An Interview With The Midnight Devils
The Midnight Devils is known for cranking out hard rock bangers in true, danceable, hair metal fashion and their latest release is no exception.
"Pink Halo" is an instant classic from guitar tone to riffs, slamming drums and ultra energetic vocals.
The song is incredibly colorful and boasts some killer guitar solo work and the whole thing will have you hooked within seconds flat.
These guys hit all the marks and nail the aesthetic perfectly and it's clear they've been paving their own path in the arena rock world for some time already.
Seasoned musicians with a youthful style that comes through insanely vibrant and with tons of hooks to boot.
For someone that grew up loving Motley Crue, Skid Row, Poison, and plenty more, The Midnight Devils are awesome to crank as loud as possible.
What's just as great is the video that comes along with the single.
The music video for "Pink Halo" is also crazy fun as you can really see the bands presence and drive. The guys are unhinged as they jump around the stage and without question are having an amazing time.
You can clearly hear the amount of heart The Midnight Devils have as it shines through in the songs every single time.
With such a massive track and video, we wanted to have a talk with the band to see where it all came from and what may be next for them.
TSWS: Let's start with "Pink Halo". This track has everything you could want from that classic metal
sound. Where did this track come from?
Sam Spade - Thank you very much for the kind words. This song was one of the very 1st
songs we brought into the writing sessions for the album Something Bigger. I was looking for
a very simple ass-shaking boogie woogie groove song that had a big hooky chorus. I parts
of the song structure ready to go and I gave it to our guitar player Chris ‘Sniper’ Hineline. He
really brought the song to life with the heaviness and the swing. We took it from there and
brought in our drummer Jimmy Mess, who gave it that kicking back beat and non-stop heart
throb. The lyrics are true to a point but aren’t about any one girl in particular. I took little bits
and pieces from a few girls I had dated and mixed them together. I really liked the dynamic
of The Midnight Devils releasing a song about an angel. It works on a few levels.
TSWS: The video for the single was awesome! Did it take long? Were you all happy with the
results?
Sam Spade - Thank you, I am very proud of that video. It was definitely a learning process.
We are a band that doesn’t have a label or much outside help so we do everything very
“Punk Rock”. We were driving in the bus on tour and Jimmy came up with the idea of a drug
deal gone bad but using glitter as the drugs. We wanted the video to be fun and not take
everything so serious. We are a party rock n roll band and that’s exactly what we wanted to
portray. I wrote the script and found the director Aaron Gumm who I bounced ideas off of.
He really is the star in this video and captured the whole atmosphere on tape. We did two
days of shooting, one was at a strip club that I work at and the other was at a normal dance
club that I was DJing at too. Making a video is tough and we definitely worked our asses off
to bring the absolute best of The Midnight Devils to life on camera.
TSWS: How did all of this start for you?
Sam Spade - The Midnight Devils started in 2017 as just a midwest rock n roll band. Sniper
and I played together in a hair metal cover band and we decided we wanted to do our own
thing. Jimmy Mess joined in the summer of 2017 after our drummer bailed in the middle of a
tour. It was the perfect fit and we decided to make an album and put the show on the road.
Jimmy really hit us with the concept of pushing the band to tour regularly to get to the coasts
and make this into a national touring act. We have played shows in LA, Vegas, Denver,
New Orleans, Texas, Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, and New York State.
TSWS: I'm gonna go with early Motley Crue as a top choice here (one of my favs) but what are
some of your biggest musical influences?
Sam Spade - I grew up on Elvis Presley and The Beach Boys. When I was in 8th grade a
buddy of mine brought in KISS - Destroyer and it was all over from there. I was and still am
completely obsessed with classic rock n roll. From KISS, I went to The New York Dolls,
Alice Cooper, and The Ramones. I joined a touring punk band and really started combining
all of my influences together to create something very unique. Early Motley was a huge
influence on me and especially Nikki Sixx as a bass player and songwriter. I even played a
Thunderbird Bass with only an on/off switch.
TSWS: You've had a lot of experience touring from coast to coast! Are you still performing live?
Sam Spade - Right now we have not played live since Oct/Nov of 2019 and before that we
were on tour with The Quireboys when the pandemic hit. It’s very bittersweet because we
were on an amazing tour with some of our heroes and it all got taken away when the world
shut down. We have big big plans to get back out and make up for lost time as soon as it is
safe for everyone.
TSWS: What's next for you as a band?
Sam Spade - In about a month we will be traveling to Chicago to record our sophomore
album with Chip Z’Nuff producing. It’s been two years since the last release and we are
ready to knock this one out of the park. We will be releasing a single, a new video, and
some really incredible vinyl for everyone around the world. The plan is to hopefully start
doing shows again in April then hit the road hard in the summer. We want to go to all those
places we didn’t get to play on The Quireboys tour. In Oct/Nov we are scheduled to be the
support act for Loudness on their US Tour. Fingers are crossed we will be rocking hard in
2021.
TSWS: With everything you've accomplished, what kind of advice would you have for up and coming
bands and artists trying to get heard?
Sam Spade - The best advice I have gotten is that if you want something bad enough go out
and get it. Work hard for every inch because nobody is going to give you anything for free.
Practice practice practice and never stop working for your goals. It’s easy to quit and it’s
easy to throw in the towel after people tell you “no” but for every thousand “no’s” you get
somebody will say “yes”. This is a job that doesn't take a break and neither should you. I
am writing this interview at 2:36am with a smile on my face.
TSWS: Everyone give me your favorite midnight snack (it's a need to know question)
Sam Spade - I quit drinking 10 years ago and ever since then I have had a huge sweet
tooth. I love thin crust pizza and cinnamon rolls. Sniper is a Philly Cheese Steak and
peanut M&Ms. Jimmy is a bag of pork rinds and extra large slurpee.
TSWS: What kinds of things inspire you to write?
Sam Spade - I have always felt that the best songs come from a very honest place and are
felt truly when they are based on actual events. So I tend to write about things that have
happened to me whether they be good or bad. I write about stuff I see on the road or in my
everyday life that I know everyone is going through. Most of our songs are very positive and
uplifting. I always try to look for that huge hook or sing-a-long chorus. To me those
memorable moments really make for great songs.
TSWS: What are you guys doing when you are NOT working on music?
Sam Spade - To be very honest, there aren’t a whole lot of things that I do that aren’t directly
related to music in some way. I am a DJ at two strip clubs and I work at a record store
called Freedom Rock Records in Lincoln, NE. I am surrounded by music and shows at all
times and that gives me the opportunity to be the biggest rock n roll nerd possible. It’s really
great to be able to be around music and make a living on music in one way or another. It
also gives me the chance to be able to tour and travel with The Midnight Devils when duty
calls.
TSWS: Before we go, what do you want to say to fans of the music?
Sam Spade - I want to thank you so much for this great interview and for having me on. It
really is my pleasure to talk to all you amazing readers. Live music will be back and I
definitely think we can all see a little light at the end of this dark tunnel. When we all get
back on the road you know it’s going to be the biggest party on the planet for years to come.
I think we are going to see a renaissance of sorts because we have all been stuck inside for
way too long. Rock n roll as we know it isn’t going anywhere. Keep the faith.