L: Would you please introduce yourself and the music.
Will Sergeant: The Music? What Music?! - I don't know what it is- - It's just a collection of notes put together in a random fashion. It creates atmospheres …
L.: And who are you?
W.: Oh, I am Will S. from Echo and the B. and we play music of various types.
L.: How would you call it? Pop Music? Rock Music? What is it?
W.: We've ventured into pop music, but it's basically rock music
L.: You've been in the business for quite a long time and you've changed a lot the past few years, you and your music. - Could you explain that to our listeners, especially to our younger listeners?
W.: I don't know whether we have changed, you know, musically not that much. We've still got the same references that we've always got. We haven't exactly gone techno or anything; we're not really interested in that side of things and leave it to other people who can do it better. We just do what we do. Our influences are basically 60s and 70s kind of Bowie, Stones, Beatles, Roxy Music and that sort of thing and plus punk rock, of course, you know. So I don't think, we've really changed in our approach particularly. I think we've gone less refined lately, on the last LP anyway. We're not trying to produce so much popy songs anymore.
L.: And the members of the Band, who also produced the last album, for how long have been playing together in this constellation?
W.: A couple of years now. Carry the keybord-player has been there for about 2 years or so. And Vinny the bass-player seems to change every few months. So we've got a new bass-player, it's the first tour he's with us.
W.: Have you still got some icons or heroes, people you admire?
W.: They don't change. It's kind of … They still ..
L.: You're icons yourselves, aren't you!
W.: Eine kleine Ikon! But, well, you know, it's still the same, bands like Bowie, the Doors, that sort of thing. There's a lot not things that I like. I have got a quite divers record collection. So I have a lot of input, a lot of ideas coming that way. Even if you don't realize you're doing it, you are a kind of "oh, that's sounds a bit like bla, bla…"
L.:Do you still like listening to new music?
W.: A bit. I like that album from Viat Elbow and like Sigor Ros from Iceland, they are very good. I like Bords of Canada and technology based stuff. But generally I just buy things from the 60s and 70s, you know, and weired things from the 30s and 20s and some old blues things, stuff like that…
L.: Great! Some people put you in line with songwriters like Jagger/Richards and Lennon/McCartney or even Lou Reed and John Cale. Would you agree to that?
W.: If we're put in the same kinds of sort of categories, it would be a compliment. I never thought about it, but I like the idea of it.
L.: What about this museum, I think it's calles the Museum of Living Arts with this jukebox in it? It contains a song of yours.
W.: I don't know…
L.: Oh, you don't know!!! Your label put it on this information sheet about you!
Don't you think it's strange to put music into a museum?
W.: They do it, you know, so that they can sell crappy T-shirts in the foyer. Some of them try to hike up the pop music scene more important than it is!
L.: Don't you think it's important?
W.: I do, because I'm involved heavily into it, but every avarage person, they give a shit about it. They don't know who Sigor Ros is but Britiny Spears, you know Bowie or whatever…
L.: David Bowie,I think, is important to many people…
W.: If you ask people about D.B., they probably say "Let's dance" or so,
W.: So, why did you still do this music and why is it so import to you? I mean, it's quite hard … there must be something at least for you personally
W.: It's that it's just what I do. That's all I do at home. Music is all I do. I'm doing Bunnymen stuff, I'm doing canarambian, trippy kind of Eno stuff, I just do it for my entertainment. I put out records on a small label and things. You know, that's what makes me happy, it's like fishing something. - Music is what I do.
L.: But you earn your living with it, don't you?!
W.: Yeah, it's like when in fishing competitions.
L.: Na, ja…
W.: Some fish are big, some are smaller.
L.: So, your new album and the tour now is a big fish?
W.: It's more like a big fish in a small tank, maybe… because we're on a small label.
L.: This is your first album on Cooking Vinyl, isn't it?
W.: Yeah. We've got a live-album coming out in Feburary. We did a gig in Liverpool on the 17th and 18th of September and that was recorded at the Liverpool Institiude of Performing Arts. That's a Paul McCartney sort of school-thing that he sets up.
L.: Are you in contact with him personally?
W.: Paul Mcartney? - We know his brother quite well. He is quite a mate, Mike. Especially Mark knows Mike quite well. He's been to various parties where McCartney's been there, too. I haven't.
L.: You're still living Liverpool?
W.: In the outskirts . But McCartney, I think, don't live in Liverpool, so we don't see him round in the pub. But Mike McCartney does, he lives at the other side of the road.
L.: You did this Beatles coverversion on your current single.
W.: Well, it wasn't intended for the single, really. We did that, because a magazine in England was doing like a Beatles Special, and they ask lots of bands to do it. You know with records you always have the b-sides, so we stick it on the b-side.
W.: Why did you do this song, "Ticket to ride"? Has it a special story?
W.: It's just one that we fancied it. There're so many songs. I think, somebody already does "Tomorrow never knows" that was what we wanted to do … "Ticket to ride" is as good as any…
L.: Have you done other coverversions?
W.: We've done a couple of them. We've done Doors ones, we did "Paint it black". We did a tour in Scandinavia earlier on, where we did the support, where just did cover versions … We did lots of coverversions, we did Talking Heads, Doors, we even tried Leonard Cohen songs, but it never really turned out very well.
L.: Do you know his new album?
W.: No, do you?
L.: Yeah, but I don't really like it. I admire the very early Leonard Cohen, I don't like that late 70's, 80's stuff. But I think the lyrics are quite good. - But I don't like the music on this new one. It's very low-fy and it sounds very much like quite cheap 80's style!
W.: Like you I like the early Leonard Cohen things, "Bird on a Wire", etc. But I don't really explore his stuff nowadays.
L.: What about your lyrics? Are you both writing them?
W.: Ian does! Earlier on I did one song on our first album, that was it. … He's better on it, that's what he does.
L.: Do you think the lyrics changed. Don't you think they moved a bit from this …
W.: Yeah, probably. But you can't be angry all your life. You know, it's a bit tired. There are all this personal things to Ian of what's going on in his life,

L.: And the music? Is that more of your business?
W.: Music is more my thing, yes.
L.: Do you prefer recording/playing in the studio or do you prefer the live acts, the direct contact to the listeners?
W.: I really like the studio more than playing live. But I like both, it changes. When I go home first thing I'll do is after I played is going to the studio and doing something else.
L.: And have you got the change to play them in public?
W.: As a DJ? Yeah, I do a bit of Djing, I do a kind of lounge. Mainly - well we have these ocre-records nights, I'll do it at that. Just when they asking really.
L.: The locations you played have changed as well. They became very big and then they went smaller again. What do you prefer?
W.: It's different things in different cases. In America we stayed on a level. In England it's been more up and down. In Brazil we're still like doing the big places. It's weird because we've only have been there twice. So it's different place different things, you know.
L.: But what do you prefer?
W.. I just prefer when they like you! I don't care if there's 20 or 20.000 - it's if they're into it that's it! We played last night in Paris with 500, 600- as long as the crowd is with you it's worth it!

L.: Do you like to produce videos?
W.: No, it's possibly the worst thing to do being in a crew! … No, videos are shit, crap and really boring and really good!

Copyright©1998-99 SERGI. Please contact me in case you want to use any material from the site.