Whatever happened to the all-female indiepop combo The Maulies? Back in 2000 they released their one and only 7″ “On Holiday with The Maulies” on Maryland’s Hub City Records and it was such a promising record!!

Last year when I was in Stockholm I had the chance to DJ at Debaser with Tommy Gunnarsson, who ran the Heavenly Pop Hits Records and was part of the brilliant The Gentle Smiles. I remember the first song he played was Dolly Mixture’s “Everything and More”. Then he played a song I had never heard before. It sounded a bit like Bunnygrunt. It sounded a bit like Cub. But it wasn’t them. “Who are they? They are really good!” – I asked. “The Maulies” -Tommy answered. “Who???”. “They only released one record, and this song is really good isn’t it?”. He was playing “Rude Limey”, the A-side.

I met Tommy two days after, on a cold Stockholm Monday, for a record shopping day. The first couple of stores we visited didn’t have anything that was worth our attention or our wallets. The famous Record Hunter was such a letdown. Tommy rang Nicke from Delicious Goldfish Records to see if he would open the store for us that Monday. No luck. He couldn’t: “come back Wednesday”. “Sadly I can’t, I leave tomorrow”. Where else to go? There’s one last stop: Nostalgia Palaset.

My expectations were quite low at that time. I got some money from the DJ gig and I wanted to burn it on records. What else would I do with krönor? I needed to get rid of them! We asked the clerk to show us the “indiepop” 7″ boxes they had behind the counter. We started browsing. First record that caught our attention was one marked “Norway C86″. It was by a band called Naive. Later I will learn that it was marked wrong, this band is Danish. Anyways. Let’s keep browsing.

Something really useful about this store is that you can listen to the records. There is a nice turntable with a pair of headphones. We started putting records on a side, and then listening to them, enjoying them, and then figuring out if they would still be on a side or back into the 7″ box. The Painted Word, The Pastels, Young Marble Giants, and more. The selection of Nostalgia Palaset is really good! Never seen so many nice indiepop records in a store! And if you are up for coincidences, you know what I found? Yeah, The Maulies 7″! I couldn’t believe it. Two days later I was talking about this band with Tommy. We were listening to it. Two days later we find it in a store in Stockholm. And this band is from Austin, Texas. What are the chances?

I paid 80 kr for it. I don’t know how much is that in dollars, and maybe it’s better not to know. I also got 7″s by My Favorite, Gits, Lucksmiths (not for me, it’s clear I always fall asleep to them, but a gift) a Benno Presents Various Artists (including Nixon and the underrated Cat Skills), and a Feverfew flexi. You can imagine the huge smile I had after leaving the store.

Fast forward many months. Today. I’m playing the record a couple of times. I wonder where are these girls? I always wonder where the girls are. Clearly not in Miami. But where did The Maulies go? I read the lovely insert written by Tina and Jeff from Hub City Records. They compare some turtle to Totoro, from the movie “My Neighbor Totoro”. Oh! I like that movie a lot! Also on the insert there’s a little press release about The Maulies:

There comes a time in every girl’s life when she has to decide: should I continue to allow the boys to get all the glory, or should I form my own all-female indiepop combo and kick ass? June 2000 sees the release of The Maulies debut single. Hailing from Austin, TX, the Maulies write punka pop tunes in the vein of such legendary all-girl bands as Thee Headcoatees and Tiger Trap with a touch of the British Invasion thrown in for good measure. The single’s A-side features “Rude Limey”, a savage rebuke of an arrogant Brit and his eveil ways, as well as “Gotta Take the First Plane Home”, a Kinks cover that’s been given the full Maulies treatment.

I think they are closer to Cub or Bunnygrunt, but sure, Tiger Trap is a good comparison! The first lines reminds me of a friend in Sweden that, tired of being the girl in the back in every band, decided to start her own all-female indiepop band just some months ago. Hopefully more news on that later this year, could fit nicely in the Cloudberry catalogue. But back to the Maulies.

It’s funny that on the press release they don’t mention the B-Side. They do mention both A-Sides, by no B-side. The B-Side is called “Tofu π” (smart? Tofu pie). This one is an instrumental track, and well honestly, I’m not a big fan of them. Nothing personal Maulies!

Among other interesting facts are that this record was produced and recorded at Sweatbox Studios, Austin. A place where tons of independent bands have recorded. And yes, the band lineup, that was Amy on bass, Carole on guitar and vocals, Jennifer K on the SK-1, tambourine and vocals, and last, but not least, Jennifer L on drums and vocals. No last names on the sleeve, so, impossible to google them.

Would you ever wish someone that their green card gets revoked? Tough! I think that’s the nastiest thing to wish! But that’s what Rude Limey is about. They sing to a Brit: “He’s always playing cruel jokes/I wish he’d get his green card revoked,” and “We use to call him our favorite British import/But now we call him Satan’s cohort.” Tough girls, right? Now have a listen yourself.

And of course, if anyone else knows or wants to share anything else about The Maulies, please do so! Would be great to know whatever happened to these girls!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Maulies – Rude Limey

A German label called “The Black 7″, who only released black vinyl 7″s, and only released 7 records in their run. Their most known band was She Splinters Mortar, so yes, this label was quite obscure, but at the same time, it had such great songs in their catalogue! I was lucky to get in touch with Stefan Lutterbuese and ask him many questions to unveil the mystery of Die Schwarze Sieben!

++ Hi Stefan! So you, and your friend Volker, were behind a short lived German label called Die Schwarze 7 back in the 80s. Why did you start the label? What was the main reason behind this?

The reason why we started the label was quite simple: She Splinters Mortar wanted to put a record out, and so Volker and I said: OK, you guys pay the studio, we pay the rest. But if you want to release a record, you need a record company. So we invented one, and we called it Die Schwarze Sieben. A friend of us was a graphic designer, so he developed the label logo; another friend of mine was a photographer, so he shot the cover photo; I was good in writing promo sheets, so I did the press work; Donna, who ran a small indie record shop in the heart of the city, sold the first hundred copies. And Laiky, a weird Greek music lover, hosted some live music shows where She Splinters Mortar did the support job. What I want to say is: we didn’t really think about it, we just did it: we wanted to support some good friends who were trying to be a real pop band.

++ So where does the name comes from?

I’ve had always a fan for the seven inch format. Two songs on one single seems to be quite perfect. Die Schwarze Sieben means exactly that: the black seven. That’s all.

++ Also, I wonder, where in Germany were you based? And how did the “Die Schwarze 7″ office looked like?

We came from Wiesbaden, a very nice and sleepy city nearby Frankfurt. We had one bigger concert hall (The Wartburg), and one small venue named Zickzack (which was also the name of a famous German indie record label from Hamburg), which brought us acts like These Immortal Souls, Spacemen 3 and others. It was a very small indie scene with a gothic touch, but it was quite vivid because Wiesbaden was/is part of the Rhein-Main-area, The most cute club for us was the Batschkapp in Frankfurt, where we saw all the important bands in the early 80’s like Echo and the Bunnymen, The Fall, Go-Betweens and many others.

Our office? That was my flat. And it’s the place where Volker still lives.

++ You only released 7 records in total. The name of the label is of course Die Schwarze 7. Was it always planned to release 7 records and then call it a day? Or was it just a happy coincidence?

There was no master plan. As I said before, we just wanted to support Harald and the band. But two things happened: the record sold very well, and She Splinters Mortar did a very impressive support gig for One Thousand Violins, a British jangle pop band. The Violins’ British record label was Daniel Tracy’s Dreamworld Records, but in Germany they became part of the Constrictor artist rooster, a label hosted by Philipp Boa. So one of the concert’s consequences was the contact to Constrictor (later on topped by a publishing contract), the other one was Sebastian Zabel, a writer for SPEX, the most updated German music paper. One year ago the NME invented the class of 86, so SPEX did the same for the German music scene, asking for new bands, new attitudes, new music. The funny point was: The man who asked for was Sebastian, and he did that by praising SSM’s „Straight from her Heart“-EP. From that day on the local heroes SSM regard a little bit nationwide attention, and we guys from the label got lot of cassettes from hopefully bands from all around the country. The problem was, that we didn’t have any ambition to do a real record label job. So we wrote nice excusing letters to the bands, and later on we went out for a beer. We made only three exceptions we are still proud of: Shampoo Tears, Noises from the Pearly Gates and Dead Adair. After Releasing six records we decided to do a last one: a kind of farewell compilation, That was in 1991, and it was the year SSM disbanded, and so we did the same.

++ Were you inspired by any other labels? What kind of music were you into during those days?

Definitively Rough Trade Records, the most adventurous label of all times; in 1983/84 we started to hear music from Whaam Records!, In Tape, Cherry Red and most of all Creation Records – great before they discovered Oasis. Volker and I had a post punk background, which means we liked all the indie stuff except punk – from Joy Division to The Smiths.

++ So how did you know the She Splinters Mortar gang? Did you go to see their gigs often?

We had only a small music scene, so we met at the same record shop, visited the same concerts, played football together. We shared the same music taste, so it seems to be natural that we started all together.

++ What was the style back then in Germany when signing bands? Was it like with contracts or it was just trusting each other, having a beer together and saying, let’s do it?

The second way seems to be more interesting … No legals, no contracts, just a clear announcement: the band paid the studio, we paid the rest. This was typical for most of the do-it-yourself labels which released records these days. Their was only one point in our history where the things might have been changed: as we got a distribution deal for the “Jaguar”- LP; but poor sales and an inactive band (no concerts for personal reasons) cleared the situation very soon, so we kept the things going on on a very healthy level.

++ I have friends that always tell me how fantastic the Shampoo Tears were. I have never heard anything by them, do you care telling me a bit about them and how did they end up in your label?

Shampoo Tears came from Mainz (the other side of the river Rhein), and they were a real band, which means that they rehearsed intensely and followed a clear plan: they wanted to play as often as possible. While She Splinters Mortar liked to pose a little bit, Shampoo Tears took the game more seriously. As we released the first She Splinters Mortar-Singles the Tears asked us to put our logo on their first EP, because we knew each other (I was studying at the Mainz University at that time) very well. Later on Shampoo Tears-singer/guitarist Jörg Heiser replaced She Splinters Mortar-bass player Christian Lorenz, who left the band in 1988. Two years later the Tears changed their name in SVEVO (Jörg likes the author very much), donated us a very fine song for our last compilation record („Tapeworm“) and released two more CDs on the Peace 95-label. Starting as a classic guitar pop outfit, SVEVO came under massive influence of SST-groups (musically) and the textures of Hamburger Schule bands (Blumfeld, Die Sterne etc). I think they finished the chapter in the 90’s when Jörg went to Berlin as the German chief editor of an art magazine. But the story continues: Some weeks ago I saw a photography of a Berlin band called La Stampa releasing their first record. And one of the forty somethings was … Jörg Heiser.

++ Also you released a couple of bands I’ve never heard: Dead Adair and the Noises from the Pearly Gates. Care to tell me a bit about them and how they ended up releasing with you?

