In a golden era for Scottish Indie music, yet another Glasgow band have stepped out of the shadows, casting a soul shattering spell on, not just the UK audiences, but far beyond. The Twilight Sad have recently returned from the U.S leg of a far reaching tour, which has seen them grip new audiences straddling both sides of the Atlantic and deep into Europe.
Quiffed Owl spoke with Twilight Sad lead singer James Alexander Graham about their travels, their latest album and the hero who has delighted him by covering one of his songs.
QUIFFED OWL:
Your album Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave has been critically acclaimed, not to mention making it to number 2 in Quiffed Owl’s albums of the year in 2014. If anything, what did you do differently this time, compared to previous albums?
JAMES GRAHAM:
Each album we have made is a snapshot of who we are and I am proud of every single record that we have done. With this record, I think there was a lot more pressure this time because the band may not have existed if the record didn’t do as well as it has done.
QO:
Do you think it was that imperative? Was it make or break with Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave?
JG:
I think it was yeah. We wouldn’t be able to tour or put as much into it if people didn’t embrace it as much. We have been doing it for 7 to 10 years and we have not made any money out of it but it’s not about that, if it was we would have split up years ago. We would have compromised everything and we wouldn’t have been who we are.
QO:
And we have seen that happen too many times..
JG:
It’s not even that, the band have slowly grown and it got to the point that we were really happy with the last album, it received really good reviews but it got to the point we felt like we were shouting up against a brick wall. I don’t know whether it was industry stuff or what but it wasn’t through the lack of our trying because everybody in the band believe in what we are doing. There are no doubts about- Do we want to do this? What the fuck else would we do if we didn’t do it?
There was a moment when we contemplated that this might be our last ever record.
QO:
At what point did you think that?
JG:
I actually thought that before I even started writing it.
QO:
Did that put extra pressure on the writing of it?
JG:
It possibly did subconsciously, aye.
It didn’t affect the songs because the third album was more electronic and we always wanted to kind of ‘open up’ after that. It was all about the band progressing and not really caring about what anybody else thought. It was a matter of just caring about what we were doing and that was all that mattered, even with this record. But, in my mind I thought this could be the last one we ever did because if it didn’t work out it would probably break my heart and i’d never write again.
QO:
So it was a really personal and emotional thing for you?
JG:
Yes. It was like…I might not have the chance to make another one.
I mean, after I went away and did a proper job working on building sites and what have you. I know what hard work is like but I have always worked harder for this band although I made a lot more money doing the other stuff.
We were all aware of the importance of this record, although myself and Andy never actually spoke about it. ‘Make or break’ is probably a bit strong because me and Andy would still write together because that is what we love, thats what we do. To do it full time though,…and tour. I don’t think it would have happened.
QO:
But now?
JG:
It has inspired us to make more records. I never doubted the people who believed in us or bought our records, but when you are playing to small rooms and the shows are nowhere near sold out, you think “Do people really like this?”, but I am ashamed to have ever thought that given the loyalty of our fans and the success of this album (Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave).
The most important thing is that we see a progression in what we do and not concentrate on the outside world.
The five of us are best friends and we are out there playing music together. That is the most important thing and to see it grow is brilliant. But it has naturally grown, through word of mouth not promotion and people talking about us to each other.
We would never have played to 800 people in London last night or had our New York and Chicago shows sold out, or the Seattle show being sold out. I am not saying we are a big band but the numbers of people coming to see us show that people give a shit about what we do.
James Graham – giving all he has got on stage
QO: You mentioned your shows in the U.S, How have the American audiences taken to your style of Indie music, bearing in mind it is quite bleak and dark?
JG: The thing is, we started over there. Our American label put out a 5 track EP which was the first thing we ever did. Then they sent us over to do a big festival with CMJ in New York and then to mix our record in Conneticut. That meant we could tour and every Sunday go back and check on the mixing of our record.
We hadn’t played a gig in Edinburgh at that point yet we had played New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and there would be 100 people coming to see us every night. Nobody knew who the fuck we were in Britain but because we put out that EP in America, it was the opposite.
QO: How many times have you toured America, because you’ve been there twice since November?
JG: Fifteen times. There is something about our music that really connects with American people.
I know the music is miserable but there is something about it that is strangely uplifting. I think they like the fact that the music is honest, that could be the same for any country actually but a number of Americans have heritage stemming back to Scotland. They may not understand all of the lyrics but they understand the passion that is coming through in the music.
I wear my heart on my sleeve and I am not afraid to show emotions. Other bands might think that’s not cool but I don’t care. It’s all about the feeling. Even if you think “Oh fuck, Iv’e been a bit of a fanny tonight and gone too mental”, I just genuinely express my passion in the music and in my performance.
A Happy Twilight Sad and Quiffed Owl
QO: A lot of your song titles…
JG: Fucking long aren’t they?
QO: Now you are just walking over my questions James. Yes, they contain a lot of prose but they also have a sinister edge to them. Is that something you do to try and mirror the darkness of the music?
JG: What I find interesting is that I write my lyrics and my melodies. Andy writes the music and is the producer of the band. But, I find it really hard to name a song, because I have put so much into it, so Andy has actually named most of the songs.
QO: Do you think that is out of exhaustion?
JG: No. I think it is because I am too close to it. I have to detach myself from the song after putting so much into it. I will say that Andy hits the nail on the head with the song titles though.
Andy always gets where I am coming from. I filter my lyrics through him so he is actively involved in every way but very rarely would he tell me that a particular lyric or line doesn’t work. He is sort of my editor but my mate.
Many of the song titles are quotes from films, which you’ve probably noticed.
QO: Your lyrics aside, the power and the resonance in the notes that you hit assure your vocals are extremely emotive, especially with how atmospheric and cinematic the music is. You mentioned before – “the music is miserable”, I would argue it is bleak and dark but far from miserable because it is beautiful.
JG: I agree there is something very uplifting about it and there is a difference between miserable and sinister. We have been at festivals with other bands or touring with them and they are all happy and up beat on stage and they come off stage and they are miserable bastards.
We get it all out of our systems on stage and when we are writing. So we just have a right laugh on tour. We have our moments but I bet if you ask Mogwai and other bands that we have been on tour with they will say that they have had more fun when on tour with us.
QO: And that is why you are doing it in the first place I would imagine?
JG: Of course it is, it is a privilege to do what we do. 10 weeks of touring is like group therapy because I can get off my chest stuff you can’t talk about in real life. We believe in everything we do.
QO: Tell me about the Robert Smith (The Cure) thing?
JG: Aye, Robert Smith of The Cure has covered There Is A Girl In The Corner, the first song off our new record and that is a double A side. I will play you that now (Plays song from his phone).
I cannot believe that The Cure like our band, it’s fucking mental.
The Cure and The Smiths are my biggest influences. I love the Smiths, I have actually done a few sessions with Mike Joyce, he’s a really nice bloke. The Cure to me though, progressively are a band that have always tried new things.
QO: On a personal level, who has influenced your vocals do you think?
JG: For me, I would say Arab Strap and now – Aidan Moffat is one of my best friends.
He is releasing a film shortly and Andy and I are doing backing vocals on it. We have toured the Islands with him and when we go home we go to the cinema and pub together. It’s surreal sometimes to think about it, that the guy who inspired me to do what I do now is one of my best friends.
Aidan and Malcolm Middleton laid the path for countless Scottish acts. They are both lyrically phenomenal but when this film comes out people will see what a genius and funny fucking bastard he is.
QO: Finally, you recently did a short tour of UK independent record shops. Why was that?
JG: We think it is important to support local and independent record stores. As you know with your last article on Record Store Day.
QO: In your opinion what is important about them and what can they do to survive?
JG: Well, it is an experience to shop in these places. There was one in Aberdeen that closed down, they got everything right but it just didn’t work because people didn’t go in.
I think like in Pie and Vinyl in Portsmouth they have made the store appealing and interesting. By selling food and music you are appealing to people to go on in and have a look. Those with the passion, the best ones will survive. We went to Spillers in Cardiff, unfortunately we didn’t make it to Diverse in Newport but we were really glad we did that tour. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of people through the doors.
Record Store Day was born in the U.S.A in 2007 as a celebration of the importance of independent record stores and labels, and their vital role in the music industry. The UK and the rest of the world soon followed suit, elevating it to a universally accepted institution.
This year, Record Store Day has reached a new peak in popularity, having become a huge global event in which the fruits of its commercial success arguably cloud the essence of its original vision. The intrusion of large record labels and brands who have piggy-backed the day, has paradoxically cast many of the smaller independent stores back into the shadows.
Quiffed Owl paid a visit to a few independent record stores spread across Bristol and Newport. Despite only being separated by the River Severn, the affluence in their financial and commercial climates are far wider than the estuary that flows between them. But what affect does this have on record sales and buying habits in the respective locations? And has Record Store Day had any significant impact on, not only improving vinyl sales, but encouraging independent stores and labels to blossom as a result?
Stokes Croft at the end of Gloucester Road is adorned with street art including infamous Banksy murals.
Just by strolling down the infamous Gloucester Road and Stokes Croft, a pocket of Bristol adorned with pioneering and world acclaimed Street Art (including infamous Banksy murals), it is immediately apparent that every café, bar and independent shop or boutique has more than a steady flow of punters streaming in and out and back again. By no means is it an affluent area in relative terms, however it is self sufficient and culturally vibrant, attracting students, bohemia and hipsters alike.
