Richard and stuart

DOTMUSIC INTERVIEW- 22/03/01

We'd probably been on tour for five years and by the end of it we got pretty bored," confesses Kelly. "Just a bit jagged playing the same songs every night, not seeing much daylight.

"We were all looking forward to making a new record. No arguments or anything but everyone just got pissed off and wanted to go home."
"Fatigued, too much of the same thing," adds bassist Richard. "As soon as we had a month off we were fine and raring to go back out on tour."

Kelly: "It got more about what we were going to do before the gig and after the gig rather than the gig. I just think we needed to sit down and have a chat about where we wanted to take it and start enjoying it again."

With the majority of the new record already written by the time they came off tour, the band took some time out before deciding that the new album would be more "musical" and a lot more "dynamic".

Kelly: "We didn't feel any pressure and the record company would have been happy for us to tour another eight months...so we were ready to get into the studio and do a new one.
"We feel curious now cos it's a couple of weeks away from release...we still don't know if people are gonna buy it."

What about the album?

Kelly: "It felt really natural for all of us. As an
album I'm more satisfied with this one than I have been for the other ones. Even when we'd finished the other ones there were still bits that bugged me but with this one up until about four weeks ago I was still listening to it quite frequently - 'til someone nicked my bag."

Richard: "We played with a couple of good bands - Black Crowes, Aerosmith - and you can learn a lot from them...well steal a lot."

Kelly: "Musically it's quite a step forward. It's not this big change, it's not 'Joshua Tree' to 'Pop', but it's a nice change for us. Even adding backing vocals makes us sound like a different band. Gospel singers, slide guitar, piano, harmonica...it's just become a lot more like a 70s Faces record and I quite like that. It's got more feeling on it."
Richard: "Where we used the volume on the last album there's more instruments now and they fit in better."

Aside from the opening track 'Vegas Two Times', 'Just Enough Education To Perform' features less cranked up electronic guitar than the previous two efforts with more emphasis on a melodic, laid back style.

dotmusic suggests there are less 'anthemic' numbers of the album?

Kelly: "They become anthemic, don't worry. When we did the last record we couldn't see one single on that record. They become singles, then they become big songs and then when we play them in an arena then they become anthems. When we did this album we certainly couldn't see any singles apart from 'Have A Nice Day'."
"We weirdly picked 'Mr Writer' cos it was the most different sounding track. Then Jo Whiley plays it and the first thing she says is 'I can already see the candles in the air now'.

"Like 'Design For Life' by the Manics probably didn't sound like an anthem. When they first released it I didn't think it was a single but six listens on the radio and you're 'f**k me that's a really good song. I don't think you can pick them it just happens. 'Born To Be Wild' became an anthem, I don't think Steppenwolf thought it would be."
One track on the album, 'Have A Nice Day', is a striking departure in terms of sound...

"Simon and Garfunkel," Kelly jokes. "I tried it on 'Bartender', Beck always does it successfully. It's the backing vocals that sound like a kazoo.

"But that's a perfect example of something we've never done before, in the middle eight especially. It's very Beach Boys."

Do you think this will surprise a few people?

Kelly: "It did in the studio. We played it in the record company and they f**king s**t themselves. Jeremy Pearce, the head of our record company, is a big Beach Boys fan so he had a raised eyebrow and a glint in his eye. He's been asking us to do orchestras and backing vocals for five years so we just did that for him."

PART 2

What about the single 'Mr Writer'?

Kelly: "The newspapers in Britain are what the song is about. It's about all the music industry. I just think the newspapers are far too angry and cynical and there's nothing positive being said and a lot of the journalists are very young and are not that knowledgeable about older music and are not excited about music any more. There's a bit of something fresh in every new band, it is still people trying to make music."

Do you think everyone's obsession with nu metal will help people focus more on your music than on your nationality?

Kelly: "It'd be nice. I'd rather be a Welsh band than a metal band."

Stuart: "Nu WOBHM - new wave of British Heavy Metal."

Last time you released an album it was all about Welsh bands...

Kelly: "Yeah 'cos the Manics brought out a successful record, Catatonia did, we did, the Super Furries did and for once all the covers of magazines were of Welsh bands, the kids were happy back home. But all of us have said that's not about where we came from. It doesn't matter. The Scorpions were German!"

What about the success of the acoustic tour?

Kelly: "I was just bored and wanted to go out and be a folk singer for a week. The record was finished, we had two months off, Stuart's wife was pregnant, Richard was getting married, I thought 'what the f**k was I gonna do?'
"It's probably the most excited I've felt on stage for such as long time. You didn't have time to go daydreaming on stage. When it's that intimate you can see the people and actually hear them talking. Now I've been sat down doing that I'm ready to stand up with me guitar and plug it in."
Can we expect a mini-acoustic slot in the upcoming dates?

