Grog and Drew Richards – Die So Fluid – Interview Exclusive
Written by Johnny H
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 05:00
It’s been a full eight months since I first discovered the post punk musings of the finest trio British rock has to offer you right now. Yeah I know you’re probably thinking you know who I’m talking about, but unless you’ve got the names Grog, Drew Richards and Al Fletcher flying around in your heads right now then sadly you’re way off the uber rock mark. You see I’m talking about the masters of female fronted dark rock, the ever enigmatic and charmingly sublime Die So Fluid.
I first heard of Die So Fluid when Tazz Stander had returned from a self imposed exile having spent two days locked in a hot and sweaty room (well it was mid June and it was summer) with the band’s then new album ‘The World is Too Big For One Lifetime’ boldly giving it a big fucking ÜBER thumbs up. I personally was immediately intrigued, as not a lot gets Tazz that excited.
A little bit of detective work was needed, and suddenly I’m uncovering the facts that this album was not only the band’s third, but it was also their first for the UK based Demolition label imprint DR2. Was I missing out on something big here? I needed to know more, and the only way to find out was to immerse myself in the band the same way as Tazz had.
So a copy of ‘The World is Too Big For One Lifetime’ was procured, but I rather foolishly found myself skipping through it, never really getting it. What did Tazz hear that I couldn’t??? Then slowly but surely in the months leading up to the band’s appearance at last December’s annual Hard Rock Hell Festival in Prestatyn I started to find myself falling in love with what I would now simply refer to as THE eleven track master class in modern rock. From the wall of sound opening track ‘Figurine’ to the hypnotic rhythms of the album’s closer ‘Sound In Colour’ this album really is about as complete a sounding album as you’ll ever want to own or in fact make as a musician, and it is one that in hindsight very much should have made my Albums of the Year list…But hindsight is such a wonderful thing isn’t it?
Lucky for me then that I was sensible enough to take up the band’s offer of an interview following an incendiary live performance at said festival, where I finally got to discover what the band meant when describing their music as “Siouxsie meets Slayer”. Trapped in a makeshift pressroom full of Heavy Metal types all throwing the horns like it was going out of fashion I set about finding out from bassist/vocalist Grog and guitarist Drew exactly what it is that makes Die So Fluid tick, and why they really are a band apart in the UK rock scene right now.
Guys thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. So how was the Hard Rock Hell experience for you?
Drew; It was very good, yeah very good, I was actually a bit nervous, it was so early in the day for a lot of these guys in the audience, and they want to hear rock right, but it was a really good set and we were pleasantly surprised with how many people we got in that room.
I have to admit I thought you were excellent today.
Grog; Why thank you, I thought it was amazing. I was also really please at the response, everyone was shouting out and interacting with us and really enjoying themselves and it was just a great experience all round.
So how have the dates leading up to this been going?
Drew; When its your own dates its always a lot easier as the crowd are there just to see you, you know. And these dates have been going really well. Sort of a nice introduction to today really.
And what’s your initial impression of this holiday camp environment idea for rock shows?
Grog; It’s amazing; It’s blown my mind a bit. I’ve heard about these things being held in Pontins and Butlins, but I had never been to one so yeah it’s amazing.
OK enough of the Hard Rock Hell stuff; 2010 saw you release the awesome ‘The World is Too Big For One Lifetime’ album. That’s a pretty bold album title/statement if you doing mind me saying, but what does it mean to you guys?
Grog; Yeah what the hell do we mean (laughs), well it basically means we were reflecting on paths we could have taken in our lives and the different choices that we could have made and its sort of how we all came together to be Die So Fluid, so its all about reincarnation and learning from past lives.
I mentioned that we thought the album was amazing, but one of its appealing factors for me is it sort of stands out on its own. As in no one else is doing what you do. What was your mission when you set out to record it?
Drew; With this album it was to establish the sound of Die So Fluid to turn it up you know, to get to the point where people cannot categorise us a metal or whatever but to simply say “Oh that’s Die So Fluid”….And that’s what we did.
So are you guys pleased with how it’s turned out?
Drew; Yeah I’m really pleased with it, because we wanted to be in a situation and having always been independent to play the music we wanted to do, and as you say stand out as us, and not simply be part of a scene you know. And with this one we were mindful of the fact that we all wanted to make an album we all wanted to make.
The album’s certainly got and epic sound to it, which you also somehow mange to recreate on stage. How the hell do three of you make such a racket?
Grog; Well that’s the magic part (laughs), its just the fact that we’ve really honed our sound and as you say people think it sounds epic, but live hopefully with a bit more spontaneous energy you know. Really it’s just the sound of three of us jamming
I saw Killing Joke live a few weeks ago and live they really do wear that wall of sound badge well, how would you feel about that comparison to your music?
Drew; I think that is a lovely comparison, prior to Killing Joke I always thought rock music was not really about writing and bringing lots of ideas together to make an overall sound without you being called Progressive, so Killing Joke were a major influence on me, and we do try and do that within the Die So Fluid sound.
