It's been almost a year since I started Please Rain Fall, so to celebrate the occasion I thought it would be fitting to interview the person that made a lot of the experiences I have written about here possible - Mr Andy P. Davies, my brother and leader of cult indie band The Cudgels. Andy doesn't really keep up with the current indiepop scene, preferring to plough his own furrow as he has done since he was a toddler and picked up his first banjo. I thought it would be interesting to hear his thoughts.
Stephen: At what age did you become interested in music and start playing instruments? Were any particular bands / artists influential in shaping your early thoughts and ideas?
Andy: First of all may I say many thanks for asking for my thoughts as a participant in one of your legendary five question interviews. To answer this first question head on it seems I had music in my pores from the day I was born. Our parents Mary and Phil were young when we were born, and as a pre-schooler I just remember a hip Irish house in Birmingham full of playfulness, with beloved siblings, radios blaring not just with music but equally with ‘current affairs’ and I just wanted a part of this whole world of experiment that was up for grabs.
Things seemed to be a lot different back then. Kids had a lot more freedom. I was allowed to get into many scrapes and misadventures. I remember one late afternoon a bunch of lank haired oiks from the Beeches Estate near where we lived, nicked sticks of liquorice off my person, whilst threatening me with a pea shooter as I took a short cut over the dump. This sort of thing happened regularly. You can’t win them all but it added resilience into my already quite stoic soul.
In lots of ways my parents and family were my first artistic influence. I remember being able to ask them literally anything about music, books, current affairs or the usual growing up stuff. My Dad always said from the start I was his best mate. We had a series of old cars driven by my Dad. These were the days before ‘In-Car' entertainment, and Dad used to hit his ring finger against the steering wheel tapping and singing Irish things like ‘I’m a Little Beggar Man’ and the ‘Jug of Punch’. And because I loved to sing and show off, Mum and Dad found enough resources out of their meagre funds to send me to piano lessons with a series of quite scary old women!
I suppose my awakening to hipness was seeing The Jam on The Marc TV show hosted by the late Marc Bolan in 1977. I was probably 11 at the time and The Jam just blew me away. After that it was The Who, The Small Faces, The Kinks and all those great British bands of the 1960’s. I still contend that you can listen to ten British records released between 1965 and 1968 and I promise at least nine of them will be BRILLIANT!
Stephen: You have been involved in many groups and projects over the years with the likes of The Cudgels, Oporto, The Winnebago Orchestra and now Andus. What period has been the most satisfying musically and artistically? And also what period was the most difficult? Were there times when you struggled to write and be creative?
Andy: I’ve always struggled to write and be creative! Picasso said … “All children are artists…” and I would agree with him that it gets harder to retain that creative sense of wonder as one gets older. There are different dimensions to human existence, and being creative in one sphere is not always relevant to different situations. The Cudgels was an accident as it happens. A group of young people got together under my wing and realised a vision. We were a tight knit bunch. Oporto came together to write and release a classic E.P. The Winnebago Orchestra also did the same. We achieved almost everything we set out to do and lots more, and we never let each other or our audiences down. That’s why I am still very good friends with everyone involved in all those projects. Andus is interesting because it is still developing as a creative project so let’s wait and see what happens with that one. It has always been difficult!
Stephen: You are famously very anti the music industry and the whole circus that surrounds it. Has this always been the case? Have there been any specific incidents that have led to your mistrust? Along what lines do you think artists should promote themselves in order to gain a wider audience?
Andy: I would rather not say what specific incidents brought me to this view of the music industry. But what I will say is that from an early age I had some sort of abject fear of the leeches that were around in my young day. I am the type of person that needs a drink to cool my nerves sometimes and I was just scared that I would get sucked into things I couldn’t cope with. Also, in all my artistic endeavours I have worked with people who I have genuinely loved, or at least cared deeply about. This isn't always possible when the industry gets involved. Ideas become diluted and compromises are required. I made the right decision. When the business side of things is involved it isn't enjoyable and certainly isn't fun. It becomes hard work which is what you were trying to avoid in the first place. There are people I know, household names, whose lives have been wrecked by the music industry, though they continue to have to keep their sunny side up and come out swinging. That was never for me and it wouldn't have worked. That is why I love the alternative, fanzine and web based voluntary networks that still exist to this day and that is the scene and the ethos I love.
How should artists promote themselves?? Crikey, I haven’t got a clue, honestly. Perhaps they should start by putting a demo tape through letterboxes! That’s how I started and depending on whatever level of 'success' you are trying to achieve generally works. A good band or artist will always stand out. I remember putting a demo tape through the letterbox of Gerry, from Terry and Gerry, and as a result we got a gig with them at Burberries in Birmingham. It was their farewell show in the summer of 1987 and the place was packed. The Cudgels did a great gig that night and went down really well. I was always quite good at blagging.
Stephen: You started out with The Cudgels in the heady days of 1986. What did you think of the C86 scene? What bands did you like and enjoy live? Did The Cudgels fit in with that scene? What are your thoughts on the state of the current indiepop scene and the wider musical landscape generally?
Andy: That’s a big question. C86? Well I thought it was all a bit weird and disjointed. McCarthy were good. Although it was supposed to be a scene there was no common thread between the bands. There was among the audience. You would see the same faces at gigs and many of them became friends. I thought some of the groups had some sort of Protestant Work Ethic which made me laugh. A lot of them took themselves quite seriously. Some of the bands were great and others not so good. It was a very diverse bunch of people herded together by The New Musical Express for a compilation tape. It didn't feel important at the time but was good fun. I’d been a regular both at the front of stage and backstage at gigs by The Pogues and The Men They Couldn’t Hang - who were part of another Music Press invented scene the year before, so mostly I was quite cynical about it all. If needs must I can say I really liked Mighty Mighty at the time. I love They Go Boom!! and Po! but they are not C86. I think it was the spirit of the time that was more of an influence on me. There was a sort of punk ethos amongst some of the groups. Even the much maligned Soup Dragons were influential in making you think - hey let's get some mates together and make a racket! So that's what we did. Also seeing a local band like Leopold Bloom or the kids who put on gigs at Enots in Lichfield doing things were inspirational. It proved that with determination and enthusiasm you can make things happen. I have no interest whatsoever in the current Indie scene or the wider musical landscape. I just do my own thing as I have always done. I'm 43 now! I only listen to classical music.
Stephen: Finally, what do you like to do away from the world of pop music? Who are your favourite authors / actors / artists? What is your occupation and is it linked in any way to music?
Andy: I’ve never really been in the world of Pop Music. Music just seems to have been a part of me from as far back as I can remember, and will remain so into the future. My favourite author is Ron Cook who wrote a book called ‘Yes-Utopia!’. I met Ron Cook on several occasions and we became good friends before his death in 2008. I don’t really have a favourite actor. Most I have met have been idiots. Now I think about it, I realise we are all actors so what is the point in being paid to do what we all do all the time!
In terms of my occupation I work in the arts, and have over the years tried to develop the creative potential and prospects of young people and it is a cause I am devoted to. This is not easy under the exploitative profit system of World Capitalism, but we will, sooner rather than later, win our World in Common! That’s the Future!
Thank you Andy, it is always interesting to hear your view on things. I'm also lookng forward to hearing the new Andus material you are working on.
You can download the Coitus With The Cudgels tape at the excellent There And Back Again Lane.
Free of charge you can also download The Cudgels' album God's Children released by Waaaah!.
