specialIt was suggested, rather jokingly, by "Melody Maker" once that it was a Beatles record which inspired you to start playing the drums. Was that true?
Loz: Not really. It was probably more the B52s or something like that. No...it was probably Adam Ant actually... yeah. "Kings Of The Wild Frontier" something like that you know. (impersonates beat of Adam Ant record)
After deciding to be a drummer where did you go from there?
Loz: I didn't really decide. I just really liked the drums in lots of songs. I went to Germany on a German exchange to learn German and my German exchange had a drum kit. He had it in his house and I just couldn't believe it. I sort of played that and then I came back to England and it was like "I've got to have one of those" so I got a drum kit to keep me happy more than anything. I never had the idea to be a drummer or anything like that.
What age were you then?
Loz: About sixteen when I got my first kit.
What was it? Was it very basic?
Loz: Yes it was! It was an off-shoot of Tama called Mapex. Just single-headed; really, really nasty. It made the right noises though, or it did after a while once I'd got used to tuning them. This guy who was a drummer came 'round our house once to tune the drums for me and basically told me I was rubbish and stuff like that.
When did you decide you'd actually like to join a band?
Loz: It was probably when Mark played me a tape of what he and Steve and Andy had done. It was done with a drum machine and there were some really nice tracks on it. I don't know if he was playing it for a reason or not. It was like we were around his digs in Banbury and he was playing this tape and I started to get into the idea of doing that as well. I was like "Oh wow!" at the beginning of the tape and I said to Mark "That's quite a good drummer but I could do that though easily". I said "Who is it?" and he said "It's a drum machine" so then it was like..."Oh for fuck's sake that's not going to be hard then!". So I was thinking I'd really like to be in a band but it isn't going to be this lot because this lot sound alright. They sound sorted. But I thought then that I really would like to play drums with other musicians rather than just play drums for myself because that was what I'd been doing before.
Where did you practice? Were you relegated to the garage or something like that?
Loz: I was lucky because we lived in the middle of a forest and there weren't any actual next-door neighbours believe it or not, so apart from the badgers and voles there wasn't really anyone else I could disturb. I could bash away to my heart's content and usually I did!
At what point did they indicate that they wanted to replace the drum machine with a real drummer?
Loz: I think it was when we went on an art trip to London and I was really making friends with Andy. We just hung around all day, spent the whole day together shopping and stuff and he said "Look let's have a jam" sort of thing. So it was like "Alright then", "Do you think you can handle it?", "Yeah probably". And then we had this jam in our garage again we were lucky living in a very small village, outside the town, as we had no-one to disturb and we had a big garage so I invited everyone around to my house to do it. So we jammed about in the garage and then the whole village was in uproar about it really. We had a very spiky, sort of spiteful, note left on the doorstep the next day... you know, "Don't ever do that sort of thing again". We went down the pub and it was like "Hello, these are the ones who were making all the noise".
So you found somewhere else to practice?
Loz: Yes we did, we just kept doing it in Banbury.
I heard you recorded your first demo in Mark's kitchen.
Loz: Yeah...literally...yeah! It's brilllant that you can do that with a 4-track. Yeah...the drums in the corner and just standing around. Not enough room to throw any rock 'n' roll poses but that was probably quite a good thing because we were trying to get into indie music.
When did you improve on your first kit?
Loz: When we came to do "Like A Daydream". We'd already recorded the first EP and we'd gone into the studio to do... yes, it was "Like A Daydream". We'd gone into the studio for the second time and it was like... we're going to need some better equipment. Around this time Creation gave us some money it was like buying a round of equipment for us and after that I got a Premier kit, a Premier Resonator kit. I just remember looking at the catalogues and dreaming of this day if I ever get to superstardom I'll get one of these and I'll be proud of it. So they said "What sort, of kit d'you want?" and it was "Ahh! Premier Resonator" and that's what we used for that EP and I didn't know how to tune them or anything. That's why some of the sounds on it aren't that good but...who cares?! And Alan Moulder did quite a good job on "Like A Daydream" anyway, making it sound good. Apparently at first he couldn't distinguish between the bass drum and the snare drum it was that bad! But it got better after that.
And how has it changed since then because it seems to me that it's just got bigger and bigger?