And there are certainly loads of different bits in your sound. The Uber Rock guys watching you today were picking up on loads of different stuff like the Police influence for example.
Grog; That’s cool, yeah we’re cool with that, especially Al our drummer, he’s well into Stewart Copeland’s drumming style. And you are correct there is a lot going on in the set and never too much of one thing.
So if someone is reading this interview and discovering Die So Fluid for the first time right now, how would you describe what you do?
Drew; Well it’s a kind of a post punk/metal mix I guess with everything in-between, but we do kind of like to be left of field I guess so you mentioning a band like Killing Joke is sort of like where we see ourselves, being a little heavier, and darker than the rest. And someone did say this a while ago but I think it does sum us up in so much as we are like Siouxsie meets Slayer you know.
Do you think your diverse musical backgrounds have helped develop the Dies So Fluid sound?
Drew; I think that we’ve got diverse musical backgrounds is because we are all interested in a lot of different things, and that means we have so much more to explore, and we don’t then get bogged down in one genre of music be it black death metal or whatever. To us its pointless to be doing this and do just one thing so it pays for us to have these diverse influences.
Going out on a bit of a limb here, who would you currently like to as a waxwork image to stick pins in?
Grog; (laughing loudly) Ahhh that’s a ‘Figurine’ question. Very nice I like that. Oh god that is a tough one though, let me think. Thing is though that I don’t think in a hateful way so I don’t think I’m going to be able to answer that sorry.
Drew; I can’t think of anyone I’ve wanted to stick pins into this week, maybe in the past but not now, I tend to take two steps back these days thanks to my lifestyle coach (laughing).
So how did you guys end up on postage stamps in Finland?
Drew; Ah well you could have a postage stamp yourself in Finland. As long as there is a market for you as a product they will put you on their stamps.
Grog; And we’ve always had a great following in Finland, so they approved us. And it looks amazing; I’ve got this little presentation of us immortalised in stamp format. (laughs)
So what other territories are you guys making in roads in to?
Grog; We’ve been doing a lot of work in Germany recently, and they seem to love the new record over there, so we’re really excited about going back over there in February. We can’t wait to do that. And umm where else? Finland of course and oh yeah we’re back in the UK in March and that finishes with a London Date at Dingwalls on March 6th. Hopefully also in 2011 we’ll be doing an American mini tour and start to take this album everywhere you know.
It must be really rewarding to get up on stage every night and feel that what you believe in other people get it as well…all around the world.
Grog; Yeah it’s the single best feeling in the world ever. It’s very very hard to be in a band these days and our independent ethos as well as the fans love is what keeps us sane I guess…So we just keep on doing it for the kids (laughs).
And how’s it been working out with Demolition, they still have that independent feel about them as a relatively small company but one with a big presence at least here in the UK.
Drew; Yeah its been good.
Grog; Yeah we’re learning about each other, everyday. And they are here today actually and they loved the set as well. So after this interview we’re going to go and hang out with them for a little while.
Before we wrap things up here guys I just wondered if you would like to give Uber Rock’s readers a Die So Fluid exclusive or a bit of trivia no one else knows about you guys.
Drew; Bloody Hell… I’d really like to do that but I can’t think of anything, I really can’t.
Grog: I can tell you something interesting, not necessarily an exclusive but it is interesting, I did some music work with film producer Tom Dicillo and he’s thinking of making a film about the early days of Punk, and he said to me that I’d make the perfect Siouxsie Sioux so you never know, you might just see me on the nig screen one day. That’s not official or anything but I guess you could publish that as an interesting thing about us.
So one last question then, and I guess the only way to finish here. If not everyone gets a happy ending, what is Die So Fluid’s idea of the perfect happy ending?
Drew; Umm, these questions really are umm.
Grog; Wait a minute that’s a blowjob isn’t it? (laughing loudly)
Drew; Umm it’s all relative though, you do need something shit to compare things to to know what your happy ending is. It’s all about balance in your life.
Thank you guys for taking the time to talk with me I think we got some really cool stuff there.
Grog; Thank you Uber Rock (laughing).
Drew: Yeah thanks for your time.
If you want to find out exactly what it is about Die So Fluid that is so hugely compelling then why not start with the videos complementing this very interview. Both ‘Mercury’ and ‘What a Heart Is For’ are taken from ‘The World is Too Big For One Lifetime’ an album that is readily available from your usual online music outlets. If you like what you hear and really do what to experience Die So Fluid in full flight, you should however catch the band on one or more dates on their upcoming UK Tour as live the band really are something quite special.
The dates are as follows.
Feb 24 2011 Hyem, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Feb 25 2011 Gasworks, Bradford
Feb 26 2011 Stereo, Glasgow
Mar 1 2011 Club Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Mar 2 2011 Stereo, York
Mar 3 2011 Railway, Bolton (Gt Manchester)
Mar 4 2011 Stones, Folkstone, UK
Mar 5 2011 Talking Heads, Southampton
Mar 6 2011 Dingwalls, London