the No-Fi "Interview"
with
conducted by chris beyond, 9/25/02
You gotta love internet radio! No longer are you forced to listen to whatever your local stations try to stuff down your ears. That's why radio station corporations are a major force behind the push to shut down private internet radio stations, because their listeners are starting to realize that there is a WHOLE WORLD of radio out there and slowly, but surely we're starting to hear it all online. That's how I first heard BALLBOY from Scotland. They and other bands on SL Records played special sets on The John Peel Radio show on BBC radio. I became a fan right away and when I heard that they were about to tour the states, I knew I had to get an interview. We conducted this interview in Los Angeles right before they began the first leg of their U.S. tour in a hotel right next to the restaurant known as Swingers. After a short dinner with them, we made our way up to their hotel room where we set up for their No-Fi "Radio" session (with the help of Brandon Huff and Holly-tron. Shortly after arriving at their room a man ran out of the hotel room next to their yelling "crazy fa**ot!" I didn't realize at first, but his eyes had been sprayed with mace. What a perfect time to start an interview.
GO=Gordon (guitar/vocals), N=Nick (bass), GA=Gary (drums),
K=Katie (keyboards), C=Chris (the interviewer), H=Holly (Chris' special friend)
C: Ballboy... Where does the name BALLBOY come from and is it an S&M thing?
(everyone laughs)
GO: Yeah, this is the dullest story ever. Um, it was a mishearing. Someone suggested Dullboy. We misheard Ballboy. We've been through so many names to try to get one. We just had name fatigue and took it and we're stuck with it and now have a very cool band name compared to some other band names so...
(we laugh)
C: Anyone else have a take on it?
K: Nope. We weren't there.
GA: I wasn't there, but when I joined the band I went, "WHAT? BALLBOY?!?"
C: Have you been to America before?
GA: Yeah on a bad family holiday. Florida.
C: To Florida? Did you go to Disneyworld?
GA: I guess so. Yeah.
GO: I've been to San Francisco. Kate's been a few places. We haven't been as a band. So, we haven't been to play.
(Some guy next door is screaming out who knows what)
C: That guy is part of my crew. Why do you hate Scotland so much?
GO: For all the reasons I say in the song. Um, those are the things I hate about Scotland, whether I like other things...which I do. I love other things about it, but I didn't want to have the song go back and forward. It was just things I was pissed off about. Um, and so yeah just observing some things. Especially the way that people treat their children in Scotland and possibly everywhere, but I don't know about everywhere so that's why I hate it. I hate the sense of pessimism and doom...and I hate the fact that we are shit at football now. (they laugh)
GA: And you know to hate your country, doesn't mean that you don't love it either, sure.
C: Did you get any kind of flak?
GO: Absolutely! (more laughs) Absolutely. One time we played and the song was introduced and there was a certain real growl that went through the audience...and if you listen to it you're allowed to be pissed off, aren't you? You're allowed to have things that don't go right. You can say you hate it and you don't have to take it very literally either. You know what I mean? You know... You get up in the morning and some things are good and some things are bad, but the title of the song is probably inflammatory, but it was meant to be because at the time there were a lot of inflammatory things going on as well. It was important to stand up and say, "No, this is not the country we want to have."
C: Do you think it opened anyone's eyes over there that weren't opened before?
GA: I don't know.
GO: I think that the title got the attention because it's the kind of song title that people want to know what it's about. Um, I think that in a small way opened a debate on that issue. Can you come out and say things like you hate your country? Yeah you can, but sometimes people have to think that through to come to that conclusion. Like burning the flag you know... sort of that debate. In Scotland there's a sorta patriotic feel, but it's very thin and if you prod it, it reacts very badly. It feels very insecure and the song "I Hate Scotland" prods it and it comes up with a lotta insecurity. The reaction is very insecure...which is interesting. That's the sorta dialogue you want to have. Why is it insecure? Why do you feel like that? Why do you have to prove things like that? So it opens up lots of things initially the songs doesn't really deal with, but it leads on to other things.
(I am speechless, trying to process all the information. Everyone laughs.)
