August 2008
From Adam Cushion:
What is your favorite song is from the Truth be Told album?
Bit tricky, as I still haven't heard the entire album yet! However 'Feathers' and 'Thinking Again' seem to stick in my mind the most though. I only watched the Cry For Help video for the first time not so long ago and enjoyed that! Probably one of the best videos the band ever made and I wasn't even in it! The buggers!
From BC:
Why did you leave the band and do you have any regrets at leaving when you did when the band was at the peak of their success?
It just felt like it was the right time for me to leave; relationships within the band weren't so good at that point probably because of the pressure we were under. Put that together with the death of Brit Pop it seemed to make sense to me at the time to try something new. The music industry can be hard to deal with at times and when Polydor dropped us regardless of the success of Disco Down and the greatest hits album I just struggled to see any reasons to hang around. I only have one regret and that would be all the bad feeling that my leaving the band caused; as you know we have all been friends since school and I am just thankful that we have now cleared the air, which took all of 5 minutes!
Did you really get lucky with Kylie Minogue?
We did use to know her a little bit back in the day but no nothing like that happened.
From tpot69:
Which bands are you most looking forward to watching at the festivals?
I was really excited about seeing 'Rage against the Machine' at T in the Park and they didn't disappoint, Tom Morello is just amazing! And the 'Kings of Leon' who were on top form. I was gutted though that 'Brian Jonestown Massacre' were playing at the same time as us, I really wanted to see them play again. Then to add insult to injury Rick happened to stumble into one of the tents at the end of the night and there they were playing again under a different name, to about 30 people! As for the V festival I am hoping to watch 'Muse' and 'Ian Brown'. I would have preferred to be on the other day to be honest; I think that has the better line up, 'Girls Aloud' anyone?
Which are better, Spaceships or Dinosaurs?
Spaceships cause I wouldn't fancy going for a ride on a Dinosaur!
From Glider:
What's the best album you've bought this year?
Well if we are talking about getting your moneys worth then it has to be the Ting Tings! My 3-year son absolutely loves them! So as a result we have had to listen to it on every car journey since it came out! I have just bought the MGMT album after Rick played it nonstop on the tour bus the other week and I'm also looking forward to the new Kings Of Leon album! Apart from that I have been really enjoying listening to 'The Band' again and have been digging out all my old albums, if you don't own 'Music from Big Pink', 'The Band' or 'The Last Waltz' then you should do!
Most embarrassing Sheds moment?
Oh come on I don't have time to write an essay! So let's make it simple with some examples! My hair - circa 1993-1994, The Speakeasy / Disco Down videos (what the fuck were we thinking?), Nobby the sheep! A smoke machine once got stuck at a gig in France and we had to walk off stage, couldn't see a thing in the venue for half an hour! Oh my, the list just goes on and on...
John Squire or Jimmy Page?
Tough one this but I'd have to go for Jimmy Page; mainly because John Squire (like myself) has borrowed so many ideas and riffs from Page and not the other way round! I also doubt that Squires would be able to wear them all in one cat suits and get away with it like Jimmy used to! I teach guitar a little in my spare time and love introducing Led Zeppelin to my students, it's a great feeling to watch a kid blasting out Black Dog or Since I've Been Loving you!
What's on your on-stage set-up (for the guitar nerds amongst us)?
Well I like nerdy questions! I'm still using the same pedal board that I had back in the 1990's which gives me that trademark sound! Good job I held onto it really, I had to dig it out of my loft when we reformed! Basically it's just a load of old Boss Pedals: 2 different Disortions/Delay/Flanger/Tremelo and a Wha Wha. Behind me I am using an Orange rig and two Hiwatt High Gain heads with 4x12 cabs. Guitarwise; I am still using the exact same ones that I have always used; my 70's Les Paul is still sounding fine! Oh and I use Dunlop picks... the orange ones!
From Laowi:
If you could have his time again would you have done anything differently (sheds-wise)?
Yeah I probably wouldn't have slagged Oasis off as much as I did when I think back to all the bands they gave a hand up the ladder to! We kind of shot ourselves in the foot there! Never mind eh? Apart from that I often wonder what would have happened if we had written Disco Down and High Hopes in time to be on the 'Let It Ride' album, I certainly think it would have led to a fourth album before any greatest hits would have got suggested. Oh and 'At the LINK it's easy' probably wasn't such a good idea either in hindsight!
How long do you see this incarnation of the band lasting?
For as long as we can keep it sounding fresh and interesting!
What was written on those t-shirts you wore during the reunion tour - the ones with the octopus in the middle?
I think I know which ones you are referring to but it wasn't an Octopus; it was an Ape. A company called 'Bathing Ape' makes them in Japan. You can only buy them in the UK from one shop in London called 'Busy Work Shop'.
From mike444:
Discounting Cry For Help, which song(s) from the band's post-'99 output would you most like to add to the current live set?
Lovesong Land! Just imagine it could be Alan's big Phil Collins moment in the set! It would be amazing.
From Darren Pegg, littlefox0047, tpot69, 'Ster & more:
Will there be a new single in the future??
There are no plans to date to write or record but that's not saying things may change in the future.