THE ANSWER: Rock of the Irish
A chat with Paul and James
Interview and photos by Cayleigh Shepherd
It’s always refreshing to be reminded that it doesn’t matter
if you’re a musician, journalist, an engineer, whatever. At the end of the day
we’re all just a bunch of music nerds, united by a love of a common
denominator.
As I make my way backstage to catch up with The Answer’s Paul Mahon and James
Heatley, I find them in a dressing room marveling over old Phil Lynott footage
on a laptop. While Thin Lizzy managed
only 4 years before having a change around in the guitar department, these
County Down lads have already beaten their Irish counterparts by sticking with
the same line-up they started out with 11 years ago.
“It's been quite a journey!” laughs
James, “I dunno how we've stayed together! We have a lot of fun, we get on
really well with each other. This tour is almost like going back to the
grassroots for us: we're back in a van, we're not doing the big tour buses and
such, so it has been a bit of a shock that way, but it's nice being back again.
We'll be back once again in March, playing much bigger venues, with bigger
production values and stuff, so it'll get a bit easier again, but the fact that
we've got through the past three weeks has been a testament!"
The big tour buses – a reference to
their rather monumental tour with AC/DC, ended 18 months ago. Giving them
enough time recuperate, as well as recording the latest album, Revival. “Every band you play with you
take a little something from,” explains Paul. “I guess the thing we've learnt
from the larger bands we've played with is their work ethic. They've been going
for so long because they've worked hard at it". The monsters of rock certainly gave
them food for thought. Norwich’s
Waterfront venue may certainly a far step away from the giant arenas they
called home for quite a while, but that doesn’t mean they approach their
performance any differently. “I think that's definitely something we've
realized that we have to do if we ever want to be as big as them. That's one of
the main things, and of course, the importance of having a good time on stage”. “We try to
get that across, both in our live performances and when we're not on stage as
well,” adds James.
 The past few months must have been a
welcomed break for the quartet. It can’t have been easy jumping onto a tour as
long as that one, and recording the album must have been a welcomed opportunity
to base themselves in one place and one place only for a period of time. “We
like both,” admits James. “I mean, after the AC/DC tour, we were more than
happy to be at home and doing nothing for a little bit, and then start writing
again. When you're home too long, you itch for the road again. When you're out
on then road for too long, you can't wait to be home; sleep in your own bed
etc. But there's a nice balance to it.”
'Revival' marks the band’s third studio
commission. For this venture, they made their way across the pond to record it,
rather back home in Ireland. I wondered
if recording a record in the middle of nowhere had any influence on the sounds
being created.
“[We recorded the album] in El Paso,
just on the border of Mexico. I don't think it would have sounded any different
if we'd have recorded it in Belfast. Maybe slightly,
but all the sounds and the songs were exactly the same as they were when we
went to El Paso. I guess, in a way, being right out in the desert in the
wilderness, where we didn't see people for nearly a month...mentally it
probably did have some sort of effect, but it didn't influence the writing of
the record.” Mahon nods in agreement, and goes on to explain the title of the
album. “It was just one of those things...we didn't set out to call the album Revival, or start writing or recording
for it. It just kinda came up in the sessions, and seemed to sum up the spirit
of the records and what we wanted to do again. I suppose it's slightly
tongue-in-cheek to say we're reviving rock n roll: I think every new band
that's come along in the past 10 years has said the same thing, so...I guess we
have been away for a while, so it is kinda reviving us as it were.”
Adding a little extra oomph to the
record, a guest appearance from St Jude’s
leading lady, Lynne, takes one of the tracks to a whole new level. “I think it
was Mickey, our bass player, and our manager, Dave, we're in London and they
were at a St Jude gig, and they got
talking to her after.” Heatley explains. “When it came to recording the album,
we felt like doing something different with one of the songs, and Nowhere Freeway became the song. We
looked at different people to come in and do the duet, and Lynne's name kept
coming up, some contacted her and she was more than happy to do it. And it
turned out really well. She's a great singer!”
 The album isn’t just your regular
12-track effort. This time it’s been released along with a bonus CD featuring
demos, different versions and more. The band also filmed the recording process
for Revival and uploaded it as a
diary on their website. I mention the fact that it’s rather refreshing to see a
band that goes the extra mile. “Definitely,” Paul agrees. “There's so many
bands now, and so many options, even if you do have fans who have been with you
from the start, there's almost too many bands, so you have to keep them
interested, have to give them a really good package”. "The other
side of it is, we had so much fun doing it,” James continues. “When we were
doing the AC/DC tour, we made the
DVD, and had so much fun recording all that stuff, and we kinda got used to
having the camera around. When it came to recording the album, it was the first
time we really even kept that in mind, ya know, feeling like we should document
this as we're going along. So, if Paul was doing a guitar solo or something,
we'd pick up the cameras and start messing about. It's great for the fans to
see, as well as something for us to have, cause in 20 years time, I'm sure we
won't remember what we were doing. It's definitely good to see where we were
and kinda helps the fans to feel a little bit closer.”
Saying there’s too many bands out there
now, they’re not wrong. And indeed, it is more challenging for a band to stand
out among the rest, but surely with their history and achievements they
shouldn’t have to worry about such a thing anymore. We start talking about
newer bands, and ones they think we should keep an eye on. “Gentleman's Pistols, who are playing
with us tonight are a great band. And looking back home, we’ve got Swannee River, who did the first part of
the tour with us.“ We throw in a couple of larger more established named for
good measure “You've got your Black Stone
Cherrys, Airbournes etc,” and
then a mutual favourite of ours, “Oh, and Rival
Sons! If they all make it that's more than enough!”
After a small topical detour, we get
back to what’s at hand: the current run across the UK.
“We're kinda sad it's nearly over now!
It's all going well: good crowds, the new material is going down well. We're
playing about 6 songs off of it.” James explains. “Vida's going down really well, Trouble
is too. We just started playing Nowhere
Freeway - a slightly different version. If you listen to the 2nd CD after Revival, there’s an acoustic version of
it on there, so we've been doing that live, but electric- a little bit rocked
up”. “I guess the majority of the feedback
we've been getting is that people want to hear more new songs. It went Top 40
in the UK, and Germany and Top 30 in Japan. It's still early days for the
record, but it's a pretty good start!”
It’s almost time for doors now, so before I leave the boys to
start warming up, I find out what’s in store after the last date of the current
tour: the homecoming show in Belfast. “No rest for the wicked: we're going out
on tour in Europe with Whitesnake in
November, and some of our own shows in Europe in January. Maybe Japan and
Greece and a few other bits and pieces in February, before returning to the UK.
After that, it'll be pretty much time for all the festivals to start!”
No rest for the wicked indeed! As The Answer go on to play a packed out show this evening to a large
and grateful crowd. Despite their album being named Revival, tonight’s show proves that the Answer certainly don’t need
to be revived.
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