Transatlantic Modern

“I am one of the shrinking violets in this business because I’ve never been that keen on being famous. I like to share observations and feelings and things like that, but I can’t stand the idea of being popular. I think people who are hugely popular have to work at it quite a bit. And I’ve never worked at it.”

Neil Innes at length about the life of the Bonzo Dog (Doo-Dah) Band, the legacy of the Rutles, a solo career that’s oscillated between television and radio and how instant karma got both himself and Noel Gallagher in a similar predicament. Oh, and also why Benjamin Britten’s stuff is “just the most unthinkably bad music you’ve ever heard.” Continue reading →

“I guess it’s been sort of a long old journey to find the craft. After the Puppets, I sort of found it, really, making the Colour of the Trap album. And then now on this one, when you get people coming forward and saying they wanna work with you, it’s just a complete honor. It sort of raises my game.”

Miles Kane at length about his second solo LP, working with the likes of Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Gruff Rhys and Ian Broudie, and being prepared to start small in America. Oh, and also wanting to do what T. Rex, Oasis or the Four Tops can do for a Saturday night (with no regard for Sunday morning) …  Continue reading →

“To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t really like the feeling of getting too comfortable with the process … You never want to have the sensation that you’ve found something concrete. All art forms should always have a certain amount of mystery to them. You don’t really know why things work … It’s always been a process of discovery. What excites me is not knowing the process. So if something gets a little too easy, I get very suspicious that maybe things are getting a little stale.”

Matt Peters at length about Royal Canoe’s forthcoming transnational ventures, taking the risk of NOT having 100 things happening at once and the state of the Waking Eyes’ “open relationship.” Oh, and also why Winnipeggers need to find time to travel.

Continue reading →

“I felt like it was a great way to get signed, because it didn’t seem like we were trying to get these labels to listen. They were discovering us. That’s always a better way, and it’s completely different than being like, ‘Please listen to this.’ They were discovering it through Alt Nation and through blogs, so it’s pretty cool to put in that energy and have that actually happen.”

Erica Driscoll at length about the circuitous route that Blondfire took toward the band’s impending first major-label LP, from a youth split between Grand Rapids and Brazil to looking forward to sharing a bill with the Cure and New Order. Oh, and also the youthful decisions that one faces when choosing to see a concert in Chicago or Detroit …  Continue reading →

“When you try to tell a drummer or a bass player, as I’ve said, how to put that extra something in it, they don’t even know what the extra something is that you’re asking for. They don’t get it. It doesn’t have a name. It’s just a feeling that’s intangible that grew up in the embodiment of growing up in New Orleans. It’s a second nature thing to you, like blinking your eyes.”

Irma Thomas at length about her 54 years in the music business, from being fired for being a “singing” waitress to recording music with an ever-increasing number of fans. Oh, and a few thoughts along the way about the delayed credit of the British Invasion, the irritating aspect of Motown and how HBO’s “Treme” did New Orleans right. A lesson in soul from the Queen of New Orleans. Continue reading →

“I’ve managed to play the ‘Concerto For Group and Orchestra.’ I’ve played the drum fill in ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ I’ve played ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger.’ I’ve played ‘Sunflower.’ I’ve played ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down.’ I got to play with Ian Dury. You know, if you don’t rise up and say, ‘I’m gonna have a go at this,’ then you’re just sitting back, looking at other people and going, ‘Oh that’s easy, that is, mate.’ No. It isn’t.” 

Drumming legend Steve White talks in depth about his career, from being a teenage Style Councillor to diversifying his resume as a drum teacher and music manager. Oh, and he manages to fill in the gaps with more than a few nifty stories about Paul Weller, Ian Dury, Ginger Baker, Oasis and some withered old puffin with a pointy finger. Continue reading →

“You know, my music kind of dances on a fence. They’re songs, therefore they’re pop. Therefore they have hooks. But the hooks aren’t typical and the songs aren’t typical, so, for a guy who’s working at a radio station with a baseball cap on who just wants to instantly get pulled into the simplicity of pop music … He’s gonna be like, ‘I don’t get it.'”

Jason Falkner at length about his past and future, from the renewed interest in Jellyfish and working with Paul McCartney to the special place in hell for songwriting-app developers. Oh, and also that failed attempt to get Liam Gallagher listening to Leonard Cohen.  Continue reading →

“I remember going into record shops on Portobello Road in London in the Stairs days and looking at the Standells and Chocolate Watch Band albums when they were like 50 pounds, and I was thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if the Stairs album was next to the Standells one for 50 pounds?’ And then 10 years later, it was.”

Edgar ‘Summertyme’ Jones at length about recording through recovery and numerous phases of his career, including an aborted Joneses album, a stint with the La’s and leaving Johnny Marr for Paul Weller  …  Continue reading →