tasty 18 - interviews

- Diskant
- Elf Power
- Farming Incident
- Lovejoy

Animal Lovers - Farming Incident

No, don’t worry, you haven’t picked up a copy of Goat Worrier Weekly by mistake readers. You are merely here to listen to how good Leeds noiseniks, Farming Incident. Looking for Spacemen 3 having a fight with the Fall? Then you’ve come to the right place, as tasty talked to the band about its  love of furry things.... 

The name of the band, tell all?
Ieuan Jones (guitar bass keyboards) - Wasn't my idea. It looks scarier than it sounds, if you know what I  mean.

Dave Mays (drums, bass, keyboards)  My Dad's cousin (Frank) was a pig farmer in North Essex, and so farming and a love of pork products is in my blood. I seem to remember we (the band) were chatting about these issues around the time when that farmer chap who sliced his arm clean off in a threshing machine and carried it over the fields to the nearest A&E department to be stitched back on hit the headlines, and we all chorused, "What a great name for our band!".

Dave Proctor (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, vocals) - Pretty much as DM explains above - Farming Accident sounded too dull  and not as scary

Jon Watson (guitar, bass, keyboards) - Agricultural death, wasn't it? I mean physical, actual death rather  than
the "death of the countryside" which is regularly touted by the pro-bloodsports lobby. Have they been to the countryside lately? It's lush and verdant, and far from dead.

What do you make of the Leeds scene?
IJ - Lots of great bands (and a few bad ones) with nowhere decent to play.  And why do all the bigger bands play Sheffield instead? (Rhetorical question - I refer you to my previous answer)

DM - Errr... which one?! I preferred Leeds when the students were scruffier and poorer than the locals, who had 'taches and tucked-in sweatshirts, and when all the best clubs were rock and goth ones... and a pint of Tetley in the University Union cost only 79p. Those were the days. You should *see* some of the rabble we get at our gigs (when anyone turns up).

DP - some excellent bands, sadly with few really good places to play. Fortunately the DIY scene has good experimental ideas for events and gigs  for those of us who like to avoid shit holes like Majestyx

JW - I've got to agree with Dave M, I have to say. There's some good bands out there, and there's also a lot who seem to be playing the same song. I tend to keep away from town cos it scares me. It's a lot easier to get punched these days than it used to be.

Would you say that you were a political band? If so, where do your  sympathies lie?
IJ - I don't write the lyrics, but regarding my political beliefs, I'd say  that although I used to be a Marxist firebrand, now I'm older I'm aware that the world's a lot more complex than I once thought, so as a result my politics change every day. If there's one thing I'm consistently angry about, tho', it's how the Welsh are still (after 1500 years, mind) being made to feel like second-class citizens in their own country. And another thing... Hey, come back!

DM - Yes. And my sympathies lie firmly with our parents and our audience.

DP - I  think we are, but it never is that obvious in the songs, and that's  the way I want it and like it. Giving too much away renders things pointless and also means your audience is likely to be fickle as fuck. I  like mystery and not knowing what things are about in music, otherwise  what's the point? I still feel that i'm a Marxist in principle, the practical side these days is the tricky part

JW - I think that because we don't - as a rule - do songs about girls ,people  assume that our rehearsals are like Maoist "speak bitterness" meetings. They aren't. Some of our songs observe the world's strangeness, and therefore may seem political. To me, for example, paying BNFL and the UKAEA to poison people is stupid. Saying so isn't necessarily a political act. I'm essentially a humanist who's constantly amazed by the stupidity of those in charge.

What's the point of the Farming Incident?
IJ - What, indeed, is the point of the Farming Incident? Does that answer your question?

DM - For me it's a hobby which will distract me from death and hopefully get me laid, one day. 

DP - It helps me to give my brain lots to work on. I don't sleep very well generally, so working on music, which inevitably takes time, helps the time to pass. And we can make a bloody row, without having to justify ourselves to journos...erm....

JW - To make a quasi-musical racket, for a start. I'll not go on, as I'll start ranting. Again.

Love Joy

If we’re talking veterans of the indie-pop scene then we’re talking Richard Preece. As his latest band Lovejoy prepare to release their new album ‘Who Wants to be a Millionnaire’, tasty talks to Dick about lots of really heavy stuff that makes both our heads hurt... 

What happened in the beginning? How did Lovejoy appear?
Well, prior to doing Lovejoy, I'd been playing in bands for a while, and prior to that I'd done another 'solo' type band thing 'The Spinning Wheels', who released the last single on Bristol's Tea Time records. I'd kind of lost the plot after that for a while, due to personal things and also getting completely strung along and messed about by a couple of indie labels. So I kind of gave up for a while and then gradually got into playing in bands again, not  writing much, just sort of helping out...About four  years ago I had a little fit of songwriting, and begun  to record some demos at home, just for fun really.
About that time I'd met and become good friends with Keith (Girdler - Blueboy, Beaumont etc...) who was really encouraging. He made me go to a 'proper' studio (where Blueboy had been recording for some time) and record a few songs to send to some labels to see what happened. I got quite a lot of interest, and Matinee  seemed to be the best bet of the lot, being new,  releasing some good records, and having quite a good  sense of coherence, which for an indie fan like me,  was really important.

You seem to be steeped in indie-pop/twee/C86 history. Is this the kind of music that you hold dearest?
If anyone's ever read any of our Snowbound fanzines, they'll know how important it is to me. I mean, the first gig I ever went to was a Razorcuts / Chesterfields show in Bristol. It still excites me, thinking about how brilliant both of those bands were. I have to be honest and say 'yes' to your question, but  like everyone else, I'm rather ashamed to admit it...and you know, there's loads of great music that I love that isn't even close to being indiepop.

