Interview Being 747

E' senza dubbio una delle più interessanti band dalla galassia brit-pop. Combinano ottimamante new wave-punk, country, upbeat anni '80. Stiamo parlando dei Being 747, la band di Steve e Paul Morricone e di Dave Cooke, operativi nella regione di Leeds, presta i quali si auspica travalicheranno i confini nazionali. In attesa che si conosca più diffusamente la loro formula ironica, pungente e divertita, vi proponiamo questa chiacchierata -per la quale ringraziamo oltre che i Being 747, il team di ForeignAffairs-, consigliandovi di dare un'occhiata al loro sito. Being 747 "Fun & Games" (Wrath records) 01.Swingball 02.Use your friends 03.Target Practice 04.That look again 05.Make things happen 06.The music of the clones 07.Pressure to perform 08.Time talent continuum 09.I move too fast 10.Advice from the golden couple 11.I'm easy 12.The one we did last monday 13.The girl who fell asleep whilst watching her life flash before her eyes 14.Weathergirl (MPEG video)

Hi Being 747! How could we define your nice and very good Fun & Games? A proof of musical skills, an ironic statement, a "uttercruelly" funny "piece-of-joke", a five-star bar evaluable workout of punkish rocky songsterism charts, an expectorant of Mr.Ponderevo, the reddening of an outsider, a juicy pot of ideas thrown in a social context... Anyway compliments! How many did you receive till now?
Dave: We've had some nice things written about us on webzines, and some occasional flattery from local press
Steve: Not sure who this Mr Ponderevo chap is, but I think 'The reddening of an outsider' pretty much sums it all up.
Paul: Certainly whenever we play live, we always like to cook up a juicy pot of ideas which get liberally thrown into the social context of it being a gig! We get a fair amount of compliments - but I think we confuse people more.

What about your grannies' opinion on your musical tastes?
Dave: I don't think my grans heard our stuff yet - she lives on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. She might have a radio, but I don't think she's got a CD player - so we need to get on the radio!
Steve: Unfortunately I have no Grannies left, but I'm sure they would be proud of me. My Mum thinks everything we do is wonderful, but then again she would love it if we just farted through a microphone. My Dad is a generally very critical, but I think the pop approach of Being 747 is more his cup of tea than the other band I'm in.
Paul: I share the same Grany-count as Steve seeing as he's my brother.

So what's the music of the clones? Who are the clones? How did they decuplicate?
Dave: The clones are 'the guys who work behind the scenes' in the music industry. They subdivide like amoeba. They are all descended from the same seed clone, who arrived on this planet during the 80's, and was responsible for some of the eras most coma-inducing pop music.
Steve: This music is the equivalent of wallpaper, porridge or weak coffee - utterly bland and utterly pointless. The clones are the hoards of little girls and boys just aching to be manipulated by marketing and style gurus, just so they can get a bit of celebrity and get into places for free. They are all around us - you must have them in Italy?
Paul: Yes - weak coffee indeed. Do you have a type of coffee in Italy called 'Mellow Birds'? It is particularly weak but doesn't get stronger the more you put in, just more horrible.

Leeds is goin' to be another focal point of British rock. What are the elements of your "ordinary" day in Leeds? What are your favourite places out of a recording studio?
Dave: During an ordinary day in Leeds, I'm at work (making ceramic reptiles). If I go into town, I'll start with a wonder through Leeds market, past the fish stalls to see if there's anything for supper. I ignore the designer label clothes shops, and head straight for Borders (books/ music and coffee)
Steve: We all live in a town called Huddersfield which is just down the road from Leeds - there's nowhere to play in Hudds, so Leeds is our adopted musical home. There sure is a lot of focus on Leeds music in the media at present, but unfortunately none of it is focused on us yet! I like to get out and about to gigs in Leeds every now and then, but my favourite place to go is back home.
Paul: I also work in Leeds. I guess I spend most of my time waiting in traffic jams on the outskirts of the city trying to get to work. One of my favourite Leeds places for traffic jams is 'The Armley Gyratory'.

