Part Two in a Three part interview with Gordon Raphael.

For Part One Click Here.

Previously, we covered Gordon’s experiences recording members of Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Ian Brown and his run-ins with Nirvana. There’s so much more to his story, he’s been in Sky Cries Mary and toured with the Psychedelic Furs. Honestly, there’s just no way to fit it all in! So together, with his memories and guidance, I’ll be writing a book on Gordon and his experiences in the past three decades of rock n’ roll history. For now though, here’s a sampling of what you can look forward to.

You met the Strokes at a gig and ended up recording a three song demo in three days. I know you’ve been asked about working with the Strokes a million times. Can you tell us about some experiences with them that we may not know about?

I went to Luna Lounge to check out a night arranged by Kerri Black, a promoter I was interested in to work with Absinthee (Gordon’s band with Anna Mercedes). I also wanted to talk to all the bands and try to convince them to come by my studio for a bit of work. There were two bands on, and I talked to both.

I wasn’t overly taken by The Strokes that night, but was struck by their confidence and the way that Fab played the drums. He looked like his spine was going to snap each time he hit the snare! I couldn’t stop watching him, it looked positively dangerous the way he was smacking that snare drum with his whole back!

Anyway, they did come in to work with me and let me know in no uncertain terms that they had not really enjoyed their previous studio experiences, were not expecting much out of working with me and really had not been impressed with the “professional” attitude of the New York recording establishments up till then.

What I think they were saying is that people who do a job for many years can get closed-minded about how things should be done, the “proper way” and all that. In those days people were gagging to use computers to make musical sounds that were scientifically enhanced to sound larger than life, now that we could finally record 60 digital tracks instead of the 24 that tape machines could offer. 

Yes, when The Strokes asked me to not have the drums “so loud” or to “take the bass out of the bass guitar” I was surely a bit concerned! I did try to keep an open mind though, for I swore that if I became a producer I’d not get my musical ego boost by talking people out of their ideas and dreams. After all, I had my own music that I could be as much of a control freak about as I wanted, so this gave me a lighter approach with other artists.

Truth be told, I did go head to head with Julian one time on the first demos that turned into The Modern Age EP. I’ve blabbed it many times before, but it is so cool that it bears repeating. After putting in the time I wanted to spend mixing their first three songs, Julian asked me if I would turn his voice up on one part of a song. I had no more patience left, and told him that I had really thought about it, and tried it louder, but the level of the voice was really at its best spot for the song. 

He sighed and said that he kind of expected me to say things like that, but would I please just humor him and turn the voice up one small number and see what happens. Then I sighed and turned it up one small number just to show him that it wouldn’t help and that I was right all along. Well, as the song played I could not help but notice that he was absolutely right, and I wasn’t about to deny that just to save face. I said (in front of the whole band and JP their guru) “Oh yes, that does sound better.”

I learnt to be very careful and remember this incident just about every time a musician has spoken in the studio ever since. This technique of listening to how the musicians hear things has been far more of a help than a hindrance in the subsequent 400 recording sessions I’ve had since then.

I remember reading that when they first got all of the hype they almost went with a different producer for Modern Age because of pressure from the label, but they fought to have you because you were a part of “their sound”. Can you explain what they meant by that?

There has always been alot of back-and-forth trying different things out and above all, trying to get the best possible sounds and songs by The Strokes. When the first buzzings began that seemed to imply that The Strokes would be able to “quit their day jobs” and become touring, record making musicians, of course they wanted  (and their various labels wanted) to work with the producer who would help them obtain their goals.

I recorded the demos that became The Modern Age EP. They started both Is This It and Room on Fire with other producers and returned to me. For whatever reasons, they believed that they would be happy with the process and the end results. On the other hand, I started working on what later became First Impressions of Earth, and was replaced early on by a different producer. So you see, it has worked both ways! Ultimately, I would prefer that artists work with people they feel comfortable with and are confident that they can give them the kind of experience/final creation they want to obtain. This is in the spirit of freedom and creativity. 

The Strokes hitting it big was a huge break for you onto the next level in the music industry. What was that period of Strokes-mania like from your perspective?

I had seen Albert pressing a few copies of the EP and taking them to small shops in the Village to sell. I liked the cover art they had done and was always happy to see them every now and then walking on St. Marks. Then came the news that NME had picked it to be the record of the week, followed by a small tour of England, followed by that ol’ mainstream dinosaur (maybe not in the 60’s-70’s) Rolling Stone magazine writing a feature about them and even printing a picture!!

Wow, I guess The Doors were the last unsigned band to have had the honor of appearing in that publication. Yes, surprising, joyous and unexpected, to say the least. At a Bowery Ballroom show early in 2001, I noticed limos from every major record company parked outside, and in the dressing room stacks of record contracts from many companies.

We started recording Is This It on a casual handshake agreement between me and the band, since they were still not signed to a US label (only on Rough Trade for the UK). However, we all knew that something was going to happen and that there was a good chance that the whole world was going to hear and possibly love what we were going to spend the next 7 weeks creating.

The band seemed mostly concerned with the real artistic level of getting the songs right, and the sounds right, so that they could be satisfied with this record. I was, of course, working with every member of the band and as collective to make sure that every aspect was as cool as possible. Of course I was also really excited by the thought that my work would probably be heard internationally and that this thing could really take on a life of its own.

I would sometimes look behind me, and on the purple velvet couch would be sitting representatives from Rough Trade, RCA records, NME Magazine– Rolling Stone magazine It was a total rush of excitement and I had never before (or since) experienced anything like it. My favorite bit was when I first played New York City Cops to James Endicott (the man who helped sign the Strokes to Rough Trade) he actually screamed and threw his hat into the air. Which was exactly how I felt about how unique and great that song sounded.

