recording a guitar part and he was playing it too perfectly. He was having music muscle memory, and Ross picked up – I think it was big roll of tape or something – and just smacked him with it, from across the room. He does it to shake you up and make sure you’re on form.” There Is A Way has some stunning moments on it. Whether it’s the
unearthly screams from Calum on Seven Days late as the guitars soar for the stars, the way the band leap together on the chorus to Muscle Memory or the chaotic intro to E-Numbers, Ross’ no-hold-barred attitude steers the band into fresh sonic waters. “There’s a saxophone on the record! At the end of Think & Feel there’s a
weird free-jazz sorta thing. For ages I wanted a saxophone and one morning I found this homeless busker guy. I took him to Ross’s big mansion and we just recorded him. He was this proper virtuoso saxophone player, absolute genius. We let him hear the song and I was like ‘I’m really into John Zorn and I want you to do this’ and the guy asked what key the song was in, and Ross just looked at him and said: ‘no, we don’t do that here!’.” The change in the Dananananaykroyd camp extends to their label situation too. They’re releasing their album on their own label, Pizza College after parting ways with their previous label, Best Before. “Since we started the band we’ve always loved DIY stuff. We got the
absolutely dumb idea to call it Pizza College and thought it was absolutely hilarious. We liked the idea of the label being more of an institution. Like, you buy the album and you get a Pizza College student t-shirt, a Pizza College USB stick and tote bag and we liked the idea of fitting you out for going to
Pizza College.” Though it doesn’t sound as if they’re taking the idea seriously, it’ just part of the band taking creative control for everything while ensuring their future. “We decided we were gonna have a complete overhaul. The music industry is changing so quickly that we have to get to a place where what we do is sustainable so it makes sense that we have control and get to keep all our money and make decisions over where that money goes. We mutually parted ways with our previous label and setup our own thing with our management.” Meanwhile, the title of the album and the artwork all tie in with the overall feel of the band’s entire drive. “‘Where there’s a
will...There Is A Way.’ It’s all about turning a negative thing into positive, turning things round. There’s always a way and often its not through means that you quickly realise. The cover of the album is split up into three different sections: one of them is nature, one of them is the cosmos and another is science with There Is A Way over the top of it - as in, there is a way to deal with these three things and it’s about feeling liberated and not scared and not to be worried about what people think.”
“We decided that we were gonna have a complete overhaul! The music industry is changing so quickly that we have to get to have control and make our own decisions…”
Everything about the band speaks volumes not just about finding ‘a way’
but also doing it their way. There’s never been a threat of Dananananaykroyd ever being cool or starting a scene or anything silly like that. Instead, they’ve just been brilliant fun, indulging in their whims because it makes them, and other people, happy. It’s endeared all sorts of music fans to their brand of entertainment and throughout they seem to have enjoyed throwing themselves into their unique brand of hyperactive rock. Now seemingly at full-strength – injuries mostly healed, line-up solid, new songs etc.– and with festivals around the UK and Australia lined up, there’s not much to stop them. John’s even planning to reprise that fateful night in Sydney. He’s planning to begin the gig from the point where he hit the floor and the music stopped and carry on through to the end. Asked if a bigger venue would be more appropriate he shakes his head. As ever, bands are always at their best if they’re doing it the way they want to. PM
52 3pickup
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68