Wed 07 May 2003
Stocki gets to ask Glen Hansard of
The Frames questions of art and faith as their new live album SET LIST
gets ready for May release! Wisdom and advice brims over...
For some time I have been waxing
lyrical about the magnificence of The Frames live. On the eve of their
live album SET LIST I got a chance to email Glen Hansard a few questions
as he was holed up in Chicago putting down tracks for the next studio album.
He waited until he got back to Dublin but he took the time to tease out
my questions of art and faith as they apply to this man who have been following
closely since I was first blown away by The Frames in London way back in
1991.
Claire Leddbetter gave the word on
the release to the fan base this week:
"it is finally hitting a store near
you in ireland on may 16th. the tracklist is: revelate, star star, god
bless mom, pavement tune, stars are underground, lay me down, rent day
blues, what happens when the heart just stops, perfect opening line, santa
maria, fitzcarraldo, your face and the blood. we've left the bit in in
the middle of fitcarraldo where the amp blew up and caught fire and a story
about a dog.....part from that, its full-on music/crowd/music/crowd/music
etc from start to finish and is a very nice addition to one's collection
:0) the version of your face is particularly fine i think.....3mv in england
will be making the record available in stores in the uk from the 26th may.
little big in australia will be making the record available in stores as
soon as humanly possible too...now - in america - i dont know yet what
we're doing with the record. hopefully it will be available in stores too
at some point soon, or on amazon sooner, but im sure we'll bring over a
suitcase to sell at the shows in june for those that cant wait. i beleive
that konkurrent in the benelux countries will be taking some set lists
too to get out in their territories."
See Glen solo at Killyleagh Castle
on may 25th with Van Morrison, Juliet Turner, Brian Houston and Juliet
Turner!
So here is the interview…
STOCKI: How does it feel that after
13 years The Frames have finally got some of the recognition that you deserved
all along?
GLEN: We feel that were doing what
we set out to do. It was never a case for us of getting recognition from
media… us, our audience and our peers have always been our concern. The
media has never been a particular friend or foe, it’s just never been our
goal to be its favourite band. We’ve done what’s been asked of us in regard
to press, and no more. I think its a dangerous place to put yourself…at
the mercy of something so insecure…it seems to me that popular culture
has always been led by those who care least for it, not those who follow
it's lead… if it truly matters nothing to you, then you may just end up
its darling one day, although if you were truthful you won’t notice it
either way.
STOCKI: It seems that since I first
saw you in the Subterranean, London in 91 that you have been on the cusp
but never dropped over the edge. How have you found the stamina to not
say SOD IT and walk away?
GLEN: Because walking away has never
been an option. I left school at 14, I’m not qualified to do much else.
Which puts me in a strong position…do this well or give up…the latter is
not a very promising prospect. I never gave myself that choice. Whether
on a stage or on a street…music is what I do.
STOCKI: The Dublin scene is so strong
at the moment with Damien Rice, Gemma Hayes, David Kitt etc. This is a
new generation but you seem more part of it than you did of the old regime
so to speak. Do you feel it is a good time for the Irish scene?
GLEN: Yes I think there is a very
healthy atmosphere in Dublin, I think a large part of it is to do with
the confidence of the Irish nation rising…people are no longer afraid to
like bands that come from there own town. When The Frames started back
in 1990 you had to get some nod from foreign press in order for people
at home to pay any attention…we were ruled by the English music press…which
is purely based on the cult of personality and not the tunes, fashion and
rock ‘n roll stories are its agenda. I don’t regard it, and I’ve never
bought it. Dublin is thriving because there is so much great music being
made here. It seems that every decade, real quality emerges.
STOCKI: For The Birds is a little
more laid back and ambient than most of what you do. What as the reason
for that? Was it the Kittsers et al influencing the sound?
GLEN: No, it was just time to make
a record of what was coming out…the natural stuff. For so long we'd been
told by the industry that fast means big, loud means lots, slow means nothing
and i was just so sick of that logic. The songs I was writing were slow…so
that’s what we did. We were happy to make a record that might show our
natural selves even though we might be ignored for it...it's not like we
were applauded for our other records anyway… it just didn’t matter as long
as we could stand by it and be proud..
STOCKI: What happens next? Is there
a temptation to do For The Birds Part 2 to keep the new fan base?
GLEN: Records are just what they
turn out to be. There’s no radical game plan…that’s for the world domination
bands… I’m just mapping a life with songs. We don’t stand around under
lit tables and plan our fan base strategies…forget that…if those who like
The Frames like the record then great. I won’t try to con anyone that we’re
the horse to watch. How base would that be!?
STOCKI: There must be songs sitting
ready. What stage is the follow up at?
GLEN: We’ve just finished the basic
tracks in Chicago, were happy with the work we’ve done and we will do some
more work on it in the coming weeks and mix it sometime soon after that.
If the basic emotion of the songs translate well…then we’ve done our record
justice.
STOCKI: What kind of sound can we
expect?
It's a collection of songs and so
it has no set thread other than we made them. There are elements of our
last two records in there and some new elements too. The song in its basic
form is often the most pure…then we throw the bells and whistles on and
sometimes it looks ridiculous… other times a new beauty emerges.. it’s
alchemy it’s fun and at best it's art.
STOCKI: Are there more of those sad
love songs about waking up in the ex's garden?
GLEN: Yeah! Lots more..
STOCKI: Are there any themes taking
shape?
