THE ORB play Teragram Ballroom Nov. 21; photo Roney-FM-K3-Media

ALEX PATERSON / THE ORB 2019 interview rerun…

The Orb recreate a live musical collage of their greatest hits during this, their 30th year anniversary, currently on tour in the states. Breaking out samples and sounds, beats and rhythms, The Orb impact an audience with their trippy sounds and visual aids.

“It’s a mish mash of old and new,” founder Alex Paterson noted. “With bits of old things being played over new things and vice versa. A bit more energetic. A bit more danceable, rather than hip swaying.”

The Orb bring their own elaborate visuals to compliment the live music which are dependent on the size of the screen available at each venue. The bigger the screen, the bigger the visuals. While producer/collaborator Michael Rendall joins Paterson for the musical side of the live spectrum.

“It’s a very similar set up as me and Thomas (Fehlmann) with a lot more freedom.,” Paterson said. “We’re sacking the Americas… We’re throwing American techno back at them…old style…payback time. It’s all good fun. And remember it’s 30 years since the beginning of House pretty much in the world.

“But the visuals compensate for everything you see… I’m just the conductor.”

THE ORB “No Sounds Are Out Of Bound” cover art

Mixed throughout the setlist of reimagined greatest hits are several songs from No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds. Tracks such as “Doughnuts Forever” and the 15 minute “Soul Planet”, one of Paterson’s favorites to play live.

“Soul Planet all the way,” Paterson confirmed. “It’s the last track on the album and it’s the longest track on the album. It’s what we can all do very, very, very well. When we do a long track, we can investigate what’s going on in 15 minutes, it’s good fun.”

“And Rush, “Rush Hill Road” which is a single and a video. That goes down real well. We muck it about, make it sound a bit heavier.”

The catchy “sing along” album version of “Rush Hill Road” features Hollie Cook on vocals.

“Dare I say I know her dad, Paul Cook, from the Sex Pistols”? Paterson teased. “I used to be a Killing Joke roadie, and Paul’s met me years ago many times in different clubs and things and we all eventually did a gig, it was quite bizarre, with the Sex Pistols when they did a reunion back in the 90’s, it was really odd.

“So anyway, I met Hollie a couple times through the reggae connection, as well, then she started doing an album with Youth (Killing Joke), and Youth being one of my best friends invited me over, and we did a track on her album, then she did a track for me on our album.”

Prior to No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds, The Orb released Cow, a unique and truly original flow of atmospheric songs, alternating and overlapping samples such as – animal noises, rushing rivers – but it wasn’t really toured or performed live.

“Well, what I can tell you about that album is that no musical instruments were played in the making of that album,” Paterson revealed. “It was an absolute joy to use samples in a very constructive way…not even bars, not even loops, just sounds; and then creating our own music with those sounds.

“The whole thing was (put together) a little under 10 days. It’s a small album, it’s only 41 minutes long. It sits very well on the palette.

“Lots of the recordings were taken in America when we went down to the Moogfest three years ago in Durham and I discovered the river Eno which I thought was quite amusing, so I recorded it. And that’s on the album, as well.”

Hanging out in clubs in the late 80’s, hearing things that he liked, Paterson wanted to do his own thing similar to what he was hearing.

“I was lucky to have people around me with studios that I could go in and muck about,” Paterson recalled. “Creating my own music in ‘88, ’89, was very much fun. A lot of freedom. A lot of experiments. Not afraid to do things.

“Everything’s gotten a lot easier with the advent of mass production of computers. It takes away a lot of the studio costs, which is quite good, really. Because you can spend a lot of time in the studio doing this thing.

“I haven’t finished yet. It’s a good feeling to feel that a childhood sort of dream that you always wanted to make music, you always wanted to be known for your music, your art, I did it.”

It’s not often that The Orb play in the states so don’t miss them at Teragram Ballroom Nov. 21.

“Looking forward to Los Angeles,” Paterson admitted. “We should be rocking you by then.”

PETER HOOK plays “Substance” at The Wiltern Sep 24; photo James Christopher

Flashback: PETER HOOK / JOY DIVISION / NEW ORDER 2016 interview.

