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August 26, 2005
Vote for Supergrass.tv at BT Digital Music Awards
The BT Digital Music Awards celebrate the way you listen to, watch, download, and enjoy your favourite music and artists - online, on your mobile, via digital radio and on interactive TV. You can now vote for Supergrass.tv for the People's Choice Award. Cast your vote here
Posted by adriaan at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)
August 25, 2005
Supergrass' Mermaids video for 'Low C'
Supergrass spent an afternoon with the mermaids Tuesday and got a taste of life underwater. "It was like a dream," said Mick Quinn, bass player and vocalist for the English band Supergrass, as he dried off after the shoot.
The four-member group donned white dress shirts, black shirts and ties and jumped into the mermaid lagoon at Weeki Wachee Springs to dance with the mermaid performers for a scene in the video of their latest single, "Low C."
The scene, shot by an underwater photographer in the lagoon and from dry confines of the theater, was part of a three-day shoot at the attraction. Director Garth Jennings visited the park as a child and when the band approached him with the single, Jennings said he thought of the park immediately and wrote the video around it.
The 10-member crew also filmed scenes on the park's riverboat and at the homes of former Mermaid Barbara and current Mermaid Carli as she got ready for her shift at the park.
"It's an affectionate portrait of this place," said Jennings, who has directed other videos for Supergrass. "I thought it would be interesting to see the amazing people behind it and how special that all is."
Gaz Coombes, lead vocalist and guitar player for the band, said he liked the idea from the start.
"It should be beautiful spectacle," Coombes said. "The song has always had that kind of vibe."
Jennings teamed up with his longtime partner for the video, producer Nick Goldsmith. The pair has worked on scores of music videos together, including pieces for R.E.M., Beck and Fatboy Slim. The also collaborated for the recent feature film, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
The Supergrass video is scheduled for release in mid-September. Chris Hufford, the band's longtime manager who was on hand for the shoot, said the band is getting a quality video for its $100,000 budget.
"This is just a classic idea," Hufford said.
Mermaid Heather (the attraction's mermaid performers do not give their last names for security reasons) said it was a change of pace to swim with a band, even if they did have less-than-stellar breath control.
"It was a blast," she said. "They're a fun group of guys."
Supergrass, also comprised of keyboard player Rob Coombes and drummer Danny Goffey, formed in 1994 and by 1999 had released three platinum albums. "Low C" is a single on their fifth and latest album, "Road to Rouen," released earlier this month.
The band has enjoyed success in England for years, but are more of "an underground band" here in the United States, Hufford said.
That may change, though, as the band is slated to appear on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno on Sept. 29. That will likely be a lot easier than dancing underwater for Rob Coombes.
"I have a new respect for the mermaids," Coombes said, "because it's very tough what they do."
This story was found at: http://www.hernandotoday.com/MGBGW5M8SCE.html
Posted by adriaan at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2005
NME reviews 'Road to Rouen'
Supergrass have spent 11 years leaving me fairly cold. 'Caught By The Fuzz' was a brilliant pop record, and I remember liking 'Mary' a lot, but, fucking hell, all that other gumph just sailed right past me. Supergrass always seemed like they were a bit resentful of their position, resentful of being in a successful group, resentful of who they were. They seemed like the cartoon image they'd been saddled with - as much of their own making as anyone else's... I mean, no-one made him grow those sideburns - was eating away at the people they actually were. Supergrass were tainted with the wacky-stick; the perfect mid-point between The Monkees and the Pixies, they were equally uncomfortable in both camps. They also had that killer tag of being loads of people's second-favourite group. A few steps up from perennial lower-league makeweights like The Charlatans or Placebo, sure, but still some serious way short of Radiohead, say, or Nirvana. Ultimately, they were ignorable, which is the worst thing that can be said of any group. They've got a new album out? Great, but why should I care if it's only going to be some grump-fest like 'In It For The Money'? When you consider the deal, bands actually expect a hell of a lot of us. Forty-plus minutes of verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge twattery at 12 quid a pop? What's in it for us again? Oh yes, the music!
But, 11 years in and, against all the odds, here's a Supergrass album everyone can love. 'Road To Rouen' is the sound of a band at last hitting their stride, finding out who they are and sounding like it's finally making them happy. Supergrass sound ready to make music that actually touches you - rather than just pleasures you.
A few things to note straight off. If you were one of those people who scratched their heads and wondered why a bunch of old buggers like Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd excited so much attention simply for appearing at Live8 then a fair proportion of 'Road To Rouen' may leave you cold, because the chilled breeze of early '70s Floyd albums, the rounded melodic suss of late-period Beatles, the wounded soul of Elliott Smith and the reborn blues of John Lennon circa 1971 are all over this record. Of course, for millions of people, that's the worst news ever. Well, y'know, tough shit.
