Interview - Handsome Al(The Bucky Rage)

 

Originating in Glasgow, Scotland was a band whose handsome founder was so incapable of playing the guitar that the rest of the members would have to swap instruments to make them sound like a unit.
Against all odds, this was a very successful decision, as the Bucky Rage, as they would call themselves, would now come to sound like a genuine garage-band. Even if they were not exactly mainstream, they would come to receive favorable reviews of all their albums in the NME and the larger Scottish papers, and would get to tour all over the British Isles.

They have both a psychedelic and noisy punk-edge to their sound, in addition to the classic garage sound. If anything, they sound like a cross between Nick Cave's Birthday Party, a teenage 60's garage band, and some Scottish guys playing just for fun. Check out for example "Such A Loser" or "Wild Man", and see what I mean!
Nothing is too serious about the Bucky Rage. They're all about fun... Especially for the listener, but seemingly just as much for the band themselves.
Here is their story in the words of the founder of The Bucky Rage, Handsome Al!

Lineup:

Philthy Collins - Drums, Lead Vocals
Handsome Al - Guitars, Vocals, Sampler, Monotron
Pete Kaoss - Keyboards, Kaossilator, Toast, Vocals
Kyle Thunder - Bass, Vocals

Discography:

Vote For Jesus(2006) – EP – Northern Cowboy Records
We're All Damned(2007) – EP – Northern Cowboy Records
Ditchdigger(2008) - EP
Cut Em Down(2012), Eruption Records - 12" EP
Outta Sight!(2012), Handsome Records - Split single ((with The Kosher Pickles, The Blunders and Dynamite Pussy Club))
Panther Adams(2013), Northern Cowboy Records - Cd Album 


Bandcamp page(for ordering their albums)http://the-bucky-rage.bandcamp.com/ 

Definition of Bucky Rage according to Urban Dictionary:
A state of drunken aggression as a result of consuming vast amounts of Buckfast Tonic Wine:
- "Here, what the fuck did ye skelp that lawdy fur?"

- "Ah dae kin mate, ah had the bucky rage, eh."

Anders: What music would you listen to before forming The Bucky Rage?

Handsome Al: I have always been into music, from about the age of 7 when I got my first ghetto blaster. Taste wise, it improved over my teenage years…. loads of different stuff, golden oldies, punk, techno, hip hop, rock, drum n bass, a real mishmash of stuff. Once I moved to Glasgow to university, my collection and tastes expanded rapidly. There is a shop in Glasgow, Fopp, which used to be the best place for picking up all the music that any good collection needs. You could come home with a Voidoids cd, a Beefheart record, some Orbital and a Louven Brothers disc, without having to look particularly hard. I was staying a couple of streets away, and had to pass this shop everyday, and more often than not would come home with something great. For a few years before starting the band, I had also been organising a lot of gigs and events with a mate of mine, after a while the temptation to get on stage rather than be behind it took over.

A: Can you tell me about how the band came together?

HA: The band came together initially cos I had started playing guitar, a few weeks later I realised it would be much more fun to play with other people. The very first line-up lasted about 1 hour in a practice room, before all falling out drunkenly while deafening ourselves. Far too much Buckfast, Jagermeister and loud amplifiers, and zero talent. A few weeks later I recruited the rest of the original line-up, it was a family affair really, my brother in law, his brother in law (not me!) and a good friend of ours too. The first practice we had, we quickly came up with a few tunes, namely Headlock, the first song we wrote and one that we have played probably at every gig since. To even things out with my inability to play, the rest of the band took on instruments that they didn’t play either. Our singer/drummer was a guitarist, our 2nd guitarist was a keyboard player, and the bassist was a guitarist. Straight away we knew we had something different, and it made writing stuff loads of fun, we all had to really try and come up with stuff that we could all play together with very limited abilities on our instruments. Because I had been organising gigs, we knew the bands locally that we wanted to play with. We spent a bit of time writing some more tunes, and started gigging loads and working on our set and getting loads of experience under our belts.

A: Let's talk about your sound. You seem to borrow some from the golden age of rock, in the middle of the 60's. Any especial influences you want to point out?

HA: The biggest influences on the Rage were more our inability to play our instruments rather than aiming to sound how we do, a shambolic garage band. That initially lead to the way we sound, and still has a massive impact on what we can and do play. From there we started hearing and finding out about a load of other bands that were in line with what we were doing, locally, internationally, current bands and all the old shit that you don’t usually see in music stores. Although we had all heard a good amount of punk and garage, I certainly started getting more and more into it the more we played, learned and met other folk. It all gets a bit competitive with garage fans/bands, and can become quite boring, trying to out obscure each other competitively on the next song that someone else hasn’t heard. I know bands who would never think of playing a well known cover version, only the b-side, like a badge of their own knowledge. That’s never been our style, we would rather listen to stuff without trying to out-nerd each other. We have covered things like "Ghost Rider", "My girl" and even "Lonely This Christmas". There are loads of wee references to our musical heroes in what we do, but there are also loads of non garage/punk/surf influences that range from Kool Keith to 80s pop. The influences that I would say are most obvious are things like Black Lips, Mummies, ? Mark & The Mysterians, the usual Nuggets bands, Suicide, NY Dolls, Ramones, Sonics, Velvets et al. Straight forward fun stuff.

