Louise: vocals, guitar, songwriting. 'I was born in a storm
on July 22nd, 1972 in Ipswich. I had an out of body experience when
I was two on Codene. I like Marmite.'
Titch: drums. 'Born north od the border, this Ayrshire man
has been around a bit (musically that is) - I've been living in
London since 1990, finally found the perfect band in Flaming June.'
Chris: bass. 'Born in 1971 in a mental hospital, graduated
Scarborough in 95 and moved to London to join Flaming June. I also
like Marmite.'
Helen: backing vocals, violin, keyboards. 'Classically trained
but bored with orchestras, I answered an ad in Melody maker and
was reborn a rock-chick violinist (but nothing like Vanessa Mae).
Prefer Vegemite.'
Flaming June
home page
The Original Sin
Everyone who is taking music serious must be open
to every genre there is. That's one of my personal rules as I think
there is great and bad stuff in every genre, simple as that. But
some genres are so spoiled by commercial outlets that it'll be a
bit harder to convince people that something is absolutely great.
Take Flaming June for instance. If you should hear
'Rejoice' I'm sure you'll fall in love with it...surely as quick
as the first time you saw Sharon Stone on the big screen. Flaming
June's music is brilliant indiepop with a lot of folk-elements.
And here we have our crucial point...those folk-elements
as you begin to think of The Corrs or even worse...crap stuff like
'The Riverdance'. Forget about that, sure these things are folk-inspired
but they were created for one thing only: money, money, money...I
won't say Flaming June have no connection with money, I mean promote
this in a way the latest album by The Cranberries was and you are
dealing with a band who could sell the same amount of albums (...and
honestly, there is nothing wrong with it!).
What makes their music so outstanding is that you
feel the love and passion from it. Call 'em the female version from
New Model Army or call them The Levellers without the crap...no
problem with it, but never forget them to call Flaming June as we're
dealing with a band who has a unique talent!
I invented them to play my game...you know what it
is : commenting the stars... OK, LET'S START WITH JAMES BOND!!!
There's only one James Bond and that's Sean Connery!!
TOTALLY TRUE. WHAT ABOUT DAVID BOWIE? Could never
get into him...crap actor!
NOOOO!!! HE CREATED MY LOVE FOR MUSIC!!! BRITNEY SPEARS???
No comment...
WELL, ISN'T SHE THE DEBBIE GIBSON OF OUR GENERATION???
LOOKS CUTE JUST A SHAME HER MUSIC SUCKS! RUN DMC... Pioneers of
that genre...respect!!!
I ALWAYS LIKED THEIR SHOES, REALLY. BAND I HATE NOW
: SKUNK ANANSIE... Got the odd good song.
MADONNA : COOL OR UNCOOL? Had her day (like the remixes
of 'Justify my love')
REALLY LIKE HER STUFF MYSELF, BUT SHE'S A CRAP ACTOR!
WHAT ABOUT MOTORHEAD??? Now you're talking...don't make them like
this anymore.
ARE FLAMING JUNE SECRET MOTORHEAD-FANS THEN??? BOB
DYLAN... The man with the annoying voice.
EXACTLY!!! HE'S WITHOUT ANY DOUBT THE MOST OVERRATED
MUSICIAN EVER (APART FROM ERIC CLAPTON). IS RESPECTED EVERYWHERE
BUT APART FROM 'STORY OF THE HURRICANE' HE HAS NEVER RELEASED A
DECENT SONG!!! HUMAN LEAGUE... 80's shite!!! MORE SOMETHING LIKE
80'S BRILLIANCE, I THINK. COCTEAU TWINS... Don't know a lot about
them.
WHAT ABOUT BETH ORTON? We like what we've heard.
WELL, HEAR SOME MORE...SHE'S EXCELLENT! DEPECHE MODE.
Depeche who???
ARE YOU SERIOUS???...I GUESS NOT. BECK??? Very talented
young man.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS??? Better since getting rid
of that twat Richie...
YOU WILL UPSET SOME OF OUR READERS, DEAR. LAST ONE
TO COMMENT : EURYTHMICS... 'Love is a stranger' was a top tune.
CAN'T DENY THIS...THANKS!!!