Quiffed Owl spoke with Chris Farrell of Idle Hands about what Record Store Day meant to them as an independent store. Idle Hands is predominantly a dance music outlet and therefore its experience of Record Store Day is slightly different to less specialised stores. “Whatever negative aspects there are about Record Store Day, it has popularised vinyl. With added exposure within broadsheets and music media every few months, it has contributed to people buying records again”.
Chris Farrell of Idle Hands can identify both the pros and cons of RSD. As a label owner he can see the effects from both sides. “The shop side of RSD is great, it’s a lovely day and lots of people pass through including people who don’t necessarily come in here usually, so I would be stupid if I slagged off that part of it. But as a record label owner, there are some issues i’ve encountered. I run two small underground labels and have been putting out records for about 7 years. I have noticed that some of the releases and exclusives the major labels are pushing clog up the plant for months on end. That means that for the people like me, who press records all year round and have supported the industry when no one was interested in vinyl, have been marginalised. That negatively affects our release schedules – you can have a lot of money tied up in two or three releases that can’t be released and momentum is lost. Some of the bigger labels releases are quite unnecessary, we are not talking about stuff that’s rare but reissues of records that you can find anywhere for about 20p. So why that has got to be released now? I just don’t know”.
Idle Hands is in Stokes Croft, amongst the glutton of street art and in the cultural hub of the area.
As a label owner, Chris Farrell does feel some frustration towards the prioritisation of certain releases on Record Store Day. “It is frustrating for us, as a label and a shop, when we are trying to push new music and the system is clogged up with endless Led Zepplin reissues. There are countless things like that out there anyway”.
He goes on to say, “on one hand, RSD is great because it helps us as a business and raises the profile of independent stores like us. But as a label it is frustrating because the majors have more power, so no matter how much work we do in trying to attract everything around the promotion of our records and label, even early on we seem to get put on the back shelf and drowned out by the major releases”.
Chris Farrell of Idle Hands Records
Idle Hands are a dance music specialist and although RSD essentially ignored that area of music in the early years, it has recently included more genres. However, Farrell points out that RSD is still “A rock orientated initiative”.
Back over the Severn in Newport, DJ and label owner Paul Blandford of Deathproof fondly remembers having to go to Cardiff to buy his house and techno records in Catapult, now sadly a distant memory. “I used to go there especially, even before I was a DJ. It was a social thing as well, me and a few mates would get on the train and go to Cardiff. We would spend more than an hour in there – I would go for house and techno but look at anything from Break Beat to Drum and Bass”.
Currently, there are no dance music stores in Newport which demonstrates one of many contrasts between Bristol and Newport’s socio-economic situation. While the English city appears unaffected by the recession, with rising house prices and buzzing high streets both day and night, Newport is languishing far behind.
Newport relied heavily on its steel industry which has all but disappeared. In the valleys running north, the coal industry died out under Thatcher’s government. Since then, business and investment into the area has been at a minimum, and those who did relocate to Newport like LG Electronics, have packed up and moved on.
In 2010 golf’s prestigious ‘Ryder Cup’ was hosted at The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, bringing thousands of spectators from across The Atlantic. Instead of enticing new business opportunities for the City, Newport served as a warning for what ‘small town America’ might become, documented in an article by The Washington Post. In this piece, writer Anthony Faiola uses Newport as an example of a town that has already fallen over ‘The Fiscal Cliff’. Faiola writes:
‘Consider this hard-hit Welsh city in western Britain, where the shopping district is a shadow of its former self. A litany of chain stores and mom-and-pop shops have gone bust or moved, sending the vacancy rate soaring from 15.7 percent in mid-2010 to nearly 30 percent today.’
This does not mean Newport is devoid of taste and culture. Notorious for its history of music, the city still celebrates in showcasing its talented acts; particularly in Lepub, a highly respected venue that is vital to Newport’s cultural community.
Diverse Music in Newport is run by Paul Hawkins and Matt Jarrett
For over 20 years Diverse Music has remained prominently independent and served Newport’s music lovers throughout the hard times. But Diverse is a beacon for vinyl collectors far beyond the boundaries of the city. This record store and its online mail order has specialized to cope with past recessions and the ‘Spotify’ generation.
Quiffed Owl spoke to Matt Jarrett who co-owns Diverse with Paul Hawkins. We asked Matt if he had noticed a growth in sales of vinyl records since RSD began, and if so, did he think that it was a direct result?
“Yes and no’, he replied. ‘We always stuck with vinyl, especially online, so we didn’t jump on any kind of bandwagon once it started. All that happened was that we had more competition. That said, RSD raised the profile of vinyl and I am sure a lot of our younger customers who are now shop regulars have been influenced in their buying habits by the media reporting on Record Store Day and vinyl sales in general”.
We were interested to know whether he thought RSD had helped or hindered Diverse as an independent business.
“I am not sure it has done either. It’s a great day but all the customers see is the end product. The weeks before are frantic with the guess work that is stock ordering, receiving stock, and the constant enquiries about what stock is coming in when we don’t even know ourselves. 750 odd units to be released on one day for a small shop is a huge amount of work and that doesn’t take into account the backlog of emails and normal stock orders. It can be a massive pain in the arse”.
There are certain myths surrounding RSD which Matt points out are not necessarily true. “Record Store Day is a fantastic day with live music and the music community coming together, but it is by far the busiest day of the year for us and people seem to think we make loads of money but we don’t. We can’t return anything and a lot of the stock is stuck in the racks. It’s great for customers but can be immensely frustrating for shop owners”.
Goldie Lookin Chain’s Billy Webb supporting Record Store Day @ Diverse Music
Although the general consensus amongst the store owners we spoke to was that RSD is a fundamentally a good thing, there are difficulties that can be thrown up. An excellent article by Eric Harvey in Pitchfork argues that the biggest labels, artists and brands have essentially hijacked RSD using its notoriety and publicity to promote their products. Harvey sees this as crass exploitation of a concept and initiative introduced to negate this and support the opposite.
Adrian Dutt of Bristol’s Rise Records and owner of Howling Owl record label (of which fellow Rise employee and critically acclaimed musician Oliver Wilde is signed to) shares elements of that theory.
He expresses to Quiffed Owl that, “This year there has been a backlash from labels, complaining they can’t get the records out because of the pressing getting clogged up.”
Adrian then refers to his band and the label he runs, Howling Owl.
“If I didn’t work here (Rise), we wouldn’t have much chance to stock our releases it in any shops (On RSD).”
“We support smaller labels but we have found that the day is being taken over by major labels just re-issuing old stuff. Hiking the prices up and getting away with charging those prices on one day, they normally wouldn’t be able to get away with this”.
“It’s an amazing day, I love it, its so good for our shop and others but it does seem to be slightly losing its way.”
Adrian Dutt and Oliver Wilde then explain an interesting idea that Howling Owlhas come up with to try and stem the one sided tide of the major labels and bring back RSD’s magic.
“We have started this thing where we put a record out on our label with 1 copy a day for however long. You can only get 1 copy, for 1 day, all over the world. We give them to shops for free and they sell it and make the money from it. We will also be leaving some lying around in weird places. It is an attempt to engage people in a different way. It’s a bit of fun. It’s good because we have people like the Guardian on side – not that there are any sides – but the idea has taken off.”
Adrian reiterates what Chris Farrell of Idle Hands had previously alluded to.
“We are a small indie label (Howling Owl) and it’s hard enough to press records because we haven’t got much money. But when everything is so clogged up and our releases are put on hold or delayed because of re issues, we haemorrhage money. The press plants are being cash cowed by major labels who swing influence. A lot of shops feel the same way. Some don’t want to be involved this year but can’t afford not to.”
Matt Jarrett of Diverse highlights some interesting points in relation to the commercialism of RSD and if it has achieved its objective.
“I think its has achieved its aim in getting people back into record shops. Over the last 3 years it has been slowly evolving into something major labels can capitalise on. They take a lot of flack from the indie’s but I think the majors get it right on RSD. They release quirky picture discs, novelty shaped vinyl covers, split 7 inches. I think that is what RSD should be about. Releasing exclusive and interesting products that wouldn’t be available for the rest of the year”.
We spoke to Olver Wilde, Adrian Dutt and Seb Newton of Rise Records
There are certainly enough opinions from the front line to add weight to the argument that RSD is being slowly taken over by the powers in form of major record labels and artists. There is no doubt, however, that RSD has raised the profile of vinyl and music in the independent sector, as Seb Newton of Rise tells us, “There has been a huge surge in sales over the last couple of years. In 2007 it was a much smaller event, since then it has grown exponentially”.
When asked if RSD was the sole reason for the growth in sales and popularity of vinyl, Seb suggests there are other contributing factors. “It has become quite a fashionable thing. There has also been a retaliation towards digital music and people seem to like the physical copy, personally I think it sounds better”.
Rise, like Diverse provide in store entertainments particularly showcasing local talent. Oliver Wilde reels off a list of bands and acts from the Bristol area who would play in store, many connected to Howling Owl. Across the board, the day is seen as exciting and generally positive, where music lovers, regulars and more often than not, annual shoppers can come together and enjoy the music they love and search the racks for that special release.
No matter which side of The Severn you may sit, RSD is for everyone who loves music. Despite the recent backlash against the perceived exploitation, it is contributing to improving sales in both cities.
Matt Jarrett offers some advice for RSD to refresh itself so, “People can get behind it again.. perhaps it needs a year off to re-think itself?”
