Whisperin' & Hollerin' previously hooked up with excellent pop/metal quartet FULC at the time of last Autumn's "The Fallen" EP, but now they're about to deliver their debut album, "Biting Insomnia", we couldn't resist the temptation to have another in-depth conversation. Last time we travelled out to the wilds of Lincolnshire to meet the band, but this time TIM PEACOCK got on the phone to guitarist RIK CLAY to talk about the making of the album and what the future holds for the band.
Hiya Rik! This must be one of the few nights you're NOT out gigging. How has the (incredibly lengthy) UK tour to support the new album been going?
"Half good, half not so good," says Rik, frankly.
"Some gigs have been great, really packed out, though we've been a bit unlucky in that some of these shows have coincided with the exam fortnight. For instance, at the Victoria Inn in Derby we only got about 3 or 4 people because they all had their Maths exam the following day. And we've got loads of fans there too...nightmare!"
"But then, we've also had shows like the BBC one at Joseph's Well (Leeds) or the one at the Haworth Arms in Hull, that was rammed with people. To be honest we've done so many gigs of late that it blurs and I tend to forget a lot of the details..."
Rik trails off, laughing at the memory of all this madness. But there IS an album to promote now, the rather wonderful "Biting Insomnia." I know it's he obvious question, but did the album come out the way you wanted?
"Well, there's always stuff you want to improve after," Rik considers.
"But y'know, it's the best product we could even have hoped for with the time and finance available. I mean, it was all done very much on a track per day basis, so we had to know what we wanted when we went into the studio."
"But I think it came out very well," he continues.
"For instance, with songs like "Taken Guilty" and "Drawn Out" we really wanted to build in some atmosphere and we managed it, even with the tight time limitations, so that was great for our confidence."
Musically, the new album shows that FULC have far more to offer than the usual spurious tags (like the dreaded "Nu-metal" - mea culpa!) would suggest. Do you think you've grown a lot as musicians as a result of making the album?
"Well, I do want to make the point that we have very few influences from metal anyway," replies Rik.
"We try to base what we do more on songwriting. And I think that approach alongside the constant touring has helped us improve 20 times over in terms of stage presence and musicianship."
"You get tired, though," he sighs.
" I don't doodle on guitar so much when I go home now. I just switch off and watch TV or whatever. That's the only thing. We have some time off in July/ August though, so it'll be nice to try out some new ideas for songs."
As you know from reading my album review, I'm very impressed with "Drawn Out." I think musically and vocally it's great. Did you think you were onto something special when you wrote that song?
"Amazingly, "Drawn Out"s actually a really early one," reveals Rik.
"That one and (another album track) "Dolly" came from long before "The Fallen" even. I think it was in Duane's (Walker - vocalist) vaults from before the band starting. The original version is from "The Void" (FULC'S first demo EP - ed). We wanted to keep the original tempo and in fact got Mark (Cooke) to play along with the original drum track when we re-recorded it."
I know Duane's lyrics are very personal to him, but there's some very emotional stuff on this track (e.g: "I took the back route and got the sense knocked out of me.") Have you ever sat down and discussed this with him?
"No, not really," says Rik.
"I think with Duane that a lot of stuff goes on in his life and he tends to use his music to open up about it. That song ("Drawn Out") means a lot to me, but it's probably different to him. He doesn't usually like to openly discuss these kind of things, so maybe music's a good place for him to open up."
You use the E-bow on this one too. It really makes the song for me...
"Yeah, right," Rik agrees.
"When we did the original demo, the first producer we had told me to try it and I'd never seen an E-bow at the time! But I like it a lot, it's great for atmosphere and feedback. It's difficult to use if you've got old strings on the guitar though. It sounds crap then! (Laughs). It's a great device, though - there'll be more songs with E-bow in the future!"
To get back to the album, another track I like a lot is "Heated Shot." The guitars are great on this one. It starts out really heavy, but there are real The Edge-style dynamics on the verses. Was Mark Thomas (producer) a big help in this area?
