The Brute Chorus - Interview
Steve Lamaq and Zane Lowe both love thier downtrodden blues, so do we and if you don't already it won't be long until you do!
James Steel, front man of one of the best new bands around chats to us about his love of Gene Vincent and vinyl, the bands future plans and the doctor and nurse orgies that happened in their flat in the 60’s. I know, you’ve just got to read on now, haven’t you?
noize: Hey guys, how’s life for the Brute Chorus today?
James Steel: Life’s very good at the moment, Dave’s got a bit of a cold and is in bed but the rest of us are preparing for our northern dates at the end of this week.
n: You’re off on tour with Vincent Vincent and the Villains very soon, are you excited about touring with those guys and are you looking forward to winning over some of their fans?
JS: Definitely. I was going to watch the Villains years ago before they got signed. I’m glad they’ve finally got their record out let alone that we’ll be there to help them tour it. We’re gonna be on pretty early on the nights so people will need to be quick if they want to catch us but I’m sure they wont be disappointed if they do.
n: There are some similarities between you and Vincent Vincent and the Villains, some blues and rockabilly like vibes to many of your songs. Are you all into and inspired by the blues and early rock & roll? Are there any artists in particular you regularly listen to?
JS: We listen to all sorts of music, rockabilly features in there sometimes. I became a complete Gene Vincent nut last year, we’ll also listen to Charlie Feathers or Link Wray. I love the old blues music and the lyrics of writers like Louis Jordan, Willie Dixon and Chuck Berry. Lots of their songs are story songs like ours. We’ve been listening to the Cramps a bit recently which is more psychobilly but it all goes in the pot. We don’t try to stylise ourselves as a retro band. I think our sound is pretty contemporary by comparison.
n: It’s a great story about the old lady who’s your biggest fan and lives downstairs from you guys, you say she turns 90 this year? What have you got planned for her birthday celebrations? Any special private gigs or anything?
JS: That should read ‘turned 90 this year.’ Some of the tenants organised a party in Hackney for her with a slideshow. Lots of the old residents showed up too. She’s much loved. She had a heart attack later in the summer. She told me she remembers blacking out and waking up in hospital. What actually happened is she had a heart attack and crawled through her flat on her front and managed to open the front door. One of our neighbours found her on her the doorstep. She’s tenacious. She wasn’t ready to go.
n: Bow Wow Wow and The Chapman Brothers lived there once upon a time as well then, does she have any humorous anecdotes she tells about their antics? Who was the most rock n roll tenant you or one of them?
JS: I’m sorry to say there’s no stories of rock n’ roll debauchery. Apparently there were some student doctors there in the 60’s who’d hold orgies with the nurses. Irene would see them running naked in her front garden. She’s a tolerant woman. The Chapmans offered here one of their works and she told them she wouldn’t even hang it in her toilet. We’re good neighbours and try not to party all night. There’s a Japanese girl above us who sings Karaoke all night to herself. It’s pretty creepy.
n: The debut double A-side has been out for a few months now, how exciting was it to get that first proper release under your belt, has it given you a real platform to build on from here?
JS: It was really exciting getting our songs on vinyl for the first time. I’m a complete vinyl junkie so it finally felt like I’d made my mark: Tangible proof my band had been here once! It’s now exchanging hands on the internet for £20 or more a throw, so that’s even better: It’s collectable! The fact the songs are available to download from iTunes and 7digital etc is good because as we go round the country playing our gigs to strangers there’s always someone singing back at us. One night in Manchester a guy came running up to me after our set shouting ‘Oh my God! Oh my God! Is that you?!’ he was holding up his mobile and on the screen were the lyrics to Chateau that he’d transcribed from the radio the night before. He had no idea we’d be playing that night and couldn’t believe his luck. That stuff just blows me away.
n: You’ve been recording at some quite prestigious studios recently with some impressive history and owners. What’s it like going to record in places like The Bedroom and Air, is it mostly daunting or inspiring? Does it make you up your game that extra bit?
