PHANTOMS OF THE ROCK OPERA: SUPER FURRY ANIMIALS GET REAL!

By Tom Semioli

This feature appeared in Amplifier Magazine, May 2003.

Frank Zappa famously opined that rock journalism was essentially "people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk…for people who can’t read." Present company included!  Singer-composer-guitarist-surrealistic poet, Super Furry Animals leader Gruff Rhys is speechless when queried about his band’s highly anticipated new release. "I haven't got a word for it! I'm completely stumped!  I can't think of anything to say."

Whereas the operative for the Super Furry Animals previous album, Rings Around The World,was "extravagance," the upcoming album, Phantom Planet, consequently defies description from its most vocal principal.

Brimming with the more sophisticated elements of psychedelic rock, electric folk, and Brit pop, Phantom Planet aurally (and aesthetically) transports the Welch quintet (comprised of Rhys, guitarist Huw Bunford, drummer Dafydd Leuan, keyboardist Cian Ciaran, and bassist Guto Pryce) somewhere towards the latter half of the 1960s; a decade which serves as their spiritual touchstone for the lads. Rendering six albums in eight years, and touring in support of each release, SFA are following in the prolific road-warrior footsteps of their ancestors from a bygone era before MTV, corporate sponsorship, and ad agencies transformed art-rock into product – and vise versa.  Phantom Planet will be available as a CD and DVD with 5.1 surround sound and further embellished with Pete Fowler's mind-blowing artwork which is most evocative of Peter Max.

Rhys professes that Phantom Planet is a game changer for SFA. "This record was a bit more home-grown. We had our own set up and we engineered everything ourselves." Working sans outside supervision in the studio and perpetually given to experimentation has its drawbacks too. Rhys readily confesses "sometimes it makes the record a little incoherent, it's inevitable..."

However SFA never expected to be in this position in the first place when they debuted with Fuzzy Logic in 1996. Rhys recalls "we tried to use as many strings and brass sections as possible in case we never got to make another album." The singer beams as he talks about SFA’s good fortune: "this lifetime in music is truly amazing. All of us feel very privileged to get the opportunity to do what we do and put out so many records. It's a luxury we'll never waste. This band can never outlive our recording fantasies. I know many people in our hometown of Cardiff who could fill our shoes. We can only take every opportunity we get and make every record as if it's our last album and final statement."

Given the strong sales of every SFA release to date, Rhys’ statement is yet another humble gesture. As excess rules in the studio, SFA on stage are no less treacherous. During the wild and crazy Rings tour of 2001-2002, the band was dwarfed by a video backdrop that evoked comparison to the legendary Joshua Light Show circa the Monterey Pop Festival. Digital technology affords SFA an uncanny ability to re-create their swirling orchestral arrangements and odd sonic sound effects at will. "We felt on the last one that the films were taking away from the music," notes Rhys. "There was too much emphasis on the images. We like to do the songs justice to a certain extent on stage - Cian is very much a perfectionist. He's always trying to get everything just right. We do our best to keep up with him. Fortunately there's enough imperfection in the band to keep it interesting."

The band has discovered a happy medium to satisfy concert goers who wish to go along for the SFA’s visual magic carpet ride in addition to the music. "We'll have animations between the songs, and during the songs we’ll project wallpaper, which is a nice visual because our show is in quadraphonic.

The multi-media atmosphere of the band's last American tour was nearly upstaged by fanatical cyber-savvy followers. "Ah, the power of the internet" exclaims Rhys. On an early tour stop in New York City - just days after the domestic release of Rings - the band couldn't help but notice that fans were already intimate with the new repertoire, which found its way onto home computers and MP3 players.

"It's all glorious. It's changing everything. We don't know where it's going to lead, but I think it's very exciting." For an album-oriented ensemble, the next wave of downloading could render the long-player obsolete. "Albums are getting longer and longer as people's attention span grows shorter and shorter," Rhys emphasizes. "Listening to an album start to finish? We wouldn't want it any other way. But because of the way things are headed, we try to be consistent and make shorter albums. Between the five of us, we can never decide what to leave off. It's a bit tricky. Maybe in the future we'll just need the instant excitement of a hit song. Apparently this album is already on the web. And even though we have yet to perform the new material, I'll be curious to see how many people know the lyrics before the record hits the stores."

The Super Furry Animals look forward to yet another extended journey across the States to spread the sounds of Phantom Planet along with their greatest hits. "We love to tour and perform. The secret of keeping a band together is to not let our personalities get in the way of creativity. Everyone does a great job of keeping their egos in check. We're all very head-strong and have a wide variety of opinions. Perhaps the reason we don't clash is because we're so very different from each other."

