The Suffrajets interview by Micky K

I posted the Suffrajets’ gig [see Gig reviews page May 2003] on the SoundsXP notice board (as I always do), but everybody was busy. Ah, sod the lot of you I’m going on my own anyway. What’s more important, a Champions League semi-final or the future of Rock ‘n’ Roll? There’s no saving some people. Then came the e-mail from the Ed’s. “Micky, are you going to The Suffrajets gig tonight?” Duh! Stupid question as everybody knows I go to all their gigs if I can. “Any chances you can do an interview while you’re there?”

Before diving headlong into the nuts and bolts of the evening, here’s a very quick resume of The Suffrajet - They first came to fame on a Satellite TV Programme called “Roadies”. At that time they were a 3-piece, and incredibly young. They had something special about them even then. I saw them for the first time about 2 years ago and immediately saw they had some sort of spark. They released a couple of EP’s that didn’t really trouble the charts, but had hints of things to come. They toured, toured, and tour some more, honing their live act into a finely tuned rock and roll machine. Things were looking good, and labels were sniffing.  Anyway, spin forwards to the end of April 2002 and they were involved in a horrendous motoring accident that wrote off their tour bus, and put their bass player Charlie in hospital with a smashed collarbone. They were lucky to get out alive. Following the accident, it all went quiet for several months. No gigs or releases were forthcoming, and to most people thought that was it, we won’t see them again. Then, out of nowhere earlier this year, they returned with a new 4-piece line up, minus Charlie, but with an additional guitarist. The return gig was at the Garage, and they blew the other bands away with a performance that can only be described as the greatest come back since Lazarus. It was as tight as I remembered from before, just bigger and better. Anyway, that’s enough of the history lesson.

So there I was, rushing across town at breakneck speed in the Monkey mobile for an 8 o’clock rendezvous with arguably the best young live band in London with recorder in hand, and hastily prepared notes in my pocket. God knows what the poor girls thought when I boarded their tour bus breathing heavily with more than a healthy sweat forming on my brow.  At the back of the bus I found them encamped round the single table. Alex (singer and guitarist), Sam (bass and vocals), and sister Shelley (guitar and vocals) sitting on the small bench seats, while Gemma (drums) is perched up on the top bunk with the air of the King (or should that be Queen) of the castle. The greeting is warm, the atmosphere relaxed and there is a surprising lack of alcoholic beverages on show (though there is an abundance of Marlboro Lights – tick!). They talk freely, and the air of the bus is more like an extended family holiday that a hotbed of hedonism.  Up the front it the tour manager, who has both the air of a kindly uncle, mixed in with the hardness of life on the road. You can imagine him changing the wheels on the bus without needing to use the jack. Also, I bet they never have any trouble getting paid by local promoters. They also have a crew with them, 2 young guys who say little but are there for their technical acumen not their conversational skills. Also on the bus is their record company rep, who you can just tell is passionate about them without being gushy and over the top. She doesn’t sit over them and oversee everything they say or do, and doesn’t need to as she’s more than aware that these kids are more suss than the average 20 year old. She’s always within earshot, chipping in amusing anecdotes or reminiscing about events in the past. I’ve been there 5 minutes and I feel like getting an acoustic guitar out and singing “Summer Holiday”. Everything’s cool, and they’re chatty. Working in this industry means I get to meet quite a few “celeb types”, and believe me when I say it’s normally the young ones who have chips on their shoulders and rotten attitudes. If only all interviews were as pleasant as this.

You first can to public attention in the TV Programme “Roadies”, has that had a positive effect on your career, or was a bit of an albatross?

Alex: I was good for us, gave us a lot of exposure when we were relatively unknown and generated a lot of positive feedback.

Gemma: It was embarrassing though watching it back later. I didn’t say that did I?

Is that still how the majority of your audience know you?

G: It’s about 50/50, that and the fact that we had been gigging almost constantly for 2 years. We’ve probably done over 500 gigs by now, so from back in those days that’s where most of our fan base has from come up and down the country. We don’t have any mates at home anymore, they’re scattered all over the country!

500 gigs? It does show in your performances.

G: Really? That’s cool thanks!

A: We’re good! 

Do you ever think when you come off stage after a show that you’re really good?

G: When we come off stage we can be like “we’re the fucking bollocks!” The adrenalin’s flowing and if it’s been a good gig you just can’t beat that.

A: I nearly threw up after the last gig from all the adrenalin, but it makes you feel confident in your own ability.

G: You can never get too confident though, cos it comes across and people don’t like you for it.

Shelley: Yeah, it can get fake.

