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Glen Johnson talks Piano Magic, Textile Ranch and much more...
"I must leave London. It is bad for my soul. It’s making a hole that will erode me."
Despite the negative sentiment expressed in the above lyric, it is clear in the case of Piano Magic that London also inspires, impassions and creates great bands!
The lyric stems from a desire to escape The Big Smoke but that longing is also a creative driving force that in Piano Magic's case, constructs songs most beautiful . And one thing is for sure, lyricist Glen Johnson has yet to escape his muse but is prepared to turn its turbid landscape into musical pellucidity.
Like Morrissey before him, Johnson has a comic tragedy in his lyrics. You can't help but sympathize with his melancholy whilst simultaneously smiling in agreement, or finally cave in and slacken that stiff upper lip.
"Though I love the rain and I love the grey
And I love the estates where the flags decay
England's always better as you're pulling away."
How could you not acknowledge the sad sentiment in that lyric but at the same time, raise a toast and a smile? Morrissey had that lyrical grasp like Ian Curtis before him, to make listeners cling to his every word and syllable and Glen Johnson possesses that same quality. Johnson writes tragedies for city dwellers who still desire the old-fashioned comforts of the library, rather than the soulless mechanics of the Ipod.
Since 1997, Piano Magic has released 9 albums with a multitude of styles, both musically and lyrically. They are truly one band that you just cannot say have any two songs that sound alike. Well crafted, well versed and well, I am fighting for adjectives to describe the sounds but the multitude that Piano Magic creates, makes that impossible! Yes, they are the standard guitar, bass, drums and occasional keyboard but the songs and band develop and branch out with each new release and everything new is unexpected and fresh. I honestly believe that PM will follow in the footsteps of bands such as Disco Inferno and The Chameleons and will one day be considered ground breaking and ahead of their time and peers.
Here we ask frontman, Glen Johnson some questions.
We also asked some PM fans to submit questions of their own and these have been included as well.
Hi, Glen. What's new on the musical side of things?
"Piano Magic took a Summer hiatus so that we could give some well overdue consideration to our own individual recording projects. Jerome is working on a solo album, as well as producing the solo album of Simon Rivers (Bitter Springs). Franck is making a solo record, too. And I've been working on a Textile Ranch collaboration with Plinth, a new Future Conditional album and a Glen Johnson solo record. On top of that, this week, we're putting the finishing touches to a new Piano Magic EP we started before the Summer. Never a dull moment."
With other projects on the side, at the moment, is the plan to stay on with Piano Magic?
"There'll be a new Piano Magic EP out later this year and we'll be doing a few shows here and there but beyond that, I have no idea for the future. The devil on my shoulder is harking that there should be a huge change in the way PM makes music but we'll see."
Can you tell us more about your project Textile Ranch, who
is involved and what was the motivation for startiing it?
"Textile Ranch is me and it's essentially the odd little electronic experiments I used to do in Piano Magic 10 years ago but which we don't have the space for anymore. Whenever I have a spare moment, I invariably tinker around, like an old bloke in his shed, mixing up fertilisers. Hence, I have a couple of hundred "abortions" on my hard drive and when I die, undoubtedly they'll all come out and spread like a virus."
(Question from a Piano Magic fan) In a previous interview, you mentioned a little of
something about giving PM listeners 'something more
special' and I think this is why maybe the reason you joined the Make Mine Music label?
But at the same time, this means that the band have to work on
everything related to the promotion, too. So how will the band
cope with all of that?
"Piano Magic has done its own promotion for many years now, so they'll be no noticeable change...in the lack of media attention for what we do. We decided a long time ago that it was invariably a waste of time sending out copies of our records to journalists who weren't going to review them and DJs who weren't going to play them. If those people really want to review or play our records, they can come to us. We're not on some huge major label that can afford to send out hundreds of promos and employ a press officer or plugger to constantly harass the media. We're a small band, on a micro-budget. Some would say that this is counter-productive, that if you don't put in the promotion work, how are people going to know what you're doing? But we've existed this far on our own terms and we tend to measure our success (or failure) by our own terms."
(Question from a Piano Magic fan) In 2010 it will be ten years since the "Artists
Rifles" release. So, any chance of a tour playing the whole
album live?
"I've considered this but in the end, I think we have better material to present than 'Artists' Rifles.' I'd like to think that our new work is a much more thrilling proposition for an audience.
Additionally, though I have a lot of affection for 'Artists Rifles,' it's a bitter memory - many of the people who worked on it aren't around (me) anymore. So perhaps it's best left where it is - in the past."
Glen, in a few of your songs you mention the trails and
tribulations of living in London. Why does the city
influence you so much and what are the plus and minus points
of living here?
"I see London as a huge, uncontrollable machine that constantly churns out shit and wonder. My attraction to it is invariably to what it once was - it has an almighty history but the evidence of that is constantly being erased by town planners and ludicrous architecture.
There are too many people here by far and battling through all these people often seems like a test of your willpower. Public transport, for example, is a slow torture at the best of times.
