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Cover of the 1997 Traffic EP<\/p><\/div>\n
I read one interview with someone in the band and it came across that you really believed in going out and doing lots of gigs. You seem to have a work ethic and didn\u2019t want to be one of those bands who become one hit wonders.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe just always hated the clique in Camden. We used to go there and everyone would get signed who had the right friends, wore the right shirt, sounded like Morrissey, or whatever \u2013 but we were never into that kind of stuff. We were into bands like Free, Led Zeppelin, AC\/DC, Credence Clearwater, Kinks. And my older brother; one minute he\u2019d be playing Otis Reading the next minute the Sex Pistols, and these were all bands who had an attitude and a feel for stuff which sounded\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cIt was real music and good music, and the way those bands did it was by doing the work. It wasn\u2019t about being controversial and painting your hair green, it was about writing good songs and playing well live. As old fashioned as it sounds, that is what it was about, at the end of the day. Entertainment, or whatever you want to call it, is what it is and that\u2019s the way we were brought up. We were always brought up to believe that people like Al Jolson or Charlie Chaplin were good entertainers and it doesn\u2019t always have to be somebody who\u2019s a wanker on stage trying to be cool. It can be somebody who gives something to others, not just giving themselves something and somebody thinking, \u2018Hmmmm, pretty good.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of British bands think they\u2019re so big and they go out of the country and they\u2019re nothing. And a lot of them think they\u2019re stars just after they\u2019ve signed, but we actually treated being signed as being sorted out from the shit and being put amongst the average and we knew we still had to shine through. That\u2019s the attitude we will always have.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople will not keep going towards somebody who just stands on the stage and doesn\u2019t do anything for four years. The reason why Mick Jagger is still doing it, or Aerosmith, AC\/DC or whoever, is because they actually do something on stage and people will always go back to see that because they\u2019re entertainment and they have a good day watching it. Whether they go out and get drunk or not, they still get something back. They\u2019re not going to get something back from somebody just farting about in a Parka all night long, unless they\u2019ve got good songs.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have anyone in mind when you say that?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI think Oasis is a good band! I was thinking more of people like the other Manchester bands like the Inspiral Carpets and that kind of bollocks, who do have really good songs, but only a limited amount of good songs, whereas Oasis have three albums worth of songs which would still go down well in a stadium if you played them with one guitar. That is a different ball game because it doesn\u2019t matter what they do on stage; they can do whatever they want.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you prefer small venues like this one tonight?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI prefer some small venues. This one seems very live. Seems like a swimming pool, actually! I just hope the sound changes when the people come in. I do prefer watching bands in clubs. I always hated watching people in the NEC and stuff like that. It\u2019s a crap atmosphere. I would love to have all of my favorite bands in places like Glasgow Barrowland which is a decent size, good sound and you are not to far away from anything. That\u2019s the kind of venue I like.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did Earls Court which was like a joke. I was over here, Rich was over there somewhere \u2013 I couldn\u2019t even see the fucker! As an experience it was great but as an atmosphere I don\u2019t think it was. You\u2019ve got to be something special to get an atmosphere in a place like that.\u201d<\/p>\n As you go on are you going to try stadiums or smaller gigs?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cObviously they\u2019ve \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to be the next, average NME<\/em> band; we wanted to be a band who could stick it out for a number of years, keep criticizing what we are doing, keep progressing and improving.<\/p>\n \u201cI think as long as you can keep writing songs you\u2019ll always move up. If it means you end up playing the NEC or whatever there\u2019s nothing you can do about it. It saves work for yourself; it\u2019s pointless playing Glasgow Barrowland eight nights a week when you can do it all in one go somewhere else. You\u2019ve also got to go to other countries so it\u2019s a vicious circle. But there again, the further you go, the better gear you get and the better sound you get as a result. Atmosphere wise I\u2019ve got no idea; I never liked it personally.\u201d<\/p>\n Are you getting a lot of support from the record company?