When I was asked to interview Therapy? I lost the plot. Three days later when I regained consciousness – my constitution still not quite with it – I mustered the courage to set the questions. With an album due for release and a subsequent tour, Therapy? took two minutes to give Original Rock some twisted love, amongst other things, (you’ll note that I have “Lonely Cryin’ Only” on repeat).
Which of the songs from “Cleave” took the longest time to write and which were easiest to compose?
Success? Success is Survival took the longest. Although its now a straightforward modern rock song with a melancholy breakdown it originally had more of a stoner rock groove and swing. We tried different rhythms and also moved the chorus guitar from power chords to chiming melody lines.
The two songs that were easiest to compose were Callow and Crutch. Both were written at my kitchen table on an acoustic guitar and both took about 15 minutes each.
What comes first, is it the music, the lyrics, the subject matter, or the titles?
The music, the lyrics, the titles in that order.
Did you surprise yourselves when writing this album?
We surprised ourselves at how quickly it took us to find a direction and a focus for the style we wanted on this record. Most of the songs sounded compatible with one another. Sometimes, when writing, we end up with a bunch of songs that are way too diverse in tone to sit with each other on the same album.
How do you feel about downloading music? I used to get really excited about release day and then go to the shop to pick up the record, I feel that experience has been diminished now.
With all the modern film making techniques we have now, which of your videos would you remake, if any?
I’d remake the video for If It Kills Me as I think we could do a better job now. Leave the band out of it, get a great narrative and a bunch of young wounded looking actors.
Yes, that experience has diminished now but the world has changed so we have to look for other ways to get excited about the music. I decide before I download an album where I’d like to be when I first here it and I plan my day around it. That way, I have a day trip AND great music to look forward to.
Your music inspires a change for the better. How do you think you have changed over the years being in the music industry?
The years have only made us better musicians, tougher people and given us a great deal of empathy for other musicians and also the other people involved in this grand circus. The fans are the most important followed by our management, booking agent, crew and technicians without whom there would be no show. We’ve also got very good at sensing when someone is a bullshit artist. 30 years experience will do that to you. At the end of the day though the bottom line is if you don’t enjoy being a musician but want to be famous then you’re in it for the wrong reasons and your “journey” will likely end in psychological despair.
Share some of your tour stories, good and bad experiences.
We’ve slept on floors next to bikers bikes having butter smeared on bread by peoples bare hands. We have been on tour buses that have got stuck under bridges , sang with Ozzy Osbourne who had to remove all his jewellery in the studio because it rattled to much. Ive given footwear tips to Kirk Hammett in London, got drunk with Billie Joe Armstrong in Minneapolis, Got chased by the police in Santiago, Chile for mooning at the audience, had my brand new shoes stolen while stage diving into the audience in Rock City, Nottingham, played to audiences of over 80,000 at festivals, played to audiences of 15 in countries where no one has heard of us, danced onstage with The Prodigy in Belgium, played guitar with the Manic Street Preachers, been kicked out of my own gig by security who wouldn’t believe I was Andy Cairns. I could go on….and on.
If you had a genie, what three wishes would you ask for?
1. a final peace and definite reconciliation in Northern Ireland 2.Trump to get kicked out of the presidency, 3.the uk to be a safer place for my family.
There is a philosophy about songwriting that “it will be done when it’s ready and not ready when it’s done” (or words to that effect). How does this apply to you?
Ive learned over the years not to panic when I’m struggling with riffs or lyrics. They’ll be better when they come naturally.
Who would you like to tour with, and which groups would make up your ideal tour to
go and see?
I’d like to tour with Manic Street Preachers in UK and would love to go and see a line up of my favourite Irish punk bands, Stiff Little Fingers, Undertones, Rudi , Outcasts, Protex, Ruefrex, Starjets.
If your band didn’t exist, which of the bands that are around now would you want to
be in?
Idles, Manic street Preachers or Killing Joke