15th January 2000
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Will there be anything released before summer 2000,
like singles, EPs, etc?
Robbert
Probably the SuperShit stuff, which I've recently got hold of on proper CD an' that. What a fuckin' racket... again, kiddies, approach with caution. That's racket as in 'noise', as in 'not very melodic', as in 'doesn't sound like The Wildhearts'. There's the disclaimer, now stand back and wait for the non-readers to moan on about how it's noisy and doesn't sound like The Wildhearts. Or Clam Abuse, for that matter. Does this mean that you're all going to start loving the Clamsters?
You say that you're going to be playing some
Wildhearts songs on your next tour. Is there any chance that you'll be
playing the more obscure B-sides and stuff? Also, do ever regret not touring
the Endless, Nameless material fully? Although it's an unusual album, some
of the songs rock the fat one.
The Psychic
Barman
Whatever Wildhearts stuff I do, it probably won't be from the main set - even I got bored playing those fuckin' tunes. I might slip in I Wanna Go..., though. I hugely regret not touring Endless, Nameless. It never sold and those that bought it didn't always get the point. Maybe a good tour would have made it more popular... ah, what the fuck, I love it to bits.
Is the Day Tripper bit in My Baby Is A Headfuck
("day tripper... prick teaser, yeah!") meant ironically, or is it a
heartfelt tribute to the Beatles song? Also, I've been comparing the
Endless, Nameless cover to the cover of Oasis's (What's The Story)
Morning Glory?, and they're undoubtedly very similar. Was the intention to
parody those little bastards' album?
Francisca De Paula Barbie Gosalvez
The Beatles sang "day tripper... prick
teaser" on bootlegs and in some live shows when they were a bit bored. I
liked it better than the proper words
"big teaser" is the phrase
you'll hear on The Beatles' released version - Ed. Oasis? Nah, the
Ramones would have been closer.
I've just been trawling through some stuff on
the NME website, and I couldn't believe the review of Fishing For Luckies
by James Oldham (whoever he is) - he gave it four out of ten. Do you know of
him at all? Was NME ever nice to The Wildhearts? They fucking should have
been.
Andy Peck
NME had a tendency to go hot and cold on us, like I'm sure they do to everyone. With us, we honestly didn't give a fuck about what they said, good or bad. And that winds up journalists (who think they have some real relevance) big time. The guy probably likes it now. Rock is in.
How did you get together with Tim Smith? I
can't wait to hear the results. Two of the greatest musicians / songwriters
in modern day music - shit, we are in for a treat?! It will make a change from
the constant Stereophonics we get here in Wales.
Pete Bartlett
I met Tim a few years ago at Reading festival. He was such a 'spot on' bloke that I didn't feel at all intimidated saying 'hello' every time I met him afterwards. I bumped into him again when Clam Abuse were rehearsing and he told me he was now producing. The next idea to enter my head needs no clues. Needless to say he's even cooler than I'd always given him credit for. Working with him is the single greatest studio experience I've ever had, and will ruin working with anyone else ever again. The rest of the world are dicks compared to Tim.
I'm teaching myself guitar and wondered if you
can give me any advice on how to go from rhythm guitarist to lead
guitarist.
Naomi
Why do you want to be a lead guitarist?
My guitar playing tips are:
1) Wear it low
2) Turn it up
3) Treat it badly
4) Hit it hard
5) Smash it up
What do you feel would be the most interesting
question anyone could possibly ask you? And what would your answer
be?
David Kamm
Question: Would you like a lot of money with no strings attached?
Answer:OK then.
Having read what your favourite authors are, what
do you reckon to Charles Bukowski? Also, I heard (somewhere) that you wanted
Mick Ronson (RIP) to produce Earth Vs The Wildhearts, partly because you liked
his work on a Morrissey album. Do you like The Smiths?
Ross
Charles Bukowski gets a little too depressing for me if I get into his stuff for too long. What I read really affects my moods.
The Smiths stand for everything I hate about music, and their fans tend to be moany students with no lust for life. But the song There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is a lovely tune.
Although my dad is not into the hard rock scene, he
recognises your songwriting mastery and vocal skills. I forgot which Wildhearts
song it was, but at one point, he said that you sounded exactly like John
Lennon. It was great. My dad, a huge Beatles fan, calls you the reincarnated
John Lennon with a harder edged sound. That's a huge compliment. Did you
ever take vocal lessons? What's your favourite Beatles song, by the
way?
Matt Harrington
Wow, massive thanks to your dad. No, I never took singing lessons. I sort of just barked my way through by touring. The good thing about not knowing how to technically sing is that you don't lose your voice. No technique, no worries. My favourite Beatles song is In My Life. Well, today it is anyway.
Please, please, please tell me that Motorvate is
the kind of stuff we can expect out of Silver Ginger. That damn song has me
hoppin' around like a goon.