C: You get an 'A' for that one. Um, are there any other countries that you hate and it's OK to say the U.S., cuz everyone else does.
(everyone speaks at once)
GO: I don't hate the U.S. We had a debate that kicked off on our website just beforehand about the whole September 11th and things. People were talking about it and there's people writing from various viewpoints and some people were writing and saying, "look, there's been all this thing about the Americans suffering, but there's also suffering in all other parts of the world that can get glossed over" and what I was trying to say, I didn't take much part in it because these two boys went off on their own, but to me sufferings suffering whether it's September 11th or whether it's the bombing of countries that you don't really have the right to bomb...but the main point for me is that your government is not your country. They are not the same thing.
C: Exactly.
GO: If you hate a government of a country and if you hate the politics that are dominant in the country at the moment at a given time, doesn't mean you hate the country. Margaret Thatcher taught us that. What an appalling woman she was, you know, and we had to put up with her for so long, but it didn't make it a terrible country. It just made it run by a nutter.
(I laugh)
GO: So I think that the people that live in your country certainly don't all identify with the policies that are coming out or the thinking behind them or whatever. Some will, some won't. I can't think of any other countries I hate.
(they joke about England)
GO: I like England. Most of my very close friends are from England.
K: And look how much they know.
C: What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen on the internet?
GA: Katie with a summer hat going "Ho Ho Ho!"
(everyone laughs)
GO: It was on our website. It was put on without any help from Me and Nick at all.
GA: What's the weirdest thing apart from that, uh... piercings.
(more laughing)
N: Yeah, Gary stays up later than we do.
GA: Nooo...I saw `em at work. I saw them at work. There's a friend of mine at work...I went to his office and he went, "look at this" and it was just a picture...piercings! It was like incredible. I couldn't imagine that was possible. That's probably the weirdest.
C: You have thousands of piercings, right?
GA: (laughing) Ahhh, well I keep them covered.
C: Um, if your life were a movie, what would it be called?
GO: "Oh, Geeze, Not Again." (laughing) Um, do we have to pick a current movie title?
C: No, whatever you want...your own title.
N: "Happiness."
GO: (to Nick) Have you seen Happiness?
N: No.
GO: Obviously. (they laugh.)
GA: "A Matter Of Life And Death."
K: "I Just Found out I like Surfing."
(everyone laughs)
C: Who are some of your favorite local bands? ...local to where you are.
GA: I like a band called the Sneak Attack Tigers. They're pretty good.
GO: I like a band Home Science. They have stuff over here on Matador. They're a good band. I like them.
C: Is there anything in the U.S. that you're looking forward to seeing while on tour?
GO: The South is a place I'm looking forward to seeing because it's not a place that I would normally... You wouldn't expect to pick to go there, but I think I'm looking forward to seeing things that you DON'T see in the brochures. Like the Empire State Building...you go there, but you've seen it before. Just to see...
C: Hillbillies.
GO: I'm waiting to see a road that just goes on forever...although I'll probably get sick of it in 5 minutes. I'm just looking forward to seeing it.
GA: The funny thing with America, not coming from here, you're very familiar with a lot of things you see. You'd recognize a lot of things, but you've never been before. You know that's funny, then.
GO: I'm looking forward to meeting people than seeing sights. Same as ever. Same as everywhere. When you go to London, people are more interested to see the sights.
C: What are some of your strangest habits?
GO: I don't eat outside if I can help it. I don't speak about films until I'm out of the cinema. Sometimes I hurdle cars when I'm on the bus. When the car comes, you lift your feet until it's gone and put your feet down again. Once you start, you can't stop it. Gary, you must have hundreds.
GA: I used to climb buildings when I was really drunk. I would go up to the roofs of buildings I wasn't supposed to, but that stopped when I actually got caught doing it.
C: (laughing) How did that happen?