Sometimes when you hear a band on record, you know exactly what you are going to get if you were to see them live. On October 18th in Newport’s Lepub , nothing could have prepared those who were there for what they were about to witness on the small wooden stage soaked in sweat and lights.
A three piece from the state of Indiana tore up the rule book and rocked the city harder than it ever had been before.
Left Lane Cruiser had been booked to headline an all day (and what turned out to be an all night) fundraiser to help rake in enough cash to go towards a new sound proofed ceiling for the iconic venue and stick it to the local council who had given Lepub the ultimatum: Sound proof or close.
It was quite a coup to secure the acclaimed country blues outfit from Fort Wayne on their last night in the U.K before they took their European tour over the channel the following morning.
It was well past 11pm when Left Lane Cruiser came to the stage. Recently rejuvenated as a three piece, the band are well established in the blues country community but the most recent of their studio recordings has opened the doors to audiences from other genres and in other Nations.
European Tour dates last Autumn
2013’s Rock Them Back to Hell was widely praised in the British music press and their latest album All That You Can Eat seems to be securing an ever growing and appreciative fan base this side of the pond.
The band admit to be freshly inspired by bassist Joe Bent’s addition to the original two members. The whiskey fuelled three man frenzy of blues driven rock n roll noise unleashed a barrage of no holds barred, Hillgrass Bluebilly on Newport that night.
Make no mistake, this was momentous and historic. The noise from just three men was unquantifiable, as if it were designed to give the finger to the same council who inadvertently created the nights inception.
Fredrick “Joe” Evans IV, must have hands made of the same steel that laid in his grasp for the entirety of the show. His slide guitar was ragged solidly as he gave no quarter to restraint or inevitable fatigue.
The band’s influences stem from The North Mississippi Hill Country and Blues movement. They are proud of their roots and love what they do. Joe’s pained grimace was a permanent fixture, plucking and slapping his almost vertical bass with unrelenting energy.
Some of those in the crowd had some idea of what to expect but not to this level of intensity. Those who didn’t were in disbelief by the rollicking pace and deafening riffs they continued to kick out. When one finished, a louder, faster tune would follow, this was rock n roll country grown on a farm in hell.
There was time and plenty of it for a rabidly wild rendition of Dire Straits ‘Money for Nothing’ which would have had Mark Knopfler himself foaming at the mouth. The magnum opus was the unveiling of the ‘Skate-tar’, an ingeniously primitive invention fashioned from a skate board and strings which was made by Joe to mimic a lap steel.
Joe’s ‘Skate-ar’
The show rocked and rolled its way up to 1am as the newly converted bounced and balled all the way to its conclusion.
Left Lane Cruiser are set to release a new album this spring and to whet your appetite – Quiffed Owl has dug out an interview recorded with the band just before that Newport show at Lepub. These humble and passionate men from Indiana graced us with their humour and knowledge of their art.
Quiffed Owl:
Tonight is the closing date on the UK leg of your European tour. What have been your impressions of UK audiences and what have been your general experiences of playing live over here?
F. EVANS IV: Last night got rowdy man.
JOE BENT: Yeah, I’ve got battle scars man, a big bruise back here. It was good.
We played at The Railway Hotel in Southend, Essex.
QO: Oh yeah? Did you enjoy the woman down there? They have a certain reputation.
FE IV: Yes, I think Joe prefers um that way.
No, seriously, it’s been great.
JB: Every single show, people have been coming up to us and want to get stuff signed and want to buy everything we have so it’s been really great.
The crowds have all wanted one more and just don’t want us to stop.
QO: Is this the first tour you have done of the UK?
FE IV: We did one in London about six years ago but we had some problems with immigration and work permits so it has taken this long to sort it out.
JB: Yeah, just now we have been assured there will be no more problems, so that’s awesome.
QO: Your next album is due out in March. Have you taken the same approach to recording it as you have for your previous albums?
FE IV: No, this will be entirely different. This will be a group collective collaboration.
All the previous Left Lane records, I was the songwriter but Joe and Pete are new to the band and we have literally written this whole new record on the road as a group.
It’s 33% each.
JB: Totally equal.
QO: Does that give you more satisfaction?
JB: Hell yeah (Laughs)
FE IV: For me it’s great to be able to write with people because our old drummer, he was a great arranger and he’d have beats ready to go but he didn’t play instruments like Joe and Pete do.
Pete plays the guitar as well so, we are all multi-instrumentalists.
We trust each other and know we won’t let each other down man.
JB: There is not much I don’t play.
FE IV: Yep, Joe plays it all.
JB: I have been playing music since I was five years old, I was kind of pushed into it. It’s all I know.
FE IV: He has got his skate board guitar that you’ll see later.
Left Lane Cruiser art work
We will use that on the record too, that’ll really sweet because he basically invented that.
QO: As you know, tonight’s event is organised to help raise funds and pretty much Save Lepub!
What are your views on the importance of having small venues in small towns and cities? How important is it?
JB: Extremely important.
These are the people that are giving bands a chance. If you are some nobody off the street and you have something to share with people but nowhere to go. What are you going to do?
You can go on a street corner or your local joint to play some music.
It is so important because back where we are from, there was a time there when we didn’t have a whole lot of venues at all. There was maybe two, that you could actually go into. Now it has gotten better.
In our hometown of Fort Wayne, there are four solid spots that we just love to play.
FE IV: And they are all about the size of Lepub.
JB: We prefer the smaller clubs because it is more intimate man. I want to be with the people, you know? I want to see you.
FE IV: You can tell that Lepub is the centre of the arts community.
You can feel it in there, it breathes it and sweats it already and we haven’t even hit the stage yet.
QO: Is it similar to the places you have back home?
FE IV: Oh yeah man, you go to The Brass Rail or The Berlin and O’Sullivans, they are our spots and every musician in town is there every night.
JB: Especially The Brass Rail. It is not just where musicians play but they go there to drink. That’s our hang out and everyone knows each other, it’s cool.
FE IV: Joe used to be a bouncer there before he put everyone in a choke hold for no reason.
JB: It wasn’t no reason man (Laughs).
Left Lane Cruiser in Newport, South Wales.
QO: When you started out as a band who were your influences and what were you listening to?
FE IV: Hillgrass.
Hillgrass Bluebilly is a big friend of ours back home, what they would feed off the most would be The North Mississippi country sound. That region of Mississippi is a pocket that is untouched and everyone came through and did the delta blues.
The North Mississippi hill country was preserved until this day so it is a lot funkier kind of blues.
Hound Dog Taylor and Muddy Water are big favourites of ours. You got your slide guitar players.
With Joe and Pete joining the band, they are bringing in the heavier sounds. You will hear that on the record.
Up in Tupelo and Oxford, Mississippi, you have the old cats who hand it down and it is all preserved.
Me and my old drummer used to go every year trying to get signed to Fat Possum (records). We would soak it all up and learn but we never did get signed by Fat Possum but I wouldn’t trade our record company – Alive for anyone man. It’s a great record label.
QO: So, apart from playing Lepub tonight. What are your immediate plans afterwards?
FE IV: Well, we got to board a ferry in the morning at 7am so hopefully we will get some sleep.
We have got three shows in France after boarding from Portsmouth, its six hours.
JB: Shit man, I thought it was four. I get sick on those things.
FE IV: We are really looking forward to it. It’s been a lot of fun so far, with Joe and Pete, I mean it’s even hell of a lot of fun going into a gas station with this guy.
Pete is the godfather of the Fort Wayne music scene. Half our merch table is from his other bands back home.
JB: I have been watching him play for like, twenty years. It sure would be nice to be still playing and having fun together in another twenty years.
Houdini Dax are a paradox in that they seem to have been around for a significant amount of time but are still so young. They are well regarded by the majority, and the majority seem to be quite significant, both in number and in influence. They still remain the same, modestly known band. Which is significant in itself.
The three young men from Cardiff, work together, play together and rest together, mainly because they live together. This all contributes to the extremely likeable and humbly charismatic image of the band.
Saturday the 28th of February saw Houdini Dax return to their favoured and renowned local spot to launch their single Apple Tree. Wales’ famous Clwb Ifor Bach on Womanby Street has seen the band play multiple times, not least in the sell out and critically acclaimed show during Swn Festival- the cities multi-venue festival that took place in October.
Dax’s new single and tour poster
The band have recently signed to the This Is NowAgency roster which includes Public Service Broadcasting, Beans On Toast and Abdomnial & The Obliques, amongst others. So, the timing is surely imminent if not overdue to assert themselves onto a wider consciousness.
The fact is their music deserves far more attention and exposure than it has had thus far. That is not to say that radio and the music press have not championed their refreshing psych pop sound. However apart from Tom Robinson and Jon Robb, the coverage has tended to be from inside the principality. This though, makes no odds to the band as they continue to develop in their enjoyment of creating and playing the music they love.
Jack Butler (guitar & Lead vocal), Owen Richards (Bass & vocals) and David Newington (Drums & vocals) have found themselves caught up in a melee of inventions and excursions in recent months including a tour to India and recording sessions at BBC’s Maida Vale studios courtesy of BBC Horizons amongst a whole host of other corporation concoctions.
In November last year, Houdini Dax visited India and featured in two relatively high profile music festivals. Their presence did not go unnoticed and they were featured in The Bangalore Mirror and were reviewed in The Hindu. The band took the opportunity to release Get Your Goo On via the connections they had made in the sub-continent, not least by Rolling Stone Magazine India who premiered the video of the track for the exclusive Indian market.
