Thanks so so much to Matt and Mike for the interview! The Chalk Giants never split, they’ve continued making music since they started back in the 80s when they released their classic EP “Throw it Away”! They have a new album coming up called “Restart” that I can’t wait to hear! To keep up to date with them check for news on their website! And if you want to know more about them, learn the story behind this superb indiepop band, well, look nowhere else, read this interview!
++ Hi Matt and Mike! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? You have a new record coming soon called “Restart”, right? Tell me a bit about this release!
Matt: Hi Roque, we’re really happy you’ve asked us to talk about The Chalk Giants, it’s really appreciated, thank you. We’re excited about Restart, that’s the working title of our next album – all written but only half recorded. The original idea was to write about friendship in all its many forms – though we’ve also ended up with songs about politics, Trump and whiskey.
Mike: That sums it up perfectly. Its half-recorded, and we’re impatient to get it in the can and share it. And open the whiskey, obviously.
++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it?
Mike: I guess a Recorder in infant school doesn’t count? My first and only love is the guitar really. I picked one up when I was ten years old, and really started to take it seriously from fourteen.
Matt: For me, I wanted to be like my older brother who played a mean bass. I started by working out the notes to The Jam’s ‘In The City’. Funnily enough, I’m digitising my old cassettes right now and have realised I was actually a pretty good bassist for a fourteen year old!
++ What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?
Matt: I shared a bedroom with my brother who was an original punk. While I was playing Lego, I had a backdrop of Sex Pistols, The Damned and The Clash. At the end of my teenage years it was all about The La’s, The Woodentops, The Housemartins and local bands like The Jeremiahs.
Mike: Well my earliest musical memory would be my parent’s Beatles compilation tape they’d play in the car. That taught me to love harmonies and cracking tune. I had no problem with belting these out on the back seat. Like Matt, a shared love of The La’s, Woodentops, Housemartins – with an extra sprinkling of the Smiths, Everything but the girl and the Cocteau Twins.
++ Had you been in other bands before The Chalk Giants? What about the rest of the members? I know you were in Enamel Animals and The Hammering, how did they sound like? What similarities were there with The Chalk Giants?
Matt: The band names tend to change more often than the members! Every real band I’ve been in has been with Chris (our bassist), right back to The Diplomats, who became Enamel Animals.
Mike: I joined Matt and Chris from “House, Mouse”, and together we formed The Hammering.
Matt: We were then lucky to get Pete, the drummer from the Mudcats, and had a short stint as a The Enamel Animals again before finally settling on The Chalk Giants.
Mike: And as you can probably imagine, the sounds matured with our musical and song-writing ability!
++ Where were you from originally?
Matt: all the Chalk Giants went to the same school in Reading. We started hanging out from around seventeen. We are a little spread nowadays, but it’s probably fair to say the seaside town of Weston Super Mare is now where the Chalk Giants come together most often, where the White House Studios are located.
++ How was your town at the time of The Chalk Giants? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?
Matt: looking back now I can see Reading was a hotbed of creativity: there were places to play, record and rehearse, a very supportive local Radio Station program hosted by Johnathan Richards and Barry The Fence, who instigated the “Beyond The Fence Begins the Sky” compilation album, plus of course these great bands like The Jeremiahs, The Complaints, Beyond The Blue, Home And Abroad and The Mudcats. There was a lot going on.
Mike: yeah, surprising how much opportunity there was to play as a band back then. Think it’s pretty difficult for young bands these days to get a gig.
++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?
Mike: Sixth form threw Matt, Chris and me together, and the music followed soon after. Pete was actually a neighbour of mine when I was growing up. He was super cool – could play drums, bit of guitar, piano, and harmonica, and was already gigging with school and college bands. When we needed a drummer, he fitted into the group perfectly.
Matt: We’ve frequently called on Pete’s piano and harmonica skills, and he has also learned the accordion. It’s just a matter of time…
++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?
Matt: Mike and I have perfected our song writing: I have intense bursts of writing lyrics while Mike generates this incredible music and sees the arrangement. We discuss and refine a little, but really it’s straight from my pen to Mike’s guitar.
Mike: Certainly a Chalk Giants song is never really complete until we’ve all whacked our own stamp on it. It’s one of the joys of creating for me. You never know what the other guys are going to bring to it.
Matt: We started by practicing at our parent’s homes. Chris’ house came with wonderfully eccentric parents and beer.
Mike: ahhh the beers..!
Matt: Hearing the same song practiced over and over can be quite torturous though, so to save our loved ones pain we switched to a rehearsal room in Reading.
++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
Matt: It really was the famous Cern Abbas hillside figure. If you don’t know it, Google it – that’s all I’m saying.
++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?