Dead Adair were a very fine quartet from Frankfurt/Offenbach. They had a charismatic singer (Charly Reichelt), wrote very good moody songs and sounded a little old school – which is meant as a compliment. I think, they contacted us because they liked our guitar pop philosophy. Noises from the Pearly Gates were just very good friends of us: fantastic live band, nice blokes. And definitely no guitar pop …

++ How much of a DIY attitude and ethics were on the label? You did tell me you were non-profit…

I think we were only realists. Our ambition was truly professional: good music, good covers, good atmosphere. But we started as a fan project and our only chance reaching the next step was the success of She Splinters Mortar. But as it started to happen, the band failed. Not musically, but as four individuals, who couldn’t get it together as a band. The recording session of „Jaguar“ was hard work, and soon after the release date guitarist Walter Muscholl left the band, Jörg has it’s own Shampoo Tears/Svevo plans, and the hope for support by the constrictor publishing deal crushed very soon.

++ Were you in a band maybe?

No, never. My favorite instrument is my Thorens TD 160 MK II record player – still busy after all these years.

++ Which other bands from Germany from those days would you like to have signed to your label?

39 Clocks, Fehlfarben, Holger Hiller.

++ After calling it a day with the label, were you involved with music?

Yes. As a fan buying records until now and as a professionell writer for a bad german record company in the 90’s.

++ Now, looking back, how do you feel about what you did as a label? What was the biggest highlight for you?

It was only an episode, but a very intensive one, especially in the years 1996-1998. Lot of concerts, lot of enthusiasm and that incredible feeling hearing a new song from She Splinters Mortar, always better and bigger than all the stuff before. As we left the scene in 1991 we had no bad feelings (and no debts), and we started to finish other things. Ten years after the release of the „Straight from the Heart“-EP I talked to the very young Wiesbaden Band Rekord, and it was a very special moment for me when they confessed that they liked Die Schwarze Sieben and She Splinters Mortar. The other electrifying moment was that Ebay auction in 2003, watching a She Splinters Mortar Single sold for 45 Euros to Japan.

++ Thanks again for doing this interview, and for all your help! Anything else you’d like to add?

No. Greetings from Volker who is very busy at the moment.

I’m always pleased to hear from people.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
She Splinters Mortar – Man Ray

Thanks so much to Andrew for this interview.  It’s been a true honour as I really really really like The Groove Farm and many of their songs are favourite of mine. I still think “Surfin’ Into Your Heart” is one of the best indiepop songs ever! And as Nikki from Bubblegum Splash told me: “The Groove Farm shops at Asda”, just so you know…

++ Thanks Andrew for doing this interview! How are you doing? How is 2010 so far?

Slow and cold. We’ve had one of the worst winters for snow and ice that England has had in years.

Musically, things have been moving at a snails pace, but in the end it will all turn out just fine. New Beatnik Filmstars album possibly. New, well, old but unheard Groove farm tracks, and a few other ideas all taking shape slowly…

++ So let’s talk about the mighty Groove Farm! What a band you were in, I love it! First of all, I want to ask, as you are the expert, can a band sound shambling on purpose? I feel it can only come natural… people that try to sound shambling always do it wrong, it has to come out from the heart. What do you think?

I’m not sure how other people have achieved it. With us it was pure. It was because we were total amateurs! We did improve as we went along, but we still somehow had that shambling element, like it could all fall to pieces at any second. And sometimes it did!

++ Okay then, The Groove Farm/ How did you all knew each other? How did the band start?

Jon (Kent) and I were friends for many years. We moved to Bristol with the sole intention of starting a pop group. We knew Chad who played Bass for us for a while, we met Rupert through Chad, and we found Jez later from an advert. There were others in the band for short periods of time, but none of them lasted too long because they didn’t fit in the way the ones I’ve mentioned did.

++ So it was at a Flatmates concert that you decided to play live, right? What was that from them that inspired you? What other bands from the period did you like?

It was actually a Wedding Present show, an early one at The Tropic Club. The Flatmates were the support (their second or third gig?). I thought both bands were ace, but the Flatmates impressed me with their rough and ready, a bit of a mess performance. They were up there having a laugh. I thought, if they can do it, then we must be able to, so I went back to the others and said I think we can start playing live now, even though we were still only learning…

++ Where does the name Groove Farm comes from?

We obviously needed a name and quickly, and it was the best we could muster up. Once we used it I decided I hated it, but by then it was too late. I originally saw it on the side of a cardboard box, which was upside down. I thought it said Groove farm, it actually read GROVE FARMS. I also hated the name Beatnik Filmstars seconds after first using it…maybe it’s just me, I dunno.. I always choose a name then after decide it’s rubbish!

++ So is blue your favourite colour? What’s the deal? Heaven is Blue? Baby Blue Marine?

No not at all. I prefer Green, but Heaven Is green sounds silly. Baby Green Marine works quite well though…

++ And you liked football I notice, which teams are you fans of? And who are the footballer on the Surfin’ Into Your Heart single sleeve?

No, I hate football, it bores me to death. I went to watch Bristol Rovers play West Ham once with John (Austin/Beatnik Filmstars) and I was bored before it even began. The footballer on the sleeve was someone quite well known, but I can’t remember who…I think probably a Bristol Rovers player as they were Rupert’s favourite team. Everyone I’ve ever been in a band with loves footie, but I have no interest at all. Actually, come to think of it, I think the Beatniks are all Rovers supporters, so Rupert must be a Bristol City fan…Blimey! That was close, He’d go mad if I got that wrong, you know how these footie fans take it all so seriously!.

++ And talking about Surfin’ Into Your Heart, that’s maybe my favourite song by yours. Do you mind telling me the story behind it?

It’s so long ago, I honestly can’t remember. I think I made it up on a train. I make up most of my songs on trains. You are right, despite the record version being terrible, it was a very good throwawy pop song. Girls Aloud or someone like that should cover it.

++ I heard there are more recordings that have remained unreleased and you only discovered them lately. Which songs are these and why didn’t they ever get released?

Aha! I’m not spilling the beans yet…I found some unfinished 8 track recordings, we were doing for a French (or possibly German?) radio station as a live session, but the little 8 Track studio (The Facility) closed down before we got to finish them, so I’ve located an 8 track machine, and will be mixing them soon. I also found some 4 track recordings of un-released songs, but they might be too rubbish to use, and a couple of demos including ‘Surfin’ Into Your Heart’ which I think is better than the record version.

++ What about those 4 videos you recorded? Not many bands from the time got to record videos, and you got 4! Where were they recorded? Any funny anecdotes of recording this?

We filmed loads of stupid stuff at the time. We would just hire a video camera for a day, and film stuff… No one owned a video camera back then, unlike today when there is one attatched to every phone! I’m sure we made more than 4 videos, but they were all home made and rubbish.

++ On one of them, on the byline of the video on Youtube you wrote: “I’m Never Going to Fall in Love Again was from the band’s second long player, which was one of their more popular sellers (if selling almost 4000 can be seen as ‘popular’!)”. You do know that as of 2010, it is IMPOSSIBLE to sell 4000 copies? If you sell 500 copies of an album you are already considered successful. How do you feel about that? Would you blame illegal downloads? Or the itunes phenomenon?

Yes I know, times have changed. I blame the fact that there are too many other things for young people to be doing, DVD’s, computers, games etc. Music just isn’t as big and important as it once was. I would spend weeks trying to get hold of a record I’d heard on John peel, and once I did, I loved them dearly, looked after them, still own them. Today young kids like a tune, want it immediately, download it, listen to it usually via a cheap crappy phone speaker for a few days, get bored with it, delete it. There will be still the odd few who become music obsessed nutters like I am, but fewer and fewer as the years roll on. Shame, I think they’re all missing out on something quite special. Perhaps what is needed is a new generation gap. Something that parents hate, and the kids love. That was always a good thing with pop music, It doesn’t happen any more.

++ Do you think there’s more value on vinyl over mp3?

Vinyl, every time, Jesus! I prefer CD to MP3, No I prefer Cassette to MP3 anyday!

++ On your full discography you list a gig called “When Matt met Clare”, what’s behind this? Were you fans of Sarah records? I know you released your first flexi with Clare… why didn’t you get to be released on Sarah?

I think we could have probably got on to Sarah, but we went to Subway, before Sarah started. Matt & Clare were both Groove Farm fans, and at a show where I was giving Clare a tape of Baby Blue Marine for the flexi disc, Matt was also there and I think it was me who introduced them to each other. So all the millions of Sarah fans really should be worshiping me!!

++ Speaking of labels, how did you end up signing to Subway Organisation? Any anecdotes you could share between you and Martin Whitehead?

None that I would care to share. But I will tell you Martin does have a fondness for Apricot Jam.

++ And then you moved to your own label, right? Raving Pop Blast? How was the experience of running a label? What was the difference between self-releasing yourself and being in quite a known label as Subway?

We started with our own (Raving Pop Blast!) Moved to Subway, were unhappy, moved back to our own. Doing it yourself was easy, and we didn’t steal the profits and rip ourselves off either!

++ Another gig is named “Anoraknophobia”. So I guess you hated anorak kids? How was your relationship with the anorak/cutie/twee crowd?

No we didn’t hate the anorak kids. We didn’t like being referred to as an anorak band, because that’s a stupid thing to be called. We were just a pop group. Simple as…

++ I guess you played many gigs then? Which were your favourites and why?

· Loads, some excellent some terrible. Supporting The Wedding Present on their Bizaro tour was fun, and frightening as they had gone really big at that point so lots of people watching!. Ones we did with The Rosehips were usually fun, The one with The Chesterfields at Bristol Uni was a good one, Any we did with the Brilliant Corners, as I loved them. One of the worlds most under rated bands ever. Oh, too many to remember….

++ Then you were really prolific, you wrote tons of songs and have many releases! Not that common in bands from the time, who usually would do one or two singles and then disband. What do you think make you so prolific? And I also wonder, what’s your favourite release?

Favourite release : The Groove Farm : Driving In Your New Car – the 10 inch mix version. I like the song and I think it was the best recording sound wise that we managed. Beatnik Filmstars : The Purple Fez album. Most of that I was very fond of, and also the ‘Phase 3’ album, most of that I really like, even though it’s really scratchy and tinny. I just enjoy making up songs. I think the fact I’m still doing it proves to anyone, that I do it for the sheer love of it, while many just do it to try and become successful (yes even many so called indiepop bands) I’ve met many fakers who tried the indiepop route to success…generally it failed! For me it was always about the music. Money would have been a nice bonus, but, you can’t have it all.

++ I have a hard question now, if the band formed today rather than in the late 80s, what do you think you would sound like? How might you have assimilated into the band influences from music made in the last twenty years?

We’d sound like the recent stuff I’ve been working on. Mellow baby, real mellow.

++ Do you like or follow any indiepop bands from these days?

I like Tender Trap. They’re indiepop. And Arctic Circle, they’re very good. I’m not completely indiepop mad, or at least I don’t get to hear much that I really flip out over. I like what I like, and don’t care if it’s cool, indie, or totally mainstream. My main love is 60’s mod, soul and R&B. And 70’s New wave and Mod. I don’t like indie bands who try to sound like old indie bands, there’s a lot of those about at the moment. I’d rather just listen to the originals.

