The Placebo fanclub Silver Rocket (1998-2003) had its own printed fan magazine. Last week I shared an interview with Stefan taken from the first issue of this fanzine. Now I have the second part of this interview series where Brian was asked questions by his bandmates Stefan and Steve Hewitt instead of a journalist. Enjoy reading!
SPOTLIGHT ON BRIAN
BRIAN: “Professionally even better. You find there are all the things that you wished you did in the studio which are coming out. You’re coming up with new bits and pieces and new funky shit and you wish you could have toured these songs for two years first so you could have used all the funky shit to the extreme and put it on the record. The songs are just developing even more which is really, really wicked and they’re becoming bigger, particularly ‘Prince‘. I have a great time doing that one as it’s an opportunity to be a diva and I love it. The response to the record has been incredible all the way from the punters to David Bowie and everyone in between has been so positive.“
STEVE: “Have you ever been trapped under ice (much laughter)?“
BRIAN: “No, but I used to go ice skating with my mom in a place called Cookuldshuyer and they also had gigs there. Stef went to see Neil Young there, which was his first time at a gig. So I used to go ice skating but I’ve never been trapped under ice.“
STEVE: “Good, I’ve yet to find someone who has.How does it feel with the daunting task of being on the road again since the first album? Feel any different?“
BRIAN: “Totally. I think we’re happier. It’s not as daunting, it’s more exciting, it’s much less of a slog, people are far more enthusiastic, the quality of what we’re doing is higher, the respect we’re getting from people is increasing, the gigs are getting bigger and more satisfying because people are really getting it now and you know we’re really making a difference now, we’re really making an impact. The band’s getting on brilliantly, we’re happy. Finally it’s a family, a dysfunctional family, but definitely a family and I think we’re taking better care of ourselves which is really good. When we’re confident and more in control we’re much more glamorous.“
STEVE: “So you’ve stopped being a veggie?“
BRIAN: “Yeah, and I feel much better for it. I used to get ill every two months with either eye infections or tonsillitis and used to be continually on antibiotics. If you look at rock and roll these days there seems to be this theme of antibiotics running through so many people’s work. From Radiohead to Alanis Morisette everyone seems to be singing about antibiotics. And it’s true. If you’ve got a gruelling schedule like we have you do get exhausted and ill, but you still have to keep working.“
STEVE: “You can’t phone in sick.“
BRIAN: “No, you can’t and if you’ve had two hours sleep like we’ve had the night before and you’ve got to do the most important TV show in Spain to do you’ve got to do it. It’s really hard. And there are so many people you don’t want to let down. I had this craving for chicken when we were mixing in the studio and then KFC did it for me and now I’ve moved onto steaks.“
STEVE: “So you reckon the tour in 2001 is going to be sponsored by KFC?“
BRIAN: “No, it’s going to be sponsored by Red Bull.“
STEVE: “And Absolute.“
BRIAN: “Because it gives you wings.“
STEFAN: “How do you feel individually as a musician, are you improving as well as feeling more groovy with yourself singing and playing guitar?“
BRIAN: “I’m much more confident as a player and a singer. I think finally I’ve found my real voice which is great. It’s become much stronger and has got so much more depth and I don’t worry about playing guitar anymore. I don’t worry about mistakes or breaking strings. I’m finally feeling really confident. I also think that all of us are getting so much more satisfaction from what we’re doing having sorted out our priorities.“
STEFAN: “What turns you on more: being on a tour bus or staying at hotels?“
BRIAN: “I got a thing about hotels. I think hotels are really lonely. But tour buses are a real pain in the arse as well, so you can’t win. When you do sleep on the tour bus you dream about coffins (he adds: which has got nothing to do with a goth, it’s just to do with being afraid of dying).“
STEFAN: “What’s been your favourite city on tour?“
BRIAN: “New York and Barcelona. NewYork with Bowie and Barcelona with U2. I think we’ve all got the same favourites really.“
STEVE: “Since the UK tour and the release of “Without you I’m nothing“ the band have managed to get new things on their agenda, like people nipping off and doing their dry cleaning.“
BRIAN: “Yeah, we’ve got a wardrobe case that used to belong to Take That which we keep all our stage clothes in.“
STEVE: “What kind of stage clothes are going on?“
BRIAN: “I’ve been wearing a lot of dresses recently, but after seeing some footage of myself, I’m not too sure about it actually. We’re all quite spangly and shiny. My favourite piece of stage clothing is a Jonathan Richmond dress and that Hysteric Glamour one piece which shrunk. My favourite trousers have to be my shiny Agnes B.“
STEVE: “Oh yeah, man. That Agnes B’s.“
STEFAN: “Final question – last movie you’ve seen on tour?“
BRIAN: “Last tour in Spain in Madrid – ‘Lost Highway‘, the David Lynch film with cameos from Marylin Manson in it and the film started and finished with Bowie tracks which was weird as we were touring with Bowie at the time.“
Photo credit: Renaud Monfourny
Post by Silke
