What can I say Exploders, it is not so common here in Italy to deal with four rockers with such a powerful attitude. Maybe because three of them are coming from U.S.A with the clear intention to show us "the way to rock"! Be ready to meet th IItaly based band called Black Cat Nine! Gary (lead vocals, bass guitar), Roy (rhythm guitar) e Andy (lead guitar) answered to our questions!

Hey guys, where, when and how Black Cat Nine was born? Hey, you're American but today you're based in Italy, why did you leave the States to reach our Country?
Gary: I came over here to play some rock and roll, meet a hot Italian babe and to stay out of jail. I met Roy in 1992 through our work in different bands and we shared the same love of 80's hard rock. In 1995 we decided to form our first band Gudhooligan. After a few years, I became disillusioned with the music scene and took a break. Gudhooligan disbanded in 1998 and Roy started Black Cat Nine with Teddy and D.J. Parker. In 2001 I was asked to come back, we carried on with this line-up until 2002 when D.J. left for musical differences, and Andy was asked to join.
Roy: I came over in 1988 for work reasons and loved it so I decided to stay. Black Cat Nine formed in June of 1998, after the demise of Gudhooligan. Teddy and DJ were a perfect pair to work with. We eventually wanted to add a rhythm guitarist and we were really happy to get Gary into the band.

Which are the greatest and the worst aspects of the Italian Rock'n'Roll scene, obviously in comparison with the American one? It's a suicide question…
Gary: In some aspects it is the same. Bands trying to make it in the business, bands just enjoying making music whether it is playing originals or doing covers. The Italian scene has so many possibilities. I think it can be as big as Scandinavia. However, is it so very different in there is no sense of kinship. Motherfuckers always asking you for something. There is always somebody asking for a favour and when you help another band, they never give you one in return.
Roy: Yeah, we have helped a lot of bands, but have received the favour only a couple of times. We just keep rocking and doing our own thing, kicking as much ass as possible. In my opinion, there is no Italian "scene" per se. There a very few quality bands out there. Most think they are better than they are and spend more time on look and packaging than actually writing well arranged songs that people might actually give a fuck about! That is a problem…

Tell us why did you choose a moniker as Black Cat Nine and why did you choose "King Of The Hill" as title of your last work? Is there some hidden sense behind the lines?
Gary: Roy came up with the name so he can best answer that. We chose "King Of The Hill" as the title because Black Cat Nine is the King of the Hill. There are few unsigned bands out there that can put on a rock show like Black Cat Nine. Unless somebody can prove me wrong, we lay claim to the title "King of the Hill".
Roy: D.J. and I must have gone over 500 hundred different ideas for names, but eventually decided on Black Cat Nine, an animal that initially creates fear and has nine lives, a rock that never dies. King of the Hill = Black Cat Nine!

In my opinion with "King of the Hill", you reached a new level of power and straight in the face new sleazy attitude in respect the previous work, but maybe my ears aren't so good! So, which are, in your opinion the biggest differences between your previous work "Genuine Worldshaker" and the new album "King of the Hill"?
Gary:"Genuine Worldshaker" was written with a lot of outside influence. People telling us we need to sound like this band or whoever was the flavor of the week. We went into the sessions for this one with the attitude of "fuck what other people think". We wanted to do a record that we wanted.
Roy: "Genuine Worldshaker" is a record I love. It was just difficult to make. Too much time was spent with the songs and they lost a lot of the original fire they had when we first demoed them. "King Of The Hill" came together really quickly and I love the power we captured.

How does the song-writing mode work in your band? Can you define it as a team cooperation or an individual composition? Who writes the lyrics and who takes care of the arrangements?
Gary: It is a team effort. I'm the riff machine so I usually come up with the initial idea. Then I present it to the other guys and we build on it from there. When we have the basic structure down, we make a crude recording; Roy takes it and adds the lyrics and works on the arrangement. We let him do the words because he is the educated one of the bunch!
Roy: We usually work on a riff idea for a few minutes and if we can't come up with anything right away, we usually dump it. The spark is either there or it is not!!