Stuart: "Roll some couches on."

Kelly: "No. With our old crew? I don't think they could handle it?"
So what about the summer outdoors shows?

Stuart: "We're gonna do two shows, one at Donnington (July 14) and one at Chepstow racecourse in Wales (July 21). It's gonna be good - it's the first show at Donnington since '93 and it's the first show ever at Chepstow racecourse. Hope the sun shines and foot and mouth is long gone. I think those venues are going to work really well especially for what we want to do."

Richard: "It's like Mofra. We were only going to sell 30,000 tickets but the demand was there for another 20,000."

Stuart: "We could have played three nights at Mofra but the point was we wanted it to be a one off thing...and everyone was talking about it. Same with these shows really. Something you can look back that you came to as a punter and say 'god do you remember going to see those old fogies, Stereophonics."

Custom Page My fave rich qoute "i was walking through town, skint, and a guy told me he'd do it for one pound." (Richard on his neck tattoo)
	RICHARD FACTS RICHARD JONES - BASS GUITAR At the start richard couldnt even play bass and was in the band as " he was the coolest fucker in town" previous jobs - included coalman and electrician

	INTERVEIW WITH RICHARD INTERVEIW WITH RICHARD Music365 catches up with Stereophonic's bassist Richard Jones to discuss having tattoos removed. If you could duet with anyone, what song would you choose and with who? Louis Armstrong, 'What A World'. What's the most embarrassing CD you own? Probably part of the wife's record collection... which is the Spice Girls. And I'm not obliged to say anything apart from there's a Spice Girls CD in the collection. Who or what last broke your heart? I tell you what. My motorcycle got stolen last night. And I felt a little bit sick over that. Don't like anyone stealing another's property. Plastic surgery, money no object, what would you have done? Tattoos removed. I've got one on my neck which is a bit of a pain. Everyone knows my name, now. Yeah, or i could just take a make-up bag with me for a little touch up. Which Spice Girl could/would you be and why? I'd be Quiet Spice. What was the worst gig you ever played? Probably just before we got signed, we did a gig in Bath at The Moles club. Just the bar staff was there. We played fine, it was... there was just nobody there. We were on at about 10 o'clock and there were three bands. And no one turned up at all. For any of us. Who's your fantasy shag? I just got married in November, so it will always be my wife. What is the biggest sacrifice youÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ve had to make? Time being spent away from the loved ones. That's the biggest sacrifice anyone has to make in this industry. It's just one of those things that goes along with the job. You just try to make it easier by inviting the people you love on tour with you to break it up a bit. Who would you be on Stars In Their Eyes? Probably on Neil Young. He had an extra special voice and I think I might be able to get away with it. Who's autograph would you ask for? I'm into motorcycle racing at the moment, so one of the motorcycle stars... Ben Bostrum. The American. He's the biggie, a really talented rider and he's from California. Do you know how to turn a computer on? Yes. I'm quite good with computers. Recommend an Internet site... I can recommend ours, that's quite good. www.stereophonics.com. I like the Mr Nice site, Howard Marks' site, which is www.mrnice.net. Recommend a book... I'm reading 'Chopper' at the moment, which is about Mark "Chopper" Read, a criminal from Australia. Really good film and a good book as well. Recommend a movie... Cool Hand Luke which is an old Sixties one with Paul Newman. And a record or CD... 'Curtis', Curtis Mayfield.