A: It’s not like we’ve got big egos or anything.

G: You can never think you’re the best, there’s always ways to get better.

As long as you’re enjoying it, it will always come across.

A: That’s it, we just love it man!

You were a 3-piece, then you disappeared for months before re-emerging as a 4-piece minus Charlie the bass player. What happened there?

A: Well basically we got booted up the arse by an articulated lorry in our old tour bus. It took the fire brigade an hour to cut us out, and Charlie got a really badly broken collarbone that took 4 months to heal. Following that she couldn’t get back on board the bus again. We didn’t play live for over 10 months after the accident.

G: It was a quite amicable split. We couldn’t make her stay with us.

So there was nothing untoward under the surface then?

A: Oh no, we were tight, we were a firm, everyone who knew us knew that. It was a shame at the time, but now obviously we’ve got these two and we’re rocking out again. You’ve got to move on if you want to get somewhere. You’ve got to go for it, you can’t look back.

So how did you get Sam and Shelley involved? Did you know them before?

G: It was typical Suffrajet fate; everything that happens to us is fate. I believe the crash was fate now, cos we’re back fifty times stronger. It was literally the day after we had the talk with Charlie; we were in the pub,

A: the “Entertainer” of all names

G: and our mate said “I know 2 girls who play”, so we met them and bang, that’s done! Oh, and on the back of our old tour bus it said “Walker” in big black letters.

Sam: And we’re the Walker sisters.

G: Now that’s fate!

Sh: It was meant to be.

So if fate hadn’t conspired for you to meet the girls, and a good male bass player had come along, would you have taken him on or did it have to be a female?

G: We discussed it, and yeah we would have done but probably not as a permanent member. I mean you can’t be called the Suffrajets with a guy in it really, but we were desperate just to play again at that time. The bass player from King Prawn volunteered to fill in for us but it never came about in the end.

A: We’d have had to put him in a wig and dress, and shave his beard off!

G: Bless him!

So now you’ve got 4 members, how has that changed things?

A: Oh, such a difference, totally. Initially it was strange having been a 3 piece for so long. We were looking for a bass player just so we could get out and gig again, but they said we come as a pair, so you have to take both of us.

Sm: I think it makes it more powerful.

G: In reviews we’ve had in the past it’s been said that we lacked the second guitar that would give us that lift we needed. Now we’ve got cock-rock solos, 3 part harmonies and you can’t beat it!

How did a British band with an average age of 19 manage to get a gig at the famous Whiskey-A-Go-Go?

G: The guy’s we were recording with in the U.S.A. got us the gig. They went there and said we’ve got this great band from England that you’ve got to put on and the rest is history.

Favourable reaction from the locals?

A: Yeah it was great, they really took to us. We were booked to play the Viper Room as well, but because of the 9/11 incident they were shutting everything down.

G: We were meant to be flying back on that day. Another bit of fate!

A: It was a crazy gig, great fun. There are all these signs up saying no stage diving, no moshing and this and that, and we’re thinking oh no this is going to be shit. Then when you’re playing, in between songs where in England the crowd would be yelling and stuff, they’d be applauding and from out of nowhere you’d hear “rock ‘n’ roll” and we’d be all whoa, they really do that!

G: You see it in films and videos, but you don’t believe it really happens.

A: It was like being in Wayne’s World!

So you’ve been recording in the U.S.A. then?

G: Yeah, we’ve been doing some new songs.

A: And re-recording our older stuff, cos now we’ve a different line up we sound totally different to our original recordings. It had to be done.

G: We’ve got a new single called “Distinction” out on July 7^th.

A: And a launch party at the Garage on the 6^th.

Having heard your early recordings, it’s probably fair to say that you haven’t as yet captured you live sound and energy. Do you think the producers that you’re using this time have managed to do it?

Sm: Definitely.

A: That was the main fear for all of us. Can we get this live sound we’ve got across. So we’ve got a producer that understands us and seen us play live, and he got us in the studio, whipped us up and licked us into shape.

G: It was all very energetic and raw. Some of my drum tracks were done in two takes instead of sitting in a studio all day doing take after take to get it right.

A: It was all very chilled out.

Sh: He wanted to capture it as we are.

Did you have input into the mixing, or was it a case of leave it to us we know what we’re doing?

A: Oh no, we know what we want and they’d involve us and say what do you think of this. We’d be, no, this or that needs to go up or down or whatever, so we had a lot of say in it.

With some big name producers you can get a case of been there done that, we know better than you.