Nuggets was a compilation album(put together by Lenny Kaye, mainly known as the guitarist/bass player for the Patti Smith Group) of a certain style of raw and occasional aggressive(and/or psychedelic) songs from US bands.

Later Rhino records would release a series of albums with the same name, including bands and songs with the same style as the first compilation. Bands like these are mainly refereed to as garage-punk or 60's punk.

Both Nuggets was along with Greg Shaw's fanzine “Who Put The Bomp” some of the main reasons that 60's punk got it's following it got today.

A: So where did you play in the beginning? At hotels/schools/bars(if you where not under-age at that time?)?

HA: Because I had been organising a fair few gigs prior to starting the band, we were able to get into some good venues and pick up some good support slots pretty quickly. We also played all sorts of weird and wonderful places, and still do... Played in an organic farm last year, which was ace, have played pretty much every venue in Glasgow, and loads of other places over Scotland and England. Most of our gigs are played at places where alcohol can be consumed, and that suits us fine!

A: Vote For Jesus were your first album (also including the before mentioned "Headlock"). Was there any kind of statement behind the album title/title-cut?

HA: The Vote for Jesus EP was our first recording session as a band, I don’t think there was any real statement or thought behind the songs or indeed the EP, other than it was the best six songs we had at the time, and of them 'Vote For Jesus' was the favourite track name, and the one we thought would get most attention from punters. It worked, the NME reviewed it, as did Scotland’s biggest newspaper. Looking back it was remarkably organic, and its only in the last year or so I have written with a thought to the final song, and how it fits with other songs. Before then, we have just released EP's as and when we had enough tracks ready, and the time to get them recorded.

A: Where was "Vote For Jesus" recorded? Can you share with us how your experience of the recording process was?

HA: That was my first experience of recording, and because we did it ourselves, I got very involved with the process, and we have went onto record pretty much everything ourselves thereafter. I have also recorded a bunch of other bands, it is something that I really enjoy, and with all the practice, it has helped greatly in capturing the music the way we want it to sound. Looking back on the stuff we have released, I can hear definite advances in our recorded output, both in terms of actual playing/songs, but also studio technique. We never really had the finances or the desire to do it any other way either, but it’s never held us back either. Just have to get on with it.

A: 4 EP's and one split record followed "Vote For Jesus". Did those records get the same attention the first did?

HA: I think with each release we have got a bit more attention, though the type of attention has changed, from initially a kind of ‘what the fuck are these guys doing’, to people starting to get it, and to later on, folk actually sort of getting a lot of the less obvious bits n bobs and appreciating the production and stuff like that. The split single was different again, in that it was almost done to celebrate the joining of two geographical scenes. Our favourite band up in Glasgow, The Kosher Pickles were on the Glasgow side with us, and our chums the Dynamite Pussy Club and The Blunders filled out the Bath/Trowbridge(English) side. We didn’t really bother too much with trying to get any press with this, as it was a very limited run, and really just wanted to sell off the records to folk at gigs. In saying that, we did again get some radio play of it, the guy liked all the songs apart from ours, he seemed baffled!
We have always been quite lucky in that we have managed to get press reviews of all of our releases, in newspapers and magazines, and now that the internet is full of blogs and online stuff. We seemed to get loads of very good reviews for the Cut Em Down EP we released last year, it seemed that every few days another review was popping up, and was really loving the record. With all these things though, you only really get out what you put in, both in the studio and outside it. We were very proactive in sending EPs to people to review, and following it up, building a working relationship with them, which we have kept doing and it keeps working. With so many bands about, you do need to make the effort and not sit back and expect good things to happen themselves.

Outtasight!

A: Cut Em Down was a very good album, so can't say I'm surprised of the good reviews. I'm especially found of your cover of "Wild Man", "Such A Loser" and "Billy Ocean". Was the two latter songs self penned?

HA: I was really happy with Cut Em Down EP, the previous 3 EPs featured our old guitarist, when we used to have 2 guitars on the go. So Cut Em Down was the first set of songs where I had written the music myself whereas before that we had shared music writing duties, our singer/drummer Philthy Collins has always been the words man. I was VERY happy with how it turned out. The cover of Wild Man was a very big nod to the sort of things we were listening to at the time, obviously the Tamrons, but also the other Back From The Grave stuff. Was also a rare chance for me to take lead vocals on a song, which we do a bit more of now with a couple of the other songs we play in our sets. Such a Loser from the Cut Em Down EP is one of my favourite Rage songs, I think its pretty clever in its own simple beautiful way. Billy Ocean was something else entirely, a good example of a song that came quite quickly during a rehearsal one night... There have been a few songs like that, I have tapes of us somewhere where we come up with a riff and 15 mins later we have a song, this was one of those kind of tunes.

