Live music and touring have been on lockdown and fans as well as artists are going through withdrawals. We wanted to come up with something fun to help bridge that distance between fans and artists right now. What we came up with is something called The Lockdown Lowdown and it’s a Q&A session with fun questions for artists to answer. They’re not your typical interview questions, so it gives you a peek inside of the artists themselves. We’re big music nerds here at I’m Music Magazine and we love learning things like this about the artists that we love. We’re pretty sure that you’ll get a kick out of these, so we hope you’ll take the time to read them. In this installment, we sat down for a fun Q&A session with Miles & the Chain Gang
1. How have you been doing during the pandemic and how are you spending your time?
I write a lot (songs, poems, stories) so it has been good for me. I’ve also been working on my radio show with Jorvik Radio. Billy (drummer) has painted his rehearsal room. Tim (bass player) has got a new car! Alan is a bit fed up. It will pass, but it’s sad if it kicks live music in the teeth. Gutted.
2. Have you been working on new music?
Yes a few new songs bubbling away. Feels good. I’m very self-critical so I always think things can be better, but it’s good when the ideas come and you can do something. Writing songs is very energising for me. Billy and Tim and I have been messing about with Garageband, exchanging ideas.
3. 5 albums that changed your life
1) Abba – The Album (1977). My Mum played this in the car when I was about 6 years old. It really moved me. It was like a door to another world. I loved it. I still really like some of their stuff. I know a lot of people think it’s a bit cheesy but they did write some terrific music.
2) Queen – Greatest Hits. Queen are a bit of a cartoon rock band in a way – but, like Abba and The Beatles, they really understood great hooks. I listed to Greatest Hits incessantly when I was ten or 11. I mean, hundreds of times. My Mum got sick of hearing ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ coming out of my bedroom. I saw them in 1986 which was pretty amazing. I listen to them occasionally. ‘A Night At The Opera’ is a superb album. I think it’s the best thing they did. I really enjoyed the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ film when it came out. ‘Somebody To Love’ rocks.
3) Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA. (1984). Probably the first rock album I got. I still like it, although I prefer the really early stuff, his first three albums, which really swing with lots of different influences. I had a go at covering ‘Dancing In The Dark’ recently. Great song.
4) Bob Dylan – Greatest Hits (1968). I got this on cassette when I was about 17. It blew me away. I was used to hearing over produced music from the 1980s and to hear Bob with one guitar and one harmonica. It was very refreshing. My favourite on this was a song called ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’. I finally got to see him in Hyde Park in 2019. His voice was shot, but it was still a magic moment. Bucket list stuff. It took me a long time to get to see him.
5) The Pretenders – The Pretenders (1980). My Dad rented out flats in the 1980s and one day he came home with a box of records – some tenants has left it behind. In the box was the second Police album, and this. It’s one of my favourite albums. It just rocks. The band really understood dynamics. A friend of mine has a signed copy. I was so jealous when I saw it. It’s one of THE great rock n roll albums, I think.
4. 5 artists that influenced you as a musician.
Bruce Springsteen – for his energy, commitment and amazing live shows and great songs. The best gig I ever saw was a Springsteen show, and he was in his sixties. Amazing.
Bob Dylan – for the songwriting and unique vision of what music can be and where it can take you.
Thin Lizzy – great songs, awesome energy and presence. Their golden period was shortlived (1975 – 1979) but it was magic.
Van Morrison – for the way he took soul and blues and folk and jazz and country and mixed it all up. Fantastic.
Del Amitri – great band. Justin Currie’s shadowy songs about love are superb. He writes great lyrics and melodies. One of the best live bands in the world.
5. Your 5 favorite live albums
Bruce Springsteen’s Hammersmith gig in 1975 was released a few years ago. I think it’s one of THE great live albums.
Thin Lizzy – Live and Dangerous. Their finest hour. Superb. Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson were a great dual guitar team. Robertson got thrown out of the band a few years later (drinking, fighting) but on this they sound immense.
Dire Straits – Alchemy Live. It’s a long time since I heard this but it’s great. Another Hammersmith album. Nobody plays guitar like Mark Knopfler.
Indigo Girls – 1200 curfews. This came out in 1995 and it covers some of their best period. Lots of great songs on this, including a cracking version of Neil Young’s ‘Down By The River’.
Van Morrison – Too Late To Stop Now. Soul / blues / rhythm and blues / jazz. Brilliant.
6. Life on the road; 5 of the craziest/funniest/scariest tour stories
Worst gig – Colchester circa 1996. Folk duo. We were asked to stop playing. Truly ghastly.
Outdoor gig for a youth club in Hull. Playing for lots of kids. I got on a bike, rode around the field for a sixty second ride, then re-joined the band.
A friend of mine played with a band at a working men’s club. In the middle of their set, somebody got on stage, walked up to the mic and said ‘Pie and Peas at the back.’
A tech guy was running a desk at a gig. Somebody in a band said ‘It sounds shit.’ The tech responded ‘You point to the shit knob, and I’ll turn it down.’
At one of my very first gigs, I played at a youth club. The police station was nearby and the sound of voices talking on the Police radio was coming through my amp. Oh dear.
7. 5 favorite movies
Yikes, there are so many…
‘A Ghost Story’ was one of the best films I ever saw. A meditation on grief, loss, and time passing. Haunting. Get it? Seriously though, it’s amazing.
‘The Lives Of Others’ – great story about compassion and humanity. Really moving.
‘Broadway Danny Rose’ – Woody Allen at his best. Very funny and beautifully filmed.
‘Once Upon A Time In The West’ – I saw this last year and was blown away. One of the great westerns.
‘The Babadook’ – powerful, scary story about fear and family ties. It scared me, anyway!
8. Best and worst advice you ever heard.
Best advice – ‘the encounter matters’ – Germaine Greer. Totally brilliant. Always be kind. Don’t be a dick. I read a story about how nice Robin Williams was to somebody, recently. It made me cry.
Worst advice – ‘there’s no such thing as society’ (Mrs Thatcher). Not really advice – but individualism will kill us all. We’re social creatures. Anything that undermines that is despicable. Look out for each other.
9. Strangest thing you ever autographed
Can’t think of anything. Sorry.
10. If music was over today and you had to go into professional wrestling, what would your wrestling name be?
My professional wrestling name would be ‘Greasy Teddy’.
Download/stream Miles and the Chain Gang’s latest single “Drag Me to the Light”
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