Thursday 20 January 2011

Dont do it guys

There was a lot of reports in the papers over Xmas about ABBA reforming. Apparently Agnetha, has given up being a recluse and is now open to a reunion. This is the same Agnetha who had a relationship with her stalker. I mean they were offered £600m a few years ago. That could buy a lot of stalkers.

I cant remember any band getting together after splitting for a decent period and actually being any good. All the cult bands like the Velvets, Television, The Pistols, Big Star- they've all reformed at some point in the last 20 years. But why bother? Youve got the records. They are cults because the records are brilliant and no one bought them at the time. What's the point in having your myths shattered by John Lydon at a music festival somewhere telling you you've been had because you spent £45 or Lou Reed grunting at you across a field. There's loads of weird conglomerations of 60's bands touring around Butlins made up of one member of the Searchers, another from the Animals and the drummer from Shriekback, a guy that played keyboards in a music shop in Harlow and someone from Shed 7 mashed together like some kind of weird approximation of the baby with spiders legs from Toy Story 1.

That's the good thing about being a solo artist. You cant split up. Unless you've got multiple personalities, which most musicians have. I'd also have to leave either twins or brothers/sisters out because they may as well be parts of the same person.

They always say "It's unfinished business" but because music is caught in the time and place it's made, linked in with the people that buy the music's personal memories and experiences, you cant go back, and if your band was any good, like The Clash, The Jam, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, ABBA (please guys dont reform!!!!), The Beatles (that Free as a Bird crap doesnt count), Jimi Hendrix and T Rex (tell the promoter to leave the weejjee board alone) the records speak for themselves. There isnt any unfinished business. Plus you'll look like a tit.

Car Boot Sale

Been recording Car Boot Sale this week. The song has to be sparse. I feel like a psychotherapist, sitting in my chair and the song Car Boot Sale is on the couch, being analysed. There's long periods of silence and then I say "Okay that's the session finished I'll see you next time". Over the space of a week I've managed to overdub a bass synth through a Q Tron, 2 guitars, an overdriven organ and a synthesiser. That's all. It's taken about 20 man hours. But it sounds good.

We did a huge amount of drums at the end of November with Gordy our old drummer. We're trying to put an album together around the lives of people in a town and obviously, throws top hat in the air, two of them meet up at the Car Boot Sale on a Sunday. We had a huge amount of songs written last year around the subject and we're just working our way through it, trying ideas, seeing what will work. In proper Hussys style it's very different from our last acoustic style album. Here's the stuff we've got partially recorded:

Stars
Car Boot Sale
Instruments of the Orchestra
Just about finished with love
Choices
Jenny teaches rock school
Last person alive
Autograph
Daddy Day Care

Friday 7 January 2011

Roller Disco

A few people have sent us messages from Peru over the festive period telling us we need to go there. Fili's suggested a sponsor sheet to raise the funds. Our song Roller Disco was the 9th most played song on the main alternative radio station there for 2010. Unfortunately 98% of all music in Peru is downloaded via torrent files so we dont get any real money from this. But still, it's gratifying that there's people on the other side of the world who are into the band and something we've written is playing a little backdrop scene in their lives. Rodney Bingenheimer, the glam/punk legend , also picked up on it and there was a point during 2010 where he was playing it every week on his KROQ show.

It's a funny song for me personally. Just after you record something you always hate it. Then you like it, then you hate it, then eventually you form a kind of married relationship where you like/hate/love/dont care about a song. 

I always thought it should have a disco groove like an old Philly soul record with strings and clean soul type sounds and should just flow from start to finish. What we ended up with was so different. Gordy our drummer at the time made it more complex rhythmically.  I guess I've just got to hold my hands up and say he was exactly right with the way it was recorded. 

After we'd done the drums and bass I was bumbling around in the studio with my old telecaster doing Slade impersonations and Kev just said "that's the one!". The rhythm guitar is meant to be like "Gudbuy to Jane" or "Jean Genie". The crazy guitar solo was played by Gary and he was giggling , doing Eddie Van Halen arpeggios that were going in and out of tune but kind of sounded like Daft Punk as well. Me and Kev (the engineer) jumped on this and made him do it on the track. We had to go and do a gig that night and he had 5 minutes to get it down- but between Gordy, Steph and Gary there's some serious musicianship going on in the song. The sweet part of the song with the strings and harmonies is so lush- there's loads of pretty stuff that you cant really hear because we couldnt squeeze it in the mix. Fili just nailed the vibe of the song at the time.

It's one of those songs that has a little life of its own. Long may it travel.