++ I never got around getting the Mobstar compilation, which was Part 1, I was a bit too young in 98. Will there be a part 2? Will there be a chance for another retrospective cd or a re-release of Part 1? You know the fans want it!

Too young!! Now you are making me feel really old! I’m sure there will, just a matter of time.

++ So when and why did you call it a day?

The Groove Farm had run it’s course. I wanted to do music without any barriers or boundaries. So I could do a soft acoustic song next to a mad fuzzy noise fest, next to a pure pop song…In the Groove Farm we were held back by the Indie pop mafia, who would get stroppy if you dared to step slightly out of the narrow little style and sound you were allowed to be doing. We always tried to change, try different things, but they were never happy about it. So I decided to start Beatnik Filmstars and do what ever the hell I felt like at the time. And that’s exactly what I did.

++ Are there any plans for a reunion? Hey! Maybe you should play at Indietracks or something!

We did do a reunion, a one off show as part of the Mobstar pop frenzy weekender back around 2000. It was a right shambles, but great fun, and the crowd loved every second of it! We’d reform to play for the right price and preferably NOT in England.

++ Thanks again so much for the interview, I think we should stop now, because I can continue and continue asking questions, I have always loved your band, but well… anything else you’d like to add?

You are very welcome. Hope you’ll check out all the new music I’m busy creating.

Anyone wishing to contact me can do so at

beatnikfilmstars@hotmail.com

I’m always pleased to hear from people.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Groove Farm – Surfin’ Into Your Heart

Back again to Miami. No more London Popfest. It’s time to reactivate the blog! And what better way to do it with France’s first indiepop band: Les Freluquets! Thanks again to Philippe for such a fantastic interview. Listen more songs and be friends with him at their myspace.

++ Thanks so much Philippe for being up for this interview! How are you doing? Where in the world are you now? In the US or in France?

You’re welcome, I’m fine thank you. I live in the small town of Lexington, Virginia in the USA (the Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are buried there). I moved there almost three years ago with my little family.
++ So let’s talk about the great Les Freluquets! I was wondering how did you all meet? And how did you all decided that it was time to start a band?

We met in the south of France, in a nice town called Perpignan where we all lived then and where I was born. I started playing in a (punk) band as a drummer when I was sixteen and I never really stopped since then. Around 1986, after two or three years in a band called Furythme I was looking for people who would be willing to play some indie pop with me. I had spent some time in Bristol (UK), buying records, meeting the people who were about to start Sarah Records, attending gigs (Mighty Mighty, The Chesterfields, The Razorcuts, Talulah Gosh), and I decided that’s what I wanted to do. So I gathered some people, Jean-Michel, Luc, Rodolphe, and Cécile that I knew through mutual friends or work and it worked. I fed them with tapes of the bands I like and we practiced a lot. We brought something new and fresh, we had a lot of enthusiasm and energy.

++ But then there were at least three different formations of the band, what had happened? Why so many changes?

What happened is that frustration, temper, moods, egos, ambition or lack of ambition, lack of commitment all together is not a good cocktail. The first line-up split when Rodolphe Vassails (the drummer) moved to Paris and we couldn’t find a decent replacement. So I grew frustrated and moved to Paris too because he asked me to and I also thought we did everything we could in the South. Rodolphe found a new bass player Patrice Rul , and a new singer Stoyan C. (who sadly died a few years ago), and the new Freluquets were born. Denis (on lead guitar) joined us after some rehearsals and six months later we had a record deal (with Rosebud) and our first album got a lot of attention.
Then we sacked Stoyan who was a “piece of work” as they say here. He saw himself as an artist and I see myself as an artisan, and that created some problems. He was an anarchist too and that didn’t help either… But those problems could, should have been dealt with if we’d had a manager.
So we hired Lionel Beuque, a really nice guy, great frontman, but he didn’t stay long because he wanted to start his own band (Welcome To Julian) and that’s what he did. I became the singer then. We recorded our second album and everything fell apart. Rodolphe lost interest in the band, Denis had to join the army for a year so Patrice and I had to start all over again. The guys who played in The Chaplinn’s joined us but that didn’t really work either. That’s why we formed Qu4tre in 1992.

++ Were you involved in any bands before Les Freluquets?

My first band was Vision Flash when I was sixteen. We were a high school band and that was a lot of fun for two years. Then I wanted to become a frontman and write some songs so I borrowed my brother’s guitar and Furythme was born.

++ What about the name Les Freluquets? Why did you choose it for the band?

It means “The Whippersnappers” and we were desperately looking for a name at the time (”Hello John Steed” and “Therese X” were some other choices) but couldn’t find or agree on anything. Then a colleague who I had fun with at work called me a “young whippersnapper” and that was it! That was the name I was looking for. It fitted perfectly. When we moved to Paris the name didn’t fit anymore and we should have changed it but because of the good press we got after our first single I took the wrong decision to keep it. I made some bad decisions in that band but nobody really helped or said anything…

++ What do you remember from the Lenoir session? Any anecdotes you could share? Which songs you played?

We did two sessions actually. One when he was working at Europe 1 (one of those songs, “La Détente”, ended on the Heol tape later) and the other one for France Inter. Both are nice memories now even though we had some problems then. Rodolphe broke his wrist playing rugby just a few days before so I was really pissed of and we had to hire a session drummer for the Europe 1 gig. Then when Bernard Lenoir (who really liked us) returned to France Inter we recorded five or six songs that I can’t really remember (except one: “Si”, which was much better than the LP version). One of these songs featured on the “Contresens” compilation. Stoyan was so nervous he had to be in another room. It took forever to get the songs right! It was really important for the band to be there and we kind of blew it I guess because it never got aired. But we’ve been invited to his show to talk about our records several times.

++ How important was Bernard Lenoir for the indiepop scene in France?

He was and still is the French John Peel, but in a more conventional way. I mean you don’t hear a lot of French indie bands on his show. He used to be a press attaché for a record label when he was younger and it shows… But thanks to the British or American records he plays on his show he influenced a lot of people. I used to be a Wings fan and when I heard The Jam “All Mod Cons” on his show it changed my life. I’m sure I’m not the only one who had the same kind of experience.

++ So when and why did Les Freluquets moved to Toulouse? How different were things there for the band compared to Perpignan?

We didn’t move to Toulouse but played there so often it felt like home. In 1987 we were there once a month or something. Our most important gigs were played there, we recorded our first single there and we played our last concert (supporting Julian Cope) there. And we had family there too (Cécile lives there a successful illustrator). We had a different following in Toulouse, they were not our friends like in Perpignan. Their response was different. Perpignan wanted us to “rock” more whereas Toulouse accepted us as a pop band. There are a lot of students in Toulouse and that’s one of the reasons why I think we were taken more seriously there. Some musicians in our hometown hated or despised us because we were “poor” musicians. There was a lot of jealousy too. When they were our age they didn’t go anywhere as band members and we did, even if it wasn’t that far. We were new (and naive): Inspired by the punk movement (we don’t care about musicianship) but hoping to be popular, fun to watch and to hear too and those guys just didn’t and couldn’t get it.

++ There is a famous tape where you appeared, the Heol tape. How did you end up on this compilation? Do you know anything else about this tape? What about all these new French indiepop bands that were appearing at that time, which were your favourites?

Yes it’s the “Heol” tape #1. Anne Moyon was a fan and we used to write to each other very often. She started several fanzines (”Bobby’s Hips” for instance) and can be called “the godmother of the French indie pop”. We were more famous than most of the French bands on that tape at the time but we were glad to be part of it. Always my obsession to be a part of some movement. She chose the song “La Détente” and I don’t remember why I’m afraid.
I didn’t have any favourite because I didn’t know a lot of bands like us then. I’ve never been a fan of low-fi pop and most of the bands on that tape were low-fi. To be really honest I thought we were better than all of them! (Katerine excepted because he was different and really talented). We had different backgrounds too. I saw ourselves as a working-class or lower middle-class band among bourgeois bands so there was a distance between us. We played with Des Garçons Ordinaires (on the “Heol” tape #2) in Brittany and they were really nice guys.
We were friends with Les Objets and Gamine only and we looked up on the later, as “little brothers” do I guess, because they were on a major label and were really good.

++ Do you feel there was some sort of Golden Era of French Pop back then?

I’m not sure about that but there were a lot of fanzines though, people who wanted to hear more French indie pop bands back then. Now there are blogs but not as many. I wish I could have known more like-minded musicians that’s for sure. Bands were kind of competitive (Chelsea, The Little Rabbits for instance) so our relations were not great. We were willing to help anybody because I wanted us to be a part of some movement but it didn’t work that way. The ones we helped forgot about it or just didn’t care, I don’t know. I guess I expected too much and/or people didn’t have the same expectations.

++ I’m looking for a full discography of Les Freluquets, maybe you can help me with that? Do you know any place that may still carry the records?

Everything is there:

http://www.priceminister.com/s/freluquets
http://www.priceminister.com/offer/buy/76888211/Contresens.html
http://www.discogs.com/Various-Rosebud-Born-To-Be-A-Star-The-Great-Collection-V1/release/1508242

The only record missing is the flexi “La Débauche” you could get with the excellent fanzine “In The Rain” from Rennes some weeks before our first album was released. We never really demoed any songs but we did release every track we had from our recording sessions so there’s nothing hidden anywhere.

++ Which songs that you penned while being on Les Freluquets are you most proud of and why?

I guess that today the one I’m the most proud of must be “Envers Et Contre Tout” off our second album “Discorama”, because I didn’t use such chords before (don’t ask me what they are, I still don’t know, I’m only a self-taught guitar player) and it was so easy to write that I was really amazed. I didn’t have to think about them, they just came along as I wrote the music. Then “La Débauche” because it’s the first one I wrote for the Parisian Freluquets and it was played on Lenoir’s radio show and I remember how happy I was that night, dancing in my bedroom to the sound of our band. I like “Love Story” too but the Perpignan version that we played live only once was closer to what I had in mind (McCarthy’s “Frans Hals”). And I have to add our very first single “De Nos Jours” because it started all. We had a good time recording it, and we didn’t have that with the other line-ups. Actually the ones that I’m fond of are the songs that were recorded as demos or only played live in 1987-88. Too bad I never found a way to release them… I didn’t write “Les Portes” but it was one of our best songs, and as I played the feedback part on Denis’ Gibson 335 the people sitting in the studio clapped, so I was proud (surprised at first).

++ Something that surprises me is that influence list on your myspace page. Oh! how I wish at least half of those bands influenced some of today’s bands! Some of them are quite obscure, like The Passmore Sisters or the Gol Gappas. Was this music easily accessible in France back then? Does it have anything to do with why why there are not many pop bands popping up now in France?