New Order and Joy Division bassist, Peter Hook, returns to SoCal, this time playing The Wiltern Sep. 24 with Peter Hook and The Light. The lengthy set will cover both the Joy Division and New Order albums Substance.

This is a reprint of the Concert Guide Live interview with Peter Hook conducted on a previous tour through SoCal.

CONCERT GUIDE LIVE: Peter Hook and The Light are in the midst of a pretty massive worldwide tour, what do you like about playing live?
PETER HOOK: I love playing live and I always have done. To me, touring is really exciting because I love to travel and I love to meet fans from all over the world who have been touched by our music. We are touring a lot this year, which is great.

CGL: Who is in the band with you?
PH: The Light is made up of 4 excellent musicians. First we have David Potts on guitar and vocals who first played with me in my side project REVENGE in the early 1990s, and later went on to become my song-writing partner in another band of mine, Monaco. Then on drums and keyboards we have Paul Kehoe and Andy Poole, both of whom were also a part of Monaco. Then to round out the line up we have my son, Jack, playing bass alongside me. I must say with the 2 bass guitars it really creates a unique sound.

CGL: Considering all of the material you can pull from, what is one of your favourite songs to play live?
PH: Off the top of my head, and because we just played it at rehearsals, I would say that “Subculture” is one of my favourites to play live. It showcases the goth-pop aspect of New Order and is also great fun to play because it shines a spotlight on each individual instrument. For example, towards the end there are 2 different live bass lines being played as well as synth bass and a keyboard line, while the guitar remains solid and funky throughout and the drums have a nice, loose feel about them. It is a track from New Order’s third album, “Low-Life.”

CGL: How did it come about that your son took up the bass, as well?
PH: I did not pressure him into doing it, he just began to develop an interest in my bass guitars aged around 11 or 12 and then went from there. I got him his first bass when he was 13 and he developed into a really great bass player.

CGL: When you first went on tour together, what surprised you about him?
PH: When we first went on tour he had never done anything like this before but he took to it really well, which was nice. He was not overawed by the occasion yet also kept his feet on the ground and it is important to find that balance. I am very proud of him and we continue to have a great time.

Peter Hook; photo James Christopher

CGL: What was it like when you first decided to take on lead vocal duties?
PH: It was very daunting at first. I had not planned to do it, I just sort of fell into it. But concentrating on the vocals forced me to draft in my son on second bass which is now one of the hallmarks of our group, so that was a fantastic thing to have happen. I was very nervous at first because I had never been in that ‘frontman’ role before, and it was the Joy Division material we played first and Ian Curtis of course has very big shoes to fill. I am aware I will never fill them, but I just try and do the best job I can. When we moved on to doing the New Order material, let’s just say that Bernard’s shoes did not feel as big!

CGL: Your bass tone and playing style have always been unique in that it’s reminiscent of guitar playing. Was that a conscious effort and what drove you to choose to play the bass?
PH: I chose to play the bass simply because when me and Bernard saw the Sex Pistols, we were blown away by the gig and decided then and there to form a band, he already had a guitar. So I just went out on a whim and bought a bass. The guy did not have a case for it so I took it home in a bin bag! My playing style developed partly by accident! Bernard’s equipment was so loud and gnarly back then that I had to play high in order to hear what I was doing, and it was Ian that told me that it actually sounded good, and that later went on to become one of my trademarks.

CGL: What is your favourite bass guitar and why? How important are the type/brand of amps to you and to the sound you like to get?
PH: My favourite bass guitar is my ‘VIKING’ bass guitar, which I play live. It was custom built to my specifications by Chris Eccleshall in the UK who is a very gifted guitar maker. I really like the tone it gives and it is also very durable which makes it a good one to take on the road. When it comes to amps I tend to favour Hi-Watts, which I have used since as long as I can remember as well as other gear by Trace Elliott, which is also always very good.

