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Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 08:17:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: andrew dean <koogydelbbog at xxx.com>
Subject: Sinister: candy factory interview
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dum de dum, candy factory interview from july 97.

Belle & Sebastian are a 7 piece (perhaps by now an 8 piece) from
Glasgow, Scotland I was first introduced to this band when I made a
tape swap with an English lad last September. I have to be honest when
I say that the first time I heard 'The State I Am In," it blew me into
the stratosphere. Their careers have also seemed to have recently
skyrocketed with a domestic release of their second album "If You're
Feeling Sinister," by the moderately sized Enclave label. Look out for
new import EPs including Dog On Wheels and enough boring chit-chat...
Let's hear what Stuart (vocals) and Chris (keyboards) have to say.

CF:=09Hi. My name is Matt. Just who are you guys?

Chris:=09You know who I am, so it seems pretty silly telling you. Stuart
is here just now, as well.

Stuart:=09Hey Matt. This is Stuart Murdoch here. I can't remember what
interviews we did with the U.S. [NY Times] . You said that you didn't
really know us from that [Editors note: I spoke with them on this
interview in a previous email]. If you meet us, then you will know us
and you will see that we're pretty straight-forward and are into a lot
of the same things that you are into. But in terms of songs and things
in our heads, we always try to throw a "googly" which might translate
as a "curve ball." . . . we'd rather talk rubbish when it comes to
interviews and things. So apologies if we seem not to give you
straight answers. We enjoy the interaction though. So to your
questions. I'm twenty-eight and have lived in Glasgow most of my life.
I started to write songs about four years ago. I persevered on my own
for quite some time, and got very engrossed with playing and recording.
CF:=09Who in the band picked the name?
C:=09Stuart did.
8:=09I wrote a story called =93Belle & Sebastian'' one gloomly summer. I
used the name thereafter on tapes I handed out because I imagined that
the characters in the story had produced the music, and in essence
they had. I met the real B&S one by one in a short space of time soon
after.
CF:=09What music did you listen to growing up and what do you listen to
now? Would you consider any of these bands to be influential?
S:=09I grew up listening to Yes. Does it show?
C:=09Bad metal when I was a wee rock kid with a mullet but I still love
AC/DC, the Stone Roses, and Happy Mondays, the lots of awful early
90's indie rock.
Now mostly soul and techno, but that's just today, I go through wee
phases of listening to one particular thing all the time for a few
weeks. As you probably gathered from what I said yesterday southern
soul is really the big thing for me. The stuff I've listed to has
influenced me in different ways, like from the Roses I got interested
in radical politics and started reading books about May 68 and stuff .
=2E . If It hadn't been for them I probably wouldn't be doing a
philosophy degree, even though that sounds really wanky. Musically I'm
always trying to play with the same feeling for space as someone like
Spooner Oldham, but I guess the stuff we do isn't drawn that much from
r n'b so it's more a feeling rather than directly drawing on what
someone else has done. Having said that the thing about these guys is
that they always played the song, and guess I try to do that too.
CF:=09What is life like being in a band and living in Glasgow? Is there
really an east coast / west coast competition with Edinburgh?
C:=09I really like living in Glasgow . . . all my friends are here, but
having said that I'm thinking of leaving, but I don't know where to.
There's not really any rivalry between Glasgow bands and Edinburgh
bands as far as I know ... in footballing terms Glasgow is totally
dominant but there is big rivalry between the two biggest dubs in
Glasgow, Rangers and Celtic . . . It is all to do with religion and
Northern Ireland... at one point there were more anti-Catholic
organisations in Glasgow than there were Catholics so it's not hard to
see why Celtic fans have a chip on their collective shoulder... not
that we do, but it would be understandable if we did, which we don't.
S:=09Glasgow's a fine place to live. Just fine. Come over and we'll make
you feel at home.
CF:=09In case you haven't realized, you have quite a fanbase over the
world. Are you somehow overwhelmed by this, or do you find yourselves
taking your popularity in stride? Did you ever think Tigermilk would
sell so many copies in such a short period of time?
S:=09There were only 1000 Tigermilk, and we gave 600 away! We are not
over-whelmed. We are underwhelmed because folk in Glasgow think you
are being a cheeky bastard.
C:=09Playing live is the only time you actually realize anyone is
bothered. Anyway 1000 records ain't that much.
CF:=09Do you plan on a US tour in the near future?
S:=09See Chris for [the answer to this question].
C:=09Yep. It seems we're headed stateside in August, but its not really
much of a tour - just New York, Boston, Chicago and Atlanta... Can't
say I'm really looking forward to it but maybe it'll seem more
appealing when I'm finished studying.
CF:=09Will Tigermilk ever be reissued? Describe the upcoming releases.
