Excellent Online - Interview

Stereophonics Unveil North American Trek

theajaysharma — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:42:05 +0000

They've finally returned.All dates below:Sep 5 - BostonThe Paradise Rock ClubSep 7 - TorontoVirgin FestivalSep 8 - PhiladelphiaWorld Cafe LiveSep 9 - New York CityWebster HallSep 11 - WashingtonThe 9:30 ClubSep 12 - PittsburghMr Small's TheatreSep 13 - ChicagoMetroSep 16 - Los AngelesHenry Fonda TheatreSep 17 - San FranciscoGreat American Music HallSep 19 - PortlandWonder BallroomSep 20 - VancouverCommodore BallroomSep 21 - SeattleShowbox MarketVisit Stereophonics on MySpace.MP3: Stereophonics - Summer... - Source

Kasabian Interview

shane — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 05:17:56 +0000

KASABIAN are easily one of our favorite bands of the past year. Any record that makes our 2004 poll as one of the year's best has to be good... the fact that Kasabian managed to do it without a US release is even more impressive. Finally, that situation is rectified. The record's out in the States on March 8 (at a reduced price!), and the band is embarking on their first US tour opening for The Music. We were EXTREMELY excited to have our Shane sit down with Kasabian bassist Chris Edwards for a chat just prior to the tour's East Coast kickstart. Just expand this article by clicking "READ MORE" to check out the interview.

Razorlight Interview

amanda van west — Fri, 03 Dec 2004 00:48:37 +0000

"Exciting, Thrilling, Confusing"
Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell spills about how their first American tour is going.
Interview by Amanda Van West, photos by Nancy Elser

"Hey girl, get on the dancefloor/And rip it up, yeah/That's what it's there for!" commanded Johnny Borrell, the frontman for new U.K. sensation Razorlight, as they launched into "Rip It Up" from their recently released album "Up All Night". The crowd happily obliged. Razorlight tore through an exhilarating hour-long set, and lived up to the hype that they have received in the U.K. Guitarist Bjorn Agren and bass player Carl Dalemo jumped around all over stage, throwing in some scissor kicks for good measure. Drummer Andy Burrows, who joined the band when original drummer Christian Smith-Pancorvo left due to health problems, banged and beat his drums with high, youthful energy. But it was Borrell who stole the show that night. Borrell spat out his lyrics with a feverish intensity, sometimes even throwing his guitar and knocking over his mic stand. He climbed up various amplifiers, eventually climbing up the tallest one and grabbing onto the ceiling rafters, all the while still singing perfectly, not missing one word. Borrell jumped off the amplifier and back onto the stage in one fluid motion, like some kind of wild jungle cat. At one point he grabbed a chair and stood on top of it proclaiming, "There! Now I feel like I'm on a real stage [the Popscene stage is only about a foot high]! Can everybody see me?" He was met with rabid cheering from the crowd, and received even more cheering (mostly from the women in the crowd) when he stripped off his shirt and ran around on stage like Iggy Pop.

Mark Gardener Interview

shane — Mon, 14 Apr 2003 07:56:55 +0000

How I Hung Out With My Idol and Didn't Come Across Like an Ass (Hopefully)

In my world, having Mark Gardener tour the States and play acoustic gigs in intimate settings is a bit like having Jesus round for a spot of tea. Finding out on 3 hours notice that you've got an interview with Mark Gardener is a bit like finding out that you, in fact, ARE Jesus. No pressure there.

And despite my fears, it went swimmingly. So swimmingly, in fact, that I'm not even sure where the interview stops and hanging out with a new friend starts. Liz and I got a chance to sit around for a few hours(!) with the former Ride frontman before his recent acoustic gig at Chicago's Abbey Pub. Turns out the voice of my favorite band of all time is actually a pretty down-to-Earth guy with some fantastic insight on Ride, Creation, shoegazing, and his brilliant return to form this year.

Want to hear how Ride "fucking rocked the house"? Want to learn what it's like to have an indie rock icon for a landlord? How Mark considers this his "Neil Young phase"? Then click more to read on!

Trembling Blue Stars Interview

liz — Wed, 16 Oct 2002 00:28:59 +0000

I was fortunate enough to get a short Q&A session with Bobby Wratten of the Trembling Blue Stars (formerly The Field Mice and Northern Picture Library). Bobby and Beth can be seen performing acoustically in a city near you soon.

A big thank you to Beth Arzy-Dean and Subpop.

Nick McCabe Interview

theajaysharma — Fri, 20 Sep 2002 19:30:00 +0000

By Lisa Y. Garibay and Ajay Sharma
(June 1999)

FINALLY we are pleased to present the definitive interview with Nick McCabe, former guitarist for Verve, exclusive to Excellent Online!

Nick McCabe Interview Part 2

theajaysharma — Fri, 20 Sep 2002 19:30:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 2. Here's Part 1 if you somehow missed it.

Paula Kelley Interview

shane — Thu, 14 Mar 2002 08:38:29 +0000

The greatest thing about being a part of Excellent Online is the ability to push my favorite artists on all of you guys, and here's another one to be filed under Things You Need To Hear.