Scott
Philips
Motorvate was a fun little throwaway song I put together for a friend. I can see why people are getting into it... guitars and all that. Sleep tight, my young friends. I promised you that the new album would blow you all away into heavy harmony heaven. And I always keep my promises.
Do you like the band Terrorvision or are they just
a terror for the vision and the ears?
Matt
Harrington
Terrorvision? Very popular.
Re: my Wildhearts tribute band. Is there any chance
that you can send me the bass tablature for Love U Til I Don't? There's
a dodgy bit that we can't quite work out. Cheers, dude!
Ginger Wildheart
First off, I don't know what 'tablature' is. Second, I don't like the sound of it. And third, if I start giving people 'tablature' it will be the beginning of an uneventful and frustrating journey into Muso-ville. Tell him to make it up.
Is that really you playing bass on Marlene from the
Honest John Plain & Friends album?
Brina
I honestly don't think it is me. I've had plenty of forgotten nights in studios, so maybe it's something I forgot. Memory, huh? I've had too good a time to have one that works properly.
I'm a girl guitarist and I wondered if you have
an opinion on Kenickie, as I think they were cool and would have made a cool
support act to The Wildhearts!
Chopper
I loved Kenickie, especially the secret track at the end of At The Club. They're cool Geordie girls that should iron out their differences and give us all something to smile about again.
1) Which would you rather eat: an Indian curry
(cooked by Ritch) that tastes of shit, or shit that tastes of Indian curry
(which has emerged from Ritch's organ)?
2) How are Harold Pinter and his works regarded in the UK?
3) Who decided that men eat meals three times a day?
Tsuyoshi Takano
1) A curry from Ritch's organ? Huh???
2) I'm not really interested in commercial writers. I get my books from
specialist stores. I'm really into Henry Rollins' stuff at the
moment.
3) Men who like to eat a lot and write rule books, I'd imagine.
I heard that you recorded a Hanoi Rocks song for a
Swedish tribute album. Is this true?
Yasuhiko Yashiki
No. I was going to, but the company putting it together didn't get back to me with a budget to record it. Maybe they thought I was going to pay for it or something.
In past interviews, you've complained about
having to do lead vocals. Having shared vocal duties with Clam Abuse, you seem
to have reverted to lead vocal duties alone on the SilverGinger project. Any
particular reason?
Jay
Felton
If someone does anything for long enough they get a taste for it. I tried singing sober for the first time in my life on this album, and I've got a pretty mean set of pipes when it comes down to it. Like everyone else I can get lazy, and singing is the most taxing job in a band. So now I'm kinda enjoying 'not liking it', if you know what I mean.
It's only this year that I've started
listening to The Wildhearts, and I can't believe how much top notch,
dog's bollocks music I've missed. Could you please give me some info on
what was happening when 29 x The Pain, Beautiful Thing You and Give The Girl A
Gun were written?
Ian
Revell
When 29 x The Pain was written, it felt like someone else was writing it for me, and I just sat back, listened and said "cool song, I'm having that." This sometimes happens when writing the more popular (or popular to be) stuff.
When Beautiful Thing You was written I was thinking of the Quireboys not wanting any of my songs, and I thought 'fuck them, I can write walking down this street', which I proceeded to do. The song was about no one in particular, except maybe me.
Give The Girl a Gun was written when reports of a (thankfully short lived) trend of groping girls at gigs was becoming common. I hate sexism, and I hate cowards, and I love girls, so I thought 'who exactly would miss these guys?'.
Don't you think that the Clam Abuse album was a
little self-indulgent? I've no complaints about the record, it sits happily
in with my other favourite albums of the year, but maybe some kids would have
gone out and brought it expecting something more Wildhearts-ish. They might
have been shocked by the strangeness that assaulted their ears. I know that my
sister, a lifelong Wildhearts fan, had difficulty understanding it, although
she did love Message To Geri.
Stuart
Kirk
C'mon, Stuart. Writing songs about your life and then getting on stage to jump around to them is a little self-indulgent too. And so is enjoying watching it so much that you'd even pay to see it. There's nothing wrong with self-indulgence (otherwise they wouldn't have invented ice cream), but it is unavoidable that one man's 'harmless fun' will be another man's 'wind up'. Like I've said before, always keep the receipt if you buy a record of mine, because I don't even know what's coming next until it comes. This will annoy as well as entertain. But at least I know it will get a reaction. If I ever start writing by numbers, I'll agree with all the criticism. But I actually love the Clam Abuse record, and friends of mine whose input I respect also do. Hey, at the time, most people thought The Wildhearts sucked too!
I've just read the latest installment of Ask Ginger and felt the need to write. Jesus, what is wrong with some Wildhearts fans that they cannot accept new ideas? Maybe some people have had too much quality rock music from the likes of The Wildhearts and cannot accept any other radically original music such as Clam Abuse. I know you say that Wildhearts fans are the best in the world, but you have to wonder about some of those wankers. It did occur to me at the Clam Abuse gig that it was viewed by some people as a brief diversion from normality - it was as if they were hanging around waiting for you to get back to normal and reform The Wildhearts.
