You may already be familiar with FUC51 – the blog that popped up earlier this year to poke fun at all things Madchester and Factory. Their writing is witty, their sources anonymous – just like the writers of the blog itself. But Hey! Manchester thought we’d ask them what it’s all about anyway…
Basics first: who are you?
Stephen Morris and Cressa. Some twat out of Northside probably. That guy with dreads who used to do ‘Wonderwall’ outside Boots on Market Street.
You set up FUC51 back in January. Was there a particularly terrible experience that prompted you to do so?
Nope. People tend to assume we emerged intentionally at the same time as Hooky re-opened the doors of the old Factory offices, but really, that was just a fluke on our part and proved incredibly useful in terms of interest around Manchester and music.
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Ahead of Thursday’s intimate show at Dulcimer, Hey! Manchester catches up with Steve West, front man of Marble Valley and drummer in Pavement.
Hi Steve, how are you?
It’s been an uppin’ downer week here, cold as Big Ben’s hour hand.
Obvious question first: where does the name Marble Valley come from?
My mother’s father grew up on a farm with 12 siblings in Marble Valley, located in the blue ridge mountains of Virginia.
Why did you decide to record the latest album, Slash and Laugh, in Amsterdam?
Remko Schouten, our Sampler guy, owns a fabulous studio named Island Studios there, and he graciously offered to record us.
The songs are incredibly fun and quirky. How do you go about getting these elements into the music?
When we are together it comes out naturally like a burp or hick up. Alone, I just think about these guys playing the songs and go with it.
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‘Manchester’s New Order’ is what Dazed witly calls the current crop of local bands. Four of these great new hopes feature on the debut EP by Love & Disaster, a Manchester label with big plans. We asked founder Dan Parrott to explain more.
What inspired you to start a label now – and why 10-inch gatefold?
I have been involved in the Manchester music scene for a few years now, and I think the idea for the label comes from the fact that I have seen a recent and distinctive lack of cohesiveness in the new Manchester representing itself to the outside world. People say this every year but I genuinely do believe that it is Manchester’s time to be at the forefront of the UK music scene again, with a collection of amazing new bands whose sights are set only towards the future.
I would like to think that our first record is how we mean to go on, and is hopefully more than the sum of its parts. The bands are all at different stages of their careers but it was a mutual respect and friendship that pulled them together. The decision for who was on the record fell to the bands as much as me. Hopefully this EP puts the spotlight on these artists as well as the city and for the right reasons, not falling into the usual Manchester cliches. Most of these guys were too young to go to the Hacienda anyway so they don’t even feel the need to try and ‘swear they were there’ – they were busy watching Blue Peter or something.
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Having spent a year and half touring as a non-permanent member of the Shins, as well as working with Vetiver, Eric Johnson has recently returned to his own band Fruit Bats, with whom he has recorded and released the well-received album The Ruminant Band. This coming Thursday, 17 December, Fruit Bats visit our fair city and hit our favourite subterranean nightspot the Roadhouse – so we caught up with Eric.
Hello Eric. How are you? How’s your day been?
It’s going well – though right now I have not left the Travelodge Nottingham. But I’ve got coffee on the way, which is going to start my day off. We’ve been touring a bunch in France and Spain and although I love the espresso there, I like the British/American tradition of a nice large cup in the morning.
How is your current tour going?
It’s been great! We’ve been mainly touring in southern Europe with Vetiver, who are our dear friends (and make amazing music). So it’s been one long sweet mellow hang. We’ve just begun the UK portion of the tour without them. The first two shows have been amazing. I’ve been pretty surprised by the turn-outs, in fact.
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What with December fast approaching, we’re only a few weeks away from endless end-of-year lists – including, no doubt, one by yours truly. Catacombs, the fifth album by well-travelled American musician Cass McCombs, might well be on our list – so we decided to catch up with him ahead of his Roadhouse show on 2 December.
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