18th July 1999
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The Wildhearts are reforming for a one-off gig in Japan. Are there any plans to do the same for the British fans? If not, why not?
Stuart Walker

I would love nothing more than to do some Wildhearts shows in Britain, but you have to understand the band are all busy on other projects now. The only thing that would bring us together is copious amounts of cash which UK venues just will not pay. Does this answer the "why aren't you playing the UK?" question once and for all? Or should I repeat it?

I was just wondering if you had any plans to come to Iceland.
Eythor Sverrisson

No, I find Kwik Save is much better value and the bags tend to be stronger. What's the scene like over there?

Who's Tom and why should he take the money?
Lee Bartholomew

Tom Abrahams was The Wildhearts' sound man who was given a chance to do Metallica and wisely took the job.

With your hyper-keen sense of melody, what do you think of the band Jellyfish?
Sam Weller

I liked the first Jellyfish album very much, but like the rest of the world thought the other stuff was horrible
burn the heretic! - Darren. Andy Sturmer writes for the best pop duo (that aren't Clam Abuse) in the world - Puffy. Don't quite know what songs he does for them (everything's in Japanese), but he thought up the name.

I know you're a big Ramones fan. Which is your favourite album? Any thoughts on getting together with Joey Ramone for a song or two? Just thinking about that makes me feel faint.
Kev Simpson

My favourite Ramones album is probably Rocket To Russia, but it changes all the time. Me and Joey, eh? You never know, mate, you never know.

Do you ever come back to South Shields? Do you ever get into Trillians in the toon any more? What do you think about the Riverside closing down? Newcastle used to be a rock'n'roll landmark, and bit by bit it's dying. If the Mayfair closes then Newcastle will be finished, a rock'n'roll ghost town. I think I'll move to Nottingham.
Kev Simpson

If Newcastle becomes a r'n'r ghost town it will be the fault of the fans. Just because someone closes down a venue it doesn't mean the end of civilisation. Just get a petition to keep the place open or find another venue and turn it into Rock Heaven. If rock fans got off their arse more there would be a healthy scene in Britain, so stop moaning and do something about it. Or keep moaning!

When The Wildhearts play in Japan this summer, who's going to be the second guitarist? Is it just going to be you, Danny and Ritchie?
Makito

The second guitarist will be Jef.

Let's be childish and compare home towns. I'm from Cork. We produced Rory Gallagher, Roy Keane, Murphy's Stout, and myself. What did you Geordies produce, besides the Charlton brothers, coal, and the odd tearaway Tynesider? Don't be embarrassed. Somebody has to come from Newcastle...
Paul Reid

WHAT DID NEWCASTLE OFFER THE WORLD??? OK, apart from the most consistent underdog football team in the world... Newcastle Brown Ale (which you can purchase anywhere around the world), Brian Johnson, Bryan Ferry, The Animals (note Sting not included), Catherine Cookson, shipbuilding, stotty cakes, Gazza (er, OK I'll give you that one).... ALAN FUCKING SHEARER, Stan Laurel, Supermac, and a famous director I can't remember the name of. We invented oxygen, you ungrateful bastard.

It's pissing me off 'cos York Fibbers is over 18s, and I'm only 16, and I won't get in to see you and Clam Abuse!
Tom Wiles

Lie! I always did and it worked for me. Get an older mate to buy your tickets and just blag it. Believe me, an 18 and a 16-year-old look just the same to a doorman.

I'm in a band and the music's real great and we made a CD, but we haven't got a PA system so I didn't have a chance to practice the singing. So in some places the singing's fine and in others it turns out bad. I just wondered what tips you would have, if any, to improve my singing.
Sy

Gigs are the only way to learn how to sing. Get out and play, and be prepared to suck a little at the beginning. Just remember that whoever your favourite singer in the world is, he or she had to suffer the same indignities.

In all the recent photos of you published in Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and the like, you always appear with your famous black Les Paul guitar. What I want to know is, do you feel a special bond between you and your guitar enough to be pictured with it all the time? And also, does it have a name?
Nick Blomstrand

Me and that guitar have been through so much shit together. He's stuck with me when people haven't been there. I never really feel a 'bond' with guitars but this one has just been there forever...you can't help but feel a certain kinship. As for a name, he's called cunt... or something.

Please tell me about Alex Kane and the bassist and drummer you are playing with now.
Oba

Alex Kane (Clint Abuse) used to play guitar in LSD, a band famous for having a tramp singing for them. My ambition when I moved to America was that I would find a guitar player that makes noises with his guitar, and I found it in Alex. The bassist and drummer are unfortunately a secret for now... but all will be revealed very soon.

What was the maddest laugh you had when touring with AC/DC?
Gaar Sheepdug

The maddest happened in Canada, and involved two strippers, the Mayor of Toronto, Brian Johnson and a bunch of cowboy hats. That's all I'm saying.

