MONKEY TROUSERS: Our interview with Glenn from Groovy Uncle!

 

PART 1 - "THE INTERVIEW"

 

1 - What was your earliest musical memory and what pushed you towards pursuing a career in the music industry?

 

"The earliest songs I really remember noticing were 'The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde' by Georgie Fame, 'Little Arrows' by Leapy Lee and 'Hey Jude' by The Beatles. I had a plastic Beatles toy guitar which I still have today, though it's pretty battered. Music has always been the most important thing in my life but I never even considered joining or forming a band until my late teens. Bands and writing songs were something 'other people' were involved in and I didn't think I had the talent to do it, plus I was extremely shy. Then I saw The Pop Rivets in 1980 and thought 'I could do that'."

 

2 - Had you been involved in any other band prior to Groovy Uncle?

 

"My first band was The Offbeats followed by The Kravin' A's, Johnny and the Bandits then Goodchilde. I retired from bands in the late nineties and didn't do anything again until 2009 when we began working on the first Groovy Uncle stuff."

 

3 - How did Groovy Uncle begin?

 

"When Goodchilde broke up I didn't have anything to do with bands or live gigs but I DID carry on writing songs - that is something I've always done. I had a lot of time on my hands and was recording demos for my own amusement, some of which I eventually uploaded to MySpace. I hooked up with State Records from there, they liked my stuff and invited me to their studio in Sandgate where we recorded the first vinyl single 'Monkey Trousers' / 'Now Your Pain Is Over'."

 

4- Where did the name Groovy Uncle come from?

 

"I once read an article about David Bowie's appearance at an awards ceremony and the critic wrote something along the lines of '....Bowie pranced around the stage like some kind of groovy uncle at a family disco'. I thought it was a good band name so I used it rather than my own name as nobody can spell or pronounce that."

 

5 - How would you describe the sound of Groovy Uncle?

 

"Melodic pop. Something for everyone."

 

6 - Groovy Uncle started as a solo venture. Why has it grown into a band?

 

"It's never been a set in stone band. It's me and my songs plus a host of fine musicians I am lucky enough to have met over the years. The line-up changes, subject to availability."

 

7 - What has the band dynamic brought to the music of Groovy Uncle?

 

"I’ve always seen Groovy Uncle as a project rather than a proper band. We rarely play live and it's all about the songs really. The nice thing about all three albums and two singles we've released thus far is that everyone who's been involved really 'gets it' and is enthusiastic about the whole thing. That is so important and I like to get the right people to play on the right songs. Only Ben Jones could have come up with that haunting lead guitar work on 'No Stone Unturned' but equally it had to be Bruce Brand on 'Look Back And Laugh' and 'Ordinary Day'. I won't list everyone here but suffice to say I'm pleased with the choices of musicians I've made and glad they agreed to be involved. I couldn't have done it without any of them."

 

8 - The debut album was called ‘Play Something We Know!’ Why did you choose this title for the album?

Just about every band or artist that has ever played original material at live gigs will have heard this heckle from the audience at some point -  'Play Something We Know'!"

 

9 - What influenced the songs on the album?

"I wanted to write an album of songs that were so hooky and memorable that after a couple of listens it felt like you had known the songs all your life."

 

10 - For your second album and third album you have collaborated with Suzi Chunk. How did this collaboration come about?

"I met Suzi via MySpace in 2007. I loved her voice right from the start. I heard some tracks she had recorded with Omega 66 - an excellent funk outfit from Cardiff - and I thought she sounded like a funky Dusty Springfield. I was astonished to find that although she had worked and recorded with a number of bands/artists there were no stand alone Suzi Chunk records so I had to put that right. Luckily she really liked my songs and was more than happy to collaborate with me. We released a single, 'Look Back And Laugh' / 'Tripwire' and an album 'Girl From The Neck Down' in 2012 both under her name."

 

11 - Your latest album is called “One Vowel Away From the Truth”. How would you describe the evolution of your songs from your first album to this album?

"I've always been very definite about wanting each album to be different from the last. I've never wanted a 'more of the same' approach. 'Play Something We Know!' was a very fuzz heavy garage album while 'Girl From The Neck Down' was inspired by some of those Dusty/Lulu/Sandie albums of the sixties with a variety of styles. For 'One Vowel Away From The Truth', Suzi and I share vocal duties so it's a kind of mix of the first two albums. This one features a couple of instruments we've not used before such as French horn and vibes which keeps it all interesting and fresh."

 

12 - Do you have any 'rituals' before you go on stage?

"A full glass and an empty bladder. Don't get the two confused. What could possibly go wrong?"

 

13 - Any live dates coming up?

"No live dates at present."

 

14 - Any new songs in the pipeline?

"I've written another album."

 

15 - When can fans be expecting the next release?

"I need to sell the latest one before I can make any decisions about future releases. I'm financing the whole thing myself so if this doesn't sell there won't be a next album."

 

16 - Who would be your dream collaboration?

"I don't have one, really. Be careful what you wish for and all that."

 

17 - Who would be in your dream supergroup?

"Supergroups are always rubbish."

 

PART 2 - "THE QUICKFIRE ROUND"

1 - Favourite Beatle?

"Ron Nasty."

2 - Favourite band?

"The Beatles."

3 - Favourite new band?

"Zervas And Pepper."

4 - Favourite song?

"Too many to choose just one."

5 - Favourite album?

"Revolver."

6 - Vinyl, CD or download?

"Vinyl."

7 - Style icon?

"If you knew me you'd realise just how ridiculous that question is!"

8 - Favourite clothing brand?

"Same answer."

9 - Favourite film?

"Dumb And Dumber (*snigger*)."

10 - Favourite TV show?

"Out of Town (with Jack Hargreaves)."

11 - Who would play you in a film of your life?

"There's no one ugly enough."

12 - Favourite food?

"Sea."

13 - Football team?

"Don't like football."

Hope you enjoyed this feature on Groovy Uncle! Check out our previous feature on Nicky McCallan!

 

Check out Groovy Uncle and buy the album here - http://craftweb.org/web/glenn/index.html
  

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