PHIRST OF
Hey there, welcome to a Friday entry of the Phile. I can't believe it's October and fall already. So, Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland. This is the guy who pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in the ‘70s. He fled to France to avoid possible incarceration. He was in Zurich to accept an award. They’re very clever — they sold him he was getting a “Soul Train” award. He might be extradited to the United Sates. His lawyers are fighting it on the grounds that he won an Oscar.
Apparently, much of Hollywood agrees with him — more than 130 people signed a petition demanding his release. Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, Debra Winger, Harvey Weinstein David Lynch, and Woody Allen all signed. I think Woody should have sat this one out... In other news, the Wisconsin Tourism Federation has changed its name to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin. They changed it because its initials were WTF, and thanks to text messaging, that could mean something else. President Obama is on the road. His first stop was Geneva where he held talks with Iranian diplomats about Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Or as Iran’s saying, “What nuclear weapons program?”” Sarah Palin’s new autobiography – that doesn’t come out until November — is already #1 on Amazon. And if you go to the Web site, it says, “People who bought this book also bought... no other books in their entire lives.” I want her on the Book Club. I thought this was nice: Out of good sportsmanship, the foreword to Sarah's book was written by a moose. Over in Bangladesh a man won a color television for killing more than 83,000 rats in nine months. Yeah, their “Deal or No Deal” is way different than ours. In the past I have shown you different inspirational or motivational posters that are out there, and I thought this one pretty much rocks.
Yeah, take that Jonas Brothers. Okay, kids, you love that Twilight series, right? Good. 'Cause in order to get more readers I am gonna the newest Twilight movie poster. Check it out, and tell your friends in school you saw it here on the Phile first.
Hmmm... guess they changed the name.
1574
Spaniards sieging the Dutch city of Leyden, held by William the Silent, are washed away after Holland's dike breaks during a storm. Approximately 20,000 Spanish troops drown.
1871
Mormon prophet Brigham Young is arrested for cohabitating with a 16-year-old girl.
1935
Italy invades Ethiopia!
1967
Narcs raid the Haight-Ashbury residence of the Grateful Dead, busting all six bandmates for possession of marijuana and hashish.
1977
The bodies of Elvis Presley and his mother Gladys are moved from Forest Hill Cemetery to the Meditation Garden at Graceland, thereby becoming yet more tourist attractions.
1978
Tim Allen is arrested with 1.4 pounds of cocaine at Kalamazoo Airport in Michigan. After testifying against his partner, Allen serves only 2.5 years for felony drug possession. Otherwise, it would have been a life sentence. Tim later becomes a comic, ultimately landing the starring role in the ABC television sitcom "Home Improvement".
1985
Homosexual actor Rock Hudson dies of AIDS in his Beverly Hills home.
This is the second book in the Peverett Phile Book Club.
In the 1970s, she travelled the universe aboard the TARDIS… 30 years on, actress Mary Tamm now recounts the story of her own, earthbound, adventures. Born to Estonian parents in 1950s Bradford, her rise to fame took her from a Northern childhood to life in the fast lane: via TV appearances in "Coronation Street" and "Girls of Slender Means" to leading roles in feature films - including the cult Tales that Witness Madness, and The Odessa File which pitched her career into the international arena. In 1978, Mary became part of essential Saturday night television as she joined the cast of "Doctor Who" alongside Tom Baker, as the superlative Time Lady, Romana! Packed with recollections and exclusive photographs, this autobiography follows Mary on a journey of self-discovery to her parents' homeland of Estonia, where she finally comes to terms with her true identity… You can purchase the book from Amazon.com or fantomfilms.co.uk/books/mary_tamm.htm. Mary Tamm will be a guest on the Phile later this month. And don't forget the first book in the Book Club... "Mr. Lincoln Was A Robot" by Victor Langlois. That book is also available from Amazon.com.
Today's guest is the vocalist, songwriter, arranger and producer of Irish Industrial rock band Lluther. They are currently working on their second album "The Rise Of The Reptile King". Please welcome to the Phile... Gerry Owens.
Me: Hello, Gerry, welcome to the Phile. So, I have to ask you on the origin of the band name, why the two L's? Oh, how are you by the way?
Gerry: Hey man, I'm good thanks. Getting ready for the next stage of production/mix on the new album, so it's all go. Band name - I'm afraid it's a dull answer. The name just came to me one day. The 'where' was more interesting than the 'what'. I was an island off the Greek mainland and I suddenly relaised that I was no longer getting a kick out of the band I was in at the time (Skindive) and in about 30 seconds, I'd mentally gone from one band to a new one.
Me: I just watched the video for the song "For You" ten times in a row. Okay, that's not true, I watched it three times. Tell the readers of the Phile what is the concept and who directed it. Shake their hands for me, Gerry. And who is that girl? I should interview her.
Gerry: Well I'm down as directing that video, but another guy called Ben from the label did far more work on it than I did. The girls name is 'Feeeeeeeeeeeee' or sometimes 'Fegefeuer' - which means Purgatory in German - she just gets better!
Me: You have a new album coming out called "The Rise Of The Reptile King", right? That's your second album I believe, isn't it?
Gerry: Yeah, it's the second Lluther album.