	if we could put kelly's face on a dildo, we'd be fuckin' millionaires!" Stuart Cable - Drums Birthday - 17th May 1970 Nickname - The Duke Previous Jobs - Worked on a building site, delivered school dinners Stuart is described to be the 'joker of the band' and 'the one you always want at the party'. The only married member of the band, he tied the knot to his physiotherapist wife Nicola in 1999.he has a son called cyan Also known for 'that hair'!!
DOTMUSIC INTERVIEW- 22/03/01 We'd probably been on tour for five years and by the end of it we got pretty bored," confesses Kelly. "Just a bit jagged playing the same songs every night, not seeing much daylight. "We were all looking forward to making a new record. No arguments or anything but everyone just got pissed off and wanted to go home." "Fatigued, too much of the same thing," adds bassist Richard. "As soon as we had a month off we were fine and raring to go back out on tour." Kelly: "It got more about what we were going to do before the gig and after the gig rather than the gig. I just think we needed to sit down and have a chat about where we wanted to take it and start enjoying it again." With the majority of the new record already written by the time they came off tour, the band took some time out before deciding that the new album would be more "musical" and a lot more "dynamic". Kelly: "We didn't feel any pressure and the record company would have been happy for us to tour another eight months...so we were ready to get into the studio and do a new one. "We feel curious now cos it's a couple of weeks away from release...we still don't know if people are gonna buy it." What about the album? Kelly: "It felt really natural for all of us. As an album I'm more satisfied with this one than I have been for the other ones. Even when we'd finished the other ones there were still bits that bugged me but with this one up until about four weeks ago I was still listening to it quite frequently - 'til someone nicked my bag." Richard: "We played with a couple of good bands - Black Crowes, Aerosmith - and you can learn a lot from them...well steal a lot." Kelly: "Musically it's quite a step forward. It's not this big change, it's not 'Joshua Tree' to 'Pop', but it's a nice change for us. Even adding backing vocals makes us sound like a different band. Gospel singers, slide guitar, piano, harmonica...it's just become a lot more like a 70s Faces record and I quite like that. It's got more feeling on it." Richard: "Where we used the volume on the last album there's more instruments now and they fit in better." Aside from the opening track 'Vegas Two Times', 'Just Enough Education To Perform' features less cranked up electronic guitar than the previous two efforts with more emphasis on a melodic, laid back style. dotmusic suggests there are less 'anthemic' numbers of the album? Kelly: "They become anthemic, don't worry. When we did the last record we couldn't see one single on that record. They become singles, then they become big songs and then when we play them in an arena then they become anthems. When we did this album we certainly couldn't see any singles apart from 'Have A Nice Day'." "We weirdly picked 'Mr Writer' cos it was the most different sounding track. Then Jo Whiley plays it and the first thing she says is 'I can already see the candles in the air now'. "Like 'Design For Life' by the Manics probably didn't sound like an anthem. When they first released it I didn't think it was a single but six listens on the radio and you're 'fk me that's a really good song. I don't think you can pick them it just happens. 'Born To Be Wild' became an anthem, I don't think Steppenwolf thought it would be." One track on the album, 'Have A Nice Day', is a striking departure in terms of sound... "Simon and Garfunkel," Kelly jokes. "I tried it on 'Bartender', Beck always does it successfully. It's the backing vocals that sound like a kazoo. "But that's a perfect example of something we've never done before, in the middle eight especially. It's very Beach Boys." Do you think this will surprise a few people? Kelly: "It did in the studio. We played it in the record company and they fking st themselves. Jeremy Pearce, the head of our record company, is a big Beach Boys fan so he had a raised eyebrow and a glint in his eye. He's been asking us to do orchestras and backing vocals for five years so we just did that for him." PART 2 What about the single 'Mr Writer'? Kelly: "The newspapers in Britain are what the song is about. It's about all the music industry. I just think the newspapers are far too angry and cynical and there's nothing positive being said and a lot of the journalists are very young and are not that knowledgeable about older music and are not excited about music any more. There's a bit of something fresh in every new band, it is still people trying to make music." Do you think everyone's obsession with nu metal will help people focus more on your music than on your nationality? Kelly: "It'd be nice. I'd rather be a Welsh band than a metal band." Stuart: "Nu WOBHM - new wave of British Heavy Metal." Last time you released an album it was all about Welsh bands... Kelly: "Yeah 'cos the Manics brought out a successful record, Catatonia did, we did, the Super Furries did and for once all the covers of magazines were of Welsh bands, the kids were happy back home. But all of us have said that's not about where we came from. It doesn't matter. The Scorpions were German!" What about the success of the acoustic tour? Kelly: "I was just bored and wanted to go out and be a folk singer for a week. The record was finished, we had two months off, Stuart's wife was pregnant, Richard was getting married, I thought 'what the fk was I gonna do?' "It's probably the most excited I've felt on stage for such as long time. You didn't have time to go daydreaming on stage. When it's that intimate you can see the people and actually hear them talking. Now I've been sat down doing that I'm ready to stand up with me guitar and plug it in." Can we expect a mini-acoustic slot in the upcoming dates? Stuart: "Roll some couches on." Kelly: "No. With our old crew? I don't think they could handle it?" So what about the summer outdoors shows? Stuart: "We're gonna do two shows, one at Donnington (July 14) and one at Chepstow racecourse in Wales (July 21). It's gonna be good - it's the first show at Donnington since '93 and it's the first show ever at Chepstow racecourse. Hope the sun shines and foot and mouth is long gone. I think those venues are going to work really well especially for what we want to do." Richard: "It's like Mofra. We were only going to sell 30,000 tickets but the demand was there for another 20,000." Stuart: "We could have played three nights at Mofra but the point was we wanted it to be a one off thing...and everyone was talking about it. Same with these shows really. Something you can look back that you came to as a punter and say 'god do you remember going to see those old fogies, Stereophonics."

	Richard
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