G: We’re fortunate that we’ve got quite a lot of recording experience, so they gave us respect in the fact we knew what we were doing, and what sound we wanted. We’re not all over excited in the studio, and demanding that we’re all louder than the other members in the band.

A: Every band knows how they want to sound, and should be allowed to have a say in it, but you need a good producer to bring out the little things in the mix and apply the polish. That’s where you have to trust in their experience.

When can we expect to see the album in the shops?

A: Probably around Christmas or New Year.

Quite a way off then?

A: Yeah but we’ve got a couple of singles to release before then.

Sm: Three singles I think.

A: That’s the plan, at the moment! We’ve recorded 16 tracks, but that will probably end up as 13 or 14 on the finished album.

G: I wanted to do a 35-track album!

A: Well we do have enough songs to do that. You should have heard us deciding what songs went on. We all wanted different tracks so we recorded all the songs we really wanted, then we can argue afterwards about which ones go on.

Sm: You never know how they’re going to turn out until you’ve recorded them properly.

How many new tracks have made the cut?

G: 6 or 7 totally new ones, as in songs we hadn’t already recorded before in America.

Any Jazz odysseys, or just pure Suffrajets?

G: It’s pure Suffrajets, with a bit of cock-rock!

A: One track goes on a while, and we just leave Sam to it.

Sm: It’s got the touch of the Walker sisters now!

G: I always say it cos it’s true, we’ve got a pop song, a punk song, a grunge song and a rock song. We never say we can’t write that because it’s not like us. There’s not a typical style of music we do, we do everything. It’s quite a mixture.

Sh: There’s no limits really.

A: It does make it difficult to decide on the order of songs on the album though.

Sm: You can’t limit yourself or try to fit to a pigeonhole cos you run the risk of becoming predictable.

It sounds like you’re getting good support from your record label?

A: Yeah, we’re the main band on the subsidiary label, so they’re putting a lot behind us. Obviously it’s not always smooth and there are the usual record company disagreements. They like a bit of a row so we have to sort them out, bat them over the head then tell them we love ‘em!

G: They love it. In fact they only do it cos they love it. The Abbott’s, they’re good boys and have been good to us.

So back on the road over the next couple of months then?

G: We’re doing the Ladyfest Tour with Kat Wife and The Metro club in July

(Record Company Rep: That’s been extended for a few more dates in July, and a big date in Liverpool for Ladyfest and the Big Issue)

A: See, they never tell us this. They turn up round our houses early in the morning in the bus and tell us we’re gigging again!

G: It’s true, we get on in our pyjamas and go back to sleep.

A: If you wake up on the bus, you have to think for a second before realising it’s ok, we still must be on tour. Done it so many times, wake up and think, ah, not going home again today!

You spend a lot of time touring and gigging, so which band are you waiting for to call you up and offer you a support slot?

A: The Foo Fighters, probably.

Do you think you’d appeal to their audience?

A: I think they’d get us and understand where we’re coming from.

Sm: Green day would be pretty close.

A: I think that’s the only comparison you can make that gets anywhere near to us, somewhere between The Foos and Green Day.

G: We were talking about this only last night, put those two in a blender with a bit of pop, a bit of the old Zeppelin cock-rock, that would be us.

A bit of Metallica and S Club 7?

G: Yeah you’ve got it!

Sm: Now that’s the new original sound!

G: Actually while I think of it, and this hasn’t been announced yet, were supporting Liberty-X and N-Trance at the Coventry Music Festival on July 26^th.

A: Oh yes!.

G: Us, a dance act, N-Trance and Liberty-X.

A: Oh yes!

Sh: Can’t imagine what’s going to happen that day!

A lot of laughing I’d guess!

A: Yeah, but it’ll probably be a lot of 5 year olds, so at least we won’t get bottled.

Sh: It’s quite scary really.

A: Well, a lot of scared 5 year olds anyway.

With all the gigs you’ve done, have there been any bands that have supported you that you think have what it takes to be successful?

A: Bloody hell, there’s been so many.

G: Span, they’re a Norwegian band that are wicked. The Fantastic Super Foofs.

A: Oh, at the Metro. They were great.

G: Chris Martin form Coldplay came to see us at that gig. There’s the Water Rats gang of bands like InMe and Reuben.

A: So many bands, but not that many stick out as really special.

G: I like Antiproduct, with all the colours and UV, it’s wicked. Bungee Jump People Must Die, it’s mad!

You don’t do any covers, but if you had the opportunity which ones would you do?

G: We did “Suffrajet City” once.

A: That was cool. I know Muse have already done it, but it’s like my anthem so I’d love to do “Feelin’ Good”.

G: I really want, and it sounds funny, but I can hear it in my head and it would work.