CGL: You’re playing three shows around Los Angeles this time, each one with a different set. But the “Low-Life” / “Brotherhood” set will be the new one. Assuming that you haven’t played most of those songs for some time, which song was the most challenging to “re-learn”?
PH: Yes. We are playing 3 times in LA this year, 6 different albums. I must be crazy! We also have some very special guests lined up to join us, which is always exciting. The “Low-Life” and “Brotherhood” show is the newest one like you mentioned, it has been a challenge but is such an enjoyable set to play live. I’d say the most challenging to get right was probably “The Perfect Kiss” simply because that is such a complex song with so many different layers, but we pulled it off and it sounds great, complete with cowbell and frog noises!

CGL: Is there anything you’d like to add?
PH: Not much, other than I am really excited to be coming back and I will see everybody very soon!

CHAMELEONS VOX play Echoplex Sep. 10; press photo

MARK BURGESS / THE CHAMELEONS 2017 interview remembered…

The Chameleons singer/bassist, Mark Burgess will perform the seminal 80’s album Script Of The Bridge under the guise of Chameleons Vox at The Echoplex on Sep. 10.

For long-time Chameleon’s fans, this is a do-not-miss evening of cherished songs such as “Less Than Human,” “Don’t Fall” and “Second Skin” to be performed by the man who penned them.

In the early 80’s UK music scene, The Chameleons were critically compared to the likes of The Cure and Joy Division. But as time has shown, their unique sound and thought-provoking lyrics stand on their own merits.

Concert Guide Live asked Burgess to talk about the early days of the debut album, the importance of a good shower and the upcoming live dates.

CONCERT GUIDE LIVE: What do you like about playing in SoCal?
MARK BURGESS: I’ve always enjoyed California, north and south, both performing and hanging out. I’ve always had a terrifically warm response, not just with Chameleons but with all the projects I’ve brought there. For me it’s always been a fresh and progressive environment. I find it very stimulating. San Francisco has long been one of my most favourite cities in the world.

CGL: What is it like to perform the first album, Script Of The Bridge in its entirety?
MB: We enjoy it for the most part, although I do still find it strange because an album’s running order is a very different dynamic from a live show. Our albums, especially Script, lend themselves well to it though because they were conceived like a journey from A-to-B, a beginning, a middle, an end with the pace of the songs a factor.

CGL: Why were the songs “Here Today,” “Less Than Human,” “Paper Tigers” and “View from a Hill” omitted in the original U.S. version? Will you be performing them?
MB: Yeah, we’ll be performing the album as it was meant to be heard. The cut version was nothing to do with us, that decision was made by MCA Records in the U.S. without any consultation or consent from the band. We were very, very upset by it.

CGL: Do you find it challenging to “connect” with a song in the same way when you’re singing and playing bass as opposed to just singing and being front man?
MB: No, not at all, because it’s the most natural way for me to perform. It was good from a vocals point-of-view to focus on that for a while, and, besides, my mate Ray was in the band and was a bass player and initially I didn’t want to see him go; eventually though I had to, because I was keen to get back to playing the music with the feel it was meant to have. That was sad for me, but it was either that or leave the band and start another.

CGL: What continues to stick out in your mind when you think back to recording this album?
MB: I think it was just the great time that we had doing it. I mean we should have been really depressed, I suppose. Steve Lillywhite had passed on producing it, CBS had fired us and we were, to all intents and purposes, right back where we started, but we weren’t at all. We were making the record we wanted to make with no compromises. Ideas were flying around, we were laughing a lot and making a great record and we all felt it. I think it was the best time to be in the band on reflection.

CGL: Working with producer Colin Richardson seems like an interesting choice since he is mostly associated with heavy metal music, but, oddly, he seems to have had a real affinity for The Chameleons. What was it like working together and how did this relationship come about?
MB: Well, Colin was the resident engineer at Cargo so we’d worked with him on nearly all the demos we’d recorded there. He liked the band and the music so it was just a natural choice. He understood the music and how we worked and we admired him for the same reasons. At the time he worked on whatever came through the studio. He wasn’t known for any one particular genre, just known for being a very good engineer.