GA: I stood inside a doorway of a hotel and I was just taking a little rest. The door opened and I just walked in and I walked up to the building and went up through a fire escape onto the roof and when I crossed the roof and looked down on the street and everything. It was really lovely and then went to get back and the fire escape has closed behind me. (laughs) I couldn't get back in the building! I eventually got in because I was caught on CCTV cameras so even down a fire escape I was seen outside. I did attempt to get into a window... (we laugh) ...to get into a toilet where I thought I could get into a building, but it had a false wall...so I was head first down between two walls. I managed to scramble back out...and thought,..."I better just give myself up here." (Everyone laughs) And the police came and everything and the lobby guy was making me cigarettes and saying, "You're in jail. See you later. You're in jail." The police just came and took me home. I still wake up going, "FUCK!" (Everyone laughs again) I do that sometimes,..."Fuckin' Hell!"
C: (to Katie) Do you have any?
K: (laughing) Nothing that compares! (Everyone laughs) I brush my teeth twice.
GO: Two toothbrushes?
K: No, same toothbrush.
C: What do you hope that audiences in the U.S. will get out of your band?
GA: A Good night. Have a good jump around.
GO: (at the same time as Gary) That they'll engage in it. The way we are when we play live shows, it's not we stand here and you stand here, we play, you listen. There's a bit of back and forth. A bit of chat. A bit of people shouting things out. Yeah, that they'll be engaged by it and enjoy it.
GA: It's all you can ask, isn't it? ...That they'll like it. If they don't like it, it's too bad, but we have a good time doing it and hopefully they'll enjoy the night that they're with them. Because we're not up there on our own. They're there as well.
C: A lot of the U.S. doesn't know you guys yet, like I heard you guys on John Peel. Is there some kind of campaign going on to get the name out there?
GO: I think there's advertising along with the tour and the various radio and things that go along with the tour, but just the chance to go and and play for people and hopefully they'll go and tell and it'll build that way. It's the way it's kinda built for us in Scotland and England so hopefully we'll continue to do that.
GA: It's not like a big push. It's more like a gentle introduction.
GO: It's a nice way to do it. You get a lot of bands who get umpteen amounts of emotion heaped on them. People buy their record, they get spent and people forget the band. But if people invest in a band, they tend to like it a bit more and feel a bit closer to it.
C: Usually bands like that here, as they probably are over there, are thought of as a lot more disposable and they know they aren't gonna like them down the line.
GO: The way it's paced and the way we're dealing with stuff...we're quite happy. Absolutely, that's the way to do it.
C: Without giving names, what is the worst secret you know about somebody?
GO: Not counting ourselves? (laughter)
GA: I have some stuff that's grim, but I'm not telling you that.
C: Ohh, that's ok.
GO: There's a funny one I can tell you... No... move on.
(more laughter from all)
C: Do you have any pets?
GA: I have a couple of goldfish.
C: Goldfish? What are their names?
GA: They don't have names. Just goldfish.
C: Fish 1, fish 2.
GA: Big fish. They are big ones.
C: (to Katie) Do you?
K: Yes, my best friend Rosie who I live with has 2 cats; Pickle and Pumpkin. Pickle used to be small and thin, Pumpkin used to be fat and they've...swapped. (laughter)
GA: (laughing) Swapped bodies.
K: Pickle is very aggressive and has eaten all of Pumpkin's food, so Pumpkins really thin now.
C: I have a friend who has a 30 pound cat.
K: shocked) No way!
H: I say it's 35 pounds.
(everyone is laughing)
C: But it's nimble an jumps everywhere. It's like this huge ball!
GO: I have 2 cats. Yeah, they're my girlfriend's really, but they live with me now too so...
C: Their names?
GO: They're brother and sister. Ones called Sam, one's called Satiba. And they're currently with my dad. But I don't know if I'm going to get them back because the last I saw of them before I left, he was underneath the bed and I could only see his legs. He was chasing the cat around.
N: I've got a cat and a fish. The cats called Little Moe and the fish is called Freddy Lomburgh.
(everyone else laughs. I don't get it.)
C: That's an intricate name. Is it...
N: It's a footballer. He's got a red streak in his hair.
GO: And his fish has got red streaks.
N: Yeah and he starts panicking...whenever I take him out'the water.