I went to London for the release of the first single “Hard To Explain” and an earth-shattering show at Heaven (venue). There were live interviews and the song being played on the radio all day and in every club I walked into The Strokes were being played, this was for real. I decided to move to London because (thanks to the fact that the band members put a photo of me in their first album) I was recognized and appreciated there and got an impossible offer to refuse, continuous parties and continuous production work for about 3 years!

Any thoughts on Julian’s solo record Phrazes for the Young?

I think I chanced on the first news about his solo album on NME.com. I went straight to the promo film and was shocked and impressed by how cool and amazing this little trailer was. It seemed to me that a new Hollywood blockbuster on the scale of Gone With The Wind or Wizard of Oz was about to be released. I was really shocked, because I thought the 4th album by The Strokes was about to drop. So, naturally the creation, release and touring of a Julian solo album hit me from left field.

I am waiting for the record to come out to listen to it, but I imagine its going to be innovative and quite powerful. I think he’s got ideas, style and rhythm for days (among other things like his voice!) I wish him nothing but the best and I think the artwork for the cover looks cool as hell. Aww shit, sometimes he reminds me of me and I mean that in a good way.

Go ahead to Part Three (the conclusion). It’s all about: The Psychedelic Furs, Regina Spektor and The Libertines.

What can you say about someone who’s recorded members of Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Regina Spektor and of course The Strokes. Then there are his bizarre encounters like: being asked to be in Nirvana, a surprise recording session with Ian Brown (ex-Stone Roses) and a plethora more. On his own, he’s been in Sky Cries Mary and toured with the Psychedelic Furs. Honestly, there’s just no way to fit it all in here! So together, with his stories and guidance, I’ll be writing a book on Gordon and his experiences in rock n’ roll history. Know any publishers? Just checking. In the meantime, I’m putting up an excerpt of our first interview here. So let’s go, shall we?

Oh and this interview will be in two posts. Part Two comes out Wednesday, so make sure you check back or subscribe. We’ll be discussing The Strokes in depth as well as Regina Spektor, the Libertines and the Psychedelic Furs.

PART ONE

You were in Seattle during the Grunge period where you recorded some of the bands that later signed with Sub Pop. One of the bands you worked with was Green River which had Mark Arm (Mudhoney), Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard (both Pearl Jam). What was it like working with them at such a creative time in the Grunge scene?

Seattle was a very strange place to be a musician. In the old days it always rained, literally. So staying inside and working on music, or playing with a band was a great way to attempt to stay sane. There were in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, many unbelievably talented bands, composers and musicians in Seattle. Most of these never got a chance to play outside of the city, or even outside of the one or two clubs that allowed original music.

In about 1985 a friend/associate of mine, Mr. Jon Poneman (a local Seattle musician, and DJ) began hosting rock shows at The Rainbow Tavern. One night I witnessed Soundgarden (with a cool drummer who was not Matt Cameron) and Skinyard (who did have Matt Cameron on drums). I knew then and there that something was finally going to happen in Seattle. I was completely impressed and thought that with a band of this caliber and with a singer as unbelievably powerful as the young outta-control Chris Cornell how could this not lead to something!!??

At the time, I was one of probably a small handful of people who was known for “recording stuff”. I had a few of my own home-made songs played on the radio, and my bands (Mental Mannequin and Colour Twigs) both played at The Showbox. In my wanderings I’d been hanging out with Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, who were young musicians on the scene with their band Green River, which featured an unpredictable and high energy singer named Mark Arm. I was asked to record some of their songs for a single, and had only done one day of work when they brought in (now legendary) producer/engineer Jack Endino to finish the sessions. They felt he had a bit more experience than I did in getting the sounds they were looking for.

I recorded some fantastic music from Bundle of Hiss, and also a band called Feast. Between these bands, and my own projects as well as Violet Caste, Janus, and a Film project called The Goblins: An Electronic Nightmare I felt ready to start my own label and set out to find funding for that. I also shot a wonderful live video of Soundgarden playing at a Carl Smool (influential and talented Seattle artist) Halloween party at his studio. This footage unfortunately burnt up in the fire we had at our church, which somehow leads us to the next question.

For those that may not know, can you tell us about The Church?

Photo of Gordon at The Church circa '87

Without getting to deep into it, I had met and became involved with a highly specialized branch of The Rosicrucian Order in the Skagit Valley (a rural area near Seattle where the last strands of the hippie movement fled after California got too slick and commercialized). I studied Tarot, meditation, music, Egyptian magic, Aleister Crowley, and partied a lot with these people (going on searches for mushrooms and amazing midnight trips to mountain hot springs in the snow).

Years later in the mid 1980’s, through various delusions, explorations and influences we started to have Esoteric Catholic Masses at apartment F on Capitol Hill. It was a neighborhood that was quite colorful and cutting edge in those days. Priests on motorbikes would drive down from Skagit valley to administer the holy sacraments, which we understood from a clairvoyant and magical perspective, outlined by the British psychic C.W Leadbetter in his book “Thoughtforms”. I delved a bit too deeply, in retrospect, into a weird combination of drug over-use and fundamental TV evangelist style Christianity!

At that time, I had a mini-revelation about some friend of mine that had built a lovely recording studio into the basement of an old church in Ballard. I wondered if that was somehow available for us all to move into and establish an arts community/ record label, which I had planned to call Ars Divina Network.

Now this church quickly attracted the attention of Seattle’s punk rock, skater and party communities. Looking out from our first rent-raising party one could spot leather clad boys with spiky hair and dog collars peeing joyously in the middle of the road under bright streetlights. When that was finished they climbed with their muddy boots onto the neighbor’s garage roofs and jumped with psychedelic abandon onto the roofs of their automobiles, leaving brand new dents and fresh dirty boot prints.

To make a long (albeit interesting, racy and alternative) story short, after a year in this church we were finally clearing out the empty beer crates and bottles that had piled up in every available work/living area. The next day, I was expecting to begin a band rehearsal, but was instead greeted by Ballard Firemen. They had cornered off the building because it was burning up from the inside and told us that the flames were so hot, that their helmets cracked as they went inside to battle it. We made the local TV news for different reasons than I had hoped for, or planned, and the neighbors allegedly cheered when they saw the fire.