Music is always accessible if you really want to. In those days the NME was like a bible for us (it was a weekly struggle to get it from the only newsagent who sold it) and Les Inrockuptibles was doing a good job introducing some of the best bands of the 80’s. I was lucky to have two older brothers too: One who could order records, the other one recording Bernard Lenoir’s radio show every night. Thanks to them we had all the post-punk records one had to have, then I went to London when I was seventeen, I bought a lot of records there, I saw The Jam at the Rainbow Theatre, and kept on going there every year or so the following twenty years, bringing back home hundreds of cool singles and albums. But it’s in 1986 that things got serious for me because I found my way then. Bristol was a cool town to be to discover all those indie bands (Revolver was a great record shop). And for the first time I was able to listen to John Peel on the radio.
So it wasn’t easy but it was possible to have access to that music. Internet brought a different thing and that’s ok but I think that going to a record shop is a better way to hear music. I still have some chills when I go to a record shop, when I see the covers, when I hear the music coming from the speakers. I still want to hold the record, read the credits, look at the photos. I miss that with Internet.
It’s when I looked at the pictures on the back cover of The Chords “So far Away” that I decided that I wanted to play in a band too. It’s when I looked at the inside cover of The Skids “Scared To Dance” that I decided to get an earring. It’s when I looked at the inside cover of The Jam “Sound Affects” (the best record of all times) that I decided that my guitar would be the same jetglo Rickenbacker 330. To us the covers were almost as important as the music. One of my brothers is a graphic designer because of that. The ten inch used to be my favourite format.
The major problem in France with music is that most interesting bands are formed by students and when they graduate they just give up to do something else, work above all. In the 80’s the now-deceased mandatory one-year military service was doing a lot of damages to bands too. One other reason is that French don’t have the same commitment to music as their British or American counterparts. And for a long time we were late compare to countries like England or Scotland for instance. When I was influenced by The Passmore Sisters, the early Hurrah!, The Close Lobsters, etc. the other French bands were into The Cure (”Pornography” era) most of the time or U2. Nowadays it’s Radiohead, in the 70’s it was Pink Floyd. To me the same old hippy crap. It seems that French musicians are afraid of melodies, of sounding pop. They have to sound moody or depressed to be taken seriously… As a guy taking Citalopram on a daily basis I don’t really need that. Give Hopkirk and Lee any day of the week instead!

++ So why and when did Les Freluquets call it a day?

As I said earlier we grew tired of people leaving the band, and Rosebud sacked us because our second album didn’t sell. Patrice and I wanted to play something different, a little “harder”; we were listening a lot to “Seamonsters” by then…
So we called it a day in 1992, one of our busiest years paradoxically.

++ You kept on making music after, care to tell me a bit about that?

Qu4tre started when Les Freluquets passed away. But once again we had some line-up problems. Our lead guitarist Thierry Bossot left after our first gig because we didn’t like the clothes he wanted to wear on stage. He was angry then… gone. Funnily enough he is one of my best friends nowadays. So we asked a journalist who was a fan, Pierre Golfier, to join us. We didn’t have a record label anymore but we had a publishing deal with BMG and we used their money to start our label Hype! and to record an album with Damian O’Neill of The Undertones and That Petrol Emotion producing. That was a great experience! He’s such a nice guy and a wonderful guitar player. We learned a lot from him.
We got a lot of good reviews but because of a poor distribution deal we didn’t sell enough to make another one. But we got on very well this time and we had four years of fun and good memories. Sadly Pierre passed away in 1999, he was only 33. I played lead guitar for a year or so with Malcolm Eden (McCarthy) in Herzfeld but he stopped playing music for good to try and become a writer (in the meantime we supported Stereolab at The Powerhaus in London and that was great!).
When he and our drummer Pierre-Jean Grappin left the band in 1996, Qu4tre stopped and the ever faithful Patrice and I called back Stoyan to start Mars. We only lasted a year because Stoyan had a really bad accident that changed his life, then I lost my mother and I was so depressed I didn’t feel like playing in a band anymore. The drummer of that band was Pascal Delbano who will join me in Aujourd’hui Madame five years later.
In 1998 I heard some loops that Rodolphe was recording at home and when I told him how good they were we finally decided to form Bassmati (a tribute to Bassomatic and to the fact that Rodolphe lives on rice). We had a good run, great reviews, good singles, great remixes for French and foreign acts but once again he lost interest after a while and I realized I wanted to play in a “real” band again and write some songs. The feeling was back.
Pierre-Jean agreed to join me in this new band I was trying to create and Internet gave us François Jascarzek on bass. A friend of PJ, Ludovic Leleu, joined on keyboard and guitar. We had fun for a while then I guess I’m cursed because once again, in March 2003, after our first gig half of the band left. We had different views on what kind of music we wanted to play and PJ’s alcoholism was a big problem. Truth to be told the other guy was a jerk too and I was relieved when they left.
But I didn’t want to give up so I called the only other drummer I knew, Pascal. It took us a year (!) to find a lead guitarist, Fabrice Vidal, but finally I had a good group of nice guys, and no more ego issues! I think this is the tightest band I ever played with (Furythme mark II, back in 1984 excepted). We realized a dream when we played in London in 2005 and had a great time at the HDIF night. Our last gig was supporting Spearmint in Paris in May 2006. Then I moved to the US in August and they didn’t followed me… So now I’m on my own and I have to play everything by myself (in the studio) and it’s strange but fun. I played live by myself for the first time in my life last week and people seemed to like it.

++ French cuisine is well, so famous around the world! Same as literature and cinema! So I’m wondering what’s your favourite French dish, book and movie?

French cuisine on a regular basis is the thing I miss the most in the US! My favourite dish is the quenelles au gratin (dumplings au gratin), or the beignets d’artichaut (artichoke fritters), two dishes that my late grandmother used to do very well. I’m very fond of French pâtisserie too (ah! the barquettes au marron / chesnut trays?). My favourite book is “Les Contes de la bécasse” by Guy de Maupassant because as Wikipedia says his stories are characterized by their economy of style and efficient, effortless dénouement, a bit like my lyrics actually. And he was from the same part of Normandy as my mother (my wife says I tend to be chauvinistic). But my favourite authors are all British: Colin McInnes, Alan Sillitoe, Roddy Doyle, Nick Hornby and Tony Parsons. They move me more than any French writer. Another example is how John Fante “The Road to Los Angeles” made me write “La Débauche”. I can only think of Albert Camus “L’Etranger” as a French book whose style inspired me.
My favourite movie is “Un Singe En Hiver” a 1962 movie with J.P. Belmondo and Jean Gabin. The dialogues are just great. It’s so French! But once again my favourite movie ever is “The Loneliness of the long distance runner”, an English movie from 1962 too (maybe I’m not so chauvinistic after all)…

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ssl6_un-singe-en-hiver-le-cabaret_shortfilms
http://filmsdefrance.com/FDF_Un_singe_en_hiver_rev.html

++ And one last question, how do you see France chances for the South African world cup?

I won’t be original in saying that we should have sacked Domenech years ago. He never won anything as a coach (one French championship as a player) and was appointed! That was a big mistake in the first place. The way France play is so boring, there’s no style anymore and that’s sad because we have some of the best players on this planet. Except we don’t have a defense anymore. I didn’t expect them to reach the final in 2006 (Zidane was on fire! So on fire that he burned himself) so we’ll see what happens. But I’m not optimistic that’s for sure. Everybody says France’s group is an easy one but I don’t agree at all. Look at what happened in 2002! And I have to say our jersey is so ugly (once more) that we don’t deserve to win.

++ Thanks again Philippe! Anything else you’d like to add?

Just one thing: Buy my new record! Here: http://susyrecords.sugarpop.org/

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Les Freluquets – La Débauche

Thanks to Uwe from Firestation Records for this interview. It’s no secret that Uwe is one of my good friends in indiepop so I’m very happy to interview him as he is a true indiepop encyclopaedia. I hope you all enjoy this interview, know a bit more about the premier German indiepop label and keep supporting it.

++ Hallo Uwe! How are you doing? You just released the new Der Englische Garten CD! I still haven’t listened to it, but arguing from the singles, this is a fantastic album! Tell me a bit about it?

Hiya Roque! I’m feeling well these days. Yeah, the debut album by Der Englische Garten was just released in germany a couple of days ago. We’re very happy about it, it took some time to get it out finally. It contain ten new tracks plus an re-worked version of “Junge Leute“ which was originaly released as 7“ single back in 2008. we’re just finished to promote the album in germany and looking now forward to receive some good reviews in the mags and airplay on the radioshows. Der Englische Garten hailed from Munich and contain members of such legendary bands as Die Merricks or C.L.A.R.K.. The band’s debut 7“ “Eine Neue Welt“ sold out within weeks back in 2007. It was the fastest selling 7“ single on Firestation ever! I fell in love with them from the start when i first heard the still unreleased track “Große Pläne“. To me they are sooo special, they brings back memories on such great bands as The Style Council, Bazooka Cain or Jim Jiminee. Feel free to check out tracks as “Heizdecke Am Strand“ or “Irgendwo Anders Hin“ and you will get a clue what i’m talking about.

++ Also there is a re-release of The Desert Wolves’ “Pontification”. This makes everyone so happy, because the Desert Wolves is one of the best bands ever! I’m wondering which is our favourite Desert Wolves songs and why?

Thanks for the great words on it, Roque! The Desert Wolves are in my heart since they released their first 12“ single. I have great memories on the day when i bought “Love Scattered Lives“ from a long gone record shop in berlin around 1988. i bought “Speak To Me Rochelle“ just a day after. I remember some people saying that Orange Juice was the perfect link between Velvet Underground and Tamla Motown, to me The Desert Wolves were always the greatest mix between Orange Juice and Motown, they had sooo much soul! I love this style!! In honest i have no idea what became my favourite track by them. Without a doubt “Mexico“ became dead important to me, it’s part of my life. It’s a song most of my friends can agree on, apart from it was a floorshaker on nearly every Ship Shape Club party in the early days.
It brings a tear to my eye every time I’m listening to “Desolation Sunday Morning“ and believe me, i don’t say such thing that often!

++ It’s very hard to interview you Uwe, you are like an indiepop institution, not only in Germany but in the whole world! But a story that is yet untold, is that one of Nollendorfplatz in 1998, when Firestation Records was founded. How did it all come together that Sunday afternoon?

The idea to found a label firstly came to my mind when Annikki and me hang around drunk at some kind of nonsens-party back in 1996. from the start we had no idea what do to, but the idea was born. Not much happend over the next two years. In summer 1998 we decided to start business. We asked our longtime friend Jan if he would like to join. He was keen on it from the start. It should have been a sunday in august 1998 when we met in a cafe around the Nollendorfplatz to make things fixed. The first thing we had in mind was to create the now quiet famous “The Sound Of Leamington Spa“ serie. It took us more than a year to release the first part of it finally. To be honest, the first release on Firestation was mostly made of the hands of Bungalow Records which passed us over a demotape by Bazooka Cain. I was kicked the first time i heard their songs, so i phoned up the band to find out if they would be interested to release something on an then absolute unknown label. Gladly they agreed, the rest is history, i think! It could have never been a better start for Firestation. Once the record was out we received orders from shops in Japan, so we could keep on releasing records without spending money on our own.

