Good Shoes - Manchester, UK - Spring 2007
By: Gareth Roberts
Having slowly but surely built up a dedicated fanbase over the past year or so with songs which are, to this mind at least, perfect pop music (catchy as hell and intelligent to boot), it now looks time for Good Shoes to flee the nest and become ingrained in the nations consciousness. On the verge of the release of their debut album, 'Think Before you Speak', Rockfeedback caught up with singer Rhys for a chat about success, selling out, politics and his exercise regime. They aren't your average band after all.
Rockfeedback: You recorded the album in Sweden with Per Sunding and Tore Johansson at the helm, how did that come about?
Rhys Jones: "It was basically our record label. Envelopes had used Per Sunding before, and Tore Johansson is obviously a well respected famous name. We heard the Envelopes songs and they sounded amazing, their albums not coming out for ages but it sounded so good, so we just went there and recorded with him. I guess it's nice to be isolated, it's not like London where you just know everything etc. And it worked out the same price to record in Sweden, so we did it there. It was a nice little break, Per recorded it and then Tore mixed it. So basically it was our record labels idea, and we weren't going to say no to that!"
RFB: So what did Tore and Per bring to the party?
RJ: "I think it would have pretty much sounded the same whoever did it really, we wanted to keep it as it is live, and from the recordings we have done before - from the demos to the James Ford recordings - we knew how we wanted it to sound, I guess they just created the environment. I don't know, we probably didn't realise how much influence they actually had on it, especially on the mixing side of things. I guess they must have had a big influence but just not noticeable."
RFB: It might sound stupid to ask, but are you happy with the final outcome?
RJ: "I'm really, really pleased and proud of it. I was looking at it the other day, and I'm really happy with the finished product, the artwork and everything. There are 14 songs on it and I don't think there's one bad one, although I guess I'm going to be biased because it is my music! I think as a band we're building slowly, the trajectory is gradually moving upwards. We've been playing to a lot of people on this tour, I think it will be hard for people to ignore us now, what with the album out and stuff. I think we're constantly making good videos and good artwork etc, I think that's the key really, to constantly barrage people with good things, but again, that's my opinion. People can think that's proper shite."
RFB: All the songs on the album are fresh recordings (including the litter of singles released over the past 12 months), why did you choose to re-do them?
RJ: "Just because if we'd put the old recordings on it would have sounded different. It's meant to be a sort of snapshot from that period. And we put 'Small Town Girl' on because in 50 years time if someone buys our album they might not have realised that 'Small Town Girl' was one of our best songs, or it was our first single, or it was old compared to the newer stuff. It's like a photograph of where we're at now, and I think that each album is sort of like that. Although there was some debate about the 'All In My Head' version because it is a lot slower than the single, so I don't know if we should have put the James Ford one on, but I'm still happy. I think the production on the new one is a lot better but it's a lot slower, so I'm not sure."
RFB: With a sound that has drawn comparisons from Wire to the Strokes and many in between, it is surprisingly difficult - considering the poppy nature and simple structures - to compare your music with anyone elses' without creating a false impression, so - from the horses mouth - who or what has had an influence on the band?
RJ: "The Knife are a band who really influenced me, maybe not during the recording of the album, but the visual side of things I like a lot. We're going to do a big tour in November and hopefully play in big venues and hopefully have a good light show and projections and stuff. Artwork, because of the illustration, is quite a big influence on the creative side of the band like music videos and artwork. But musically I'd say that when I heard The Strokes for the first time, that really changed the music I listened to, so before it was like Blur and Oasis etc, and just listening to what was in the charts or whatever, then I went to college and you sort of have your coming of age don't you, and you realise you were into bad music! So The Strokes and Libertines, that sort of turned me around musically. I started looking out for bands like Kings of Leon and the Von Bondies and stuff, but I've never really sat down and thought about it. I don't think we sound very unique really, I think we make sort of... pop music, people always say to us that they don't know who influences us, but that's maybe because we've all got such different tastes, so I like listening to Bjork or Outkast or the Knife and The Strokes and stuff, Steve is a classically trained musician so he basically just listens to classical music, apart from The Knife and The Smiths. So I guess maybe that's why. But it's something I've never thought about until people started asking me."
RFB: The creative aspect is clearly something that you take seriously as band...
