Interview with Gareth David-Lloyd and Blue
Gillespie
Here at CackBlabbath, no release which
has dropped onto our doormat has surprised us as much as the debut album
by Welsh band Blue Gillespie. The first surprise was just how powerful
and heavy it was, in fact after we Reviewed
it it was hardly off the stereo for weeks, to the detriment of
anything that arrived in it's wake.
The second surprise came when it
was pointed out to us who the lead singer was. I mean could this
incredible rock voice possibly belong to that nice young man who played
Ianto Jones in Torchwood ? Well yes, it indeed could. Strangely if we
had twigged this connection this release may not even have made it onto
our review schedule, I mean actor turned singer is a phrase to strike
fear into anyone. It's safe to say that this album had defied every
expectation that was made of it. The critical reception has been,
without exception, excellent. When you have CackBlabbath, This Is Not A Scene and even
Scottish habitual piss takers
Leave The Hall all agreeing that this is something special, it
really must be. We had to find out more about how this came to be, so
we tracked down Gareth and the band to find out...  |
Obvious one first, How did Blue Gillespie get
together ?
For an impromptu gig with James Masters at the point
in 2007.
Is the band an equal partnership, I ask as unlike some actors side
projects it doesn't feel like one person's 'vehicle' ?
Absolutely. All development decisions, earnings and musical choices
are made equally. (When the bassist can bother to have an opinion!)
How are the songs put together, who does what ?
Mainly we
all turn up with individual ideas and then it's about consolidating
them, taking parts from one idea then finding the most exciting way to
weave it into the next. |
Does the music come after the lyrical theme for the song has been
put down, or do you write music then wrap words round them ?
A
bit of both. When writing the album Gareth was away so the other boys
wrote a lot of the music without him. They would then send Gareth the
files via e-mail and Gareth would then find the words. We had about a
month polishing the tracks together before going into the studio. This
system worked but we try and stay together to write as much as we can.
| The reception for 'Synesthesia' has been
overwhelmingly positive, happy with the response ?
Fucking well
chuffed. The first wave of response has really energised and focused us
for the future. Look out!
It's an album that has a great deal of textural and lyrical
complexity, light and dark, in it, was this important to let the
'Gillespie' out ?
Yes. It's almost like writing a spell. Once
we choose the main theme in a track, if we are in the right zone the
rest just sort of happens. We don't make a massive effort to decide
which bits are dark and which bits are light. We feel are way through
then go back and tidy it up at the end |  |
Has Gareth's 'Day Job' helped or hindered the band ?
Helped as far as already having a small fan base. But we were
concerned sometimes that people in the music industry (and sometimes our
own friends) weren't giving us any serious consideration because of
Gareth's acting work. Hopefully now we'll be taken a bit more seriously.
Do you think that people will have a preconceived idea of what the
band will sound like ?
We've heard countless times - "You sound
nothing like I thought you would" or "Fuck off that's not GDL singing!"
so yes. It seems that an actor who can portray a sensitive guarded
character onscreen but can also rip up the stage with malevolent
screaming vocals is inconceivable. But we hope with the buzz we've had
so far preconceptions will start to collapse.
 | I would imagine that
you get some slightly confused Torchwood fans at some of the gigs, I
mean it's not exactly showtunes ?
No it's not. We're trying to
recruit a Rock audience. We are so grateful to the Torchwood fans that
have stayed and are happy in some case we've completely converted them
to a life of heavy rock. But the few we've lost on the way due to not
making the right kind of noise - fuck em! There's a band called Celtic
Thunder we're sure they would love.
Was there an conscious effort to make this an "anti-pop" album,
something exclusively NOT for the X-Factor generation ?
No.
Every sinew in our body's are "anti-pop" so not much effort there.
What do you think of these 'Instant Fame" shows ?
Please
don't get us started. They should be "Instant Flame" shows. |
Synesthesia has been described as everything from Prog Metal to
Stoner Rock, how would you describe it ?
At it's most basic it's
Prog Metal though the elements of Stoner Rock and Blues all rear there
heads from time to time.
In places the album is very dark and angry, is the whole
"collective alter ego" thing a way to explore these themes ?
Yes. Intense emotions can sometimes run peoples lives if not allowed
to surface. Bottling intense emotions up can be very psychologically
damaging. But letting them out in the wrong way can be just as
traumatic, to others as well as the individual. Our music hopefully
encourages people to let their demons out (and we all have them) without
hurting anyone.
One for Gareth, given the choice between acting and singing, which
would you choose?
As long as I can tell a story that I'm engaged
with I'm happy.
What are the band's plans for the near future. More
gigging I assume ?
Definitely. We want to do more rock/metal
gigs run by established promoters in the hope to extend our musical
fan base. We're also working on remixes for the singles we'll be
releasing this year.
Any plans for a follow up album ?
Oh yes! We're very
exited about it. The next album is much more high concept with a more
defined through line. That's all we can say for now! |  | We are massively grateful to the guys
for taking the time to speak to CackBlabbath, and look forward to
seeing them live in the near future. The album is available via the Blue Gillespie Website. We
think you'll like it.
|