Album opener 'Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6)' mimics PF's 'Wish You Were Here' in its floating guitar lines, battling themes of anger ("We welcome commercial suicide/Kiss the love you leave behind"), loss (Gaz's mother died two years ago and that, inevitably, has had an effect on their songwriting) and rock-solid, head-nodding grooves – Floyd were, despite their appearance, funky as fuck – but there's a strident Bob Dylan, an opiated Beatles and, most surprisingly, the dilated-pupil rush of E'd-up dance floor dynamics in there too.
'St Petersburg' must have been the band's strangest choice for a single ever. A broken-hearted lament strung out across a piano part so lonesome every other instrument appears to be here just for support, it features a melody seemingly divined directly from the soundtrack to some John Barry spy film from 1965 and ends with the most gorgeous string quartet winding in on itself. Did anyone really think something this beautiful and plaintive would be a hit? Have they been sectioned yet?
It's rumoured Kate Bush will return with a new album this year. If she does, she may want to ask Supergrass for 'Sad Girl' back first, as it used to be hers and is known more widely as 'Babooshka'. Someone, sadly, who won't be coming back is Elliott Smith, and, again, it's his ghost that hangs above this, his spirit a smokey wreath around their heads.
'Roxy' – imagine Smashing Pumpkins' '1979' bled clean of all the useless wankery – has Gaz revealing that he's been, "Living in fear of what hasn't come yet" over more Floyd flavour (this time, it's the arcing vocal lines of 'Eclipse' from 'Dark Side Of The Moon'). The string quartet reappears, drifting like sunlight through the trees after a long, dark, over-stimulated night. Have Supergrass sounded this free before? OK, so the Lithuanian polka-pop of 'Coffee In The Pot' may not be their finest moment, but it does highlight a band who are still capable of making each other laugh, and, when you've spent 11 years thrashing through records and tours together, that means a lot. Can you imagine The Strokes, even now, managing to make each other crack a smile with a stupid guitar line? No, me neither. In an earlier time, that would have been the end of side one. Now it sounds a little odd sandwiched between 'Roxy' and 'Road To Rouen''s scratchy Talking Heads boogie meets Sly & The Family Stone dope-groove. Full marks for the dub FX and sampled police sirens that cut in and out of the band's angular funk strut too.
There's a part of The Byrds' ultra-jangle that will be forever the guitar band's friend and nothing else on this album soars with fresh psychedelic intent like 'Kick In The Teeth'. It even manages to play out on a reverberating Beatles bassline.
'Low C' ("The loneliness at times/I can feel it open wide") could be a broad-brimmed Lennon opening the shutters and letting some sunlight into his stockbroker-belt mansion's piano room. When the band break the song down it is, as usual for this record, Rob Coombes' keyboards that lift everything and carry it all off somewhere wonderful and unusual.
Finally, there's 'Fin', which, as carrot-cake eaters everywhere knows means 'End', but this, like so much of the rest of 'Road To Rouen', sounds more like a new beginning. "Love, love, and loss, so dear/You know it's a long way home", Gaz sighs. We're glad you could make it. But Christ almighty, what took you so long?
Rob Fitzpatrick
Rating: 7
Posted by adriaan at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2005
'Road to Rouen' enters UK album chart
Supergrass enters the UK album chart with their fifth studio album 'Road To Rouen' at number 9.
Posted by adriaan at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2005
Hammersmith London review: Monkey business as usual
The Observer printed a review of Supergrass' gig at Hammersmith Working Men's Club in London:
The mixture of grandeur and grot - formica-topped tables reflecting the cornicing, chandeliers glinting beneath ceiling tiles - matched tonight's downbeat set from erstwhile stadium-fillers Supergrass; a gold-foil curtain sparkles in the light of cosy standard lamps as Gaz Coombes ambles on to the stage in a linen jacket and a red felt hat. He sets up a percussive chug on his acoustic guitar for the new single 'St Petersburg'; it's every inch a Supergrass tune, with that curiously catchy quirkiness they've had since the start.
Mickey Quinn comes on and sits by Coombes, swapping his usual bass for another acoustic on a lovely version of 'Caught by the Fuzz'. It's funny watching the pair strumming metronomically in stereo; they look like twin clockwork monkeys.
The band builds the set slowly. Coombes's brother Rob comes on after a very Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 'Sitting Up Straight' and provides Rhodes piano on 'Seen the Light'. Danny Goffey and percussionist Satin Singh join in only after half-a-dozen numbers.
It's hard to pick favourites from the two dozen tunes aired. I love the weird anti-harmonies of 'Bullet', my gigmate reckons the stop-start 'Moving' is their best tune; most of the crowd agree with him. John Cooper Clarke's appearance in the interval is a definite bonus; still pencil-thin and razor-sharp, he looks very much at home (even if half the crowd are too young to know who he is).