Soon after their return, Houdini Dax’s evident rise was confirmed with a rare chance to play at the famous BBC Maida Vale studios in North London. Along with 11 other hand selected artists from the Welsh music industry, Houdini Dax recorded a number of tracks for the BBC who ensured extensive coverage, including airplay on Huw Stephen’s radio show and shows on BBC Wales television.
The tide may be turning for the band but for those who have witnessed their cocktail of raw live power and infectious pop indie it is another mile along the road to the inevitable.
Before their performance at ‘The Welsh Club’, Quiffed Owl caught up with Houdini Dax to discuss their past, what they think the future has in store for them and what interesting developments have taken place recently.
Quiffed Owl: I know you gentleman have been together for a long time now. Exactly when did it all start and how did you meet?
Owen Richards: Jack and I started playing together in a band in High school back when we were about 15 years old. Then Jack started another band with Dave outside of the band I was in with him and then I was asked to come back in, so in some form it has been about 8 or 9 years now.
We started off as a covers band but we properly became Houdini Dax about 4 or 5 years ago.
QO: In those 5 years you have certainly built a good following in the Cardiff area but with recent events, it seems to be spreading a bit further. Do you get that feeling?
OR: Yes, definitely.
Compared to a few years ago when we would play to literally one man and his dog and the dog would walk out half way through, which was a low point, but now when we are going out people have actually heard of us and in November we got the chance to go out to India as well.
We hadn’t played over seas since Ireland when we first started out, so to go there, a far greater distance and to have such an amazing reception was special. We are going to return hopefully next year so it does feel like it has picked up quite a bit especially outside of Wales.
QO: What were your experiences of India? Not only culturally but musically. How was your style of music received over there?
Jack Butler: We were received really well and we were put on at some really good festivals so it was good to get a chance to play to some good crowds.
We went over there and just did what we do and everyone really seemed to enjoy our sets and it went down well. I am not sure how often the general public in India get to see bands like us but at the one festival in particular there was a lot of top acts and we seemed to be received just as well as the more established bands.
QO: Taking that into account, along with your success in India, has anything transpired, in regards to releases because of that tour?
JB: We premiered one of our tracks- Get Your Goo On through Rolling Stone India which was quite cool. That has given us a platform to build on so our aim is to try and get over there every year and get to play a few more festivals all over India and from there grow a fan base.
The crowds are really receptive and took to us really well so we feel there could be a good market there for us.
QO: Tonight is your single launch for Apple Tree. I have heard the recording and it sounds great. Why have you chosen to release that song in particular?
JB: The song was written by a guy in Swansea. We were played the song a while ago by Carl Bevan who we did some recording with a few years ago.
It is the only Dax song that we didn’t write but it is such a strong track that we start off all of our sets with it now. It just seemed a natural choice because it is just such a fantastic song.
QO: Do you feel that you have made it your own?
JB: Possibly, over time and taking it into the studio and having fun with the guitars over it. So yes, I suppose we do.
QO: I just want to concentrate on BBC Horizons initiative that you have been involved in. It has been televised and well covered especially the Maida Vale sessions.
What were your experiences of playing such a prestigious place? and, what have you learnt from your experiences of being one of the bands featured in BBC Horizons?
David Newington: We had an absolutely amazing time playing at Maida Vale because loads of our musical influences have played there. The place is steeped in history and as you walk in you see all these photographs of people that you love hanging on the walls, it was really weird.
It went a lot quicker than I thought it was going to go because the engineers were incredible and really professional so we had a three hour time slot and went in and just rocked the three tracks out and it was done before you knew it.
For me personally, that was one of the best things I have ever done because there is so much weight and history behind it.
QO: It is an iconic place but what would you say you learnt from those sessions and from performing in that sort of, well, Institution?
OR: It was nice to go in there because whenever you do sessions you think, we have got to get this done quickly and in one take and stuff like that but in Maida Vale it felt like there was so much more pressure because you are in Maida Vale for the first time and we haven’t done anything near that big.
When we have done previous sessions, we make sure we hone our live sound as a unit but to be able to do it in there was more reassuring in hindsight. If we can do it there we know that we can deal with certain pressures and we have gained confidence and belief from that.
QO: There was another 11 bands and artists sharing that experience with you. Have you formed relationships with any in particular or any of their approaches to music rubbed off on you at all?
JB: Massively. There is a band called Baby Queens and as soon as I heard them, they were doing this late 90’s R&B stuff and it reminded me of how much I loved that sort of thing so I have started to write a few tunes in that style and playing about with stuff and a few tunes have come out of it which I am really proud of.
DN: Yeah, we are going to wear huge medallions around our necks at the next show.
JB: And trousers down off our arses.
QO: You already do that don’t you?
JB: Yeah and caps slightly to the side.
QO: You have had exposure because of BBC Horizons but what can you see as being the result of it? Is there anything guaranteed by them or is anything in the pipeline?
JB: Going to India was massive and that would not have happened without Horizons, no way.
Also South By South West this year would possibly not have happened without Horizons because that was a result of India.
We have just signed to a company called This Is Now, they are a top booking agency which is fantastic and potentially huge for us.
QO: So you can pinpoint BBC Gorwelion Horizons as being influential in your recent growth in popularity and exposure?
OR: Yeah, it is certainly been a leg up.
At the beginning of it when we all went away to West Wales, there were all these amazing people like James Endacott who was the A&R man for The Strokes and The Libertines and a guy called Richard King at Domino. There was another guywho worked with Bowie and managed The Stranglers. All of them telling stories about experiences and giving advice. It was brilliant and the stuff we gained from that was invaluable.
QO: So do you think that because of these recent developments and experiences you are a better band for it?
DN: I don’t know, its nice to have the validation in some way because people want to believe in something they think maybe other people do.
I think the festivals we played in the summer really helped us. We played a few north Wales festivals including Festival Number 6 and then Haye On Wye.
I don’t necessarily think that it means our music has changed but people in the industry take you more seriously. It does give you more confidence which can’t be a bad thing.
OR: When good things happen to you it does put you in an incredible frame of mind and drives you on for more. Recently we do feel quite inspired as a result.
JB: Writing particularly has really come on.
QO: When I used to see you in the early days, my experience then is different to what it is now. As a live band, I see a band completely involved in their music and I think that stems from you Jack. I think you have improved, certainly as a front man as you have added real heart and aggression to your live performance which enhances your guitar playing and your vocals.
Is that a subconscious thing or have you identified that that has happened?
JB: Definitely. I have tried to improve and that is by taking a committed interest in what you are doing whether it be playing your guitar or writing or singing. You have to be aware that you are putting on a show. You will only get better by reading into things and learning along the way.
If you have someone who is delivering it and really ‘Out there’ and meaning it then it takes you to another level.
And that is exactly what they did minutes after this conversations conclusion, a packed ‘Welsh Club’ enjoyed a startling performance of energy and unity as the long time trio of friends came of age.
Houdini Dax at Clwb Ifor Bach
The new single is well known amongst the following contingent but it sounded extra zesty and full of adrenalin as it was unleashed from the, always spot on speakers in Clwb Ifor Bach. Apple Tree is essentially a sixties mod-pop track but Houdini Dax have a knack of charging things up a notch or two, much like the Arctic Monkeys, their devilish mix of two tempo, Jekyll and Hyde harmonies and thunderous rock n roll make them a potent live force theses days.
At the drop of a hat the three part harmonies give way to an all out freak out as Butler slashes his strings deriving feedback through Get Your Goo On and thenat will, synchronises with Richards constant rhythm. Legs and Dole Office are certain future hits and the crowd seem to know every word.
It is the drummer Newington though, that captures the eye and opens the jaw. He effortlessly and nonchalantly opens up a different direction to each track and is visually lost in his wood and leather and brass. These lads can write songs but boy can they play them.
One would have forgiven a band who had just released their second album in under a year (Fears Trending) for putting their feet up for a wee while and resting on a laurel or two, rather than driving way down south to begin a mini-UK tour.
Luckily for Quiffed Owl, The Lexington in London’s Angel saw The Phantom Band kick off the first of four shows across the country. They even made some time to talk about their new album amongst other things over a nice bottle of red.
Quiffed Owl: After releasing Strange Friend back in June, it has only taken you 7 months to release your new album – Fears Trending. Was that always planned to do it that way or did it just happen?
Rick Anthony: I think it was maybe an element of knowing we wanted to do something with the tracks that were left over, Strange Friend when it comes to tracking and sequencing the record, a lot of songs seemed to fit together quite well. There are more kind of shorter and ‘more to the point’ songs, so that was that record and it worked really well for that and we were left with this group of songs that we really liked, it was never a case of that.
Andy Wake: I think we knew we had another records worth although we never thought “Oh great we’ve got enough for another album”.
We had almost four years, three years anyway to write that stuff so we had loads and we kind of knew we would do another record with it but with sequencing Strange Friend we didn’t feel like the record has got to do this, that and the next thing. We just could look at it and remove ourselves from it and say “What would make this a good record” rather than be like “That’s the scraps and lets do something with it”.
Rick Anthony: When you know you are going to do something with the stuff it is easier and it almost focuses you to see what songs you are going to use.
Andy Wake: Yes, you don’t get kind of heart broken about a certain track not going on a record.
Quiffed Owl: So the songs were all there before Strange Friend was released?