A: What?

G: Shakira – “Whenever Wherever”.

A: Ha!

G: No serious, cos Sam’s voice, Sam sounds like her.

A: Ha……. I’m Sorry!

G: Seriously, you sound like her don’t you?

Sm: (agrees grudgingly).

A: Ha-ha!

G: It’s quite an easy drumbeat and we could really rock it up. But we’d never actually do it!

Sm: I’d like to do that Justin Timberlake one.

G: We tried the guitar for that one as well.

Sh: I think we should do a Liberty-X cover.

A: Ha, especially for the 26^th.

(They burst into an impromptu shouty version of “Sexy” before rolling about in fits of laughter)

G: Wouldn’t you want to do a Guns n Roses song?

Sh: Yeah, “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. Nah, you can’t force cock-rock down everybody’s neck.

Sm: We could do a Bon Jovi song so she can do her big solo.

“Living On A Prayer”?

A: Oh yeah, I can just see Shell doing that.

Final question, and a serious one to end on, what’s more important, commercial success or artistic integrity?

G: Commercial success does allow you to do the things you want I suppose, and I do want to be a celebrity.

A: I know you want to be a celebrity, we just wanna play that’s all!

G: That didn’t come out right, you know that. Hopefully our artistic integrity will generate commercial success.

A: The way I look at it, we just fucking play. We get up there, we play. We don’t think about whether people will like it or not. You either will or you won’t, if you don’t like it you don’t have to listen, but you won’t stop us playing. That’s the bottom line. If you can earn money doing something you love, bonus mate!

Sm: We don’t even think about it when we write.

A: We just do what we like

So if you could survive doing what you are now, you’d still carry on regardless?

A: Of course. If it doesn’t take off we’re still gonna play.

G: The point I was trying to make is that you ask any musician would you rather stay touring doing little gigs here and there, or have 10 million albums sold, they’ll take the latter every time cos more people get to hear your music and see your gigs. As long as you have control of you music why not be successful? Just because it is, doesn’t mean you’re selling out. Anybody who says they don’t want to sell a lot of records is lying, not because of the money in particular, but because you get people to hear your songs. Does that make any sense?

Sm: The songs are the most important thing, and performing them is why you do it in the first place.

A: But we all do it just to play live. That’s why I do it.

Sh: You get a kick out of it, you can’t beat it.

A: The bottom line is being out there and going mental, just having a laugh, that’s it. That’s what it’s all about.

At this point we concluded the interview, and the girls did their patented Hooray! Song (this involves Gemma slapping a pattern out on her legs, and then all shouting Hooray in the breaks. The switch of youth has been flicked back for a few seconds, and for a moment they are no longer the Great White Hope of British Rock ‘n’ Roll, but 4 young girls enjoying a private joke between them. You forget the seriousness and professionalism and see the spark of youth that sets them apart for the flock of overly serious fop topped excuses for bands that are treading the boards at venues all round the country every night.

If I wasn’t a convert before the interview, I certainly am now. Their enthusiasm for playing music is both frightening, and compelling. The heart is well and truly pinned upon their sleeves, and it beats with the soul of good old-fashioned rock.

I leave them to their pre-gig preparations and adjourn to the venue to sink a beer and absorb the last half an hour. At times it’s easy to forget that these girls are barely out of their teens, that they are more worldly wise that most of the audience they play to, yet they still have the ability to still enjoy their youth. No matter what they say about success (and there’s no doubt that with the correct amount of backing from their record company it will come), you know they are here for the right reasons, and for the long stretch.

Damon & Naomi: Naomi Yang
interview by Ged M

Naomi Yang and Damon Krukowski played bass and drums in the mercurial and much-loved Galaxie 500 on the cusp of the 80s/90s.  Following one EP as Pierre Etoile, they became Damon & Naomi and released their first album as a duo, ‘More Sad Hits’, in 1991 featuring Damon on vocals, guitar and percussion and Naomi on vocals and bass.  They collaborated with Japanese psych-folk band Ghost for a 2000 album, appropriately titled ‘Damon & Naomi with Ghost’.  Their most recent album is 2002’s live ‘Song To The Siren’ with Ghost’s Kurihara, a combination of live show in San Sebastian and DVD of the tour.  Over the decade, descriptions have ranged from “slow and mysterious” to sadcore, dream-pop, acid-folk and “an eerily incandescent pairing of melancholy souls who carved a niche for themselves…as the bedsit maestros of the fragile, world weary pop classic” (by the wonderful Ptolemaic Terrascope).   Since 1990, they’ve also run their own publishing house, Exact Change, publishing and reprinting works of experimental literature including Apollinaire, Dali, Jarry and Kafka.  They play the Bush Hall in London on 28 May.  We spoke to Naomi in the US in May 2003.  