Loz: Actually at that stage it was probably similar to what it is now but with one less floor tom the big white one that I use now. It's actually got smaller now as it's a Yamaha kit and it's standard toms. If you go back to what drums were initially meant to be and how they were built it's called standard toms and that's what I use now. They're just slightly more shallow, they're not as deep as the other ones so there's less air to move and they're a bit more responsive. And it all means that the drum kit gets smaller so I've actually got a smaller drum kit in terms of size of individual drums, like it's a 23 inch bass drum. And that was a really big step because it was like "Oh no you're getting a smaller drum kit, you must be wearing a skirt next!" but it actually sounds a lot better and it's really good.
And you've changed the stool.
Is there any particular reason for that? Loz: I figured if I'm going to spend a lot of time sat down in this position on a stool then I want to be comfortable basically.
I didn't know whether you were suddenly getting back-ache.
Loz: I was, I was! Also it's the fact that it moves from side to side because I tend to move around a lot. It just goes with you which is good as you can get into it a little bit more.
So you didn't break your other one throwing it across your drum kit?
Loz: No. If there's one thing that's a really good thing to throw it's a stool because it doesn't break. Like if I threw the one I've got now it would probably break the drum kit but that stool was alright... but this one is just so heavy. Yeah, it's a good thing to throw. It's worth it.
When you do something like that at the end of a concert, such as Lille, do you ever pre-plan it?
Loz: No, no... yes, actually... probably. It doesn't feel like it at the time but what initially happens is if I get an idea then I start to get one a long time before I do it because I like to sort of shock my drum tech Adam. It was actually his first day vhen we were in Lille. It was his first day with Ride setting up drums for me and he was very nervous so one of the best things I could have done was just break them all up really! It was just to say "Look, don't worry" because he'd taped everything out and it was all like rule measurements to get all the drums right. That was quite a good thing to do just to say "Relax" and since then it's been like an on-going thing almost you know, just trying to out-do the last thing I did and something like that. I get bored sometimes and I like to do little tricks and things... and usually with that I think of it before I do it because it gives me something to think about. But with the other stuff it's... well, I wouldn't want to admit that I thought about it before because it sounds a bit contrived but really it isn't it's just something which makes me happy... thinking about little tricks to play on people.
On the Rock Madrid broadcast you began pushing your cymbals down at the end and... well, I didn't think it was a very good performance.
Loz: Right, that's probably why.
So you were doing it just to create a bit of excitement?
Loz: Right, yeah, it's like that. What it is is like thinking of something really good to do but not giving it a date and then doing it when it's right. So that sort of thing...oh this is boring or we weren't very good... you just do something then which is spontaneous. But at other times it's "Oh wouldn't it be brilliant to do this?" and you wait for exactly the right moment and it's like "Yeah, tonight's the night". But, yeah, that's another reason to do it. I think everybody does that like Mark and Andy get fed up and angry if the gigs are bad and what is there to take it out on? There's an instrument in front of you. I think it's really sad to smash up equipment though.
You're always being compared to Keith Moon, particularly in U.S. revievs, and of course he used to regularly trash his.
Loz: Yeah, well if you do it regularly I think it's really sad.
And they got that they couldn't get insurance on their equipment because they did it so often.
Loz: Yeah, I can imagine there's lots af little troubles like that which we don't know about. I mean, like, I thought Birdland weren't a very good band because they just trashed their equipment and that was their selling point. I'd rather put how I feel in anger into how I'm playing rather than just stop and smash things up because I don't think that's impressive. Having said that... You know... when I've done it it's felt right so I'd rather keep it like that.
In a "Melody Maker" article Alan Moulder was quoted as saying about Ride: "They use a click when they're laying down drums but it isn't used as gospel". For the technically-ignorant amongst us what is a click?
Loz: Well, a click is just when you're recording a track and you want to keep it in time then I've got a regular beat that is put through my headphones so I'll hear like a cowbell going... (impersonates beat).
(At this point Mark who is next to us turns on a hairdryer).
Mark: Is this going to be alright?