"Yeah, there's loads of chorus, delays, harmonics on that one," says Rik, with a hint of reverie.
"But yeah, that's another old song actually. Before we made the album it was one we kinds pre-produced and yeah, Mark's a big mate of the band's now. He'd throw in the odd idea and we'd give him rope to develop it. He really knows the band's sound now, so yeah, he's been a big help."
I also really like the track "Feet" from the album., It's got loads of atmosphere and really finds FULC pushing forward musically. It sounds pretty ambitious, but is this the area FULC would like to move into more in the future?
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"That one was actually recorded alongside "Backroom Surgery" from "The Fallen," " Rik confides.
"But yeah, the area we're trying to work in is the acoustic/ noise crossover. I don't know exactly where we intend to take it in the future, however. A few of the new songs we have carry on from there again because we do feel like we're being immature if we only write the heavier material."
"Besides," he continues, "I like a lot of more lo-fi, mellow sounds as a contrast. Airy sounds, things like Mogwai. We have an instrumental that didn't get on the album that's in that vein. It'll probably be a B-side in future."
Right. Then there's the enigmatic acoustic sliver that is "Ftb." It breaks up the album nicely, but what's Duane on about - "it's not the fall that kills you, it's the bouncing off the ground" and so on. Very sinister...??
"Well, it comes after the song "Evolution," which is pretty heavy and involved, so it's deliberately to bring the listener down to a sparse minimum," says Rik.
"Actually, it's one of those 'create it on the spot' exercises. It was literally written there and then by Duane. He had no lyrics previously and he hadn't planned anything..."
Yeah? That sounds like a terrifying experience...
"Yeah, he was well pissed off with me at the time," laughs Rik.
"It was my fault really, 'cos I'm a total stresshead and I'm never happy with songs until they're finished completely. I can't listen to just a drum track or something and think it sounds perfect...that just annoys me."
"One day we (Rik and Duane) will probably have a huge fight over it as we have a perfectionist attitude," he finishes, with laudable honesty, but a little ruefully.
Just to change the subject a little, you made the album for your own label, Stunted Records, though we spoke previously about whether you'd be happy to go with a major label with the right circumstances. Have your opinions changed on this point and - more pertinently - have there been offers coming in?
"Yeah, we've had interest from labels and publishing deals," confirms Rik.
"But so far it's nothing to get overly excited about. We obviously don't wanna get screwed over so we're a bit wary. I mean we're only interested in being in this for the long haul and too many bands are only around for 2 albums as it is, y'know."
"For instance, the Manic Street Preachers have the kind of attitude I like and they have history and longevity. These days people have such a limited attention span to seeing bands. It's crap really. We get support bands who bring 50 of their mates. They just watch their band and fuck off and can't be bothered to see the rest of the bill. That's bollocks."
Back to the album again. I was intrigued by the Aldous Huxley quote: "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." I agree, for what it's worth, but which of his books does it come from? Are you guys fans?
"Er..no, I've no idea," says Rik.
"I must confess that I got that from the net rather than from reading any of his books, but it's such a brilliant quote. I've never been a great reader, but I love great quotes...like the Manics again! They were great readers,especially Richey. That Huxley quote is something we all instinctively agreed with though, which is why it's there."
Finally, Rik, there are a lot of quite heavy slogans adorning the album's lyric booklet. Like the one saying: "Life's an STD" for instance. Does it worry you that your potential audience might think FULC are a bit dour?
"Well, the reason for the hidden track "Little Girls" (supremely daft unlisted CD track) was to deliberately show we don't take ourselves too seriously," says Rik, reasonably.
"I mean, we can't just get the smiles placed perfectly when the cameras come out. That's not natural and we'd just end up looking like geeks, y'know what I mean? We're really not that desperate!"
Indeed not, Rik, and judging by the fine "Biting Insomnia" those cameras will be coming thick and fast. Better perfect those thousand yard stares, lads!
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