RJ: "That's right, everyone wants to be in a band, but I was more realistic about it, I wanted to be an animator or an illustrator so I went to uni to do illustration but I hated it, and when we started taking the band seriously we realised that our music was equally as good as other peoples that's out there. So I quit uni, but the creative part is obviously really important to me, and music videos are such a good medium. I think you can be so creative. I was watching music videos last night and a lot of them aren't very good really. It also gives us an identity - I want people to be able to look at our singles and say 'oh, that's a Good Shoes single', like, the new Kaiser Chiefs album artwork is terrible. Basically what I want to do is the teachers at my uni, I want to just show them our stuff and say 'f**k you, I didn't need a degree to do this!' - that's the main part of it really, me being bitter!"
RFB: So are there any bands you particularly admire or aspire to in artistic / creative terms aside from the music itself?
RJ: "Yeah, The Knife's 'Deep Cuts' album, I think that looks really good. Although they are a bit hit and miss really, their live shows are amazing but their music videos off the 'Deep Cuts' album are all a bit shit. They're on the same label as us now so we know the new stuff they're doing is all really good. The Strokes as well, their 'Modern Age' E.P, I picked it up and it just looked so good. I guess it's maybe not musicians, but more people who make music videos like Michel Gondry, and there's an animation production company called Shynola who did the videos for 'Pyramid Song' by Radiohead and 'Go with the Flow' by Queens of the Stone Age. So that's more of an influence I'd say. Artwork wise Michael Gillette is an illustrator we all like, he's my favourite illustrator. I can't really think of any bands who have had a really strong look through the whole time really."
RFB: For the cover of 'The Photos on my Wall', you invited fans to submit pictures of themselves for inclusion in the artwork, is that something you want to encourage? A closeness with the fans?
RJ: "I guess it's just what we do, I'm very involved with the videos and the artwork, I do almost all of it. I think that when bands don't care about that sort of stuff... I don't know, I just want to be in total control of it, maybe that's because I went to art school or whatever, hopefully fans appreciate our website and stuff, even on the forum, if people ask questions I'll answer them and things. But I definitely want to separate myself from fans in a way, it's a strange thing, I don't want to embrace it totally, but at the same time I don't want to be on a pedestal, I want people to be able to approach me. It can get a bit scary though, in Glasgow we were mobbed, there was a big stage invasion, I find that sort of thing really strange. It sounds really bad but when there's no backstage where you can lock yourself away, and fans can come in, if there's a lot of them and people want to chat to you... I'm quite a shy person really like that. That's what I find really weird about being in a band. I guess I do it though as well, I met The Knife once and I was just like , woaahh... I didn't know what to say. It's a strange thing isn't it. I guess we're not famous but it's that whole thing about people seeing you not as a normal person..."
RFB: Its only gonna get worse though!
RJ: "Yeah, I'm just gonna hide myself away in the van!"
RFB: You've been quoted as saying that you want to be a successful band and sell a lot of records. Is success, and everything that comes with it, something you're looking forward to?
RJ: "I don't feel uncomfortable with it, you know, I want to play Brixton Academy and stuff like that, so if bands like Hard-Fi can sell out 4 nights there, I want to sell out 5 or 6. I think its really nice that people listen to your music, as I say on this tour we've been playing to loads of people, but at the same time I think that if you're in a band, you're gonna have a mixture of being a complete ego-maniac and being the complete opposite at the same time. You want people to listen to your music and appreciate it, but at the same time it's a strange thing. I guess it's like a double edged sword, there are parts you aren't going to like necessarily, but you know, I think we're lucky that we get to do things like tour the country, we just signed a deal in Japan yesterday, we're going to Europe in April, so the good is 99%, and the bad is only 1%."
RFB: You've said you wanted to avoid selling out "like the Kaiser Chiefs", yet in recent interviews they have been adamant in their stance that they haven't 'sold out' (whatever that may mean). Therefore for all your good intentions, how do you feel you can avoid people thinking of Good Shoes like they do about the Kaiser Chiefs (should success etc come knocking)?