I remember hearing that The Church was one of the “hubs” of the Grunge scene. A lot of musical equipment, including your Arp Odyssey burned in the fire. It was a place of musical historical significance because every major Seattle band that came out of that scene had experiences there. It’s too bad it’s gone. 

Speaking of Grunge bands, I’d like to briefly interject an excerpt from an interview Gordon did with Poptones in 2004.  Here he discusses his run in with Nirvana.

“My friend Jon Poneman who was president of Sub Pop records told me to check out an unknown, recently signed band called Nirvana at a tiny hole-in-the-wall club called Pyramid on Avenue A. I saw them and loved their show a lot.

Each day for the next week as I went on my well worn route down 7th Street (to cop drugs) I saw the boys from Nirvana drinking beer and smoking on some steps in front an apartment building. The 12th time they saw me go by that week (day and night), one of the boys called out to me and said “Hey, aren’t you from Seattle?”

I said yes, and they said that they thought I was from a band out there, that I looked familiar. Kurt asked me what instrument I played and I told him keyboards and guitar. He then asked “what kind of guitar do you play?” I explained that I used a lot of echo and effects and played space guitar sorta like Pink Floyd. He then told me that they needed a second guitarist to join the band for an upcoming UK and European tour that was starting a week later, and asked me if I wanted to do it.

Thought for a second, and thought that I had better not leave the safety of my well established narcotics supplier in the state I was in, and also didn’t want to stop progress on some songs I was composing and working on. Funny moment, that!”

It is just those odd and “funny” serendipitous moments that surmise Gordon’s life and make it all the more interesting.

OK, we’re going to move on now speeding up through the first years in NYC, moving back to California to stay with Dave Allen (Gang of Four) and through when you played for many years in Sky Cries Mary back in Seattle. We’ll start back after you had just come back to NYC for the second time. It was then that you found a residency at Chateau Relaxo in the East Village where you learned even more about producing and recording from Scott Clark (now Mercy Sound). This was where things began to take a drastically new direction and you had some very interesting experiences.

Didn’t you tell me Ian Brown from the Stone Roses came in to record once?

Yes, that was at Chateau Relaxo. I got a call from some guy named Ian. He told me he was on the way to the airport, and needed to quickly record some vocals on a demo. I was just starting my lunch break, but decided that I could charge him $25, spend an hour, and get back to lunch later with a bit of money in my pocket.

When he arrived he commented that the red light decor of the studio reminded him of a “massage parlour”! He had a very beautiful South American lady with him and I really had no idea who he was. He handed me a cassette tape with the name 808 Stateon the label and said, “Here, copy this song on your computer and I’ll sing over it.” I honestly remembered thinking “Oh man the poor drugged out musicians in this neighborhood can’t even afford to record properly, here they are using cassette tapes instead of nice clean good sounding cds!!”. 

So I transferred the song onto my computer and had set up the microphone and everything already, so that I could invest a minimum amount of time doing this little job and get back to my sandwich. He stood behind me and basically just started singing right away. As I heard his voice in my headphones, and saw the name I had typed “Ian’s Song” on the Logic Session, I suddenly and strongly recognized the tone of his voice. When he had finished singing I blurted out “Hey! Aren’t you Ian Brown of The Stone Roses??”.

He replied that he was indeed Ian Brown FORMERLY of The Stone Roses. I was very happy and impressed. He and I were quite satisfied with his first take vocals and he asked to sing a double part for the whole song, so he did also perfectly in one try. Bam Bamand Ian Brown was out the door 30 minutes after he arrived with a cd of him singing on an 808 State song. I charged him 25 bucks and he handed me $75 and left for the airport. You never know what can happen during lunch!

Click ahead to Part Two. It’s all about: The Strokes and Julian Casablancas!

Katie Stelmanis is in a peculiar place.  You may not have heard of her, but to those that have the mere mention of her name typically results in a consensual “She’s amazing.”  There’s a reason why, it’s partly because of her vocal prowess and partly because she’s just different than your standard fare.  It’s not so much that she’s adept at whipping up ethereal melodies while singing with a range and power that is hardly heard in indie or electronic music, although she definitely has that mastered.  It’s more that she can so succinctly vocalize an emotion. 

In the chorus of “Believe Me” she sings the line ”believe me” over and over again.  Instead of simply a demand, you can hear the complex layers of emotions that reside in that phrase.  The lyrics become less important than the intent and the intent is for you to feel what she feels.  For about three minutes or so she invites you to crawl inside her chest and lay on her heart, curling fingers around sinews and sighing or rejoicing alongside her. 

Katie just toured with CocoRosie and opens two sold out shows for Tegan and Sara in NYC on Oct 30-31st. If you haven’t seen her live yet I highly recommend it (links to more gigs after the jump).  Also if watching music videos of psychedelic cartoons or a nun shooting 80’s era special effects style lasers at witches doing contemporary dance appeals to you, then you should watch her videos…OH and the witches do synchronized swimming.  MTV hasn’t the balls for that kind of artistry!  Actually, nevermind MTV hasn’t shown a video in about 50 years.  Off topic, back to it then.

Before we break into the interview, I’d like you to know a bit of back story.  It’s important because it’s the reason she’s different (in a good way).  Katie grew up in Toronto and by the time she was ten years old she was in the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus.  She sang in Operas and continued her classical vocal training until she teamed up with her friend Emma McKenna.  Katie and Emma formed Galaxy in 2006, a fiercely feminist band that was inspired more by politics than music.  This band would put her on a different musical course entirely.

I read about your work with Galaxy and wanted to know how you felt (or are inspired by) feminist theory merging with art/music?