SXP: You've been involved in music since the late 1980s.  How do you keep motivated through the cycle of recording and touring?   What keeps it fresh for you? 

Naomi: Well, we are not exactly the type of musicians like those you see in music videos: living on our tour bus for years at a time with no other life.  We tour just enough to go to fun places, have a good time, remember why touring is so difficult, and then go home!  But, that said, we love playing music and we love to travel so what could be better?  That was one of the reasons I am delighted that ‘Song to the Siren’ was released - we get to share our touring experiences a bit with our fans.  The fun, the insanity, and also the melancholy of it all. 

SXP: Has the way in which you write changed over the years?  Are you more lyrical now? 

Naomi: I think the most significant change to our songwriting is that we are actually doing the singing these days.  In Galaxie 500, we would all write riffs and then bring them into rehearsal and hash them out together, further defining the song but working on it from the point of view of the band sound.  The lyrics always came last (sometimes moments before recording them); Dean often wrote the lyrics since he was usually the one singing them. 

But, as we've made records as a duo, we've really come to appreciate the power of singing and the emotional power of lyrics.  It's a very different thing to perform as a duo, with no drums or amps to turn up for power. 

As for being more lyrical in the other sense of the word "lyric" - well, I think so.  I am very drawn to music, films, art, that have a strong sense of the introspective or the lyrical - those moments or experiences that seem to defy words.  Capturing them is one of my hopes for our music. 

SXP: The DVD on 'Song to the Siren: Damon & Naomi on tour with Kurihara' is very entertaining.  Why did you do it?  Did you have any particular ambitions for it?  And will you document future tours in the same way? 

Naomi: I have always taken photographs on tour - and Damon had given me a mini-DV camera as a present the year that we toured with Kurihara.  I was a bit bewildered by the camera (moving pictures?! Sound?!) but I thought it would be fun to bring on tour and see what happened.  So, at first, I didn't set out to make a film, I was just playing with the camera.  I thought it would be interesting to give the camera, every night, to a different friend or sometimes a fan in the audience and see what they recorded of our show.  I was delighted to see how everyone chose to film in a different way. 

As the tour went along, I became more and more interested in the possibilities of recording our experiences with the mini-DV - that being able to record time passing was somehow very related to the act of listening to/playing music.  When I came home I edited the footage, thinking of making a souvenir of our trip for ourselves and our friends to see.  It had been an incredible tour - playing with Kurihara every night had been a great experience; we had all become so comfortable playing together that we were really able to take the songs a step further.  To quote Kurihara from an interview with Ptolemaic Terrascope because he put it so well: 

"there were a number of amazing moments when we got this real synergy between the vibrations of the audience and the vibrations that we on stage were putting out.  I guess that's what people mean when they talk about "magic".  These kinds of experiences are irreplaceable." 

I think we all felt that way about the tour.  And, hence, our desire to document it in the ‘Live in San Sebastian’ recording.  We sent that recording along with the movie to Sub Pop and to our delight they said "let's put it out as a CD/DVD."  Suddenly, it seemed like then the whole thing could be more than a souvenir for ourselves, it could be for our fans as well! 

But then I had to learn how to make a DVD!  And once we were doing a DVD we thought it should have a commentary (which we did in one take ‘cause we thought it would keep it from being boring) and we wanted Japanese subtitles since Kurihara was in the film.

As for doing it again in the future, I don't know.  There was something so innocent about the way I was able to record everything because I didn't know what I was doing and no one else thought I was making a "movie."  But maybe - I never know what I am going to do! 

SXP: You've produced a number of cover versions, including an excellent Song To The Siren.  How do you stamp your own mark on these songs, especially when they're well known? 

Naomi: Well, often we have chosen songs that we thought were great songs but that could be done in another way, so we have an idea to begin with about how to do it differently.  But, I suppose, when a song or a lyric speaks to you and you take it into your repertoire, you can't help but make it more your own. 

SXP: I have an image of you as precise, perfectionist musicians, at home in the studio.  Do you have a preference for touring or recording? 

Naomi: Hmmm, do we wear our neuroses on our sleeves?  Actually, we are not really at all technically perfectionists - I mean, ok, we are trying to sing in tune and all but more important to us is the mood of a performance of a song.  Now the Japanese on the other hand. . . . that's perfectionism!!!! 

SXP: Will you be accompanied on this tour by Kurihara? 