CGL: The Chameleons popularity has grown over the years far beyond any commercial success the band achieved during its initial run. Are you ever surprised at the acclaimed status your music has taken on?
MB: Yeah, I mean it was a surprise. I was more aware than the others I think because I was the first to get on to the Internet when hardly anyone else even knew what it was back in the early 90’s. I found a mailing list run out of Berkeley and an ftp site with my lyrics, gig fliers and stuff. That was a pleasant surprise. Then later with various re-releases and then the huge reaction to the reformation gigs in 2000; but at the time I never honestly imagined people would want to hear me perform this material some 30 years later or whatever. I didn’t envision that at all.

CGL: As a final question, do you have any pre-show routines/rituals?
MB: I need to take a good shower before a show. I mean, I start the working day with one, usually in a hotel or motel, but the pre-show shower is something different. It’s nothing to do with hygiene, it just helps clear my mind and feel fresh for the stage. Some of the smaller venues don’t have them of course and quite often it’s a mad dash across town or whatever to wherever I’m staying so I can do it. I get quite grumpy if I can’t take a shower before a show.

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY AND THE ASBURY JUKES play The Coach House Apr. 7 and Whisky A Go Go Apr. 8; photo Daniel Gonzalez

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY 2017 interview remembered…

In the 60’s and 70’s, Asbury Park, NJ was crawling with musicians, long-haired, bleary-eyed hopefuls, who would jam well into the wee hours of the morning just for the hell of it. This was party music, high-powered soul and maximum R&B made for dancing.

While Bruce Springsteen may be Asbury Park’s most famous export, Southside Johnny Lyon and his Asbury Jukes remain the truest crystallization of that time and place, and they’re bringing it to The Coach House Apr. 7 and the Whisky A Go Go Apr. 8. It’s their first trip to the West Coast in over 10 years and for anybody looking for live music that’s the real deal, this is not to be missed.

Though he’s a Jersey boy through and through, Lyon actually likes it here and even lived in San Clemente for a while. “We don’t play out there that much,” he explained over the phone, “It’s just too expensive to cart this great big band around.”

He may have moved back east, but he still loves The Coach House, calling it “one of the good places to play in the world.” His sentiment makes sense, considering the well-worn, unglamorous atmosphere of The Coach House, along with its reputation of booking veteran, road-warrior musicians, makes it a perfect match for the working-class ethos of Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes. When I point out the “institution” status of both the venue and his band, Lyon interjects, laughing, “So you’re saying I should be in an institution? Is that what you’re saying?!”

His latest album, Soultime, a throwback, 70’s R&B album, has garnered him some of the best reviews of his career. Something he takes little notice of. “I don’t read reviews. It could be really good, and then they’ll say one thing they don’t like, and I go, ‘F—k you!’ [laughs]. It’s irrational, but that’s me.”

Songs like “Looking For A Good Time” and “Spinning” are filled with fat, Stax horns, funky rhythms, and a groove that’s straight out of 1972.

“I was in a liquor store and “Superfly” came on by Curtis Mayfield, which starts with this great, sinuous bass thing, and then the horns go “Duh-na-na” and people were moving and bopping. Everybody in there was subconsciously caught up in the groove. I said, ‘Ah-ha! That’s what I need to do next. Make music for people to groove to’.”

Lyon has been fascinated by this groove his whole life, growing up on his parents’ unusually hip record collection filled with blues and R&B greats. As a teenager, Lyon’s older brother Tom would take him to the city to catch whoever was in town, an education that he never forgot.

“We saw Muddy Waters, John Hammond, Cream at the Cafe-A-Go-Go—a little 200 seat club— we would go all the time. We saw the Jeff Beck Group at the Fillmore East, Albert King, Tim Buckley, Frank Zappa and the Mothers. Bands would come to Asbury Park, too. We saw Ray Charles there, The Stones when they first came over. We were young and music was the only thing that really mattered.”

Never taking himself too seriously, Lyon remains one of the most normal musicians around. He’s never been one to kowtow to the powers that be, he’s never envied the more visible and profitable success of Springsteen—who he counts as a friend—and he’s unapologetically who he is. After a floundering recording career spent jumping from label to label, Lyon started his own, Leroy Records, and built a career on the road, making a living up on stage, not in the studio.

