In
September 2000 Brian, Stefan and Steve Hewitt did an interview with
Boyz, a London-based
magazine
that's targeted
at gay men and the LGBT community. The article was published under
the title “Threesome”. Enjoy reading!
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO FOR THE
LAST TWO YEARS?
Brian: “A 13 month tour across 6
continents, broken bones, hospitalisation. Very rock'n'roll.“
Steve: “We were gagging to get in the
studio after all that touring and playing 'Pure Morning'.“
Brian: “We became a bit like spinal
tap toward the end of it.“
TELL US MORE.
Brian: “Me and Stefan were just
outdoing each other with rock histrionics. Feet on the monitors and
all of that stuff.“
Stefan: “Falling over offstage and
being picked up.“
Steve: “The only one thing we didn't
do was walk on stage in the wrong place and go 'Hello Cleveland!'“
Brian: “It became so routine that we
were able to jump into the crowd and keep on playing.“
Stefan: “Until your balls got
grabbed...“
HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH THE TEDIUM?
Stefan: “We turned the tour bus into
the disco bus.“
Brian: “Yeah, we installed disco
lamps and had parties after each show, playing The Bee Gee's and
Barry White.“
AS IF...
Brian: “Its true! We've even bought
our own on-tour kareoke machine.“
Stefan: “We're going to take a
ping-pong table with us this time too.“
Brian: “Kareoke and ping-pong: these
are our new interests!“
TELL US ABOUT THIS NEW ALBUM, “BLACK MARKET MUSIC“.
Brian: “It revisits the
no-holds-barred punk pop element of the first album, and the more
melancholic side of 'Without you I'm nothing'.
IS 'POP' A LABEL YOU'RE COOL WITH?
Steve: “Nah, I always wanted to be a
rock star, not a pop star. There's a difference.“
Brian: “I'd like it called
rock'n'roll. Pop is steps, Britney and Kylie. It's a teenage baby
with breast implants going straight to number one. We tend to steer
clear of plastic surgery, hence 'rock'!“
Steve: “We're keeping it ugly.“
SO, WHAT SURPRISES HAVE YOU GOT
UP YOUR SLEEVES?
Stefan: “There's rapping on this
album, which I don't think any placebo fan would expect.“
Brian: “Yeah, when the word first got
out, I think our fans freaked and thought we were going to turn into
Limp Bizkit. God forbid.“
ANY FAVOURITE ON THE ALBUM?
Brian: “'Peeping Tom', because I
always wanted to be Elton John, and on that song I get to sit behind
a piano and sing.“
IS IT A WHITE PIANO?
Steve: “It will be.“
Brian: “I'll have to spray it white.“
Stefan: “You haven't got the
backstreet boys around you either.“
IT'S LOVE OR HATE WITH YOU. DO YOU GIVE A MONKEY WHAT PEOPLE THINK?
Brian: “Indifference is the killer,
so it's positive to get an extreme reaction, but sometimes it's
difficult not to take it personally. As a normal human being that
lives, breathes and shits like everybody else, it's wierd to think
that thousands of people have formed an opinion about you without
having met you.“
Stefan: “That's the hardest thing.“
Brian: “If you started dwelling on
that, it'd drive you insane. The majority of people who've formed a
negative opinion of us haven't even met us. Or they've met us in an
extremely drunk and obnoxious situation. Most people who've spent
quality time with us go away thinking that at least we are alright.“
AND THE PRESS HAVE SAVAGED YOU.
Steve: “Yeah, we didn't even get out
of the traps.
Brian: It's particularly British, this
desire to put everybody in their place. You're not allowed to be
confident...“
Steve: “You're not allowed to be
successful, you're not allowed to have money...“
Brian: “You're not allowed to
acknowledge the fact that you're talented, 'cause oooh, that's
over-stepping the line.“
SO, ARE YOU VICTIMS OF THE PRESS, OR HAVE YOU JUST WORKED IT?
Steve: “Anyone who sees stuff in the
press thinks 'Aha, Placebo are back', so it's brilliant.“
Brian: “Yeah, they're back and
they're opening their big fucking mouths once more!“
Steve: “It's 'Oh, those wankers are
back', but at least they know you're back!“
DO YOU THINK PEOPLE STILL FIND YOU SUBVERSIVE?
Brian: “I never thought what we did
was that weird or ground-breaking or shocking. It's incredibly
difficult to be subversive these days.“
BUT THE DYNAMIC OF A GAY MAN, A STRAIGHT MAN AND A BISEXUAL MAN IN A BAND TOGETHER STILL CONFUSES PEOPLE, DOESN'T IT?
Brian: “That's what makes us
interesting. We're three different personalities with different
sexualities, and we're best friends, so what you get is an extremely
interesting melting pot of emotions. If it confuses people then it's
fine. That's fun. Confusion is sex.“
Stefan: “And there's just no
competition when we're out on the pull.“
Steve: “It makes everyone's life
easier.“
BISEXUALITY'S THE TRICKY ONE, BECAUSE IT'S EITHER SEEN AS TRYING TO COVER ALL BASES, OR A SOFT VERSION OF BEING GAY.
Brian: “Yeah, or you're really
straight and you're only doing it to get pussy. That's another
accusation that's been levelled at me.“
WOULD YOU SLEEP WITH YOU?
Brian: “No! I'd be an nightmare!“
DO YOU THINK GAY AUDIENCE CARE ABOUT INDIE MUSIC?
Stefan: “Just because you're gay, I
don't think you have to be a scene queen or a club babe, or a muscle
mary. It's good that it's opened up, club-wise. We've definitely got
more gay people in the audience now.“
Steve: “I wish we had more gay people
in the audience: they're better dancers.“
Brian: “We're encouraging people to
be individual and to be proud and at ease with themselves. We try to
make the so-called perverts that inhibit our crazy little world
sympathetic, simply because I don't think that all people are all
bad, no matter what they may be guilty of.“
YOU'VE ALREADY GONE THERE ON SEXUALITY, DRUG USE AND PROMISCUITY; IS ANYTHING SACRED?
Steve: “Mum.“
Brian: “Mum? Does your mum read Boyz?
(thinks) Or does your Dad?“
(Boyz,
"Threesome", September 2000)
Photo credits: Scarlet Page, Kevin Westenberg, Mark C. O'Flaherty, Jason Tanaka Blaney
Post by Silke
Photo credits: Scarlet Page, Kevin Westenberg, Mark C. O'Flaherty, Jason Tanaka Blaney
Post by Silke