|
This page: The Jolt of Playing Live; New Band, New Energy
'I don't think I've ever managed to record in a studio what we sound like when we're playing good in an gig.'
The Jolt of Playing Live
From the start of The Menace you get a sense that this is not going to be a revisiting of the first Elastica album. Was it intentional to make that point from the onset?
Yeah, when we first started writing the album we wanted to try something completely different -- much darker, much more keyboard-driven. Then in the end it went full circle because we went through a very difficult time. I think when the band got together as it is now, in a way, I wanted to do a more upbeat, kind of punkier thing again. I was tired of doing darker stuff. But I didn't want it to be Elastica part one/part two; I did want to do something different. I think you can hear the different elements: You can hear the fact that we brought in a programmer. You can hear that we've got a new guitar player -- he's much spicier, a different kind of guitar player, much less melodic.
How much fun for you is it to be able to play live again?
It's a lot of fun to be able to play in front of a crowd, it really is. We're our best when we're live. I get very frustrated because I don't think I've ever managed to record in a studio what we really sound like when we're playing good together in an gig, when the adrenaline is flowing. So I have really enjoyed playing and the new material translates really well. There are a couple of songs on the new album, though, that I don't feel really work live -- stuff like "What I Like" with the acoustic guitar and drum machine, [or] "Nothing Stays the Same," which is like a drum machine thing. But all the rest of the songs on the album we've been doing live, and I think that they translate pretty well.
Which new songs have made the best impression live?
"Da Da Da" actually goes down really well, which is kind of surprising. I hear that was a car ad over in the States, but in Britain that was kind of a weird record and most people wouldn't even really remember it. We were under some pressure to put it on the album, because we did it for the Peel Session originally, and I was kind of against it. It actually amazes me how well it has gone down live. "KB" also always goes down really well.
How long did you go between playing gigs?
The last gig we did in Britain was in '86 before we played Redding last year … sorry, '96. It did feel like a long time. It was kind of scary.
Did you have to relearn playing live?
I think there is something that comes over me when I'm onstage. I just really do enjoy it. I'm a better live performer than I am in the studio. I get the biggest kick out of that. I don't really feel like we had to relearn it on tour. The second I stepped out onstage I was feeling it again, and it felt good. To be honest with you, we did a couple of warm-ups and it was the most ecstatic I've felt in years to be back on stage.
'It's like a new relationship. I want new people in my band to think I'm really good.'
New Band, New Energy
How does the new lineup in Elastica affect your feelings about the band?
It does feel like a new start. We've got a lot to prove and in a way nothing to lose. And absolutely, having new people in the band who've never toured makes it more exciting because you kind of relive it through their eyes. It's fresh ground. Also, new people generate a lot of new music for you to hear. If anything, when you work in a band for a long time with the same people, you get tired of your same points -- like you've got your ten favorite songs that everybody knows and you go, "Oh, we could do that with this song, or we could do that." When you've got your new people it's like you take all their taste and musical energy and cram it into new ways of doing things because that person has a knowledge of other kinds of music. It does make it feel fresh. Then there's that thing of showing off to each other; it's like a new relationship and I want new people in my band to think I'm really good, so I might try extra-hard in front of them to make a song work or a gig.
So even as the leader of Elastica, you feel the need to prove yourself whenever new people come into the band?
Yeah, I think so. I've got people in my band now who I really respect as musicians, and I think they're cool people. So I really want them to feel like they've joined a good band and it has been worth it. There is probably something in me where I want to impress them and I want to make them feel like they've got respect for me and then go out there and have fun.
Next Page: Perils of Perfection; Moving Forward....
|
