26th May
What happened on this date in Stone Roses history ?
"Stone Roses were due to play Milton Keynes Elektra (Cancelled)"
The Navigation
The Band Interview
Current Band Line-Up
Being in the band, what’s that like?
Aye it’s good, we really enjoy it. Its good getting to tour and see places, meet different people... it’s good to get to travel about with your mates, play different venues. It beats being in a normal 9-5 job.
Would you say being in a tribute band is easier than a normal band ?
To a certain extent yes, the songs are already there to learn so you know that they are all good you just have to worry about doing them justice. It’s sort of half and half , The stone roses were very good players So you have to try your hardest to make sure you do the songs and the band justice , you’re trying to play as well as sum one else , an already established musician so it’s not easy at all.
Having an already established fan base through the original band couldn’t have hurt?
Yes that always helps , What we find is that , especially in Scotland we get people who come to the gigs who weren’t even into the roses until they started going to our gigs , so again it’s kind of half and half because we are always introducing people to the music. It can take the pressure off as well when you don’t have to worry about what people are going to think, you know the songs are good, you know they love them, all you have to do is make sure you do them justice.
So who’s the real boss of the band?
Louis! Ha-ha, for the past couple of months I have been handling all the hard tasks and stuff so yes me. The real answer to that is threes no boss , We all have our input ,were all together , everyone’s decision is the same , we talk about things as a band , agree on things as a band , if sum ones decision is different then we go with the majority , so we are all the bosses really. It never matters when we are on the stage, we live as a band, we eat as a band, we sleep as a band ... we drink as a band! We are a band; there are no top dogs or big egos.
SO do you think you are living the rock star life?
We are doing this interview with bottles of corona in our hand! What do you think! Ha-ha, were sorted here!
So what’s the best thing you have done as a band?
I think it has just been the gigs, just getting out there doing our thing. The bigger the gig the better! Last month we played like 3 or 4 gigs in one week that was cool! When you get to go on the road for 4/5 days at a time that’s great. When we are living with each other it’s a fucking night mare, when you share a room with the coffee monster (Louis) and snorey boy (Magoo) it’s a total nightmare ha-ha, but we wouldn’t change it for anything
So what roles do you think you each play in the band?
Louis is the coffee monster! He just sleeps and drinks coffee, that’s his life! When he joined the band he didn’t smoke, but now he just smokes and drinks coffee, he is part of a very small group of people who wear blazers and pointy shoes. Andy and Brian are the jack drinkers, Nelly’s more sensible than the rest of us! We all enjoy a drink ha-ha but that’s a different interview!
So you have done some charity work recently for cancer research, how was that?
That was great, we really enjoyed that. We did really well and for a great cause. We raised £17 000, that felt good. It’s a great amount of money to raise. We went to an event the other day and it showed you where all the money gets used so we were quite pleased with that. It was all down to the fans who supported us for doing it , that’s where the real thanks go , that’s where the money came from , we done our job and the fans were behind us 100% , without them it would never have been such a success so thank you to the fans.
So who’s the diva of the band?
Maldo! (Louis)... Everywhere we go he’s like [bad Brazilian accent] COFFEE? COFFEE? , IM NOT DOIN MY FUCKING SOUND CHECK UNTIL I GET MY COFFEE! Ha-ha, once he asked for all the red M&M's to be removed from a bowl! Ha-ha just kidding, no one has came out as the diva just yet.
So do you think the band has evolved beyond just being a tribute band?
How many tribute bands have released a DVD, a CD single, a music video and have done that much stuff for charity! Were on the ball, I think we have taken it to the next step. The fans never treat us as a tribute band; to them we are as good as the roses which is a great compliment. The name of the band has become an icon in its self , it’s almost became a brand within its self , we have our own fans , people who have said to us they are complete stone roses fans , rather than stone roses fans , so yes I think we have came a long way to get where we are today. Not many tribute bands, like us, can walk into HMV and pick up their DVD, that’s just amazing for us.
In the past few years you have played alongside some massive acts, who was the best ?
Sex pistols. It’s got to be. They are the biggest band we have played with; we shared a stage with them which is un-real. Supergrass were great as well, they are good guys. Big shout out to supergrass they were wicked. We met Stuart cable from the stereophonic at a festival once that was pretty cool. [Magoo] I really wanted to meet him so I hid my lighter and went up and asked him for one ha-ha! [More beers arrive] Living the rock star life, what did we tell you! Ha-ha. Playing with peter hook at the carling academy was awesome; He is a really cool guy. It was good recording Love will tear us apart with him as well, it was hard though! I think we had about 7 different versions until we got one we liked ha-ha. Everyone knows LWTUA, so we had to get it spot on, regardless of what anyone says we feel like we got it spot on, a stone roses take on a classic. We went where we intended to go with it.