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe record company have been very good. The main reason we picked the record company was because we got offered priority. Every other major record company in Britain wanted to sign us at the same time. All the companies were bidding against each other which did us a lot of good, but it was a ridiculous situation. We came from nowhere and all the same people who turned us down six months before wanted to sign us!<\/p>\n \u201cIt was funny; I\u2019ve still got the letters and they actually suggest throwing in the towel. People saying, \u2018No, it\u2019s not what we are looking for.\u2019 But they were the same songs. We released \u2018Tramps Vest\u2019 and \u2018Raymond\u2019s Shop\u2019 as its B-side and after I signed the publishing deal I still had letters back saying we don\u2019t want \u2018Raymond\u2019s Shop\u2019 as a song, when it was number 33 in the charts on the back of the single. It\u2019s just a joke. They\u2019re supposed to see through the bad-quality tapes.<\/p>\n \u201cBut V2 is just a very good working environment. Everybody\u2019s got their own opinion and there\u2019s no corporate boss looking over your shoulder. As much as it\u2019s always mentioned that it is Branson\u2019s label, he got shit all to do with it. I mean he\u2019s got an airline but he doesn\u2019t fly the planes, he\u2019s just that icon which creates a good atmosphere and working environment and the people get into it. They\u2019ve all got their opinions so it\u2019s like a team. I think it is a really good situation and when you talk to all the other bands you can see how different it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Is there pressure on you to succeed with it?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cEverybody seems to think we must be under a lot of pressure. We asked if we could go back in November and start writing and recording more songs, but they didn\u2019t want us to. They wanted us to keep touring. We wanted to do the new songs because we felt that was important. And because they\u2019re a new company everybody thought we might be under pressure that way, but it\u2019s actually a benefit, if you think about it. They\u2019ve got to prove to every other major label in Britain that they\u2019re a company to be reckoned with and they\u2019ve got to use us to do that. So it is us who are going to be pushed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the same in America; they\u2019ve got to prove themselves to every company in America. In France they\u2019ve got to prove to everybody in France and we\u2019re the first signing to all of them, so that means we\u2019ve got to be used to do all of that. So were going to get established. We\u2019re going to be the ones used to do that; we\u2019re the Guinea pigs, and if it works out we get the benefit from that. If it doesn\u2019t we\u2019re still going to be around anyway because we\u2019re going to keep writing, so hopefully its a good situation to be in. It has worked in Britain but obviously there\u2019s a lot more we can do and so we just touring around a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n So because V2 have got divisions in other countries you are doing the same kind of promotional touring in each one?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been to France, Germany, America, Scandinavia and we go to Australia in February. We did two weeks in France and played one gig and sold 8000 records. From one gig, that\u2019s unbelievable. And that isn\u2019t even a song that\u2019s on the radio. We\u2019re selling 500 records a day and I really don\u2019t know what that is all about. That\u2019s just from talking, so when we do all the gigging it will be interesting to see.<\/p>\n \u201cGermany is obviously a big, big place and we go there next week on a three week tour with Supergrass. We go to Italy, Spain and Germany for most of the time but the three week tour with Supergrass will be good for us because they have played gigs round about this size \u2013 five, six, 800 people \u2013 and if we can nick their fans first time in Europe, at least we\u2019ve got a start. So, things are going really well. Its difficult being in a million places at once but, America doesn\u2019t take place to the end of October so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t suppose you\u2019ve been back for about a year?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNot often. You get the odd day off and we\u2019ve had about three weeks off. We\u2019ve got about 30 gigs to go and we stop on Christmas Eve and get four weeks off which I\u2019m looking forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n I bet. Spend some money!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYes, spend some money. Just get drunk for four weeks, I think. That\u2019s all I want to do. We don\u2019t really drink much on the road; just drink a lot of water while all the boys in the crew get pissed. When you have a day off you make up for time, but you realize so quickly that you\u2019ve just got to pace yourself. It\u2019s a difficult game, people don\u2019t realize that, not glamorous at all. There is the glamour side but there\u2019s a lot of other work to do.