Beady Eye Interview From Oor Magazine

TRANSLATION OF THE INTERVIEW WITH BEADY EYE FROM OOR MAGAZINE.

BIG THANKS TO L4E MEMBER GENERAL DREAD FOR THE TRANSLATION.

Different Gear, Still Speeding is the debut of Beady Eye, the new band from ex-Oasis-frontman Liam Gallagher and his college-veterans Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock. After the sudden breakup of their old band in Paris August 2009 they have not wasted any time with the creation of a new goal in their lives. Oasis or no Oasis, Noel Gallagher or no Noel Gallagher, one thing the new for sure: We will continue. With top producer Steve Lillywhite behind the desk, Gem and Andy on the steering wheel and a very involved Liam as frontman, are the ‘’leftovers’’ of Oasis quicker than their old boss Noel and are presenting their new band and album with an already sold out tour throughout the bigger club venues in Europe.
Oor talked to the whole band in separate stages.

We’re missing something, in the London office of Beady Eye’s management, a rock throw distance from Regent’s Park. Outside it’s snowing; the big storms of December are approaching. Oor knows this area pretty good: for Oasis this was also the no-frills interview spot. However, we never saw anyone else rather than Noel Gallagher sitting in this room, and now the whole band is sitting here. Well, almost everyone. Formally Oasis, now Beady Eye.

On our right side is Guitarist Gem Archer, in his long black coat. He seems the half of his 44 year of age and seems scary a lot like McCartney during his Fool on the Hill era. On the other side is Andy Bell, bassist in Oasis and now guitarist in Beady Eye. He is the first to answer all questions and the one which other band members keep asking questions. Chris Sharrock, left from Andy. Didn’t we see him in the nearby pub? Such a type, the ex drummer of Robbie Williams only joined Oasis in 2008, when the last Oasis record Dig Out Your Soul was already finished. The world tour should have been his warm up, it turned out his swansong. He smiles heavily: ‘’Golden Earring was already taken!’’ while the others think why they named the band Beady Eye. That’s right such a geezer. And then an empty chair. It wouldn’t be….

Yes, Liam Gallagher is missing on this first international press day of Beady Eye. He’s sick, the flu. Someone from the management and the three band members have stated ‘’really ill’’ within a few minutes. Even Andy Bell is sniffing as if he had gotten the same flu. We give him the benefit of the doubt.

Back to Paris August 2009, the Rock En Seine festival. What actually happened?
Andy: hard to say, because it was already going on full throttle before we even knew about it. A fight as we had seen them so often. It’s silly. It always comes out of nowhere.
Gem: It’s best you don’t get yourself caught in, just let them settle down. Noel just went away. He walks away more often, but now he slammed the door and after a little bit through his blog. Even though we knew it was definitive. But why after this altercation I don’t know. I think it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Noel Left. What did you do that evening in Paris?
Chris: We all went for a drink in the hotel, it became a really long night. I felt as if I had won the lottery and had suddenly lost the ticket. I think I was the one who was gutted the most. What now? The others weren’t that worried, weird enough..
Gem: of course not. In Paris we all said, oh we’ll just do something else.
Andy: eeh.. it wasn’t that easy. I was pretty much in shock due to all the confusion. But big worries about the future? No, no not at that moment.
Gem: It was a bit like Blur. A few phone calls where made, where where you and Liam? The como lake?
Andy: Yes, three days later we would finish the tour in Milan and our wives and kids had booked the tickets. Non-refundable, as it goes nowadays. So Liam and I went to Italy. After the phone calls we all knew one thing for sure, we don’t want to stop making music together. Oasis had ended. Something totally new had to be created. But we really wanted to continue with each other.

Gem: It was the brothers that had a fight not us. Should that be the reason for us to stop making music? In one blow break the band we had build up all those years? Noel called quits, he was the one who was done with it. Liam wanted to continue. The decision made itself.

When did you guys restart?
Andy: Before Oasis had broken up me and Gem where already making demos during the lost hours of the tour. Often with Liam. A lot of ideas where born through that. After the tout we took some time off and came together to see when we would start the next plan. We decided to start the plan a month later. After a few beers we thought; fuck it! We’ll see each other Monday!
Gem: We began pretty specific, each a song. Millionaire, Beatles and Stones and The Roller where the first three. By Christmas we had 6 songs. That’s how we continued till we had 13. We all had 4, Liam 5 and they all ended up on the record in chronological order of writing except for Four Letter Word which we put as an opener. The rest is all phases of 3 songs.