Have you got any sproglets, gingerlets, kids, animal friends?
Gaar Sheepdug

Nope.

After listening to Clam Abuse, I've come to the conclusion that you must have the most schizophrenic (-phonic?) voice in the business. Is it a deliberate thing? And have you ever thought of getting a job in cartoons or voiceovers because of it?
Andrew Wren

I'd love that. I never thought of it. I do a lot of the voiceovers on Wildhearts stuff. Anyone making any cartoons out there?

What is the meaning behind Red Light - Green Light? Anything specific? Also, what influenced I Wanna Go Where The People Go?
Anon

Red Light - Green Light is self-explanatory really. Start, stop, start, stop. Just a basic analogy. Life is a system of starts and stops and it's not always you that dictates the order. So when you get that green light you can either say, "ah well, there'll be a red one along in a minute," or you can charge at it like a living motherfucker. Your choice. One's easy and not much fun and the other is much more rewarding and involves more effort. Most of my lyrics are 'doing' lyrics. And obviously they are more relatable to do-ers. (Same with I Wanna Go..)

I was in Hollywood recently and I saw a band one night at The Mint called Gregory Page and the Troubled Sleepers. Even though they played a style which is far from what I usually listen to, I instantly fell in love with their music. Have you ever heard them, or even heard of them, and if so, what did you think? Also, I'd like to hear your views on the Goo Goo Dolls, if it's not too much trouble.
Gav Stead

Nope, never heard 'em, but I'll keep an eye out for 'em. The Goo Goo Dolls were always being thrown at me for a support slot for The Wildhearts (obviously before they went huge), and I listened to them a few times and didn't like them at all. The songs all sounded thrown together. And they used too many minor chords, which seems to be the American way of saying, hey, we're pop, but deep / heavy / insert current buzzword. But I didn't like Urge Overkill when I first heard them because the first song on Saturation is full of minor chords and I thought the album would be more of the same. Now, I love 'em. But pop with minor chords sucks big gay men.

Where are the best gigs you've played, and do you get a buzz when you play in your home town? I know I do 'cos I live there!
Izzy Foster

Of course I get a buzz from playing my home town. I come from Buzzville.

If you were a Teletubby, which one would you be?
Izzy Foster

I don't know who's who in Teletubby Land, but I'll be the tall red-headed one with the bad temper.

I agree totally about the lack of passion in bands these days. Most of them could be playing in their living room for all the effort they put in. I reckon the problem is not enough rock star egos - ie, people who will do anything for an audience's undivided attention. Do you agree? (By the way, the only young band I've seen this decade who can really perform are The Crocketts. Have you seen them?)
Sarah Bates

Couldn't have put it better myself. There are thousands of young kids weaned on Nirvana, Pearl Jam and other anti-rock star bands. Until someone has the balls to do something original (like be themselves), things are looking pretty grim. There must be a new STAR out there who wants more attention than everybody else. This is supposed to be the ENTERTAINMENT business, so who's entertaining? Every time I get a tape from a band that look like a bunch of scruffy kids or a skateboard advertisement, it goes into the bin quicker than curry through a pensioner. If you look like shit I don't care about your music. It's not entertaining to me. I don't mean looking like a bunch of fucking models. One of the coolest guys making music these days is Tiny from Ultrasound, who looks like Liberace's pet bus. Come on you lot, sort yerselves out, will ya?

Is Message To Geri coming out as a proper single then?
Shteevan Ward

I hope Message To Geri is coming out as a single. This is, unfortunately, in the hands of the record company that paid for the recordings. Not everyone is into doing well in this business. How about everyone who agrees with ...Geri being a single get in touch with Infernal records and let them know.

What's your favourite football team?
Sam Weller

Newcastle. I'm a Geordie.

Charlie Parker or Miles Davis?
Sam Weller

Miles Davis, of course.

I read in Kerrang! that you had a pet cat. What do you do with it while you are traversing the globe? How the fuck do you pay for all this globe-trotting anyway? You are all over the place! How many apartments do you have? Your parents must have bucks, I'd say!
Sam Weller

It really belonged to an ex-girlfriend who ditched it with a friend when she got bored with it. Lovely girl. My parents afforded me the knowledge of getting by without any money. We were very working class. I use my imagination to get me around. Those with imagination do, those without imagination criticise.

"And once upon a time, so pure and crystalline.. ." What, may I ask, is so perfecto?
Sam Weller

When I was a kid there was just much more variation in music. It was the most exciting time in history - pop / rock / punk all being born. Now everyone seems to want to be heavy / serious / ballad laden... where's the fun? Who are the new Rock Stars? I'd love to know I've just been shopping in the wrong places, but I got a feeling I've looked in all the windows. And they suck.