So what about plans for the future? Any plans to play with any other bands?
Glasvegas! Were playing with them at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, Groove armada, Paolo Nutini as well. And Michelle McManus!
What about working with the roses themselves, how would that go down?
That would be amazing! We worked with Mani and apparently john squire was at one of our sound checks, he apparently heard us sound checking and dropped in. We saw Rennie in a pub after a gig in Manchester as well (we think); He walked past us and out the pub. We think the drummer at the time actually chased after him, he made some crap excuse and left the pub in a hurry! We think he jumped in a taxi and went after him ha-ha.
So you have played some big festivals over the years, how has that been?
Last year at Loch Lomond we apparently pulled one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, that’s pretty amazing because we were playing with some great bands. We (The Completes) have done “t-in the park” , “Oxegen” (formerly called “Witness2) 3 years on the trot, “live @ loch Lomond” 2 years running , “get loaded Cardiff”& “get loaded Scotland” at braehead arena where we played alongside bands like “the happy Mondays” and we have pulled some great crowds , its amazing and a great honour sometimes....
You have played some cool places such as Dubai, what was that like?
That was awesome! You can go on stage with your shorts on because the sun is shining all the time, its roasting ha-ha; we used to just lie about at night with the sprinklers on to get cool because we didn’t have a pool and judging from the size of the villa they gave us when we went across, that’s pretty unreal but hey! we’re not complaining cause we’re going back next year. haha
So how did the fans take to the music over there?
Unbelievably! The place was packed, they were all singing the songs and everything, we didn’t know if it was Dubai or Glasgow! It was insane. The after party was mad as well ha-ha; there was jack Daniels girls walking around just filling up your cup with as much JD as you wanted!
Last year the band was supposed to play Edinburgh Hogmanay, what happened there?
The wind happened! The stage blew away, all our gear blew away. Amps, guitars, everything blew away. It was good to be there doing the sound check and stuff , but we were still waiting at 10pm to find out if we were playing or not , but the stage was half way down the street so we pretty much knew it was off , but bring on this year , let’s hope lightning doesn’t strike twice.
I hear you have also made an appearance in MUTV?
Aye that was great! Even though magoo couldn’t keep up with the cameras ha-ha. We got a tour of old Trafford as well which was pretty cool, and we recorded tell me Moses and the station played that on the day we appeared
So what can we expect next year?
Well the big news for next year is the introduction of the new singer john. He kicks of his gigs in February so that will be great, he’s a top notch singer , we were all very impressed , and he’s a great guy , I’m sure we will have a blast.
So has 2008 been a pretty wild year?
It has, it’s been excellent, a lot of parties happening. You’ve caught us just before our Christmas night out tomorrow in Newcastle. That will be good, a chance to get dressed up and hit the town. How many tribute bands have released a DVD, a CD single, a music video and have done that much stuff for charity! Were on the ball, I think we have taken it to the next step. The fans never treat us as a tribute band; to them we are as good as the roses, which is a great compliment.
Any stories you will be telling the grand kids?
Not until they’re 18 anyway ha-ha!
So where do you see the band a few years down the line?
A few years down the line? Rehab! Sitting with Amy winehouse and Pete Docherty, shaking our heads in the corner just listening to the stone roses over and over. Ha-ha , hopefully we will be doing this but on a bigger scale , the only way is up as far as we are concerned , so bigger and better would be the way forward but seriously, we’re making moves to get across to the likes of Australia, Japan etc, try and branch out a bit and maybe give fans who have never seen us a chance to relive the roses themselves
Do you think the stone roses music is timeless and will always be around?
Absolutely. Look at the Beatles, look at the rolling stones then in the 80’s the smiths, the happy Mondays, oasis, they bands will never die, people will always remember them. It’s been almost 20 years for the roses and it’s still going strong, you can’t deny the fact that they were something special, we are all very proud to be a part of keeping the music alive.
So what’s next for the complete stone roses?
We are just going to keep on going , keep doing what we are doing , there’s a lot of festivals to be played , we have some tours lined up for next year , hopefully the next single release , tell me Moses , does well for charity. We’ve come a long way and there’s still more to come, so we will take it one step at a time and try and take it to the next level
