Well, not really… We’ve just kindly asked them to do an e-interview after doing a support tour for Marc Almond and they said yes, or actually one of them did, but still… I felt instantly a notch cooler for a bit… Anyway, wanna read the outcome? It’s right below you…
Neal, thanks for speaking with us. Please can you introduce your band to the rest of us, and explain how you all found each other?
“The Montecristos are reinventing the shimmer and the throb, the tingle of illicit pleasure awakened by the sin-drenched echo of 1950’s guitars- the midnight soundtrack for Jayne Mansfield; hips swaying like a storm at sea knocking at the Green Door of all your rock ‘n’ roll dreams.”
I’ve always wanted to be in a rock ‘n’ roll band. I felt like my time might be running out. I’m almost the last of a dying breed.
My contemporaries have either lost it, lost the spark, dying, or stopped trying to shock or be inventive or do anything new. I figured it’s about time.
I’ve always been on the lookout for new talent. I can recognise that rare certain special something – charisma, style, elegance, grace that some musicians have.
I spotted The Montecristos’ trumpeter Gemma B playing with Roy Wood – formerly of The Move, ELO and Wizzard. She just had “it”!
From the back of the hall she was the one that stood out…
Gemma brought in Sophie Freeman on tenor sax – she’s a fabulous rock ‘n’ roll and jazz saxophonist . They’re “The Brassiest Horn Section you’ll ever see!”
I loved the idea of a female bass player but had little hope of finding someone. I found Emma Goss poking about on the internet… A little YouTube clip that now has over 150k views. She’s astounding! A real virtuoso.
It turned out she lives only 20 minutes up the road from me. I jumped in the car and sped over to meet her – guitar in hand. We played for 30 minutes without pause and it was just glaringly obvious that she was the one. We had it all going on immediately.
Our drummer Hugh Wilkinson is a top notch percussionist. Marc Almond found him and brought him in to play with us at Antony’s Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall in 2012. We played the whole of Marc’s “Torment and Toreros” album live for the first time. I was just blown away by Hugh’s musicality – and the fact he could keep up an absolutely relentless thundering beat so invited him to join.
It’s an absolute joy to play with such brilliant people! I’m a self taught, 3 chord punk guitarist with no formal training and I have to pinch myself sometimes.
Do you still have the biggest and strongest quiff in London?
No – But I’m doing OK especially given the abuse my hair has suffered over the years. I give my barber this pic of Billy Fury for inspiration whenever I go in.
With Sigue Sigue Sputnik you had the great hit Love Missile F1-11. Now you have reworked this with The Montecristos.
Did you incorporate any modern contemporary influences into this rework?
Whatever the roots of the music we make I always try to make it sound fresh and contemporary. I’m like a sponge soaking up all that I see and hear around me – that’s the purpose of living isn’t it? – but always strive to be original.
Although my pounding heart is stuck in the ’50s my dancing feet are totally in the 21st Century. We’ve retro-fitted and re-imagined “Love Missile F1-11” to be totally contemporary. A thumping glam beat, reverb drenched ’50s Rock ‘n’ Roll guitars and space age vocal echoes. There’s still nothing that sounds like “F1-11”
Sigue Sigue Sputnik were pretty iconic and it could be argued they set waves for a new style of band, do you think you can do something similar with The Montecristos and how much does this new venture mean to you?
It’s impossible to recreate the time when Sigue Sigue Sputnik launched. ’80s Britain was a drab and colourless place. No-one had any money. It all seems so quaint and archaic looking back. It’s impossible for a band to have the kind of shock value that we had back then. We were the only band talking about TV, arcade games, personal computers, mobile phones, movies. Fun stuff!
The world is so different today. All those things we talked about are part of our everyday lives. The internet has completely changed the way people connect and communicate. I watch TV on Netflix these days, listen to music on YouTube or my iPhone and connect via e-mail, Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram. We live a dream beyond the wildest dreams of Sci-Fi writers!
So – no looking back. The Montecristos mean everything to me today. No resting on laurels. No rose tinted specs.
I’m incredibly fortunate to get a second go. I have huge ambition and hope for the band and work all the time to try and get us out and about.
I’d like nothing more than to see us continue recording, touring, performing. This is just the start.
Neal, you just came off tour with the legendary Marc Almond, how was that tour and has it amped you up for touring a whole lot with The Montecristos?
I love working with Marc. He’s a real genuine, individual, maverick talent. He’s been ignored or forgotten by far too many for far too long.
“The Velvet Trail” Tour was the best I’ve been involved with in the 20 years I’ve been working and touring with him.
Packed houses every night, great music, wonderful lights and visuals. We have a terrific band and Marc was on absolutely sparkling form.
We’re both feeling totally re-energised.
The Montecristos opened at 3 of the shows – and went down an absolute storm. There’s always a lot of love in the room when The Montecristos play!
We’d love love love to out on the road more but we do need to catch the eye of a good promoter. We self promoted our sell-out show at Wilton’s Music Hall in London but you need local knowledge to make it work around the UK and beyond.
Our next confirmed show will be a wild night of rock ‘n’ roll at The Jazz Café, London on August 13th – as special guests of Slim Jim Phantom – former stickman of The Stray Cats. He’s one of my drumming idols!
You have an all women band, something we don’t always see. What made you decide that you wanted an all women band, or did it just fall into place like that?
Well the studio band also features Orlando La Rose on Baritone Sax so we’re actually 50% male 50% female – we reflect the world around us.
I love working with great people – whatever race, gender or sexuality.
Can we expect a full UK or European tour at some point this year?
I really hope so – there’s a whole world out there that we’d love to turn on. However it does involve the willingness of promoters to commit to booking us.
Unfortunately I don’t have a magic wand that can make it happen. I think the band look and sound fantastic so there’s every chance something will happen.
Which track on the album means the most to you?
I had the riff for “Dirty Little Lowlife”. I really wanted to do a song that had no changes… Just the same driving riff all the way – Like “Sister Ray” or “Ghost Rider” Normally I’m a slow lyric writer but I pictured someone I used to know and like and it just poured out in 10 minutes flat.
I turned a hideous negative in a real positive! It really was cathartic. There’s no shit in my life these days…. That’s my favourite!
You also have a track on the album called #Selfie, nice work with the hashtag there. What do you think of the current selfie trend in popular culture.
It’s great! What’s wrong with someone taking a pic of themselves and posting it on-line? Lighten up people… This is how we communicate in 2015.
If you’re really cute send me your #selfie…
What’s currently in your car’s CD changer?
A couple of spider’s webs and dust! It’s broken – I listen to the radio in the car… When my kids let me!
Thanks for speaking with us today Neal.
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