Features

MESSIN' WITH THE MEKONS

The Mekons break all the rules - their latest LP Pussy King Of The Pirates (Quarterstick) is the 11th in an eighteen year recording career that has managed to be mesmerising, bewildering and never easy to follow, yet strangely influential and wonderfully endearing all at the same time. the new record is a collaboration with American novelist Kathy Acker. A musical accompaniment to her forthcoming novel of the same name.

Acker narrates and supplies the words while The Mekons provide a soundtrack that mixes sex and sexuality with tales of buried treasure and masturbating bears, musically it moves from lo-fi space dub to bawdy celtic sea shanties via the camp kitsch of Erasure with some experimental folky noodlings thrown in for good measure. The current line-up employs the sweet country tinged vocals of Sally Timms, Rico Bell on accordion, Sarah Corrina bass, John Legly drums and founder members Tom Greenhalgh and John Langford guitars and vocals. They talk incessantly and argue amongst themselves in a way that people who have known each other for years are able to do, Langford and Greenhalgh begin by explaining the origins of the new record.

"She (Acker) came to see us play in San Francisco, she came backstage and we got introduced . Her name was quite well known at that point because her book 'Blood and Guts in High School'. She said to us that she was writing a book that had lots of songs in it so we asked her if we could put the music to the songs" I presume the live shows with Acker are quite difterent from a normal Mekons gig? "It's panto. surreal pantomime, there's scenery and costumes. It's a whole stage show, it's very theatrical and there is boats to hide behind." I understand you've been in America recently performing "Theatre Project For A Rock Band", what was that all about? Sally explains, "There's a guy Vito Acconci, who is a conceptual artist and also an architect. It was for the Brooklyn Academy of Music's 'Next Wave' festival. He built this structure where we all had to stand on 6ft high platforms around the edge ot a huge pie shaped structure. It you can imagine it,split into sections then the ceilings and walls rose up and enclosed the audience and we just played one song over and over again in different component parts for 45 minutes". "There was poetry in there too" continues Langford. "In order to make some kind of sense of it really I don't think it made a lot of sense. The actual performance itself was kind to tortuous, especially for the audience" Almost like performance art then? "Yes. that's what it was, it was his concept and he basically told us how he wanted us to do it, so we did everything exactly as he wanted us to. We said we would make it a collaboration but we were in a part where we couldn't do that because they were still building these incredible machines on the day of the performance. so it all ran a bit over time". As a band they've twisted things even further, they have exhibited what they themselves call "Paintings and Drawings" at the Park Museum of Art in Florida. Langford elaborates, "There was an opening for it and we had been talking about doing an exhibitions for a couple of years. In 1977 when we were a punk band it was the last thing we wanted to do. Strangely it's all turned around now. I don't see why it's all that weird to do loads of different things. When we formed the band when we were all at art school, we did art and we did the band, but the band consumed all our time, but there was never a place for us in the music industry, so now it's much easier to just spreads things around. Has the willingness to diversify and move help to keep things going over the years? "It's because we don't behave like a rock band should", says Timms, "When you're in a regular band you rehearse everyday and you play a lot of gigs and try to sell your records, you try and get major deals. That's never been the driving force behind this band. It's been more about doing things for ourselves, doing what pleases us". Again Langford continues the thread. "Our first album was on a major label (Virgin) and we were kicked off fairly unceremoniously straight afterwards. So we went back to Leeds to get our heads together and thought, 'Well it's quite good doing music, but the business had become really horrible'. We wanted to do something that wasn't in the industry's fast track, so we went along and did things like 'The Mekons Story' and 'English Dancing Master', just for ourselves". Has the unique identity and eclecticism caused problems in commercial terms? "Yeah, I'm sure it has, because it confuses people, you're meant to make an album then the record company tell you which song to pick out from that album. Then you make another album which is meant to have more tracks on it that sound exactly the same. A&M signed us on the back of the single called 'Ghosts of American Astronauts'. that had a very pretty video "Is that why"? Sally seems a bit surprised at this information. "Yeah. that's one reason", confesses Langford, "but the next one they picked the song and when they got the video their reaction was, 'Who's the grey haired guy singing'"? "Who was it"? says Timms somewhat puzzled. "It was me! They just couldn't understand, they had no idea. They thought Sally was the lead singer even though the song they picked obviously had a male vocal on it. It was really weird, they were totally baffled". How have you managed to outlive most of your contemporaries? I know you've worked in the States a lot, has that been a factor? Timms; "In America it's different because we do get paid decent money and we're on a different level there. We are quite well thought of. Americans can tolerate lots of different things which is not often the case here. A lot of bands reform and go play America, especially a lot of punk bands. That's never the case with this band, because we never went away. In the States we've played consistently. I think there is a different perception of us because we're not going back and playing records that we made 10 or 15 years ago. You think that's a bad thing then? "I think it's really bad when people reform and play a set they haven't played for 15 years". You won't be too keen on The Sex Pistols getting back together? "I think that's really great". says Langford. "Really interesting to see musically". Suddenly another dissenting voice from the corner of the room, "'Really good' what's the point in them hanging around any longer, they may as well take the money now", adds Greenhalgh with perhaps just a hint of cynicism. Timms takes up the gauntlet. "No, they shouldn't do it, There was supposed to be some kind of idealism attached to the movement, that you didn't just do it for the money". Things are really hotting up now, "That's bollocks", coughs Greenhalgh. "There was no idealism. The fact that they are doing it for the money and saying it openly is great". "But they're not", Timms replies. "I saw that interview on MTV with them saying we're doing it for the money, but 'we're also doing it because we think these songs should be heard'. We'll fucking hear them on the record. We don't need a bunch of old men pretending to be eighteen again. It's so sad. They just looked like they were trying to be shocking and there's nothing shocking about them at all. I'll go see them, but only if I get in for nothing. Maybe if they did a set that was completely new then fine, but not when it's some sad fucking nostalgia trip". As a band inextricably linked to the punk ethic, do you feel any connection to any of these bands? Langford, "The whole punk revival thing is pathetic. There is a place in Brixton where they get The Lurkers and Slaughter And The Dogs and all that. It was horrible the first time around". "We never really had that audience in the first place" adds Greenhalgh. I enquire as to the welfare of The Mekons sister group, The Three Johns, to which Langford somewhat enigmatically replies. "They're all dealing with their lives in quite controllable ways. They're a lot better off then they were when they were in The Three Johns, put it that way. Better off emotionally. not going out and getting completely drunk and having horrible breakdowns". "They're waiting for someone to offer them five million quid to reform", laughs Sally breaking the slightly sombre silence". "Yeah, they will supporting the Sex Pistols". Jokes Greenhalgh. Now that would be a gig worth seeing! GRAHAM TILER