Interview with SKYCLAD's Graeme English

Before I get to the actual interview, there_s a few things that I_d like to say.
First of all I_d like to thank Graeme English, the bass player of Skyclad, for finding time to talk to me.
Secondly, I have to admit that this conversation took place in the beginning of December 2001, but in power of some personal circumstances I wasn_t able to submit it earlier. I apologise to the readers for the delay.
And, finally, I would like to add that typing down the following interview, I tried to avoid any kind of editing and leave it without adding or throwing away any details.
Hope you_ll like it.

Max: First of all, as I know the new album is coming out soon_

Graeme: Yes, we almost finish working on it. It_s gonna be called "No Daylight, No Heeltaps", it_s been worked on for a few months now. It_s sort of adaptation of what we_ve been doing on the "Irish Pub Tour". It was gonna be live, but we couldn_t get the technical side sorted, so it_s the studio album with the same feel of what we_ve been doing in "Irish Pubs". It should be out in the beginning of 2002; there_s still a few things left to do.

M: So, it will be the remakes of the old songs with the new singer?

G: That_s right, yeah. I wouldn_t say that they are remakes. We sort of re-write these songs, so they sound like a new songs, basically.

M: How many songs will be on the album?

G: There is 12 songs on the CD, but we actually plan to release it with the bonus CD. I think there will be another 6 songs. We_ll sell it through Internet. When you buy this CD you get a bonus CD. When you buy from the shop you_ll have to pay for both of them. So we kinda trying to get people to buy from the band directly. So it will be 18 songs all together.

M: As I know, "Swords Of A Thousand Men" came out on Demolition Records. Will the new album be released through the same company?

G: We_ll do it ourselves, but we will distribute it through Demolition. We would like to keep the control over this record, so we have an exclusive rights to sell it through the Internet.

M: Graeme, what happened to Nuclear Blast?

G: (laughs) Exactly, what happened to Nuclear Blast? Basically, they promised a lot of things, but never really materialised them on "Folkemon". We basically asked them to drop us, because we were so pissed-off with what they were doing with the promotion of this album. They did a lot of promotion for the other bands really well and it seemed like Skyclad get the "one-off" deal once again. There were a lot of mistakes made on the promotion side, which affected the sales of the album. Which pissed us off quite a lot.

M: Didn_t you try to get a deal with a bigger company?

G: You see, in a last couple of years all this "new Metal" has come out. The bigger companies want this kinda bands. But we_re kinda traditional in the way we write songs, you know. We did try a couple of bigger labels, but obviously you don_t get a dime from this people. I think for our kind of music it_s better to stick with the independent label than sign up with the bigger company and being dictated what we should do. They don_t give you freedom, while the independent labels is kinda "do what you want and we will promote the hell out of it". But it_s not a case with the last album (laughs).

M: Once again about "Swords_". Has there been any air-play for the single in United Kingdom?

G: I think it_s been a few hundred plays now. We tried Radio One, which is kinda biggest station here in UK, but they say we wasn_t their age group (laughs). The bigger radio stations think of how it appeals to their age group and "Swords Of A Thousand Men" doesn_t fill in their slot. It_s been mainly the independent stations, that play it quite a lot.

M: So, how_s the response from people for the "new" Skyclad?

G: Been very-very reassuring, actually. Because we_re kinda following ten years worth of history of what we were until we changed it. We_ve been playing live and everyone was like "Yeah!". It_s different, but it_s good. So it_s kinda reassuring that we_re following the right direction. Martin was quite a large character with his own style of singing and it_s hard to follow that. The things that we do now seems like a response back. I think we_ve got the right direction.

M: I saw an interview with Skyclad a few months ago, where you said that the band writes the brand new songs. So, what does that sound like?

G: In the past Steve used to write basically all the music and Martin used to put the lyrics on top of it. Now we_re trying to concentrate more on the musical side of the songs. There_s three of us writing music no - Steve, Kevin and myself.

M: When I listen to the "Swords_" single, it seems to me like the band goes more folk now_

G: We_re moving in this direction a little bit more. Kevin_s vocal is a little bit more folk than Martin_s. Now we_re trying to make a vocals kinda bigger thing. Steve_s doing a lot of backing vocals, I think it thickens the sound. We_re trying to re-invent ourselves and experiment a little bit more. Martin and Kev is like choke and cheese, you know, two different things. (giggles)

M: Who_s gonna write the lyrics now?

G: Kev gonna do it. We_ll probably work more as a three-piece team on writing. But I can_t write the lyrics to save my life, you know. (giggles) I can write you a melody, but I can_t write lyrics. So leave it to the people who know how to do it and Kev knows how to write.

M: Did he write any lyrics already?

G: We_ve got a couple of lyrics going on, but we spend a lot of time working on this new album. But once we finish with it, we_ll start working on the new songs and you_ll get the brand new album with brand new songs on it in the end of 2002. "No Daylight, No Heeltaps" is something to give us a breathing space and also to let people hear what the new vocals are like, give them an idea of how we_ve changed.