Matt: I guess we were four guys with four different tastes, but there were some cross-overs like The Woodentops and The Housemartins (which you can occasionally decipher in some of the early recordings). But I see some of our earliest material as being pretty original in a quirky way – I’m a great believer that creativity can spring from a lack of technical expertise.
Mike: I think latterly James has also become an influence in the way we write songs, but as Matt says, it’s the four of us that make the sound we make, and it’s always had that Chalk Giants core running through.
++ “Throw it Away” was released by yourselves in 1991, on Mousse Records. How was doing the music part and the label part at the same time? Did you enjoy it?
Matt: We thought of it as a demo, a way to get record company and press interest.
Mike: Was it really 1991??
Matt: Ha ha, yeah! No doubt, we were lucky as the band concentrated on the music while our manager and friend, David Shaw, organised the manufacturing.
Mike: We’ve always been blessed with great friends: all our artwork was created by Mike Cook and we even used an original print from our artist friend Ian Phillips as the cover.
Matt: I loved doing the record, it was so exciting and the final sound still gives me goosebumps.
++ This record was produced by yourselves and Martin Nichols, how was that experience? And where was it recorded?
Mike: The recording studio is pretty much our band home now, we know what goes where and why. Back in those early days recording was new and exciting. Knowing you are recording your first record is thrilling. We were all together and having a ball – we even used to sleep on the studio floor.
Matt: Dave (Shaw) did a great job organising that 12” vinyl. We cut it at Abbey Road and the quality of the manufacture matches the recording. When you put that record on the turntable and hear Chris’ bass lead in, it just blows you away. The recording has stood the test of time – it still packs a punch.
++ Since then you have always worked with Martin, what does he bring to the table? Why is he important to you?
Mike: We like to think of Martin as our own George Martin. He understands us well, and gets the best out of us. He’s got a good ear and makes sure we don’t take any wrong turnings!
Matt: He is certainly patient, and honest with his feedback, and cares about the quality leaving the door. His experience and knowledge is mind-boggling. I can’t recommend Martin and White House Studios enough. Did you read about the Bob Marley tapes discovered in a basement a year or so back? That was Martin you took the old reels, cleaned them up and squeezed out the songs. Awesome.
++ The record includes four songs, and of course I love them all, but I have a soft spot for “Throw it Away”. Was wondering if you could tell me the story behind this track?
Matt: Being in love is a wonderful thing, but love can be a destructive force too, like when it’s obsessive. Throw It Away is about ending an obsession, letting go and moving on to better times. When you throw away the baggage you are free to find the positive.
++ Later on, in 2004, you re-released this EP on CDR. Was it to coincide with the new interest in the band thanks to the Leamington Spa series where you were featured? Or what was the idea behind it?
Matt: that’s exactly it, the excellent Leamington Spa compilation stimulated interest – ours and others, and we responded.
Mike: we discovered there are parts of the world where we are getting radio play. In reality though, the biggest change was in ourselves. We started doing some seriously good work together again.
++ In 2004 you put out a compilation of all your songs called “These Things I’ve Done. A Compilation of The First Ten Years”. These include recordings from many sessions like the “Clean Up Yourself” and “Giantkiller” sessions. Then there was an album called “Mammals All” that included songs from other three recording sessions. I was wondering two things. One if there had been lineup changes during these recordings and second, where does the name of these recording sessions come from?
Matt: These Things I’ve Done helped us draw a line under our first years and set us up for newer things. Mammals All was recorded without Pete the drummer and, although the songs are strong, the vibe is missing. That’s why we’ve not restocked Mammals All on CD. As for session names-
Mike: I didn’t know we had session names!
Matt: Sorry Mike, that’s the archivist in me! The session names are simply taken from one of the songs we are recording. The exception is “Back Together” because that’s when Pete started to drum for us again. That session was great – the vibe came right back, tenfold.
++ There are a few songs I notice that remain unreleased like “Eh Jump E?”, “The Last Table in the Sun” or “Beautiful Hell”. Why is that?
Matt: Eh Jump Eh was always intended to be a single, but that never happened, and Last Table in the Sun just never worked – and we’ve only ever released songs that are the best we can do. Beautiful Hell wasn’t quite there for me either, but I think you liked it Mike?
Mike: I did – yeah – we shouldn’t really go back, but if we did, I reckon we could give it another crack.
++ Then came two more releases in this decade, “Animal Carnival” and “How Stars Fall”. You have never stopped making music, right? Or has there been any pause in the band?
Matt: We’ve never completely stopped since we were at school, though we’ve had bouts of suspended animation. Mike, Chris and Pete are family. In fact, better than family – we have never argued about anything between us, ever.
