THE TWILIGHT SAD
heroes
Even though the lyrics I write are pretty dark there is always some hope within them and from travelling, playing music around the world, I have seen how brilliant, beautiful, kind, amazing people can be and I think that is what gives me hope.
JAMES GRAHAM OF THE TWILIGHT SAD
Hi James and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology.
Firstly congratulations on the new single I/m Not Here [missing face], an amazing track and each tune tells its own tale. Conceptually what is this track encapsulating and saying to the world?
Hi, thank you very much. I'm glad you like the song. The song is about how I was feeling at least once or twice a week around the time we were writing the record. Needless to say it wasn't a good feeling. It’s a song about self-loathing, not liking myself too much. These were feelings that I couldn't understand. I think that I am a very lucky person. I have good friends, I married my best friend and have a loving family. I worry though, I worry that I'm not good enough or doing good enough to deserve when good things happen in my life. During the period that I was writing this song some upsetting things were happening in my life as well, things to people I love dearly. My way of dealing with that was drinking and going out and trying to forget that it was happening. Then I would wake up in the morning and realise that it was all very real and I felt worse. I wrote the lyrics one of those mornings. I beat myself up a lot about the smallest things as well, hence the lines "What are you doing? Why do you do this? Why do you do this to yourself?” When I write I never think what am I trying to say to the world. I write for myself, to get things off my chest instead of keeping them from eating away at me inside. When the song is finished and we put it out there it’s a very scary thought to think that I am putting this out into the world. I question whether I am doing the right thing by doing so but seeing the reaction from fans of the band and how they relate to these words has been a relief. It’s not a happy song but the positive aspect to it is that I've pushed past those feelings and through the other side, by writing it and getting it out there shows other people that they can too.
Having recently signed to Rock Action Records, a hugely significant label in your native Scotland, was there a particular sense of achievement in landing a deal with the label considering their prestigious roster and now having your own name added to that list?
Mogwai have been big supporters of our band since the start which was and is massive for me. They are without a doubt one of my favourite bands and some of my favourite people in the world. To have their seal of approval is a beautiful thing. They've helped us out so much, they've taken us on tour on more than 3 occasions now, they've spread the word around the world about our music, they also gave me a job at Rock Action when I was struggling to make ends meet, and they’ve put out one of my side projects "Out Lines" album as well. When our record deal with Fat Cat was up and we needed a new home to release our music there was only one place we wanted to be and that was Rock Action. We sat down with Craig who runs the label and Stuart Braithwaite and that was that, we were both excited about what we could do together. They really care about our band and it’s an honour to be on the label.
You have toured with fellow countrymen Mogwai who in their own right have been performing for over two decades. In teaming up with the band and Mogwai taking you under their wings to a certain extent, what was it like hitting the road with the band and performing with such an iconic outfit?
Our first tour with Mogwai was back in 2009 before our 2nd record came out. I remember I was up a ladder painting the outside of my parents’ house when Stuart phoned me. I nearly fell off the ladder when he asked us to support them around Europe. I must have seen Mogwai over 100 times now and if they announced a gig I could go to tomorrow I would be there, I won't ever tire of seeing the beautiful noise they make. We learned so much on the road with them, each night was amazing to watch but was also an education on how to be a better band. As I said before I love Mogwai's music but they are also our good friends. We have the same attitude on and off stage. On stage it’s pretty serious but off it we like to enjoy ourselves on the road and have a laugh. It's important to balance those two things. People who are serious all the time and don't enjoy the opportunity to play your music in different countries around the world are boring to me. We've learned to approach touring the way that Mogwai have and to appreciate the opportunity we've been given to play our music in so many amazing places. We like to make sure we take in the city or town we are in if we have the chance, get to know the culture and the people you'll be playing your music in front of that night.
Speaking of enduring artists that you have worked with, you not so long ago had the privilege of touring with The Cure and indelible Robert Smith. An amazing band and one that have morphed constantly throughout their career. What memorable performances with The Cure do you recall and were there any artistic insights that Robert Smith and the band shared with you that you have taken into your own musical career?
Like Mogwai....The Cure are one of our favourite bands and Robert is one of our favourite people. I'm not kidding when I say that every night on tour with them was like a dream. We were treated so well and made to feel a big part of the tour. To say that our band has played such iconic venues like Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl with such an iconic band is such an amazing/crazy/nearly unbelievable thing. Since we've became friends with Robert he's helped us so much and continues to. He's a true friend and knowing how much he believes in us was a confidence boost we needed. Seeing how professional and dedicated to his music he is, is truly inspirational. They must have learned about 130 songs for those tours and only played a handful of the same songs each night over a 3 hour set. Every night was different and brilliant. On tour we'd have a drink with him after the gigs, we'd just talk about music and have a laugh. He's helped us out so much with our new album, from giving us notes on our new songs to many other things. Some people say don't meet your heroes........on this occasion that statement is wrong.
Known for your exuberant and lively shows, what performance elements have you taken into your own shows from what you have seen of other acts (and for that matter what you haven’t seen) that makes its way into your stage craft?
I think the one thing we've taken from being on tour with bands like The Cure and Mogwai is to constantly try to be a better band and not settle for anything. I don't think there's anything specific we've saw and thought "we should do that" but I do think there's probably a lot of things we've picked up subconsciously, it would be strange if we hadn't picked up anything after seeing The Cure over 60 times and Mogwai over 100. Like when we're writing our music, onstage we just try to do what comes naturally and be ourselves. For me doing what comes naturally on stage is acting and looking a bit like a maniac, something I only discovered after our first gig many years ago. People are always pretty surprised when they meet me after a gig and I am not the same guy as I am on stage, a few people have told me they were scared of me before meeting me. For the other guys in the band it’s always interesting to talk about equipment with other artists to see if they have anything cool that might be worth bringing into our live set up. I always enjoyed looking over to Andy's side of the stage at soundcheck on The Cure tours and seeing him playing about with and talking about his pedals with Robert & Reeves Gabrels.
Having spent so much time on the road of late, do you find touring to be inspirational whereby it helps you write and create more material or are you so focused on the task at hand that writing and creating new material takes a back seat?
I do nearly all my writing when we are off tour. I find it hard to concentrate on anything apart from the gigs themselves when we are away. Up until Primavera in Barcelona we hadn't played a gig in 18 months since the last Cure gig at Wembley Arena. I did nearly all of my writing for our new album in those 18 months because I was at home and able to focus on my thoughts and real life. Again though, I do think that travelling must have some sort of impact on my writing on a subconscious level. With all the different countries, cultures and different people we've experienced I am sure it has affected me in a big way. Even though the lyrics I write are pretty dark there is always some hope within them and from travelling/playing music around the world I have seen how brilliant/beautiful/kind/amazing people can be and I think that is what gives me hope.
In terms of your own creative inspirations, where do you predominately drawn inspiration from when it comes to the subject matter you explore and ultimately translate onto tape?
All my lyrics come from my own experiences, things that have happened to me, my family, my friends. Real life experiences, getting through the day to day. I've always found the darker side of life more interesting as I have found I can learn more from it. Believe me I don't go searching for bad things to happen to me, I have found that life itself throws things in front of you and you don't have to go searching. I've always said I use song writing as some sort of weird therapy, it is a medium for me to get things off my chest instead of keeping it all inside. Each album has documented a certain time in my life. When I look at back at our albums it takes me back to that certain time or place in my life and I can also look at those times in a positive way. I've been able to get through those dark times and I can look back at all the good times that those songs have given me by being able to play them/have my weird therapy sessions in front of people on a stage around the world (totally normal but not normal at all).