When did the project become a band?
Gem: It had always been a band, man. Always a band. Even though the name came later. We always took in account that this was a debut record. It’s not a follow up, not a continuation of something. It’s new.
Andy: Look without Noel you have no Oasis. But we felt as a team and too strong to make this a ‘’project’’. I understand that it will take some time to get used to as an outsider. You look at us and you see 4 guys that look a lot like Oasis. But for us it feels so different, from within.

Is Beady Eye more democratic compared to…
Andy: Yes, in comparison to whatever Oasis was, is Beady Eye a democracy. The hierarchy (*onderlingen verhoudingen.. difficult to translate) is totally different.
Gem: Oasis was already structured when we came in, so on those terms we were already behind on the hierarchy. Noel was always the one to make decisions, he chose the path forward. I almost always agreed with him an if something really bugged me he would always listen. Noel was a great boss to work for.
Andy: It was extra fun and special when your song which get on an album, or Noel or Liam would ask for your opinion. Now this is a lot more normal, we now all build something instead of passing the bricks.
Gem: If one of us doesn’t want something then no one will. Do you get it? We don’t vote and say 3 to 1 so we do it, no all four of us or we don’t do it at all.

Does it feel different to play without Noel?
Andy: Yes, and the answer is already in the question, Noel is not there. He is has a dominant personality, you can’t go around him as a musician when he is in the same room as you. Without his overwhelming presence the dynamics in the room change, you get a different band. That is the difference: it is no longer his room, it’s our room. We do what we do, we watch out for the people that are there and not for those who aren’t.

Is Liam different if Noel is not around?
Gem: I think we knew him pretty well, he hasn't changed that much. What does strike me is the amount of interest he now has for the whole process. I always that he didn’t care as long as the the record would be done. He was often not there when Oasis was in the studio. But that's was mainly because Noel wanted to do everything himself anyway. Now he is mixing, mastering doing artwork and all other details and not wanting to be there to have his say but because he really cares. Even in meetings about side issues he joins in. he has a lot of insight on different matters but was snowed in by the leadership of his brother. The man has a huge amount will power. That he is no here today, I think it's the first appointment he has missed since the show in Paris.

Two weeks later, just before Christmas Liam's on the telephone. Liam Gallagher, the man who just had wished his brother a happy Christmas through twitter. He offers his apology for his absence on the press day. I was really ill man, but he is now feeling a lot better. Its snowing in London right now, he says. At this moment only one song has been released to the public, Bring the light. And the album title is known (DGSS). Liam is very happy about the great reception his band have received. ''It's amazing. Is Amsterdam sold out? Great! I knew we would grab some attention, but not that it would go this fast. People really like to see us, it seems. And we have just started! It feels good. And what pleases me even more is that the band is great. The rehearsals are going fantastic. We're really putting something down, no bullshit, something that is really worthwhile. Is gonna be brilliant!

No nerves?
Not anymore, now that we have been playing for a few weeks. I'm never afraid of anything, but sometimes you ask yourself can I really clear my head of all the things that became a habit. This is a new band man, this is not Oasis. All the old things had to go, we had to start from scratch. Thankfully we felt comfortable right away, the transformation went quicker and easier than expected. We all know each other for so long, and this proves we've got our heads in the same direction. Ever since the first rehearsal we've been looking forward, never looked back. And this is how we still do it.

You guys have got a new title: DGSS. It seems like an obvious title..
Yeah, its not a difficult title. Its sounds good. It has energy, the same as in the band. Beady Eye is a new band, we've just started, and play on another level than Oasis, in a different gear, but we still have the same effort and intensity. And we're doing it for the same reasons. I said it one night, someone wrote it down and I read it the next morning and though: This will be it, pretty cool!

It is more clear than the name Beady Eye, that's also your creation right?
Yeah I like it. What it means? Don't know.. Why is a band called what its called? It sounds good or it doesn't. Beady Eye top name. In the end of 2011 people will call their children like it. A top name. In a few months people won't know any better. Our heads will always be associated with Oasis. I didn't want to continue as Liam Gallagher & band. Might have been easier for a lot of people, but I wanted to be in a band. And if Oasis can't continue, than we'll do it with Beady Eye.

