Primavera Interview // Teenage Fanclub
No matter how cool, how alternative, or how indie a festival claims to be, it always helps to have at least one legendary band on the bill. The cynics would say it’s just to sell tickets, but Noize would argue that it produces an interesting counterpoint to the latest and (allegedly) greatest doing the rounds. Whatever the role, this time it was filled by Teenage Fanclub, once anointed The Best Band In The World by none other than Mr. K. Cobain. Noize had ten minutes with frontman Norman Blake…so many questions, so little time.
Noize: What’s the secret of your longevity, of sticking around and still enjoying it?
Norman: Maybe spending a fair amount of time apart! When we’re off tour, we still see each other but it’s not like we hang out all the time. That, and not over-touring. This is quite a long tour for us, it’s a little unusual, but we just try not to do anything for too long. I think we also just get on really well as people, that’s quite important. You do need to have a certain dynamic between the individuals in a group for it to work, and we’re lucky that we have that. Everyone is happy working in this band and working the way that we do.
Noize: How does it feel being considered Godfathers, or Living Legends, of a certain type of music?
Norman: That just really means that we’re old, in a way, because that’s the only way you can become that. It’s fine. I suppose it’s unusual in that there aren’t many bands still around after 20 years. It’s nice when you meet people from other bands and they say they’ve been influenced by your music in some way, it’s always nice to get those kind of compliments, but in terms of day to day, I feel exactly like I did when I was twenty. Except I can’t move as quickly, and I have a little more weight around me! In terms of making music I feel exactly the same; I still enjoy it and it’s still great fun playing, touring, and seeing different places around the world.
Noize: Do you still take inspiration from new, modern bands that you discover, or pay attention to what’s out there?
Norman: Sure, there are always interesting bands around. There’s a Welsh band I like called Race Horses, whose album is amazing, and El Goodo, who are also Welsh. I’m aware, to an extent, of what’s going on though. I don’t get to hear every record that comes out, but I do listen to some new things. I actually don’t live in Glasgow in any more, but the other guys do and we have friends, like Steven at Monorail Music, who’ll alert us to anything new that comes out that’s good. The last record that he turned me onto was Real Estate, and I also really like Ariel Pink, but I’ve been collecting his records for a couple of years now. This latest one is his most commercial, but I first got into him around the time of the song Helen (from 2006’s House Arrest) which was quite a while ago. He does some weird stuff, and some poppy stuff, but I like that he’s willing to go into different areas.
Noize: What is it about Glasgow that it produces so many great bands?
Norman: If you think about it, within a ten or fifteen mile radius of the city, you have a sizable proportion of the population of Scotland lives there, and Glasgow also has a really good art school. Wherever you have one of those, you tend to find musicians, so that’s partly responsible. But also, going back to Postcard Records, with Alan Horne, Edwyn Collins and those guys, they based themselves in Glasgow, and although the eventually moved to London, they started out by saying the music business is going to have to come to us, coz we’re not going to it. I think that was the start of something, and they influenced everyone who came after, like The Pastels, Mary Chain, Belle & Sebastian, and us. Now you have Chemikal Underground and all the bands around that, and Glasgow is still producing all these great acts. The whole scene is just so well established now, I don’t think it will be dissipated any time soon.
Noize: Do you think you’d ever produce a thematic album, like “Teenage Fanclub Write About Love?”
Norman: I can’t imagine so, no, coz we all write individually, so we’d have to be focussed on that particular subject. We did make an album with Jad Fair, but generally we’re pretty constrained with what we can do. We can’t really go off on tangents from album to album as we’d have to agree on what that particular tangent would be. We improvised that album with Jad and sort of made it up as we went along – he has books and books of lyrics and would just find things that fitted the song, which was an interesting way to work. We do all do things outside the band as well though. I made a record with Euros Childs, we formed a band called Jonny, and Gerard has a solo album coming out next year, so we all have ways to explore different musical avenues
Noize: What’s the worst aspect of touring that, even after all these years, still really pisses you off?
Norman: Early starts are never good, but then they never are, no matter what you do. Especially following a late night, which is what generally happens on tour. Tonight for example, we’re on at 11.30pm, so we’ll be done by 1am, pack up the gear, hang out for a few drinks, see some friends, it’s a Friday night…yet we’re supposed to leave at 8 in the morning. I don’t think that’s going to happen though, we might just have to show up late for the Madrid show. I don’t even know what time we’re on there yet, I’m hoping it’s late!
Noize: As a band, what’s your golden rule for life on the road?
Norman: Don’t take any strange looking powders that people give you if you don’t know them. I’d say that would be my advice to young bands starting out as well.
Noize: As long as it’s normal looking powder, you’ll be ok…..
Norman: I think any kind of normal powder, or something that you know, is ok….i’m too old for that kind of thing anyway. It can very dangerous. You have to be careful when you’re an ageing rock star.
Interview by Derek Robertson
Photos courtesy of Primavera Club
