HIGH ON WHEELS - Fuzzy Sounds From Outer Space (France - Stoner/Desert-Rock - Interview with Gilles).
- Hello Gilles, can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music?
The foundation of our music is friendship, we are playing music together because we wanted to do something together. What we are doing, the three of us, we enjoy the result. Why stoner ? Well... We all have different tastes. We love beer like we love rock. We drink different beers, Greg is bitter, Bruno is stout, I am in strength. High On Wheels is the mix of this three flavors. Three instruments, three voices. When you put it all together, it creates this stoner, punky, trippy, psychedlic rock.
- Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
At the beginning, in 2014, it was the idea of two friends Greg and Benoit. They wanted to play something heavy and liberator. No thinking, just rough rock'n roll. The stoner genre is perfect for that. They met Bruno on internet, a space guy, he landed on earth with a bluesy guitar, sometimes he plays it with a bottleneck. They recorded a demo. And then Benoit left the band, for personal reasons.
They thought : we can't give up on this idea. So they put an ad, and they found me, a sailor who was looking for a power trio that can play loud stuff when he's not on the seven seas.
- Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
High On Wheels is classifed as Stoner, but it's more a Desert Rock band. We are playing faster that a classic Stoner band. The sound is warm like the sun in the desert. A warm, fast, blues rock with heavy moments and some psychdelic solos. I think you have to listen to this new album because it's dirty and straight to the point, far from the overproduced mainstream that you hear everywhere. It's underground shit !
- Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?
It's difficult to put ideas in cool lyrics. We try to keep it simple but if you read the words, you'll see there's some personal feelings about the world we live in. About earth and about politics. Just an example, there is a song on the new album called "Wolf & Dog". This is a tribute to Jean De La Fontaine and his fable : "Le loup et le chien". 
- About your latest release ?
The new album, "The Monkey Who Dipped His Balls In My Whisky", will be released the 17th of October 2025. There will be LP, CD. These new tracks have been recorded in the studio of Jordan Jupin near Le Mans. It's pure live work. Three days, seven songs. Very light production.
- Future plans ?
We are going on tour in November, a little bit in France and Spain, and we will play in Porto in Portugal. I hope we will play this album next year in festivals across Europe !!!
- Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
Big dream : Hitting the Valley stage in Hellfest, or Desertfest in Berlin !
- Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ?
We play a lot of gigs, difficult to choose the best, the one with Glowsun was amazing, or with Gnome, or with Stone From The Sky... Impossible to choose. The worse was probably one time we play for a biker association. They were looking for a band, but more a cover band just to have music in the back... Well, wrong casting.
- Next live-appearance(s) ?
Not announced yet. But it will be the 5th of november in Paris !
- Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ?
Too many bands in Paris. 😄
- Last word is yours..
Play It Loud !
Credits :
Live photo (B & W) : Mess With Me Photography
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