Naomi: We will be performing, at least part of our set at the Le Weekend Festival in Stirling, Scotland, with Kurihara and Takizawa (also in Ghost).  But, unfortunately they won't be in London with us as they have to return to Japan. 

SXP: On the DVD, Damon says that "whisky's on our rider for touring".  What's on the rider for this tour? 

Naomi: Well, whisky, of course.  And probably tea.  We don't have very exotic requests on our rider.  Sometimes getting a nice whisky is hard enough! 

SXP: You set up a Musicians for Peace website after 11 September.  It seems in the US in particular that there is pressure on those, especially artists, who express dissent at the war.  Have you encountered problems because of your stand? 

Naomi: Not recently.  When we first set up the site we got a lot of hate mail, but later when so many people from around the world stood up and made themselves heard it was really gratifying.  Unfortunately, nothing seems to stop the White House from doing whatever the hell they want. 

SXP: How did you feel when Turn of the Century was used in an episode of the Sopranos?  Did you gain any fans or sales as a result? 

Naomi: We thought it was amusing, but I don't think it resulted in any perceptible sales or fans.  It was funny how it happened too.  We actually were on tour in England when the show called Sub Pop and asked to use our song.  Sub Pop contacted us and said they were faxing us the page from the script where they wanted to use our song, but they were worried we wouldn't say "yes" because it was for a scene where Meadow is deciding whether or not to use crystal meth to help her study for exams.  This was before the first season of the Sopranos had aired.  We just thought, "some HBO series --who is going to see it anyway? And, well, we're all for studying for one's exams."  So we said yes.  We didn't really think about it.  

Months later, after the Sopranos had become huge, we saw an ad go by on a bus for the show and Damon said, "I think that was the show that asked to use our song. . . ."  We went and looked at the contract and it was. We live without a TV, so we had no idea. 

SXP: With globalisation and the lowest common denominator commercialism of books and music, do you feel it's becoming harder to create your music or publish the books that you like?   Are you still publishing books through your 'Exact Change' company?

Naomi: Well, I kind of think that the lowest common denominator has always been there - and it's always been a challenge to make art/books/music that aim higher than that.  The one good part of globalisation, though, is that people from all over the world can discover each other so much more easily.  For all the corporate globalisation there is also the incredible freedom and information that people can find with access to the internet.  Like the way the international peace movement snowballed last winter. 

We are still publishing books through Exact Change (http://www.exactchange.com).  It is harder right now, but I think that is more because of the terrible economy in the US than the fault of all those lowest common denominator book buyers. . . it's also because the huge chain stores destroy our books and then send them back to us damaged --but that's another story. 

SXP: As well as music, do you have other public outlets for your talents: are you also published or exhibited? 

Naomi: Damon writes poetry and has his first full-length book coming out from Turtle Point Press, NY, in the fall of 2004. It's called "The Memory Theater Burned" and is a book of prose poems. 

I had a show of my paintings a few years ago, but I haven't really been painting recently, I have been concentrating on my photography which I discovered I enjoy more than painting.  But, between book design, CD design, filmmaking, DVD authoring I seem to have more than enough public outlets. 

SXP: Researching these questions, I found a large number of web pages devoted to Galaxie 500, Damon & Naomi and the other bands than sprang from G500.  What do you feel about such continuing dedication? 

Naomi: I am happy when the work we do can be meaningful to others. It's the greatest reward. 

SXP: What's next for Damon & Naomi?  Another record? 

Naomi: Yes! Some new songs to be debuted in the UK and then back home to work on the new record.  We hope to start recording in the fall! 

Radio 4: Gerard Garone
interview by Paul M and Ged M

Radio 4 are at the forefront of the current punk-funk scene, whose epicentre is New York.  The band are from New York, formed in 1999 and released their first album ‘The New Song and Dance’ in May 2000 on the Gern Blansten label.  In 2001 they released a 12” single of Dance to the Underground which was a big club hit.  For their second album ‘Gotham’, they hooked up with acclaimed production duo The DFA to produce one of the finest dance-rock records of 2002.  The band are Greg Collins (drums, percussion), Anthony Roman (vocals, bass, keyboards), Tommy Williams (vocals, guitar), Gerard Garone (keyboards) and P J O’Connor (percussion).  We met up with Gerard Garone before the Mean Fiddler gig on 22 March.  

SXP: Is there a Brooklyn scene?

Gerard: It’s kind of hard to ask me because, if there is a scene, I’m right in the middle of it.  It’s a journalist thing to call it a scene. I don’t think us, the Rogers Sisters, OutHud and the Rapture were sitting around and said “hey, let’s start a scene”!  It just happened that there were some good bands doing a similar thing at the same time.

