Sau Paulo - Interesting Press Conference
Posted: 19 May 2006, 17:45
I think this is very interesting and getting lost in the S.P link so I've used an on-line translator for the São Paulo interview. I've quickly tried to make it little more English-friendly without changing what I think is the content. In some places I’m not too sure what the gist is, particularly the end when he talks about FLA….your interpretations would be most welcome.slaghi wrote:Hi all,
there's a link about TSOM press collective (?) (sorry i am not able to translate at this moment and my english is not so good, but i liked the photo!)
http://www.dropmusic.com.br/noticias.a ... cias=2013
PLEASE NOTE, this is an online translation and these are notoriously inaccurate. Some sentances may have originally said the opposite of what you're about to read.
Thanks to Slaghi for the link.
Also big thanks to Tailao for the link to the video of the interview see post: "Sau Paulo 19th May"
Fears of the fans for regarding the two shows that the Sisters of Mercy will do in Brazil. There will be little old music, barely one from First and Last and Always - mainly new stuff, mainly produced after the year 2000, unpublished including a track called Still. In a collective interview this Wednesday, in the Road Funchal, Andrew Eldritch confirmed with a sonorous (‘loud’ Ed) ´NOT´, that he is not going to change the set-list, that’s been presented in shows in North America and Europe. The vocalist also denied that the tour in commemoration to the 25 years of the band will become a live CD or DVD, but said that it’s possible that soon a new disk of the Sisters, with unpublished tracks and entirely independent, may arrive to the market. Eldritch was questioned about the absence of a bass player and about the sound being more compressed in the metal style, about reason he does not like the FLA album and also about politics and even about the name of the group. During little more than half an hour, the vocalist was shown pleasantly joking with some journalists and with the members of the Sisters. Not fleeing answers to questions, only avoiding one question; about the origin of the name Sisters of Mercy (????), but also being entirely straight in some moments.
Surrounded by musicians more young, Eldritch said that the best difference between the present band and those that he toured Brazil with in ‘90 was exactly that, to be surrounded by people more new, and that HE also felt younger and with more energy. Secondly he said, this is long tour and said that of previous formations ‘everybody would have died’. Still about the past, Eldritch said that there was not a problem between him and the m*****n, band of That Guitarist, and that everything’s history. (I bet Wayne and Craig don’t think so, having not got their mits on £?????, Ed)
Upon being asked about the problems that the group had with his old record co’, East West, and what was necessary for the come back to work with a major, Eldritch said that it would be necessary to find a record co’ that was ambitious as regards the band. He cited the record co’ Warner, whose charge for a bands (for example, Ed) is 1 dollar for music (a track), Warner will want to pay the artist, barely 1 cent. Eldritch commented saying that several artists are going to work this way, they will barely become famous and that the Sisters do not want to work like that. Still on the subject, Eldritch, when asked about the future of bands and going to work independently, (not? ed) signing contracts of distribution with the majors, says simply that yes, that is the best road for the bands, but that unfortunately the media looks to give little attention to the bands that are outside of the majors. For Chris May, guitarist of the new formation, the majors soon will lose the big bands that are going to prefer to work in this way.
As regards the changes of direction in their sound, sounding more metal than Gothic, Eldritch commented that the group always had a little edge of metal and they are more so today and he prfers that. Chris May, one of the guitarists that accompany Eldritch in the tour, also says that the Sisters are heavier, a lot heavier but lighter things than the Sisters exist. Eldritch also comments that they always were fans of Motorhead and Deftones, but that they do not want to say that are going to become like these bands.
In another moment from the interview, the vocalist comments that it’s important for any musician to be interested in politics, a lot more than others matters as movies or literature, also saying that yes, he is very connected to movies and literature, but that he still does not see a time, for the time being, to write a book. The vocalist is also a political person, connected to the left and joked upon commenting that when the guitarist Ben Christo spoke in touch in the Sisters wanted to know in who Denbigh to have voted. Still about politics, Eldritch when questioned about Bono, vocalist of U2, said that despite the fact the he does not comply with several things that Bono does, he finds sensational the Irishman’s commitment in some causes. He continued saying that, despite not complying with nazi bands (I guess “complying� came out milder than Von’s actual words, Ed), he finds freedom of speech lawful, because the song should be about something, always. He never would associate with a group like this, but at least persons discuss all the kind of matter through the song.
About the absence of the bass player, one of the points more criticized by fans and foreign journalists regarding the shows in North America and Europe, Eldritch said that there are songs that need bass guitars, then the guitarists will go for the instrument and that on this tour four songs get the bass guitar. Also saying that some songs are composed by the machine, and the bass sounds better with the machine pre recorded.
The group also showed surprise that the band Shaaman have recorded a Live song off the second album of the Sisters, and that none of them to have listened to the version. Another one asks, about others, Eldritch said that he knew the version made by Paradise Lost for Walk Away and that he likes the sound of the band, and that they know the band. Continuing, he said that Cradle of Filth invited him to sing in the version that the band would do for No Time to Cry, already the keyboard player Simon Denbigh said that he knew a jazz version of Marian, made by the band Blue Velvey. The vocalist commented that all the bands that are doing covers of the Sisters, work with old music, but that he’d like to see them recording something more new. (good for you Von , Ed)
Re internet, is it a great opening for the band? No, it does not seduce the vocalist of the Sisters. Inquiring about his opinion regarding big net, and relevance for their songs, Eldritch joked saying that interviews also are irrelevant for the song and also affirming that alone the internet is interesting and educational, instructive and amusing helpful.
As expected, Eldritch was reminded that in Brazil a big majority of the fans are Gothic, and questioned about the relation of them and style, the vocalist said that he understands that a big Gothic public exists and they like the group and that he sees no evil in that. But he finds that there’s no strict style for them and they do not have a style exclusively for Gothic and that the band are for the housewife, for the biker, the drag queen and to any group of people. Simon jokes upon commenting that in Brazil everyone walked in bikini in the street. (I bet Von smiled at that , Ed)
But alone in the end of the interview we enquire about the album First and Last and Always and how it is ignored by the band. Eldritch does not like the final result of the work, unique that did not count on the output of the group and that by that, analyzing today, if had counted on output of the band would have sounded better.
He says, the album was evil interpreted, it was an extremely ironic disk, but that was missed by everybody and a lot people formed opinions of their life, their lifestyle, on top of a wrong interpretation. He also commented that in the time of making the disk, they used Hawaiian shirts and in a show that they did in Manchester they used clothes more dark, including dressed, and by a misfortune the persons caught that week and recorded the image as being to of the band, persisting until today.
Andrew Eldritch finishes the interview saying that he felt like Jesus, had a week of misfortune and everyone knows what happened afterwards.
The incredible thing is that even after 26 years, still people the motive of the name of the band.
The Sisters is presented in this near Friday, at 22 o'clock, in the Road Funchal, second the advisory board of home more of the half of the ingressions already were sold, but the expectation is that they be exhausted up to Friday.
By Valdir Antonelli Picture by Iris Kouwen