++ Was it easy to choose the name Firestation Towers for the label? Did anyone argue against it?

The name Firestation Tower Records was Jan’s idea! The three of us decided to write down the name everyone of us would have in mind for the label. I can’t remember what Annikki had on her sheet, but my idea was to name the label “Sunkissed“, stolen from one of my favourite songs by Friends Again. From the start it was a fixed idea in my mind to name the label after a song i was in love with. We let the lottery ticket decide about it. it was Tim from Mr. Dead And Mrs. Free who finally decided about the label’s name, me and Jan asked him to care for lottery.
Nowadays i would have written “A Matter Of Opinion“ on my sheet!

++ Since when did you start listening to indiepop? What was that first band that hooked you up? What came first for you, British indiepop or German indiepop?

I should have started back in 1985. not so sure which band kept the ball rolling but it should have been The Smiths or Aztec Camera. While at school there were two groups of people. The first was in love with bands as The Blow Monkeys, Housemartins, The Style Council, Everyting But The Girl or the bands i mentioned above. The Second part was listening to german or american mainstream. hip hop wasn’t that popolar back then. If so,there would have been another group of people. I started to became a visitor at concerts in november 1986 when i saw the Housemartins playing live at the Loft. This night still means a lot to me, I even lost my shoes, would you believe? Next up i went to gigs from bands such as the Bodines, The Chesterfields or The Brilliant Corners. Still a schoolboy i spent my free time at record shops most of the time. Soon after i went to england for the first time. It was some kind of Language holiday. i remember that i never went to the school, instead i’ve hang round in the recordshops of Hastings. It was greatest fun and i remember that one of the records i bought over there back then was “Do It On Thursday“ by Jim Jiminee. Back to your question, i should have say honest, that german indiepop didn’t meant anything to me back then, simply because i don’t know about it. Not so sure, but i think that i saw She Splinters Mortar support The One Thousands Violins around the same time, but what really kicked me soon after were the first albums from bands as The New Colours or Die Antwort.i couldn’t believe that there were even german bands around which plays the soundtrack of my life. Soon after i found out about bands as The Sheets, Die Bienenjäger or Die Fünf Freunde. Back then labels as Blam-A-Bit, Frischluft or Marsh Marigold were very important to me. Sure thing that Firestation wouldn’t had found without them! the most biggest influence for me were labels as Marina Records or Bungalow. Every release on Marina Records meant a lot to me and Bungalow Records were so fucking cool back then. The label’s style deeply impressed me.

++ A project that is still in brainstorming is that of a compilation of German indiepop of the late 80s and early 90s. Do you think that will happen? How do you remember that scene? What were it’s strengths and why do you think it’s not that well known in indiepop world? Any favourite bands from back then that deserve our attention?

To release some kind of german “The Sound Of Leamington Spa“ was born in the early days of the label. It was Peter Hahndorf who came up with this idea.
But to say honest, all i have in mind for it yet is a wantlist of bands which could be part of it. I created such list some years ago. It contains most acts from the Fast Weltweit label, obscure bands as The Pariahs, Indian Summer, Jelous Chaps or Kiss Me Twice. I would love to include also some bands from the neo-mod scene as Start!, Die Profis or The Saturday Boys. I believe that there are some labels around in germany which could be interested to release the Fast Weltweit-label back catalogue, so i don’t see that much chances to include any of the label’s bands.
For sure there would be also a place for indiepop acts which were around the late 90’s as Brideshead or Bazooka Cain.
If i can speak about a German indiepopscene than i would say that their highest became in the early 90’s when labels as Marsh Marigold or Blam A Bit organized great concerts and bands as The Sheets, Painting By Numbers or Die Fünf Freunde were on the road.
When labels as Apricot or Firestation started business in the late 90’s there wasn’t such a big scene anymore. For sure there were still people who took care for such labels but for me there wasn’t any consultation between the people any longer.
I remember that we once organized some kind of sightseeing tour with around 50 as part of an indiepop weekender. I don’t think that such thing would be possible these days.

++ Why do you think, compared to those days, that at this moment there are almost none indiepop bands in Germany? Why is this? Does it have to do with the pop labels? Apricot Records seems silent, Marsh-Marigold as well, and what about Marina Records? Seems you are the only one alive!

Oh, that’s hard to say. For sure there should be good indiepop bands around in Germany these days, but i don’t have any clue about them. Although it may sound silly, i even wouldn’t care that much about them. I don’t understand most of the current indiepop anymore, it can’t give me any thrill anymore. I love to listen to new band’s but most of the today’s music which i can find on blogs or in the magazines didn’t mean anything to me. Bring me the German answer to Skint & Demoralised an i will sign them from the start!

++ Nowadays you write the Firestation blog where you have shared fantastic stories about long lost bands and background information about you and the label. But a decade ago you were still doing fanzines. What differences do you see between these formats? Any advantages or disadvantages when comparing them?

Me and Olaf released our first fanzine in 1991. it was greatest fun. back then to see that people even spend money on it. We first pressed 250 copies of Smuf 1. it came with an flexi-disc by Sarah-Records band Brighter and was sold out in a hurry.
I wouldn’t sign most of the things i wrote back then but it’s still a nice document for me to find out how i felt those days.
Between 1993 – 2002 i published some issues of my own fanzine which was called Happy To Be Sad, named after an still unreleased song by The Servants. Can’t remember how many copies I’ve done.
On first view, I can’t see many differences between blogs and fanzines. Everything which was wrote will stay forever. I would love to post much more regularly on the Firestation blog these days, but there is sooo much to care about beside it, so there is no time left to write on it that often. I didn’t spend much time to watch blogs these days. Maybe i should, but i don’t care. It makes me tired to see some of them, the blogs owner include unreleased bands by their so called “favourite bands“ even without asking the bands about permission. This thing really pissed me on. Sometimes i think think that they don’t care about the music, all they are looking for is attention for something they don’t have any rights on. How silly!
There are people around who asked me to re-release this and that. When the record is out they don’t want to spend even an euro on it. I became so tired on those people, they want to get everything’s for free, we don’t need them!

++ Your most known releases are probably the Leamington Spa compilation series. So how did these shape up? And what part do each of the three labels behind it play? Any news about the next volume?

Peter Hahndorf (Claredon Records) and Sven Neuhaus (Bilberry Records) are both longtime friends of mine. It was Peter who came up with the idea to name the serie “The Sound Of Leamington Spa“, Sven gives me the most input on music beside my friend Olaf Grossigk. I will never forget that night when we first talked about spa 1. We’ve been through the bar’s of Bremen and end up in an really nice club around the Steintor. I had an big hangover from the night before when i saw the Jazz Butcher playing live in Hamburg. We were on our best and talked the whole night about the project. Before i found myself on the floor in the
next day’s early hours we decided about the line up for the first issue.

++ I’m going to put you on the spot now… you have to tell me who are the best or your favourite in German pop history in these subjects:

– Band: The New Colours
– Song: Annahmeschluß (Bazooka Cain)
– Label: Marina Records
– Fanzine: Happy To Be Sad / Hochverdichtet
– Gig: Die Fünf Freunde
– Dancer: Niels Fischer
– DJ: Ship Shape Club
– Mailorder: Mind The Gap
– Fan: Olaf Grossigk
– City: Berlin (what else should i say)

++ Tell us a bit of the upcoming releases on Firestation Records!

If things will be keen on us, Sound Of Leamington Spa 7 will be ready before the summer. This release is on delay since ages and i feel very sad for all the bands which are part of it.
These days I keep an eye to release as much 80’s stuff as possible. We hope to have an retrospective ready by Cherry Orchard in the near future and still looking forward to release the Jeremiahs back catalogue. Hopefully there will be a chance for it, so finger crossed. What’s on the plan since ten years is the retrospective by North Of Cornwallis, which are still one of my favourite bands ever! Maybe there will be finally a chance for it finally in 2010! so finger crossed for it!!
there will be another Firestation festival in Berlin took it’s place on 31 th of July this year. We will name it Popfest Berlin. There are people around in town which are not so keen on it, but once again, i don’t care about them. They asked me to ask them for permission in advance to organise such thing, would you believe? Not longer sure about those people.

++ What about the Firestation Singles Club, is there plans to continue with it?

Yeah, there were some plans the last year to continue the Singles Club. Catalogue number FST Singles Club 005 was hold for the debut single by The Soulboy Collective, the greatest German band since ages! Things took too long on it for various reasons, so we decided to stop business on the Singles Club. Instead we released the Soulboy Collective 7“ single at the end of the last year in cooperation with Fastcut Records in Japan, with the band’s debut album too follow soon.

++ Berlin is still a small city when it comes to an indiepop crowd, but things seem to be changing during the last years with people like Pop Kombinat! or Pop Assistants bringing indiepop to the city. How do you see this renaissance of the Berlin indiepop scene?

To be honest, i’m not so sure about this renaissance these days. Without a doubt Pop Assistants are doing a great job and i feel happy for them that they can organize some cool gigs these days. Andi and me meet up for a dj-set at my favourite football-bar the Schwalbe once the month. But i can’t seen any scene! Maybe i’m wrong and there is a big indiepop-crowd aroud these days in Berlin? I can only speak for me and my friends. I’m not living in the past and i feel good to know that there are people around which keeping care of indiepop these days but to be honest again i don’t want to be part of any scene anymore. Never been to Pop Kombinat, so i can’t tell anything about them.

++ I also know you are an avid collector, so would you recommend your favourite record stores in Berlin or do you prefer to keep them for yourself? I would understand!

Great question! Yeah, record shopping became one of the most important part in my life since the early 90’s when i became a record dealer. There are still a lot of shops in berlin which care for second hand vinyl. I love to visit those places with friends, although i should better care for shopping on my own. My favourite shops in town are Cover Music, Comeback, Rocksteady Records and The Record Store in Brunnenstrasse. I can also recommend Mr. Dead and Mrs. Free for new stuff. This shop was very very important for me in the early days and i still visit them on regular basis. If you have some free time you should firstly visit Cover Music. It will take you hours to go through the whole vinyl selection, but all my friends from abroad found some great stuff. I bought that Siddeleys 12“ for three euro just a couple of weeks ago from it. Maybe the best place for record shopping is the Mauerpark market which takes it’s place every Sunday. We’re selling records on our own on it twice the month. I stay away from it in the colder days, but there is still business on that market in the winter days. I can recommend this place for every collector!
If anyone out there needs further recommendations please feel free to contact me.

++ And what about gigs? I know nowadays you don’t go to that many, but tell me which ones have been the best you’ve attended!