M: You have a new drummer now, Aaron Walton. Did he play anywhere else before joining Skyclad?

G: He played in lots of local bands, but nothing too famous.

M: So, he_s not a session musician?

G: No, he_s a the band.

M: What happened to Jay Graham?

G: It was when Martin left. There_s something clicked in him - no better time to leave than now, when everything_s changing. He_s into sort of Drum & Bass stuff and Funk music. He_s in Sabbat now, but he wants to concentrate on that Funky side of music_

M: Is he a full-time member of R2TS (Return To The Sabbat)?

G: I suppose he is, but they don_t seem to do that much. They don_t do too much gigs. So I guess he plays with R2TS and when they don_t do anything - plays his Drum & Bass.

M: Back to Skyclad: How did you get in touch with Kevin? Did you know each other before?

G: We knew him from his band that he had - Forgodsake. He plays with them for quite a few years now, maybe two-three years before he produced the first Skyclad album. The music scene in Newcastle is quite close. People know each other and sooner or later you_ll get to know them all. We_ve been mates for about 15 years now.

M: Back in 1996 I heard some rumours abut Skyclad doing an acoustic live album. Were they just a rumours or did you really plan to do something like that?

G: It_s been on the list for quite a long time now, since we started doing these Irish Pub shows. But the technical limitations of the equipment kinda put a stop to it. We did actually record three or four versions of a live album from the "Irish Pub Tour" that we were doing. We wanted to hire some really good equipment, but then Martin left and it never happened. We_re kinda doing it now with "No Daylight, No Heeltaps" - an acoustic album.

M: My traditional question: you_ve been on stage for more than 10 years now, quite a long time_

G: (laughs) For too long_

M: How do you think did the Metal scene change? I_m talking about the attitude kinda thing in this business_

G: I think it_s getting more business-like. I started when I was 17 and when you_re 17 the only things you care about is get on stage, play and make a CD. Now I realise that there_s more business related stuff within music. I started managing the band about 5 years ago and it was a learning experience for me, because I never done it before. It was like "Shit! There is a lot business involved here!". Because you have to write the music and organise the new tour and work on the account for the tour_ It not like "write your songs and get released" anymore. Lots of stuff going on behind the scenes. In business generally_ I don_t think there_s a major change. The "new Metal" kicked off now. In England it_s kinda become almost pop music! The radio stations jump from playing some horrible dance music to a couple of Metal tracks then back to some Kylie Minogue or some dance shit_ It_s like "What are you doing?". They don_t sit comfortably together on any radio station! It_s just odd! I think it_ll burn out in a couple of years.

M: Do you listen a lot to any young bands? Is there any young bands that you like?

G: I don_t have any one particular style of music I_m listening to. If it_s good - I listen to it. But I_d rather listen to the old stuff than to some band that copies just a bits of it. Like the old Black Sabbath stuff sounds just more right. (laughs)

M: What_s your favourite bands?

G: Hmmm_ I like Black Sabbath, Dead Can Dance_ (laughs) I listen to almost anything_

M: OK, let_s say, who influenced you as a musician when you started?

G: Judas Priest probably the most. Black Sabbath, Rush, stuff like that_ Probably Iron Maiden. I got a few Steve Harris bass lines that I play constantly even now. (laughs) Just go "diddle-diddle", all sounds good (laughs). I used to listen a lot to Van Halen, but I can_t say they influenced me too much_

M: I see you post quite a lot on the Skyclad message board and you run the website as well_

G: Yeah, our old webmaster, Vince, have become Martin_s personal manager and there were a conflict of interests, you know_ So we wanted the website which the band could control and we could update it anytime we want. But it_s hard to learn from the start how to be a webmaster. And I thought: "I have to learn how to be a webmaster!". It took me about three or four weeks just to learn how the system works. It_s nice to keep control over the stuff like that and know how to do it, rather than to be a third party and explain what you want. I update the website as often as I can, but it takes a lot of time with the new album now. I also work during the day and by time I get back from work and have some food it_s kinda 8 o_clock.

M: So, you work somewhere outside the band?

G: Yes, I_m in the carpentry business, building stuff with wood. Interesting. Steve now tries to work with our mail order side, because he doesn_t have a job at the moment and he_s trying to concentrate on our mail order up and running. Kev is a college lecturer, he lectures kinda music and business, George is a music teacher and Aaron works on the plastic factory, makes plastic shapes and stuff (giggles). We all kinda work. I think the majority of bands work, because it_s so hard to live just from music. There_s very few bands that I know who doesn_t do anything besides music.

M: Well, probably not a very pleasant question for you_ You see, I_m trying to avoid talking about that conflict thing_

G: (laughs) I have no problem with that, Max! It_s just something that we_re trying not to get involved in, because it just gets silly, you know_ If you wanna ask the question - ask it and I_ll try to answer honestly.