JS: Because we’ve been doing it on down time and with favours we’ve not had time to dwell on it. It was more a case of… ‘Air studios will let us record tomorrow. Cancel everything!’ and showing up there with a bag of songs with the intention of recording them all as quickly as possible in case the opportunity doesn’t come again. Air is amazing we recorded three songs in a day and a half. The people who work there are diamonds. With the Bedroom, Catherine Marks, who’s Floods assistant engineer, came to our gig and said she had a few ideas for our song Grow Fins and that she had a window that week if we wanted to record. We spent a bit longer on that track. She made Matt play his drum cases with big orchestral beaters and leave his drums and cymbals in the car. Then we played it over and over and over until she felt the energy was right. We weren’t used to doing more than four or five takes on a track so to do more than twenty felt excessive. The last one was the charm though.
n: There’s a new single on the way, can you reveal which song it will be yet? Will it be Grow Fins or something else?
JS: We’re hoping it’s going to be Grow Fins but watch this space!
n: How are plans for the debut album coming along, will recordings from the sessions at those studios all be part of it?
JS: We’re not really thinking about an album yet. The plan at the moment is to keep releasing singles and do an album in the future. Whether any or all of those singles will be part of it I can’t say. We’re writing a lot at the moment. Our repertoire and set could be very different by this time next year.
n: You’ve got a few of the smaller festivals lined up at the moment, will we be seeing you at some of the major ones to this summer? After festivals, what grand plans are there for The Brute Chorus for the rest of the year?
JS: We’re not down for any of the big festivals at the moment, we’re big fans of the small ones - The Secret Garden has always been one of our favourites. Belladrum will be a dream too. After the summer who knows? More touring hopefully. Yet another single probably. More good times definitely.
Interview by Martin Kendrick
www.myspace.com/thebrutechorus
Click here to read more Brute Chorus related news, reviews & interviews!
Buy Brute Chorus CDs & Vinyl
Buy Brute Chorus MP3s
Buy Brute Chorus Tickets
Bookmark and share this page with:James Steel, front man of one of the best new bands around chats to us about his love of Gene Vincent and vinyl, the bands future plans and the doctor and nurse orgies that happened in their flat in the 60’s. I know, you’ve just got to read on now, haven’t you?
noize: Hey guys, how’s life for the Brute Chorus today?
James Steel: Life’s very good at the moment, Dave’s got a bit of a cold and is in bed but the rest of us are preparing for our northern dates at the end of this week.
n: You’re off on tour with Vincent Vincent and the Villains very soon, are you excited about touring with those guys and are you looking forward to winning over some of their fans?
JS: Definitely. I was going to watch the Villains years ago before they got signed. I’m glad they’ve finally got their record out let alone that we’ll be there to help them tour it. We’re gonna be on pretty early on the nights so people will need to be quick if they want to catch us but I’m sure they wont be disappointed if they do.
n: There are some similarities between you and Vincent Vincent and the Villains, some blues and rockabilly like vibes to many of your songs. Are you all into and inspired by the blues and early rock & roll? Are there any artists in particular you regularly listen to?
JS: We listen to all sorts of music, rockabilly features in there sometimes. I became a complete Gene Vincent nut last year, we’ll also listen to Charlie Feathers or Link Wray. I love the old blues music and the lyrics of writers like Louis Jordan, Willie Dixon and Chuck Berry. Lots of their songs are story songs like ours. We’ve been listening to the Cramps a bit recently which is more psychobilly but it all goes in the pot. We don’t try to stylise ourselves as a retro band. I think our sound is pretty contemporary by comparison.
n: It’s a great story about the old lady who’s your biggest fan and lives downstairs from you guys, you say she turns 90 this year? What have you got planned for her birthday celebrations? Any special private gigs or anything?