Flaming June
After Flaming Stars you now can discover Flaming
June. Indiefolk (Levellers meet Jethro Tull) with very strong vocals
from band singer Louise (she has the power of P.J. Harvey and the
beauty of Beth Orton in her voice). Formed in 1994, and three years
later they are ready to rock the world with their debut single `FLAMING
JUNE` which is set for release in March 1998. Those who can't wait
can discover the band (among other beauties) on the latest 25 Records
compilation `OBVIOUS`. Mark who runs the label did an interview
for us with them. Cheers Mark!
A little bit of history:
Flaming June formed in 1994 when Louise put an add in Melody Maker
to form a band and met up with Tich. They went on to gig regularly
in and around London with various different Flute, Keyboard, violin
and bass players. It was not until this year (1997) that they managed
to find the right people to fit perfectly into the band, Nicky and
Chris both joined in the summer. The bands debut limited edition
single "Flaming June" is set for release in March 1998.
Members taking part in interview: Louise, Tich, Nicky, Chris
1. How did you all meet? Through the Melody Maker
2. How long have you been together? 3 years
3. Has it been a long hard road to fame? Oh Yes! and we
are still very much on the road, there's a long way to go yet.
4. Who is the main song writer? Louise
5. Are there any band squabbles? No! Yes! No! Yes! The main
one centres around the length of time Tich takes to set up his drums
at gigs. He is so slow it's unbelievable.
6. What is the 'scene' like in your area? What Scene? We
live in London, there's too much of a mish-mash of bands for any
real scene to occur.
7. Who or what inspired you to become a musican? Louise:
My Granddad, he was a pianist. Tich: Listening to my old mans Gene
Cruppa and Art Blakey records. Nicky: Great songs and the thrill
of playing live. Chris: Being bought an acoustic guitar when I was
9.
8. Who are your favourite bands of the moment? Louise: Radiohead,
Earl Brutus
Tich: Roni Size, Chemical Brothers, Propellerheads, The Prodigy.
Nicky: Placebo, Afro Celt Sound System, The Cardigans. Chris: Jamiroqui,
The Prodigy, Hawkwind.
9. What are highs and lows of being in a band? Highs are
doing good gigs and people genuinely relating to our songs. The
lows are slogging our guts for what seems like very little return
and getting messed around by promoters who couldn't organise a piss
up in a brewery, let alone a gig in a venue.
10. Do you prefer recording in the studio or playing live shows?
We come across better live and we all really enjoy it but then we
haven't been let loose in a studio for days on end yet.
11. Do you have any advice for bands just starting out? Be
prepared to get knocked down and get up again, don't ever let them
keep you down.
12. Sum up your music in three words? Emotive, Captivating,
Dark
And here are the others questions from the printed sheet that are
not covered above.
What are your releases so far? We have a 7 inch single of
our cunningly titled song "Flaming June" set for release
this March.
What is the success story so far? It's early days yet, ask
us again next year.
Have you played any important gigs? We have played some
fun supports with bands we like as well as headlining ourselves,
we have reached a wide audience and look forward to reaching an
even wider one.
What do you consider the high point of your career? Whenever
people come up to us after gigs and say how much they enjoyed the
performance.
What do you think of the current UK music scene and do you think
you will change it's face? The underground music scene is really
healthy and we think our songs could be important from a lyrical
point of view as well as a musical one. There will always be space
for quality songs; we are not a pop band.
Which bands influence your sound? No bands in particular,
we have been compared to The Levellers, The Cranberries, and P.J
Harvey amongst others but we don't think we sound anything like
them at all.
What's your favourite record of all time and why did you choose
it? Louise -Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush because it sounds
like nothing else on earth and it tells a damn fine story. The rest
of the band may not agree with the above but our diverse influences
make us more interesting.
What are your plans for the future? We want to get our music
heard and enjoyed by as many people as possible.
Strange but true: We are gaining a terrible reputation for
punctuality...we tend to be half an hour early for sound checks.
Flaming June have a track called ‘Charming the snake’
featured on the ‘Obvious’ compilation CD, available from
25 Records.
Feel free to contact the band at 25 Records anytime for interviews/Band
features/ gig info etc. at: 25 Records PO Box 3006, Poole, Dorset,
BH12 2HU. or Phone/Fax on (01202) 749244. write
to us
|
|
Flaming June have a fab tune called 'Charming the snake'
on the new 'Obvious' compilation CD available from 25 Records
priced at £5.
|
|