Me: Your first is called "Agents of Empire". How are the two albums different?
Gerry: "Agents..." has heavier vocals, but softer music. "Reptile King..." has heavier music, but softer vocals. It also has almost no electronics at all. I wanted to go for a 'less frills, more action approach with this one. "Agents" is also very impersonal whereas "Reptile King" is very personal. I had a tendency before to resist revealing much about myself in the lyrics because it makes me very uneasy. So it was interesting this time to purposefully make them very personal.
Me: Your first album was produced by Mark Carolan. Was he fun to work with? He produced the Cure, so he must of had some good Robert Smith stories.
Gerry: Nope, he did the Cure's live sound - and he got that gig just before we finished the mix, so no stories about Mr Smith. He's Muse's live sound engineer for years now - and one of the best I've ever heard. He's a natural.
Me: Gerry, the band is yours, right? But who else do you have in it?
Gerry: Yeah, the studio work is just me, but there are various live members who tour with LL. Over the past 3 years the live line up has changed according to various commitments from other members. 'Leon Love' is currently on bass. 'H' 1st guitar and 'Marcel Degas' on 2nd guitar. We wont be touring for another few months, so the remaining members for this one are still to be picked.
Me: You guys are big in Germany, Gerry, but what about America? Any chance you'll be coming over here soon?
Gerry: The US is our priority for this album, so we'll be spending a lot of time with you this coming year.
Me: You started out in a band called Skindive. What happened to that band, Gerry? Any chance for a Skindive reunion?
Gerry: As I mentioned, I wasn't getting a kick out of Skindive anymore. I remember very clearly playing on stage at Ozzfest thinking 'this just doesn't feel right'. That's the time you should be thinking 'fuck, this is good!' so that just triggered the change, so I wanted to do something a little different - thus Lluther. No reunions, I don't believe that you can re-create something that happened in the past. That would feel like moving in reverse to me.
Me: Okay, who are your biggest influences? Your music is very industrial, so I am guessing you like bands like NIN.
Gerry: NIN are a great band, but I actually very rarely listen to them. Over the past year I've been listening to a lot of old stuff like Zepplin, 70's Bowie etc - so no doubt the new album will reflect that in some way. It still sounds like Lluther though.
Me: So, where does that actress in the "For You" video live? ; )
Gerry: Near Frankfurt :)
Me: Go ahead and plug your website, Gerry. Is there anything else you wanna tell the readers of the Phile?
Gerry: I'd probably plug our myspace more than our site (www.myspace.com/lluther) . We're too lazy to update the site much, but a friend of ours looks after the myspace page, so it's more worth a look.
Me: I wish you luck, and tell Bath-Girl I said hello.
Gerry: Thanks man & I will. Take it easy.
Gerry: Nope, he did the Cure's live sound - and he got that gig just before we finished the mix, so no stories about Mr Smith. He's Muse's live sound engineer for years now - and one of the best I've ever heard. He's a natural.
Me: Gerry, the band is yours, right? But who else do you have in it?
Gerry: Yeah, the studio work is just me, but there are various live members who tour with LL. Over the past 3 years the live line up has changed according to various commitments from other members. 'Leon Love' is currently on bass. 'H' 1st guitar and 'Marcel Degas' on 2nd guitar. We wont be touring for another few months, so the remaining members for this one are still to be picked.
Me: You guys are big in Germany, Gerry, but what about America? Any chance you'll be coming over here soon?
Gerry: The US is our priority for this album, so we'll be spending a lot of time with you this coming year.
Me: You started out in a band called Skindive. What happened to that band, Gerry? Any chance for a Skindive reunion?
Gerry: As I mentioned, I wasn't getting a kick out of Skindive anymore. I remember very clearly playing on stage at Ozzfest thinking 'this just doesn't feel right'. That's the time you should be thinking 'fuck, this is good!' so that just triggered the change, so I wanted to do something a little different - thus Lluther. No reunions, I don't believe that you can re-create something that happened in the past. That would feel like moving in reverse to me.
Me: Okay, who are your biggest influences? Your music is very industrial, so I am guessing you like bands like NIN.
Gerry: NIN are a great band, but I actually very rarely listen to them. Over the past year I've been listening to a lot of old stuff like Zepplin, 70's Bowie etc - so no doubt the new album will reflect that in some way. It still sounds like Lluther though.
Me: So, where does that actress in the "For You" video live? ; )
Gerry: Near Frankfurt :)
Me: Go ahead and plug your website, Gerry. Is there anything else you wanna tell the readers of the Phile?
Gerry: I'd probably plug our myspace more than our site (www.myspace.com/lluther) . We're too lazy to update the site much, but a friend of ours looks after the myspace page, so it's more worth a look.
Me: I wish you luck, and tell Bath-Girl I said hello.
Gerry: Thanks man & I will. Take it easy.
PHINALLY
That about does it. Thanks to Gerry for a great interview. I will invite him back when the new album comes out. And I hope to have that German chick from his video as well. Okay, the Phile will be back on Monday with Jacob Gray, the guitarist for the band Matthew & The Arrogant Sea. Man, I love that band name. So, until then, have a good weekend and spread the word. not the turd. Bye, love you, bye.
No comments:
Post a Comment