I had only a few minutes with Rab Allen (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar, backing vocals) of the Scottish band Glasvegas. With a late arrival to the venue and prolonged sound checks I raced through as many questions as I could and grabbed a quick hug from James, Paul and Rab before they were whisked away for their final sound check.
Lack of time did not impact the ease with which they greeted and spoke to me. While positioning ourselves to maximize lighting, Rab offered his leg as my seat for the interview. I hopped up for second and we all had a laugh. I wouldn't conduct an interview on my subjects lap, but I could not have placed a better ice breaker if I tried.
We covered a range of topics, including Producer Rich Costey; how he sought out the band prior to their deal with Columbia and offered to do their album for next to nothing... that is until they signed with Columbia and his fees adjusted to their budget. Rich's ear, instinct and passion in approaching Glasvegas early on are potential reasons for their decision to work with him on their next album. That, and the fact that their debut self-titled album is killing it.
When I asked about their recording experience for A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss) in a Transylvanian church in Romania I learned nothing of the recording process, but rather that Paul had been chased up a tree by a rabbid dog or two. It was sideways enough that I thought he must be putting me on.
That's the beauty of Glasvegas...no airs of pretenses. They are who they are and they're singing about what impacts them. Much of James' lyrical content draws from social problems in Glasgow and their delivery can be described as nothing but straight up. Playing from the heart, singing from the heart as they are. Case in point: when the founding drummer Ryan Ross left the band for the US in 2004, James recruited Caroline McKay. He used to frequent the shop she was working in to chat (never buying a thing) and convinced her to join the band. I was hoping to speak with her directly, my curiosity about surviving as the only woman in the band grew as I spent more time with the lads. A bunch of absolute cheeky monkeys with girls on the brain. Sexually charged allegories aside, I wouldn't have changed the dialogue for anything, as you'll see I was in stitches.
They opened with "Geraldine", one of their most widely known singles in Canada, about a social worker who left her job to follow the band. Hearing hundreds who knew the lyrics well enough for James to step back and allow the crows to carry the song was superb; my fears that Glasvegas are a secret too well kept in North America were put to rest. James provided little commentary throught the performance, except to say that they had been to Vancouver a few times before and he "fucking loves it!" Set highlights include "Flowers and Football Tops" and my personal favorite, "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry". Closing with "Daddy's Gone", a morose outlook on childhood in a single parent family and probably their most famous single in Scotland, James was the last to reluctantly leave the stage, lingering in the adoration of the crowd. The stage remained lit with a pusling white lights and a steady screech of distortion and noise held strong for at least 4 minutes. The "noise" punctuated the end of the set in a powereful way; Galsvegas is done...exclaimation point!
**click on the article title to view interview for now, video will be uploaded shortly**