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t realize it at all. You read gig guides when your growing up and think, \u2018Ah, AC\/DC are playing six dates, they\u2019ve got the rest of the year off!\u2019 You don\u2019t realize they\u2019re doing it in every other country in the fucking world! It\u2019s really weird. You learn so quick and its so fucking obvious as well, but you don\u2019t know when you are a kid.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they don\u2019t see you and you are not gigging you are doing a video; when you are not doing a video you are recording; if you\u2019re not recording you\u2019re doing the next gig and if you\u2019re not playing the next gig in Britain you are playing a big gig in Europe. It\u2019s like when someone says \u2018When do you finish touring?\u2019 we say, \u2018We don\u2019t.\u2019 They say, \u2018When\u2019s your next tour?\u2019, \u2018After this one!\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always the same. I\u2019m not grumbling; I\u2019ve waited 10 years to do it, but it isn\u2019t sex drugs and rock and roll all the time, it\u2019s not about that, it\u2019s stress, drugs and rock and roll.\u201d<\/p>\n It must make looking back to the earlier days in the band being a bit surreal. What sort of setup did you have? Did you have to have a couple of PA boxes?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe used to have a power amp that would send out 200 Watts a side, a mixing desk, two rounds of speakers and a Shure SM58 for vocals. We didn\u2019t have any monitors. I had the same Peavey from when I was 12 years old and I still use exactly the same one. We\u2019ve now got a combo but it\u2019s more or less exactly the same. We\u2019ve always played in such a way that its compact and then somebody just amplifies it.\u201d<\/p>\n Did you pile it in the back of a Ford Transit?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYeah, we had a Yellow Maestro van \u2013 an old AA Van \u2013 and we were in the back of one of those with all the gear. There were two seats so one of us had to sit in the back with our legs over the amps and we went back and forth to London.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to work until 12, pack the van by two, drive to London, which would take about three-and-a-half hours. Get there by about half five. Do a sound check in Camden, wait until half 10 to go on, do our gig for 45 minutes, sort our gear out and into the van, drive home, get in about five or six in the morning and then go back to work at eight. And it was like, \u2018Why the fuck are we doing this?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWe did this so often. We really loved going to London because in London you can play all your own songs; you don\u2019t have to do any cover versions. We just liked doing our own stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n How long were you going down to London for?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI think, on and off, about a year and a half. Just playing all the venues in Camden. When we started off we were told we had to bring our own coach of 50 people and rounding them up was a fucking nightmare. For three gigs we were borrowing money to hire the bus, then you realize that they only want them there for the beer!<\/p>\n \u201cSo then you tell them over the phone that you are going to do it and just turn up to do the gig. If you play well enough they\u2019ll have you back anyway. So we just used to do that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t click until about a year-and-a-half ago that we should get a manager. We used to do it all ourselves. Phoning all the record companies, doing all the posters and everything and you get stressed out doing that. We got conned a few times. People looking for money who weren\u2019t going to do anything \u2013 just wanting something for nothing. And then you realize that you should be the one that\u2019s looking for them, not them for you. That you should put an ad in for yourself and then you can pick and choose which one you want. So we started advertizing for a manager.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found one who got us all the gigs in London. Basically he was a promoter. Then we were offered a gig to support Catatonia in our home town. It was like a splash tour. There were headline bands which were signed and smaller bands supporting, and one night a guy called John Brand, who was doing a music seminar there, saw us. He had produced The Cult, Aztec Camera, Waterboys and stuff like that, but he\u2019s turned to management now. He saw us, really liked us and he was off. He approached us said he really like the band and he\u2019d really like to manage us.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next week we played the Borderline in London and there were two producers there. They were freelance, had never done a stitch, just worked around studios trying to learn the game. They were Marshall Bird and Steve Bush. They came up to us after and offered to do some demos free in Battery studios in London. They had some down time there and knew they\u2019d be able to fit us in.