Loz: Yeah, I'll speak loudly. Yes...it's just a regular sound on the beat for me to listen to so that if I go off I'll know where I am and I'll know if I'm speeding up or slowing down things like that. I mean, it's a really good thing to use because like Alan said you don't have to stay with it, it's just sometimes I feel safer with it. At first it was like "Oh my god I'm not using the click because I'm an artiste!". You know...if I speed up that's because I want to but then it was like we wanted to record and we wanted to have it in time. When I have the click it's like you said you don't have to stick to it, I can speed up if I want to. I can go in front of the click or behind it but it's there if I need it and after a while it kind of subconsciously goes into you so you find it a lot easier to keep time in a gig set up. It's like being potty-trained or something like that!
You once made a reference to writing songs and it's like nobody picked up on it, and everyone assumes that it's Mark and Andy who write the songs.
Loz: Yeah, they do!
However, Andy mentioned to me earlier on that you've written two new songs which you're going to be working on.
Loz: Yeah, I've done two so far for this and I basically give it a try every now and again.
Which ones in the past have been your songs?
Loz: Well I did the words to "Nowhere" and that's basically it so far. I think it just really helps the band if everybody writes and that's why I do it because if anyone's got an idea they should use it. That's why I do those sort of things because we all started this band and we all wanted to make it go certain ways and everyone's got a different perspective on things. I see it that anyone can write from their perspective...that's it really.
What are the titles of the songs you've got now that you will be rehearsing?
Loz: Um...well it's probably best not to say yet in case they don't come out but the ones I did for "Going Blank Again" one was called "Everybody Knows" and the other was called "Blue" and that's because we did too many tracks for "Going Blank Again".
Yes, you said in an Italian magazine that you thought you couldn't make it too long as it would bore people.
Loz: Yes. It was a case of pruning for that album and the ones that I did and certain ones which Andy did didn't really fit on to the album. They had a different kind of feel to them so they didn't really fit with the rest of the "Going Blank Again" sessions. They might come out another time but at least there's a Ride version of those songs and it makes me really happy just to have that.
When you're away from the band making your individual demos do you just sit down and do drum parts on to a tape?
Loz: I do actually, yeah.
Do you play any other instruments as well?
Loz: Well for me it's sort of the same as with the drums... I sort of have a go at things. I mean I do like playing guitar and I've got a marimba which is like a vooden African-style xylophone and I play that... and that's about it really. I just like to do things like that.
When you did "The Model" was that all done using drum machines?
Loz: Yeah that was all done with typing things into computers rather than actually hitting things. I mean what I wanted to do for "The Model" was... I remembered seeing Kraftwerk on something like "Swap Shop" or one of those Noel Edmonds things when they got in the charts. I remember seeing Kraftwerk in their video standing in front of a rack of keyboards which I thought was so weird because it wasn't like any other band I'd seen. And then the person that was like "playing the drums" was standing in front of just this little rack thing and hitting it with sticks and I thought "What's all that about? How does that go down an electric wire?" and stuff like that. So for "The Model" I got one of those. It's just like a unit used to trigger samples so I used a bit of that on "The Model" which was purely for my own sake as it could have all been done just with tapping things in but I had to get my hands on one of those! So that was quite good.
You've been critical of your previous promo videos and I was wondering how you feel about going back now and looking at the Brixton video.
Loz: I quite like that, yeah, I think it's alright. I think it's quite a good performance of Ride captured on tape. It seems a little boring now as, I don't know, it just doesn't seem as exciting as how we feel now about playing live and also it's like with those sort of things it's a lucky dip as to how good a gig it was for each individual person, each individual member. But I think it's good, it's quite a good version and it was basically up to the cameramen who did it. We didn't really know them, we'd never really spoken to then they were just there. It was like they were wandering around with cameras and no-one knew what it was going to be like. When it came to watching it at the end it was like..."Well it's alright!". I think the Reading video is a really good example as well but that hasn't come out yet...I shouldn't have said that really.
So it's coming out on video then?
Loz: Well not for a while because we've just had the Brixton one out. What I really mean is that Reading was a good gig for everyone as well.
In America they've brought out "Today Forever" with some of your promo videos added to it. Have you thought about putting all your promos together and releasing them on a single video?
Loz: Yeah, that's a good idea but at the moment there's not that much to shout about in terms of our videos. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would buy it because, for example, I've got them recorded from "The Chart Show" but you get all that irritating writing come up halfway through and you just wish you had a proper copy of it all.
Also I've never ever seen "Vapour Trail" as it didn't seem to get shown over here.
