I recently had the opportunity to have a quick interview with the UK's own MIDDLEMAN. Formed in 2005, they've been working the independant circuit for several years, and will be performing at the world-renowned SXSW festival in Austin, TX beginning next week. They'll also be featured on Jemini's Stairwell Showcase, This monday (3/15/2010) As she'll be covering several bands that will be appearing at SXSW.
Middleman is:
Vox: Andy Craven-Griffiths
Drums: Slurpy Simpson
Bass: Lee Smith
Guitar: Krish Thiruchelvam
1. Describe your sound in your own words
Driving guitar riffs, heavy beats and bass-lines, poetry-slammed vocals, contagious choruses and carefully crafted vocals.
2. How did the band form?
We were a bunch of musicians and mates who wanted to do something different, interesting and exciting. We couldn’t sleep for the first week we got the band together. We just wrote and played and drank coffee and whiskey.
3. What are some of your most significant musical influences?
The late Sparklehorse, Aphex Twin, Rage Against the Machine, Aesop Rock (lyrically).
4. How did you come up with your band's name?
Andy's brother, John Berkavitch, came up with it.
5. What's your Musical guilty pleasure?
Krish: Engelbert Humperdink 'Cuando Cuando Cuando'
Slurpy: The Righteous Brothers 'Unchained Melody', despite Ghost and Robson and Jerome
Andy: Yazz 'The Only Way Is Up'
Lee: Phil Collins 'Another Day In Paradise'
6. Beatles or Stones?
Beatles!
7. What are some of your pet peeves while touring?
Turning up for soundcheck at the time we've been told and then having to wait around, firstly for people to turn up and secondly for them to be ready to soundcheck us, usually 2 hours later than we were told.
8. What's the craziest thing that you've seen or experienced while on tour?
At Secret Garden Party we were watching a cool rock and roll band and thousands of plastic balls were fired into the crowd from the hills around the stage and audience area, turning the hole thing into a massive drunken ball pit.
9. What are you guys into when you're not in the
touring/recording/writing process?
Slurpy: Dark, Violent films.
Krish: Cooking. My speciality is alubias con tomate con queso. Me duele el dedito.
Andy: Reading. The last couple of things I read were 'Shantaram' and 'Half of a Yellow Sun'. Watching films, playing sports and hanging around at the gym and sculpting my soleus muscles while I look in the mirror.
10. When you're writing material, Do you often write lyrics, Then the
music, or vice versa?
Usually music first but different aspects of the music each time. Sometimes it starts on guitar then lyrics and then the bass and drums afterwards, like with Spinning Plates, sometimes drums come first as with You Look Like You Do and sometimes with Bass or synth lines.
11. If you could pick any 3 bands/artists to perform with in a festival
(Past or Present) , who would they be?
Rage Against The Machine
Led Zeppelin
Bros
12. There are two artists whom, over the years have been labeled with "Is God", ..so Who would your choice be, Lemmy Kilmister or Eric Clapton?
Lemmy Kilmister
13. Any Last words for the fans?
Krish: Whoever stole my maraca, I want it back!
Andy: Nice one.
Don't forget to tune in Monday, 3/15/2010 from 8-11pm EST for the Dog pound which features Jemini's weekly "Stairwell Showcase", as Middleman will be featured. And if you're attending SXSW Be on the lookout for these guys!!
Dig ya later
Sean Twisted
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