In general, the sparser the song, the more charm they exude. But it's hard to deny the power of the anthemic 'Mary', or ignore the raucous applause for numbers such as 'Sun Hits the Sky'. As ever, Supergrass's skewed effervescence is catching; it's good to see a bunch of chaps doing something they still clearly love.
Posted by adriaan at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2005
"Nice... Really Nice": Supergrass Go Jazz
Supergrass launch their new album 'Road To Rouen' with a special acoustic performance at London's legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott's mixing hangovers, hits and new material.
Gone were the cigars and 20-minunte noodling jazz solos, but in their place Ronnie Scott's played host today (August 18) to a forty-five minute semi-acoustic set from Supergrass to mark the release of their new record.
Just a couple of hundred fans crammed into the London jazz club as the four-piece, joined by their touring percussion player, packed onto the tiny stage for a selection of hits and new material.
Beginning solo, a hung-over (by his own admission) Gaz Coombes performed an acoustic 'St. Petersburg', before being joined by bass player Mick Quinn for an acoustic 'Caught By The Fuzz''. The rest of the band then
joined for new tracks 'Tales Of Endurance' and
'Roxy' before introducing 'Moving' as "the singalong, in place of 'Alright'".
Finishing with a final 'Sun Hits The Sky' and new album-closer 'Fin' the band left the stage briefly before returning for an encore of Gil Scott Heron's 'Lady Day And John Coltrane' and 'Mary'.
Sources suggest that this may not be the last we see of acoustic Supergrass in such an intimate setting, regardless of drummer Danny Goffey's exclamation as he raced out of the building...
"Never Again!"
The full setlist ran as follows:
St. Petersburg
Caught By The Fuzz
Kiss Of Life
Tales Of Endurance
Roxy
Moving
Low C
Road To Rouen
Bullet
Sun Hits The Sky
Fin
Lady Day And John Coltrane
Mary
Posted by adriaan at 09:50 PM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2005
Win Supergrass albums and t-shirts
'Road to Rouen' sees the band adopting a mature songwriting style, and is set for release on August 15th. The first single, 'St Petersburg, is out this week (August 8th) and you can see the new video on soundgenerator. There are five copies of the new album and exclusive new Supergrass t-shirts to win as well. Go to Soundgenerator.com to enter the competition.
Posted by adriaan at 01:20 AM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2005
New Supergrass LP: Born In A Barn, Literally
upergrass might have called their second album In It for the Money, but this time around, they're gleefully committing commercial suicide — or at least they're joking that they are.
The band trades in its trademark buzz-saw pop for a more esoteric sound on its fifth album, Road to Rouen — the title of which refers to the city in northern France where the album was recorded, as well as the Ramones' 1978 LP Road to Ruin and the potential disaster in abandoning the Britpop formula that's brought Supergrass much success over the last decade. Still, they hope fans dig it.
"Any kind of reaction is good," singer Gaz Coombes said. "Silence and no movement should be a worry."
"We're hoping our fans will dance and look happy," drummer Danny Goffey added.
The album, which contains just nine songs, runs the gamut from "Zappa and Jimi Hendrix riffs" to "weird elements of Eastern Europe," from Talking Heads to country music, the band says. They used zithers, ukuleles, brass, strings and a drum machine, and although Supergrass' new sound is all over the place, the bandmembers say they were much more focused in the studio: a converted barn with rudimentary recording equipment.
"It was a bit like when we were younger and used to make eight-track [recordings]," Goffey said.
"You get all these [crazy] drum sounds, which you just wouldn't get in a [more advanced] studio, because everything's mic'd up beautifully with an engineer that's been there for years," Coombes said.
Inspired by the rustic surroundings, Supergrass tried to reflect that feeling in the album: For instance, they recorded the album's first single, "St. Petersburg," in one take. "You wouldn't be able to overdub," Coombes said, "because the [instruments all blended together], there would have been guitar all over Danny's drums, so basically all of you have to play the right thing at the same time." When they took it to be mixed, the engineer couldn't really mix it — rather than individual tracks, the song was one complete sound. All this, of course, goes against what's usually considered commercially viable. Not that Supergrass care.
"When you get to a certain point, the expectations are really high," Coombes said. "I think sometimes you lose sight of the fact that you could be working on tracks that were a bit more bizarre, that would mess with people's heads a bit. I think we've got to a nice level where we can do as we please and keep the band interesting and not be pressured for the next song to be [the band's 1999 U.K. hit] 'Pumping on Your Stereo.' Because we've done that. And who knows what the next record is going to be like? It could be a return to punk rock."
Or a soundtrack. "We could use our sensitive sides to do a really nice film score," Goffey said. "So if anyone's out there, give us a ring."
From MTV by Jennifer Vineyard, with additional reporting by Agnes Marquis
Posted by adriaan at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)