Mike: Something sort of clicked after Mammals. It was a bit of a transition point, and drove us to writing all of Animal Carnival before we hit the studio to record it. During the recording of Animal, we’d even written half of How Stars Fall, so we were on a new wave of creativity. Restart takes it on again, and I’m really pleased with how it’s shaping up.
++ These two albums are available for free to download from your website. What do you think of this change, from the days you started in the 80s, where records were the norm, to today when digital music is every day much more preferred?
Matt: I have mixed views. The music is accessible now, but it also means we don’t make any money. In some ways I guess it’s going back to the start. We used to duplicate cassette tapes, make our own covers and sell them at gigs. More often or not we’d give them away. I suppose there’s no real difference when you look at it like that.
Mike: the music scene has changed so much in such a short space of time. Whilst the web has turned the industry on its head, I do think there is a lot of innovation still to come and, the creativity is still happening out there, so I’m optimistic. If nothing else, the ability to make and publish music has never been easier.
++ If you were to choose your favorite The Chalk Giants song, which one would that be and why?
Matt: ‘Cut The Green Grass Short’ from Animal Carnival. It’s my best lyrics, and Mike brought it to life hauntingly. The song has everything I want to say about the impact of violence and conflict on ordinary people and, if I’ve had a few drinks, it can make me cry.
Mike: That’s a hard one… From the early days, I’d have to pick Stay in England. The joy of singing that live has never left me. The energy on stage, with your friends…heaven! More recently I’d have to pick ‘Collapse Collide’ from How Stars Fall. I had a very hazy idea for the song which Matt took away and then created the brilliant lyrics and story. Musically it’s as close as you get to the Chalk Giants DNA.
++ What about gigs? Did you play many?
Matt: Thinking back, in those early days, a fair few – but extremely rarely these days. We seemed to play a bar called Cartoons in Reading frequently.
Mike: …come off it, Matt! Cartoons was a second home for a while!
Matt: Ha! Yes I guess so! And actually, Mike and I last played together in a bar in Scotland a few months back: it was the first performance of a new song called “I will be here still” which is ironically all about friendship. Get us in a bar with a guitar and a bottle of whiskey and we will probably be the last to leave.
++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?
Matt: a certain student union in London where I slept with the Entertainments Officer to get the gig and, despite Chris being pegged to his bass amp by a 3 foot guitar lead – it was the longest lead he could find – a storming performance on stage (if not perhaps in the bedroom).
Mike: I recall we had a big crowd and a rider – I think we thought we had hit the big time!
Matt: also, what was that bar in Reading where we played a cover version of One More Time by The Clash? ‘Purple Turtle’ maybe? We rocked that night. Or indie’d rather.
Mike: And don’t forget the After Dark Club where the vocal mics were seemingly hooked up to the mains electricity and gave the singers a belt in the chops!
++ And were there any bad ones?
Matt: the worst was probably playing in a rough biker pub in Reading, where none of our usual support turned up except for a handful of good friends, one of whom was wearing a tweed jacket and a cravat. It was a tense night.
Mike: Of course, we should have rehearsed up a The Ace of Spades, then we would have raised the rafters.
++ Has there ever been a reunion? Or talks of playing again together?
Matt: Well we are still together as a band, and rehearse for the studio, but those performances are safely behind closed doors. I’m thinking it’s about time we did play a gig though – I want to demonstrate I can actually play guitar now without breaking a string on the opening number.
++ Did you get much attention from the radio?
Mike: Our friend Mike Cook was into Radio big time, he even had his own pirate station for a while. He helped us make friends with Johnathan Richards and Barry The Fence who hosted “Off The Wall”, a program dedicated to local bands and indie music. We made frequent appearances, and appreciated going through the free bins of promo records and being able to take what we liked.
Matt: Plus, for reasons we don’t understand, we get radio play in The Philippines today – I have no idea why we have so many fans there, but we’re grateful and very appreciative.
Mike: Maybe a first gig in Manila then?
Matt: Good idea!
++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?
Matt: Without getting overly sentimental, the pleasure of four friends who went to the same school, have played in the same band for years and continue to have a laugh together making serious music. That’s worth more than a hit record.
Mike: Totally agree. Also, I think we’re pretty proud of what we’ve done and what we continue to do. If we didn’t love it, or the magic faded, we’d stop – but I still get that buzz as new tracks come together and we all get into the recording booths to make something happen.
++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?
Matt: You’ve made me realise all my hobbies revolve around music, in one form or another! I do some occasional writing, but even my short stories get strip-mined for lyrics.
Mike: Does consuming single malt whiskey count as a hobby?
++ Anything else you’d like to add?
Matt: Thanks Roque for the interview. We always love the chance to chat about the band and music.
Mike: We feel honoured to appear on your Cloudberry blog among so many of those other great bands! Thank you!
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Listen
The Chalk Giants – Stay in England