Do these people really think that, if your music
was influenced by what your fans wanted, it would have half the splendour of
previous music you've recorded? If you gave into Wildhearts fans, it would
be the same as giving into a record company. Keep it real, Ginger.
Shteevan
I couldn't have said it better myself. Of course, I would never say that or I'd get into trouble with the whiners. But well said and succinctly put.
What's your blood type? I'm B type. But B
type is disliked in Japan. Everybody says that B type is strange and selfish!
You think so too? How about in England?
Hiromi Kunii
My blood group is RnR, and it courses through my veins like supersperm chasing the last remaining egg in captivity. The race is frantic, but the grail justifies the scramble, and there can be only one victor.
I'm listening to Endless, Nameless at the
moment, and I would say it's one of the best rock 'n' roll albums
ever recorded. No offence to the rest of the storming Wildhearts albums, but
only Earth Vs comes close to the tunes and attitude of Endless, Nameless.
Can't wait to hear the new stuff. Do you get the feeling that the stars are
aligning for this one or is it just me?
John Naylor
Ah, another fortunate person to fully relish the smorgasbord of delights available in the vast orgy of a sonic picnic that is Endless, Nameless. The stars are truly aligning for me this year. And each and every one of them fucking loves entertainment. Well except for a couple of miserable little fucks in the corner that don't enjoy good times... but, hey that never stopped us.
Why is it that all bands seem to only have ten to
12 songs on their albums? How come they can't come out with albums like
Generation Terrorists or Blood Sugar Sex Magic? How many songs do you think
will make the final cut for the SilverGinger album, and do you have a rough
idea of when it will be released?
Stuart
McMillan
I'll have no more than 12 or 13 songs on my new album. Albums with billions of songs bore the life out of me. I'm a vinyl kid, where albums had five songs on one side and five songs on the other. I'd much rather keep releasing a lot of great short albums than release one long one and make everyone wait for another three or four years until the next one.
How did it feel when you played Reading '94
with The Wildhearts? Was that the biggest crowd you've ever played to, and
would you ever play another festival? Ginger headlines Reading 2000 shocker? I
can only hope.
Dave
Higgins
Reading '94 was the single worst experience I've ever had playing to a large crowd. Apart from the fact that Danny bust his leg, we had a new guitar player that we hadn't had time to rehearse properly. We'd also been in a tent for the entire weekend, taken some terrible acid, and I'd tried to come down for the show by taking a dodgy E. The crowd were fantastic, though. If I ever get the chance to play to that many people again it will definitely be a little more 'grand'. I would love to play as many festivals as possible, including Reading 2000. Headline? Maybe that's pushing the boat of fact too far into the waters of bullshit.
The biggest crowd we ever played to was with AC/DC in Spain. I don't remember the exact numbers, but you couldn't see the back row in the daylight.
When you look at Marilyn Manson, do you see the
strutting, self-righteous idiot, or the genius free-thinker speaking for an
entire oppressed generation?
Dave
Higgins
When I look at Marilyn Manson I see Pee Wee Herman.
1) Red Hot Chili Peppers or Mr. Bungle?
2) Dogs D'Amour or Hanoi Rocks?
3) New York Dolls or Rolling Stones?
4) Rolling Stones or The Beatles?
5) Wildhearts or SilverGinger (a tough one, eh?)?
Matt Harrington
1) Fantomas
2) New York Dolls
3) Stones
4) Stones
5) SilverGinger
First off I wanted to say how much I loved the Clam
Abuse album, and I can't quite understand why people insist on giving you a
hard time over it! Question: have you read any comic books by Jhonen Vasquez?
If not, I recommend you check out Johnny The Homicidal Maniac. 'Tis very
thought provoking in a twisted kind of way! Looking forward to the new album.
All the best for 2000!
Nik
Johnny The Homicidal Maniac??? How could that not be good?
When you release your new singles, will you be
making a serious bid for Top 40 success? Do you have any desire for a Top Ten
hit, or even a number one? And were you disappointed that The Wildhearts never
topped the charts?
Matthew
Neville
Of course it'll be Top Ten... very Top Ten. Nice idea about The Wildhearts being 'chart toppers', but reprobate rock 'n' roll bands on drugs, real ones, don't tend to get to number one unless they're on a jeans advert.
What do you think of the Stooges and the MC5? What
about Bob Mould / Sugar?
Sean
MC5 still kick my ass, and what can you say about the Stooges? I mean Iggy? C'mon, God loves Iggy, man. As long as there is Iggy there will be purpose. I met Bob Mould once and he didn't seem to understand his worth. It didn't seem like false modesty either, it seemed as though he really didn't like himself too much. I'd love to sit with him for a day.
