1st February 2002
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Nice work on the Singles Club! I've really enjoyed the two so far. I'm sure all the Listees are eagerly awaiting the next one. Are there financial reasons why you can't release these as fast as you would like - ie, can you only release another one after the current one sells enough copies?
Martin Gower

No, I think that the problem (or hold-back, as I'd prefer to call it) is that Infernal have so much going on that they started to lag behind on the 'one single per month' system. Releasing 12 consecutive singles is no mean feat. And however they eventually get them all out, they will be loved and cherished - much as you would a tiny frog in a kilt - by all.

Cars & Vaginas has got a real Wildhearts feel to it. I was wondering if it was the song you once claimed to have written about driving home, looking forward to having sex with your girlfriend.
Mike Knowles

Most of my songs are written while in that position. But no, Cars & Vaginas was written in LA on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It was originally intended for inclusion on the second Clam Abuse album... before we'd recorded the first one.

Have you ever considered re-recording the song Truth, perhaps for inclusion on one of the Singles Club releases? I absolutely love that song. I think it's one of the best tunes you've ever written. I know most artists aren't big on re-recording old songs, but just look how great Church Of The Broken Hearted turned out.
David H

Yeah, I think it'll show up there at some point. To be honest, with every year that passes, that song becomes more and more applicable. Maybe I should record it proper before lying goes out of fashion.

Would it not be better to concentrate on SilverGinger 5 for a straight year, and put solo projects and Wildhearts related things aside for a while?
Stuart McMillan

The older I get, the more precious a year becomes, and the less I want to blow a whole year by just concentrating on one thing. If I get knocked over by a bus, you bet your life I want to have a few things to be remembered by, as opposed to, say, some demos for a potentially huge album that I've been working on for the past 18 months. I'm just not the kind of guy that can finish off the kitchen without starting on the bathroom tiles, y'know?

When George Harrison died, I heard about how he was sued for plagiarism by someone or another. My question is: how much do you worry about being sued by someone because one of your songs resembles a part from one of someone else's?
Mark Cormack

I used to constantly try to avoid writing anything that remotely sounded like anyone else's song, only to find that it would still remind someone of something - more than likely an obscure Soft Cell B-side, or something that was infinitely less cool than something I could have copied! If I was ever in a court of law for ripping off someone's songs, I'm sure I could give a perfectly good argument as to how there are only so many notes in any scale and why it is possible, and acceptable, to 'overlap' in the name of entertainment. Also, if I was going to pay homage to someone's work (instead of ripping someone off), I'd probably stick their name on the credits. That'd fuck with their lawyers! I can see it now... written by Ginger, Jagger, Richards, Nielsen, Lennon and Earle.

I read that you did a cover of Suede's The Wild Ones at a London show a couple of months back. I think it's a fantastic song, but you're pretty much the last person I'd have thought of as a Suede fan! How did that come about?
Andy Close

You really shouldn't try and guess what music people will and will not like. You'll always be wrong! I'm not a massive fan of the band, but I love that song. It's just a perfect piece of music, to these ears anyway.

One of the best Wildhearts shows was the Phoenix Festival in '96, and you made my wife's day (possibly year!) by playing Loveshit. How come this song was resurrected then, but hasn't seen the light of day since?
Calum Begg

I love that song, but it really sounds shit without girls singing on the chorus. That's why I never did it much live. But just wait until I get my rock 'n' roll / soul / gospel / rhythm and blues review on the road. Hey, I was joking... but that sounds like a good idea.

I read the last Ask Ginger and was a bit confused when you said that EastWest didn't release the first Wildhearts album in America. Actually, I think that's the only one they did release here. I had to get p.h.u.q., Fishing For Luckies and everything else on import.
John Moore

They gave it a limited release initially. It got reviewed, the reviews were amazing, and then they pulled the album. No tour budget, no shows, no promotion. Even when Suckerpunch was A-listed on KROQ, they never had us play the States. Then they lost interest when the second album came out. Things could have gone better!

Do you like the Wildhearts album Fishing For Luckies? It´s my favourite one, for sure!
Arthur

It's a weird one as it was supposed to be half of a double album (p.h.u.q. being the other half), but the record company wouldn't release a double album. I personally think they fucked things up, as a single album (p.h.u.q.) could never have competed with Earth Vs The Wildhearts' popularity. My idea was to do something different. Theirs was to follow the first album with another similar album. I like Fishing For Luckies a lot, but I wish it was part of a double album.

A bit of an odd question: is The British All-American Home Boy Crowd inspired at all by Frank Zappa?!
Julia

"Do you know what you are... you are what you is." Yes, of course it is. Zappa is God!

How much control does a producer have when you go into a studio? Have there ever been any times when the man twiddling the knobs has driven you crazy? Is there a 'push and pull' barrier where you can tell him to get lost if he tells you to do something that you don't really want to do with the song? Or does the producer become like another member of the band when you're in the studio?
Stuart McMillan

A producer should have the last word in everything. He's the man employed (usually very well employed at that) to be the 'ears' when the band have gotten drunk, stoned, tired, lazy, bored, or when they just can't make up their mind. I have had arguments with producers, but more often than not it's been because I was too inexperienced, or they had the wrong vision for what I was trying to do. It's like a relationship, and not all relationships work out. It's best to be honest.