Loz: I mean that seems...yes, that would be a good idea to put that out so that people who vere interested could have a copy but I'd just also like to do it when there was something to shout about. Maybe turn it into something else, maybe use other footage from other stuff we've done and turn it into bit more of an item because to put it out now...well a lot of people would be grateful but we're trying to make everything we release brilliant and a bit, interesting so it doesn't feel like the right time to do it yet. I definitely know what you mean though because loads of people won't have seen "Vapour Trail" and the amount of times I miss "The Chart Show" and people are always telling me about brilliant bands that were on last night and... whatever performance it was it would be good to put, it all on one tape like our performance on "The Word", "Top Of The Pops" as well. That would be worth it, I'm quite happy with those.
And your performance on "Tomorrow's World"? I don't know how many people have got that on tape.
Loz: Oh yeah! That was a bigger kick than having the Brixton video out I think! I always used to watch "Tomorrow's World". I've got it on tape somewhere.
To close on a non-musical question: in an article in "Smash Hits" there was a reference to you abseiling down the side of some concert venues on the "Going Blank Again" tour. Was that true? Was this like the on-tour activity at, that particular time because in the past Mark has mentioned about taking his skateboard on tour and stuff like that.
Loz: Yeah. Me and Steve took our bikes on the last tour which was a good idea and I think Mark brought a mountain bike as well. That's really good for getting out and about. I took one to America as well. It's just sort of being active and it's something to do really because there's a lot of waiting time in what we do. So abseiling was like "D'you want to abseil?", "Yeah, I don't mind". It was one of those things I'd always wanted to do and it was mainly like the lighting crew had the sort of equipment used to abseil when they set up gigs so it was quite easy to just set it up and go flying down this building.
Do you think you would like to try bungee-jumping?
Loz: Yeah, I wouldn't mind jumping off a very high platform, falling and then being brought back up by some elastic. I think that sounds quite good...I'll have to see!
Interview by Chrissie Oakes
(The interview took place in the backstage of the Blackpool Empress Ballroom after the Daytripper gig)
specialAs a way of promoting the "Daytripper" week-end, Ride took part in Richard Easter's programme on BBC Radio 1 with an exclusive interview and session revealing four new tracks by the band for the first time. Before giving you Catherine's impressions, let's listen to the explanations (sort of) of Steve and Mark:
How was it getting back into the studio again?
Mark: it was different this time because we kind of...normally we sort of know what we were doing with the songs when we went in to do these sessions but this time we weren't really too sure. It turned out alright in the end actually.
Steve: These songs have never been recorded before anywhere else. They're at their first demo stage.
So tell us about the songs you've chosen to do. Any reason why you chose to do these four new ones?
Steve: 'Cause they're the only ones we've written so far.
Mark: The only ones we could play.
Steve: We wanted to do some new stuff. We wanted to treat it as demo time, demo studio time really.
Did you find it exciting to get back in the studio?
Steve: Well, I don't know about exciting!
Thrilling?
Steve: Well, we missed Oxford vs Derby for them!
Are they going to feature on the album?
Mark: Oxford and Derby? (laughs) Well... no... I think they probably will but I don't know whether they'll sound exactly like they do now because these are the first... sort of our first demos really.
When do you think you're going to start recording the album - shortly?
Steve: We'll always be recording over the summer and we're going to mix recording with a few trips into Europe to do festivals. We're going to spend the whole summer writing and recording so I think it will just get recorded gradually. When we've got enough stuff then we'll go in and sort it all out. And what about a new single, 'cause everyone's dying for a single release.
Can you give us any exclusive news - when will a new single be available? Are we talking late autumn?
Steve: At the earliest I would have thought.
Mark: We just don't want to put any time restrictions on anything at the moment because we've got... I think we're just going to make sure that the songs take as long as they take until they're at a point where we think they're absolutely classic and then we'll release it.
You've got the two Daytripper events with the Charlatans of course. You're looking forward to that?
Steve: Yeah, we're hoping to get four or five or six new songs into the set and there will be the old stuff as well but we're rehearsing all the time at the moment.
