Oasis (Gem Archer)

0:01Not bad, mate. Not bad. You excited to be doing all the press for the new record? I mean, I heard it's been done for a little while, so now you finally get to talk about it. We do, you know? We do. It's all part of the gig, man. And very excited about the record. And then all the interviews have been good so far, so yeah, man. It feels good and all right. Well, it must be nice to finally be able to talk about things, because when did you finish Christmas time, I heard? It's been a while. We finished the coordinate just before Christmas, and we mixed it sort of mid-January to mid-February. It took three weeks. It took not eight nights straight into rehearsing, and it would be rehearsing for about a month, you know, you guys.

0:52Yeah. So we're at that stage, man. So I can't wait for it to get out, actually. So I don't have to keep hiding my copy, you know what I mean? And making sure no one steals it and puts it online in this, all the things that happen nowadays. All the things that happen nowadays, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, the songs that are out there, the people can hear. Maybe we'll start with those ones, because second by the Apple is certainly different than anything I've heard from you in, or maybe forever, actually. So where did that one, like a very, very zombies influence, very interesting groove. It's different. So where did that one come from? It's different. Well, it's different, and it was the last song to be recorded for the album. It almost didn't get recorded, because it's all out there, because our thing was we want to record everything with John.

1:38And you know, some people go, oh, no, we should, you never know. And that just proves it. Like we did with every song on the album, we put the band in the room. And sometimes Dave would go, you know, come in, I've got an idea, or the fancy agreement as he put it. And initially I wrote the song, right? He then kind of suggested a feel. Chris went in. Chris went on look, give me tons and tons and tons of reverb.

2:24And he started doing that beat. And we were kind of, wow, that's fucking top man. And we sort of singing the melody over it. But he didn't even know what the verse was or the chorus was. He was just on a groove, bass line, dead simple, man. No, mine as I made is in it. It's just notes. And then Liam put his vocal on. And it was kind of like that all day. And it was great. But Liam said, you know what, we tried brass. Dave went on, I was just thinking part of why he's the real deal. Dave wrote the chart. We got some people down who played on an else, Richard Ascroft.

3:15And they were great. And that night we thought, fuck it over, man, this is something else. Something else for us. Now the next day we decided to put a guitar on it. So we just went proper fuzz box. And then that's it, mate. It's got all the air still around them drums. And it's a good, and it is different for us, man. And, you know, if you took Liam's voice off it, you certainly wouldn't call our name out first. Which I think is a good thing. It is. I think it's absolutely good thing. You want to keep people guessing, especially on a second record for a somewhat new band. Yeah, we know what we knew. We didn't want to go in and pull out some fift rock and roll kind of sounding thing or anything. You know, we wanted to kind of buy some stuff that was just one was a debut, but first be the album in a way.

4:05Hmm. That's interesting. You talked about putting the horns on the record and you said you were rehearsing, I guess, for some shows this summer. How are you doing the horns live? Is it going to be keys or you're going to try and bring a brass section? It's a little bit of both. But, you know, in this day and age to travel with a brass section and do it properly. It is a lot. So we're going to use them when we can and two of the guys who are actually helpful as well. But, you know, it's just logistics, man, because we don't have a brass. It's not like we're earth wind and fire, you know what I mean? So that's what we've got. That's what we've got keyboards for. But nowadays it's three fucking cloaks, man. You know. Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, McCartney does it too.

4:50Doesn't do a brass section. Wicks does everything on the keys. What is she's been doing this thing? Is she, for anybody who could afford it, you think he would. Right. So a lot of the big tribute bands try to with brass sections and, you know, strings and whatever. But McCartney still uses wicks. But, you know, it's his life, man. Yeah, and it sounds great. So no complaints. Yeah. Flick of the finger. You and Liam wrote it together. Do you want to talk about maybe writing with Liam and how that's progressed over the years as you've gotten closer? Well, I think they went and demoed it on an eight truck cassette machine. And he just had, he had the melody in the chords and it was kind of an odd and it was just always on the back burner.

5:39And towards the end of the demoing period, Liam had like a bit of a keep you working on one song that day, but he checks me like nine o'clock in the morning going, oh, again, I've got a new idea. I want to do this. And then we'd be working on that one. And in the back of mine and these heads were always. From that, because we just had Liam's sort of scat melody on it. One day, me and Andy put some Andy play in it and he came up with a heart. And then we decided to put that speech on it.

6:26But we kind of chopped the speech up and spring didn't really sound right. We thought, look, it's got to be as one as a message, put it at the end. But then we needed some lyrics to give me an Andy just sat. I've never done that ever with anybody sat down where it's actually World Waration, Liam's melody, the minor Andy's lyrics. That's interesting. And the passage, like, I mean, flick of the finger is not said in the song. I don't think at all listening back this morning. It said in the passage in the speech. Yeah, but that kind of thing is weird, man, because it's like a linear kind of song.

7:14To me, the chorus is the horn part. You know, there's some odd bar patterns and it's just one and always. It's a bit of a freak. It's a bit of a freak, but you're allowed to have freaks. And it always seemed like it was going to be the first song on the album. What spoke to you about the passage, though? How come that had to be part of it? And especially the first song of the album? Why did that need to kick it off? Well, I tell you what, I had to speak on my kind of cable TV box for ages. And I just, you know, like when you come home and you think, fuck, I helped the missions and wiped it kind of thing. I was always, don't ever wipe that. Don't ever wipe that because I knew you were just. And the basic point of it is the modern idea, you know, is not very complicated scenario nowadays.

