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Features
INTERVIEW
With the new album having just been released, it’s
an incredibly busy time for The Phonics and yet they still took
a breather to answer a few questions, what lovely chaps. Newbie
to the group Javier told us all about how he became part of the
band and how he’s enjoying life in the spotlight so far.
MP3 Zone
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Stereophonics Interview April 2005 Lets start off with Dakota, how did you come up with the idea? KJ – Dakota was first written in Paris, I was on a promo trip for You Got To Go There To Come Back, it was snowing and the hotel room was really cold, I was bored and just picked up the guitar, it all came together pretty quickly. It’s a very reflective song, dreamy and nostalgic yet at the same time uplifting. I finished off the lyrics when I was in America 6 weeks later. So Javier, how did you become involved with Richard and Kelly? I was working in a recording studio and from time to time I worked with them, we’ve known each other for about 3 years. Kelly came to work on Dakota and superman, they were using a drum machine approach and they became a bit stuck with the programme. I very conveniently happened to have my drum kit there (laughs) and I just played drums for him. To cut a fairly long story short we worked on 16 songs in 8 days, Kelly and Richard went to America to finish off the tracks and when they came back to the UK they contacted me, and the rest as they say is history. Another one for Javier how does it feel coming into a band like the Stereophonics and being catapulted straight to fame? Hmmm, it feels weird….. But in a good way (laughs) it feels really natural, like we have known each other for years, it’s a very happy accident, getting to number one was amazing, i'm trying not to think about it too much, i'm just going with the flow and enjoying it very much (laughs again) Do you agree Rich? (laughs) Yes the whole process from start to finish just felt really natural. We did our first live shows in January and that was a really good laugh lots of sweaty heaving rooms and going back to basics, it was fantastic. How did you find the intimate gigs Javier? They were quite in your face, I was shitting myself (laughs), Glasgow was the best intimate gig, I was curious as to how the crowds would react but it was great, the fans were really receptive. I was worrying a little about guitars and things after the Manchester gig (laughs) but it all went rather well. For those of us that don’t know what happened in Manchester? RJ – Ha ha it was more like what didn’t happen KJ – I’m just glad it was free, It was Javier’s first gig and we were really getting into it in the dressing room, we had on old tunes we hadn’t heard for ages, a couple of beers and a little vodka and everybody was in a good frame of mind. It was a proper sweaty club gig and it was going to be great, we walk on, Launch into ‘It Looks Like Chaplin’, hit the wah wah pedal and the whole thing goes down…. It happens about 4 times, we went off stage and came back and it happened again, so we just started having a crack with the crowd, we got through it but it was a bit embarrassing. Javier, were you in a band prior to joining the Stereophonics? Yeah, I’ve played the drums since I was 13; I was in a band back home in Venezuela. Since I’ve been in London I’ve played in a couple of bands but the Stereophonics are my first proper band in the UK Not bad for your first proper band Ha ha ha ha no it isn’t at all How is life for you at the moment Javier? I’m sort of stunned by it all, it all has big wow factor. The weirdest thing was doing the demos; we did 16 songs in 8 days, which was hectic (laughs). Within an hour of playing with Kelly it felt like I was playing with a good friend, my normal life is definitely gone (laughs again) What has surprised you most about the music business? KJ – that it is constantly surprising! Richard, when you met Javier, how did you know he would be the one to fill Stuarts boots? When we recorded the first couple of tracks in July we just knew Javier was the one. It felt natural and we all gelled really well. What advice would you give to young musicians who want to follow in your footsteps? Keep on playing as much as possible, always keep your tastes wide open and be true to yourself. As told to Katey J – Edible Audio Magazine - Glasgow
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