Decades spent on tour took their toll, burning Lyon out and taking all the fun out of performing. He briefly relocated to Nashville where no-strings-attached jamming with local musicians brought him back to the start. “It became real to me again. It became something I loved to do. It’s still grueling traveling on a bus for 15 hours, but still, you get in front of an audience, and it makes it all worthwhile.”

Lyon co-founded the Jukes with “Little” Steven Van Zandt, who would shortly switch over to join Springsteen’s band. In his book, Born To Run, Springsteen even describes the night it happened, when he first rolled into the Upstage Club to try and jam. Lyon, who read and enjoyed the book, also remembers that fortuitous night.

“He had long hair, his gold Les Paul, and he was doing this song about the nuns teaching him the meaning of the blues. He was not their favorite student, they used to beat him, and he took a lot of crap from them. But one day, one of the nuns brought in a B.B. King album and played some stuff.

“So he’s singing the song, and he’s playing, and he’s got this charisma, and I’m going, ‘Who the fuck is that?!’ He was in my club, singing on my microphone [laughs]. But he was great, it was unbelievable, he was almost fully formed. You could tell right there that he was somebody to be reckoned with.”

The two quickly became friends, and have been entwined ever since, with Springsteen contributing some of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ biggest songs like, “The Fever,” “Hearts Of Stone,” and “Talk To Me.” And while Lyon may not have nearly the same notoriety, they share a working-class philosophy and an electric stage presence, born out of the hours and hours they spent in dark smoky clubs, and their Jersey upbringings.

“I wouldn’t have a career if I wasn’t part bulldog. That’s part of the Jersey thinking. There’s nothing subtle about it. You’re gonna do it, you’re gonna do it the way you want, and if there’s people that don’t like it, screw ‘em. It’s that blue-collar thing again. We know what it’s like to work, we’ve seen our parents work, we know what work is and we’re not afraid it. There’s always an audience for what you want to do as long as you do it honestly.”

The Woggles play The Constellation Room Nov. 19 and Alex’s Bar Nov. 20

MIGHTY MANFRED / THE WOGGLES 2014 interview revisited…

The Woggles bring it to the people by returning to Alex’s Bar in Long Beach on Nov. 20 and will make their Santa Ana debut at The Constellation Room Nov. 19.

“If we’re out doing a show, and playing live, you want to engage the people that are there,” claims lead singer Mighty Manfred.

“I mean otherwise there’s no reason to be up on a stage, at least from my point of view.”

The Woggles put on quite a show with Manfred stepping into the crowd while singing catchy, hip-shaking tunes. The audience can’t seem to resist dancing around him while grinning from ear to ear.

“Feeding off the audience, the audience feeds off you and it just makes everything that much more exciting, that much more exhilarating, that much more thrilling, with everything building on itself,” Manfred said.

Somehow while singing and shaking a tambourine, Manfred finds a way to get down off the stage, over any barriers, across any trenches, and onto the club floor to celebrate music amongst the audience.

“When you’re right there in front of people they’re no longer watching a spectacle, they’re a part of it,” Manfred explained.

“In a room like Alex’s and I imagine, The Constellation Room, that’s pretty easy to do. You don’t have to deal with these larger rock show impediments.

“We’ve been in Alex’s before and it’s been really terrific mixing it up with the audience. And if need be, the top of the bar is just a stage extension, you know?”

Of course, mishaps have been known to happen. Take a show in Pensacola, Florida.

“You know, before doing anything stupid, I check things out ahead of time,” Manfred unconvincingly stated.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t still do stupid things.”

During sound check that particular evening, Manfred tried his weight on a curtain next to the stage and thought, “Oh, this will be great. I can swing out from this.

“So, during this instrumental song the band is playing I scampered up there and jumped off of some amps to reach this thing. As I committed myself to this forward swing, you know with the idea I would let go and go sailing, the rod came out before I had swung far enough. I couldn’t get my arms behind me so I landed with my full weight on my back.

“People have asked, ‘Did it feel like it was happening in slow motion?’ And my answer to that is, ‘Man, the ground moves really fast!’

“The guys in the band, though, didn’t know that was going on. So, I’m rolling around, and I stand up and I’m in immense pain.