And, as promised earlier, here is Catherine's review of the new songs showcased during the radio interview:
If you believe Steve and Mark, then these tracks are just "demos". They certainly are but Ride could release them as such on record without losing any credibility. Rockier than Going Blank Again, and definitely happier (unlike Nowhere), they are a superb introduction to what could be Ride's third album. Now I regret talking of maturity for Going Blank Again as what is left to say about this?
After hearing it once, you feel Crown of Creation is what is called a "classic" (1). After hearing it twice, you will be surprised at humming the refrain and after a third hearing the song will not leave you. Incredibly romantic and happily melancholic, Crown of Creation is sweetness itself. Guitars are light as air and supported by a regularly peaceful rhythm while Andy sings of recently conquered happiness; all of this is further polished by discreet keyboards. Lead vocalist Andy also play delicate chords echoed by Mark. When, together, they sing the chorus, the vocal harmony is beautiful. In a recent interview Andy said the next songs would surprise people with their positive feeling. He didn't lie. Crown of Creation makes you happy and should be listened to any day when the blues fall upon you. Walk on Water goes further with the feeling of perfect bliss. Again Andy evokes love and the "perfect being". No doubt charming Idha has been the originator of this metamorphosis! One should also note that, maybe for the first time, the vocals of the new tracks are rather easy to understand, even for non-English speakers.
Musically, Walk on Water is a superb exercise of style where the music perfectly echoes the message: a subtle balance is created between the bass howling like a foghorn in reply to the gurgling guitars. I had a vision of Andy standing on the upper deck of a ship sailing towards this beautiful Swedish woman...Erm, let's be serious. You will know by now that the track is bewitching. Andy is responsible for the romantic feeling in it but Mark also gives us nice guitar riffs and Steve's bass gives the track its essential backbone. As to Loz, he learns to dominate his natural ardour and shows he's equally talented in softness as in havoc. Four unbeatable artists.
Another song led by Andy on guitar and vocals but moving away from the previous tracks' romanticism (let's not push too far), Birdman is a stunning number just like Mouse Trap or Cool your Boots. Although it starts exactly in the same way as Swervedriver's Sandblasted, it develops into a mixture of rock and naked intertwining guitars dominated by the vocal melody; after several changes in rhythm (much better than those in the song Going Blank Again), the pace strongly quickens when Andy stops singing and the music lets loose. The guitars seem to go mad and are accompanied by Loz's astonishing cymbals playing in what reminds you of the somewhat unbridled live transition between Chelsea Girl and I wanna be your dog. Finally Andy starts repeating the same phrase over and over again ("You are very, very lucky") in an almost hypnotical way while the guitars are becoming increasingly insane. When I heard Birdman for the first time in Oxford, I saw an image in my mind and only later did I have confirmation of the influence this image had actually had on the theme of the song: I was thinking of Alan Parker's film, Birdy where the main character dreams of becoming a bird and slowly turns mad. More by its feeling than its lyrics, Birdman gave me the same impression of a sweet but potentially dangerous madness. Maybe this sums up the state of mind of a Ride fan...
We're left with the fourth track: this time led by Mark on vocals (the only one where I can't understand the words), Since then (this song will appear one year later heavily reworked and with the new name "Don't let it die" as a B-side of the Birdman e.p. - ed.) is one of those songs that hits you without warning. Like Mouse Trap or TIme of her Time, the audience will love Since then and yell for it as an encore. Actually sounding a bit like Mouse Trap with its cutting guitar riffs, it is also noisier and rockier, but softened by Mark's voice which forms the melody. The live version heard during the Daytripper concerts sounded more dynamic and thrilling than this slightly too stern studio version. I bet this can only be improved. Catherine 1. For those in the know, Crown of Creation reminds one of the Byrds' harmonies and guitars. Aware of this, in Blackpool, Andy announced the track with "this is 'Mr Tambourine Man'".
The night before Brighton, Ride followed their established tradition of giving a secret warm-up gig in a local club. This time they played the Oxford Venue where their last concert dated back to 19 May 1990. Some 400 lucky people who had followed the rumour were packed up in this narrow place and watched a sort of final rehearsal. The show was strange to attend, especially in England where Ride now play 2000-capacity venues regularly. For us, Europeans, it wasn't so much as the last date they played in France was in Nancy's Terminal Export, which is not much bigger. As to the concert, it was a great moment (watching Ride from 10m away is certainly more exciting than from the back of a stadium) but not one of the best. On the one hand, the band, although much amused, kept their best strength for the day after; on the other, the audience was mainly composed with Oxford's jet-set who had come for the rather than music. Like, they hardly asked for a second encore. Yet it was great to be there: we had a first opportunity to hear the new songs as well as OX4 and Chelsea Girl which had disappeared in Brighton in a very warm and peculiar set (the ceiling was low!).
