Ascension

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What's the name of the band, and how did you come up with the name? "Ascension" and, er well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, we were young etc. etc. Oh, and a long time ago a man left his friends after rising from the dead and promised He'd be back. And we believe Him.

What are the individual members names and what do they play?

Roger Adams - keyboards,

Michael Chapman - vocals,

Jonny Law - bass,

Mark Millar - guitar,

Andrew Oakes - drums

Do you have a web site? Yep it's at www.ascension-ni.com

How did you meet? 4 of us went to school together, sat and planned world domination through music while some woman talked incomprehensibly at the front of the class. The original drummer left and Oaksey was small and ugly enough to fill the gap. And the rest, as they say, is hysterical.

How long have you been together? Wait for it.......... nearly 12 years (and we practice regularly at least once a year).

Where is the band based? The band is based in Northern Ireland, but will travel anywhere!

Who or what inspired you to become a musician? The romance, the stardom, the screaming girls......the usual kind of schoolboy dreams. Needless to say, we're still waiting for all that!

What bands are you listening to at the moment? All the band members have very different musical tastes - they include DC Talk, Don Henley, Moby and Hootie and the Blowfish. I could go on and still not cover the range of tastes, but I won't.

Do you prefer to play in the studio or live gigs? This is a cop-out, but they are very different. We generally enjoy both - the creativity of being in the studio and the buzz of playing live. Our bass player complains bitterly about ever having to play in a studio, says he can't cope with the pressure then records everything in one take. But then he only has four strings to play with.

Describe your sound. Guitar based, rhythm-driven with clever keyboard twists. No, we don't know what it means either. Just buy the album.

Where can people come and see you play? We gig nearly every week at different venues round Northern Ireland (except during the Summer, when we just lie about), and we are working on expanding our horizons. A few gigs in Norway are being lined up for 2001. For details of gigs, check out the website at www.ascension-ni.com.

What do you like about being a part of 25 Records? t's a bit like getting some promotion without having to do anything. Actually, it is getting some promotion without having to do anything.

What are most of your songs about? (love, partying, political, beer, etc.) All of us in the band are Christians, and that is pretty much what all our songs are about - not because we have a problem with singing about anything else, but because we look at everything in that way. Why do we bother? Because we think it's worth it - without Christ, that ain't livin' at all!

Give us an interesting story that happened either at a gig, or while writing or recording a song. In our younger days, we used to overdo it a bit with guitar solos. We were playing in a coffee shop in Belfast one night, and it was a laid-back, mellow kind of place. We launched into an instrumental, much to the singer's disgust. He stood there looking bored for a while, then wandered off the stage. A few minutes later we saw him queueing at the counter and buying a large cream cake. He soon appeared on stage again, complete with seat, and proceeded to sit down and begin devouring the cake (to music, of course). It was the best stage show we ever did........

Do you play any weird or unusual instruments? We found that curtain poles were underrated as instruments. They have a guest appearance on our new album. I once saw a guy play lead drainpipe in Dublin.

Have you been in other bands? Some of us were in a band called "The Bucky Jets" a few years ago - we did covers at weddings etc. and we were legends in our own lunchtimes.

Do you have any interesting stories involving the police or breaking the law? ( That we can post on the site) We did a street gig once, and somebody complained to the police because the noise was upsetting their budgie. Life in the fast lane, eh?

Does anyone in the band have any strange or unusual habits or superstitions? The drummer has the tendency to come to gigs dressed as Superman. The fact that he is 5 feet 6 inches tall doesn't seem to put him off. Our soundman does salsa dancing and hasn't learned to be ashamed yet. Cha cha cha.

Feel free to contact any of the bands at 25 Records anytime for interviews/Band features/ gig info etc. at: 25 Records 60 Tollard Close, Poole, Dorset, BH12 2AU, England.

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