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought it was bullshit because so many people come up to you after gigs. We didn\u2019t take it seriously but they phoned up later and said \u2018We are serious,\u2019 so we did those demos. We recorded \u2018Thousand Trees\u2019 and \u2018Check My Eyes for Holes\u2019, which is the same version as on the album. \u2018Tramp\u2019s Vest\u2019 was a demo. There were three demos on the album \u2013 Chaplin was a demo.<\/p>\n \u201cWe recorded six songs before we actually got signed. John took those tapes around, just for opinion, because he knew people in the business. And then everybody wanted to sign the band from those songs.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was him taking it to the right people and the quality shining through the songs, which makes it easier to listen to. A&R are supposed to listen to shit, but they don\u2019t, obviously. I\u2019ve been given so many tapes by kids since I\u2019ve been signed and I realize what the labels go through, but they do get paid for it! But I think it was more to do with who John knew, us doing the demos in the right time right place and having the right kind of sounding tapes.\u201d<\/p>\n That took a load of pressure off you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cJohn was a really good manager. His plan was for us to not do any gigs in London and drag all the A&R people down to Wales. So we had 35 A&R people in a club in Wales. Every A&R person from all the majors in the same fucking club to see the band! It was at this place called the Filling Station<\/em> in Newport. It was really funny situation because they must have all passed each other on the motorway! It was that kind of situation.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they all wanted to sign the band. We went through two months of talking contracts with solicitors and loads of different stuff which we totally didn\u2019t have a clue about and we just signed to V2, which was a big risk because there was only two of them [personnel at the label, presumably \u2013 Ed]<\/em> at the time. We realized that they could get set up pretty quickly, so that was it, really. It was a mad month. We changed our name to Stereophonics the same night as that that gig as well.\u201d<\/p>\n What were you called before?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe Tragic Love Company. We actually changed it that same night. And we weren\u2019t actually going to turn up for the gig because we thought it would be shit and Wales were playing Ireland on the telly and we really wanted to go out and get pissed. We thought, \u2018Fuck that! We\u2019re not into playing in our own home town because nobody\u2019s going to be here.\u2019 But it was packed. He had got everybody there \u2013 really strange. We thought \u2018What if we didn\u2019t turn up for that gig? Would it have happened?\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the sort of story you read about and think that it couldn\u2019t possibly happen!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI know. It is totally bizarre. Then we realized after that shit that if you are good enough and you write good songs then they will get found. It\u2019s not a case of you looking all the time. If you are good enough you do get found.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always used to send three song demos away to record companies then we decided to\u2026. We had 10 songs recorded on one of those Fostex four-track things which we used to rehearsed with, and we decided to just send one song a week. So they\u2019d realized that we were constant, prolific, writing, keeping on doing it, good or bad. They knew we were doing a different song every week. So we actually noted them \u2018Single 1\u2019 this week, \u2018Single 2\u2019 and so on\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we used to send them wrapped in Christmas paper in crisp boxes, trainers, Chinese takeaway cartons, cake boxes \u2013 anything just to get somebody to open it. And we didn\u2019t have any letters back, nothing, after all the effort and money we spent on it.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents used to watch me with 15 Chinese takeaway cartons putting tapes and letters in them and looked at me like I was a fuckin\u2019 alien or something. Then finally, when you get a bit of recognition and somebody actually spots you it is in your home town! That was totally ironic after all the years we\u2019d been doing it.<\/p>\n \u201cThose kinds of experiences build you as a character and as a band. We were used to playing empty rooms but we still played to the bar staff. There\u2019s still somebody there having a crack even as you are doing it. You only ever want to do it to say to people, \u2018Fuck off, I did it!\u2019 It\u2019s the only reason. You forget, but that was the goal. Then when you get there you want to do something more. Once your album is top 10, what\u2019s you next ambition? What do you do then? Well, you want the next one to go top 5. It keeps on snowballing and it always keeps you on your toes. Once you get one place, you think, \u2018Fucking hell, what do I do now? Better get somewhere else.\u2019 That\u2019s us, that\u2019s our life!\u201d TF<\/em><\/p>\n