“I slowly get back on the stage and I remember the drummer, Dan Eletxro looking at me and I could see him mouthing, ‘Shake it off! Shake it off!’

“He knew something had happened but you know, ‘Get with it man. Get back into it.’ Yea, that was terrible.”

After the show, Manfred went to the emergency room to get stitched up and somehow escaped bodily damage.

“I had cut my face on the nails coming out of the rod, as it came down and hit me in the face.

“But people loved the blood, though. They loved the blood.”

The Woggles initially formed in Georgia in 1987 with the bass player, Buzz Hagstrom joining in 1994, the aforementioned drummer, Dan Eletxro, in 1995 and guitarist, Flesh Hammer becoming an official band member ten years ago.

Their latest full-length release, “The Big Beat”, on Steven Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records, came out last year. There’s a new Christmas single coming out on 7” vinyl followed by an EP in early 2015.

Music may hold different meaning for different people, but to Manfred, it’s a celebration of life.

“You’ve got to bring it to the people!” he said in anticipation of the next live shows.

THE RECORD COMPANY play HOB/San Diego Nov. 9 and The Wiltern Nov.10; photo Jen Rosenstein

Looking back: THE RECORD COMPANY 2018 interview…

The Record Company, a power trio known for their blues-styled rock, are coming to California to finish their current 2018 tour. The three-man group play at the House of Blues in San Diego Nov. 9 and The Wiltern in Los Angeles Nov. 10.

Chris Vos, the band’s lead vocalist and who also provides guitar instrumentals for The Record Company’s songs, says he looks forward to these two shows. The region is the home of Vos who says there could be no better place to end his group’s current tour.

“I love California,” Vos proclaims. “I love the people. I love the open-mindedness. I love how everybody just is such entertainment aficionados. They all know and they’ve all been around the block. It’s great. I just simply enjoy being in a place where I can go when I’m home and see any number of different type of inspiring entertainment or inspiring natural beauty.”

It’s also in SoCal, specifically in Los Angeles, that The Record Company first formed in 2011. The band’s roots go back to 2010 though as that’s when Vos first met Alex Stiff, the group’s bass player, who took a liking to the music Vos had produced.

“He heard what I had done previously,” Vos recalled. “He liked it and invited me to hang out. He was having a little get together with some friends. He has a huge pile of vinyl he’s amassed over the years. We just went over there and spun some records and struck up a friendship.”

It wasn’t until after a later meeting with Stiff and Marc Cazorla, who would become the group’s drummer, that the idea to form a band began.

“We were just listening to some records one evening,” Vos said. “We had the speaker in the window and sitting out on the back porch and we just decided ‘hey, let’s get together, hang some microphones in the living room and record it and see what it sounds like’, and we liked it.”

THE RECORD COMPANY; photo Jen Rosenstein

From there the group began playing locally and self-released their first music as a 7’’ single vinyl in March of 2012. However, the group’s tenacity and innovation has helped the group finally reach the musical mainstream earning critical praise, musical appearances in film and TV and even earned the group a Grammy nomination in 2017 for Best Contemporary Blues Album Give It Back To You.

These accomplishments are owed to the group’s unique take on rock and roll best described as blues rock: a fusion genre combining elements of blues and rock. While this mixture isn’t new and has been around for years, Vos says that he and his bandmates, in composing their songs, do their utmost to make the music they produce as fresh and new as possible.

“We try to root out cliché as much as possible,” Vos explains. “It’s like, if I’m playing this melody on a guitar, it sounds like something I’ve heard a million times. But if we make it a bass-centric melody and we kind of lean on that, it all of a sudden sounds different. It sounds like something a little more fresh. We’re just always trying to find a way to root out those things and just find some new inspiration anywhere we can.”

Vos says that the biggest reward he gets from completing these songs, specifically the ones Vos and his fellow band members made for the group’s recent album All of This Life, is being able to play them live.

“It’s a thrill, a great thrill,” Vos enthused. “That’s one of the great rewards of recording an album is being able to take that music out to people and putting it out in front of them.”