A "local must".
Review by
The "Daytripper" event meant more than a concert. The original idea of giving a common show and generally having a good time was born in the somewhat drunk minds of Mark Gardener and Tim Burgess at Reading Festival. Then the ever-imaginative media made it the summit meeting of two scenes, "the Scene that Celebrates Itself" for Ride, and "Madchester" for the Charlatans. Whatever it turned out to be, fans of both bands put an unprecedented early end to the hibernation of two seaside resorts and went back home with memorable and... sunny memories of a short holiday by the sea.
As for me, although the idea of seeing the Charlatans live appealed to my curiosity (I've always enjoyed Some Friendly), I was pretty disappointed by their performance, even as a support to Ride. As most fans and journos had a completely opposite opinion, mine must certainly be biased. But definitive.
As to Ride... needless to say, big venues suit them fine. Much better than the night before in Oxford (see above), they seemed to have regained some Spring-smelling energy and enthusiasm. Leaving Leave them all behind for later on, they start their concert with jerky Mouse Trap. Although habit has me prefer this track as an encore song when the band are sweating, Mouse Trap has the advantage of putting us straight into a fast rhythm. Then Ride reveal the first new track, the "Beatles-like" Walk on Water. Further on they will play Crown of Creation, Since Then and Birdman.
In their live versions, Since then was first to seduce me with its breathless pace and sweet melody. I also admit to having a slight preference for Mark's voice and wish he sang more than one of the new tracks. Yet, Birdman and Crown of Creation are both excellent and push the however great Walk on Water somewhat lower in the first league. The tracks certainly need further practicing before sounding perfect and Ride look stressed and careful not to play them wrong. These omens of a beautiful future will eventually sound faultless though. The only critique I could find was the fact that the vocals are still drowned in guitar waves despite their evergrowing importance, in particular on Birdman and Since then. Sometimes you can hardly hear Andy sing and sometimes it would be better if he actually sang in his microphone! Being both lead guitarist and lead vocalist ain't easy!
Under a colourful lightshow, the concert goes on with a pleasant alternance of old classics such as Taste, Like a Daydream, Time of her Time and Vapour Trail. Drive Blind too is still with us and Ride rightly choose to develop the noisy bit even further in a similar way to Nowhere and Close my Eyes, without playing the same note indefinitely. When Birdman puts a brilliant end to the first part of the show and the audience starts clapping and screaming hard for an encore, I have the fugitive feeling that the concert is only starting as the sampling melody of Leave them all behind fills the space. As perfect a starting song as it is (sorry Piero), hearing it as an encore is confusing. Yet the pleasure of forgetting oneself amongst it remains intact.
Finally before the second encore where Seagull rises up above the nearby sea, Ride offer us an astonishing cover of the Who's Kids are alright. Played with great enthusiasm, the song has the audience jumping up and down. I wish it bore Ride's signature to say how brilliant it was! On such an optimistic note, the concert leaves us hopeful for a bright future.
Ride are alright.
Review by
Unfortunately, due to pressures of work, I was unable to make the 300 mile pilgramage to Brighton, but nothing, not even my beloved job, could keep me from journeying to Blackpool on the Saturday. I listened intently to the previous week's Richard Easter Radio 1 Evening Session, to hear the Ride session, the first new material from my idols in a year and I was more than pleased with what I heard. Shining particularly was Birdman which, to these ears, bears more than a passing resemblance to previous masterpieces from the first album. Anyway, back to the plot; the glorious sunny day paled into insignificance at what the night brought. 8 o'clock on the dot and the lads appeared on stage, commencing with Mouse Trap which got the sell-out crowd in fine rhythm for a set which just got better and better. With delights from the new Crown of Creation and the aforementioned Birdman to the old favourites Like a Daydream and a storming rendition of Drive Blind the time just raced by. Leave them all behind worked well as an encore and the highlight for me was Seagull - the perfect title for a Blackpool gig! A hours break to come back down to earth and dampen the vocal chords, and on came the Charlatans as arrogant as ever. They played a competent set, with highlights for me being Then and Can't even be bothered. All in all, it was a superb night, I've never had so much fun at the seaside since I was a little kid! The buzzing in my ears the following day was a constant reminder, last night I had such a good time....I do kinda miss Judy now she's been killed off, though! [to tell the truth, I kinda miss Judy too! - CV]
Review by Michael Seaword
Your humble "Ticket To Ride On Line" webmaster had the lucky chance to be in Blackpool for the second Daytripper date and these were his impressions about the new songs performed that night...