What was the first thing you did after Oasis had split?
I was in Paris and thought, that's a shame, because we still had a lot of good music we could put out. On the other side I did see the end coming, to be honest. It had to happen now or later.

How did you notice the end was near?
People were not working on the same thing any more, they were doing their own thing. Noel was always the one... Noel always said it was me to blame. Hello!! He did all the interviews for Oasis, he was always able to control the image that was sent to the outside world. He was actually living in his solo career, we only saw each other on stage. Just like the technical staff. Oh well, we decided to continue, to do something else. No one is dead. I'm proud of what Oasis has accomplished. To bad it had to go like this. But what's is done is done. And today we're here!

What exactly happened?
My version: we had a fight. Noel had been behaving like a dick for months on tour. He knew I wouldn't take it much longer, I can be in your face if it comes down to it. I think he did it on purpose. That evening I snapped, I was fed up with his behaviour and I told him what I thought. If someone acts like a vagina to me they can expect a punch in the face.

Would you have done or said anything different if you knew what the consequences where?
No, first of no one knows what happened apart from us two. It wasn't on the telly only us two know why it got out of hand. But I've always been honest to myself and acted to my feelings and I was really fed up. To bad for the band though. He got his way. And now I have got a great band.

According to the other members Beady Eye existed right after the incident.
We got back to the hotel, had a few beers. Then the mood was like: we'll think of something else. The end of Oasis was a fact, we all knew this. That was that. When the dust settles we'll see what's left and with what we'll continue. We had some tunes. I had demoed some things with Andy and Gem during the tours. Enough perspective for the future. Ever since those beers in Paris I haven't looked back.

You always said ''I am Oasis!'' how is it for someone who has lived as Oasis for 20 years to suddenly be pulled out of it?
Hmm I could let that go. I now just tell everyone Beady Eye is just a name. And I have learned this was also the case for Oasis. It's just a name. What really matters is what I do, under what name it doesn't matter. I think I didn't leave much behind with the end of Oasis. Only the music, the songs I sung that were written by Noel. That's gone. But I'm still here. With new music, music of my own. Oasis was an empty shell in which all sort of people contributed. My contribution was one of the things that made Oasis work. No I'm putting my energy in something else. That's the difference. Oasis is behind me now.

Did you recognise and difference while recording this album?
Oh yeah! I had a blast! The studio was around the corner from my home, I could walk over. Start at 12 in the afternoon and finish at midnight. With Oasis the album was done when I went to sing my lines and the studio was empty. Now we worked as a band through the whole thing, I wasn't used to that. Gem had thought of making the vocals an important part in the build up of the song, first the drums then the bass and then the vocals. Really as an aspect, not as something afterwords. This made the sound a lot better, it sounds really together. Exactly what I wanted. I could finally make myself useful throughout the whole process. That's how it felt at the end of the day, I made myself useful.

The others named the return of B-sides something that went missing in Oasis later years. What else did Oasis lose?
Well the B-sides where for me the most important. I love B-sides, we've got some brilliant tunes laying around, why not? And further.. I think Oasis lost some of its original energy along the way. The band got bigger and bigger and bigger. Everything was set in stone. The expectations were sky high, due to our selves or the outside world. Things NEEDED to be done. We got rid of that now. We only have to make music now. We throw everything on one pile and make some great music out of it. Its refreshing. Makes you younger, I feel younger now I sing these songs. Without a doubt.

On a song like For Anyone you let us hear a whole different Liam then we are used to. Does the way you sing change as you age?
Well it's more that you now hear it like this. At home I always sing like this, the rest of the world doesn't hear it. In my own songs I always sing different then those from Oasis. Only people mainly know my Oasis voice, so that's why it seems different. I write lighter than the Oasis bulk. That is really big, heavy sound in which you have to throw a lot of energy to make yourself heard. Especially live, it's a force measurement, shouting and snarling. On my own I don't need that, then I can give more attention to my voice and technique. When we're on stage with Beady Eye I will put in some extra power. But on the record you hear me like I sing at home.