Will you still do them through Jeepster?
S:=09Yes. I'm sure in a couple of years. We are going to compile our
upcoming British releases onto an LP for The Enclave called Lazy Line
Painter Jane. This is no half-baked plan. This LP is the natural
culmination of our winter's work. I ought to send you the story of
Lazy Jane some time.
C:=09I hope so, I was dead proud of It. The new stuff maybe gets across
more of the energy that is there when we play... It was all recorded
live... It=92s the first stuff we've done that I've sat at home and
listened to by myself.
CF:=09Listening to your music, one cannot help but be moved by your
lyrics. What inspires these words? Life? Your imaginations? Is the
story of "The Slate I'm In" autobiograiplical?
S:=09Songs have a life of their own if they're any good so we just leave
them to get on with it.
CF:=09Do you plan on covering any bands? Would you like other bands to
cover you? If so, which bands?
S:=09We played "Reel Around The Fountain" by the Smiths at two concerts
recently. That was my choice. I think we'll drop the odd cover into
our playing in the future. As long as everyone is happy with it. I'd
like to play good versions of "The Boys are Back in Town" by Thin
Lizzy and "Block Rockin' Beats" by the Chemical Brothers.
C:=09We've done the Smith's "Reel Around the Fountain"... not a band I
really rate, but everyone else like them. We were talking the other
day about doing "Block Rockin' Beats" by the Chemical Brothers but I
don't know if that will ever get beyond a drunk joke. There's lots of
songs I'd like to try, just for fun, like Left Banke stuff or some
Northern Soul numbers. I'm in another group called V-twin and we do
"All Kinds of Girls" by the Real Kids and "Do I Love You" by the
Ronettes. We are the greatest rock'n'roll band on earth . . . the
other's out. Belle & Sebastian always come and see us play, it's like
having your parents come and see you but I'm glad they like us cos
sometimes I worry that my taste is so different from everyone else in
the band, but it's not really... I=92ve just come to realize that you
can't necessarily put across everything that you're into in one song
or something, and it probahly isn't worth trying to do anyway cos then
the song wouldn=92t say anything other than what music you like. Oh also
me and Stevie play 'Topanga Canyon" off of John PIlillips' solo
album... an excellent record - boy it if you ever see it.
CF:=09What are your thoughts on the evolution of pop music at this time?
How do you feel being a part of its evolution?
S:=09[This question] is one that my head is too dizzy to answer just now.
C:=09I don't know about the evolution question. I mean we don't exist in
a vacuum, but I don't really see us in any particular context,
although Tigermilk is next to my other indie records.... I dunno, the
contemporary stuff that is really out there is drum and bass or hip
hop or techno but much as I love a lot of that stuff I still listen to
guitar bands too.... It doesn't matter what genre something is, if
someone is genuinely excited by the music they're doing that comes
across whether they're using computers or an acoustic guitar.
CF:=09how long do you see yourselves working in this band? Is there
anything else you guys aspire to in life?
S:=09I was thinking last night that it is always a comfort and settling
down to something "real" for awhile away from this funny business. Our
work is crystal clear for the moment, but in the future, I would love
simply to make coffee for people and listen to their problems. How
long that would last for is anyone's guess. I'm sure the rest have
many different things they'd rather do with their time. They did after
all have this little hobby thrust on them more than I. Apart from
Stevie maybe.
C:=09I don't know how long things will last but I'm getting better at
enjoying it while it do..... I would have liked to have been a
footbatler but I wasn't good enough.
CF:=09Are there any exotic countries you'd like to tour?
S:=09I don't know about tour. Visit is a better word. I would like to
visit and possibly play in Jerusalem, Brisbane, Sydney, India, parts
of China, the Czech Republic. It is presumptuous to imagine that they
would want to see us there, but if we could perform a useful task
there, it would be a privilege.
C:=09[In context to our US tour] I'm more interested in visiting places
like Memphis and New Orleans and Nashville. . . . I love the idea of
going and playmg our music in places like that have so much amazing
stuff and maybe they'd boot us off stage nightly, or maybe they'd
think that in our own white Scottish kind of way we had some sort of
soul or some sort of realness to us I think we do... at least the
reaction somewhere like that would probably be more genuine than
somewhere filled with journalists out to see the latest freak show or
even worse people from your own record company I suppose I'm just
totally inspired by music from the south, Sun stuff, Arthur Alexander
all the stuff from Stax, Muscle Shoals, people like Dan Penn, Alex
Chilton, that's where it's all from as far as i'm concerned. I'd love
to do a record down there too, cos they know how to record a band
playing together in a room.
CF:=09Thanks for the interview!

cheers
andy ("a British lad")
=3D=3D
andrew dean (koogydelbbog at yahoo.com)


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