In smaller markets the SFA is a welcome surprise to the uninitiated, many of whom show up out of sheer curiosity. "We can be less nervous in places like Indianapolis or Cincinnati. It's a chance to step out of our boundaries, be a bit freer. It's best when people don't know a thing about us." Of America in general, the thrill of it all continues. "I never know what to expect when we come here. It's still fresh and exciting for us. There's so much energy and more diversity than in any other part of the world. America is absolutely mind-boggling. It's really several countries in one."

TRACY BONHAM: PLEASE CRAWL OUT YOUR WINDOW

By Tom Semioli

This feature appeared in Amplifier Magazine, February 2000

"I almost forgot it was Valentine's Day, isn't that cold?" Perhaps that's just the type of comment you'd expect from Tracy Bonham if you only knew her by her 1996 vitriolic mega-hit rant against parental discipline entitled "Mother, Mother." In the flesh, Ms. Bonham is an absolute charmer. "I'm married now and my husband and I are very much in love, so every day is like February 14th." And for the record, the aforementioned anthem that defined the "women in rock" movement in the 1990s was actually a testament of self-frustration, and not the other way around, as it was widely misinterpreted.

Four years is a lifetime in pop music, and it's been that long since the USC Berklee alumnae has released a collection of new material. Two years ago Tracy and her band hit the road for what was to be a warm-up tour to support Trail of the Dust Devil, an album that never came to full fruition. The earthquake that shook the record industry in 1998 nearly swallowed her. "All the mergers caused a rotating record executive situation, which was very unstable. The Island label was crumbling, and then Universal took over, and that held everything back. I thought the record was going to come out in the fall, then it was pushed back to the following January, then to April, and so on, and now here we are."

The long layoff pushed her patience to the limit, however it also allowed Tracy to push herself to new artistic heights. "The album really changed in all that time. Basically, I kept writing more because I was bored. So I kept going back into the studio." The original collection of songs was produced by the formidable team of Mitchell Froom (Susan Vega, Crowded House) and Tchad Blake (Cibo Matto, Elvis Costello, Matthew Sweet). " I did what I thought was a whole record with those guys, who are heroes of mine. I love their stuff with the Latin Playboys (moonlighting members of Los Lobos), and their sense of adventure. I chose them for their credibility and for the way they make records ‘sound.’  And they don't necessarily worry about just making hits. But when I returned to the studio, I needed to get new life into what I was doing, so I enlisted Mark Ender. Mark did a wonderful engineering job on the first Fiona Apple album, and also worked on Madonna's Ray Of Light, which I really listened to."

From the ashes of Dust Devil emerges Down Here – which effectively channels the pent-up anxieties of a dangling career and uncertainty into heavy dance grooves. "This album shows how much I've grown. After awhile Trail of the Dust Devil didn't have any meaning for me anymore. I couldn't explain it to anyone. At the time it was a real visual image that I had which reflected my state of mind about the music industry and being left high and dry with nothing to feel, which is what the last song on the album addresses. It's a plea to make our souls ignite."

"When you have a hit record like I did, a lot of people think life is easier. Sure, the doors open for you, but they shut just as quick. You don't necessarily get to a safe plateau. I thought I would, and figured that everything else would come smoothly, but it just doesn't happen that way." Coming to terms with the machinations of record company politics, Tracy was able to focus on other things. "The track ‘Down Here’ is my ballad. I felt tired of being bitter about the business, and I no longer want to dwell on it. Fortunately I was able to catch a second wind, and the title track is about asking for strength. I deliberately wanted this album to be more rhythmic and richer than Burden."

Facing the dreaded rock ‘n’ roll sophomore jinx was another hurdle to overcome. "Yeah there was some pressure with this record. I was questioning everything I did. If the writing came too easy, or if it was too catchy, I would accuse myself of being a sell-out. That happened for a few months after the tour ended. Luckily I came to my senses. I started reading books about composing like Songwriters On Songwriting which is a compilation of about fifty artists who discuss their craft. It really helped when I felt troubled. Writing is too personal, and I actually have a hard time sharing it. I don't co-write and I'm very private and protective of my work. When I'm in the process, I usually have a vision right away and it's hard for me to let go of it."