I gave up on it since they banned smoking in some clubs two years ago. I’ve been to gigs twice the week at least back in the past but to be honest i don’t care about it that much these days, i rather like to hang out with my mates for some drinks instead. On one hand I’m feel sad to became tired on it but to be honest there are not much band’s around these days which i would love to catch up live. There are some gigs which are on my top-list, maybe it was the greatest for me to see Roddy Frame live in the mid 90’s. the Brilliant Corners gig at the KOB in the late 80’s was also fucking great. Not to forget the Housemartins in 1987 and Morrissey seeing singing “William It Was Really Nothing“ back in the winter days of 2006! i have also great memories on a Teenage Fanclub / Groove Little Numbers gig at ULU London which took it’s place in 1991. Groovy Little Numbers played with full Brasssection! What a great night!

Thanks a lot for your great question, Roque! I’m looking forward to see you again later this year!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Der Englische Garten – Heizdecke am Strand

A couple of months ago I was asked to write a small travel diary from my time in Berlin. It was for the Japanese magazine Cookie Scene. As it was entirely translated and published in Japanese, I thought sharing the original English version here.

Schönhauser Allee U-Bahn station is noisy. The train’s wheels screech, the crowd bowls over the stairs, hasty pedestrians finding their way throughout Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. I’m there, a bit lost, my German language skills are not the best, I’m a bit shaky and tired after two sleepless nights. First one traveling all over the Atlantic. The second one at a Camera Obscura gig, and then at an after-party at Club King Kong. I look around the station for a familiar sign. Up and down, left to right, the people, as shadows, flicker. My bag is a bit heavy, I carry around 20 CDs for the DJing night. I have big expectations, I have a great arsenal of indiepop tunes.

I’m meeting Uwe and Olaf from Firestation at Uwe’s apartment. It’s a bit cold outside the big avenue. I pass by a Mediterranean restaurant called Alhambra. I pass by a tattoo shop. I never liked tattoos. I ring Uwe’s. The door opens and I go up the stairs as if I knew them by memory. I had been there last year, but it seems ages. Great! I meet Uwe again! a BIG hug! This is serious, I’m at the indiepop master’s place. I go through his records. I rummage. I choose around 10 records I want to get from him. I could choose a hundred, but my budget is a bit tight. Then Olaf arrives. We are going to get some Eastern European food at a new place around the corner. When we get there, it’s full. We go to another restaurant, and we like it. They have chicken. We like chicken. The three of us order chicken. On my European trips, I always enjoy going to eat out with meat eaters, usually it’s always vegetarians, and that is always a turn off when I want to appreciate food. Anyways, food is great and we drink these huge glasses of beer. I’m secretly feeling proud. I ordered my food in perfect German, or at least the waitress understood me clearly.

After getting up to date, gossiping about indiepop, the latest bands, the latest trends, which records we are releasing next and so, we leave the restaurant in search for the enigmatic Schwalbe. Uwe usually DJs there, and he has told me many stories about it. Sometimes the polizei comes and asks to turn the volume down. I hope not this time. After a fifteen minute walk on a chilly autumn night, we arrive. It’s a pretty place. The lights are not that bright, and there’s a poster pasted at the door stating I’m DJing. Feels good. I don’t get many chances to DJ in Miami. No one knows indiepop here. I meet Andi from the Pop Assistants who will also team up with us on the DJing gig. He is very nice and friendly. The Pop Assistants are like a booking agency, they bring superb bands to Berlin. I meet the owner of the place too. She asks me if I want beer. Of course I want beer! And I get it for free!! I get a Becks. Not my favourite, but you never complain about what’s free. At around 10pm Andi starts DJing. I’ll go after.

I start my “hit parade” with Second-Hand Furniture’s “There’s Nothing to Celebrate”. Instantly a lot of people come by and ask me what is it! It’s such a wonderful song to dance, so no wonder! Now Care’s “Flaming Sword”. I notice people enjoying it. Catchers’ “Cotton Dress”. Typhoon Saturday. Some Kirsty Maccoll. And I continue playing my favourite songs. I’m on my element. It feels great. And the beer keeps coming. And the laughs keep coming, and all the popkids are enjoying the night. My heart beats tunefully. Berlin is mine for a couple of hours. I’ll be back in ten days, but I won’t DJ here anymore.

Uwe takes over the decks. He tells me he has to always start with Aztec Camera if not, things don’t go right. He gets a bit nervous before DJing. It’s strange for me, he always DJs, he should be totally used to! But he isn’t, and that’s the charm of it. I sit next to the decks, on a large couch with my friends. We take photos. We try some dance moves. We dream of me staying in Germany. I still dream about it, wonder why there are stupid immigration laws. Shouldn’t we all be free to choose where to live and where to work? Borders are unnatural. They are an artifice, they are absurd. But we are not angry or disappointed. We are happy, indiepop is beating and the night is ours.

I get one more round at the decks. I would lie if I say I remember what I played. It’s quite late and beer has been flowing like the Rhein river. Then Uwe takes over again. In a blink of an eye it’s already 4am and I need to go. The party could have lasted longer, maybe till 6 or so. But I have a plane to catch. I’m leaving at 8am to Stockholm. I have a DJ adventure there this same day. It will be my third sleepless night but I feel fine. Energized. I’m living an indiepop dream. I leave the Schwalbe sad, I wish I could have hang out more with the Firestation guys. But I’ll see them again on my way back. It’s farewell but it’s not goodbye.

The chilly night has become warmer after such a party. I walk towards the closest U-bahn station. The streets are noiseless. It’s a clear sky and the moon squashes me. Berlin has inspired me. I just count the days when I’ll be back. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop indiepop.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Strange Idols – Berlin

2010 has been so busy for me that, aside from preparing a couple of interviews, I haven’t had much time to update the blog.  At my workplace, at the newspaper, we’ve been working extra hours because of the Haiti earthquake and the Super Bowl that’s happening this weekend. On top of that I still have some freelance job to take care of, some website for a shopping mall. Yes, I’ve been totally swamped. I’ve always liked working under pressure and with tight deadlines so that wasn’t a problem. What was worrying me was that I didn’t have much inspiration, first to write on the blog, and second to finish the fanzine. I had finished it some weeks ago, but then I had second thoughts about an article, and decided to write something totally different instead. So here we go. It went to print on Monday. So hopefully that will be out at last.

Some weeks I’ve been working 7 days, and the rest 6 days. I wish I could update the blog more often for the 5 or 6 people that read it. But don’t despair. I do have good news that don’t include the word work. I booked a flight for the New York City Popfest in May, and also a plane ticket for Indietracks. You’ll get to see me a lot this year. Terribly sorry for that.

I get to work riding the bus. Usually takes me around 25 minutes. I live in this big island called Miami Beach, at the southern tip, which is commonly called South Beach. Everyday I walk across Flamingo Park and then four more blocks till I hit Alton Road. The bus stop is on the other side of Alton Road. It’s some green bench with no cover, so if it rains, good luck. There is not a pedestrian cross to get to the other side either, but I still cross the heavy traffic avenue. I just need a little patience till it’s clear for crossing. Then I calmly wait for the “S” bus while I listen the latest CD I’ve got on my cd-player. I know, I know, I still haven’t got around to get one of those iPods. That’s one of the few things I don’t care about modernizing myself. I mean, what’s the point? Having an iPod usually means the destruction of the “album” format. Who the hell listens a full album, from the first song to the last one, on their iPod? No one.

When I arrived to Miami the bus fare was US $1.25. It didn’t change for years. When the gas prices skyrocketed a couple of years ago they changed it to $1.50. A couple of months later they decided, let’s take advantage of the commuters and ask for $2.00. It’s a ridiculous price for the service.

Picking up old Cuban women on every corner, greasy muscular guys that seem to have escaped from Gold’s Gym, the thirsty construction workers hiding their Natural Ice on Burger King cups, the Hassidic Jews from the Hebrew Academy with their particular attire, posh girls with bright polished toenails from the renowned Miami Ad School, the smelly homeless with their human-size backpack, and European tourists with Hawaiian tees on their way to “Jungle Island”, the S bus runs steady till 5th street where we turn right and take the McArthur causeway towards downtown.

We have around 3 million people in the metropolitan area. And we have one public rail system that is a joke. It doesn’t connect Miami Beach with Miami, which lies in the continental area, on the Florida peninsula. It goes nowhere but to Dadeland mall. And it costs $2.00 to ride on it, the infamous Metrorail. There has always been talks about expanding the rail service, making it go at least to Miami International Airport. Supposedly this will happen by 2014. We’ve always hoped that we’d have a train on Miami Beach, at least some sort of monorail, something to get from here to there. From the library on 19th street to my favourite schwarma spot on 10th and back to Lincoln Rd to the movie theatre.

South Beach is the only area in Miami that has pedestrians, that is pedestrian friendly. Everything else in Miami is only car friendly, just like most American cities. The city acknowledged that and implemented these 25-cents-fare little buses that circle South Beach that makes it more or less manageable, though waiting for them takes forever. But to get to downtown Miami, where I work, I have to take the $2.00 regular bus which is usually a headache.  I can only dream that a train will be built one day connecting our island to the mainland. How long will it take me to take this dreamy daily train to work? Perhaps 5 minutes!! I’m so close! This would be so perfect, my daily train. I really look forward moving to a city with trains. New York, Berlin, London…

Or Gaubretière près de La Roche sur Yon? Where?! That’s where The Little Rabbits are from. A French band that penned the fantastic “The Daily Train” tune that was released on a compilation called “Contrasens” in 1991. It was released by the FNAC, which is like a Borders store but ten thousand times better. But let’s stop ranting and complaining, now enjoy this fantastic tune that is a classic for Japanese indiepop fans!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Little Rabbits – The Daily Train

Thanks so much to Martin King for the interview! For those who are living under a rock The Desert Wolves have just released (or should I say re-released?) their Pontification album with 4 extra songs! All of them brilliant! You can find it at the Firestation Records HQ. Also you can find the glorious Desert Wolves on myspace here.

++ How are you doing? How has 2010 been so far?

Been sorting out some minor corrections and a book proposal for my PHD-which is on The Beatles.

++ You just released, or should I say, re-released, the Pontification album with four extra tracks on the Firestation label. Would you care telling me a bit about each of these four songs? Why weren’t they released before?

“Skin Deep” was one of the final demos we did along with the Gunmetal Jaguar.i never really liked it that much so left it off the album-i have warmed to it a bit! La Petite Rochelle was released on the Rochelle 12″. “She Wore My Sweater” was recorded in the same session as “Mexico” -8 track genius- but i never really liked the way it turned out. “Passion in the Afternoon” has a sort of U2 rumble on it as an alternative but we liked the other version better .

++ Are these all the unreleased Desert Wolves songs, or are there still some more laying around somewhere on dusty tapes?

There are no more tracks but there was a Desert Wolves mark 1 which Nick and Dave Platten were in and there are some demos -they were a bit more punky-did boredom as an encore-that sort of thing- Dave would be able to tell you more and about the origins of the name.

++ What was the main reason that made you decide it was time to re-release the masterpiece that Pontification is?

The re-release idea really came from nagging by Uwe at Firestation!

++ So let’s go back in time… how did The Desert Wolves start? How did you get to know each other

I joined in late 86 as a mutual friend told me they were looking for a new singer -we did our first gig at the international supporting the stone roses in jan 87.