Is there any song you feel closer to for some reason? Explain us why:
Gary: I like them all but my favourite is "Nothing But Hate". It is powerful and the lyrics hit the mark in their meaning.
Roy: I like "Less Is More" the best. High energy, short and to the point, and a driving tune with a catchy chorus!

Which are the bands or artists that influenced you the most since the beginning of your career? In some song I notice a sort of extra power metalized guitar work attitude (for example, "Nothing But Hate") so I thing that you're not only tied in equal part to old and new hard rock scene! I'm ready to be denied…
Gary: I was influenced by early AC/DC, Kiss, Ted Nugent, Krokus. All of the old school Arena rock in the 80's. When music changed in the 90's, I started to get into the Seattle grunge scene. That's where a little of the new sound has come from in our music.
Roy: Influences…The Sex Pistols, Van Halen, Billy Squier and the Ramones for the muscle and Journey, 38 Special and Night Ranger for the melodies. I also love the heavy stuff…older stuff like Fifth Angel, Death Angel, Exodus, Testament and "90's" Metal/punk bands like Pantera, Machine Head, Pennywise, as well as "The Prodigy"!

I noticed that you have a new guitar player: Andy Tonin replaced DJ Parker. Tell us the reasons of this line-up change. Hey Andy, introduce yourself to our readers; by the way, I think your way to play guitar is totally kick ass!
Roy: D.J. moved to Germany in 2003 for work reasons, so we asked out good friend Andy to join the band to complete the current line-up.
Andy: I'm the only Italian in the band and it is definitely a wild experience playing with these 3 crazy fucking Americans! Thanks! I just try to play works for the songs, taste over notes!

Tell us something more about Nathan Griff at DDRecords, he designed some artworks for your CD, and I really appreciate his graphic creations! You're on the run for long time, tell us about the greatest and the worst Black Cat Nine gig of ever? Describe us what happened!
Roy: Nathan works for a company in Canada and created the design based on our rough input….he does great work! Best gig for me was at Indian's Saloon in Milano, doing a party for the Hells Angels. Cool stage and cool people! Worst would have to be the second Black Cat 9 show we did, before Gary was in the band. We played for 6 people and the bar staff… it sucked ass!
Gary: The best Black Cat 9 gig was the 2001 Born to be Wild Wild Life Run. It's one of the largest bike rallies in Northern Italy. We played in front of 15,000 people. The worst gig is just recently. Played a bar during the summer holiday season and 45 people was there. No vibe in the place and we just could not feel it. All we could do was play and pray it was over soon. God did it suck.

What's the craziest, funniest and most unbelievable thing ever occurred you on tour?
Gary: After a show in Brescia during the tour for Worldshakers, everybody in the place asked us for our autographs. Normally we get 1 or 2 coming up to us afterwards. My hand was sore after signing all those cds!
Roy: Concerning the craziest and most unbelievable, we played a fest near Munich and this female fan wanted us to give her all of our sweaty underwear so she could stay "close to the moment"… it was weird, she was into some insane stuff, plus we had to freeball all the way back home! The funniest was when Gary fell on his ass on stage after jumping up in the air… I couldn't sing for 10 minutes I was laughing so hard!

Hey Gary, I saw one of your gigs in Milan to support "Genuine Worldshakers" release, and I noticed that you spit frequently towards the audience! Tell us the reason why you use to do it.
Gary: I never really spit. It's only water. Our shows are so fucking explosive that I think the crowd may get a little hot and need to cool off a bit!

What are your future plans? I know that you have planned some dates here in Italy, but The Rock Explosion Interviews are read also in U.S.A., so have you some cool news for American Black Cat Nine Fans?
Gary: The cd is getting great reviews from webzines in America. Check out sleazegrinder.com and rockhardplace.com for a sample. We are also getting some airplay in several areas of the U.S.
Roy: We would love to score a better distribution deal in the US and Europe. Also, working with a good label would be cool! We plan to keep playing and will probably put out a 6 Song EP in the Spring to coincide with our 2 week tour of Germany in May.

