"No, I will never succeed…….but somebody has to start"
Q+A WITH MISTYS BIG ADVENTURE'S GRANDMASTER GARETH....
Q: It gets hard to keep up the mental strength to go on sometimes in this media & celebrity fixated world. What is it that gets you out of bed in the morning and
continue the Grandmaster's good fight?
A: By ignoring most of it and living in a bubble. I think the important thing to remember is that none of it is really important. Are you happy with what you are doing? Do the people you respect like what you do?
If yes, then all is good. I should add that it's rare I get out of bed in the morning!
Q: I'm quite a calm person, but the (on a world scale) smallest things fill me with worrying rage. Simon Cowell's face, Conor NME Editors face, Edith Bowmans increasingly banal comments on Radio One which usually amount to the words 'Random' & 'Amazing', Zane Lowe's face, McFly, that Welsh bastard on T4 & that new music programme, Paolo Nutini's face....theres more
important things to be enraged about, whats wrong with me, what can i do?
A: Is this an interview or counseling!? Don't people charge money for this sort of thing?
I understand. And there's nothing wrong with you. But it's always been the same really. You just need to step back a bit. It's all about ego's. Mostly the only people who get to the top are the pushy, confident types who would sell their soul to Rupert Murdoch in exchange for money and fame. And if it wasn't the people you have listed doing those jobs, there would just be another load of annoying people filling those roles. As an example, it'd be wonderful if George Bush died of an illness that could have been prevented had he not used his veto on stem cell research, but then they'll only get another parasite to take his job and make ill advised decisions. So this is how I deal with it. Firstly, eat custard. It gives you a warm feeling inside and reminds you of childhood. Secondly, poke fun as much as possible. Thirdly, start a mantra, in the words of Harvey Pekar, "It's your World, I'm just living in it."
The Story Of Love-Mistys Big Adventure :
Q: When i first heard Misty's Big Adventure, i'd turned on 6music half way through 'Story Of Love'. I had to sit down and listen. The dishes be damned. I remember my first thought was 'Julian Cope is really back on form'. Then the presenter said your name. Thats a compliment though isn't it? I love Julian Cope. Your voice is very similar, do you think?
A: Ha! Rumbled! I got into Julian Cope in my early teens and I became obsessed with his songs. He's one of the greatest songwriters EVER! When I first started writing songs, I hardly listened to anyone else. And that's probably why I sing in a similar way. It's not like I've deliberately set out to sound the same, I've just been very influenced by him.
A quick aside......I wrote a fan letter to him when I was 14, and not only did he write back, he sent me a box full of records and made me a tape of some Krautrock! Now that's how to treat your fans!
No Hard Shoulder To Cry On-Julian Cope:
Q: Joe Meek shot his landlady & then himself , its not like we haven't all been tempted from time to time. He gets a dedication on the Black Hole sleeve, what was it about him that you like/inspires you?
A: Joe Meek is THE greatest producer EVER! He was one of the first people to fully understand what could be done with sound recording. He was making loops in the fifties! Virtually everything that we take for granted when recording a song in the 21st Century he did in the Sixties. Pretty much before everyone else. And when it was a hell of a lot harder. Unfortunately he was very misunderstood, very paranoid and prone to violent mood swings.
And he lost the plot. The real shame is that’s he’s mostly remembered for the shooting and not so much for the recording. Though he seems to be getting mentioned a lot more these days. I dedicated the album to him because I aspire to producing records as mind blowing as the records he produced. But there’s a long way to go!
Q: Do Extra-Terrestrials exist? If so, why don't they save us? Do you think the existence of Johnny Borrel has put them off at all?
A: I hope so. If you were an alien, would you bother to save us? I don’t know who Johnny Borrel is. So in my Universe, he doesn’t exist.
Q: We here at Blank Stares and Cricketclaps finally had the pleasure of seeing Mistys live show at Brighton's Great Escape, and you were fantastic, everyone had a great time. You were running a little late that night. If hell exists on earth, is it called the M25?
A: It’s around that area certainly! We enjoyed that gig though. There’s something very rock and roll turning up at the venue when you’re meant to be on stage! I liked the fact the audience watched as we hurriedly dumped the equipment on stage, made sure everything worked and then played. No showmanship whatsoever! The gig should have ended with us being paid on stage. The only thing that stopped it being rock and roll was we were late due to a traffic jam.
Q: The quote at end of the gig about the man digging his way to freedom with a spoon made me feel as ready to take on the world as when i saw Rocky at the age of 7. I can't remember it word for word, could you remind me of it? Not Rocky, what you siad at the end of the gig.....
A:
“There is a village which is hidden in the shadow of a mountain.
Everyone is suffering from a lack of light.
One day, the eldest of the village leaves for the mountain with a tea spoon in his hand.
The others ask him what he intends to do.
He tells them he is going to move the mountain.
But you will never succeed they cry out.
No, I will never succeed…….but somebody has to start.”
I can’t take the credit for that story. It’s by Alexandro Jodorowsky. He’s the greatest film maker EVER! Watch The Holy Mountain and have your mind blown away! It’s not as well known as Rocky, but it’s way more psychedelic.
Q: If we invited you 'round ours for a BBQ, and asked you to bring a few records to play with you, what do you think you might bring, in the mood your in today?
A: I’d bring round The Faust Tapes, some Raymond Scott, a home made Joe Meek compilation and a couple of Shooby Taylor, the human horn songs.
For more information, tour dates, releases, links etc. for this fine fellow look here:
http://www.myspace.com/mistysbigadventure
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