SXP: New York must be buzzing at the moment.  Are there any bands left because you all seem to be over here?

Gerard: It’s strange: in New York everyone’s cooler than the next person so if anything has any sort of buzz about it, everybody’s there automatically to put it down.  In a way that’s cool. It keeps you humble, that’s for sure!  We all have real jobs. I still bartend.  I bartended in a club for years and there were four bands every night. In three years I saw maybe ten good bands!  Then all of a sudden there was a bunch of really good bands playing. 

SXP: Do musicians’ paths cross much in New York?

Gerard: Yeah, we’re friends with a lot of the bands.  We’re friends with Interpol.  We’re somewhat friendly with the Rapture – I don’t know them that well. But there’s this acknowledgement when you see these people.  We had a day off not so long ago in Brussels.  Interpol were playing so we went and saw them.  It was nice to see people you knew who weren’t in your band.

SXP: Do you all hang out at Anthony’s record shop?

Gerard: I don’t think people understand how big Brooklyn is!   It’s a 45-minute train ride from my house. I’ll go down there once in a while but it’s not like I wake up with my coffee and go down to Something Else and hang out with Anthony.  If I lived closer, I’d probably hang out there a lot more.

SXP: Does he stock the kind of records you like?

Gerard: Oh yeah! It’s not a huge store but it’s definitely about quality not quantity.

SXP: How did the New York punk-funk sound come about?

Gerard: I don’t know!  I always felt that music moves in cycles and between cities: you had Minneapolis and North Carolina for a little while, and then Seattle.  Somehow it just made its way to New York.  With us, and a lot of other bands, we were really bored with rock music.  It was so stale.  I can’t think of any great bands that came out in the mid ‘90s.  The only thing left was dance music at the time.  It seemed that it was the punk rock of that era.

SXP: Was there a conscious decision to sound like Gang of Four or A Certain Ratio?

Gerard: No.  We definitely all knew who those bands were so they were an influence.  But all those bands were related to punk rock and punk rock was about rebelling: rebelling against what was going on.  It became a reaction against what rock had become: boring, slow and without conviction.   That’s what happened to us, without any conscious decision about what, say, the Liars were doing. They weren’t aware of us, we weren’t aware of them.  The same with the Rapture.

SXP: Your lyrics are quite political.  Are you singing about New York politics?

Gerard: They’re definitely political.  We consider ourselves to be socially conscious.  We’re all affected by certain policies but some hit closer to home than others. We write about things that directly affect us as people who live in New York, without a doubt.

SXP: We’ve seen people in the US victimised for speaking out.  Have you ever been tempted to tone down your political statements?

Gerard: I don’t think we would ever not say anything because it could get us into trouble. It goes against everything that I believe. That’s definitely not something I’m willing to compromise.

SXP: So you wouldn’t do a Dixie Chicks?

Gerard: I was just going to bring that up!  If you mean something and you say it, then back it.  Don’t back off because your record sales are dropping.  It’s just the most spineless thing.

SXP: The Clash are obviously an influence.  How did you get into them?

Gerard: ‘Combat Rock’ was the first record I ever owned. My dad brought it home for me on eight-track – I had to be six years old at the time. I just remember seeing the video for Rock The Casbah and being so obsessed with it, thinking what a great song it was and how good they looked.  That had such an impact at such a young age.  That one record, to this day, I absolutely adore.

SXP: Which other bands influenced you?

Gerard: Me personally?  Nirvana had a huge influence on me.  When ‘Nevermind’ came out I was probably 15 years old and had all that adolescent sense of being lost.  It was like: “wow! this person totally understands”.  Had I been older it might have been different. I know Anthony feels the same about the Replacements: Paul Westerberg speaks for adolescent kids in a way not many people can.   Kurt Cobain was the same way. 

SXP: Was it Nirvana or the whole grunge thing?

Gerard: I definitely liked some of those bands.  I thought Mudhoney was amazing.  I was a big fan of the Jesus Lizard and Cop Shoot Cop.  There was tons of stuff going on.  It was a great time in music and I was growing up in that era.  I saw The Jesus Lizard at CBGBs when I was 17 and it was my first experience of music and seeing bands.

SXP: Any keyboard influences?

Gerard: I fell into the keyboards by accident.  I could never find the right people to play with so I bought a keyboard so I could do everything myself.  I just enjoyed it so much I stuck with it.  The reason I starting playing keyboards was to play piano because I was a big fan of David Bowie.  Bass was my main instrument though – that’s how I started.