8:11People have said, even Obama said, or whatever, you know, wars aren't fought by people on horseback with bayonets anymore. Yeah, that's right. You know, and a lot of them are for economic reasons. And we, you know, I'm not talking about the conspiracy theories or whatever, but we all know that there's powers that be and things will never understand. So I don't want to get really heavy on your ear, but I'd hate to send my kids off to fight for a war that in 20 years time is found to be based on something from the dark side. You know, and that's all it's saying. You know, and I think as each generation progresses, we all get a little bit more savvy, don't we?

8:58Well, especially with the internet nowadays, everything, everything's a tip of your food. Without a doubt, man. How come you're not without Andy's all over Twitter, but you're not? Andy's on Twitter. Yeah, I don't know. Man, she hasn't kind of got me yet. I've never really. I mean, my wife absolutely loves it. Just one of those. I don't, it doesn't hit me. Not for you. I don't read people's tweets. No, no, no, you know, I know people use it for different things. And I know one of the things that do kind of get from it is that it's almost like a news speed as well. You can get kind of what's in culture. And that's great. But I certainly don't like the way that say some people will tweet, you know, the fucking delivery van was late. So the moon will get something delivered free. That's not good.

9:47No, no, I agree with you. I'm not going to go big comic. Let's get back to the record here. Shine a light. Yeah. Now, Noel, I was, I saw Noel talk about using the word shine in songs because of the way Liam drags out the eyes in like shine. And you know the way he sings, obviously. So when you guys are putting a song together like that, do you look for words that he can do? I don't know his trademark vowel dragon. Yeah. Well, no, actually, what it's more patient. We'd never shy away from it. But Liam wrote that tune. It just affects the words. I mean, I don't know. It's kind of if you come up with it, we never, we're not the kind of band to be self-conscious

10:33and go. We should change that to being of light or something. So we're just this for that. And it's Liam's lyrics. And it's kind of it's always hard doing interviews. I can tell you what I get from it. But I can't say where came from. I got you. Well, let's talk about another one of your songs just from the last record that I love, the roller. Like that's John Lennon to a tee. Like even with the piano backing, the guitar and the pauses and everything about it is like you encapsulated Lennon perfectly. And were you going for that? Or is that just what kind of came out in the mix? No, I tell you what, not going for it, but definitely kind of it's another, well, I just illustrated as well how it sounds like Lennon.

11:26I fucking love Lennon. And I suppose he's part of my DNA. And it's why I'm talking to you. Because a light bulb went off in my head when I saw the people's art tunes. There's a fucking six-year-old kid. So, you know, it's a good song. I think I've kind of improved on. But you know, as you say about the piano, I can't play it. It sounds different again. My sound more like T-Rex or something. So it's cool in my book, man. I'll take it. I'll take it. You know, everybody's got influences. Some of us hide and better than others. Was Trent Rezzor influence? I know you worked on With Teeth. How did that change your musical perspective?

12:14Oh, you know, you know, I didn't, you know, that's all a modern myth. Really? I mean, what it was. Yeah, man. Honestly, I think what it was was he was working in the village studio in LA at the same time. And then may or may not have been in a game of table tennis. He was in the other studio. And we were there for about 12 weeks. But that's it, man. It's a modern myth. That's a myth. Because of Wikipedia, you're credit as producer and engineer. That's crazy. Weird. I know I didn't know it. It had actually gone that far. Yeah. Okay. Well, I'm glad we're debunking myths. That makes me happy. I got a little more nearer. There you go. Exactly. Full circle. I like it. I got to let you go soon.

12:59But I do want to talk about the decision to play Oasis Songs Live because I think Liam was talking about recently. What was the discussion in the band? I understand, you know, the first record. You want to be BDI. You want to put this thing out. You have the one record. Let's play it live. Yeah. So how come? Yeah. So there's songs that you just missed playing? Like how come that happened? No, it came from us being asked to play with the roses, Stone Roses, if Heaton Park. And because we said we weren't going to play any Oasis Songs when we came out with the first tour. That was right, man. Because otherwise it would have been schizophrenic for people. It was like, well, who am I coming to see? And it was too close to the band splitting up anyway. And then the idea of playing Heaton Park, which we'd already played with Oasis anyway, we believe like this as well.

13:50It was just spiritual kind of that we are and we like and you know, and it was right for Liam to play rock and roll star that night. I look at it just as Ian Brown was on in the evening. The right thing to do, you know. It's kind of it added to the day and it kind of shows out only in a good place with the band and the new music. So that's that, you know, and all that makes sense. And I can't wait to hear when you come to Canada, man. I want to hear this record live. I'm very excited.

14:38Canada has always been good to us always. So, you know, we can't wait to get there as well, man. And we're certainly not going to let it slip by us. Thank you. We appreciate that. I got to let you go. So we do something called five questions, five quick questions, one word answers. Okay, road or stay one word answers. One word answers. Go to do my part. Go to do my part. Road or studio? Lennon or McCartney? Lennon. When you hear a song what usually hits you first lyrics melody or rhythm. Song you've written your most proud of. Cool. And in one word BDI.

15:31Oh, that's good. I like that.