The diatribe on the inner sleeve of your new album displays a contempt for the way in which modern society is controlled and run. Why do you think this state of affairs has come about, and how can we begin to change?
Firstly I have to say that the reason I wrote that was that I was trying to explain why the album has its title. I'd like to see it as a bit of a concept album, in that the songs are very similar in theme, although they look at that theme from different angles and perspectives. In short I think the sleevenotes are describing disappointment in people's (myself included) motivations. I think that perhaps there's a lack of something in the lives of modern (western) people. We're like kids in a sweetshop, devouring all, consuming as much as we can, wanting more and still not being satisfied. There's not many people asking questions about the consequences of this.

How can we change? I don't know, try doing something 'good' or ‘positive'? You know, Keith and I were talking about Malcolm MaClaren and how a few years ago an interviewer asked him what kids of today could do to be rebellious, and kick against the system. He just said 'Don't buy anything', which seems like a good idea to me.

Are you involved in any kind of left wing politics, or otherwise? Or do you feel the same apathy as most people under a certain age?
I was always more involved in left wing politics in my youth, I was quite active...but things always stemmed much more black and white then. I wouldn't say i feel apathetic, it's just the politics of 'new' labour are rather disturbing, so you do begin to wonder what it was all for...all those years of tory hating and baiting... I do take pride in the fact that the work I do is important and socially beneficial, but apart from writing down certain ideas...I don't know. Its definitely not apathy, it’s more like...isolation or detachment.

Do you think its human nature to be greedy?
Oh God! We're doing all the big themes here aren't we?! Well, I do think that a basic flaw in our make up is that we need a sense of purpose and direction to begin to feel satisfied, and maybe as a society we sometimes lack a common sense of purpose and direction. Greed is more of a symptom than anything else... a response to emptiness? Oh, I don't know...this is really serious stuff and I can't begin to answer it in a few words...But if you really push me I'd say 'Yes...maybe'.

What is the significance of the cover of your album? Is it a mods vs rockers scene from Brighton?
It's just a great image...its 1975 or 1976, so its punks and mods and all sorts...Brighton is a really important place to me, but the image looks like confusion and you just don't really know what's happening, which is why it makes sense for this album.

Why did you decide to cover songs by Biff Bang Pow? (Lovejoy recently released an up of BBP songs) Where they your favourite Creation band? And, indeed, was Creation your favourite label?
The Biff Bang Pow single came about because I wanted to do a cover version (The Beat Hotel) just for fun, then Keith said he'd love to sing 'Hug Me Honey' so we recorded that as well. I gave the tape to Jimmy (Tassos, Matinee Records) with the master for the 'Christmas Wish' single, and then we talked about releasing it. Yeah I think for a while they were my favourite creation band, but there were so many great Creation bands - and some real suckers as well- but for a while, Creation was the most important label in the world to me, and Biff Bang Pow! were the archetypal Creation band. But as Jimmy from Matinee said to you in his interview, that early run of Creation singles could never really be topped, for a while there were many amazing bands releasing records and being about as cool as you can get.

Could Lovejoy, with your music, see to be celebrating the past, rather than look forward? Do you feel any sense of responsibility towards the type of music you play?
Hmm...I think celebrating the past is one way of looking at it, but this really comes again from that BBP! single...the point was to highlight how few great indie records there are these days...it's celebrating the past and making a point about the current climate. I try to approach each record by wanting to make it the best record I can make, so although many influences are from the past, I want to look forward and make a record that also sounds contemporary. But if you go too far down that road, you just end up making records that you think other people want to hear and that are somehow 'fashionable', and I can't seem to do that, I just don't get it. The responsibility I feel most is to Jimmy, who has made Matinee a real labour of love. It's partly because he's been so supportive over the last few years, but also because, as Greg from Sportique describes it, it's one of the last bastions of indie music: It's a label that is as well known as the bands on it, like Creation, El, Subway, Factory, Sarah and all the greats. So you have to try and keep raising the standards of the music coming out of the label.

Who do you think is making equally excellent music as Lovejoy?
Well, I'm not sure that many people would agree that Lovejoy music is excellent, though I hope people like the new album, but every time I say that there's no great music being released, someone crops up to prove you wrong. I like a couple of local bands : Fujiya and  Miyaki, Polak are a great live band... I really like the new aberdeen cd, Bent are brilliant, The  Montgolfier Brothers make lovely sounds, the list goes  on...

What part can Lovejoy play in ensuring that the alienation of people by advertising/tv/huge corporations/ western governments etc is overcome?
If you think how absolutely tiny the worldwide interest is in indiepop, then reduce that by about a million, you're probably left with a few thousand people worldwide who follow matinee, and in particular who like Lovejoy records...so whatever part we play, it will only ever be a bit-part. But, that said, I'd like to think that lyrics, sleevenotes, fanzines etc..aren't JUST preaching to the converted, but do make one or to people stop and think...maybe that's just naive and idealistic. No, I know that's just naive and idealistic. Really, we need to be showing people alternatives, giving them opportunities to overcome that alienation and quite frankly I don't know how lovejoy music could ever do anything of the sort. I mean, who could? Maybe that's what Lovejoy songs are about, knowing, deep down, that really there's not that much that you can do, in the big scheme of things. God that’s depressing. Sorry.