RJ: "I probably shouldn't slag off bands really, should I?! Its' an ongoing thing. But their artwork is pretty terrible. I don't know, with them it just seems very careerist, and its really hypocritical of me, I don't know them so I shouldn't be saying anything about them really, but I think that people like Arctic Monkeys are still very credible to me, I think it's a question of your output. I feel like we can be very popular but we're always gonna be in control of our videos and the artwork etc. I wouldn't let any of the bad things that we see in other bands happen. You know, like we turn down TV and stuff because it's wrong for us, we only do stuff that is sort of... I'd like to think we wouldn't whore ourselves to get popular. But then again I do want to sell a lot of records, I'm sure that in a years time there will be people saying 'oh Good Shoes, they've sold out!' - if we sell some records that is."
RFB: I read recently that you believe that bands like Klaxons and the Horrors should be using their popularity and status to influence young people in political matters, why do you think bands are reluctant to get involved in matters of importance like that these days?
RJ: "Yeah, I said that, but then again I think that bands sometimes don't wanna talk about stuff like that or don't care, I think that's fine. But for me there are a lot of issues about being in a band, we're in a van today and its so carbon inefficient. We're probably polluting so badly. We don't really have any money at the moment, this tour sort of breaks even, but eventually I'd like to be able to offset touring, because we have to fly places a lot as well, there's a place in Wales that plants trees and they never get cut down, they just plant them and leave them to grow so its like a big forest. I think there are so many big things going on in the world at the moment, everybody's freedoms are getting whittled down and you're rights are getting taken away basically, especially in America you can see that happening. There are so many big issues, its hard to touch on it in a short interview, but its nice to see our country waking up to things like environmental issues and global warming. It just makes you think like, why haven't people been doing this before? Why don't people eat seasonal vegetables that are grown locally? Or why doesn't every house have solar panels on it? That's stuff I care about quite a lot."
RFB: You ride around on a bike a lot don't you?
RJ: "Yeah lots, I also do it to stay in shape - all the others in the band are stick thin, but I'm not! I have to sort of... I actually want to find a swimming pool, do you know where one is? (Rockfeedback duly advises him about the local aquatics centre). I feel like with the political issues and stuff, I feel like there are just bands like... you know, like I was saying before, about fans looking up to us etc, in their minds they put us up on a pedestal even though we're just the same as them. So I think... there are a lot of people coming to see us, so maybe we should use that to tell people that maybe they should... I don't know, on our MySpace I put links to things I like, like Amnesty International and Greenpeace. Maybe preaching isn't the best thing, but if people know you're interested in that maybe it might make them think. And charity shops as well, buying clothes from them, I put a link to a local charity shop finder for the whole of England! I thought that was pretty cool. And also getting kids to vote, I vote for the Green Party, and even if they don't get in it makes a lot of difference, it just shows the powers that be that people are interested in these parties."
RFB: So do you feel that there is a danger that young people in general are drifting along apathetically these days?
RJ: "Yeah definitely. People just live for the weekend these days don't they. I guess I do that as well to an extent, its very easy to sort of not think of anything on a grander scale than just getting drunk on the weekends or whatever, or doing your 9-5 etc. So yeah, I think there is a lot of that. I was reading an article about the race riots in the 70s. I guess that was a much bigger issue that affected people a lot more visibly I'd say, but people just seemed to be more pro-active and more political back then, everyone's got a bit cosy."
RFB: Finally, you've been quoted as saying that bands should "start young and stop young", is that a sign of things to come?
"Well, I'm 21 now and I feel old already. Not in the literal sense but in terms of music. You look back and see a lot of people who made good albums when they were young, I think that three albums is a good amount of albums for a band to make. I was looking at the Pixies, they made four albums. I think bands that go past that stage sort of... fester. But four is a lot, I think three albums is a good amount. I was reading that Jamie from the Klaxons said the same thing, their deal is 3 albums, that's a good amount of records for band to make I think. But then again I'm saying that now, but you cant really say it with any certainty.
We then discuss certain magazines, my 'career', Manchester's best night spots on a Saturday night, and the rockfeedback review of the album (which, for the record, Rhys regarded as a fairly accurate portrayal - he notes that he is indeed a bit 'miserable'!) I point out that there is a difference between being miserable and being intelligent enough to realise everything is shit. And on that note, why not look at these links to try and make things a little better, and note that 'Think Before You Speak' is out now. An amazing record, cycle down to your local store and snap it up pronto.
LINKS: CHARITY SHOP GUIDE / AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL / GREENPEACE / ABOUTMYVOTE
Artists in this article: Good Shoes