New article? I think, not seen it, though might have missed it...
www.subba-cultcha.com/features/article.php?contentID=20155Forget Rocky, Born On The Fourth Of July or the Robbie Williams comeback; there’s a far more down-to-earth tale of triumph by perseverance right here in Love Amongst Ruin. On the 21st September, 2007 Steve Hewitt parted ways with Placebo, the band of which he’d been the drummer, co-songwriter and rock’n’roll lifeblood since 1996. After two and a half years spent channelling his energy into a very personal album he now returns as the rejuvenated frontman of Love Amongst Ruin, a multi-faceted hard rock band with the crunch of a stone age queen, the crossover appeal of a parkful of linkins and the melodicism of the hardiest fighter of foos. Drop in twists of New Order/Depeche Mode electro-twangle, Can/Kasabian motorika, Cure atmospherics and hardcore Metallica riffage and you’ve got a bounce-back of potentially Gary Barlow proportions on your hands. Steve’s resurgence was inevitable: having served time at the stool of such diverse acts as The Boo Radleys, grit-rockers Breed, baggy chart stars K-Klass and Placebo – with whom he tasted huge global success, sharing the journey from post-Britpop indie hype band to multi-million selling international superstars – the recording studio is Hewitt’s natural habitat. And there he returned, holing up in his home studio for three months at the end of 2007 with ex-Lamb bassist and fellow Northwich boy Jon Thorn, jamming on forty or so ideas on drums and upright bass. Though many of their demos were rooted in grooves and rock, the first song to be completed was ‘Love Song’, Steve’s defiantly romantic piano paean that ends LAR’s debut album. “That was my first attempt at writing and singing and doing the whole thing,” Steve explains. “It was for my wife. I finished it, spent two days pondering it over and on the third day, late in the evening, I set up the machine and the headphones, and said ‘go upstairs and listen to that track’. I had to sit downstairs, I couldn’t be in the same room as her because I was petrified she’d go ‘it’s shit!’. But she came down crying, which I took as a good sign.” Recruiting his brother Nick on guitar and Julian Cope associate Donald Ross Skinner as co-producer and guitarist, LAR decamped to Bath Moles studio for two four-week recording sessions over the summer of 2008 which Steve found “very exhilarating, I really enjoyed it. I dealt with it really well. I had to make sure it was something I could live with afterwards. I was trying to be true to myself.” Was he worried about taking up singing duties? “It’s another hurdle. As soon as I got in the vocal booth at Moles, then I realised there was gonna be a point I was gonna have to get onstage and do this. I was nervous then!” The record they emerged with was a succinct yet wide-reaching beast. ‘Love Song’ and its harmonious cello brethren ‘Bring Me Down (You Don’t)’ (“a tip of the hat to Can’s ‘Bel Air’”) find counterpoint in the distorted vocals and brutal rock pummel of ‘Running’ or ‘Blood & Earth’ and the cinematic Robert Smith shimmerscapes of ‘Away From Me’ and ‘Heaven & Hell’. Elsewhere ‘Truth’ sounds like Nine Inch Nails covering Sigur Ros, the funk-punk ‘Home’ could’ve dropped, snarling and snivelling, off Kasabian’s ‘West Ryder Pauper Asylum’ and the first two singles ‘So Sad (Fade)’ and ‘Alone’ are worthy of QOTSA and New Order respectively. As rock’n’roll all-rounders go, this is a veritable Flintoff of an album. “It was always going to be a pop/rock record but it was always open to see whatever other influences would come along. All the vocals are very different on the record, there’s lots of different textures and flavours and styles. I’m finding myself at the moment. The first things I’ve written are out on that record and I think it’s quite brave. For a debut album it’s surprisingly commercially viable and a great platform to other things. It’s a great pop/rock record. I’ve always been a pop tart.” Placebo fans may well find Steve’s lyrics of interest; these songs are drenched in bitterness, bile and betrayal, but nonetheless underpinned with determination, self-belief, hope. Friends may be inconstant, but tough times will be overcome. “It’s a bunch of break-up songs. I used this ejection from Placebo for the motivation of the lyrics. Not necessarily completely directed at Brian (Molko) and Stef (Olsdal) but at the same time it’s hard not to combine that. ‘So Sad’ is losing a mate which you thought was a mate. With ‘Alone’ I managed to get the word ‘girl’ in there right at the end, but it’s a break-up song. “It’s cathartic definitely, it needed to be done like that. It’s been a tough journey these last two years but doing this record and these lyrics definitely got it out of me and I’m really pleased about that.” With a minor Oasis of sibling rivalry ousting Nick from the post-studio line-up, Love Amongst Ruin made their debut live outing at The Barfly on 11th May backed with Bath musos Steve Hove on lead guitar, Laurie Ross on cello, key’s and percussion and Magnus Lunden on bass. Steve feels confident he can put the ghosts of Placebo behind him and forge on into a fresher, brighter stage of his life. “I’m happy finding my own road,” Steve grins with his trademark joviality. “I’ve got some great people around me, I’ve hand-picked some really cool talented people for the band, there’s a great vibe, I’m enjoying being in a band and enjoying music again. It feels really fresh and full of energy.” Triumph over adversity? Success snatched from the jaws of defeat? We’re only at scene one and there’s a movie already begging to be made about Love Amongst Ruin.
How are you? Where does this Q&A find you?
I'm fine, but slightly depressed as this is the day that England have just put themselves out of the World Cup. Thank God I have Rock and Roll to comfort me on days like this.
