1)
When did you first play with Shriekback?
1984 "Hand on My Heart" tour, though I knew them through Kirsty MacColl who was their pal and a big fan of what they were doing.
2)
Had you met or played with any of the band before?
Played with Martyn Barker when my basement was full of Kevin's 8-track.
3)
How did you get the nickname of Lu?
Lu di Cruz, Lu Knee, Lu P de Loup - the usual punk nom de guerre stuff .
4)
What got you into music?
Music got me into music. It's one of those things that if you stare at it long enough you will - eventually - start doing it.
5)
When did you get interested in the more exotic instruments?
1983 - I met Ben Mandelson (also a Bloke as in Billy Bragg) who lived off Green Lanes which is the big Turkish community area in London - and he spotted a saz in the window one day and there it was all hanging up, with a broken tailpiece and no bridge and lots of impossible frets that made it sound horribly out of tune and at £25 I thought – it’s a bargain. Played it and felt deep alien surges inside. Wanted more.
6)
How do you "throat-sing"?
All singing (says Albert KOUVEZINE of www.YAT-KHA.com) is from the throat. It just depends what you do with it, what you think is possible. I would guess there's a lot of singing that hasn't been invented yet. It’s all in the “Scientific American” – an article in about September 1999 by Prof Ted Levin, very good information but no real clues as to how to “do” it. Me, I can't do the "Khoomei" - the ancient Tuvan / Altai style - but I have had some interesting results from lying down with a bottle of Scotch and moaning. And you have to drink the Scotch.
7)
You were notorious for your onstage daredevil antics- are you still as
reckless?
Involuntary activities are not daredevil. Shrieks used to promise me a bonus for an "Eppo" but in fact I could not turn it on at will and I never got a single cent off them. When I realized that people looked at me writhing and thought "o, look - it's just part of the act" then you know that it's really not worth reacting to music in this way because you will one day fall offstage, not hit the deck right and die or be injured forever. And they will say "O, what happened to the wriggly one?” and they don’t hear what you played and that’s not the point. So I just keep myself under control a bit more these days and try and find different ways of reacting to music. Not that I couldn’t turn it back on…
8)
When did you join The Mekons?
1984 with Steve Goulding, during the Miners strike for benefit gigs. And still going strong.
9)
You co-wrote much of Carl Marsh's 'Too Much Fun'. How do you feel about the way
that the record was handled?
Of course I think the demos are very charming. I did not have the confidence at the time to pursue anything and I feel sorry I did not have the chance to do so.
10)
When did you 'adopt' Yat-Kha?
1992 in Berlin. Since when I have become a slave to their every need. Today I woke up at 6am and packed 1500 CDs into boxes and then there’s the visa-hell, example: will they get their US visas in September, since the US government has decided to charge and extra $1000 per person to allow foreign musicians into the country within the new 90 day period that used to be 30days?. It’s more than a headache, it’s a scandal and you US citizens had better start wondering where your nice exotic un-American music is going to come from if the government keeps raising the bar to effectively exclude us. Rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant……………
11)
What is touring with Billy Bragg like?
great. civilized, funny, professional, musical –what else can one hope for?
12)
You and Martyn Barker were shopping 'Naked Apes and Pond Life' around about the
time the Blokes started touring. It took years to find a label, which I believe
Martyn had to start. Even Barry Andrews had given up on the album by this point-
What kept your faith so strong in Shriekback? Did it pay off in the end?
Of course it paid off, not just the huge royalty cheque ($450) but in terms of being able to see a concrete result after 3 years of hacking round the dives and clubs of London, Istanbul and Helsinki. In the middle of the “Britpop” explosion we were trying to imitate (musically) scrawny cockroaches and there we were playing weird percussion, didg and saz way before any of these became available in your local Guitar Center. We toured with Yat-Kha on a double bill – it was fantastic and the people liked it lots. But no one single label would touch us because they already “knew” who we were (no, they didn’t). So I am very proud of that CD and, although it is different to all the other CDs, I reckon it’s a warm and welcome addition to the litter. Doing the Blokes was also a way to ensure that those 3 years of musical development were not wasted – at least 3 of us (Simon Edwards, Martyn Barker and me) got to continue playing together. And we got paid! So instead of being skint as a flea on a rat we were able to put $200 each into getting the tapes sorted out. I always knew there was a CD in there, and having made 2 Yat-Kha CDs, I knew how to do it. I just regret that this band /line-up didn’t have a chance to explore the USA & Canada because I think there’d have been lots of people who’d have liked it (and not just people who knew the band from before). O well…
13)
Are you looking forward to working with Shriekback again? Are you going to
Throat Sing on the new record?
I am not going to throat-anything on any record. And if Shrieks get the requisite support from their fans - poverty-stricken and affluent alike - and there is a general consensus to play inside the band then I am more than happy to contribute my bit.
14)
What sorts of music do you listen to now?
All sorts, not enough, silence, live music. The best recent thing I heard was backstage after the Naples gig with Billy B & the Bs when “E Zezi” turned up and then “Il Leone” from “Tamburiatta di Scafato” turned up with his instrument and with his HUGE hands beat out them riddms. I threw the mozzarella sandwiches off the backstage catering tin tray and joined in. Martyn Barker then bought the tamburiatta (or whatever it’s called). Top stuff. To hell with speakers when you got real drums – we all need to hear a real membrane from time to time.
15)
What would you like to see happen at shriekback.com?
Sell sell sell lots of fab things and CDs to people who want them, provide a platform (plinth?) for those who have a need to say something relevant etc.
16)
America didn't get to know Kirsty MacColl well enough, but what kind of loss to
the British music scene was her unfortunate accident?
Big loss. I was already looking forward to her being 70 and writing her songs, pulling no punches. Top person, great musician. Horrible death, she saved her son from that boat driven by that idiot. RIP.
17)
Is there any kind of music you have yet to make or anybody (live or dead)
you really want to work with?
…how long is piece of string? I want to play lots. Top of the list is with 70-year old ex-Damned saxophonist Lol Coxhill. Making music with dead people sounds kinda cool though. Do you need a MP3 ouija board or something?
18)
John Lydon- is he really like that?
…and more. Put yourself in his shoes. He gets bored very easily, and who wouldn’t?
19)
Got any tattoos?
Freckles everywhere.