How has the touring for the new album been?
It’s the 30th anniversary of our first album, George Best, which came out in 1987, so a lot of promoters and festivals have been contacting us asking if we can play George Best, so we’ve had this kind of parallel career this year, with some of the concerts being all George Best, and some others being normal concerts.
It must feel good to have these requests for an album that came out three decades ago, to see your albums are still respected this much?
It’s not really respect exactly, we’ve done a lot of albums over the years and I think it’s more because it’s the anniversary. Next year or the year after there’s the anniversary of our second album so I’m already waiting on the calls to play that album... but genuinely I don’t mind, I’m happy to play both and in some ways it’s easier to just do George Best; you don’t even need to think of a setlist, the album is quite frantic and quite aggressive, it’s good for a live set.Having said that, this is the last year we’re going to play George Best.
What’s it like to have weathered the rise and fall of so many genres and bands over the years?
I was the only original member by 1993 more or less. In some ways, it would have been nice to retain the original members, those who you started off with. It’s more romantic, but in some ways it’s been interesting with new people coming into the group and exposing new ideas and influences to push the group forward.
How have you seen the industry change over the years?
The main thing is there is less income. When we used to make records in the 1980s and 1990s, our tour would be to promote a record and that’s where the income would come from.
Now, it’s the opposite way, you sort of make a record, hope not to lose a lot of money and go out on tour to make the money.At the same time, it’s a lot easier to make songs. There’s technology to record or write songs on your computer, co-write with people on the other side of the world. Even touring is easier nowadays. When we started touring there was just a map, and trying to find a phone box and hoping you have enough coins to make the call.
The Wedding Present has gone through a few record labels over its evolution. Did you have any bad experiences with labels?
Ironically, we signed to RCA and Island Records, some of the biggest labels in the world. Then we left Island and got a new record deal with Cooking Vinyl, probably the biggest independent record label at the time, and we had the worst experience ever.
You would think that the major labels would cause problems, but they were fine. Cooking Vinyl caused so many problems for us that eventually it just made sense for us to start our own label, Scopitones. And my other group, Cinerema, also released our second LP in 2000 on Scopitones.
Do you listen to the same music today as you did when you started the band?
Kind of, I suppose. I’m very aware of new music and try to keep up with new music but I have a problem with a lot of new bands. They tend to remind me of old bands really. Somebody will play me a track from a brand new group and I’ll think that well, it’s okay, but it sounds like they are from the 1980s, or a 1970s punk band or a disco band. It kind of feels like we don’t get anything new or original anymore, just people being heavily-influenced by what came before.
When was the last time you heard a rock band that caught your attention with something innovative?
(After a long pause) There’s loads of bands that have impressed me, like La Luz from California, but the question is if there’s been anything innovative. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think rock is dead, but it’s not just quite as challenging anymore somehow. I don’t know, there’s just so much to hear.
Nil By Mouth featuring The Wedding Present, Happyness, Weval and Pional takes place on September 30 at The Dome, San Ġwann. The event is being organised by Hairyamp Promotions and Trackage Scheme. Tickets are available online.
https://shop.trackagescheme.com/event/nil-mouth-sessions/