THE GLITTERATI
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 26th March 2010.
Hard rockers The Glitterati released their debut, self-titled album back in 2005. Produced by Mike Clink (Metallica, Guns N' Roses) it earned them much praise in the press and several big tour and festival slots. Five years on the band have their 2nd album, Are You One Of Us?, ready for release...so we thought we'd catch up with them and get the lowdown.
Vocalist Paul Gautrey answers questions on behalf of the band.
Photo credit Hannah Yates
Hi Paul, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Paul: Great thanks.
Could you give us a brief history of how The Glitterati originally got together, and how the present line-up compares to the early days?
Paul: Three of us - John, Bill and myself - had been in a band together before The Glitterati in Leeds. We started TG with Jamie and Nic who are no longer in the band. We all moved to London and the 5 of us lived in a two bedroom house. Things took off for us pretty quickly and we ended up signing to Atlantic Records who we released our debut album with.
We ended up having a great time and some success, but ultimately found ourselves without a label and without a penny between us. I think Nic and Jamie just couldn't face the struggle of trying to find a way to fund our new album and also trying to find a new label. Our experience with Atlantic kind of dragged everyone down.
Once Nic and Jamie left it gave the 3 of us that remained a real determination as it felt like nobody believed we could get things back on track. We started making the album as a 3-piece and, whilst recording it, we recruited Baz and Gaff who gave the band a new lease of life with their enthusiasm. Once we finished the album we approached one label - Global/DR2 - and that's the label we signed to. Everything right now is great, and we are really excited about the future.
Did you know at the start exactly what sort of music you wanted to make, or has the sound developed a lot over the years?
Paul: It's developed in a natural way. The band that we were in before The Glitterati played a similar style of music...just not as well! We love a lot of different styles of music, but how we sound is where all our influences meet.
Who or what were the early inspirations?
Paul: The early influences were bands we loved growing up; bands like Guns N' Roses, New York Dolls, The Cult, Rolling Stones and loads more.
Your self-titled debut album was produced by Mike Clink and received rave reviews... Has starting your recording career on such a high made it difficult to know how to advance to the next stage?
Paul: I think it made it difficult to justify the hype which we had no control over. The british music press latched onto us before we even had a deal. We weren't complaining because it meant we could sign for a lot of money to any label we wanted. If I'm honest we probably weren't ready for all the hype at that stage. We only had about 5 songs and the NME was calling us the best new band in Britain. Our main problem was that there was about a year between all the hype and the album finally coming out, so i think we had a mini backlash in some quarters as the music press changes their mind on who are the chosen ones about 3 times a week!
In the end we made the best album we could, and a lot of people liked it. We didn't have any control over the other stuff.
Why the long 5 years between albums?
Paul: It wasn't the way we wanted it. We toured our 2005 album for over a year, building up a really good following despite a lack of real support from the label. in the end we were desperate to get out as they had made it clear they weren't going to support us anymore, and we were pretty miserable. Basically as soon as the money ran out everyone around us bailed: band members, management, people we considered friends on the way up. We had to find a way to make a great album with a budget of nothing.
Everything just took us a lot longer than we thought, finding new band members, finding a way to make the album, making the album, finding a new label - everything took so much longer than we planned. It's just our way; we are late for everything ha ha! But it's worked out well, you know... We have just about been living off this band for 7 years now. Most of the bands we started out with disappeared within a year, and we are still here with a great new album and a great label.
I think a lot of people, who were dubious we were just this hyped up major label band first time around, respect the fact we kept things going and believed in it enough to get back to this point despite everything we have gone through.
Have you been writing songs the whole time, or have you only sat down to create the album more recently?
Paul: We were writing the whole time, as we always intended to have an album out sooner.
How does this album compare to the debut? Is ‘Are You One Of Us?’ a sound evolution or revolution for the band?
Paul: I think it's a more aggressive album, maybe a little darker sounding than the first. Its a natural evolution in sound but a revolution in the way we made it. We had complete control over the album and time to make the record we wanted, which we achieved.
What did producer Matt Hyde bring to the project? Did his presence (and his history) take you down heavier musical roads?
Paul: We wouldn't have been able to make a record without Matt; he was like a band member the whole time. He made it possible because he loved our band and wasn't just waiting for a big fat producer's cheque. We had known Matt for a long time. He's more a fan of our type of music than the metal bands he has made his name with, so he didn't want us to sound like Slipknot, but he definitely brought a harder edge to the sound which we wanted.
Did you think about working with Mike Clink again, or did you need the change to keep your music fresh?
Paul: I don't think it would have been possible to work with Mike on this record, as Mike Clink doesn't come cheap. Neither does L.A.!