How many geetars do you own? I saw the pictures of you playing the Paul Stanley Iceman at a London gig. Do you like that guitar? I still say the stickered-up-like-a motherfucker Les Paul is just about the coolest git-fiddle I've ever set my blue eyes upon!
Sam Weller

I don't know, I lose count. Sometimes I break 'em, sometimes I lose 'em. They're just pieces of wood to me.

So I found out that Satriani puts you to sleep, but I was quite surprised when I read in the history section that you played a gig with Paul Gilbert, and then jammed with him backstage for a couple of hours. I used to put Paul, Satriani, Vai, etc, in the same category since they're all awesome players (not that you're not, of course - some of your guitar solos raised my eyebrows pretty high... really high!). But when I think about it now, yeah, he is pretty different being in a band that's not instrumental and caring more about the songs itself than those ripping solos. Anyway, just tell me how the gig was, the whole experience. What was going through your mind? Did he pick up those Wildhearts songs really well? How did you meet him in the first place?
Makito Kawata

I met Paul Gilbert in Tokyo when I was mixing the live album. He's on the same label as me in Japan and very good friends with the people from the label. I found out that he was / is a big fan of The Wildhearts, so I invited him down to the studio. I didn't realise how much of a fan he was until he started talking about obscure B-sides and telling me that he knew nearly all of our songs. I didn't have the heart to tell him I hated Mr Big. I already had the show booked and when I asked him to do it with me he was glad to. He already knew my stuff but I had to learn his songs on the ride to the show. We spent about half an hour on stage and about four hours playing backstage. He's a big Cheap Trick fan so we played nearly all the Cheap Trick back catalogue (and we made a bit of cash on the side from requests). He's a really nice guy and he plays too fast.

Who's that singing on Barney Sings The Blues?
Sparx

Barney is a guy from New Zealand who fixed my mate's floor and said that he sang a bit of opera in his youth. I heard him singing one day and I was a bit blown away. Needless to say he ended up on the record. Everyone's got a talent for something. He's just got a few!

What do you think of Bon Jovi? You've talked before of writing songs to grow up with, that speak to people. With Livin' On A Prayer and Wanted Dead Or Alive they've done that. Richie Sambora is a great guitar player but because of his "pretty boy" status has been overlooked. Do you like any of the band's material?
JLK

I don't like Bon Jovi's music, image, style, egos, lyrics or pretty much anything about them. I'm sure they sang to a lot of people, but not only was I not one of them, you are the first one I've ever came into contact with. "On a steel horse I ride," indeed. And what's all this about the "bottle that you drink" and then sacking the bassist for having a drink problem?

Who was in the Wildhearts line-up for the bonus CD that came with Tokyo Suits Me? Which show was that taken from, and why was it cut off at the end?
Makito Kawata

The line-up was me, Danny and Willie, and I'm sure there's a good reason why it's cut off at the end... I just haven't thought of one yet.

In Geordie In Wonderland, is it "oh lads, I didn't understand" or "oh lads, I did understand?" The lyrics say that it's "didn't" but it sounds like "did" when you're singing it.
Makito Kawata

It's "ah lads, a dain't understand," which is Geordie for "don't".

Do you have any defects?
Brina Francaville

I trust people when instead they should all be shot.

Which brand of cigarettes do you smoke? And how do you manage to smoke in California? I know it's forbidden almost everywhere over there...
Brina Francaville

Seven Stars in Japan, Marlboro Lights in America, Embassy Regal at home. Everywhere else I'll smoke whatever does the most damage. As for California, I smoke right in their stupid fucking faces. The idiots are gonna die in an earthquake and they think stopping smoking is going to help them!

Do people from Shields who make out they're your best mates because they're from your home town annoy you?
Girl

People from Shields don't really think like that. If anything, they know about me a little better and know I can't stand bullshitters.

Sylvester or Tweety Pie? And do you prefer Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam? And why am I asking this?
Gavin Beckers

I fuckin' hate Tweety Pie and that little Roadrunner fucker. I always wanted to make a shit load of money just so I could have a cartoon made for me where Wilie and Sylvester get to not only catch those bastards but torture, buttfuck and eat them. Yosemite Sam's a red head, Elmer Fudd's a slob with a speech problem, who do you think I'd go for?

Are there any Wildhearts tunes that you regret writing, where you ask yourself, "what the hell was I thinking?"
Scott Phillips

There are a few songs that a get a bit too personal, but other than that I don't regret anything. It's all about where you're going as opposed to where you've been. There are some tunes I wish we could have recorded again, but fuck it, they're still cool.

What the hell is a "Mexican Bar-o", is it a "Mexican Barrio"? What's going on with "Sonic Shake", cos it seems that people have heard it, but for a lot of people there's no way to get it?
Paco Tomas

Mexican Barro is drunken nonsense, but spoken in Mexico with me and Danny. And, by hook or by crook, Sonic Shake and a lot of other songs will be recorded, released, and loved by everyone.

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