Was it was more like marrying them together to see which songs fitted better?
Andy Wake: Some of them were pretty much there or at least a couple of tracks were being banded about when we were doing The Wants. Some songs were things we already had started recording ideas of what we wanted to do with them but they didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of what The Wants was.
Rick Anthony: The first couple of tracks on Strange Friend and Fears Trending I think we played live, well, two off Fears Trending – Kingfisher and Black Tape.
AW: Yes
RA: They were the first two we played live almost and then I think it was Doom Patrol, they were the first of that period.
AW: A few of us would be sitting in the van on the way down and listening to stuff we had been working on like around the time of the first record that we had just not got around to doing anything with, but we had always planned to but you just have to be in the right space to be able to.
RA: It’s kind of funny really, you hear some stuff from years and years ago and think “Why haven’t we done anything with this? It’s fucking brilliant”.
QO: I suppose you never forget it, it’s in the arsenal so to speak?
RA: We went through a period when we just recorded everything, in every practice, we recorded everything we played because that’s how we write, we write together. Everyone goes away and comes back with specific ideas and when we are all together that’s when we write the songs. So we have got like hours and hours and hours of music and odds that we can expand on.
I think we have limited the stuff now but its nice to kind of rediscover it and find something to do with it.
Rick and Andy in conversation
QO: The Phantom Band’s style is very unique, essentially folk music but you use a futuristic and very experimental style. When you first set out as a band, was that the original design or did that evolve naturally?
AW: We didn’t even set out as a band.
RA: Nothing we really necessarily do is by design, it was very much like, I know it is a bit of a cliché but we just got together to play together for the sake of having something to do on a Friday night and being sociable with your friends.
AW: None of us are actually from Glasgow although we all live in Glasgow so I guess it was a social thing for north east ex-pat’s, because we are all from the north east. Gerry is from Hamilton but we were all hanging about with other people who were also, like, aliens.
RA: We were all kind of friends with Duncan and Gregg, I had played with Duncan before when I was in a band in Aberdeen and he played with us a few times so when I came down to Glasgow, he was like “Look, I am playing with a few friends, we should together”.
In terms of the actual music, I think from a really early stage we never really had a conversation about what we were into, we just played music and whatever anybody wanted to do you write and you all write together in the group and that obviously means that folk elements are reflected and more sort of synth sounds with Andy. Everyone brings their own influence and interests and sounds.
QO: So each member of the band would bring their own personal influences and tastes and your sound would be the overall result, rather than a mutual decision?
RA: Yeah.
It wouldn’t really work any other way I don’t think. I think if we all got together and decided to write a song in a certain way it wouldn’t work. If it happened naturally, that’s fine but if we all decided right, lets write a straight folk song then it wouldn’t work.
AW: It works best when somebody writes something and we think that’s a nice little melody and then it just kind of becomes a track based around whether it is a guitar line or a vocal or even a keyboard line but no, nothing is ever contrived.
QO: What strikes me, as a fan of the band, is your use of a vast array of percussion instruments such as the melodica and claves. Is that something you bring in for fun or is it from ideas you’ve had?
Do you teach yourselves how to play them and go away and learn them specifically?
AW: We haven’t learnt to play any fucking instrument.
RA: I think Ian can play the drums but that’s about it for us.
QO: So where do the ideas come from then?
AW: I think maybe part of it would be like when we practice in a room and we are really bad at time keeping and so we would all arrive and someone would be there messing about on their own, for ages because no one is ever on time. Ian mostly or Gregg and basically when people arrive you’d join in.
Myself for instance, I wouldn’t have time to set all my shit up, cable line and stuff so you just find something to play with and that can be anything just lying around in the room.
QO: What? So you always record in school music rooms then, where all of these instruments are just lying about?
AW: No, we all have the instruments at home so you just bring them along..
RA: Shelf brackets.
AW: Aye, shelf brackets give a nice note. If you hit them with a beater they give nice harmonics. They were just discovered by accident when we shared a flat and we just brought them to the studio. It’s good to have things lying around.
RA: The melodica as you say, it’s good to have that rather than tune a guitar or set up a drum kit.
QO: Well, that instrument in particular is out of the ordinary let’s say? I guess that is the appeal of the band. To have those different elements and give off different sounds and other dimensions other bands just aren’t capable of and it’s fun to watch.
RA: It’s fun to do as well. You want to be involved and you don’t always want to have to play the guitar, you know?
QO: You use the melodica on Crocodile but wasn’t that one of your first ever releases?
AW: It’s probably the oldest track, long before I was involved and Duncan and I were studying together and sharing a flat and I remember Duncan playing that thing that you kind of knock together.
We had the loop and the scratcher thing and that was a long, long time ago but it is still probably our favourite to play. It’s loads of fun.
AW: Yeah, you play the melodica or two of us are playing the melodica on stage and you can’t take yourself too seriously because it’s such a stupid instrument.
RA: The best ones we used to play it at were like the first couple of shows.
AW: Because it had this beer thing, but that’s all he did, for fucking ages, just sit there with his finger on it playing it and people would be like “You’ve got such a serious fucking expression on your face playing it”.
QO: Like on Burial Sounds?
AW: Aye, for like ten minutes, intensely filtering it. It’s kind of like the French saxophone.
RA: It is only when people point out that it is weird that I am playing this thing that you realise that it is quite weird.
The Phantom Band – The Lexington 4/2/15
QO: Scottish Indie music has noticeably had a lot of recent exposure and a lot of deserved success with the likes of yourselves, Meursault, Twilight Sad, King Creosote, Admiral Fallow and Frightened Rabbit. Why do you think that is?
Why do you think there is such a strong sound coming out of Scotland at present?
AW: I don’t think its a ‘sound’. I think it is just the law of averages.
I think it is disproportionate the amount of people in Scotland, particularly in Glasgow that don’t have anything to do, so some people need to have something to do. I don’t know, maybe there’s something about Scotland.
RA: I think you are definitely right. I think there are a lot of people in Scotland seem to be in bands or whatever and Glasgow has a lot of venues or places where bands can go and play.
AW: Aye, and they can develop because there are so many venues and you can develop as a band.
RA: I think also that there has never really been, I don’t like the word but a ‘scene’, probably other cities have has a scene but if Scotland has ever had a scene it is probably based on the love of playing the music rather than everybody sounding the same at any one particular time. It’s not like all Scottish bands sound the same, there is a lot of different things going on.
I don’t know. I have no idea why.
QO: This is more to you Rick. The use of your local accent and your dialect within your vocals, for me, it makes it more credible and more real. Do you think that singing in your own, local accent is important?
RA: Not necessarily. I think you talk in an accent and you sing in your singing voice. Some peoples natural singing voice will be their local accent but for some people, like if you grow up listening to American R&B your whole life then that is the music you love and you sing along with that, then you naturally have a kind of, American singing voice.
It’s more true if you sing in that way than it is to suddenly put on this local dialect singing voice to try and make it seem more real.
QO: I suppose to force anything would be just as contrived?
RA: Well exactly, yeah.
It can be just as contrived as someone who sings in an American voice to be more popular. In the case of a lot of Scottish bands just now, I think they are doing it genuinely, I think that’s their voice and it works with the music that they do. I have never thought that I am necessarily doing that, I am never trying to sing in a Scottish accent.
I used to have a very strong American accent when I sang. When I was a kid I grew up listening to American bands but as you grow up your singing develops and changes. People will say “You should try singing more in your own voice” and you are like “Yeah, right okay”. I always thought it was my own voice but then you realise.
It’s not quite as simple as that. You have your influences.
AW: There is a certain band from Glasgow who we all like, Uncle John And Whitelock and Jake Lovett was the singer but he does this kind of Americana, R&B and it is part of his show. It is almost like his accent is so fake that it’s ridiculous but it is part of the showmanship and if he didn’t do that then it might all just be nothing.
RA: Because it is the performance. In some circumstances it is not going to work and it will come across as quite contrived.
QO: Do you think it all depends on the genre or type of music you are singing to?
RA: Yeah.
QO: For instance a mate of mine, Danny Wilson of Danny and The Champions Of The World. Now he is cockney through and through but they are one of the top British Americana bands and he sings in an American accent and that’s fine because it wouldn’t go if it were any other way.
If you were to think about it honestly, do you think that singing in your accent adds credibility to your music?
RA: I think it all comes down to performance and it all comes down to if you are convinced by your own performance and what you are doing then that will come across in your music. I think that is why, in a modern studio when people over engineer stuff and auto tune stuff and time the vocals, they are taking the vocal performance and turning it into what they think the people listening to radio wants to hear. If it is like “This is what we think will be popular on the radio, so lets tune it and engineer it”, then they are in the wrong type of music and it will suck the life out of it and sound terrible.
People want a genuine performance. That doesn’t mean it has to be genuine to who you are as a person but it must be genuine in terms of you performing it.
AW: I think going back to what you asked about the appeal of Scottish bands is that in certain types of music, if somebody is singing in their own accent then it sounds right.
I personally, don’t think that the Scottish accent is the easiest accent to sing in and sometimes when I hear people really like, well for instance, you mentioned a certain band earlier on before the interview, from Scotland who none of us here like (Not the bands mentioned in the question), it doesn’t work and it sounds strained because it is such a strong accent it is quite difficult to form the vowels around when singing, where as an American accent isn’t.
QO: So, all of that aside, do you think that anybody who is worth their salt will be able to identify if it is real or genuine or if it is contrived?