Katie:  I was in Galaxy with my friend Emma McKenna, who always felt politics should take precedence over the music in a band.  Her lyrics were blunt and aggressive, and extremely feminist.  Though politics weren’t a priority for me at that time, I loved her passion to deliver a message and am thankful she taught my uneducated self all about feminist theory, riot-grrl everything and how to be bad-ass.

Today I have more of a passion for feminist politics because as a solo female musician, trying to make it in music, sexism stares me in the face every day.  I deal with so much bullshit.  Though the music I make now is not overtly political, if anyone asks me I will tell them that I am absolutely a feminist, and that we still live in a sexist world.  It pisses me off when indie musicians, especially girls, say they are not a feminist, as if it’s a negative thing.  Everyone should be a feminist and everyone should recognize that women still get the short end of the stick and have to work 100,000 times harder to be taken seriously.

So yeah, I have the utmost respect for people who use music to deliver a political message.  I think it’s great. But for me, music is a higher force than anything human on this earth and sits above politics and sexism.  It’s a form of communication I like to leave open for interpretation.

I was really into punk rock as a kid and I remember, very clearly, hearing Bikini Kill for the first time.  In a moment, it turned my whole world upside down.  When you started getting into feminism with Emma in Galaxy was there a catalyst, a band, a song or moment that just turned on the light bulb for you, so to speak?

Katie: I remember when I first started listening to rock music.  My friend had moved to Calgary, Alberta and starting dating this guy who was a lot older and in a band.  I was still in high school and his band came to Toronto to play.  It was my first rock show, I was like 17, and I remember thinking that I loved what I had heard and experienced, even though I had no idea why.  Previously, music to me was all about melody and beauty etc., but this was just pure energy and it made me crazy.  She also introduced me to this band called the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who I loved and Emma and I initially bonded over.  The Sleater Kinny/Bikini Kill love came a bit later.  Oh, and I had another revelation listening to NIN for the first time.  That music was so influential in my early recordings.

I love that a few minutes ago you said, “Music is a higher force than anything human on this earth and sits above politics and sexism.”  In regards to sexism, has there been a sexist moment that kind of shocked you the most

Katie: Well the classic experience I have again and again is men thinking that my band and I don’t know how to use/tune/turn on our instruments.  My drummer Maya has been playing for almost 15 years and has a degree in percussion and still has random dudes helping her set up her kit.  Often, people are reluctant to share gear with us because they assume we don’t know what we are doing. It’s such a joke.

I think the most sexist moment I have experienced was in a grocery store somewhere in Ontario.  I was traveling with Maya and another girl band called the Ghost Bees.  Maya and one of the Bees got caught stealing yoghurt.  They were pulled into detention and after I tried to find them for over an hour, I found them being detained by a security guard waiting for the police to show up and write a report.  In the mean time, the security was asking lots of questions about what they were doing and what they were wearing.

When the police finally arrived, the security guard informed him, sarcastically, that my friends were in a band.  The policeman replied “How is that possible, they are all girls!”  At this point I wanted to punch him in the face and explain that there are many girl bands in the world including Destiny’s Child and the Spice Girls, but I decided to hold back and play ignorant so they would let my friends go faster.  What fun.

It’s frustrating, but I would have done exactly the same.  Talking about sexism leads me to another aspect of feminism and that is activism.  You did a cover of “Natural Woman” that is a really emotional video raising awareness for the Trans community.   How do you feel about the lack of LGBT(Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Transsexual) activism in music?

That video was actually done by a high school student in Denmark who used it for a school project, and I was totally blown away when I saw it.  Mostly, because when I was in high school I didn’t know anything about being gay let alone trans-gender issues.  I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing (Denmark vs. Toronto) or if I just happened to meet some super cool kids.

The lack of LGBT activism and representation in music is quite dissapointing to me.  It’s there, there are tons of gay bands, but I think that the whole “don’t ask don’t tell” thing is currently prevalent in music journalism, specifically indie-music journalism. For example, do you know how many people don’t know Tegan and Sara are gay?  They definitely don’t hide it and even participate in gay activism, but people are just oblivious and often chose not talk about it unless it’s a gay publication. 

For those of us who do not necessarily have a political agenda, I think it’s so important to Out yourself if you’re in a position of power because gays are still so brutally scrutinized all over the world.  Take for example Chris Skinner, who was brutally murdered in Toronto (one of the world’s most gay positive cities) two days ago at 3am in a gay-bashing incident.  Someone needs to kick Pink, Dolly Parton, Martha Stewart and La Roux out of the closet right now because its this type of representation that is essential for people in the LGBT and straight communities to overcome their fear of queerness.  Also, because it’s not very often you see artists who are known for their skill over sexuality (that are out as gay).  I think it’s especially important for them to come out so that people can associate queerness with a variety of different images not just riot-grrl, punk bands and folk singers.  In fact, I think that anyone in music who identifies with the LGBT community has a responsibility to make it known.

To follow-up on being Out in music, I read somewhere you were gay and then another article sort of said Bi.   Just to clarify, how do you identify?

Katie: I identify as a lesbian.

You had been touring and working alone for awhile, then you collaborated with Fucked Up who just won the Polaris Music Prize (the Canadian version of the Mercury Prize).  That was great exposure for you, are there any more collaborations coming up with anyone?

Katie: My friend Diamond Rings is going to release a new record soon.  I sang with him, he is amazing. You should check him out. That’s about all I can think of right now

You were just on tour with CocoRosie.  Were there any great moments with them?

Katie: Oh man, I LOVE CocoRosie.  I wasn’t a mega fan before, but after I saw them perform three times I was hooked and I fell in love with Bianca and Sierra simultaneously.  The highlight was after one of our shows when we were all packing up, Bianca started singing one of my songs and was like, “How does that one go again, I love it!” in her crazy Bianca voice.  That was a major moment in my career.

I read that after you toured Canada you thought it wiser to tour the UK and sort of focus your efforts on cities that were easier to network.  What advice would you give other Canadian bands trying to tour?

