20 Questions You Didn’t Know You Wanted To Ask…The Fantastics
Groovy Uncle is currently answering the questions over at Here Comes The Nice whilst now on here it’s the turn of the aptly named The Fantastics. Formerly known as Rev. Cleatus And The Soul Saviours, the band is the sum of the following parts - James Rule (drums), Ray Hunter (bass), Greg Boraman (Hammond), Mark Norton (flute / sax), Matt Wilding (percussion / congas) and Pete Collison (guitar). They are currently putting the finishing touches to the follow up to their funktastic debut album ’2lbs of Funk In a 1lb Bag’. They’ve also got a couple of gigs coming up on the 16th May at Cargo in London and the 17th May at The Yardbird in Birmingham. Check them out on myspace and if you dig ‘em, go and see ‘em!
1. How would you best describe what you do to the uninitiated?
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James: I play drums .. They are wooden things with the odd bit of chrome on them with plastic covering them that make all those loud noises singers despise
Pete: I stumble on the guitar and forget stuff quite a lot
Raydn: I play bass so I’m basically trying to hold everyone else’s racket together!
Matt: Hit things, noise comes out. As for the band, well they haven’t even told me yet.
Greg: we inhabit the funky end of jazz - and the jazzy end of funk - with anything else we like sprinkled on top like musical ‘hundreds and thousands’
Pete: Mark’s not here, but he does all the plumbing
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2. Where would you say you are with regard to your career right now?
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Pete: Just got out of bed.
Matt: Loitering
James: Looking out of the window
Raydn: Answering questions
Greg: we are piddling in the commercial wind by doing precisely what we want/like/love to do which is towing the Queen Mary through a sea of Mars bars
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3. Which song (not neccesarilly yours) best sums you/the band up and why?
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Pete: Layin’ In The Cut by Lonnie Smith… Not sure exactly why - it just seems to sound right and I like it a lot, just like the band…
Matt: “Standing on The Corner Watching The Girls Go By” - Bobby Darin
James: “Freedom Jazz Dance” by various - we are going to play it someday, you can tell we all want to but our faces are not big enough
Greg - Too Drunk to F8ck - by the Dead Kennedys
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4. Who would you say has been your biggest inspiration (musically or otherwise)?
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James : Bernard Purdie, Clyde Stubblefield, Haircut 100 and The Who
Pete: Lonnie Smith / Rusty Bryant / Meters / Muddy Waters / early Stones / Small Faces
Matt: Ray Barretto, Poncho Sanchez (when working with Papo Rodriguez and the Banda Bros), Snowboy
Raydn: James Jamerson, Jaco, John Coltrane
Greg: All the organ playing Jimmies, Jacks - Brian Auger - and Art Blakey
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5. Is there anyone amongst your influences that you think would surprise people and why?
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Pete: Peter Cook, but maybe that’s not a surprise anyway..
James: Pete’s Cat - It just has this “look”
Raydn: I expect so….
Greg - The Carpenters - you cant knock those harmonies - Richard & Karen knew jazz harmony backwards!!
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6. What are you most proud of?
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Pete: My cat
Greg - the fact that I got here at all - with no help, encouragement or understanding from anyone.
Matt: The acclaim that recordings and performances I have contributed to, in this band and others, have received
James: I can shit bricks
Raydn: My farts
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7. In the quest to get the music ‘out there’ have you ever done or agreed to anything you’ve later regretted?
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James: Plenty, luckily the people were bribed easily
Pete: I think there are some issues with our first album - the sleeve and liner notes come to mind straight away, but we didn’t actually agree to them so do they count?
Raydn: We’ve made some good and some not so good decisions along the way but on the whole we are very true to ourselves and our music.
Greg - Nope!
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8. What’s the most ridiculous request that’s been asked of you/the band?
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Matt: Play something we know, like ‘Soul Man’
James: Same as Matt
Pete: Someone keeps asking us to lift a Hammond organ up a flight of stairs at 3am
Raydn: “can you please not jump off that ladder”
Greg - “I know you like all this obscure black music - but you still like Madonna and stuff like U2 dont you?”
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9. What do you think is the secret to a good working relationship amongst musicians?
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Matt: Not rehearsing with them.
Pete: Rum, Bill Hicks, and Tooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrchhhhh.
James: Have a good time all of the time
Raydn: All of the above plus a bit more rum and some Derek & Clive.
