Glastonbury Songs
Es gibt Bands, bei denen sich bereits anhand einiger Singles absehen lässt, dass es nur noch des geeigneten Augenblicks bedarf, bis sich der grelle Scheinwerfer des öffentlichen Interesses auf sie richtet. The Bandits gehören definitiv dazu, auch wenn man sich bislang durch eine restiktive Veröffentlichungsweise geschickt einer breiten Aufmerksamkeit entzogen hat. Dieses Konzept ist wohl durchdachtes Mittel zum Zweck, steht doch ein ideeles Musikverständnis im Mittelpunkt ihres Schaffens. Und so bleibt noch immer genug Zeit, ihre Fans mit kostenlosen Konzerten in ihrem eigenen Bandwagon Club in Liverpool zu erfreuen oder über ihre Webseite Platten zu verschenken. Eine solche Großzügigkeit verdient es allemal, diese sympathischen Wegelagerer näher kennenzulernen. Licht aus, Spot an!
You have been touring constantly in the UK since August 2002. Are you not getting tired of it or want to have some time recording your album?
We never tire of gigging as long as we sleep properly. If anything the amount of touring we have done has helped us get tighter as a unit. Although it was hard having to go straight in to the studio after three weeks on tour. We had played the songs so many times that we were getting keeper tracks down live within five takes!
How many songs did you record for "Fistful Of Green" and when will it be released in Britain/Europe?
Firstly...its not gonna be called "Fistful Of Green"! That was a very early slightly tongue in cheek working title, like "Red Lorry, Mellow Lorry". The actual title I'm pretty sure will be "....And They Walked Away". We must of recorded about 15 tracks, not including the ones that have been released. A couple of those will be b-sides, the rest will be on the album.
You have a pretty unique sound mixing Southern Cajun, Mexican folk music, West Coast Psychedelica and 70s Punk elements. Where do you get your influences from?
We just happen to be lucky that we come from a city with a rich musical and cultural heritage, like places like New York and Detroit etc. Music is a big thing in Liverpool. There are large Irish, Chinese and West Indian communities. You get to hear folk music,and ska and reggae (if you go out and look) and of course there's still the influence of the Beatles...and for every generation since there's been a band to look up to and draw off. In the 80s there was Echo And The Bunnymen, in the 90s The La's. Once we got into these bands, it was just a natural step to trace back their influences, The Blues, Love, Beefheart,etc. Plus a couple of us have been DJs in clubs, which exposes you to even more genres.
Which German bands do you like and do they have any influence on your songs?
Well, all the "progressive" German bands of the 70's...Bands like Can, NEU, Faust and Kraftwerk...and their influence does show. "On My Way" for example has elements of those bands in there.
The artwork of the records and the concept of your band also reminds me of The Beta Band and their early singles.
Yes, we were going for that ruff and ready, do it yourself look...its a punk thing, too.
There is not much known about the new Liverpool Cosmic Scouse Scene over here except The Coral. Could you introduce yourself a little bit?
Okay, we were formed at the Glastonbury Festival about two years ago. We were all mutual friends, some of us had been in other bands, some hadn't....but we decided to get it together anyway. It just happened that all our other friends gradually drifted into bands as well. And before we new it, people were talking about a scene! I dont know who fisted coined the turn "Cosmic Scouse"? We find it funny, but it's a bit daft, isnt it! We always joked about calling it "Scruffle", 'cos we are a bit untidy sometimes.
Do you see it as an advantage for all the bands around that The Coral became quite successful last year?
Of course! The success of the Coral has shed more light on the scene than we could've possibly imagined. The only slight downside is that the press in particular seem to lump us all together.When there are a lot of different sounding bands, none of whom want be instantly tagged "the new Coral". But I think as more and more of us get "out there", people will start to see everyone as good bands in there own right.
The British Music Press is focusing once again on your "drug abuse". What do you think of it?
It's weird that they find the whole stoner thing such a big deal. I suppose it's an angle that works, and kinda fits with the music sometimes sounding a bit left field. It doesn't bother us, and we do smoke weed, but there a lot of really middle of the road bands who do a lot more (and harder) drugs than us!
Why did you set up the Bandwagon Club?
Quite a few reasons, but the to main ones were probably the lack of really good regular live music nights in Liverpool, and wanting to have a regular gig where we were always welcome to play! We got the idea after a couple of our early shows, when support acts sometimes failed to turn up. One time, out of four bands, it ended up just being us. So we made a few phone calls and managed to get our friends, like Tramp Attack, and Dave from the Zutons to play. It went so well, and the atmosphere was so good, we thought…this is good, lets do it properly… glad we did, too!
Your first two singles came out in a very limited quantity and even the fans had difficulties to get a copy. Don't you agree it would be more helpful to release it in a greater number to get more attention?
I know! A lot of people have said that…but we didn't want total attention straight away. I think its better to gradually spread the word. Bands who explode on the scene straight away in a blur of hype often disappear just as fast. You'll be pleased to know though that our new single "Take It And Run" is out as a proper release…in fact it came out on Monday the 16th of June...so go get a copy!
You gave "The Warning" remixed by the Mad Professor away for free at your recent gigs and on your website. How did you get in contact with him?
Well, we are big fans of reggae and dub, and the Mad Prof is the best in this country at the moment. I mean, he's worked regulary with Lee Perry! And we just got in touch with his management and explaine and he agreed to do it, on the cheap too I believe. We had him playing at the Bandwagon last month, too. He's a good guy and very loud on the bass.
What was your relationship to Joe Strummer and what did you feel on that sad day he died?
We are all big fans of The Clash, especially John who was born and raised on them, and Joe is a hero of ours. We were lucky enough to support him at the Liverpool University when he played there. He was incredibly down to earth, and more than welcome to pose for a couple of photos with us. He also really liked our version of "Guns Of Brixton", which was a great compliment. We were all gutted when he died less than a month later...he'd wanted us to play with him again next time he was in town and we thought it was the start of a good friendship...ah well, life can be a bit mad eh? At least we got to meet someone we totally respect. We were the last band to play with him, too.
Are you going to play Glastonbury this summer as a kind of return where you started from nearly three years ago?
YES!! It's going to be fucking brilliant! We are playing on the Saturday evening on the new bands tent, not only us, but our mates The Stands and The Hokum Clones. Its amazing to see thing come full circle...y'know from our conception to actually playing.We'd always said "next year we'll be playin!" And this year we finally are...
Any plans for a European Tour this year?
To be honest I've no idea, but we rarely know what we're gonna be doing more than a month in advance. It all depends on the success of our next couple of singles.We will play wherever people want us!
What's your favourite b-side?
Tough one this...Tony says "Over" by the La's, and there's "Laughing Stock" by Love. I'd maybe say Otis Reddings version of "Amen" which is the b-side to "Too Hot To Handle".
Carsten Scheef
Aktuelle Single:
"Take It And Run" (B-Unique Records/ Centro Del Banco)
Weitere Veröffentlichungen:
"The Warning" (B-Unique Records/Centro Del Banco)
"Once Upon A Time" (B-Unique Records/Centro Del Banco)
Web-page: www.thebandits.info