Alabama 3
By Holden DeForgeThe Alabama 3 train of country blues electro rock rolled into town recently and we caught up with them for a brief chat in their dressing room after their gig at the Cockpit...
The Alabama 3 train of country blues electro rock rolled into town recently and we caught up with them for a brief chat in their dressing room after their gig at The Cockpit.
"All the graffiti in here's horrible. Look at that, 'Donny Boys On Tour'. Wouldn't you think they'd put more power to the imagination? We want deep political argument!".
These gents aren't backward in coming forward with their strong beliefs. You get the impression they could talk passionately for hours about their beliefs on music, politics and much more.
A3: Do you know how much a record is? I'm no gonna go pay £14 for a record. That's why we always try keep our stuff about a tenner. You can't whinge like Metallica or that band The Thrills on the back of their album 'CD Copying Is Ruining Music', how much fucking cocksuckers are they? You know these people make Simon Le Bon look Wilde. It's all to do with the fucking industry finding a new way to handle publishing and any musician worth their salt will be aware of that and will encourage that.
LMS: You can't believe that people are going into HMV and paying £14 for an album.
A3: I tell you what to do. Get a big fucking army bag and go and empty the shelves cos it won't make a penny of difference to us.
The evening has been a full show rather than just a gig. With an acoustic set prior to the main gig and a DJ spinning country, punk and blues in the middle room that band have displayed their wide ranging love of many styles of music.
LMS: So who are your musical influences?
A3: We don't have musical influences. We influence each other. You listen to other music but you're influenced by your mates.
LMS: So that's how you get a fresh approach and sound? By listening to the same music but sharing each other's interpretations.
A3: Aye, aye, that's right. There are some records that you'll never be without. We want to make records you can keep. We take traditional forms like delta blues, gospel and all that... some of the songs we've wrote they're pure forms, in the sense that that they're proper gospel and they have proper gospel lyrics. The reason why there's all the bible talk in the lyrics is that it's part of the form. So basically we're fucking about with forms more than anyone else is at the minute or has been since about the middle of the 70's. Cos when Bobby G wrote 'Moving On Up' that's not the same as us.
LMS: It's been a real event and there was a really eclectic audience in tonight.
A3: I haven't been to church in ages, it's the only congregation I've looked out upon and everybody's smiling. You never get that in church cos they're too fucking guilty. Maybe they should all be on fucking E.
After reprimanding another member of the band for not shutting the dressing room door after walking in the Reverend Dwayne Love demonstrates his more light hearted side...
A3: They'll club me round the head. Make me into udder butties. Do you believe in that up North?
LMS: What's that?
A3: They all get sent to school with cow udder sandwiches.
LMS: Err. no.
A3: Aye me neither, I think our conga player's having a laugh.
LMS: Right, I better let you get off to the aftershow if you're DJing.
A3: No, stay, I wanna talk some more, I could talk all night.
And you feel they could too! Alabama 3 are a band who breathe and believe their music and once you step into their church you can only ever leave a believer!