Today I'm at Moles Studio in Bath working on the mixing for a new track on our debut album. This is very last minute as the album was originally completed many months ago. But we have just been refused permission to use a track which was based around the melody from CAN's Bel-Air.
How did the recording sessions for your latest release go? Did you achieve all you’d planned to?
This will be the first release from Love Amongst Ruin, which was recorded over the period of about a year and a half with sporadic recording sessions. The album was started from scratch so it is incdedible that we have ended up with sometthing that is so good. There is a lot of hope and belief in this album - it's a real achievement and those sentiments have been echoed at our recent shows at The Barfly and Scala in London. The recording went very well and we certainly achieved everything that we planned to, in fact in many ways I would have to say we achieved even more.
What goals did you set yourself before you started recording? Did you do anything differently this time, on purpose? If so, why?
I needed to make some serious decisions about the rest of my life. Basically the choices were - the pub or the studio. I chose the studio (fortunately there is a pub next door). The goals were to create something fresh and new with a brand new direction. Some of it was left to fate, some of it was planned. Basically we went on a general exploration of music to find a platform with which to launch this new sound, this new album and this new band.
The biggest difference for me was that previously I had always worked with external producers brought in to work with Placebo. This is a self-produced and very much hands on effort. I was in control every step of the way. With the help of Donald Ross Skinner and Paul Corkett we produced some killer tracks.
What do you feel are your own limitations when it comes to creating/writing music?
When we started work on this I thought that my singing might be a limitation and it took me a long time to realise, and then believe, that I could really do this. But I have since discovered that I have a good range and strong delivery. These just seem to get better the more time I spend in the studio or on the stage. Like playing any instrument the voice benefits from practice, rehearsals and experience.
What do you consider to be your best 3 songs, and tell us the inspiration behind them?
I can't do this - it would be like trying to pick a favourite child. Right now I have ten children (and maybe a couple that you don't know about yet). I love each of them, I created each of them. They are each different and special to me. There are no favourites.
As for the inspiration, well it's no secret that this album has been very cathartic for me in dealing with my departure from Placebo.
What do you love and what do you hate about life on the road? Tell us your funniest tour experience yet?
Touring has become a necessary evil from the point that it is now required in order for a band to exist. Nobody makes money on album sales any more. If you are going to sustain yourself as a musician you have to get on the road and connect with the fans.
In the hate column I really only have one point and that is that it keeps you away from your family.
In the love column it has to be the reason that you tour in the first place - getting that connection between the band and the fans when you see that they are really getting into what you wrote and the show that you are putting on. We really experienced this with our two most recent concerts in London. I can't wait to get this on he road in Europe later in the year.
All my 'funniest' tour experiences are presently being reviewed by the legal department and currently not available for printing. I can share a 'best' experience with you and that would have to The Big Day Out - in Australia 2001 - Rammstein / Roni Size / Queens Of The Stone Age / At The Drive In - great bands, great fans and great times.
How would you describe your own/bands sound, or what do you hate being labelled as?
We play balls out rock and roll with elements of sensitivity, depth, depravity and hope, but we are still very much on the dark side.
Who is currently moving you musically at the moment?
I've been so busy getting everything in line for Love Amongst Ruin that I haven't heard a whole album in months. But there are a few tracks that have impressed me in recent month. Biffy Clyro's - That Golden Rule, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Golden Age and Blood Red Shoes - Light It Up. On top of that I must say that I'm very excited about a project that I played on recently called Polaroid Kiss. It's a lot different than Love Amongst Ruin and of course I love having the chance to get back behind the drums.
What album changed your life and why?
This is hard, almost like picking favourite children, but not quite that hard. Two that I must mention are Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin and In Rainbows by Radiohead. Any album that I can listen to from start to finish is usually something that I consider to be a valid effort and a joyous opportunity to enjoy another artists work. Physical Graffiti changed my life because it showed me (and it still shows me) the power of Rock. In Rainbows, not only is it musically excellent but it was also a fantastic piece of marketing, a real fuck you from the band to the traditional business models. Looking back I think it must have been one of the first clues that made me think I should start my own record label so that I could have better control of my destiny.
If you could erase one single/album from history (your own or someone else's) which would it be and why?
The last Muse album. Because Queen were always so much better at being Queen than Muse will ever be. In 2010 we don't need this prog-rock authority unleashed upon us.
A rumour you'd like to start about yourself, or one you'd like stopped?
I haven't heard any recent rumors, but I did use to enjoy the one about me and Tyra Banks. If you want to start a rumour about me - let's say that I am actually Banksy.
The revolution comes, who would you like to be first against the wall (and if you're feeling particularly bitchy, a second, third, fourth and so on...)?
Simon Cowell / Simon Cowell and ummmm let me see, oh yeah Simon Fucking Cowell.
Best piece of advice you'd give to aspiring musicians, or the best piece of advice you were given when you started?
Trust your instincts and be prepared to work you arse off. You only achieve mediocrity though laziness. There are no sure things and no guarantees, but if you are innovative, skilled and willing to put in the time and effort maybe, just maybe, you can find a large audience for your art.
If you're in a car going at the speed of light, and someone turns the headlamps on, would they do anything?
The lights will be on - but nobody's home.
TOP 5 IPOD TUNES
1. Giving Up - Hairy Diamond 2. House Burning Down - Jimi Hendrix 3. The Reckoner - Radio Head 4. Natural Mystic - Bob Marley 5. Great Freak Moon - Tom Waits
Thanks to John @ Charm Factory
Jeremy Chick
eta: wow. Huge mass of text. But thats how its written...