AW: Yeah, but what I was getting at is, if that person is singing in an accent, even if it isn’t necessarily their own accent whether it be internationally recognised or easy to use then that is dependent on whether it needs to be sung or they are singing it that way because it is important to them because it is something personal to them. so when you hear a band like Twilight Sad, he is delivering it, you know what I mean?
People who aren’t from Scotland will here hear them and be like “Wow, he really fucking means that” because he is delivering it in his own accent and with so much feeling.
RA: If you go and see a person and they are singing some songs. Unless you know that person then you don’t know anything about their musical history or where they come from or who they are.
There is another band from where we are from called Sparrow And The Workshop.
QO: I saw them in Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff supporting Meursault.
RA: Oh Yeah? One of their first reviews read – “Great songs, she can really sing but I am giving them 1 out of 5 because she sings with an American accent”. She’s fucking American, she’s from Chicago.
If you like the music, you like the music.
AW: There was another one, I don’t remember the name but they were slated for singing in an American accent and they were Canadian, which is even fucking worse.
QO: Richard Hawley. Sheffield man but he croons because that is his natural singing voice and who would want it any other way? You have Jarvis and Alex Turner both singing in their Sheffield accent and that sounds great too.
RA: Nick Cave. He came out singing in this made American accent.
QO: In Wales for instance, there is only really Gruff Rhys who sings in his strong west Wales accent. Do you think there is a conscious or subconscious connection with national identity when singing with an accent?
AW: I don’t believe in national identity when it comes to music.
I don’t believe in Scottishness or Welshness or Britishness, particularly as a musician. People kind of invent it.
There is pride but that is different. Perhaps with The Super Fury’s that pride is to do with being the underdog or something.
RA: It is much easier if you are from a smaller place rather than a bigger one. If you are like “I am British”, it can be taken the wrong way.
AW: There is a thing that is happening in popular music where it is getting really fashionable to be singing in a cockney accent.
RA: Yeah.
AW: (In a cockney accent) “Ello, Ow ya doin?”
RA: What was that really fucking annoying song?
AW: The Streets started it. They were okay though.
RA: What was it? It’s not the accent I think its just shit modern music I don’t like.
AW: The Fraggle Boys?
RA: I think that’s it.
AW: (Impression of The Fraggle Boys)
RA: It is just bad. There are no hard edges to it. Like Mumford And Sons.
QO: Oh Dear.
AW: Yeah, its like (weeze) (Upper class English accent) “Gentleman of the road”. I can’t do it.
RA: Everything is rounded and cutesy. I don’t like it.
Polishing the wine off.
QO: You are widely considered to be one of the best live bands in the UK.
AW: Are we?
RA: I don’t think many people consider us to be anything.
Maybe on this couch, 1/3rd of this couch thinks that.
QO: Do you take your live sound and performance into the recording studio with you, for instance in Fears Trending?
AW: I think in Strange Friend and the new one we probably made it sound much more like we do when we play standing in a room, together. I think that is when we are at our best. Just us, in our comfort zone, standing around and playing.
The first two albums, although they were interesting for me musically, we went into the studio to record them without having really written the tracks so, there was an open ended-ness to them which was really good but they were ‘studio’ albums, they were written and then recorded in the studio.
With this one, we were like “Let’s try and make this a bit more organic, a bit more just us guys playing”. I don’t know if it worked.
RA: That was definitely one thing we tried to make deliberate through the recording process, was to eliminate the kind of , in terms of the drums, one solid, whole drum take and with the vocals we would take three goes and then do the best vocal.
I think I prefer it because of that. I think I always prefer the last record we did but certainly Strange Friend and Fears Trending are closer to what I think the band can be.
The Phantom Band – The Lexington 4/2/15
QO: Taking that into account, was that more enjoyable to record then? Rather than say The Wants?
RA: The Wants and Checkmate Savage were quite difficult to record, more to do with the people in the band. Well, a former member of the band.
AW: It was stressful experience because we had booked studio time and we did want things polished but we went into the studio, especially with The Wants without a fucking clue what we were doing and it was an expensive studio. Probably one of the most expensive in the country.
QO: Was that Franz Ferdinands?
AW: No, that was free because we ran out of money. That was the first album.
RA: The first album we thought we had a clue and after a couple of days we didn’t have a clue. So we changed how we were going to record it and then with The Wants we were like “Well, we didn’t have a clue last time and now we definitely don’t have a clue.” We didn’t even bother trying to have a clue.
We actually hummed a tune and tried to make it a chorus.
AW: Or we had another little bit that didn’t actually fit anything so we stuck it on anyway. We somehow created these tracks with a weird digital collage. It was fun because I do enjoy using the studio as an instrument in a way.
It’s not often you get to use amazing sounding rooms or racks of outboard stuff. You can use it as much as you possibly can rather than having all of your tracks basically nailed before going in.
RA: I think going in and not having set ideas like it was with The Wants there are times when, like one night me and Andy went in late, with Derek who you met (Derek O’Neil – producer and mixer) and recorded tons of mad shit over the top of the track. At the time we thought it was brilliant and then the next day we played it and people weren’t so keen on it. They were like “What the fuck have you been doing to this?”
Spontaneity is a great thing in the studio. Its the key because you come out with some interesting stuff and quite often the first thing you come up with is the best.
In The Wants often little bits someone would come up with in the studio like little accompaniments or melodies turned out to be some of the best bits of that record.
Sometimes if you are over rehearsed it can back fire. We demo’d a lot of stuff with Strange Friend which was good.
AW: With the first two albums we had huge debates about the running order. Even Checkmate Savage we would spend a whole week emailing each other. Everyone had a different order. With Strange Friend pretty much everyone had the same.
QO: So it is quite democratic then?
AW & RA: Yeah.
AW: The album just sequenced itself.
RA: Some songs feel like natural opener’s or some best suited to later on but in this everyone was agreed and it was quite clear.
If you have frequented a music festival in the UK over the last few years then have a think about what, other than the music and bands you have seen perform, has stuck in your mind. What show, or entertainer, or game, or alternative act has affected you the most?
Of course everyone will have their own examples depending on their own personal tastes and upon the festivals they have attended.
In my mind, there is one that towers above the rest. For pure wholesome entertainment and a guaranteed feeling of joy, I raise you Ringo: Music Bingo.
Since my first experience of it some 5 years ago, I have made a point of beginning every day (when at a festival) with the absurd delights of this game that was the brain child of a man from Cork whom, now is a friendly fixture at End Of The Road.
Ronan Leonard has his fingers in a lot of pies (I am sure he would be able to react with a hilarious one liner to that description), he is a musician, a song writer, a comedian and a disc jockey. He is well known on the Cork scene but further afield it is Ringo: Music Bingo’s growing popularity that has secured Ronan a loyal fan base across the British Isles.
Quiffed Owl caught up with Ronan at The End Of The Road Festival and spoke about Ringo:Music Bingo and other such things like politics, economics and gags.
Quiffed Owl discovered that the loveable man from Munster’s interviewee style was not at all dissimilar to his presentation and comedic style.
QO: How did you come up with the idea of Ringo: Music Bingo?
RL: I was impeccably hungover about 9 years ago, early 2005 and just like my normal performance style it was monoprocysi……well, whatever the word is when you get the first letter wrong in a word and I was talking to some friends about different ways to entertain ourselves on the Monday without going to a pub. Someone said “Why don’t we just go to ringo?” and everyone laughed.
Bill Bailey was asked “How do you come up with ideas for your jokes?” and he said “I start by laughing and then go, what would elicit that response?
So I remember going “What would Ringo be?” as my friends were all laughing at me for saying Ringo instead of bingo. I was obviously trying to say bingo and Ringo is a famous musician so it must be music bingo and I would definitely go to that if I could so I went into a pub I know on the Tuesday and said “Listen I have had an idea, let me know if you would be up for this and I will do this next week and you just give me free booze and booze as prizes, will you just give me a go? I want to scratch this itch?”
And they went “Yeah. Fine.”
I got this educational vocabulary software and did some dicking about with the settings. So I went from basic words like ‘Birds’ and stuff like that for six year olds to learn and then to band names and then just had a basic I-pod playlist.
So I went in on the Monday and brought a crowd and said “Look, free booze to play and within about ten minutes of the game starting the owner was like “We want to do this every week”, and it just kicked off from there.
QO: As well as Ringo: Music Bingo I know you have a lot of other projects going on. What are the most interesting projects that you have been working on as well as Music Bingo?
RL: Well I get easily distracted and also have too many ideas which are major problems and unfortunately not a great combination.
I started off as a musician about 16, 17 and got involved in youth theatre. The difference between youth theatre and stage school is the concept of process not product or product not process. Stage school is about getting 10 people and getting the best singer and giving them the best role and if you are not good enough at singing they just say “You shouldn’t come back” Where as youth theatre is process not product, about pursuing stuff almost like Ringo: Music Bingo. As I explained it was like “Let’s see how this goes”, without a defined end point. So I do loads of things, sometimes just for a few weeks. Sometimes, for ages.
I DJ and do a lot of things as a one man performance style because it is a lot easier to rely on just one person. I change personal goals so I am not letting anyone else down.