"Back From The Grave" was a compilation that was know for including some of the rarest and most aggressive 60's punk songs.

A: I guess you saw this coming Al.. but you perform in Mexican wrestling costumes.. Where do the wrestling image come from(feel like asking Mick Jagger if he's finally satisfied now)? I reckon there are fans of the sport in the band?

HA: The wrestling image came about at the start of the band, everyone else in the band played in other Glasgow groups. When we got together to begin with I think the other guys were a bit wary of how we would be received, and were happy to hide their faces! Little did they know how much of a wrestling fan I was, or indeed how good the band turned out! And since then, the new folk that have joined are more than happy to play in Scotland's only wrestling rock n roll outfit!

A: Regarding the split record.. The jungle-drums are saying that we might possibly hear another collaboration of yours on separate sides with another band/bands. Can you reveal anything about this?

HA: Hahaha, the jungle drums must be beating loud n clear if you’re hearing them across in Norway!!! There are plans afoot for a more split singles in the near future, the one we did was on my own label, Handsome Records, if all goes well there should be a programme of releases over the next year or so, still early on in the process, but have a bunch of great bands over here interested in working with me on limited pressed runs of splits for the foreseeable future. The Bucky Rage will be on a couple of these, but will also be getting something from my other band Handsome Al and Thee Beauticians sorted pretty soon, as well as our favourite Scottish/English bands. This is sort of my side project away from the main Rage business, I love recording and we have a brilliant scene here, so will be great to combine the two and get a bunch of singles out into the ether. With the price of recording and manufacturing vinyl being quite prohibitive for bands to do it all themselves, this is a way for all the bands and the label to get a good deal, and get some of their stuff on vinyl, the best format, a rare thing that the garage purists and I agree about!

Excellent! We cannot have too many vinyl-recording artists out there. I'm sure Al knows who to call when the first records are picked up fresh from the record-plant.

A: On your last album, Panther Adams, there is a very wild and hard-rocking cover of The Crusher(The Novas). Sounds like you had a ball recording that song just listening to the record. The effect used on the vocals is also very cool I think. How was this done?

HA: Ooooh, you after the trade secrets now?! The Crusher was great to record, we LOVE playing this live, and it's the one song that the crowd can't help getting involved in, largely cos we all end up wrestling the audience whether they want to or not. The actual recording was all done live too, as was all that EP actually, we wanted to get as raw and live a sound as possible on that, so we took the sensible approach of getting good and messed up the night before, stayed up most of the night then kept partying all through the recording session! The vocals were done via my sampler, essentially giving them the effect of an old tape delay. With a bit of practice you can sort of play the actual effect when singing/shouting, and that’s what I did with that one. Most of my vocals are done through that, as it gives a good sound that sits well against Philthy's vocals. I’m a big fan of weird sounds and noises on records, and between the sampler, the weird fuzz sounds and our synths/noise boxes, we got that covered.

You gotta love a wild band who'se drummer's called Philthy Collins.

A: I've had the pleasure to discover quite a few new Glasgow bands - much thanks to you and your own Kyle Thunders, who also have been busy with his Punk Across The Globe project - who most of them are playing raw, fun rock music not too unlike the music of The Bucky Rage. Do you feel the rock scene in Glasgow have changed or evolved in any way since you started up?

HA: It's hard to say whether the Glasgow scene has changed or not over our time, from a band point of view, the more we played, the more we found like minded bands to play with, and it sort of happens that the bands we like best are the ones who are good fun and up for a party. Whether Glasgow has always had that or not, I am not sure. It has certainly always been a party city. We are very lucky that we have some of the best bands /friends that we can go out and play music with, The Kosher Pickles, The Fnords to name a couple of my faves. In general there seems to be waves of bands, so certain types of bands come and go, and come back again sometimes. But the garage scene seems to endure nicely, and gets better and better all the time. Most of the bands we started playing with years ago are still on the go, one of the new bands making great music just now is Los Tentakills, well worth checking out.

A: Let's talk about your up-coming album with the Bucky Rage.. You've been cool enough to let me have a sneak peak at some demo's that may or may not appear on the forthcoming album. And I must say it's sounding very promising. Any chance "Boots"(originally by Nancy Sinatra, but some might remember the cooler and definitively more fun version by The Boys Next Door) appear on the album? You demoed a very good take on the song.