Now your input as songwriter is bigger than ever does it change the way you write?
No, that hasn't changed. My view on songwriting hasn't changed. If I would never write a song again I wouldn't mind. Maybe the next record will only be Andy and Gem. But I already have songs for the next record... oh well I write when I write, and no other way. I have been in a band for 20 years, if I hadn't been making my own songs then I wouldn't have been paying enough attention. But I don't see myself as a writer, the other lads are a lot better at it. I see myself as a singer how many songs of mine will be on an album I don't care.

You have proven yourself as a great songwriter ever since your first song on SOTSOG?
Well I don't walk around with a gun on people head and force them to listen to my songs. Sometimes people say: Hey that's a nice song, than I think well thanks. I like that. But I still have a long way to go. The words, those are the hardest. Melodies come easy. They're coming out of me ass. But I never know what I want to say.

They still chose you instead of the other way around?
Yeah mate, it goes as it goes. So much happens around you that I'm not going to break my head in coming up with melodies. When I like something I will do something with it. Music finds you if it had to be that way. If you go looking for it, it will fail.

Is there a certain mood or situation in which the songs find you?
I have to be home, alone. Wife out of the house, kids to school. My guitar will look at me and say come over here. That are the moments. I write the words down as they come to me at that moment. Finishing a song in one go never works for me.. finishing sometimes takes months. But I'm learning little by little.

Are you going to play guitar on stage?
I'd rather eat my own shit. I hate when singers do that. And even more so when front men do it. Daltrey, Jagger even Ashcroft. Leave the guitar alone man! Go sing! It looks idiotic, you can better smash it to pieces.

The record opens with Four Letter Word, a song with striking lyrics: Nothing ever lasts forever. Is that a mission statement?
Maybe, it gets people thinking: what is that four letter word? Is it love? Is it vagina? It can be anything. I think its a great opener, a tune with balls. That's why its the opener. That's something Oasis had lost: balls. And what replaced it? Ballads. More and more ballads where needed. Rubbish. Fucking kick it there, mate! What is better than a mega opener? We're a rock and roll band, I want to make noise, not sing love songs. Now and then is fine, but not as a main thing.Beady Eye is 90% rock. That's a bigger percentage than Oasis was these last years.

Nice that it is Beatles and Stones instead of Beatles or Stones
Its always been both for me, both bands are brilliant. Both bands stood the test of time. Both were able to maintain popularity and quality if if its one goal I have is to do the same. I still listen to both bands today. I wish I was in their band, they are that great. The only other bands I have the same feelings to are The Who and The Kinks. Ray Davies lives in my area, I bump into him every now and again. He's a top geezer. A lot of respect for the man. I want to be able to say in 30 years I wish I could be in Beady Eye. Instead of mwahh, they're alright. That is the point. I'm trying to make something monumental, somethings that beats the test of time. I don't want to make dated music, then everything would have been for nothing.

What tune is the first you put on from either bands?
Jumping Jack Flash. Thats what I wake up to and within minutes I'm up for it. Everyday. Fucking tune, man. I love it.

The record sounds like a melting pot of styles and influences, everyone knowns your connection with the classic British poplegends. Do you have influences which we wouldn't expect?
No man, I'm pretty simple. Sixties and seventies, and thats it. And I am happy with it, I'm not interested in the rest.

Do you follow the younger music scene in England?
No, no interest. It's not about the music or writing. Leaves me cold. And if there is anything good out there it will reach me anyway. I'm not going to hunt for it. The bands I need to know I will know believe me. You come across a lot of bands on the road and the festivals. With Beady Eye we're going to be between the younger bands.

Will you fit in?
I hope not. We don't want to be a trendy band, we're a real band. We'll show them with their trendy music. Songs, guys! Where are the fucking tunes? There will be bands that are real which I haven't heard yet. But give me some classics. There is enough to be found in the past. To discover an old band is new music for me.

You send Noel a Christmas wish?
True, its the time of year to kind to one another right?

No other contact?No, not interested either.

Are you curious what he thinks of your record?No, he will follow us. The other guys still see him, but that's something I don't want to hear about. I know how Noels record will sound like. You've all heard it already. No bad, probobly not. But it will be more of the same. A bit psychedelic, a bit classic Britpop. He will have to sing the whole record... Fucking hell! Can you listen to him for an hour? Noel Gallagher brings Noel Gallagher. I give you Beady Eye. I would chose the latter.. D'you know what I mean?

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