++ How did you end up signing to Ugly Man records? How was your relationship with Guy Lovelady? Any anecdotes you could share?

The Ugly Man connection was already made when I joined. Guy Lovelady was a great amateur enthusiast in the spirit of the times, always at gigs and often came down to the studio.

++ Where any of you involved with other bands before being part of the Desert Wolves?

I was in a band called bee vamp in the early 80s-some tracks just released on a Manchester musician’s collective cd on Hyped to Death label-also 2 indie 12″ and a peel session in 81-with Jim Parris who went on to form Carmel. I then formed the Harbour Bar -on one of Leamington Spa collections-a short lived easy listening band years ahead of its time!! A few gigs and one demo.

++ I have some questions about your songs, first of all, was Rochelle a real person, or was her a character you invented for the song “Speak to Me, Rochelle”?

Rochelle was a real person but i just liked the name. The main inspiration for most of the lyrics was a fairly new relationship with the woman i am now married to. “Besotted” and “November” in particular.

++ Also, I’ve always meant to ask you, have you ever been to Mexico? You seem to be a big Mexican food fan for sure, tacos and burritos

Never been to Mexico. The song was inspired by a Mexican restaurant on Oxford road in Manchester in 80s: “Amigos”.

++ What about “Passion in the Afternoon”? Does it have to do anything with Rohmer’s movie by the same name?

“Passion in the Afternoon” is about autumn afternoons in my flat! There is a scene in room at the top with Laurence Harvey and Simone Signouret that has a similar feel but I only discovered that afterwards.

++ Is it me, or it seems you have an interest in cars, especially vintage ones. Am I right? I mean, from the Vermont Sugar House artwork for the 7″, the album, and even the new Desert Wolves album artwork. Also you did write a song called The Gunmetal Jaguar!

I had a 62 sunbeam rapier in the mid 80s which was used on the artwork for “Love Scattered Lives” and in the video-hence its revival in nes artwork-i now have a 77 Daimler of the sort that is on the Vermont Sugar House cover-the 60s obsession was mainly me-stems from childhood and never went away-Iam a big collector.

++ What about the video for “Love Scattered Lives”? How did that came about? What are your memories from recording it?

The video was shot on a budget of £20 by someone called Liam Khan who went on to work with the Pet Shop Boys and New Order-for a larger fee i suspect-it was a great day out on the Yorkshire coast.

++ I think you are such a great lyricist, so I have to ask, where does the inspiration comes from? And how easy was to make music with the whole band? What was the creative process?

As with the Vermont Sugar House tunes started mainly with Dave-some Nick-and then I would add lyrics when we were happy with the tune. The recording of “November” is a first take and the first time i had sung the lyrics. I recently read that Bryan Ferry did that with “Love is the Drug”. I like that sort of thing.

++ How do you remember the Manchester scene from back then? Any bands you enjoyed? How did you feel about the whole Madchester thing?

In retrospect I feel very lucky to have been around the Manchester scene-from the factory in the late 70s where i saw band like the B52s/Pere Ubu/Buzzcocks/the original Human League-through the collective and The Hacienda-Madchester was a lot of un clubbing wise but i am more an 82-87 Hacienda person. Loved The Smiths and New Order but not as much as Orange Juice. And I have a deep nostalgia for a time when most people I knew were in a band.

++ When and why did you decide to call it a day?

Musical differences i think-some dispute because i couldn’t sing like Scott Walker- the fact that no one but Scott Walker can etc etc. The Wolves split at a foolish time, just before the Roses thing and everyone getting signed. Hated the Inspiral Carpets and the Mondays vastly overrated and the fact that the Roses were considered plod rock between 86 and 89 and had a national front following has been erased from pop history.

++What happened in that gap between The Desert Wolves and Vermont Sugar House?

Dave and i just kept writing in the gap which eventually resulted in the Vermont Sugar House stuff.

++ Are you still in touch with all members of the band? What are you all doing nowadays

Dave and I now work in academia, Nick at the EU in Brussels-saw them at Xmas. Richard went on to be a successful tour manager, he did the Spice Girls first world tour. Craig was thought to be dead based on assumptions about his lifestyle but he has posted something on youtube (re: the video).

++ We should do a Vermont Sugar House interview some time Martin! But are there any future releases coming? Should I expect some more great songs from you in the near future?

Not sure if there will be more Vermont Sugar House stuff-have a couple of nice songs kicking around and have bought a very nice 1966 Burns Baldwin so who knows.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Desert Wolves – Speak to Me, Rochelle

The Palisades from Perth, Australia! Such a fantastic band that only recorded around 11 songs. All of them top-notch! I was lucky to grab once their retrospective on Egg Records, and now even more lucky to have been in touch with Ian Freeman from the band. He was kind enough to answer all my questions!

++ Thanks so much Ian for being up for the interview! Most of us are going through a cold winter but down in Australia you are having a great summer! How have you being enjoying it so far?

The summer break has been great. Lots of days at the beach trying to perfect my surfing technique. I got a 9′2″ mal that gets a work out when ever possible.

++ You’ve been involved in many bands like Mars Bastards or Header, but I’m going to stick to Palisades questions on this interview. But I do wonder if this was your first band? I’ve heard about some band Peppermint Drops and another one Homecoming… but I’m not sure.

Well, I it was all a little fast paced at the beginning. I got offered the job as singer with the Homecoming by Gil Bradley and Mandy Haines who were friends of mine. That same weekend I was out at a gig and saw Jeff Baker who was playing with the Peppermints and asked how it was going and he told me they needed a new singer. So I jumped at it as they were actually playing gigs and a bit more organised. In the end I only played one crazy show with the Peppermint Drops in a place called Boyup Brook which is sorta like “deliverence” country. We supported The Stems.

++ The Palisades were formed around you and Jeff Baker, right? How did you both meet? And then how did you decide to start a band?

I was a friend of Jeff’s sister Sue. We are both a little younger than J.B. so when he would go out, we would sneak into his room and play all his groovey records. I got to know him through that and going to see gigs. When the Peppermint Drops folded we just decided we would continue on together as we were both into the same scene and liked similar music etc.

++ How did this creative partnership work? What was the creative process behind it?

In the beginning Jeff had a large kitchen with a huge round table. We would catch up at his place two or three times a week and just throw ideas at each other across the table. He was studying English literature at uni and would lay out sheets of poems and I would cut out lines from each of them and paste them together. I think we just put half finished ideas down onto a cassette player for later reference. Maybe one out of every 5 songs would make it to a rehearsal. Out of the rehearsal maybe one out of two songs would make it to the gig. Out of the set list of say 20 songs we only recorded a few, maybe 10.

++ How did the other members came to be in the band? How was the recruiting process?

Well I was trying to play guitar at the time and another of our friends Gary was playing bass but neither of us were getting very far. Jeff had some friends from his contacts with The Stems. Velo Zupanovich who played bass with Dom in the Gostarts and Guido Berini who played guitar with Velo in a band called The Rayguns. He recruited them then we found a drummer Richard Nash. Gary was asked to leave and I was asked to stop playing guitar and concentrate on singing!

++ Why the name The Palisades?

Jeff came up with it. He was into the shapes of words back then, and probably still is. He liked the way the P and the d offset each other, the repetition of the s’s and the way the a and l almost make a d. After he put so much thought into it how was any of us going to object.

++ The Perth scene in the 80s seems so vibrant! How do you explain that explosion of guitar pop bands in the city? As you were around, I have to ask, was there a band in Perth that was great but no one has heard about? I mean, we’ve all heard of Summer Suns, Stolen Picassos, Charlotte’s Web, etc etc… but maybe you remember some other?

Perth is one of the most isolated citys in the world. The music scene has always been pretty vibrant, basically because you have to make your own fun. If you didn’t you would go nuts through lack of things to do. So you start a band, or mange a band, or open a club, or start a shop selling cool records and t-shirts because literally nobody else was doing it. Why guitars? Acappella doesn’t cut it and synths were so expensive I guess. Bands were popping up and blowing out so fast. My fave band of that time were Traitors Gate who my friend Andre Scannel sang for. He was very into Velvet Underground, Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen and they sounded like a mix of all that. I only have one blurred photo of them live. I don’t think they ever recorded. Kim Williams band The Holy Rollers were good too. Rabbits Wedding were another.

++ A friend of mine once made me a copy of the Out of the Woodwork tape, but neither him or me have any information on it. Do you know anything about it? I know there were two of your songs there, but I have no clue who released it or when…

Every year or so someone in Perth puts a compilation out of who ever is playing the scene at that time. It’s usually called something like “Edge of the World” or “Way Out West” or “Look At Us We’re Trying Really Hard”. The motives behind them were always a bit suss and a bit sad. We did it for promotional reasons as did all the bands. I cant remember what we put on there or who else was involved.

++ You appeared on a compilation and a flexi, both released by a radio station. Was this something common back in the day? Radios supported independent bands?How did you end up on these releases?

Radio 6NR was a uni run station. Jeff was going to uni and managed to get us a slot on there every Tuesday night 9 to midnight. We got to spin all our latest records and have a bit of a laugh. It was great fun. Unless you liked listening to the usual FM playlists there was no radio station playing the stuff we liked. You couldn’t hear Elvis Costello, R.E.M., Lets Active, The Smiths any where except 6NR and 6UVSFM another uni station which later turned into 3RTR. And all these radio programs were being run by our friends and other band members. This is where I first heard Big Star, Television, Gram Parsons so many great bands…it was an education every night. Then a mag came out and a flexi disc on the cover. We were really lucky to do one. I think the Kryptonics did one. The mag would have news on local bands and gigs coming up.

++ How did you end up signing to Easter Records? How was your relationship with Neil Kim? Any anecdotes you could share?

Kim ran a shop called White Ryder Records?. I had been going in there since I was about 16. I would go in days in a row and just look at the records I wanted to buy as I had no money. You could stand there for hours and listen to Kim and his pals spin great tunes. So we all knew Kim for ages. Kim had put out my mate Ian Underwoods bands ep (The Kryptonics) and Jeff had done Summer Suns releases with him. He was very relaxed about the whole thing.

++ What do you remember from recording this mini-LP? And how many copies were there made? I can’t yet find a copy for myself!

We recorded the lp in two sessions. Recording was very expensive back then so we played our arses of and saved a few thousand dollars and we went into the best studio in Perth called Planet with John Vilani who is sadly no longer with us. We did side one in there on the day Liverpool played Everton in an F.A. cup final. Having grown up in Liverpool this was a huge deal for me and I had to keep running out to check the score then back in to do vocal takes. Agony! The second side we recorded in Shelter Studios with Andy Priest?…Kim was on board by now. I remember Kim got the records pressed and they had a printed lyric sheet insert that had to be put in each one. We sat at his place and did everyone by hand. 1000 copies? this was the day Kim introduced me to Pet Sounds. Shit, the hairs on my neck just stood up!!! I think Da Da Records in Perth still has a few copies floating about.

++ I did find the Egg Records compilation, which is such a fantastic compilation of all of your releases plus an unreleased track. But I do wonder if there are still more unreleased tracks from The Palisades? maybe hiding in some old dusty tapes?