Djing is as much to make a living than my main goal in life but I do love a theme so I do something called Dead Cool, only music by dead people. Under cover, where I only play people that have done cover versions. I have also put on one man shows under the name of Adventures of a Music Nerd which is me taking a bunch of songs so that its like a hyper extended version of Music Bingo. So I’ll do an hour long show about a particular type of song, and these would be in like theatre festivals. The most recent one I did was called Adventures Of A Music Nerd. One Guy, Two World Cups where I took just the world cup songs that Ireland released for world cup 90 and 94 and made a comedy show out of that.
I write sad songs and record them and play them to myself but personally I see so many more talented musicians that I am happy to play it like… other people play golf, where they are a fine golf player but they are not the best golf player so they don’t pursue it. Where as with comedy, I have definitely developed a niche thing and it is easier to measure somebody liking comedy than liking sad songs because they laugh.
QO: I would imagine it would be self gratifying if you think it’s funny and you believe in it then you will go and do it?
RL: Exactly, and also because the very thing with Ringo: Music Bingo, (Pause) it is preposterous. Just the idea of it, if you walk in to it in the middle it’s just like “What is he saying?” and it always ends up, I am not applauding myself but rarely in comedy is the punch line written for you, in front of you on a piece of paper so you are just going “How does he get to the answer which is written down?”.
A lot of comedy is about juxtaposition and the element of suprise and the twist but all I am is twist first and I twist into the punch line.
QO: What is the most unusual gig you have played?
RL: The thing about Ringo: Music Bingo is while it has a series of prepared bits it is largely improvised and odd things happen at random.
In comedy you would see a lot of stand ups do it and I do stand up as well but I learnt a term called ‘Call back’ and stand ups do it where they prepare texts so they are just making a sign about something and then twenty minutes later you will refer to it again which oomphs up the second punch line but for the audience themselves, it is in many ways a trick of the mind because the audience themselves are pleased with themselves for remembering the original fact.
So you go “Well done me for getting that and that’s called a call back so the thing with Ringo is sometimes the call back happens before the first mention so I am always kept on my toes about that and keep referring to it.
At the moment I have a running joke with myself of a Cast album and how many times musicians say “Alright” in their songs and that’s a Cast song title.
QO: That has had a great response this weekend.
RL: You play it to your audience and this End Of The Road audience would be quite musically sophisticated and mostly 25 plus, maybe 25 to 40 so we can share cultural reference points but I remember doing a Ringo: Music Bingo in a youth hostel which my second cousin runs and it was quite a challenge to do….well, most of them didn’t speak English or spoke pigeon English so to do those kind of gags. ..you know?
I’ve been involved in mad things like with yourself in Newport which was just the most random idea because sometimes when you do a gig you have two enthusiasts like yourself and your brother were the only people who had ever played it and one other guy, Johnny but there was about 60 people there who had been promised “Look its good, it makes no sense but it’s good”.
You have that kind of audience from scratch when you just have to show them your ‘throw away nature’ but deliberately ride up the front like when a support act has to play the catchy song first. Whereas at End of the Road a good 25% have heard the jokes 4,5,6 times already and sometimes they come like 3 days in a row so you have to find a new way of presenting what they know already.
Because it is not a set script, unique things happen at each event. Earlier today I had this thing where I was playing the theme tune to The Monkees and 3 youngsters, teenagers walked in. I thought it was amazing so I said “Hey, lads will you go back out and walk back in like you are The Monkees?” and they were like “Yeah definitely, no bother”.
Everyone else knew what to expect but then they came in and they were just running like chimpanzees. I think it was the funniest thing I’ve been a part of, its just stuff like that.
QO: With Ringo and anything that you have done, there is a lot of crowd participation. What are the most unusual answers or ridiculous comments that you’ve heard?
RL: Okay well I will tell you straight up. Its vulgar though.
QO: Go right ahead.
RL: It is only Ringo that has crowd participation but things like Dead Cool and as my job as a DJ my job is to entertain but some people, they may be lovely people but they seem to think their DJ set is to show people music they should know which I just find a bit snobby. People always react best, particularly at a festival crowd to three songs they kind of know and then drop someone that they do know they always go crazy.
I listen to so much music but I listen to it at home and work it out and talk about music with friends but when, in a socialising way your job is to be the entertainer just like a barman, if you went up to him and ordered a drink he won’t go “I don’t think you want that, I think you should have this drink instead”.
I always say “Requests are welcome but not guaranteed”, so there is a great song by this Irish band called Republic of Loose and they are absolutely brilliant.
Dirty white boy funk music, absolutely brilliant, you should check them out and they have had a couple of big hits and as a music lover, they have a brilliant song called “Do you like music?” It is about a broke entertainer who is being chatted up by a girl he went to school with who suddenly makes lots of money, well, a wage as anyone who makes music doesn’t make a lot of money and the whole chorus is “What kind of music do you like?” as if only people should like one type of music..umm… so he is tackling the 9-5 way of life…but they have this other song called Come Back Girl and it was a song to his Ex girlfriend saying “This is my Come back girl, you know, I’ve been in a dark place for a while but this is my comeback, girl.” It’s a great tune and so catchy and when I am personally on a low I draw back on it.
Now, bearing in mind the song is called Come Back Girl and they are called Republic Of Loose…..In isolation my jokes might seem in poor taste but as the whole show goes I just take terrible stereotypes and invariably turn them on their heads so, my joke for this is, um:
If Nurses had their own country, Right? Because nurses are traditionally or stereotypically known for, um, loose morals. So if they had their own country it would be called ‘The Republic Of Loose.’
This guy guffawed when I said that because it was called Come Back Girl and he said “Oh Yeah, yeah, because you always cum on their back”.
So obviously he over exaggerated the meaning. He obviously meant one nurse and thinks that’s what their all like. So I always remember that.
The Monkees thing might have overshadowed that now.
QO: It certainly went down well.
At festivals I always have this thing, like ‘Spontaneous Festival Moment’, because sometimes you find people spend their whole time talking, at a festival, about something amazing that happened like two festivals ago. So I am always staging spontaneous moments like that Monkees thing.
QO: I would imagine that doing what you do and working on the festival circuit, you have made some famous/ semi-famous friends. Is there anyone in particular who you’ve remained friendly with?
RL: One of the most famous people, in the music scene I ever saw was, well I am not going to name him because, well it’s not particularly embarrassing but he would be a leading figure in the Scottish, alternative music scene in the las t ten years
QO: Aidan Moffat?
RL: No, not a member of the Chemikal Underground stable, so I will let you work that out. There is only one other label, really of note in Scotland.
Anyway, he came along to play Ringo:Music Bingo and he fell asleep during it. It was the afternoon sun, it must have been.
I know a couple of members of Goldie Lookin Chain would have been at it but I suppose people just enjoy the fun because like I say “Ringo: Music Bingo is like disco dancing, its more fun to do than to watch people doing but sometimes people are just having a few drinks and enjoying the music and the banter because Ringo: Music Bingo doesn’t need much attention either.
To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it.
QO: I remember the one you referred to earlier, Cheese Fest 2000 which was yours I believe?
RL: Well, ours.
QO: Well, at that, Keith Levene from Public Image Limited was there. In fact, I think that was the first solid I have ever seen pass his lips.
RL: I didn’t really know who he was until he was pointed out. I like some of his songs but I haven’t heard all of it.
Ah yes. About two years ago at End Of The Road there is always one breakout band and there was a band who played on the Friday and then they got pulled in to do the secret gig in the Tipi tent on the Saturday and then they played the third stage because their was a cancellation. It was Alabamma Shakes and they were brilliant. They happened to walk passed on the Saturday and then made a point of coming back on the Sunday which was kind of cool.
You sometimes forget that when musicians and bands are at a festival they also want to ramble around.
QO: I know you love your music. Who are your favourites?
RL: Arab Strap. They are the greatest band of all time. I am also a fan of The Dirty Three and Damien Jerado. I think because I have listened to them all so much they are in in my muscle memory, I can go a year without listening to them. There is also an Irish band called The Frames who were very influential in my early music career as a writer and performer I find I often tap back to that.
I find it funny that people make a point of disliking things they used to really like years ago.
QO: From over listening, do you think?
RL: No. For instance Oasis were one of my favourite bands at 15 and I still love them because I remember that time of my life. As a critic I have evolved passed that time of my life.
QO: Their first two albums, you cannot ignore how great they are.
RL: Yes but as an influence they increased my confidence because it was something I was a part of.
Dylan and The Band would be huge and then it would be lots of individual musical moments. You hear some things but it takes me longer to get really excited by a new act and I think it is because I have heard so much.
It would be like going to a restaurant, and I eat out about, like five times a year and I order something on the menu which I think is so inventive, I don’t know, mushroom with goats cheese and then someone else is like “That is so cliché”.
QO: I suppose it is just putting yourself out there to become more exposed to it? For me, there is still nothing more exciting than hearing a new band that you like for the first time and that is why music keeps bringing you in.
RL: Because I do Dead Cool and Ringo you are vvery aware that there are a lot of kids there and they have never heard these songs and you see them kind of looking around. An 11 year old might hear Perfect Day by Lou Reed which is actually one of the most iconic songs, everybody knows it and the look on their face of discovery is brilliant.
I DJ weddings and stuff and it is nice to be reminded that not everyone listens to music as much as we do. This is an aside but it reminds me of an interview with Fran Healy from Travis and the interviewer was like ” How do you feel about the ubiquitousness of the song?” because it was one of the most played songs at that time and he replied “I don’t listen to that song that much. I wrote and then we rehearsed it alot and then we recorded it so now we only play at least once a day.”
