Line-up: Dave – bass; Stu – guitar; Peter – guitar; Simon – vocals; Geraint – drums; Stretch – keyboards
How did the band get together?
The band got together two years ago in Swansea due to us realising that we liked the same sort of usic, and there was nobody else who wanted to use acoustic insturments. We strated playing at first with a drum machine. Geraint came up to us afer a gig and told us we were shit. He informed us he would be coming to our next rehearsal with his drums whether we liked it or not!
Where do the Sweetest Ache see themselves a year from now?
There’s no reason why The Sweetest Ache shouldn’t be headlining reading, but if the music press continue to snub Sarah bands then we’ll probably still be recording majority music for the minority. A few years ago the press were licking the arse of Sarah when the bands weren’t that good anyway. But nowbands like The Orchids and The Field Mice are releasing some incredible stuff, yet it’s still being snubbed!
What do you think of the Manic Street Preachers
Musically shit, as people OK.
What music do you listen to?
The band listen to a wide variety of music, peobably due to the stale state of music as it is at present. I think the majority of contempory guitar bands are trying to emulate the bands that emerged during the middle of the sixties and early seventies. I don’t really see the point of listening to second rate copyists who don’t even verge on achieving what their predecessors did. I think we all tend to listen to the bands that did it well in the first place. – Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly Lovew, although Dave is a little partial to Skinny Puppy!!! Quadraphonia, NWA, Public Enemy are doing some good stuff.
When’s the LP being released?
It should have been out in January. It’s called, “Jaguar”. We only had six days to record it, which was a bit ridiculous, but we managed to get the majority of what we wanted to done. You hear of bands like Ride spending months in the studio and they still produce a crap album. Bizarre!
I think a lot of people will be surprised when they hear the album. There’s quite a bleak absense of electric instruments on it, but plenty of saxophone and strings!
Anybody that’s seen you live recently will draw Spacemen 3 comparisons, is this fair?
I think our records are unsuitable for live performances due to the strings, etc. Playing live is soemthing that we find really hard. We find it easier to keep the songs as simple as possible. Spacemen 3??? Like f**k!!!!
The best gig you’ve played?
They’ve all been hard work!
Interview by Darren Jones