Sorry thats it. I do have a cassette of us rehearsing live but its very rough. There are about 7 or 8 unreleased tunes on there. Turkish Delight, My New Address.. cant remember the rest.

++ What are your favourite Palisades’ songs?

It’s hard for me to be objective. When I listen to them now I hear song writers on a learning curve. Like looking back on your primary school days. Light As Air was one of those round table songs. As is Today of All days which I still play on guitar to this day. So I guess I will take those two. Oh and The Jetty.

++ What about gigging? Did you gig lots as The Palisades? Any particular gigs you remember and why?

We did heaps of shows. We supported The Stems a few times, The Go Betweens, The Triffids, Hunters and Collectors, Falling Joys plus we got to play heaps of shows when going out to a gig was the thing to do so crowds were big like 300, 400 to a local band which was massive. I cant remeber any one show in particular. Being back stage with the all those bands was huge and seeing Mark Seymour warming up his vocals before a show was a huge moment for me personally like..”Shit, this is serious buisness here”. Up until then I didn’t take singing very seriously, just a bit of a giggle really. When I saw you could be as professional as a guitarist or drummer about it I really started to listen and learn.

++ Okay, I said I’d stick to Palisades but this I do want to ask, would you care to tell me a bit about the Pelicassos Brothers? I’ve been looking for songs for like forever but never to find anything. Was there anything released? Or at least, are there any recordings?

Martin Gambie and I got together on days where there was not much going on in the Palisade or Stolen Picassos camps. Our bands would play together often and we even had a song called “Weeping Woman” which was the name of the Picasso painting that was actually stolen.He got me into Mamas and Papas and obscure vocal bands and I would try to convince him of the merits of The Fleshtones or Jellyfish. We would jam a few of our favorite tunes together and a couple of covers like Dylans “You Aint Going Nowhere” and “Swan Swan Hummingbird” by R.E.M. and practice our harmonies. The we started playing a few gigs as a duo and I finally got to play 12 string! Then we would get rolling drunk. I do have a tape with two songs on it which I discovered the other day. I hadn’t listened to it for over 20 years! It was never released and one of the songs is just humming no words but the other song is great.

++ What about the tribute band the Pale Sadies?

You have got to be joking?

++ There is a moment when you all decide to move to Sydney, why was that? Then you came back to Perth, right? Was that when the band broke up?

First our drummer Richard Nash left the band and was replaced by Chad then Dave Hale, then Guido left and we decided to play as a four piece. Then Jeff and Dave quit to pursue other interests. Velo and I decided to continue on as the band had quite a following and we were getting heaps of shows. So Gil Bradley from The Homecoming replaced Jeff on guitar (who went on to start the Rainyard) and Duncan McMillan came in from the Stolen Picassos to play drums. We recorded a few songs with this line up of which “Memories of Old Flowers” and “Deaths Echoes” made it onto the Palisades cd on Egg records. Sydney was where all the record companies were at the time and all the new pop bands were coming out of Sydney so we decided to move there. Velo quit and we got Mandy Haines in from the Homecoming/Rosemary Beads to play bass. We played about 15 shows there and went down well but we never really got a foot hold. Jeff was sending tapes of The Rainyards stuff and it sounded like all the fun was back in Perth so we moved back. I just hung out for a year and then Jeff and I started the Mars Bastards with Gil on guitar. There were five line ups with the Palisades and each one had its own distinctive sound.

++ Are you still making music? What are some of Ian Freeman’s hobbies?

I still play in a band with Jeff called The Lazybirds here in Melbourne. Shaun Lahore from the Mars Bastrads plays drums with us and Dave Johnstone and Phil Natt from Ammonia play guitar and bass respectively. We have recorded a 7 track EP but have no label so are sitting on that at the moment. Hobbies??? Well, I surf. I am a chef so I cook and eat out. And play gigs when ever possible!

++ Thanks again for doing this interview, anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. It was heaps of fun. Take care.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Palisades – Alternatively Wednesday

Hope Stew doesn’t get mad if I call him an indiepop legend! But he is! And so, I’m very thrilled to have had the opportunity to chat with him about his most known band, Boyracer. He has been in many, you know, right? He also runs the great 555 Recordings label if you didn’t know. Check more of their stuff on myspace and on their own website. But that’s it for introductions, please enjoy our little interview!

++ Thanks Stew for making this interview. It’s hard to cover on a single short questionnaire everything you’ve done but let’s try it! So 2 feet of snow this past week? So it snows in the desert?

Oh yes. We are in the high desert here, 7000 ft above sea level. We get pretty extreme seasons, which is one of the reasons I love it so much.

++ Boyracer is mostly you, Stew, and lots of friends that have stepped in to play with you. What was the line-up that lasted the longest? And if you had the chance to do a sort of an all-star lineup, who would you choose?

Erm… I’m not sure what the longest line up was. I think myself, Jen and Ara supplemented by whoever else was available and wanted to help out. I think the most exciting line is always the current line up, which for the Slumberland reunion shows will myself, Jen, Ara, Chuck (Bright Lights) and Mario (From Bubblegum To Sky/Ciao Bella etc). I’m not sure if that is “All Star” but it is as competent as it gets in terms of playing live.

++ Have you been involved in other bands before Boyracer? Or was this your first adventure? Where did the inspiration to start came from?

Oh lots of bands, you should check out “The Wetherbeat Scene 1988-91″ CD we put out. Its a 35 CD comp of bands I was in during highschool.

++ Why did you call the band Boyracer?

A Boyracer is an expression from the North of England that describes a young boy who spends lots of money souping up a crap car and then driving it recklessly to impress girls. Sort of showing off with something that isn’t really worthy of showing off with.

++ You’ve covered many songs. But I’m wondering which is the one you are more satisfied with? or at least your favourite?

Well, I love to play music and its always fun to put your own twist on someone elses song and try and make it your own. I like all 15 of the songs on our Boyracer Jukebox Vol 1 very much. I think our version of Bonnie Tylers “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” is pretty remarkable.

++ How did you end up on Sarah records? Was it easy to be the noisy band in the label?

We used to put shows on in Leeds for a bunch of bands, not just Sarah bands, and usually we would book ourselves as the opening band. We where asked by Matt and Claire out of the blue to do a 7inch. It wasn’t easy at all being on Sarah as not many people who came to the Sarah shows or bought Sarah records liked us. Likewise, people who did sort of like us hated all the “twee crap” surrounding the label. There where, let us not forget, some truly dreadful and gutless bands on Sarah at the same time we where involved. Its funny how Sarah is viewed nowadays as an amazing label because at the time, in the UK at least, it was really uncool to be on Sarah. But I always thought Matt and Claire where fantastic people who I still have huge respect for.

++ But your first releases were on Fluff Records, a way noisier label, with bands such as Liechtenstein Girl and Aspidistra. And they were from Leeds too! Were you good friends? How did you meet the Fluff
Records people?

The mysterious “DMCL” who ran Fluff just wrote to us after we had been on a few compilation tapes. We sent him a few songs and he put them out. At the time he lived in Loughborough, and I had a job driving Artwork to and from Leicester from Leeds, so used to call in on him and play records in his bedroom. He was a pretty crazy guy who I suspect took too many drugs and burnt out. (His band was Leichtenstein Girl). He disappeared after a while, and no-one knows where or what he is upto.

++ You said once that you felt more comfortable with being Slumberland Records than in any other labels. Why didn’t you continue releasing there?

Not sure. Mike stopped asking us, not through any falling out, Im still in touch with him all the time. He has lots of new bands and I guess The Pains keep him busy. Although having said that, I did just record a 7inch with Matt Hartman as The How that will coupled with 2 new Boyracer songs, that be coming out on 555/Slumberland just in time for the Slumberland 20th anniversary shows.

++ What about starting 555 Records, what was the main reason behind that? It would be nice to do a whole interview about the whole label sometime…

The main reason was to release a record by our friends Hood. At the time I was sharing a house with Richard, and they had a bunch of great songs that remarkably no-one wanted to release. So we did. It wasn’t really meant to be an ongoing thing, in fact none of the first 10 records even had catalogue numbers on them.

++ I find it funny that you once wrote a song called “Bring me the Hair of Phil Oakey”. Have you seen photos of him today? He goes with no hair at all! But what’s the story behind this song?!

Always loved the league. Fine baritone voice, lovely mane of hair. Always liked men in mascara.

++ I do have to ask you about one of my favourite songs of yours “My New Shoes”, I just want to know what is it about, and how did you come up with it? Easy question!

Gosh. Erm… that’s as song I wrote 16 years ago so I don’t really remember specifics. But the gist of it is putting new shoes on a table is meant to bring bad luck. The lyrics I suppose are about deliberately bring bad luck upon yourself. I usually don’t think about writing songs much at all and certainly don’t enjoy dissecting my own output. I strive for a less conscious way of writing and recording. Pretty much everything I have ever done has been done very quickly. Initially because we couldn’t afford studios back in the day, but nowadays because I think any kind of “art” should be spontaneous and from within, you think about it too much you will destroy it. I hate pretension in any kind of “art”. Most of the recordings I have ever made have always been 1st,2nd or 3rd takes. (Apart from the drums. You have to get the drums right or the songs never work).

++ What about gigs, you’ve played tons! But is there any in particular you are more proud of?

I guess the Emmaboda festival in Sweden. Our biggest gig, and outside too. It was broadcast on Swedish radio. One of my favourite live moments looking out into a few thousand people. Of course it was a festival so they weren’t there to us specifically…

++ Why did you decide to move and stay in Flagstaff, Arizona, of all places. You don’t ever miss the city life?

I run a cattle ranch with Jen out here in the desert. Actually where we live isn’t technically Flagstaff as we live in the middle of nowhere completely off the grid with no roads, solar power, and we pump our own well water. Surrounded by cows, pigs, chickens, horses etc… It would break my heart to ever go back to living in a city. I’ve lived in cities most of my adult life. Once you get in tune with the seasons, which you have to do quite quickly when you have 400 cows, city life seems so ugly.

++ You spend quite some time in New Zealand and pressed records in Australia as well. What is that that you miss the most from the antipodes?

They’re always up for a beer and good time… no, really, an amazing amount of remarkable music has always come out of Australia and New Zealand and continues to do so.

++ Can we expect anything from Boyracer in the future or was the last record really the last one?

I thought we where done as Boyracer, but when we where asked to play the Slumberland anniversary shows although I had reservations I finally said yes. But I wanted to do something new for it, and not just have a nostalgia trip. I certainly feel with Boyracer the last 5 years of records we made where the best. Sadly not many people have heard the last 5 years of records we made, as we have no distro and none of those records even sold 100 copies. So I wrote and recorded 2 new songs which will be the aforementioned split single with The How. So, even when I want to stop I guess I can’t…

++ What was the biggest highlight so far for you as Boyracer?

Having John Peel tell me “Excellent punk rock” after he witnessed us playing 16 songs in 22 minutes.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Boyracer – Passionflower