What do Ritch, Danny and Jef now think of the production of Endless, Nameless? Are there any regrets from them, or yourself, that it doesn't have a "cleaner" sound?
Stuart McMillan

Not really sure, or concerned, what they think of it... I love it! I'd hate to hear a clean mix. Besides, it'd be impossible as all the distortion was put onto tape

Whatever happened to the musical (Clamabusical) that you and Alex Kane were writing? Sounds like a fucking mad concept to me.
Mark

If we ever get time to actually write it, I'd imagine it would be a thing of great beauty and wonder. Can't wait for the cries of "I preferred the album!"

Have you ever done karaoke? If you have, what did you sing and what sort of reception did you get?
Mike Sachs

In LA one time, I got roped into singing for the Japanese contingent present (and, incidentally, paying for the evening's merriments). Knowing it would have been a cultural insult to refuse, I was sent up on the podium only to find that they'd picked out Cheap Trick's Surrender for me to sing, believing that because I sang in a band I could handle Robin Zander's material. I was shitting myself, but I was amazed to find that I could actually hit every note with relative ease... prompting a return visit to the track in December when Leigh Terrorvision dared me to do an impromptu run-through of the song at Bradford Rio's.

I've been watching some Lucio Fulci films recently (The Beyond, Zombie Flesh Eaters, The House By The Cemetery and City Of The Living Dead), but I don't think these compare to George Romero's Living Dead trilogy. I was wondering which you prefer.
Mark Cliff

Oh, Fulci every time. The way he makes blood bubble and spurt out of arteries, in ultra-slow-motion, is a wonder to behold. Just when you think someone has had enough humiliation and pain, he'll keep the camera rolling, zoom in, and hurt 'em some more. With even more blood. And that blood, man... dark red, nearly black, and as thick as tar. And gallons of it. Romero is good, with some nice political statements thrown in for extra artistic integrity, but Fulci makes splatter hardcore-style. And he has people killed by spiders, slugs, dogs and birds as well as Zombies. Which gives him extra points in my book. Oh, and did I mention the blood?

I've been a big fan of The Pogues and, of course, Shane MacGowan, for a while. I saw The Pogues at Brixton Academy last month and was blown away. They actually half sobered me up at the end of the set, when they played Fairytale Of New York complete with fake snow pouring down everywhere (I was so pissed I thought someone had taken the fuggin' roof off). I'm also a big fan of Shane MacGowan and The Popes, and am off to see them at the Kentish Forum in March. I just wondered if you were a fan. And were The Pogues not an influence when you came to write Geordie In Wonderland?
Kevin Reynolds

I love Shane's wisdom and attitude. He really should be a lot more influential than he is. The guy is probably the most talented poet that never got famous. Of course everyone told me that Geordie In Wonderland sounded like The Pogues, but I don't think it does. Apart from taking inspiration from the sound of 'pub' folk, their sound has always been more authentic and celebratory (as well as abrasive), whereas Geordie has more of a rock sound to it and is much more throwaway. I prefer The Pogues!

I was wondering what your favourite new bands are.
Neil Bruce

One of them are American Hi-Fi because we had them on the hi-fi while painting my new house today and they rocked. Great album. I like The Strokes, too, because they've managed to divide people down the middle more effectively than anything since The Blair Witch Project. But my most favourite band of the moment are Rammstein. I don't quite know why, but I've fallen in love with them!

What do you think of Ryan Adams?
Robin Bell

I love Ryan Adams, and I'm jealous as hell of his success at being the singer / songwriter that lots of people take seriously.

My brother Russ gave me this address as the address of the great Ginger. I hope he's not bullshiting, 'cos I'm now now making a dick of myself if he is. I'm writing to say that I brought Grievous Acoustic Behaviour yesterday, and it's quite possibly the best album I've got.
Daniel Palmer

Cheers mate. You're obviously a raging piss-head. God bless you.

(Daniel issued a swift denial, saying: "I didn't drink until I heard the album." Dammit, I wanna see that quoted in press ads! - Ed)

What's been your proudest moment so far?
Ian Taylor

The Singles Club has exceeded all expectations (recording-wise, that is). But the most fun / proudest moment was playing onstage with Stidi and Random as a three-piece last December. Seeing nearly 500 people singing every word, to a set comprised of mainly B-sides, stands as one of the most important points in my life. It doesn't matter to the fans if my songs are hits or not, they still listen to them... so I'd better not put too much crap out there in future, if I can resist the urge.

I was lucky enough to chat with Jon and Conny at JB's a few months ago when SG5 played there, and I was just wondering: why is Jon Poole random?
Spooky

It's because of his parents. His father was a sponge and his mother was a headache tablet. At an early age, he left the test tube to pursue other, more abstract, activities, eventually landing a plum role in one of London's leading burger chains, where he made his name as a condiment. 2002 finds him a dreamer, a beach person, and a Capricorn.

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