STARSAILOR
Later this month Starsailor play one of the XFM Manchester Access All Area April gigs which see the likes of Starsailor, The Zutons, Embrace and Goldfrapp in intimate venues across the city. Starsailor will return to Jabez Clegg to perform an acoustic set, their last appearance at Manchester was a sold out show at the 4000 capacity Apollo. Bizarrely the last time Designer Magazine saw Starsailor they were laughing outright at Colleen McLoughlin at the Kanye West gig at the MEN Arena where Ms Rooney to-be spent most of her time trying to get noticed by everyone in the building with her Agent Provocateur shopping bags.
Q: If you remember Designer Magazine did your first
ever interview back at the Roadhouse when you were supporting Angelica?
A: Oh yeah, bringing back memories there
Q: We saw you at Jabez Clegg last October. Was that
the first time you'd done shows as small as that since pre-NME tour in
the early days?
A: Yeah. The idea was to get back to our roots and get
warmed up for the theatre tour at the end of the month. Jabez Clegg was
a great little gig. It was always a meeting point before going on to the
Academy or the MDH for a gig and it has a good vibe. Obviously playing
in Manchester any gig we have a great time and it's such a great city that
there's a good band on at least once a week so when you're playing at the
Apollo you're one of many good bands on that month, whereas that Jabez
Clegg gig was a one-off and I think everyone that was able to be a part
of it felt kind of special.
Q: I know you've done the Arena with the Charlatans
and venues such as the Apollo as headliners. Do you lose something in cavernous
venues like that?
A: It can do. It's really weird being the support band
for gigs like that because when you get to that size you get more of the
passing fan, if you know what I mean, like people who peruse the copy of
City Life and think I quite like one of their songs I might head down to
that. Whereas when you play the smaller venues tickets get bought up pretty
quickly by the hardcore fans who know every word and sing every note. They're
always the best kind of gigs.
Q: How quickly did the Jabez gig sell out last time?
A: It wasn't quite in half an hour, but it was sold old
the day they went on sale
Q: How did it feel do comeback this time for the new
album, a time where you have to have a habit or be connected to Pete Doherty
in some way?
A: It's getting harder and harder, but we're still really
grateful that we've still got our hand in so to speak. There's still enough
people interested in the band that we can keep at it really. I'm one of
these people that has more long-term goals as well. It's hard to compare
yourselves to phenomenon's like Pete Doherty and the recent thing with
the Arctic Monkeys because who knows what's going to happen to these people
and these bands in years to come. I'd rather look back and compare in 10
or 20 years on what i've achieved.
The Arctic Monkey's are a great band and they deserve
their success I think. But I think it's hard to compete with bands like
that when there is so much hype around them. I think our time will come
again and we've just got to keep our hand in and be ready for it when it
comes and then look back in 10 or 20 years and think at this period in
time we were the biggest band around, this time maybe not so quite so big
and hopefully have a colourful career.
Q: When you think about Starsailor it is just about
the music and that's strange when you consider that even Keane have gone
through brand management to say what clothes makes the Keane brand look
right
A: I think it's getting harder and harder to penetrate
the british public in a big way because there seems to be a fascination
and obsession with new things. Whereas elsewhere in the world there's more
of a respect for experience. Having said that we've still got a lot of
fans here so we can't have too many complaints. We can still fill the Apollo,
but we're ambitious so we'd rather be playing the City Of Manchester stadium
or down the road at Anfield, I won't mention that other place (laughs)
Q: Surely looking back and having a number 1 record
in France as well must be one of the highlights?
A: It was unbelievable. It came out of the blue. It seemed
like Silence Is Easy had, excuse the pun, sailed it's course. It seemed
like it was starting to die down and we were ready to do the next album
and suddenly this remix became this phenomenon. We took a few months out
to promote the album in France and it came back to life and in the end
with the remix being such a big success the album did just as well as "Love
Is Here" in some respects.
