PART 1 - "THE INTERVIEW"
1 - What was your earliest musical memory and what pushed you towards pursuing a career in the music industry?
"Earliest musical memory would be hearing my
mum’s Everly Brothers and Jim Reeves records then getting into the Beatles
aged ten and totally immersing myself in the outbreak of punk a year
later! No one but myself pushed me towards the music industry -
my parents had a typically old fashioned view and actively discouraged me from
making a racket which of course only served to make me more determined to make a
bigger, louder racket."
2 - Had you been involved in any other band prior to DC Fontana?
"Sure did - most of my earliest bands were
just group names and make-believe...most were just band names and never even
met but in the eighties I was in The Dream Factory who had a minor flirtations
with the charts when we signed to northern soul label Inferno, run by Neil
Rushton. I have never been outside of a music-making
project in my adult years. Scott Riley, who is the DC organ player, was
a member of Spectrum and E.A.R., the offshoot projects of Pete Kember’s
Spacemen 3, whereas Donald Ross Skinner was Julian Cope’s long term right hand
man, guitarist and producer."
3 - How did DC Fontana begin?
"The band evolved from a previous one called
The Lovebirds in the nineties and was initially just an excuse to socialise, write
songs and have some fun with my hometown
mates. In fact our story doesn’t follow the norm
and it took quite a while before it really became a serious
band. We have continually evolved and enjoyed
different line ups which have helped keep the project totally viable, fresh
and ever moving forward. The blueprint remains constant but it is constantly
and freely re-designed."
4- Where did the name DC Fontana come from?
"Our original guitarist Neil Jones came up
with the idea to name ourselves after Dorothy Fontana, the “Star Trek” script
writer from Hollywood and she recently contacted us to say she is honoured we
did so - in fact she lectures at the American Film Institute these days and
often wears her DC Fontana shirt which is
great!"
5 - How would you describe the sound of DC Fontana?
"It’s turned-on music to shake your hips
and pluck your heartstrings but I don’t see it as being any particular genre
really or allied to any kind of movement. We filter the joy and pain of
everyday life through a kaleidoscope of an ever-changing sonic arsenal and the music is as urban as Harry
Palmer and as pagan and hallucinatory as Lord
Summerisle."
6 - Your recent EP is called ‘Pentagram Man’. Where did this title come from and why did you choose it?
"The EP is named after its title track,
a song I wrote about an imaginary character from Birmingham who fooled himself into thinking
he’s a serious magus of consequence. He wrongly thinks he is related to the
occultist Aleister Crowley, is convinced he fought in the Vietnam War and lives his life at a frenetic pace because he is terrified that if he slows down
someone will be able to laugh right in his face but no one likes to be
humiliated do they? So a speedy life keeps the chavvy haters at
bay, at least so he thinks. This delusional and eccentric loner, whose
interest in black magic stems more from reading Dennis Wheatley novels than any
real esoteric knowledge, is ostracised from his neighbourhood because he doesn’t
fit the bill, has no friends, no money, lives on the outer periphery of society
and feels sad when people poke fun at
him. He could be your uncle or your old school
teacher or the sad, silent drunk who sits in the corner of your local boozer. He
might even be you. The song was allegorical, lamenting
humanity’s ability to fool ourselves about all manners of things while also
celebrating eccentricity and sticking up for those who live and turn far
from the mainstream of society’s usual
orbit."
7 - ‘DevilAngel’ is an anthemic track from this EP. What influenced this song and what is it about?
"On one level it is a twisted love song
a drawn from my own personal experience while on another it concerns itself
with the paradoxes within us all: the good and bad, the dark and light,
the yin and yang that affect the human experience. It’s about dealing with
those contradictory forces and the interconnecting and interdependence of
them with everything around us as well as plugging myself into the
cosmos. I get wary of talking about this because I
don’t want to come over like a pretentious tosser but there' an ancient heathen
overtone to the lyrics underpinned by a chant in the middle of the song
which name checks some of the old deities, namely Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hekate,
Demeter, Kali and Inanna. We used a really unusual collection of
instruments on the track which makes it stand out a little so you get the usual
guitars, drums, retro organ and horns plus a cimbalom which is a Hungarian
hammered dulcimer famous for the theme tune of 'The Ipcress File', a Chinese yangqin,
autoharp plus orchestral reeds like cor anglais, oboe and flute. We are always
keen to use different sounds."
8 - You are currently working on a new album. What can fans expect from this?