Do you feel fitted to Leeds clubbish habits?
Dave: We take little part in leeds clubbish habits. There are clubs for all tastes in Leeds, but the 2 oclock lisense for bars has changed peoples habits. You no longer have to queue at 11 o'clock and pay £10 to go to a club at the weekend if you just want a few extra drinks. Bars like Milo stay open til 2 and play great music. We're not great fans of dance music
Steve: Not really my scene either. We are all quiet homely types and don't do a lot of schmoozing in clubs - perhaps that's why we are not the focus of the media attention.
Paul: If I am ever in a club in Leeds, I am usually too drunk to notice my surroundings.

What about your past?
Dave: I'm not sure whether this refers to past clubbing habits, or our past in general. I (dave) used to go to lots of clubs in Leeds, but i liked the small ones that played funky music. They've all since changed hands and moved on - they were a bit like the Hi Fi club.
Steve: I grew up with going to 'indie' club nights I suppose. As I got older I began liking places that played easy listening and film soundtrack music. I think both have shaped my appreciation of music, but not as much as being subjected to old punk and new wave records as a kid through the bedroom wall by older brothers.
Paul: In the past, I used to creep into clubs wearing a large hat to disguise my face then sit quietly in a corner for the entire evening. But that was when I was 15 years old and scared of being caught!

Why did you choice those childplay sounds in I'm easy?
Dave: I was messing about with a beat on a casio keyboard, and slowed it down so that it was almost like a tick tock. Its the bassline being played on the moog that gives it a childlike quality, which suits the simple lyrics - which are about emotional immaturity
Steve: It was a very cheeky sounding tune that Dave wrote, so me & Paul just added extra cheekyness!
Paul: I'm playing the really squeaky organ in that one. It didn't need drums.

Who's the genius behind Weathergirl video?
Dave: The video was shot by Optic Alchemy (two guys based in Huddersfield), all on digital camera. By chance they had already shot the time-lapse weather stuff before we started filming the bits with us in them. Paul edited the video at work (he works as an editor)
Steve: Paul was the one who put it all together, so I suppose he's to blame. It was great fun doing it and the end result is stunning.
Paul: I'm responsible for that video. I directed it with Ian and Richard of Optic Alchemy. They had some time lapse footage already which I liked and I suggested we do something of a similar feel and make a video of it. It took ages of painstaking photography to get the end result. Absolutely no video film used at all.

And who behind The girl who fell asleep...?
Dave: 'The girl who fell asleep....' is about a girl whose life has consisted almost exclusively of rubbish television. As she is dying, and entering the tunnel of light - her life flashes before her eyes, but it is so dull that she falls asleep and enters a world in between life and death.
Steve: As with all our songs, Dave brings it to a practice almost completely finished, then all three of us thrash it out until it's in a shape we all like. Some take months to get right - this song just seemed to come together instantly (these ones are always the best). We all have our idea of how it should sound, but when these ideas are mashed together, we invariably end up with something even better.
Paul: I have an idea for the video to this which we are just about to start work on. It involves cutting a woman open on an operating table and pulling out her entire life's history from her stomach.

What about your musical and literary tastes?
Dave: I don't think any of us read that many books - we lack the necessary powers of concentration
Steve: I have no patience for reading, and not that much time to listen either really - apart from in the car to work and back. That's where I do all my best listening and pondering.
Paul: I don't read. I constantly listen to music though. Anything which can not be considered background music.

Here's a list of musical influences from the web site:
Neil Young, The Fall, Captain Beefheart, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, The Flaming Lips, The Kinks, Bowie, The Cardiacs, The Pixies, Camper VanBeethoven, Dexys Midnight Runners, James Brown, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Julian Cope, Calexico, The Beastie Boys, The Beach Boys, David Attenborough

Are you planning a tour out of Leeds borders?
Dave: We're planing a tour of England for some time next year. We'd love to go further afield - Italia maybe?! but we don't have the contacts - can you help?
Steve: We do get around the UK in short bursts, but it's difficult to get good gigs sometimes. It is very rare that a month goes by without doing a gig. We'd love to come over to Italy of course!
Paul: We'd like to play in Europe - please book us. We'll do it for a selection of fine wines and a good cheeseboard.

Any yawn while answering?
Dave: No yawns
Steve: Nope - got plenty of sleep last night.
Paul: I haven't got time to yawn today unfortunately.