Just as in Brighton, Ride decide to give us the chance to hear four new songs which are very interesting and promising but which are, without any doubt, still to be developed. Andy introduces the first of them, Walk on Water. This is the most beautiful of the new songs. It's very intense and hits deep inside: it made me almost want to cry when I realized how lucky I was to share this moment with 5000 or so other people as if we were a single entity. Happiness and melancholy mixed together as only Big Boy Robert Smith can do. Wow! Birdman starts very hard and then gets quieter. It's a continuous turnover of strong and sweet bits: powerful chords are steadily followed by interlaced arpeggios. It's simply perfect and it would be a nice surprise to find this song on the next album. Later, Andy tries to fool us by introducing a new song as Mr Tambourine Man, and he's not totally wrong because Crown of Creation owes so much to their sixties favourites, the Byrds. Nice song, but I hope this will be just an episode, in the way of Making Judy Smile which they've just dropped from the set: the real Ride are able to stun us if they want... Just wait and see. Finally Since Then is the last of the new songs and is probably the least convincing one: it's not that it's bad but I think they have to work hard on it if they want to turn it into another Ride anthem. We have to wait for their summer shows now (if we're lucky enough) to hear what they've done. Thank you and see you again on the beach next year!
Review by Piero Piutti
Saturday 13th March 1993 dawned and it was a beautifully sunny day. My brief from Catherine was that I should attempt to grab the one member of Ride who had, so far, escaped from doing an exclusive "TTR" interview - Loz. I headed towards the Winter Gardens in Blackpool an hour before their soundcheck time and ten minutes later who should appear into the foyer of the Empress Ballroom but Loz and his girlfriend. Should I take the plunge and tackle him direct for an interview? After a few seconds hesitation I decided I might not get another opportunity so...Loz's enthusiasm nearly knocked me out! "An interview? With me? No, I don't think so. Not with me" and with that he did a very good job of disappearing off the planet!
Ten more minutes later and it was a great relief when Andy appeared with his charming wife Idha and proceeded to direct me into the backstage area. We began to talk and I suddenly realised that what was happening was that I was having a fantastic interview with Andy - the only trouble was I didn't have my tape recorder turned on. A vision of Catherine threatening to kill me went flashing through my mind!
There was nothing for it but to try and remember as much of the conversation as I could and note it down at the earliest opportunity. So here goes - well naturally we talked about the new tracks. Andy felt that "Crown of Creation" is probably the first time that a real Byrds comparison could be levelled at them. He said there was still plenty of room for improvement as the keyboards weren't right yet and it lacked the real Hammond sound. He was also considering the possibility of adding some pedal steel guitar to it and he said he thought it would definitely be the next single. I'm not sure how much of a democratic comment this was - I got the impression that Andy had decided it was going to be the single and that was that! Personnally I wouldn't complain if it was but a single which features Andy on lead vocals would be a departure from the past and a welcome one if they really are concerned about Mark not being seen as the face of Ride.
