The most prestigious band to attend the Stufstock 2007 music festival in Vama Veche, in the southern part of the Romanian seaside on August 16-19, the Dandy Warhols, will come to Romania after playing in the opening for the Rolling Stones and Nine Inch Nails in the coming weeks.

Zia McCabe, a founding member of the band, talked to HotNews.ro about how it is to play rock for rock’s sake no matter if before thousands of people, side by side with the Bloodhound Gand, or tens of thousands along with the Stones.

The most prestigious band to attend the Stufstock 2007 music festival in Vama Veche, in the southern part of the Romanian seaside on August 16-19, the Dandy Warhols, will come to Romania after playing in the opening for the Rolling Stones and Nine Inch Nails in the coming weeks.

The Dandy Warhols are part of the species of rock bands that come out to play across the Ocean but first gain notoriety and fans in Europe. Formed of lead Courtney Taylor-Taylor, Zia McCabe, Peter Holmstrom and Brent de Boer, the gang had their name after pop artist Andy Warhol - but without any second meanings, as they keep insisting.

They first found fame in Europe several years after their first gigs by playing what Courtney Taylor-Taylor likes to call “music to drink to”. Their inspiration is said to come from such classics as The Velvet Underground, Simon&Garfunkel, and the Rolling Stones.

Their music was included in many a movie soundtrack, TV commercial and series. And they themselves were the subject of a documentary film, “DiG!”, along with another alternative rock band from the US, the Brian Jonestown massacre, whose lead Anton Newcombe, a "psychonaut", has had many conflicts with his friend of old Courtney Taylor-Taylor.

See also: The audio gallery of The Dandy Warhols

Zia McCabe, a founding member of the band, talked to HotNews.ro about how it is to play rock for rock’s sake no matter if before thousands of people, side by side with the Bloodhound Gang, or tens of thousands along with the Stones.

Photo: DandyWarhols.com

Hotnews.ro: What does it mean to you that now you’re playing as opening acts for such classics as the Rolling Stones and the Nine Inch Nails, than turn to what some may say are obscure places to the far end of the world such as Vama Veche, Romania?

Zia McCabe: Of course it's always an honor to warm up a crowd for rock legends such as The Stones and it's exciting to add Romania to the still growing list of places we've played, we want to play as many places as possible, it's an exciting way to see our planet.

Hotnews.ro: The Stufstock Festival in Vama Veche was born as a means to raise awareness about aggressive tourism development in the area. Now it’s an established rock festival in every sense of the word. But what is your position on attending events for a cause (not necessarily meaning that you do so now)? What is your history of attending such events?

Zia McCabe: It seems that nowadays a cause it tacked onto even the more mundane events, which is a trend that's fine with me, it's hard to raise awareness about important issues, especially with the younger crowds, festivals are a great way to get the information out there. But Rock for Rock's sake is fine with me too.

Hotnews.ro: What are your expectations about Romania and what is your knowledge about it?

Zia McCabe: Well, I'm sure you know that Dracula and Gypsies are the first things that crossed our minds, mine for sure, I've always been pretty bad at geography and history, it's good that I am lucky enough to do a lot of traveling, I learn much better by actually going to the place in question. So I'm excited to see Romania for the first time and learn more about the culture there.

Hotnews.ro: So you like to say you’re doing music to drink to, among other things. What else is it good for?

Zia McCabe: Sex, smoking grass, road trips, making art, background music for films, TV and commercials, you name it.

Hotnews.ro: How come you used to have more success across Europe than in the US? What about your music do you think lures Europeans?

Zia McCabe: The structure for music on the radio in the US has been very structured and stiff, we simply didn't fit into the format over here. Which is really OK with me, since we got to spend all that time traveling around Europe instead of going around and around the US.

Hotnews.ro: As weird as it may sound there are some people here in Romania who are hardcore fans of yours, but - coincidentally or not - also of Brian Jonestown Massacre. What has come of your relationship with that band by now?

Zia McCabe: Our relationship with Anton Newcombe and The Brian Jonestown Massacre has always had it's ups and downs but we've always considered them to be our friends. I'm glad to hear that they've had some success in your country as well, they are an amazing band.

Hotnews.ro: What can you tell us about your work for a future album?

Zia McCabe: You're gonna love it!