Katie: Well the difference between me and most Canadian artists is that I play electronic music, and I have a great big female voice.  If you play rock music, or folk music, or folk rock pop music, you will do just fine in Canada.  If you play anything else, get out now.  Canada has a really strong community of musicians and I mean though its huge, our population is tiny.  So, I think it’s ok that there isn’t a huge support system for other types of music, we just don’t have the population to support it!  America is great and I love Europe, everyone should tour there anyways.

A: I always ask are there any authors or books that you really love right now?

Katie: Honestly, I haven’t read a book in years.  I never find the time and whenever I start one I never finish it.  I’m not proud of it, but I feel like I am just too ADD to get anywhere with a book these days and I can’t read in the car which is a major bummer!  I do read the newspaper and other forms of journalism a lot though which takes less commitment than an entire book, but still keeps my brain alive.

A: Last question, anything cool coming up that we may not know about yet?

Katie: I just got 2 gigs opening for Tegan and Sara in NYC on Halloween which will be awesome – I have loved them since I was a 17yr old lez trying to find her way out of the closet. Ha.  Other than that, I do have a new record on the way but everything is still TBA!!

Upcoming shows:

Oct 30, 2009 w/ Tegan and Sara- SOLD OUT

Oct 31, 2009 w/ Tegan and Sara- SOLD OUT

Nov 5, 2009  @ 8:00P   Brooklyn Masonic Hall w/ Fucked Up Brooklyn, NY

Nov 20, 2009 @ 8:00P  Bloor-Gladstone Public Library Toronto, ON 

http://www.stelmanis.com/

So if Kerrang! gives you their blessing, that pretty much means your golden right?  Let’s ask Blitz Kids, the rock mag just spread some good lovin’ all over the Northwestern boys in a recent gig review.  Now they have a much buzzed EP Decisions and I believe that means the appropriate thing to do is to write some lengthy pretentious review describing what each cymbal, nuance and bass line sounds like.  The only problem is, describing a song is sort of like describing what it’s like to be drunk.  In all honesty, you can try to do it, but it’s sort of pointless when the only thing you really need to do is experience it for yourself.

So here’s the deal, they’ve been compared to Idlewild, Lost Prophets, and Mars Volta with influences from Refused, Jesus Lizard, At The Drive In and The Get Up Kids.  If none of that interests you, you need to check them out anyway.  They’re songs are catchy, tight and they seem to pull off what all the other bands in the genre are trying to pull off which is, to quote LL Kool J, “doing it and doing it and doing it well.”   I had a chat with their drummer Hawx and their singer Joe James.  Read it, they’re charming.

A:  When did you get together?

Hawx:  We formed in August 2006.

A:  How did it come about?

Hawx:  Well, me and Bill met at a bus stop a year earlier and had been building a band since then (August ‘05).  We had similar ideas for a band and we connected musically.  Then we just searched the area for other members to form a band, people with similar tastes to ours.  It took a year to get that down.  Joe joined shortly after, even though he had no singing experience.  He just thought he’d be a cocky bastard and say he could sing.  We auditioned him in my car in the Spar car park and I figured he could be fuckin’ awesome, so we took him on.  We then tried a few other people, but nothin’ really stuck til August ‘06 when Nic and Jono’s punk band split up.  I’d wanted them both in the band from the start.  When we were out at the pub, Bill was pissed and so was Nic and Jono.  So I asked them to join and they agreed, a hangover later and it stuck ever since.

A:  So Joe, you had never sung before auditioning.  How did you know you would be able to do it?  Did you sing when you were alone or something?

Joe:  I had never sang a note in my life other than at shows when you’re competing with 1,000 other kids, so you can’t hear if you’re out of tune.  I tried singing a couple times at home, singing over Used records, Hundred Reason records, Taking Back Sunday records, but my voice just wasn’t high enough to keep up.  I pretty much gave up.  I got really down about it at the time, so I just carried on playing drums in this band I had and got my head down with my art course.

Then I was just hanging out with my friends in the canteen and everyone left to go lectures, save for this one dude.  HE HAD A TATTOO.  I was like, “Shit man, this is so awkward he’s not gonna want to talk to me he’s so cool, but he did.”  He talked about how he was starting a band and he needed a vocalist.  I didn’t even think, I just spoke, “I can sing.”  Haha, anyway he called my bluff and arranged for him and his drummer to pick me up and have a practice.  SHIT THE BED!

So that night, I went round to my girlfriend’s house and explained everything.  She found it hilarious, but I was so nervous.  I knew I couldn’t sing, but I wanted to be a singer so desperately.  I told her to go downstairs while I practiced a couple of Thrice melodies with altered lyrics.  She came back up with a brew when I was ready and I sang to her.  It was two lines, but her face lit up.  She said, “Dude, that was pretty good, sing it again.”

That night, Hawx and Billy picked me up outside my house and took me to the Spar car park (classy I know, but it’s where they hung out back in the day).  They pulled up and were like “sing”, so I did. I don’t know where the confidence came from.  I just sang the same lines I sang to my girlfriend and they liked it.  I was in.

A:  In an article I wrote about Blitz Kids before, I mentioned the oddities of Crewe.  I think it must have some influence on you being from such a quirky kind of place.  Do you think the band being from Crewe and Nantwich has affected you musically.

Hawx:  Yeah I reckon so, there is nothing here.  It’s pretty grim. Nantwich is nice, but Crewe really isn’t.  Three of the band were brought up in Crewe: me, Bill and Nic.  A lot of people talk about “getting out.”  It’s boring, dull and I’m pretty sure chavs were invented here.  We all used to skate ’round Crewe because there was nothin’ else to do.  So, I guess the good thing is that because the town is so shit we had nothin’ to do, but keep ourselves occupied which ended up being music.

A:  Are there any bands that you are really into at the moment.