Paula Kelley released her first solo full-length, "Nothing/Everything," on Boston's Stop, Pop, and Roll Records last year - and it quickly became one of the biggest surprises to make my 2001 Best-Of lists. Inside this little pop-tastic package was a whirlwind of emotion - innocently taunting, musically charming yet lyrically intense... a combination you don't come across too often.

Paula's is a name you might be familiar with and might not even know it. Starting as a member of US proto-shoegazers The Drop Nineteens, Paula left the band just as they'd begun to make waves with the US and UK critics. Over the next few years came a couple new projects - first the one-off Hotrod, which showcased Kelley's burgeoning songwriting abilities, and then Boy Wonder, which found Kelley further immersed into the East Coast powerpop scene.

Starsailor Interview

theajaysharma — Tue, 05 Mar 2002 19:05:40 +0000

One of our Excellent members, Lisa Y. Garibay, interviewed James Walsh from Starsailor for her site, Then It Must Be True. Go read it because it's a fantastic interview and you won't see a 'Where did the name Starsailor come from?' question.

Sigur Ros Interview

theajaysharma — Fri, 08 Feb 2002 03:04:10 +0000

There's an interview over at the unofficial Sigur Ros website that's pretty interesting. It's a fairly current interview with Georg Holm and Orri Páll Dýrason. They mainly talk about recording the new album, touring the US, plus the "secrets" of ágætis byrjun.

Ride Interview

shane — Wed, 28 Nov 2001 13:27:22 +0000

Man, what a daunting task this paragraph seems to be. Somehow, in some way, I'm supposed to provide a proper introduction for an interview with my favorite musician ever. This is tough.

Let me try the professional approach first:

Once upon a time, there was a band from Oxford that captured the essence of post-Madchester UK psychedelic rock. Crafting layer upon layer of fuzzy guitars over hypnotic basslines and pounding white-hot drums, they somehow managed to push the sonic envelope time and time again, without once losing their knack for a captivating hook and powerful melody. The press dubbed it 'shoegazing,' but when push came to shove, the music defied labels, defied description, defied definition. There were dozens of these bands around at the time - several of which were great, several of which were crap. But only one of these bands had the ability to break through the underground to achieve massive critical acclaim AND commercial chart success. That band was called Ride.

Flash forward to 2001. Ride, like most of their contemporaries, are no more. But just in time for the holidays, the boys of Ride have given us a mighty present: a remastered back catalogue, a greatest hits collection, and a triple-disc box set with two entire CD's worth of unreleased tracks (one live, one studio outtakes.) To commemorate the release of the box set, Excellent Online was able to e-mail off some questions to Ride drummer Loz Colbert.

Ah, f**k it. I've never been a professional, I'm not starting now.

Peter Murphy Interview

theajaysharma — Fri, 12 Oct 2001 12:17:46 +0000

Lisa Y. Garibay has another fantastic interview on her site, Then It Must Be True. Go read it because, c'mon, he's the "Father of Goth"! And then come back here and tell us what you think.

Radiohead Interview

theajaysharma — Fri, 27 Jul 2001 01:26:13 +0000

Long time contributor to Excellent Online, Lisa Y. Garibay interviewed Phil Selway for her site, Then It Must Be True. It's a great feature with some amazing pictures from Aleks Garibay and Jamie Lilenfeld so make sure you check out!

Powderfinger Interview

theajaysharma — Tue, 08 May 2001 23:23:44 +0000

A guitarist and a bassist sit in a hotel suite in the middle of Hollywood. They represent the most popular band in Australia - multi-platinum albums, sold-out stadium shows, the whole bit - yet no one on this continent knows who they are. It really proves just how far Australia is from America when a band that's topped charts for years in Oz comes to the States opening for Coldplay. Proven too is how different the mentality is of "rock stars" down under.

Interview by Lisa Y. Garibay

Doves Interview

theajaysharma — Sat, 10 Mar 2001 08:32:42 +0000

Simply brilliant. Those are really the best words to describe The Doves. By now, most of you should know their story intimately. From their beginnings as electronic act Sub Sub, through the devastating fire that levelled their new studio and destroyed a new album's worth of master tapes, only to see the band's Phoenix-like rise from the ashes to be re-invented as The Doves. "Lost Souls," the band's timeless debut album, hit shops unassumingly last year, and ended up making nearly every critic's year-end list (including reaching #5 on Excellent's own 2000 Reader's Poll.) The record takes snippets from a lifetime's worth of British (and especially Mancunian) influences, and layers them meticulously into an album that's wonderfully diverse in tunes, yet astoundingly cohesive in overall tone. Thoughtful, dark, moody, and powerful, The Doves defy description. They're simply brilliant.

The band made their very first Stateside trek in February and early March and we spent an early Chicago evening in the back of the Doves tour bus, casually hashing out the inner workings of the band with Doves frontman/bassist Jimi Goodwin. Here's a complete transcript of our VERY casual exclusive interview.

Interview by Shane Brown and Stuart Reid