We caught up with Russ Carlin of the B Movie Heroes via e-mail to chat about what the B Movie Heroes have planned for the next year.

Hello Russ hows things been?
Not bad at all thank you, just about recovered from the christmas/new year season!

First of all what made you want to learn bass and can you play any other instruments?
Well, i've always loved music and there was one time when i was around 11 years old that i started learning to play violin! It was actually the school that suggested it. Said it would stop me getting into trouble (Laughing). Then started going to see live bands play, fell in love with live music and decided i wanted to play an instrument. I figured bass looked like the easiest instrument to play so took that up. I'm actually learning guitar at the moment as i think its an instrument that must be learned if you're involved in songwritting etc.

What was it like being described the hottest new band in Britain by Radio 1 and having air play on the evening sessions and the Rock Show?
It was very very flattering, also a bit of a shock but it's cool. It's the kind of reward that makes you look at your band an think that its all worthwhile. Even the hard times.

Whats the band been doing since they last toured in September?
Well we have been working mainly on new songs and working on our live show. A lot of things have been going on behind the scenes. A little bit of interest off a few lables. The feedback off the new demo we recorded has been really good, so i guess we're just building up to this tour and trying to create a bit of a buzz for ourselves.

You recorded a video for "Call To Arms" back in February 2004; will this video ever see the light of day?
Haha, i cant really answer that one coz we're not sure ourrselves. We've progressed onto a different sound/style of music, something a bit more comfortable and natural to us. Call to arms doesnt really fit into the kind of music we're writting at the moment so if it does come out, it will prob be an extra on a cd or something.

How did the idea of having Rob from 4FT Fingers on the album for Anthems For The Underdog come about?
Basically we needed someone who looked a bit angry! He's a big guy so we put 2 an 2 together and he was happy to do it. The good thing is, most people dont really know what he's like so they can look at the album cover in a serious way. But when you really know what he's like, you can't help but laugh to yourself

Anthems For The Underdog got great reviews from pretty much every magazine going so is the pressure on for the follow up to be as good?
Not really, we make music that we like so therefore we're not trying to impress anyone but ourselves. If someone doesnt like our music, then so be it. But if someone likes our music, then it makes it so much better for us.

You recorded four new tracks back in September so when can we expect a new album/ep?
The songs will be released some day but first we need to find someone to release it! I would hope that by the summer we would have a date on when it will be released, all you can do is keep going tho. It could take 2 days, it could take 2 years!

You're supporting Johnny Panic in February at Kingston how did this show come about and can we expect a full tour soon?
We send a demo off to the johnny panic manager and he seemed to like it, im not actually sure how we got the show, it could've been through our booking agent. We're very excited about that show as it will be all new material and its gunna be intenese!

What can we expect in 2005 for the B Movie Heroes?
Who knows, i'd love to say tour after tour, line of coke after line of coke, a big single, a world tour and all of us starring in mtv cribs! But the reality is, we don't know. We will just keep working away at it and hope people like what we do!

You've toured with some great bands from Spunge to 4FT Fingers, The Wildhearts to The Suffrajets; which band was the best to tour with and why?
The best tour was the Danny frye (r.i.p) and the devildolls/b movie heroes/4ft fingers tour. It was just ace, such a laugh. Proper rock n roll! Whats been the best gig you have played so far and why? My personal favourite gig was the 2 times we've played in milford haven in sw wales. They always give us a great reception and treat us like we're guns n roses!

What band would you like to tour with that you haven't toured with already?
I'd love to tour with someone like Cave-in or Queens of the stone age (if they we're still going!) You can't tour with a band too big bcoz no one wants to watch the support band when they go to watch iron maiden!

Where do you see the band in 5 years time?
Hopefully we will all still be doing this, and making a living out of it. It would be the best job in the world and who could ask for anything better than making a living out of the thing you love most!

Thanks for you time is there anything you would like to add like a message to the fans?
Thank you, been a pleasure! Don't give up on the live music scene, theres a lot of good bands out there to be seen. As a band you rely on people coming to watch you play, and crowds can really inspire! If you want to hear a few samples of our latest recording, please visit www.bmovieheroes.co.uk and have a listen.

Interview by Trigger