Hawx:  Err, it’s tough to say.  I can’t really think of many.  There is a band called Heartless who are pretty good.  They are very into what they do, got time for them.  As for the UK, Apollo’s Arrows who we did our first tour with.  We love those guys. The JCQ are fucking crazy live, fuckin’ awesome band.  Deaf Havana have just made the best screamo record I’ve ever heard and Blackhole.

A: What bands or artists influence you in the way that you write and sing, Mr. James?

Joe:  Bert McCracken was the reason I started singing.  When it comes to writing, I take influence from everything I read that I like.  I am the guy who sits online all night reading lyrics.  It fascinates me how cleverly some people can convey an idea they have and make you understand it so easily, often in just a few lines.  If I had to pick my favourite lyricists: Dustin Kensrue (Thrice) and Jesse Lacey (Brand New).  They can do no wrong by me.  As for the way I sing, I have to give some credit to my sister.  She started way before me and I have to admit I copied her a bit at the beginning.  Since then I have just taken influence from everything I have ever heard and liked from Chet Baker to Karen O. and put it into one big mixing pot.

A:  I’ve heard the new songs and you’ve grown an insane amount as writers and performers since you first started.  Are there any songs that you look back on and go “Fuck, why did we write that?”

Joe:  It’s difficult to say, on the surface, yes.  There are times I hear old songs and cringe, but in the greater scale of things, as Heath Ledger’s Joker so iconicly states, “It’s all part of the plan.”  I’d like to think there are songs we love now that would never have come together if it weren’t for the “learning curve” of or earliest stuff.

A:  What can somebody expect from a Blitz Kids gig?

Joe:  We will blow you away.  For us it’s always been important to be one of those bands you HAVE to see live.

A:  You going to do Europe?

Hawx:   At some point, yes definitely.  From what I’ve heard the kids in Europe actually go to shows and buy merch.  We thrive off a packed venue full of kids who want to rip the place to pieces.  I wish I was born earlier, so that I could have been in a band in the late 70’s / early 80’s when kids really gave a fuck about music and went to every show.

A:  What about coming to the States?

Hawx:  We’ll definitely be hitting the States sooner rather than later.  It’ll be next year, right now our management are in talks with labels and stuff.  I dunno exactly what’s goin’ on, but basically if we get a chance to show our stuff we fucking will and people will never forget it.

A:  Tell me about what being a frontman is like from your perspective, Joe.

Joe:  I get so nervous before shows it’s almost a joke now, but as soon as I’m on stage I’m fine.  Performing live for me is the best feeling in the world.  It makes me feel like a kid again, screaming every word to “The Melting Point of Wax” in the middle of the pit.  It’s just you and the music.

A:  I have to ask, any crazy tour stories?

Joe:  We just get naked a lot.

A:  Nice. I always ask what books people are into.  Do you read a lot, Hawx?

Hawx:  Yeah I read a fair bit, I mostly read up on shit though on Wikipedia whenever I get curious about how shit works or what something is.  Books wise: Tolkien, A.C. Crispin, fiction books based on Star Wars, shit like A Tale of Two Cities, and anything by Dickens Hell, I even read business books about how businesses work.  I just want to know about things.

A:  Joe, we spoke before about you possibly transposing all the Blitz Kids’ songs to piano.  Do you play other instruments too?

Joe:  I have a terribly short attention span.  I have played the guitar, saxophone, trumpet, drums, clarinet, bass, drums, violin…all for about 2 months.  There was a recurring joke in primary school about who I would be sitting next to in the orchestra at each practice.  Don’t get me wrong I sucked, but everyone sucked in primary school.  Now I’m a bit older, I’ve decided to stick to an instrument.  So, I’ve started teaching myself piano.  It’s a great way to come up with melodies and practice singing.

A:  Last question guys, what’s coming up for the band that we might not know about?

Joe:  Our Debut EP Decisions is out now.  Our debut single is available for free download on our Myspace.  The video for that single “An Ink Blot In A Blood Clot” will be on all good music video channels November onwards.  We’re Touring the UK in November and December.  Check Myspace for dates.

Thanks guys, I would like to also add that in researching Blitz Kids for this interview I read a lot of gig reviews.  Each one couldn’t say enough about how insane their live show is.  This only adds to my ever-growing list of awesome things about England.  Really though, isn’t it enough you have Galaxy bars and free healthcare?  Although, you can keep Katie Price…she looks like a Barbie doll exploded all over a hooker.

http://www.myspace.com/blitzkidsuk

Magic Wands set my ears afire with hearts, so I asked them for an interview.  They kindly met me on an intensely hot September day at a crowded Hollywood cafe.  The noisy and packed spot didn’t seem so great for an interview, so we opted to sit outside in the sweltering heat and have a chat.  We talked about the mystically magical, the new record and how Dexy reminds Chris of The Last Unicorn.  That wins the endearing award hands fu*king down.  So let’s talk…
 
Angie: You’re about to head out on another tour with School of Seven Bells and at the end you’ll be playing CMJ.  Are there any gigs in particular that you’re looking forward to playing?

DEXY: We unfortunately had to cancel this tour last min, an offer to work with a producer came up so everyone thought it would be best if we did the album sooner than later. We were going to record in either Spain or Sedona but we’re recording at a log cabin in the Los Angeles hills.
 
A:  Your name and music all have a mystical theme to it, have you seen anything mystical or magical on tour yet?

DEXY:  We went to Stonehenge and checked out some crop circles in the UK, In the US we went to Sedona vortexes & Mount Shasta we found our stuffed tiger heads at a gas station in Kansas and like to collect fantasy velvet art when we’re in New Mexico. The highlights on the road are finding magical things.
 
CHRIS:  We also stop at a lot of scenic overlooks when we’re on the road, or we’ll pull over in the farmlands & run around and take pictures of the sunset and stuff like that.
 
A:  On your Myspace fan page it says that you both came from a punk music background.  Do you feel that your punk roots influenced you to create your own sound and have such a DIY approach to music?