In the top ten that week there was Mariah Carey and Eric Pridz's "Call On Me" with his dancers. It was really surreal because it stayed there for a few weeks. You put it in perspective and it sold half a million singles. I don't think Sugababes have sold that.
Also, it was kinda random because it was this strange remix that Jacques Lu Cont did, so it was more surreal and slightly ridiculous than if we'd got to number 1 with our own version cos that would have just been unbelievable.
Q: How was it recording your last album in LA?
A: The weather was a big factor. I think it definitely
affects your mood when you can go outside after stressful times in the
studio and sit out in the sunshine instead of rainy Manchester or in deepest
Wales. Of course the weekends were amazing because you'd be going up to
Tim Burgess' house for barbecues.
It's an inspiring place as well because it's like from
the sublime to the ridiculous. Amazing people and beautiful scenery and
you go out on Sunset strip and they're the most plastic empty people you
could ever meet. It's a fascinating place.
Q: You can't imagine Starsailor going out of the North,
never mind LA. Why did you decide to work with Rob Schnapf (Beck / Elliott
Smith producer) on this album?
A: It's funny you should talk about the north. I love
his stuff he did with Elliott Smith and The Vines and I went to a gig at
the Limelight in Belfast that the Nine Black Alps were supporting the 22-20s.
I remember Rob said he was working with the Nine Black Alps at the time
so I asked them what he was like and what he was like to work with. They
said he was amazing and had about 150 different guitars so that was me
sold. So we've got Nine Black Alps to thank in some small way for us ending
up working with Rob.
Q: Lyrically this album has changed somewhat from the
first two albums as well?
A: That's through necessity because i've exhausted a
lot of my personal life, especially on the second album with getting married
and having a kid. Obviously when you get married and have a kid you get
quite contented and cosy in your personal life and it's not necessary what
people want to hear on a record. But you switch on the TV and there's all
this crazy stuff happening in the world and it seems like every week there's
a new global tragedy. It was a more slightly political album, hopefully
with a small p. It's by no means an American Idiot or anything like that.
Q: The thing that Starsailor have always done is reverse
the syndrome that most bands do. You've actually got more energetic with
each album rather than the reverse
A: A lot of is through playing live as well. We made
our name playing little places like the Social in London where there's
not much room to swing a cat in, so an acoustic guitar and piano would
suffice. You get famous and thrust upon a festival stage and you
want to excite your audience as well as instilling emotion in them. There's
nothing better than a big rousing version of "Good Souls" with a lot of
electric guitar or "Silence Is Easy" with the amps on 11.
Watching other bands you just end up getting better and
better. Like the Futureheads are a great live band and they really get
the audience involved. It feels really communal and I feel they're a vastly
underrated band. And obviously watching U2 they're the masters of live
experience.
Q: The last tour you had a member of the Charlatans
on tour, this one you had Richard from Echoboy joining you. Are you ever
going to get a permanent 5th member of the band?
A: I don't think so because I do a lot of it myself
in the studio. It's just really for the live shows to free me up to being
a frontman instead of worrying about if I snap a string or hit the right
pedal. I think you need someone getting the audience going and trying to
be Ziggy Stardust (laughs).
We've known Richard cos he's always been around. He's
done a few remixes for us and we remembered his band the Hybirds a few
years back so we knew he could play instruments as well. He'd been playing
bass for Spiritualised for a bit and I think that tour had just finished
so luckily we managed to get him in time.
Q: So what can we expect from the XFM Access All Areas
acoustic gig you're doing this month?
A: It will be tracks from the new album, but there will
definitely be room for some of the old classics as well. We wouldn't want
people going away disappointed because they haven't heard "Good Souls"
or "Silence Is Easy". A Sugababes cover might also be in by popular demand
Words: Alex McCann
Photos: Karen McBride www.karenmcbride.com
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"On The Outside" is out now
Starsailor play Jabez Clegg on April 25th
For more info on Starsailor
www.starsailor.net
For more info on the XFM gigs and how to win tickets
www.xfmmanchester.co.uk
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