That just goes to show, I listen to a lot of music a lot and then there are all these classic tunes whether it be Dianna Ross or The Beatles, I rarely listen to them because they are so well known but it reminds you what people like in a pop song and that should have recognition.
QO: Your presentation style is seamlessly disjointed. Is that a conscious decision?
RL: I don’t know, I have never sat down and thought what would be the best way to deliver Ringo: Music Bingo but because I am the world leading exponent of it, it is what it can be. Like I said I get bored easily and the random style of Ringo makes it more fun for me so that keeps me on my toes.
By its very nature of being random it has got to be disjointed. Sometimes, when doing Ringo I have been very hungover which can make you sloppy but at certain times like when you are doing a corporate gig or a staff party you have to be more forceful, a bit like a teacher just to get it across that it is fun, which I know sounds counter intuitive but at a festival you read the audience and I think people love the shambolic nature and at things like End Of The Road I deliberately ramble and am off hand because I am always aware that a proportion of people have heard a lot of the jokes before so it is the asides that will entertain them and the people who are there for the first time will just have to put up with the asides. You have to play to both audiences so, I guess it is deliberate yes.
One of my favourite books is The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and the classic passage in it, that I have reflected upon so much is, I know it sounds grand but when Arthur finally learns how to fly it is because he has to stop thinking about flying and anytime you are flying and you think about the fact that you are flying you fall. That is the thing, I deliberately don’t think about how I am performing because then I would probably become to aware of how I am perform and I know it works so I leave it at that.
QO: What makes End Of The Road Festival special and unique? What does this festival have to offer?
RL: Well I have been here so much, it is the same for The ATP Festival and same with Green Man, the first time at each festival was the best time but you get used to the stuff that the people here for the first time thinks is amazing. We are currently having a drink at a converted barn with ale put into it and they change the selection of ale everyday. When I say that I mean it is a barn with ale put into it not a barn full of ale. It’s these little touches that you wouldn’t see at a more mainstream festival.
QO: The eye for detail perhaps?
RL: It is these touches, for instance they didn’t do that last year and I am sure next year which shows that they are, well, Chairman Mau called it a constant revolution.
There are always great acts that I have always wanted to see and then there are acts I have heard of and wanted to see and then there are acts who come out of nowhere and you think that was great.
I have got to know it so I have gotten used to it but you look around and people are always having a good time. That is I suppose the core of it, you go to a festival to be festive.
I like the way it didn’t expand too much. It went from 3000 to 4000, to 5000 to 8000. There was no expediential growth like “We now do 12000”, which would go towards losing its essence.
QO: You have a night where you DJ called Dead Cool. Who are the three dead people you would most want to see dancing to your set?
RL: Oh, That’s good.
The staple of Ringo is there are so many songs that people know but, if you ask people to write down all the songs they know people will always remember Help! by The Beatles or Take On Me by Aha. Everyone knows those songs but there is another song list of the same length that people don’t know that they know or forget they know until they hear it and go “I love this song” and I love playing those ones at Dead Cool and one of my favourite’s of those is Everybody Needs Someone To Love by The Blues Brothersand John Belushi in that would mean he would be a great guy to see dancing.
John Belushi, not just dancing but I would say because hewas such a gregarious character that if he heard a song that he had forgotten but that he knew, you would see him gesturing to people and getting excited.
Do you know what? I am not saying this just because he has recently passed away but I think Robin Williams would be fun to have at a night you were djing at. I don’t want to make this too gender specific so the next one I would like to see dancing is Dusty Springfield. I would definitely like to see her socializing because she definitely liked to drink so that would be fun. Oh no wait, Janis Joplin!
QO: Jesus Christ
RL: No, Janis Joplin. She would be hands up and the kind of person to sing along to her own song.
I just realised that all four of those people I mentioned suffered from severe and ultimately life ending addiction problems. Maybe something in common there?
Here is just a little aside and in isolation it may sound in bad taste but it was Cork ‘pride week’ about two weeks ago and I was booked to do a Dead Cool set. I decided to do, of course, nobody who isn’t dead but I decided to play nobody who died of Aids. Just a little tribute. It went down well with the people who got the joke.
The thing with Dead Cool is I regularly do late hours and long sets and people would be up afterwards saying “Hey, that was great. I love the broad selection of music because it isn’t just gender specific”
I would be like “And did you notice anything else?”
They would start to think and be like “No, not at all”
“They are all dead” and you would see them going “Oh Yeah”
When people know the trend you see people saying to their friends “Oh Jesus, I didn’t know he was dead”
I remember once that I had to break the news of Nick Drake’s death to a 20 year old and she was like “When?”
And I go “Before you were born”
A lot of people think Bill Withers is dead which he’s not but I have noticed a lot of people don’t know Joe Strummer is dead.
QO: Who are the three people you wouldn’t like to see dancing?
RL: Nobody!
There are people, who are dead that I wouldn’t like to see but I would like the challenge of having them on the dance floor.
QO: Chairman Mau for instance?
RL: Oh god. Chairman Mau would be terrible. He would slowly and administratively get everyone to dance in exactly the same way.
QO: And to the left of the dance floor.
RL: Of course Maggie Thatcher I wouldn’t like to see but here’s the thing. I have this theory and it’s not because they are dead but when somebody who is remotely famous reaches out to shake your hand, you will always shake their hand. A friend of mine, in a news story, like when the Prime Minister or someone turns up in a building and they have announced 800 new jobs, my friend was working in one of those places.
The Prime Minister guided Ireland, face first into a recession. His name is Brian Cowen and he turned up at one of these places, It was actually a poisoned challis he was given but he was presiding the ship as it went down. Anyway, he shook my buddies hand, he reached out to it in that politician way and my buddy shook his hand. His face beamed up but he has never lived it down.
I have the feeling that if I ever meet Thierry Henry, as much as I hate him I would still probably shake his hand.
QO: To just touch ‘that’ hand?
RL: Yes. I have a friend who met Maradonna once. He was absolutely off his head and my friend reached out to shake his hand and Maradonna put out his right hand because that’s your standard hand shake one and my buddy went “No, no, no”
And Maradonna, with a glint in his eye went “Oh, okay” and then he put out the left hand.
At the time of print Maradonna is alive but I want him on the dance floor.
I wouldn’t like to see John Lennon because I would be so in awe of him that if I played a song he clearly didn’t like I would have to turn it off.
QO: I don’t think Yoko would let him out anyway.
As a comedian. Who do you draw from the most?
RL: Kenn Dodd. There we go.
People like Bruce Forsyth and stuff like that. Ringo is a natural descendant of late 70’s to mid 80’s Saturday night light entertainment. Stuff for all the family. Bad jokes and a lot of fun.
QO: Is that because it is so accessible?
RL: It’s what I call ‘Post Ironic Fun’. For so many people ‘fun’ seems to have become a bad thing and I just don’t know what’s wrong with it. I don’t know why people don’t have the craic.
I am serious person. I go through the serious stuff as we all do but why waste all of your time on stage doing that kind of stuff.
I am a singer and songwriter and that’s where I tackle it, you know? The hard stuff. Personally, the comedians I love like Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan and there are a pop troop trio from Limerick called The Rubberbandits.
The Rubberbandits style would not have influenced my style of performance but as an art it is just amazing and Dylan Moran was a shambolic, hung over drunk guy so that style would probably shift into how I perform stuff. I would like to think it is mutually exclusive, his influence on my performance style and his influence on my intellectual humour.
Steve Wright for the one liners and Tim Vine for the puns are two other people but you see I have never portrayed Ringo: Music Bingo to be the most original thing you’ll ever see as some of the jokes, in a sense are just gags and I know a lot of stand up comedians always bitch about Peter Kaye or Michael Macintyre because they are like “Oh, its just like jokes you’ve heard before” because , I suppose they do and there is nothing wrong with telling a joke or two that’s an easy joke for people to laugh at because your job is to entertain and people always forget this stuff.
QO: Since 2005 when you started doing Ringo: Music Bingo you have built quite a following and a loyal fan base.
RL: Well, a base.
In fact that reminds me of an interesting article I read about being an independent musician in America but an economist sat down and worked out that to become a professional musician that could live from his wage you needed, I think about 11,000 fans and the idea was that a fan would be someone who bought one album, one t-shirt and two gig tickets in a year and this would be based on travelling just around America so it didn’t include trans- Atlantic flights. I think it was based on doing 150 gigs a year or 120 so he built in petrol costs, accommodation, food and this was for a band so four people to make a living.
I thought it was really interesting but now, to extrapolate all of that data over a year, I don’t have enough fans to make a living off it so that still puts me in the semi-pro, enthusiasts bracket. I would love to make the jump up but that would mean having to commit to way more things and way in advance and that would mean stopping a lot of other things I like to do on a whim. I am 34 and I should have made that decision years ago but I still haven’t.
I know it sounds cheesy but at this festival (End Of The Road) I would say that I have talked to 30 or 40 people whom I have never met before and probably wont meet again who just say “That was really good fun, that’s great”. Then they’re are people like you who I’ve met and we are just buddies so you make friends with outside of the Ringo: Music Bingo so those are fans but to turn those into patrons of your work, that is the hard step.
I can’t release a record but I should make t-shirt’s and sell them but I haven’t got around to that.
I just realised I cut you off. What was your question?
QO: No that’s fine, I was going to ask what your plans are for the future? But I think you’ve answered that.
RL: Well to do a little bit more admin and answer all of those emails.
Quiffed Owl 