Matt made it possible because he fit us in when he could. He would fly out to work with Slipknot and come see us on his day off to do vocals or that kind of thing. They are both amazing producers. Mike's an absolute legend and, in my opinion, Matt's the best up and coming producer out there.
What was the time in the studio like? Was it a blast, or bloody hard work?
Paul: It was very relaxed. We didn't have any deadlines or people watching over us and Matt's a good friend so it was a great atmosphere. The only pressure was what we put on ourselves to get the thing done and make it as good as we possibly could.
Did you use any special techniques or instruments to get your sound?
Paul: No, we have always been a pretty honest band, live or in the studio. Matt has pretty modern methods but his main objective was just to get the best sounds and the best performances out of us.
Are you Protools junkies, or do you prefer a more simple recording experience?
Paul: We just go with the producer really; they all have their ways of working. I don't think one way's better than the other really, we just want to make the best record. Like i said we want to be able to play it live so we are pretty honest with what we put down.
Some bands can be so snobbish about it all - sometimes to the detriment of the overall sound. To be honest with you I'm not clued up on a lot of what goes on in there, i just go in and do the best job i can. They are all just flashing lights and lots of buttons to me ha ha!
Do you find yourselves creating music for the market that exists, or do you write what you want and hope people dig it?
Paul: We just write what we like: always have. We just try and be our own favourite band and hope people like it.
How does it feel having your second album finished and on the way out?
Paul: It's amazing, actually, knowing what went into making it and how much of a struggle we had to get it out there. We just want to get out there and make up for lost time.
Who was the main writer for the record – or was it more of a team effort?
Paul: The 3 original members, John, Bill and myself wrote the songs because we started the album as a 3 piece. Once Baz and Gaff joined they had an influence on the overall sound.
What comes first, the riff or the lyric? How do you put together a song, and where do you find your musical ideas?
Paul: John and Bill write the songs musically. They give me instrumental versions of songs, then I put the lyrics/melody on top. We have always done it that way.
Is there a concept behind the album, or are the songs standalone entries?
Paul: There's no planned concept but, because of the lyrics and the things we were going through, a lot of the songs have a theme of overcoming adversity - even the title which is an 'us against the world' kind of statement.
How did the deal with Global Music’s DR2 records come about?
Paul: They were the only label we approached. After all the stuff we had gone through it was the easiest thing in the world with them. We sent them our music, they saw us live and we did the deal. They are a great label with huge experience and knowledge on rock music, which is the exact opposite of Atlantic who really couldn't tell their Smiths from their Aerosmiths!
Were they there from the start or was the record finished when they came onboard?
Paul: The record was finished, but they were the first people we got in touch with. It was such a relief for us to not have to go through all the record label rubbish like we had done in the past. It was all done very quickly and painlessly with Global/DR2.
Were there any guest performers on the album?
Paul: No, we had a hard enough time trying to find enough band members to play the tracks at the start ha ha!
Do you have big plans for touring on the back of this release?
Paul: We love touring and we cant wait to get out to as many places as possible. We are in the process of sorting that out right now.
What’s a Glitterati show like? What should fans expect if they have the chance to catch one of your gigs?
Paul: I think they will see that we are having a great time up there and it rubs off on them. We try put on a show, and we are in our element on stage.
Have you played any of the new songs live so far? If so, have they gone down well?
Paul: Yes, we have been playing mostly new songs since we finished the album. They have gone down great! We hoped they would but you never know, it's great to play in front of our crowd and see them singing all the words to our last single 'Fight, Fight, Fight'.
I can't wait to play the new songs once everyone knows them.
Do you live what you’d consider to be a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle?
Paul: Well, a lot of the times it's not as glamorous as you think, but we do enjoy it! There's nothing that we can do as well as this, we love it and wouldn't swap it for anything.
What’s the funniest thing any of you have done on tour?
Paul: Ha ha, too many to mention. Every day there's a new one. Gaff, our rhythm guitarist, is a one man reality TV show. He cracks me up!
What’s the best story you’ve ever read about yourselves in the press?
Paul: There have been a few. We have been linked with a couple of celebrity ladies but, unfortunately, the stories have never been true and probably came from us, ha ha!
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Paul: Yes... I like the question, "When and where can I buy your new album, Are You One Of Us?"... And the answer is April the 19th. You can also pre order it direct from our label at Global Music...
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Paul: Maybe grabbing a shower.
Anything else you would like to mention?
Paul: Just thanks to everyone who's stuck by us. For anyone who hasn't heard us, give us a listen or come to a show.
Thanks for your time
Paul: Thanks Jon, we appreciate it!
Thanks again to Paul for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of The Glitterati's latest album Are You One Of Us? soon....
http://www.myspace.com/theglitterati