The other track to come under discussion was "Birdman" which has a reference to a "blackbird flying across the sky" and I wondered whether Andy had picked a blackbird because of the Beatles connection or whether there was something more sinister in it and you were supposed to view it as a bird which had been blackened in some way by the environment. Talk about being like a dog barking up the wrong tree! "No, it isn't about pollution or anything like that" announced Andy - it was simply written after he'd watched the film "Birdy" and he was fascinated by the idea of a man wanting to fly. However, the part about "you are very very lucky" is something which would be impossible to guess as it comes from an old Russian guy who is something of an eccentric and goes around Oxford handing out bits of paper which contain his words of wisdom and "at the end he always says you are lucky to have me to tell you these things". After hearing Andy explain it the whole song became a hundred per cent more fascinating than it already was! Andy admitted that at present he felt a bit uncomfortable with the song as the opening focussed the attention on just his voice and guitar and he was having difficulty concentrating on both. He said he wasn't totally convinced that it worked best with an electric guitar and he thought he might experiment with using an acoustic. I pointed out that I wasn't really surprised when they finished their main set at the Venue with "Birdman" and Andy agreed with me that the way in which the guitars build towards the end makes it a potentially great closing number. Andy confirmed that he's written four songs which they are working on towards the next album but that he is also involved with his wife Idha's solo album. He was planning to do more work on it in the week following the Daytripper concerts and they hoped it would be out on Creation Records in September. Andy described the album as being a cross between the Byrds "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo" and the quieter moments on the Stones "Exile on Main Street". It had been hinted at in a "NME" concert review last year that Andy's involvement with Idha's album was possibly an indication that he was less-than-committed to Ride which is perhaps why Andy chose to remark about how much easier it seemed to be in the 60's and early 70's to guest on other peoples records without too much being read into it. He said there were other musicians he would like to play with but if he did...and then he shrugged his skinny shoulders and I said "Rumours of a Ride split?".
When I asked him how he thought the prevous day's concert had gone he said he felt they could have been better and that the Charlatans hed been so good they were a very hard act to follow. He said he couldn't see Ride turning into a stadium band because he didn't think their music would suit that situation and he was much happier for them to stay at their present level playing venues with a capacity of no more than 5,000. However, he enjoyed doing outdoor festivals even though it meant making sacrifices in terms of sound quality - and sometimes sinking up to your ankles in mud.
I'm afraid the rest of our conversation centred around Byrd-related matters - not surprising when you get a Byrds fan together with the editor of a Byrds fanzine! Andy said that he hoped none of the Byrds ever got to hear their version of "Eight Miles High" because it left something to be desired. I remarked that Gene Clark probably did because he was always very up-to-date on who had covered his songs. Andy said that when they decided to do the song in the studios they didn't have the record to hand and he was the only one who was really familiar with it so he wrote down what he thought were the lyrics and when he got home he realised that he'd missed a verse out but by then it was too late to correct it. He said he would like to do a cover version of David Crosby's song "Triad" but Idha pointed out that he wouldn't be able to sing it - "Hmmm, that's true, I don't have the voice for it" agreed Andy.
At one point Andy actually suggested that I interview him instead of Loz and when I explained that my questions had been designed with Loz in mind he joked that he could pretend he knew how Loz would answer. Maybe next time Andy!
Interview by Chrissie Oakes
After the Daytripper event came two Greek shows: certainly Ride know how to add pleasure to their work. The weather is beautiful and the Acropolis is enchanting. But the place to be on this sunny week-end is the Rodon Club where Ride are playing their first ever dates in Greece.
In spite of reduced equipment, the band plays at its best and Stu's lightshow creates the right atmosphere, giving that extra touch to each song. Two gigs with two different setlists and another new song Let's get lost, along with Since Then, Crown of Creation, Walk on Water and Birdman already featured at Brighton and Blackpool. Leave them all behind and Mouse Trap are the opening songs of the two shows. They make an enthusiastic Greek audience throb and scream and jump right from the beginning. Old and new songs alternate in a crescendo of sheer beauty but part of the beauty is taken by the new songs which the Greek kids receive coldly. However they almost wipe out the absence of masterpieces like Vapour Trail and Nowhere for those who have already had the opportunity to listen to them before. Two beautiful gifts are offered with Seagull on the first night and Unfamiliar on the second, two songs which are truly loved but so rarely played live. Unfamiliar comes totally unexpected and as soon as Steve introduces the bass line you know that something really special is taking place. The same happens with Drive Blind that is the most awaited of all Ride songs. And the wait is worth it as they give a breathtaking version. A marvellous Chelsea Girl is the last act of both shows and it would have been a shame to miss it.
Someone asked if it was really worth travelling so many miles to see Ride.
The answer is, and always will be, yes. Ah yeah! I hope they had a great holiday
on the Greek islands!
Review by Barbara Masoni & Roberta Accettulli