SXP: Where do the reggae and dub influences come from?

Gerard: I think that also started with the Clash – such a huge reggae influence. It was like: “Pressure Drop, that’s a Toots and the Maytals song, I’ve got to go check that out”.

SXP: Are you pleased that Adrian Sherwood remixed Struggle for a B-side?

Gerard: We love it.  I’m a big Pop Group fan so I was really excited that he was doing it.  When I heard it I thought: “this is so not what I expected”.  It’s on the fringe of industrial, but not really.  I was really happy with the way it turned out though.  Everyone who’s done remixes for us has done a really great job. 

SXP: Had you heard any of his On-U Sounds recordings? 

Gerard: I’ve heard bits of On-U records but not actually owned any of his stuff.  I’ll have to go and check it out.  I haven’t seen him yet but I met Mark Stewart.  He actually came on stage with us at the Scala show, which was pretty amazing.  He’s a huge guy – about 18 feet tall!

SXP: What have DFA done for you in terms of production?

Gerard: They’ve done a lot.  I don’t think this record would sound the way it does if not for them.  

SXP: What would it have sounded like?  More like your live sound?

Gerard: I don’t know.  Probably.  Live is very different from on record, especially in terms of keyboards and percussion.  I’ve heard both arguments: it’s better live or it’s better on record.  It’s up to each person to decide that.

SXP: Has PJ O’Connor recovered from his fall? (The percussionist fell off a first floor hotel balcony in London last November, missing subsequent tour dates). 

Gerard: Yeah, he’s doing quite well!  We’re actually banned from the Columbia Hotel, which we’re pretty upset about.  They tell us we’re never allowed back.

SXP: That’s good.  It should go on your CV! 

Gerard: It’s so funny.  We had a friend backstage the other day.  He’s like: “where are all the girls? Where are all the drugs?” People have this weird conception of what goes on.  [The balcony incident] was a pretty isolated incident.  We’re pretty mellow.  We have our moments but we’re not as hedonistic as people think we are!  It’s such a typical way to act: like a jerk, all the time.   But that’s what people expect.  I went through all that when I was younger.  I’m not 19 years old anymore.

SXP: How does America take to you?

Gerard: We did a few US tours when the record first came out.  It’s very different because America’s just so big. Touring kind of sucks over there.  You have to play crappy places because, if you don’t, it’s a two-day drive to the next city.  We tend to do pretty well in the major cities. Probably not as well as we do here but we don’t have the backing. There’s not as big a buzz in the US as there is here.  We’re on an indie label so it’s not possible. 

SXP: Does ‘Gotham’ mean New York or is it just a cool name?

Gerard: It’s definitely a reference to New York.  You keep thinking Batman but the name was thought up before Batman was.  It’s another name for “dark city”, which New York is.

SXP: Is that a positive or negative thing?

Gerard: I think it’s both.  There’s a certain darkness and seediness which I think is good.  Guiliani and Bloomberg might think differently to the way I do!  

SXP: Which of you came up with the band’s name? 

Gerard: That was Anthony.

SXP: It’s the Public Image Ltd song rather than the UK radio station?

Gerard: Yes, it’s nothing more than that.  I was in a cab here and talking to the cab driver and he said: “I saw posters of you. I thought it was for the radio station!”  People don’t forget it, so that’s good.

SXP: What are you doing after this tour?

Gerard: We’re going to take a little break and do some writing.  We’ve been playing these songs since last April, been touring for ten out of the last twelve months. Then play the festivals.  That’s the plan at least.   

SXP: Which festivals?

Gerard: I know we’re doing Reading and Glastonbury.  I’m really excited to play the festivals but I don’t know how people actually go and see bands.  I’m not a big fan of the rain.  Being outside and around thousands of people is not my idea of fun!

SXP: Finally, what are your favourite things to talk about?

Gerard: Food and cigarettes. Food. 

SXP: New York is a 24-hour city for food.

Gerard: Yes, and it’s all good.  Well, I wouldn’t advise you eating the hotdogs, unless you go to Nathan’s or Coney Island.  You ever wonder where the guys who sell hotdogs go to the bathroom?  Something to think about! 

SXP: When we interviewed the Rogers Sisters, they also talked a lot about food.

Gerard: Actually, the Rogers Sisters own a bar that gives away free hotdogs.  This place is really cool, it’s a nice little bar. 

SXP: Would you recommend eating their hotdogs?

Gerard: I think their hotdogs are OK as the bartenders who serve them have a place to go to the bathroom.  They’re not peeing in the water.  That’s good! 

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