(we laugh)
C: When is your next record coming out?
GO: November the 11th.
C: (surprised) OH, it's...
N: Yeah that's not here, (the U..) though. Yeah, that's not here.
GO: We have a second one coming out right before that. They'll probably be here sometime next year.
C: Why do you like long song titles?
GO: I like a lot of short stories that give you long titles. I think that's where it came from originally. I hate when people call their songs like..."snow." I think that the way the songs titles are the way they are is to get people to listen to the songs. When we first started out and no one was paying any attention, one of the best ways to do it is have a tale that's interesting. I don't feel constricted to have long titles, but...
C: Well, you'll never have anyone else with the same title.
GO: If you think the long one is better, you shouldn't cut it because it's the long one.
GA: When you see our setlist, you'll see titles that are different than the songs, because songs when they're worked on they get sort've working titles and then they just become "shorthand" so we'll know one song by one name, but the audience will know it by another.
C: What's it called "All The Records On The Radio Are Shite"...
GA: Yeah, that's called "Shite"
K: "Shite" (laughter) And "Somthings Gonna Happen....
GA: (laughing) DON'T TELL THEM!
GO: Yeah! (laughs a bunch)
C: (laughing) We'll know your code and we'll... What do you LOVE about Scotland?
GA: Good water.
(Katie says something)
C: (to Katie) Did you say Haggis?
K: No, that's good.
GO: Yeah, I love Haggis. I love October in Edinburgh...which I'm missing. Um, I love... I love the people.
GA: Witches!
(laughter)
GO: I love the people. I just think they don't need to be as pessimistic as they are. As Gary says it's an insecurity that leads to an overconfidence in some things that we have no right to be overconfident in and under confidence in other things we should be giving ourselves a break over. (pause) It could be a bit easier going. It's a huge mix of different intelligence. Different kinds of experiences that somehow people kind of come together under. It's a very interesting place to live.
GA: It's not bad at getting along with each other. When all is said and done...
GO: Generally. Generally people get along with people. There's a lot of empathy with other people's lives being as hard as your own. There's not a lot of mourning about stuff that matters. All the mourning in Scotland, there's loads of it, is about stuff that doesn't really matter.
C: So...Scotland is NOT like the movie Highlander?
GO: I haven't seen the movie (some laughter) and I haven't seen Braveheart either. I have no urge to see any of it. It's a beautiful place, scenic wise.
GA: It's more like Brigadoon. (more laughter)
GO: Brilliant.
H: There's a lot of sheep.
GO: There's a lot of sheep, yeah.
C: Do you have any final words of wisdom for our no-fi "readers"?
N: Don't eat yellow snow.
GO: Don't trust seagulls, yeah.
C: You had a bad experience?
GO: No, seagulls are just like rats with wings, really. That's all they are. They're evil things. I hate them.
C: Do you have a fear of birds?
GO: I don't hate them. I could take them in a fight. (everyone laughs) There you go.
GA: No, no words of wisdom. Make up your own mind. Those are words of wisdom.
We pack up our equipment and say our goodbyes. There is talk about a party, but we didn't get invited (awwww.) and as we left the hotel, we heard a terrible crash. Just down the street a car had smashed into two other cars including a parked car that was only a few feet away from Holly's car. I took pictures for the car owners and we went on our merry way thankful that we hadn't been maced or crashed into that night. We saw Ballboy again a couple nights later at their show at The Troubadour in West Hollywood. After we left, they did go to a party held by Manifesto Records and when they returned at about 5am, either Ed or Gary has passed out on one of the beds in one of their hotel rooms and slept with the door open all night. Still, none of them were robbed, maced, or crashed into either so all was fine. Special thanks to Ed Pybus of SL Records and Jen of Manifesto Records for helping to set this whole thing up. If you missed the their no-fi "session" on No-Fi "Radio", please feel free to request `em and we'll play'em for ya! Their new album "Club Anthems is out now this year in the U.S.A. and their new album "A Guide For The Daylight Hours" will be out this November in Europe & the U.K.. Visit their website to read more at www.ballboy.org.