This is our wild quiz, choose between one of the following options and tell us why:
Easter egg or Thanks Giving Turkey:
Gary: Turkey! Leftovers for days!
Roy: Turkey….Eggs produce nasty farts!!
Ass Tulip or Bang Gang:
Gary: What the fuck is an Ass Tulip?!?! Next question.
Roy: Huh?!
Kerry fucks Bush or Bush fucks Kerry: (Note: the guys was interviewed before the elections.)
Gary: Kerry fucks Bush. I just saw Fahrenheit 9/11. That movie says it all.
Roy: Kerry rocks!!!
American chicks fuck better or Italian chicks fuck better:
Gary: Is this a trick question? Italian women are the sexiest things on earth. Best fuck I have ever had was an Italian girl.
Roy: Fucking is always good… good pussy is good pussy!!!
Beautiful Creatures or Backyard Babies:
Gary: Beautiful Creatures. Great songs. I can't wait for the new album.
Roy: Beautiful Creatures!
Twisted Sister or Motley Crue:
Roy: Cruehead for life!
Gary: Tie.
Nasty'n'dirty everywhere or nasty'n'dirty only on stage:
Gary: They don't call me Nasty G for nothing!!!
Roy: Everywhere baby!

Now a pretty personal curiosity. Some years ago I lived near Aviano for national service and I was used to spend my spare time in an American pub eating a delicious roast chicken with a wonderful sauce. I can't recall its name, but I hope you could help me remember. What do you use to serve with roast chicken in USA?
Roy: Gary is the group Chef so I'll pass it to him.
Gary: I'm the best cook in the band. Bruno, you would be talking about Gravy. Here is my favourite menu. Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, peas in a butter sauce served with a nice Chardonnay.

Fav porn star, drinks and your personal top 5 albums of ever:
Gary: Porn star! Old school: Ginger Lynn. She was such a slut. New School: Nikki Andersen. Drinks- Jack Daniels, German Beer, Dom Perignon. Top 5 Albums, in order: AC/DC - Highway to Hell, Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil., Ted Nugent - Double Live Gonzo, The Wildhearts - PHUC, Colours Red - Pure.
Roy: Porn Star - Old School: Nina Hartley, Porn Star-New School: Jenteal. Drinks: Bacardi and Coke, OUZO, Bulldog beer Top 5 albums in no particular order: AC/DC - Back In Black, Face to Face -Don't Turn Around, Ratt - Out of the Cellar, Goo Goo Dolls - A Boy Named Goo, White Lion - Big Game.

In your opinion, which is the most prolific underground rock scene of today: Canadian, American, English or Swedish?
Gary: I have not been home to check out a local scene. I would say the best right now is Sweden. But Italy is gaining.
Roy: I've been reading/subscribing to Kerrang! For 20 years and the English always have some killer shit going on. London is the center of Rock to me!

What is the craziest or the most dangerous or stupid thing ever done in your life?
Gary: I once got locked in the trunk of my own car trying to sneak into a Drive-in Porno theatre.
Roy: Jumped a canyon/river in a Dodge RAM SUV back when I was 17 and living in Colorado. We made it, but totally fucked up the SUV. Good thing my friends dad was cool!

Ok guys, the interview is over. Now you're free to great our Exploders and all your fans as you like. Thank you so much.
Gary: I just want to thank you Bruno for such a great review of the new cd. Everyone should get out and support the hard rock scene here in Italy. Go to all the websites that post concert dates for local and underground bands. Stay out of the discos and go to the strip clubs after the show. When you see Black Cat Nine playing in your area, come out and hang out for a while. The beers on us. We won't bite… hard…
Roy: Thanks bro! Everybody come out and hang with the Cat, a good time is guaranteed!

Intervista realizzata da Bruno Rossi
Traduzione e supervisione di Margherita Realmonte