The Spikes’ “Guns for the Children” — “We’ve created a world where trauma is tradition. This song asks: what happens if we don’t stop?”
European roots, from Rome, Italy. New York-and-Berlin-based. Style blends punk spirit, poetic lyricism, and cinematic visual storytelling. Who are some of your biggest musical influences, and how have they shaped your artistic vision?
I listen to many genres of music. From old western tunes, to big swing bands, to the great crooners. Contemporary influences are Jim Morrison, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Mark Lanagan, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, and musically Barry Adamson and Brian Eno.
Beyond music, what other art forms, literature, or experiences have inspired you?
I grew up in Rome, so my upbringing had different creative influences. I am also a poet and artist. I do live readings of my poetry and have a book of poetry. My paintings have been shown in Galleries. I have a journal, which consists of paintings, photos, poetry, scraps, objects, and ideas, something I work on every day, like Peter Beard. I am also influenced heavily through many different authors and read avidly.
What are some of your favorite poems or literary works?
I read all the time. And pretty diverse literature. An example is that I just finished a biography on Che Guevera and went straight into Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Books which have influenced me are The Stranger by Albert Camus, The Immoralist by Andre Gide, Tropic Of Cancer by Henry Miller, Factotum by Charles Bukowski, The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, and Junky by William Burroughs. The poets I read are Allen Ginsberg, T.S. Elliot, Jack Kerouac (I prefer his poems), and even Jim Morrison.
Artistic alter ego, ‘The Spikes.’ “Songwriting is rarely clean or controlled for me. It’s chaos, confusion, catharsis — sometimes all at once. I never try to force a song. When I sing, it’s my way of making sense of the world, or at least screaming back at it.” Self-titled, debut EP, 2023. What were your main goals for your first body of work?
I did not have a planned objective or goal with my first piece of work. I was still sketching around and trying to find my voice. From this experience I was able to travel in a more defined direction for my next album. But this is what I like about my first EP. It was free and experimental.
“Guns for the Children,” “When I moved to the U.S., I was stunned by how normalized gun violence had become — especially school shootings. One day I was in Walmart and noticed the toy aisle was literally two feet from the gun section. That moment stayed with me. This song came from a place of disbelief, sarcasm, and frustration — because what else do you do when something so dark becomes part of the everyday?” How do we change school culture to normalize working through issues without violence?
You need to start at the root of the problem. First and foremost not everyone should be able to purchase guns. Especially children. I understand the use of guns in hunting, military or target practice. But when every person is purchasing guns, not just for negative intentions, but for protection, then there are just a lot more guns going off. When it is so easy to own a gun, people turn to guns to solve problems like road rage, domestic violence, school room disagreements, being fired, envy, revenge and so many emotions where a gun is not necessary. Once you pull a trigger, there is no going back on the consequences.
The stark, black-and-white music video was filmed in Rome. It delivers brutal imagery, like a shot between the eyes within the first 10 seconds. “I wanted it to feel like a funeral and a warning. We’ve created a world where we pass trauma down like tradition. This song asks what happens if we don’t stop.” It has garnered a significant number of views on YouTube. How did you make sure to avoid having the message come off as a sermon?
The lyrics are not telling anyone what to do or not to do. They are warning that if we make it so easy for kids, our own kids, to get guns, one day they will turn these guns on you. Those are pretty hard lyrics. The lyrics are graphically warning about exposing our kids to gun culture. We are raising a generation that is desensitized toward gun violence. These ideals breed that type of person. The type of person who will one day turn on us.
Your latest single is the first off the upcoming 2026 album. What themes or ideas are you currently exploring in your music, or what can listeners expect from the release?
“Guns”was a carry over from my EP. My new album is quite different. My songwriting used to be narrative and the new album is more abstract. Trying to capture more the emotion or character of each song as opposed to telling a story. The sound is more an escapist soundscape as opposed to a formulaic rock song. It’s more about creating these worlds where the character’s’ stories can be explored and heard. There is romance in the tragedy and tragedy in the romance.