Wire Buzz The Echo May 30 With Conviction

Wire

WIRE play The Echo May 30 photo: Owen Richards

Early British punk and post-punk pioneers, Wire, featuring Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Robert Grey, aka Robert Gotobed, (drums) and Matt Simms (guitar) return to Los Angeles to play The Echo on May 30.

Concert Guide Live caught up with Newman who discusses the songs on the recently released self-titled album, evolving a larger set list, how Wire is capable of throwing in some interesting surprises from their catalogue, Los Angeles and some kind of group gestalt.

CONCERT GUIDE LIVE: When is the last time you played L.A.? What do you like about playing here?
COLIN NEWMAN: The last time we played was 17th November 2013 as part of the run of gigs leading up to DRILL: SEATTLE. LA is always a great city for Wire, certainly in the last few years anyway; the shows always have a buzz about them! LA has also become one of my favourite places in the USA, which considering I hated it when I first came is some achievement! I think the renewal of the downtown area has given the city a whole new dynamic. I’d be personally quite happy to spend more time in LA.

CGL: What sort of a set list will you be playing; will it primarily be the new album?
CN: Well, Wire sets are usually based around the newest album but anyone who has seen us before knows that we are quite capable of throwing in some interesting surprises from our catalogue. We’ve been evolving a larger “set” during the UK tour based around the idea that we have more material than we need to play each set so we can vary it around. The main point is always what we can play with conviction, things should always feel fresh.

CGL: What sustaining threads connect all of the releases over the years, giving them the “Wire” sound, yet also offering something fresh to each album?
CN: I suppose the simple answer is that ultimately there is some kind of shape that the individuals cannot avoid making, everyone has their way of interacting with the world, and it’s personal. The commonality is a combination of the individuals and some kind of group gestalt. Yet also there is a desire for something fresh, a view that hasn’t quite been seen before, an emotional combination that has not quite been touched in that way before.

For myself I can say that I find something too familiar in my own art rather suffocating, it’s like when I was a kid and old music used to make me feel depressed. It’s not like you have to throw away the baby with the bathwater but there needs to be a reason for a piece to exist and if it’s exactly the same as something else that already exists then it has no point. I think there are things on the new album, which sound very different to things Wire has done before yet someone on a casual listen might say “but that obviously sounds like Wire”. Both of us would be right!

CGL: What inspired some of the songs on the new album?
CN: I can mainly only talk about musical rather than lyrical inspiration as I mainly don’t write the texts – “Sleep Walking” and “Octopus” are mine, the rest are Graham’s. In Wire we tend to refer to – the text, mainly written by Graham – the song, mainly written by me – and the music, which is done by Wire.

Putting a baritone guitar through an acoustic guitar simulator inspired the basic riff to “Blogging”, which is incidentally the only song on a Wire album to have been written in a rehearsal room in Chicago. It’s an unusual sound (doubled on the album with real acoustic guitar tuned down).

I see “Shifting” as almost a soul song (definitely a new direction for Wire).

“Burning Bridges” was written on a 12 string (the first song I’ve ever written on 12 string) in Rockfield studio where we did the basic recordings for the last 2 albums. We had spent the first day getting there and setting everything up and were just playing a bit before turning in (Rockfield is residential) and I borrowed a 12 string from Tim (aka Thighpaul Sandra) who was helping us on the set up day and more or less immediately came up with the riff.

I only write songs when I need to so most of the time I don’t (I actually don’t even touch a guitar if I don’t have to) so both “In Manchester” and “Split Your Ends” have a certain quality that comes from being the first songs to be written for a while. With the chorus of “In Manchester” that line just happened to be in a place where it seemed obvious (to me anyhow) that it could be repeated and extended.

“High”, to my reading, has a peculiar lyric structure which enabled me to create something that stays peculiar in structure whilst being very melodic, it kind of doesn’t make any sense but is better for it.

I did write the lyrics for “Sleep-Walking” although the riff, atmosphere & vocal melody come before the text. I knew I wanted something heavy and atmospheric. The words just kind of tumbled out and come from my feelings about the political situation in the UK although they could really apply to many situations in many places.

“Joust & Jostle” is another baritone song and was difficult to find a way to get to work because I had in my head that it should be sung by Joni Mitchell (obviously in a different key!)

“Swallow” has a classic Newman / Wire trick in that my guitar part is exactly the same all the way through.

I think with “Octopus” I was trying to write something that had a lot of chords played fast, the words go fast, everything goes fast! Paul the Octopus was the main story that hi-jacked the South African world cup. I’m not very interested in football but it’s a good example of the kind of hi-jacking that has become part of modern life, some is about stealing attention, some is about simply stealing.
“Harpooned” was originally much faster but Rob suggested that we play it slow and a legend was born 🙂

CGL: Does the band still like to use effects pedals, etc. in you’re live performances, or have you switched over to computer and why?
CN: The only one who doesn’t use effects pedals is Rob (the drummer) 🙂 – You can build live sets in different ways but Wire has always been based around the idea that it’s a “stand up band” there’s no backing track. While the “backing track” kind of approach can make a live performance more “perfect”, more like a record, you lose the main reason (IMO) why anyone would want to see you live. There is something visceral and immediate about a live performance, which is all about being there at that moment. It’s not about repeatability (which is what a record should be about).

We have a great relationship with Josh Holley from Malekko in Portland and we use a lot of his pedals as well as also having a very strong relationship with Mike Robinson from Eastwood guitars from Toronto (but all over) there’s even a competition to win the guitar I’ll be playing on this tour (it’s the same colour & model as the one I normally play).

CGL: What are some of the pros and cons you’ve encountered with the growing shift to this tech age and social media?
CN: The positive side is direct communication with an audience however the down side (especially if you are popular) is plenty of opportunity to get “hi-jacked”.

In practical terms though how does anyone have time to keep up with it all-Facebook, twitter, instagram, linkedin, pinterest etc.? I guess some people don’t have a lot to do besides 🙂

CGL: When Wire first started out, did any of you imagine you’d be releasing your
14th album in the year 2015?
CN: To be honest getting a record out was a big achievement! However, as there was only a couple of months between the birth of the four piece (after we sacked the founding member and replaced all his material) and the first stuff we had put out (2 tracks on the “Live at the Roxy” album) everything went kinda quick so thinking about the next step became a natural modus operandi.

CGL: What’s the secret to the longevity of the relationship between Newman, Lewis and Grey? It’s quite remarkable!
CN: I’d say it’s down to some kind of stubborn-ness! It’s also the “itch you can’t scratch any other way”. On some level we’ve all dedicated a good proportion of our lives to this and won’t let go of it as long as we can continue to find new things to do with it.

CGL: Where did you find Matthew Simms?
CN: Well he came to an audition, aced it in fact! He was recommended by a good friend as someone who would be a good fit (the age may differ but the attitude is very similar).

We’d initially auditioned him for a post as a live guitarist. He attended auditions along with several others, including some who were very good indeed, but stood out because of the sheer level of preparation he had made for the gig. He not only knew everything he was asked to learn but also had all the right sounds too. He was the obvious choice. As we came to the end of his cycle of employment it then became very obvious that we would be mad to let him go so we invited him to become a member. It hadn’t been the initial plan but he has always shown an uncanny knack for being on our wavelength.