DEXY:  Punk is more of an influence in our attitude toward things, not so much our music.  We initially do all our music with old school stuff like a 8trk cassette recorder and cheap casio keyboards and then the quality gets upgraded when we re-record in a studio, we don’t change too much tho.

CHRIS:  We’re into making things ourselves, whether it’s recording and writing music or making art.

A:  You’re working on songs for the full length now.  Do you have any in particular that you’re excited for your fans to hear and are they similar to what we heard on the EP?

DEXY:  Just to hear the album as complete rather than bits and pieces. Our US EP had 4 songs, the UK had 5 songs and some songs weren’t on either so the album will have everything + new stuff. It’s going to be pretty different soundwise from what we’ve done, we’re less limited now with equipment.

CHRIS:  I think if people liked the EP then they will probably like the record too.

A:  Are there any sounds or instruments you haven’t been able to work with yet, but you’d like to?

DEXY:  Solina string ensemble, I like alot of 60’s surf guitar sounds, our producer just got back from the jungle where he taped all kinds of sounds, so we’ll be using some of those.  Who knows how it will turn out yet.
         
CHRIS:  A ram’s horn, ocean sounds, I like checking out older keyboard and synths, we’ve got a wide variety of options to pick from.

A:  A friend of mine and I were talking about how it seems fans and critics compare bands more to what their own references are rather than what they actually sound like.  For example, her band is a girl-fronted rock band and a guy said they sounded like Radiohead.  What’s the oddest reference anyone has made to your music?
 
DEXY:  Haven’t really heard anything too far off the mark, I don’t really get why people have to compare stuff all the time tho.  I get how some people can like something more if it sounds exactly like something they already know but I like to hear stuff that doesn’t remind me of anything I’ve ever heard before.

CHRIS:  Someone said ‘Missing Persons’ right after we had to cancel our tour.

A:  A lot of times in the music business there is a disconnect between the artist’s vision and the label’s vision.  What do you find most frustrating about music as a business?

DEXY:  Our manager handles the business stuff, our vision is our vision and we wouldn’t change it.

CHRIS:  I don’t know, I like to tune it out.

A:  You have a stuffed lion in a lot of your photos.  How is Captain Sylvester and how did this furry wonder come into your life?

DEXY:  I used to work at a vintage toy shop and I got the lion as a gift for Chris since he’s a leo.
 
CHRIS:  Dexy brought him home a long time ago and he still gets pet everyday.
 
A:  One year for Halloween I was a white tiger wearing an 80’s sweater dress that had a sequined white tiger on the front.  Do you think your fans should start coming to shows dressed like this or maybe unicorns in glitter spandex?

DEXY:  Sounds fun, It wouldn’t bother me.

CHRIS:  Dexy just made me some glitter spandex.
 
A:  You were in Nashville for awhile, but now I read you’re back in LA.  Do you feel like either of those cities has had more of an influence on your music?

DEXY:  Nashville was good for country and lakes, LA is good for mountains and the desert, I really like Malibu. everything has an influence on our music but for me it’s mostly stuff I dream about.

CHRIS: I think we get the most inspiration for songs from traveling, like “Warrior” we got when we drove through the Southwest.
 
A:  The title of your EP is Magic, Love & Dreams. Speaking of magic and love, do you believe in soulmates or musical soulmates atleast?

DEXY: it’s not really something I talk about much.

CHRIS: Yes.

I have a question for each of you separately…
 
A:  For Chris, Is there a movie that reminds you of Dexy?

CHRIS: the Last Unicorn, I think she is the last unicorn.

A:  For Dexy, is there a book that reminds you of Chris?

DEXY:  The Little Prince, not so much the story, but the illustrations.  I think Chris looks like the little prince
http://lerepertoire.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/the_little_prince.jpg
 
A:  Finally, is there anything exciting happening for Magic Wands that we may not know about yet?
 
DEXY: keep an eye on our new blog for updates:
http://magicloveanddreams.blogspot.com/

CHRIS: I just ironed some new patches on my jacket 

Definitely check out their blog.  It’s got tons of tour and personal photos.  There are updates on the new full-length, plus other Magical and Wand related bits.  Thanks guys, hug Sylvester for me.

An entertainment legend says that classic Hollywood film legend Lana Turner was discovered by a movie reporter at an LA soda fountain.  Within weeks she got a big movie contract and became a famous actress.  Yeah ok, so what does that have to do with music?  The point is that shit (being “discovered”) just doesn’t happen and when it does it is the stuff of legend.

Years ago the only hope a young musician had of putting out their music was that old pipe dream of getting discovered.  It used to be that you needed a label for almost everything; remember when people actually bought CD’s and you only heard about bands on MTV?  Then the internet happened and now you can sell your music through websites like CD Baby or Amie Street, have a Myspace band page for free and put up videos on YouTube to garner attention.  Thanks internet! You may not get rich, but it’s possible to make a living…if you don’t suck.  Sorry, reality check needed.  The point is, you now have everything to be your own rock star and there are people out there who are already doing it.

Enter Kate McGill.  She’s a 19 year old university student from Plymouth, England singing covers and originals on her Youtube channel Katem3.  She’s so popular, she even had to add a second channel mynameiskate3 for the songs that don’t make it to the main channel.  As of this posting she has 28,465 subscribers and 5,864,862 video views.  She’s the #13 “Most Subscribed (All Time) Musician in the UK” and now the big labels are after her.  She’s even “talking” to Virgin Records.  All of this from playing songs on a webcam in a bathroom. 

She’d never played a gig before getting all of her current attention, so I decided to talk with Kate about getting her following 100% from YouTube.  I was also curious about this phenomenon of the YouTube celebrity and how it translates into the mainstream.  Late one stormy night, she let me bother her for a second (do you also want to know that my dog is terrified of thunder and barked at me the ENTIRE interview?  No, I didn’t think so.  I love her, but seriously she’s an ass…not Kate…the dog.  Kate’s very lovely).