I tend to stay in much more these days because when I step out the door, my back is instantly up. Still, I manage some semblance of happiness here, particularly taking photographs of the disappearing remnants of history or just sitting in a park doing nothing."
(Question from a Piano Magic fan)
An ex-girlfriend once told me that I liked PM because you
made music for sublibrarians :), for solitary, melancholic
middle-aged guys who are into books and old-fims. What books
or characters have inspired you?
"I'd say that's a decent assumption about our audience.
Even so, I don't know how to measure who and to what extent books, films, art, etc has influenced me. I actually don't read very much but when I do, it's invariably about impoverished characters who are struggling to get by. I enjoy Orwell, Knut Hamsun, Brautigan, Kerouac, Henry Miller, Bukowski. But I try to watch as many films as possible and perhaps, subconsciously, they make their way into the lyrics as much as the books, etc. I can't honestly say."
(Question from a Piano Magic fan) Who do you consider the best songwriters nowadays?
"Bill Callahan (though I'm not much for his "country" stuff), Nick Cave, Bjork, Simon Rivers, Darren Hayman, Radiohead. I'm more attracted to lyricists than "songwriters" per se, which, in 2008, doesn't leave me the greatest choice. Or perhaps I'm not looking hard enough? I don't actually buy records anymore - at least, nothing contemporary. Very few bands these days "thrill" me but I'm happy to be at the mercy of other people's recommendations."
Which three Piano Magic albums are you most proud of and
why?
"'Never It Will Be The Same Again.' Because it was done "on the hoof" and gave me a glimpse of what we possibly *should* be doing, as opposed to what we make do with.
'Part-Monster.' Because we almost grew up on that.
'Low Birth Weight.' Because it's so nostalgic for me and again, potentially still points in a tantalising direction."
What artists have inspired you the most?
"Kraftwerk, Joy Division, The Smiths, New Order, The Durutti Column, Disco Inferno....plenty more."
From where did you derive the name PIANO MAGIC?
"From a 1950's 10" record - piano medleys of Frank Sinatra songs. I should point out that I'm not a Sinatra fan in the slightest but I liked the idea of, oh, climbing into a piano and disappearing. Sawing a piano in half yet still, it keeps playing."
(Question from a Piano Magic fan) How do you approach live gigs, having such a range of albums, musical styles, musicians coming and going etc?
We're a bit boring in the respect that there's only ever the same 5 or 6 (if you include Angele) people onstage and we tend only to play songs from 2001 to the present day. We recently stopped playing 'No Closure' and 'Password,' so I think the oldest song we do is 'Music Won't Save You...'
As for musical styles, we tend to wring as much as we can out of drums, bass, guitars and voice. Cedric has recently left the band so we're without keyboards now, which might present a challenge at the next few shows."
(Question from a Piano Magic fan) What is your favourite Piano Magic song... to play.. if there is one....
"Personally, 'Music Won't Save You' or 'Great Escapes.' There's very little I've done in my life that can match my joy at playing those songs on a good night, through a loud PA with good monitors, to an appreciative audience. "
(Question from a Piano Magic fan) Are there many songs that never make albums or do you manage to be able to bring most of them to a happy fruition?
Many are aborted, though usually at rehearsal stage. If we begin recording something however, it invariably ends up on a record. Hence, there are very few "long lost" recorded PM tracks. 3 or 4 didn't make it onto 'Writers Without Homes' but I can't think of any others. "
(Question from a Piano Magic fan) What instruments do you want to play or feature on your albums that you may not have managed to include yet?
I'd have everything, with the exception of sax, on our records. Again, I think we're rather constrained by our current, conventional 'rock 'n' roll' line-up but hopefully, that will change in the not-too-distant future. Unfortunately, we're rather restricted by flight operators too. They're ok with you taking a guitar on-board but a cello?"
What music are you listening to these days and what do you
especially like about it?
"I've been listening to a lot of Velvet Underground lately because I've been writing an article about Warhol and music for a magazine. What do I like about the VU? Practically everything. Pioneering, adventurous, melodic, beautiful, ugly, visceral, dynamic, absurd...
We put a monthly playlist on our Myspace blog for all the other stuff we listen to : www.myspace.com/lowbirthweight"
Anything else you would like to add?
"I'd just like to point out how happy we are to be releasing records under the Make Mine Music umbrella. MMM is a truly independent record label, in that the artists have 100% control over their work, financing it themselves and thus, reaping 100% of any profit so that they can continue to make records. I think it's an incredibly admirable model - one that will be copied more and more over the next few years, as conventional independent labels, the ones who mould themselves as mini-majors, will wilt and die through trying to keep up with the big boys. It'll be interesting to look at the music industry landscape in 5 years time, I think and see who's still around."
"Thanks and all the best,
Glen Johnson
Piano Magic"
Piano Magic Myspace page
Thanks and good luck.Nicky
Special thanks go out to Mag and Gavril Prinzip for submitting some of the fan questions.
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