"Well it’s right at the earliest stage so
we’re still developing it but the record will sound radically different to the
first album ‘Six Against Eight’ and we’re definitely pushing back the
boundaries and striking out. Of course we have a different line up to
that on the debut record and DC Fontana has always been about evolving, never
standing still and staying fresh and viable so no two records of ours will
sound the same. The first thing people will notice is it
will be less brassy than previous records and it’s fair to say it will be a natural
progression from the ‘Pentagram Man EP'. The songs are more organic and rooted in
an earthier vibe, more guitar-orientated plus we are using quite a bit of
mellotron and people will hear plenty more vocal harmonies. There’s more magic flowing and as with all
DC records there will be many twists, turns, unexpected flavours and surprises
as we have always enjoyed experimenting and refusing to stick to cosy little
generic expectations. We are hopeful of having at least one major surprise on
the album. I’m proud we’ve got this reputation of
putting out really well recorded, well-written and produced material and I’m
very excited with the new stuff - it’s a lysergic leap
forward. Having our producer Donald now playing a
heavily active role as our new guitarist will reap dividends & anyone who
knows of his work with Julian Cope will clearly hear that across the new
album. Songwriting wise the tunes are from me
and Scott plus Donald and we have a very large pool of tunes being recorded
right now."
9 - Do you have any 'rituals' before you go on stage?
"If you believe some of the hysterical press
we’ve had you’d think we might sacrifice an animal or drink a chalice of blood
or something equally satanic and deeply rock 'n' roll haha! But actually no,
I can’t think of any regular rite we get hooked into. Personally I like to find
a little space for a minute or two of peace to clear my head a bit before I go
on. Tuning the guitar often helps too."
10 - Any live dates coming up?
"Because the band has been going through
personnel changes in 2013 and because I’ve had a difficult time in my personal
life we’ve had our quietest ever year yet but 2014 will be a much busier, happening
time for us and we will be on our travels
again. That said we have a handful of gigs between now and the
end of the year so people should check out our website for more information. It will get much busier as we build to the
next record plus we are going to be doing some more gigs with former Sorrows
singer Don Fardon joining us on stage."
11 - Any new songs in the pipeline?
"Speaking personally I am writing more songs
now than I have ever done. Most never see the light of the day as we do have a
good sense of quality control but the creativity flowing among myself, Scott
and Donald right now is electrifying. The songs for the next album are without
question the best DC tunes yet."
12 - When can fans be expecting the next release?
"Difficult to put any approximate release
date on the next album as we’ve only
just begun recording it and like most bands out there we’re struggling
financially and fighting against an imploded music
industry. But we are hopeful that it may be ready for
public consumption next summer or autumn - watch this
space!"
13 - Who would be your dream collaboration?
"Scott Walker."
14 - Who would be in your dream supergroup?
"On vocals Nico and Scott Walker on different tunes! On guitar and vocals Syd Barrett of The Pink Floyd, on guitar Will Sergeant of Echo & The Bunnymen, on bass Larry Graham Jnr. of Sly & The Family Stone, on drums Pete de Freitas of Echo & The Bunnymen and on keys Brian Auger. I'd also have backing vocals from The Dedrick family (The Free Design) with regular guest spots from Jason Pierce
(Spiritualized), Tom Verlaine (Television) and Lætitia Sadier
(Stereolab)."
PART 2 - "THE QUICKFIRE ROUND"
1 - Favourite Beatle?
"George."
2 - Favourite band?
"Echo & The Bunnymen."
3 - Favourite new band?
"Plastic Palace People."
4 - Favourite song?
"Passionate Friend - Teardrop Explodes."
5 - Favourite album?
"Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (The Pink Floyd)."
6 - Vinyl, CD or download?
"Personally vinyl as I like the tangible
piece of art aspect of it, the size of the sleeve etc. as much as the sound but
DC release all our music on all three formats to keep all
satisfied."
7 - Style icon?
"Norman Wisdom."
8 - Favourite clothing brand?
"I don't have one."
9 - Favourite film?
"Daisies (directed
by Věra Chytilová)."
10 - Favourite TV show?
"The Prisoner (Patrick McGoohan)."
11 - Who would play you in a film of your life?
"McGoohan if he was alive!"
12 - Favourite food?
"No number one
fave-rave but I am a committed long-term
vegetarian."
13 - Football team?
"Aston Villa."
Hope you enjoyed this feature on DC Fontana! Check out our previous feature on Groovy Uncle!
Check out DC Fontana here - www.dcfontana.com
You can also like our Facebook page to keep up to date with all future interviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords
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