This is an amazing opportunity to learn a bit more about the genious creator of Gerbil Bob thanks to this interview done earlier this month, between Bobby Beggar-Pants and Henry...
Q: Who do you rate as the biggest
influences on your musical career so far?
A: Well, I would have
to say that there are quite a few people who have influenced me greatly
so far but the main ones would have to be my family- in particular by brothers
Nev and Tom who have encouraged me and helped me a lot with my music. Also,
my music teachers Paul Tilley and Mr. Richardson who have helped me with
different aspects of music- Paul has helped me with knowledge of the world
of music and Mr. Richardson has helped me to gain a good theoretical background.
Q: Which musicians
do you admire the most- dead or alive!?
A: There are probably
four or five drummers who would all fall into this category such as Tré
Cool from Greenday, Josh Freese of the Vandals (amongst others), Ian Paice
from Deep Purple and Bill Bruford of King Crimson (amongst others). All
of these drummers are incredible in their own right and I have picked up
a lot from listening to them all. Other musicians who I admire would have
to include Slash, becuase I play the guitar a bit and he amazes me with
some of the stuff he does, John Lennon, because he influenced a lot of
musicians and wrote some superb songs and Mike Oldfield simply becuase
I love the Tubular Bells series of music and I got a lot of musical ideas
from listening to them.
Q: What drum equiptment
do you use and what would you change if you had enough money?
A: I have a pretty basic
Ludwig kit which has 3 toms and the bass drum. I have a premier snare drum,
Pearl hi-hats, a 20 inch Pearl Ride cymbal, a 16 inch Ziljdian crash cymbal
and a 16 inch Pearl crash/ride. I use a double drum pedal made by Premier
Percussion and I usually use Vic Firth, size 5A drum sticks.
If
I had lots of money to spend on new drum stuff I would probably buy a Sonor
drum kit because I have only ever played one Sonor kit and it was absolutely
tremendous. I would probably buy a Pearl snare drum, which I am probably
going to do fairly soon anyway because my snare drum is awful and I know
a few drummers who have Pearl snare drums and are very happy with them.
I would keep my double-
pedal because although
it was fairly cheap, it has the best action out of all the ones that I
have ever played and I really like it.
Q: How far are you
hoping to take Gerbil Bob?
A: To be honest, I haven't
really set a target for the band. I'm just hoping we can have a bit of
fun, get pissed, entertain people with a bit of punk and hopefully make
a bit of money along the way.
Q: Is it true that
you will be managing the band aswell as drumming and if yes, why?
A: Yes, this is true
although I am hoping that Stephen, Sally and Lee will help me out when
it is neccassary. The reason for me choosing to manage the band is that
I don't see what someone else could do for the band that we couldn't. There
are too many people who want to be in the music business who haven't got
what it takes- I may be one of them, only time will tell, the majority
of these people are either "sound engineers" or managers. If I seriously
believe that appointing a manager will benefit the band and our futures,
I will discuss it with the band, but for now and the forseable future,
I will be organising the management side of things
Q: Who would you
say are the top 10 bands that you are listening to at the moment?
A: I'm glad you said
at the moment because my favourite bands change near enough every week!
At the moment I would say that my favourites are:
10. Bloodhound Gang
9. Foo Fighters
8. Pennywise
7. Soulwax
6. Greenday
5. Blink 182
4. Pennywise
3. Lagwagon
2. NoFX
1. The Ataris
Hmm. Im not so sure actually,
aw, that'l do! Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Guns n Roses, Snuff, Less Than Jake,
Idlewild, Richie Blackmores Rainbow, Josh Freese, Guano Apes, Reel Big
Fish, Simon and Garfunkel, erm, no I'l stick with what I put first! That
was a tough question!!
Q: Who are the best
bands that you have seen live?
A: This could be a bit
of an embarrasing answer becuase to be honest with you its probably a four
way between Fu Manchu, Soulwax, Super Furry Animals and Utah Saints!! Fu
Manch were amazing when I saw them especially seen as I hadn't even heard
of them until I went to see them, Soulwax were just outstanding with what
they did, Super Furrys get there becuase I was expecty a little crappy
indie band but they were alot more than that- I was very impressed and
Utah Saints were incredible becuase they had soul legend Edwyn Star live
on stage with them, which was quality! I also quite liked Terrovision,
Fungus and The Jellys when I saw them. The best local bands that I have
seen are without doubt the Little Pink Polliwogs, The Hitchers and Confuscious
Saint but I was also very impressed with Heeb and Longshot.
Q: If Gerbil Bob
got signed, what record label would you want to sign to?
A: There is only one
answer for this question- Fat Wreck Chords!
Q: Last question-
If you could choose 10 celebrities to be at your next gig, who would they
be?
A: This is a real toughy,
I am not sure at all to be honest. Let me think...... Right, Ive got a
few ideas, so-
Thanks for taking the time to read this- if you have any questions, click here to email us.