Though Vos says he’s enjoyed playing in venues like the Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Madison Square Garden, he isn’t picky in where he likes to play live music.

“People always ask me what’s your favorite place to play and, I swear to god, this is not a cop-out, I say ‘wherever I am that day’,” Vos said. “Because that’s the only day you’re actually living.”

After the group’s upcoming Nov. 10 appearance in Los Angeles, Vos and the rest of The Record Company will not be touring again until March which will see them go to Europe.

“We have some pretty big shows that I unfortunately can’t say what they are,” Vos states. “But we’re going to be having a big announcement coming up very soon that’ll be at the beginning of the year for some more dates.”

Vos however says that The Record Company will keep playing music whenever opportunity allows in-between these tours and in the future.

“We’ll be doing summer festivals and just getting out there with some other bands and just keep on playing. We’ll play the whole country and play it again. We’ll go up to Canada, play there. Go overseas, play there. We’ll play anywhere they put us.”

THE DAMNED play The Belasco Theater Apr. 6, HOB/San Diego Apr. 7 and HOB/Anaheim Apr. 8; photo Dod Morrison

CAPTAIN SENSIBLE / THE DAMNED 2017 interview remembered…

Call them punks, goths, or something else; love or hate The Black Album; The Damned continue to excite fans of all ages throughout the world. They are bringing their 40th Anniversary tour to The Belasco Theater Apr. 6, HOB/San Diego Apr. 7 and HOB/Anaheim Apr. 8.

Concert Guide Live recently asked original guitarist, Captain Sensible, about the longevity of the band, red berets, “New Rose”, “fake news” and a whole lot more.

CONCERT GUIDE LIVE: With The Damned celebrating their 40th anniversary, does it feel like a long time, or does it just seem like one long day?
CAPTAIN SENSIBLE: That 40 years can be divided into a few distinct periods… the dawn of punk, when I was sleeping on Brian’s (guitarist Brian James) floor and we had to lie about the true nature of the band to get gigs… the chaos years when Smash It Up was our battle cry… the goth period when the band was once again instigators in a new musical genre… and after a fairly bleak decade, the resurrection, to which you have to thank the current lineup. It’s the longest lasting in the band’s history, not just because we get on – but also due to the new lease of life they’ve given to the early material.

It’s weird being in a band… you tend to stay the same mental age as when you start out, which in my case isn’t saying much. Shame is, your body doesn’t… so the reckless lifestyle that earned me my name has had to be curbed somewhat.

CGL: When the group began, did you and Dave (frontman Dave Vanian) ever imagine this sort of longevity? How did it happen!
CS: I was only trying to break out of a cycle of unemployment and unskilled jobs… like my year as a 70s toilet cleaner – joining a band was my escape from that life.

Life on the road isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, but I suppose we must be quite good at it to last all this time. Or, too dumb to think of any better way to spend our lives.

Hey, but all the beer’s free!

CGL: For a new generation of fans, describe the London music scene and how the band did or did not fit in at the start of things.
CS: The various bands all had their own take on punk… The Clash sounded nothing like The Stranglers, the Pistols nothing like The Damned. We were just making the music we wanted to hear cos the mid 70s music scene had gone completely stale. Glam had been fun but had gone, leaving mega prog acts like ELP, Yes and Genesis, with their boring drum solos and songs about pixies and wizards.
The Damned had the first record out because while the other bands were waiting for big money deals, we signed with a tiny indie called Stiff, doing it the ‘punk’ way. Stiff bands would be at the label HQ (a converted high street shop) helping to pack each other’s records, roadie at gigs, everything was ‘in house’… another artist (Nick Lowe) produced us.

CGL: The Damned are in the midst of another world tour, how does playing live in the 21st century compare to the early days?
CS: Better to go for it on our 40th as we’re getting no younger. Thankfully there was no YouTube in the 70s, as our performances could be a bit ‘erratic’. Debauched even. It’s rare to have a really bad gig these days.

Pinch (drummer) describes us as a bunch of eccentrics who occasionally get together to make music.