GLEN: I suppose a sense of well f***
it we’re lost in the middle of this life and each day brings a new possibility
for adventure and safety. It’s more about enjoying the chaos now and not
moaning about it anymore…what’s the point…the whole thing is so much bigger
than us…so lets just enjoy the time we have here.. with its questions and
doubts and abstractions and joy. The human condition is the basis. Connection
with other humans is what we crave…and sharing the light keeps us alive…very
Christian eh?
STOCKI: Thematically where do the
ideas come from?
GLEN: From a life of map making and
song. Everything’s an influence… everything.
STOCKI: How will losing David Odlum
affect the next record?
GLEN: It won’t. He's still my friend…we
still make music together. He's following his own north star and it's leading
him toward a life of engineering and producing and there's nothing in the
world that justifies keeping a person from their dreams. With regard to
a noticeable sonic difference? Well I’m sure his presence will be missed…but
not his spirit.
STOCKI: The live show is simply astounding.
Do you prefer the stage or the studio?
GLEN: The studio and the stage are
such different environments. For the longest time I thought that to recreate
the live energy on tape was the desired effect...but through tearful endeavour
I’ve realised it's a different process…one which we are still learning
about…playing live is definitely where we are comfortable…the energy is
clear and it flows in one direction…away from the band.. and the energy
that returns is then converted and used instantly…it’s a very random animal
the live show.
STOCKI: Covers of Tim Buckley and
Van Morrison sit side by side with the Pixies in live shows. Would you
call the things you listen to eclectic?
GLEN: Yeah growing up as a busker
it’s all about songs and not styles.. a good song crosses the street and
unlocks the passer by…to achieve a response no matter how small.. these
people write great songs and I thank them for many a meal I’ve eaten through
singing their tunes. Thanks from all the buskers!
STOCKI: You specifically mention
Morrison as an influence to not just yourselves but to David Gray et al.
For you is there an Irish kinship there?
GLEN: I think it’s the troubadour
thing…the power of a man with a guitar and something to sing about. I don’t
think it's particular to Ireland…it's the old way.. the poets take on the
world around them.. a solitary voice that sings of a territory that’s unseen…that’s
inner and abstract and emotional.. and somehow comments on us all. There’s
great medicine in ramblings of a lost soul…no patronising tone to the words.
I love Van Morrison because he always seems to be searching.. never found…I
don’t know about his personal life but in his music he gives the listener
only a question…the answer lies elsewhere…to be attained someday.
STOCKI: There is also a depth of
religious imagery to what you and Morrison do. East Belfast and Dublin
city have not been great ads for the Jesus of the Protestant and Catholic
faiths of those respective places. Yet the message both of you have is
a positive spiritual vibe. Why do you think that is?
GLEN: I’m not really sure where that
comes from. My earliest memories of singing was being bathed in the sink
by my mother with the suitcase record player on the sideboard, playing
Leonard Cohen and Simon and Garfunkel records. She taught me the words
to Bird on the Wire and the Sound of Silence, and as a very young child
I just learned the sounds of the words. I was too young to know what they
meant, never mind their deeper meanings. As I grew up those songs got deeper
and revealed more to me. We weren’t a church going family, although my
mother was and is very catholic. Apart from a 5 year falling out with God
in the 90's she has always been a very strong believer. She always said,
"we don’t have to go to church to talk to God"… and she viewed the church
as a place of gossiping and comparisons. The whole wearing the Sunday best
and showing up with the rest of the town for the weekly sermon just wasn’t
high on her list of priorities. She stayed at home and cleaned on Sunday
mornings with the record player so loud that she could hear it clearly
over the Hoover…the rising dust caught in the sunlight were the angels
ascended.
STOCKI: At a recent Belfast gig,
you mentioned Jesus whipping the money changers out of the temple. Do you
read a lot of stuff about him?
GLEN: I find the Bible fairly tough
going as a book, but I love the imagery. It’s full of great tragedy and
redemption, the fire and brimstone nature of it definitely appeals to me,
although I suppose that the whole style of writing at the time was very
poetic and decorative so when it says, "Jesus healed the blind, it may
mean that he gave the unsee-ers back their faith…therefore restoring the
vision…therefore healing the blind… and if you apply this method of thinking
to every aspect of the bible and it's miracle stories then it becomes much
easier to believe he really was as powerful as the book describes…because
these surely were miracles, real miracles. The power and vision of a man
to change the minds of people, to change laws to overthrow powers that
be…it took the will and strength of a true prophet…and the book of Luke
was the place were this became most clear to me. The idea of an angry Christ
struck a deep chord in me…because the floating yoda we see so often in
imagery never convinced me. I think he must have been a very strong and
powerful man to have had such a lasting impact on the Christian world…and
the whole world in fact… a great revolutionary and a deeply spiritual leader.
STOCKI: Finally, how do you go about
"making your life make sense and make amends?"
GLEN: I suppose I try to remain open
to the signs and to the moment I’m in. I really believe in the idea that
if we are open, the mystery and the wonder are revealed to us through everything
we encounter…the magic is in the moment. Although that line was born out
of a sense that I wasn't in control of my own destiny anymore and I and
we The Frames needed to get clear of the place we were, and to strike out
on our own path and see where it brought us. So the amends we made came
partly through making For The Birds and setting up our own record label
and being our own bosses. The personal amends never stop…hat’s the work
of the everyday
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