Angie:  How did you get the idea to start posting on YouTube?

Kate:  I honestly have no idea! and it’s a shame…’cause people ask me how it all started and what my first video was, and I genuinely can’t remember! It’s like the entire beginning of my Youtube “career” has been blanked from my memory.  Not the best answer, haha.  I wish I had a better one to offer.

A:  When did you start singing and you play piano as well as guitar right?

Kate:  I started singing properly about 2 years ago…I’ve always sang and I’ve been in a few musical theatre companies but nothing like this! and with the piano and guitar, I dabbled in them as well really… taught myself both of them and haven’t looked back since!

A:  Are you talking to labels now?

Kate:  Yeah, an A&R guy from Virgin came down to see me about a month ago now and I’m going for my first writing session in London next Wednesday!

A:  Sweet.  Are you going to do an EP or just sort of test the waters with them?

Kate:  I think it’s just testing the waters at the moment! and then after a few months it’ll be a mutual assessment type thing, see how I’ve got on with people and… stuff. Haha you can tell I’m very innocent in all of this!

A:  You’ve been writing a lot and then there was the contest you won as well…

Kate:  Well about mid-summer, I got an email about this competition called ‘Skindividual’, basically a campaign that gives awareness to people my kind of age about their skin and why it’s really important to take care of it.  She said that because of my following on YouTube, I’d have a good chance of winning!  So I thought wow!  What a wicked opportunity, signed up on a whim genuinely didn’t think anything of it.  Then about one hour after joining up, I was already number 3!  So everyone was so supportive and helpful and got loads of their friends to sign up.  Then whilst that was all going on, I had an email about labels and management from an A&R guy who came down to see me, talk to me about my future and music, etc!  Then within a week of meeting him I was in THE Virgin/EMI building in London and was introduced to some very wicked people, including the guy who signed The Kooks and Laura Marling, and the president of Virgin, Shabs!  I was well lucky to be there at the right time, ha.

A:  On your channel it says people ask you about your hair, the cursing and recording in the bathroom.  What’s the deal with those questions?  I don’t get the bathroom obsession.

Kate:  Haha, neither do I, but I guarantee that when I sign onto YouTube in the morning…I’ll have at least three comments saying “lol r u in a bathroom?” and I’m like… OH MY JESUS WEPT! YES! YES I AM!  I try to control my rage.  Haha, but then I start swearing and it’s just a vicious cycle.  I’m sure you can imagine.

A:  Do you feel a sense of community with the other YouTube musicians who are doing well?

Kate:  Haha, it is a bit like that, yeah!  It’s quite sad in a way, it seems the more subscribers you have, the more likely you are to get to talk to a “YouTube celeb”!  I hate that and try to avoid that as much as possible, haha. 

A:  Have you played outside of England yet?

Kate:  No!  The day I do that will be a very exciting one indeed.

A:  So far what’s the biggest gig you’ve played?  Didn’t you just open for Ladyhawke?

Kate:  Yeah, and that was my debut gig, therefore the only gig I have ever done! Haha.

A:  That’s damn impressive for a first show.  By the way, your song “Short Straw” was a hit for you on YouTube wasn’t it?

Kate:  Yeah “Short Straw” was crazy! My confidence definitely grew when I got feedback from that.  I thought wow; maybe I can actually carry this on and get somewhere.  It’s bizarre to hear people doing covers and telling me they listened to it on the way to work! I mean what the fuck? Haha.

A:  How do you moderate all of the comments and emails by yourself?

Kate:  I find it really difficult to answer a lot of them and people can get really offended if I don’t.  I genuinely read all of the comments and emails though, haha.  I’d hate for people to think I lie about that.

A:  What was your favorite music growing up that you feel inspires you?

Kate:  Wow, good question!  Well when I was younger I was listening to Steps and S Club 7, which then moved on to Green Day and The Libertines, and now it’s all about Bon Iver and Ellie Goulding!

A:  What would you like to cover that you haven’t yet?  I know you’re doing mostly your own stuff now, but I know you have fans that must demand covers from you all the time.

Kate:  I’d like to do a range of eeeeeverything, more Bon Iver, maybe some Fleet Foxes and definitely a bit more Lady Gaga! Ha.

A:  OK, a couple more questions.

Kate:  Haha fucking go for it.

A:  What is your favorite phrase using the word fuck and what’s your favorite book?

Kate:  Haha, LOVING the first question.  Errm…probably “what the actual fuck?”  Nah that’s boring isn’t it?  Maybe “you’re a little fuck” simple and yet really effective.  You should definitely have a go at that and book? I ain’t no book reader…haha.  Though I do find books about children’s abuse very interesting!  If I wasn’t musically gifted, I’d definitely go down the social services for children route!

A:  What was that thing you said on your videos “you wouldn’t want this for your daughters”?  Now there are a lot of people posting videos dedicated to you saying it.

Kate:  Haha, basically I have a LOT of catchphrases that seem to catch on really easily.  Once I just said to myself in my head “fuck…no one wants that for their daughters” and I suppose I thought that was the best thing to ever be said out loud, hahaha.  So I made a thing of it, and my mate Jen didn’t think it would catch on and now there are videos of about 5,600 people saying it. Very big exaggeration, but still!  It starts small Angie…it starts small ha.

A:  I think your favorite “fuck phrase” should be that…”fuck, no one wants that for their daughters”.

Kate:  Hahaha, but no one wants THAT for their daughters!  It’s just brilliant!  Can’t stop anyone from answering back. Ha.

You also can’t stop a musician from getting out there if they want it badly enough.  There is an entire community of musicians on YouTube playing weekly shows to an internet audience that measures in the millions.  I still believe nothing can compare to a live show, but for exposure you simply can’t knock it.  So, is the future of music publicity YouTube?  What do you think?