The Black Seeds - photo by Amelia Handscombe
This week The Black Seeds begin a nationwide tour promoting their new album The Black Seeds Live Vol 1. They will be supported on tour by friends and fellow eight-piece, reggae act John Browns Body from the U.S. I caught up with Black Seeds guitarist Mike Fabulous and asked him about their connection with J.B.B and the upcoming tour. By all accounts, this is one Black Seeds tour not to be missed!
You guys have toured with U.S reggae band John Browns Body in the U.S and are now embarking on a NZ nationwide tour with them. How did you guys meet?
Our connection with these guys and our subsequent signing with NY based label Easy Star Records is mainly due to their lead singer Elliot’s interest in the band. Basically, he is a big fan and turned his band mates and the label onto us, so our adventures in the States are really all thanks to him! Super nice guy, great singer.
Like yourselves, John Browns Body are also an 8 piece act. With so many people and personalities on tour it must be an interesting time…do you all get on and party together or are there a few different camps within the groups?
We basically got on like a house on fire right from the word go. They are very similar to us in terms of how their organisation works and what they’re into so it was really very easy to get along. I think they are the main reason why the States left such a favorable impression on me. It was never a place I was particularly keen on touring, but after such a great experience it’s one of the places I’ll most look forward to going back to. They are incredible musicians, and it was such a treat getting to see them play every night. I actually loved the support slots – early gigs rule!
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of being part of a large band… do you ever think “if we could cut 4 people I could double my income”?
Yes. I think everybody thinks that at some point! But a large band is what the sound is all about, it just wouldn’t feel right with out that amount of people on stage; I think I’d feel like an arm was missing. At least within a large group you can kind of spread yourself around in terms of who you hang out with or room with. The annoying thing about a large group is just how cumbersome it is trying to do anything, it’s such a drag. You just have to learn to be extremely patient and to keep your mouth shut – too many cooks spoil the broth. It’s much better to just let one person either get it right or fuck it up and to live with the results than have every decision be convoluted by eight different opinions.
You guys have played far and wide throughout the world. What have been some of the highlight gigs or travel experiences of your career so far?
On our recent tour a couple of highlights would have to be a show we did in Hamburg where even after a three song encore and the lights and music had come up, the unrelenting audience kept cheering for a full five minutes until we were forced to come back on. That’s persistence! Selling out the Shepherds Arms in London was a highlight for sure, 2000 people crammed in to that big old theatre and going nuts. Woo hoo!
Part of the appeal of the reggae/ roots/ dub/ funk thing is its predominantly positive and optimistic vibe. Now that you guys are sharing the song writing duties more, does anyone ever bring some really depressing shit to the table that just won’t work? How do the lyrics affect the music?
Hasn’t happened yet, but I don’t think that would be a bad thing! I’m keen for anything that’s new and different, so long as it happens naturally and not for it’s own sake. The lyrics affect the music heaps because it’s usually the part that people connect with the most, in conjunction with the overall feel that the music creates.
The upcoming tour is promoting the new album The Black Seeds Live Vol 1. How do you go about recording a live album? Do you focus on particular gigs or record all the shows and compile from there?
For the last few years lots of the shows have been recorded, so yeah it’s just a case of selecting the best recordings. It can be tricky because the sound quality varies a lot in terms of balance from a two track live recording, but because we recorded so many shows we were able to pull together a great album spanning the last 6 or so years. I love the earlier recordings, they sound so fruity!
What could a Black Seeds concert virgin expect to experience at one of the upcoming shows?
It’s a good time to come and see us, straight off the back of six weeks of touring. There’s a sound that a band can only get after two or three weeks of constant gigging, there’s no other way to get it and it goes pretty quickly. I think our best strength is as a live band, so expect to see an eight piece band in top form, playing a good selection of tunes off the last three albums, improvising, a few gags, lots of dancing. Cheers!
Etch would like to thank Mike Fabulous for his time and wish him and the rest of The Black Seeds all the best for the upcoming tour. Cheers guys.
Written November 2009
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