| CURVESIDE Interview for Glitter, 12 March 1998 �You aren�t part of the so-called Welsh scene until you�re signed by an English company!� says Ashley, Curveside�s front man. �The only good thing about it is that ordinary people are finally believing in themselves, they are starting to believe they can be in a band, they can do something.� Ashley, Matt, James and Andrew have been in a band since they were about 14 or 15. They�re all Cardiff born and bred, grew up in Whitchurch and went to Whitchurch High (�trash metal covers in assembly�.) They were all in the same year but in different forms and certainly no angels (years later they�d be banned from Aberystwyth union�) A lot has happened since their schooldays, in the past two years they�ve played 20-30 gigs and supported Stereophonics, Derrero and Jocasta to name but a few. They have a small following in Aberystwyth �cos that�s where Ashley went to university and a growing one in Cardiff. James and Matt are still students, Ashley and Andrew have shitty day jobs (�but my real job is being in a band, I�m a drummer!� says Andrew). So what are their influences? �Nirvana, Metallica, Pink Floyd, The Manics�we listen to a lot of different stuff, Beastie Boys and even drum n� bass!� says Matt. And (gasp!) they even like Catatonia nowadays. �The four of us write the music, we just get lost in it,� says Andrew. Ashley (�the biggest fan of the Manics, ever!�) writes all the lyrics and they are very important to the band. They are still looking for a record deal and haven�t got a manager. �We want to make records but we�re not gonna change the way we do things, that�s why we manage ourselves. We�ve got an engineer �cos it�s important to sound good. We�re doing what we wanna do, The Beatles knew how to rock, The Sex Pistols knew,� says Ashley. �I had a discussion with someone yesterday and they said there aren�t enough dangerous bands around anymore.� Well Curveside could change that! Who do they regard as cool? �Robert Carlyle, Robbie Williams�� �Robbie�s a prick!� says Ashley. �James Hatfield, Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon, Howard Marks, Homer Simpson, Jo Guest�� �No, not Jo Guest, my girlfriend might read this!� says James. �An MP called Paul Flynn once said that young Welsh men and women should go and pick magic mushrooms and sell them to Amsterdam, that�s pretty cool. And the Fonz! He was cool �cos he hung around with people who were less cool than him.� Says Ashley. What makes the boys happy? �The band, music, playing what we wanna play, Aberystwyth in the summer, cable TV, having a good time all the time!� And the first gig they ever went to? James was Reading Festival in 1992. �Mine was Nuclear Assault.� Says Andrew. �Living Color at Newport Centre in 1989 and it was shit!� says Ashley. �And Matt�s was Chuck Berry at St David�s Hall with his dad!� �No it wasn�t! It was the Rolling Stones!� First ever record? �Sex Pistols or possibly Human League,� says James. Andrew�s was Metallica. �Hunting High and Low by A-ha, and Matt�s was The Best of Shaking Stevens!� chuckles Ashley. �No! It was Beastie Boys!� Who did they admire as kids? �Ron and Valerie Taylor, they used to drive boats and film all the footage for Jaws. I wanted to be a shark scientist,� says Ashley. Andrew thought Harrison Ford and Animal from the Muppets were pretty cool. And have they ever done a fanzine? �No we haven�t, but we�ve read a few at Big Noise. Fanzines are cool!� Says Ashley. �We once got interviewed by a fanzine and all they wanted to know was what did we think of Black Grape!� says Andrew and gets the last word. Curveside have appeared on HTV�s �The Electric Chair� and are always planning more gigs, so check the billboards for dates. (C) Glitter Fanzine 1998 |
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