Dodgy (Interview)

Review will be on blog soon..............

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Q1)
As its been over 12 months since 'Stand up right in a cool place' do you have any plans for a new studio Album? And if so when would you be looking to get it released?
A)
Yeah we've already started recording, we've got loads of songs, even better than the last lot. The only problem is that we're not on a label and we're not time rich so things take a little longer. It's cool, fans know that we deliver so they don;t mind waiting

Q2)
You intend to release a Live album from this Back to Back tour, why did you decide to have fans names (who signed up) on the artwork of the album?#
A)
It makes it a bit more personal for the fan and it also gives them an added incentive to buy the fucking thing!

Q3)
Why play The Dodgy Album & Stand Upright In A Cool Place on this tour? And was that an easy decision to make?
A)
Well we knew it was the 20th anniversary of our debut album this year and we've always been tempted with these "play the album in full" shows BUT there's still a lot of love out there and within the band for SUIACP so someone came up with the idea of playing them back to back, so you get a real sense of 'now and then' with the band.

Q4)
How was it that Ian Broudie came about to produce The Dodgy Album?
A)
We really liked 'Sense' and 'Pure' by the Lightning Seeds and of course his work with Echo and the Bunnymen so we met up and got on really well with him. He's an amazing producer, very clear about what he wants + it gave us the chance to record in Liverpool, which is Mecca for musicians

Q5)
You first called yourselves 'Purple', why? And how did you become Dodgy?
A)
Purple? Fuck knows, I guess we were trying to be psychedelic, that was before Andy joined. The name Dodgy came about during a long night on magic mushrooms, it made complete sense then. It hasn't made much sense since. There's a lesson kids - don't take drugs and name your band, or your kids.

Q6)
You once played in Sarajevo, Bosnia while the war was still happening, Would you do something like this today? And what's been your favourite venue?
A)
Yeah, why not, the kids who we played to seemed to really appreciate the fact that we'd made the effort to go there. We weren't really scared, it's more exciting than anything in a weird way. Nothing like a war zone to heighten the senses.
Favourite venue? Any one that has good monitors and the hotel next door.

Q7)
You've supported many social issues such as The Liverpool dockers strike, Charter 88 and more recently the Willow Foundation, Is this something you look to get yourselves involved in and are passionate about or is it just good publicity for the band?
A)
We never went around 'looking' for issues to back, they'd usually present themselves. Like the dock workers strike, Nige went out to get some fags when we were recording in Liverpool and saw this picket line. He got talking to the guys and we realised that there was virtually a media blackout on this strike so we offered our support and did a few fund raisers. Growing up a lot of our politics were informed from bands we listened to - The Clash, The Jam, the Smiths, The Beatles even. If we turned some kids onto the plight of the dockers or made them go out and vote then great.

Q8)
What's the music industry like now compared to when you first started out? And what advice would you give bands trying to break through now?
A)
Crikey, it's a completely different beast. Two major things have changed, how artists record and deliver their music and ultimately how people access their music, and the cultural importance of music has changed drastically.
Advice? Don't expect to make a living out of it now and if you're shit, keep sending me demos as we find them hilarious on the tour bus

Q9)
Back in the 90's, did you feel part of the whole Britpop scene? If so was it a good time to be in a band?
A)
The early 90's was a great time to be in a band as the indie scene was very fertile and vibrant. We'd had the 80's indie scene producing some great bands and then baggy happened, so it was ripe for something to happen. I think kids were ready for some decent bands in the charts and it just so happened that there were loads of good bands coming through, there wasn't a scene as such in the beginning, just good bands all coming through at the same time which the media called Britpop. It's like the start of Rock and Roll, there were loads of mainly black artists releasing these tunes that mixed up church music with blues and swing for years before a white guy called it Rock and Roll.
It's not like we were handed a remit in 1992 that said "you will play music inspired by the Who and the Beatles and it will be called britpop", we didn't have a clue about it until some German interviewer asked us about it. "Brit WHAT?"

Q10)
Who/what do you listen to on the tour bus? And is there any current artists who you think we should be paying attention to?
A)
You know what, we actually like it quiet on the bus now unless we've had a drink and then all sorts of shit goes on.
I've been listening to this band from Birmingham called Black Sabbath, they're ace, you should check them out.