JS: That should read ‘turned 90 this year.’ Some of the tenants organised a party in Hackney for her with a slideshow. Lots of the old residents showed up too. She’s much loved. She had a heart attack later in the summer. She told me she remembers blacking out and waking up in hospital. What actually happened is she had a heart attack and crawled through her flat on her front and managed to open the front door. One of our neighbours found her on her the doorstep. She’s tenacious. She wasn’t ready to go.
n: Bow Wow Wow and The Chapman Brothers lived there once upon a time as well then, does she have any humorous anecdotes she tells about their antics? Who was the most rock n roll tenant you or one of them?
JS: I’m sorry to say there’s no stories of rock n’ roll debauchery. Apparently there were some student doctors there in the 60’s who’d hold orgies with the nurses. Irene would see them running naked in her front garden. She’s a tolerant woman. The Chapmans offered here one of their works and she told them she wouldn’t even hang it in her toilet. We’re good neighbours and try not to party all night. There’s a Japanese girl above us who sings Karaoke all night to herself. It’s pretty creepy.
n: The debut double A-side has been out for a few months now, how exciting was it to get that first proper release under your belt, has it given you a real platform to build on from here?
JS: It was really exciting getting our songs on vinyl for the first time. I’m a complete vinyl junkie so it finally felt like I’d made my mark: Tangible proof my band had been here once! It’s now exchanging hands on the internet for £20 or more a throw, so that’s even better: It’s collectable! The fact the songs are available to download from iTunes and 7digital etc is good because as we go round the country playing our gigs to strangers there’s always someone singing back at us. One night in Manchester a guy came running up to me after our set shouting ‘Oh my God! Oh my God! Is that you?!’ he was holding up his mobile and on the screen were the lyrics to Chateau that he’d transcribed from the radio the night before. He had no idea we’d be playing that night and couldn’t believe his luck. That stuff just blows me away.
n: You’ve been recording at some quite prestigious studios recently with some impressive history and owners. What’s it like going to record in places like The Bedroom and Air, is it mostly daunting or inspiring? Does it make you up your game that extra bit?
JS: Because we’ve been doing it on down time and with favours we’ve not had time to dwell on it. It was more a case of… ‘Air studios will let us record tomorrow. Cancel everything!’ and showing up there with a bag of songs with the intention of recording them all as quickly as possible in case the opportunity doesn’t come again. Air is amazing we recorded three songs in a day and a half. The people who work there are diamonds. With the Bedroom, Catherine Marks, who’s Floods assistant engineer, came to our gig and said she had a few ideas for our song Grow Fins and that she had a window that week if we wanted to record. We spent a bit longer on that track. She made Matt play his drum cases with big orchestral beaters and leave his drums and cymbals in the car. Then we played it over and over and over until she felt the energy was right. We weren’t used to doing more than four or five takes on a track so to do more than twenty felt excessive. The last one was the charm though.
n: There’s a new single on the way, can you reveal which song it will be yet? Will it be Grow Fins or something else?
JS: We’re hoping it’s going to be Grow Fins but watch this space!
n: How are plans for the debut album coming along, will recordings from the sessions at those studios all be part of it?
JS: We’re not really thinking about an album yet. The plan at the moment is to keep releasing singles and do an album in the future. Whether any or all of those singles will be part of it I can’t say. We’re writing a lot at the moment. Our repertoire and set could be very different by this time next year.
n: You’ve got a few of the smaller festivals lined up at the moment, will we be seeing you at some of the major ones to this summer? After festivals, what grand plans are there for The Brute Chorus for the rest of the year?
JS: We’re not down for any of the big festivals at the moment, we’re big fans of the small ones - The Secret Garden has always been one of our favourites. Belladrum will be a dream too. After the summer who knows? More touring hopefully. Yet another single probably. More good times definitely.
Interview by Martin Kendrick
www.myspace.com/thebrutechorus
Click here to read more Brute Chorus related news, reviews & interviews!
Buy Brute Chorus CDs & Vinyl
Buy Brute Chorus MP3s
Buy Brute Chorus Tickets