M: I just think that it went too far and probably been spoken too much about it_

G: I think the problem we got is that we didn_t say much from the start and Martin didn_t say much too. We just don_t want to get ourselves into this trap of "You said this, so we have to say this", and "We said this so you have to back it". Gets too complicated. I think we shouldn_t get stuck with who said what and just try to move on. But ask the question! (laughs)

M: As I know Martin felt quite strong about the release of "Another Fine Mess" and he didn_t want the album to come out. Is that correct?

G: Yes, yes. He basically said "You release it over my dead body". But we released it and he_s not dead, so I think we_re OK there (laughs). I think he wasn_t happy with his vocal performance, because I think that sound is not bad. And to me his vocals on this CD is actually not bad. You know, we released a bits of live stuff before and I think that "Another Fine Mess" isn_t any worse than the releases for which Martin gave his permission. "Tracks From The Wilderness" was pretty much the same, you know. The reaction from people is good and it seems like it_s a good LP! I don_t know what Martin_s problem is.

M: "Another Fine Mess" was recorded back in 1995. Why didn_t you choose any later recordings?

G: We haven_t really got a lot of newer stuff, that_s the problem. We tried to record the shows and then go away and mix it. And when we go back to mix it, it was kinda "Naah_". There_s some distortion on vocals and there_s something with violin, so we can_t really work with it. So a lot of the newer stuff just haven_t been recorded properly to be released on a CD. It_s a technical thing. Unless you pay a lot of money and hire a professional equipment, it_s very hard to get a decent live recording.

M: Did you hear any thoughts from Martin about the release of "No Daylight, No Heeltaps"?

G: Actually, we haven_t talk too much for a last few months, but I don_t think he likes us much now (giggles). He basically said that we shouldn_t be doing it. What he said was that it_s his lyrics and they should be left as an original versions. It_s kinda funny attitude, because without me and Steve writing the music it wouldn_t be songs, it would be just words, you know. So for him to say "You shouldn_t be doing MY songs" is not really fair. I don_t know why he thinks that this is HIS songs. It_s an open market, you know. And anybody can make a cover version of these songs, so why can_t we, as an original band, go and do these songs? From the very day he said he was leaving the band, we said we gonna carry on as Skyclad. And so I_m not sure how he thought we gonna carry on without playing these songs in, let_s say, a live situation_ I mean, all we_ve done now is just progressed it a little bit further and recorded the versions of them, you know. I think he was worried that he puts his life in these songs, which I can understand, because there_s personal aspects in some of his lyrics. But we tried to pick the songs which won_t be directly linked to Martin_s personal life and for Kev to start singing these lyrics wouldn_t feel right. You know, to sing a song about someone else_s girlfriend obviously just don_t make sense to you (laughs). I mean, you can_t stop Skyclad to do these songs! It works both ways - in R2TS he does the old Sabbat songs and I don_t think he asks Andy Snip if he can use some of his music_

M: Another question: on the Japanese release of "Folkemon" you have this instrumental, "Lococomotion". Do you plan to re-release it on some stage?

G: I_ve seen it on the message board that people saying "You should re-release it" and all. But the problem that we_ve got is that this song was actually recorded for Nuclear Blast and they have a time period than we can_t re-record it. A lot or record deals work that way. You record the song for the company and they need to know that they can sell it for, let_s say, five years and we can_t re-record it for another label our ourselves within this five year period. So only Nuclear Blast can have this song now. Maybe in five years we_ll do something with it, but not now. It_s owned by Nuclear Blast.

M: One more question about your website: when will you accept the credit cards in your online shop?

G: Basically, we_ve got almost everything done for it, so, probably very soon (giggles). I_m a bit scared of it (laughs), because with credit cards it has to be a secure sites and everything and it has to be done properly_ It_s just kind of question of time.

M: By the way, how do you feel about MP3_s and file-sharing programs on the Internet?

G: I don_t think it_s a bad thing. The problem now is because it_s a digital world. Everything_s digital and you can_t stop the file-sharing. They might put some of them out of business, like Metallica did with Napster. But heaps of people now do it. You can get a CD from library and go and stick it to CD-R, you know. People copying CDs all over the place! At the same time this file-sharing thing makes a less known bands more available for the audience. The hard-core fan will buy a CD in any case and the rest of people might say "Oh, I like this band, I_ll buy the next album!". So it basically doing you a favour.

M: And, probably the last question: the plans for the nearest future. In which way will the band go from here?

G: Well, we kind of spent last few months working on "No Daylight, No Heeltaps" CD, but as soon as it_s sorted we_ll concentrate on writing songs for the new album. We all feel that we need to move on. Some shows are coming up and all. We_re trying to play live as often as we can, you know_

M: Thank you very much, Graeme, for doing this interview. I hope to talk to you again when the new CD will be released!

G: Yeah, thanks to you and feel free to get in touch!

©Max Thrasher House Of Noizz