CGL: I understand a new album is in the works, how is it coming along? What has the songwriting process been like?
CS: We don’t like to repeat ourselves… all our albums have a different sound. This one as well… there’s plenty of upbeat tunes… and some darkness, of course. Since our last release being 2008’s So, Who’s Paranoid, (a reflection on the UK’s CCTV culture), there’s been a steady stockpiling on new material and if we recorded it all, the album could be a double or triple CD collection. Sense would suggest we prune it down though.

CGL: “New Rose” seemed to click with people right out of the gate, and here you are playing it many years later. How do you still connect with playing that song and some of the other Damned classics?
CS: “New Rose”, voted last month by Kerrang as the best ever punk single… very nice of them. You had to be there when it was released to understand the effect it had…sounding radically different from all the ghastly country rock and disco that was around at the time, ours was really gnarled and manic, even when you play our debut album today it doesn’t sound like other records, almost UN-produced by Nick Lowe who was ALSO on Stiff. He’s captured the rasping chaos perfectly, the guitars don’t sound nice, they’re a distorted fuzzy mess, which is exactly what’s needed in punk rock, if you ask me. He understood where we were coming from, as our second album’s producer didn’t. Damned Damned Damned is very raw, even compared to the output of our 1977 contemporaries.

Pathway was a rough demo 8-track studio, and Nick was known as ‘Basher’ Lowe, as he used to slap it down on the tapes – no messing about. It wasn’t really produced, especially in today’s terms where everything is cleaned up and corrected. It was dark and dingy in there so you had to be careful not to kick your bottle of cider over. We boshed it out in 2 days with a couple of days mixing, then the tape was recycled to record the Elvis Costello album, so you know there’s no chance of a remix ever. It certainly didn’t need any more than two days as we just repeated our live set until Nick was happy with it.

“New Rose” is fun to play… bands all around the world do their version, I know cos someone will press a CD into my hand most gigs.

CGL: How many red berets have you gone through? Where did the first one come from?
CS: There was a gobbing element in the early punk days… lumps would bake in your hair under the stage lights. You’d have to spend ages in the shower combing them out, so I had a brainwave…. Wear a hat, and sunglasses. I went onstage once, a few years ago, without them… didn’t go down well. Went back in the dressing room, got the beret and returned to the stage to cheers. Oh well, it could be worse… Arthur Brown has to set his head on fire every show.

I get the berets 10 at a time from a tourist shop near the Notre Dame Cathedral. You can’t wash them cos the colour comes out, so when they get too stinky I discard them into the audience.

CGL: What is your pre-show routine? Do you get nervous before going on stage?
CS: No, it’s a buzz playing a loud guitar onstage. And after the soundcheck there’s usually a mad scramble to find something vaguely edible near the venue. Not easy when you’re as fussy about food as I am. I often end up just gulping down a can of chick peas, maybe with an apple. Glamorous, eh?!

CGL: What words of wisdom do you have for bands starting out today?
CS: There’s some interesting bands coming out now, like Wand and King Gizzard… we like the garage psych thing… it still sounds fresh. They’re a good example of how to do it… Young bands should be careful not to overdo the Protools effects that are so common nowadays. Don’t sterilize and correct everything… perfection is overrated anyway. Far too many records have auto-tune vocals… it drives me mad!

CGL: On a more serious note, does the current state of the world provide lyrical fodder? How are you responding to the chaos in the world today?
CS: Don’t ask me about politics… I’m just a daft guitarist. Leave that to our trusted elected representatives, who somehow manage to answer not to the voters but to the corporations who so generously fund them.

I’m loving the debate about ‘fake news’… that’s been a long time coming. People don’t like wars… they have to be lied into supporting armed interventions, and we have to learn from previous examples. In the UK there was a genuine thrill when the Tories were booted out by Blair’s ‘New Labour’ project. But then they took us straight to Iraq via ‘dodgy dossiers’ (lies) and a whole bunch of ‘fake news’ from the mainstream media.

I’ve done MY Blair song… entitled “Stole Into The Night”, it’s on YouTube: https://youtu.be/suh_Bo-stSQ

CGL: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
CS: We are all ale snobs, so if any brewery owners are reading this, please drop off a few bottles of porter – or better still chocolate stout at the stage door.