Flyspoon guys been playing together, and what’s your basic guiding principle when you write songs together? Where do you draw inspiration from?
Miha: The band’s been around for three years. With the lineup we have right now, we’ll hit two years next month. We’re united by similar musical views. Honestly, every one of us wanted to be a musician since we were kids. And when we’re together, it just works. Songs get written, things keep moving. You can feel it at gigs too, that we complement each other, that we click.
RockLine: What are the common denominators that bring you together musically? What’s the bare minimum that defines the common language and the goal you’re chasing?
Miha: Each of us had the drive to get as much force and energy as possible out of ourselves. As an individual. Personally, I see it like this: as a person I’ve got some inner rhythm that beats at full power and wants to cross over into reality. One way I pour that into reality is expressing myself through playing drums. We in Flyspoon aren’t half-measure guys. Whatever we take on, we go all in. In our sound we strive to hit the energetic maximum. To push it to certain limits. Our rehearsals, not just the gigs, are insanely energetic. Our basic motive is to dig out that so-called “tribal” rhythm, or in other words a primitive rhythm, and express it on stage. There we try to freely let that inner rhythm inside us lead the way. Sometimes it happens that a cymbal cracks because of it, heh, heh, heh…
RockLine: Was the competition from Spleen here in Postojna tonight extra motivation to squeeze out your maximum?
Miha: To be honest, I’d only listened to them for the first time recently on MySpace, and today I met them officially too. The guys and the girl from Spleen are great people and a great team on stage.
RockLine: You and them. A joint mini tour of Slovenia. What do you say?
Miha: Exactly. That would be awesome. Otherwise, what drove us on today was friendly motivation. Just like for us, music means everything to Spleen too. For me tonight, that was the main motivator during the set.
RockLine: You as a musician. What’s your taste in music?
Miha: As a kid I was first bewitched by Queen. They’ve got a special rhythm, and Mercury’s vocals in particular. That combination completely pulled me in. Later I jumped over to punk, Sex Pistols and so on… then a phase with Nirvana and Pearl Jam… I remember how I couldn’t go to the Pearl Jam concert in Ljubljana in 2000. My parents wouldn’t let me go. That hurt so badly that I couldn’t listen to Pearl Jam for quite a few months afterwards. After that crisis I came back to them and they hit me over the head even harder. From then on Pearl Jam have been a huge inspiration. They approach it with passion, and the energy they erupt with on stage still attracts me incredibly today. Basically, I’m drawn to any band that puts a ton of energy out on stage. Energy seems to me an essential ingredient of musical expression. And also when you’re say, part of a band. When you’re part of the band, there’s no better feeling than sharing this energy, actually the energy created by people on the same wavelength, connected by the same “groove”, enjoying that energy. They create it and take it in. They’re driven by it.
RockLine: What I’ve heard myself thrills me. You come across as distinctive, different and fresh. You’re definitely heralds of some new wave, a new musical movement, in Slovenia. You’re modern.
Miha: Really? Thanks. You know what surprises me most about the whole thing? Exactly that, when lots of people tell me there’s no band like us in Slovenia yet. Obviously we know how to spark interest with our approach, and that strengthens us and gives us extra motivation and faith in the goal.
RockLine: What are the next plans for Flyspoon?
Miha: It’s not long since we put out our first EP. And of course, gigs. Early December we play in Novo mesto, in January we’re playing in Graz, Austria, in February Ljubljana “drops”, and for the summer we’re already scouting for good ground for gig dates. We’re on a roll. Recently we showed up at a club marathon where lots of bands played, and we felt really good there. And you know what? I noticed this band literally grows at gigs. I wasn’t always convinced of that, I used to think: “But it’s the same all the time!” But it isn’t. There’s a difference between rehearsing in the room and playing a gig. At a gig you give even more.
RockLine: Do you feel more confident after every gig you play with Flyspoon?
Miha: Not so much confidence as the fact that before a show I don’t feel any nerves anymore, I just feel how pumped I am with adrenaline and I’m just waiting for us to sink our teeth into the songs.
RockLine: Where and how did you learn to drum?
Miha: My brother plays drums. I watched him play a lot. I even watched him when he was just practicing with sticks in his hands, without drumming. So it happened that I once stole his sticks and drummed on pillows, and even on his drums when he wasn’t around, in secret. The whole thing kept getting more fun and more attractive. When I came home from school and my parents weren’t home yet, I’d quickly grab a cassette, shove it into the stereo and swing the sticks in the air to the rhythm of the music. Two hours a day. The days added up to one year, then two. At the same time, my horizon was opening up. I can’t even explain how. Later a friend let me practice on his drums.
RockLine: As if it was meant for you?
Miha: Yes. I have to admit I’m really lucky in that respect. I enjoy it. It’s in me. The primary thing. And also when I watch people who come into contact with the instrument itself. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t at least get a little “itchy”, who wouldn’t sit down at the drums and try out how it goes. Obviously we all carry a primal bond with rhythm inside us.
photos: Mojca Perdih
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