Greg - High doses of Lithium
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10. If you could have played on one song (that you don’t), what would it be and why?
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James: Any Headhunters or Meters track - because they are so good
Pete: theme to Terry & June
Raydn: Keep Your Soul Together by Freddie Hubbard because I’d only have to play the cool, improvised intro and the groovy bit at the end. During the main head and solo sections I’d just sit back and listen to the rest of the band with Ron Carter on upright playing one of my favorite tunes.
Greg - The Mystery Of Man by Sarah Vaughan
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11. How do you make the balance between music and personal responsibilities?
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James: Ignore all responsibilities and they are all therefore balanced by default
Pete: I can’t!
Greg - whats a responsibility?
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12. In light of the internet and downloading do you feel that fans are missing out on the record buying discovery/experience?
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James : Russian internet illegal downloading scum .. yes some of my tracks can be bought for as little as 10 cents or whatever and I really really get to see any of that
Raydn: Yes, there’s nothing like flicking through records in an dusty old record shop.
Greg - yes they are - but the other side of the equation is that people are now discovering stuff they wouldnt have before - even if they doint paty for it!
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13. Do you think that success is your motivation and do you have a preset gameplan for your music/the band?
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James: Have a good time all of the time
Greg: success? Nope - if I was interested in success I would have joined a boy band in 1988 and developed a six pack. Playing the music we love is a one way ticket to obscurity and starvation - but we still do it anyway.
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14. DJ’s are now as famous as a lot of the bands they play, what are your views on this and do you think it’s deserved?
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James: DJ’s are similar to bands - some are good some are shit. As long we know more of the good ones I don’t mind
Greg - Some DJs pay their dues and champion good music- others are just knob twiddlers without the first clue about music.
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15. To date, what has been your most memorable gig (either as a performer or as a fan)?
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Pete: probably the Paris Rare Groove Day last year, everything was just about perfect on that one - and the first night supporting the Godfathers of Groove
James: Two nights supporting the Godfathers of Groove and having to play in front of my drum hero; and the Paris Rare Groove Day for the same reasons as Pete
Raydn: Yeah, the Paris Rare Groove Day was really good. The audience were really up for it and that can make all the difference.
Greg - as a fan - Brian Augers triumphant UK retrun @ The Jazz Cafe mid 1990s - and as a muso - that first night supporting The Grandads of Groove - it should have been recorded!
Matt: Eddie Palmieri @ Jazz Cafe, 2007. Or the Godfather’s Of Groove support, where I got locked outside the venue and stood chatting to Shadows legend, Brian Bennet.
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16. How do you overcome pre-gig nerves (if you get them)?
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Matt: Don’t really get them any more.
James: Drink and more drink
Pete: Rum, Bill Hicks, and Tooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrchhhhh
Raydn: I don’t get them. I once played in a band with a singer who got so nervous he’d throw up before we played. We used to put a bucket in front of the stage, just in case.
Greg: punch the promotor
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17. When did you last write something?
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Matt: Apart from this?
James : I cannot write
Pete: 2 seconds ago
Greg - I wrote a cheque this morning - and my ‘last will & testament’ shortly after!!
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18. Have you ever reached a point where you’ve thought about throwing the towel in and walking away (and if so, what persuaded you otherwise)?
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Pete: No - not seriously anyway, I love it too much, and wouldn’t know what else to do with myself.
James: Nope - I curse a little sometimes, does that make me a bad boy?
Raydn: Yes, quite a few times…
Greg: yes - sometimes every couple of hours - but usually every other day - or when I see Pete Docherty ’singing’ on telly
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19. What are your views on electronics muscling in and replacing live instuments during recording?
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Matt: None really - luckily for me there aren’t any convincing digital conga sounds.
James: If they can seamlessly cut out the dodgy bits of recording and make me happy with what I played then all for it! That’s mixing thou .. not recording
Pete: do what you want - if you don’t like something, don’t buy it!
Greg: I play an electronic instrument - OK its a 1930s electro-mechanical instrument - but anything that makes a good sound is Ok with me
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20. Lastly, thank you for your time. What made you agree to answer these questions?
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Matt: I haven’t agreed to anything
Pete: Filthy lucre…
James: The promise of free lettuce for an entire year. Or was that the other questionnaire .. shitsticks
Greg: Its an honour to be asked - we could easliy be ignored - and I was raised to be polite!
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