Celebrity does have its perks, however – especially when the self-proclaimed King of All Media is a fan. "The Howard Stern show was cool. When I first got the offer I was terrified 'cause I was not a big fan. Then I heard tape recordings of what he said about me such as 'I don't care if she's a pig, I'll do her,' and 'she hates her mom, I dig that.' He brought up my stepdad, and kept asking me if I was ever molested.  At first I wanted to go in there and burn him, but he's too clever for that. But I had a mission. When Howard went through his typical 'will you take your shirt off' routine, but I just blew him off. The night before when I was preparing for the radio broadcast, I got real drunk and re-wrote the lyrics to 'Mother, Mother' as if it was Howard confronting his mom, and talking about how small his penis was. You have to be on the offensive with him. So I played his game, and he loved it. It was a blast, I didn't want it to end."

Is there still room for Tracy Bonham on the radio? On video? "Four years ago, when I had 'Mother, Mother,' the whole 'females in rock movement' was in full swing. Now I have no idea why that all dissipated. I thought that the door was going to be open forever, and everything was going to be peachy. Maybe the whole Lilith Fair tag got out of hand, and there's kind of a major backlash happening. All I hear on the airwaves are really aggressive male bands, or fluff without any soul behind it. Right now there is a drought, I think that's going to change soon. People will get tired of being spoon-fed all this crap. Less and less people are watching music television. The audience is gradually turning away. Videos are frustrating too, just like radio nowadays. The window is closing and getting smaller and smaller. Even though my chances are not as good as four years ago, I'm gonna try to fit through."

Tracy Bonham's Down Here will be released in April 2000 on Island Records

THE LIVING END: ALIVE IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY

By Tom Semioli

This feature appeared in Amplifier Magazine, June 2006.

“I bloody well hope we’ll be around in another twenty or thirty years,” laughs bassist Scott Owen from a land down under. “I saw the Stooges recently and they were still passionate and fresh sounding. I think there’s still a lot of musical ground that we can cover as well, so I expect we’ll have the opportunity to keep making music long into the future.”

Australia’s finest, fittest, and most fervent punk pop export (a quintuple-platinum album, two platinum and five gold discs plus three Australian Recording Industry Association Awards), the Living End’s latest release is fittingly entitled State of Emergency, a collection which finds the band stretching from its original retro revival posture into more musical and intellectually progressive pastures.

The trio’s singer- guitarist-primary songwriter Chris Cheney says of the title cut: “it felt like every time the news comes on, a ‘state of emergency has been declared. The song deals with the paranoia and uncertainty generated from this…it also has a very positive message and promotes unity and not being oppressed by fear, whether it’s a false alarm or the real thing.”

Returning to the producer’s chair is the legendary Nick Launay (INXS, Gang of Four, Midnight Oil, Silverchair). After rummaging through fifty or so of the Living End’s best demos, Launay conjured the arrangements and blended various ideas into a cohesive collection. Quite the perfectionist, Launay forbade the veteran ensemble from dropping any song in mid-progress until he was convinced that a particular track had been completed to his satisfaction. “His experience in recording techniques is what makes him amazing,” Owens reveals. “We set up in endless configurations in the studio before Nick was willing to even begin recording. He wanted us to all be playing at the same time rather than doing layered rhythm tracks. Of course, Nick’s got the ear to get the organic sounds of an instrument, which is exactly what we wanted.”

The Living End were among the numerous bands that came of age during the mid-1990s post-punk explosion which included a slew of California bred stalwarts Green Day, Offspring, and Rancid. Owens proclaims “I don’t think our style has changed much over the years, but we have grown as musicians.  The song writing and recording has definitely become more focused. We’ve worked hard to become more competent in the studio to produce the results we’d originally imagined.” State Of Emergency was released in Australia in February and debuted at #1. The band played a few anonymous gigs under the moniker “The Longnecks” to road test the songs. Cheney recalls “of course, our fans found out about it and blew our cover, but it was a great way to work out our ideas…perhaps we should have worn masks!”

Among the many stand-out cuts is “We Want More.” Cheney emphasizes “I find that in terms of where popular music is sitting at the moment, there is way too much style and not enough substance. That track is probably one of the more rockabilly influenced songs on the album, it has that ‘stomp’ element that I think is a bit of a trademark for us.”

With new fans constantly coming into the fold, The Living End’s oldies but goodies are seemingly always in demand. Owen comments on their impending US invasion via the Warped Tour and their own headlining trek which will take State Of Emergency coast to coast, south to north, and on to Canada “I am always amazed at the sheer volume of everything in America. It is the land of opportunity. Coming from a country with a much smaller population it just seems that everything is so big, maybe too big in some cases. But this is the charm of the States. I also love the way that in the same country, there can be cities that are so very different than each other. America, here we come!”

State Of Emergency is set for an August 14, 2006 release date on Adeline Records.