HA: Yeah we loved doing Boots, was loads of fun. We are big Lee Hazlewood fans and were messing about one day, and boots came together pretty quickly, we then messed about with it some more, to try and give it a certain sort of creepin’ sound we will definitely be sticking it on the album.

A: Which brings me to ask.. what's your opinion on the noise punk of the Nick Cave bands, The Birthday Party or his "new wave??" band The Boys Next Door? (To me, especially The Birthday Party is the synonymous to psychedelic noise, and brings a thought or two to performances in small, dark, and sweaty bars.. with other words a damned good time)
 

HA: We are also big Nick Cave fans, from Boys Next Door to Birthday Party, Grinderman and the Bad Seeds. Our old bassist used to tour manage the The Bad Seeds for a while actually, and had some good stories to tell. I love the Birthday Party stuff, some amazing songs, the sounds of all the parts of the band alone are brilliant and together completely mind blowing. 

 

A: "Bela" is perhaps my favourite of the demo's. Think it has a lot of promise. It's something about about the simplicity of the song creating a psychedelic kind of atmosphere.. at least to my ears.(The basics of the melody is the riff of "I Wanna Be Your Dog"(The Stooges) isn't it?)

HA: The Bela tune was just us messing about, its a VERY rough take on Bahaus's "Bela Lugosi's Dead".

We love it, and have played it live a couple of times, so may one day get a proper recording. It's one of those songs that are so simple, that they can become quite hard to do a great version of.

Similarly we have played 'Sister Ray' a few times, maybe 10 or so, and only once did it sound great. Same sort of thing.

A: Is it set a date for the new album to come out yet?

HA: The album will be out soon I hope, we are almost finished it and a few tweaks and it should be finished. Maybe a couple of months and it will be done. Then we need to decide what we are doing with it, and take it from there. We have a few options, so will see what happens!

A: What are your plans regarding playing gigs for this year? Might we have the honour of seeing you in Norway perhaps?

HA: No major plans gigs wise, got a mini tour booked for November, but really just been concentrating on getting the album done and playing the odd gig. Once the album is finished, we will be back to playing whenever/wherever we can. Would LOVE to get over to Norway, we are always on the lookout to visit/play in new and exotic locations! If we can get our costs covered and some space on floors/couches, we are there! We can bring over some Buckfast to keep the party going!

Did you hear that mr. Norwegian promotion-man?? We could definitively need some Bucky Rage here in the future.. Some good, plain fun!

A: At last, Al.. do you have anything else to declare?

HA: Been a pleasure chatting with you and getting to know each other, thanks very much for the support and hopefully we can meet up face to face, get drunk and destroy!!!

A: Likewise Al! Have had much fun getting to know you and the Rage. I'm definitively taking up on your offer.

 

Interview - William Hay(The Painted Ship)

"To me, rock n roll should be the sound of leather boots slapping against broken pavement. It should reflect the bold pulse and hot sweat that you find high on the inside of a woman's thigh"

 

If you're reading this piece or even this blog, you might be aware of the term 60's punk. If not, here's a very brief introduction for this short-lived style practiced in the period from 1965-1967(Some would say 1965-1966 or even only 1966). To put it in terms known to most, The 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me, Them's(With Van Morrison on vocals) "Gloria" or The Kinks "You Really Got Me" are prime examples on this aggressive approach. Notably by the snearing vocals and the primitive, hard thrust on the guitar, sometimes there is also a pumping organ. This style was mainly(but not only) an American phenomena as the result of the British invasion, led by the Beatles and the Stones caused kids all over the continent to pick up instruments and start practicing wherever they could.. some times in their parents garages(hence the expression "garage rock"). The result was a very minimalistic sound, witch would get a close relative later in the mid 70's when the term punk got the worlds attention.

Probably the first band that triggered my interest regarding this aggressive sound was the Canadian band The Painted Ship, located in Vancouver. They were one of the finest groups in the 60's punk genre, but would also have a touch of psychedelic(most evidently in the strange "Audience Reflections") rock, helped much by the hypnotic organ. Bands don't get much better than this no matter era or style. You might not agree with that of course, but then again maybe music is not something for you.

The Painted Ship had a captain, and his name was William Hay.

Discography

"The Painted Ship":

Frustration / Little White Lies(1966)
London M 17351(Canada) / Mercury 72662(USA) / Mercury MF 988(UK)

Audience Reflections / And She Said Yes(1966)
London M 17354(Canada)

With "The Worst":
You've Been Laughing(Demo)

The Painted Ship's first lineup(Frustration/Little White Lies)

From left to right: Ken Wain(keyboards), Rob Rowden(guitar), William Hay(vocals), Barry Rowden(drums)

Anders: In your home before you started in a band, what was played on the stereo on a typical evening? Did you hear music that would come to influence you in any way?


William: I listened almost exclusively to the Northwest sound. The Wailers. The Sonics. Paul Revere and the Raiders etc. I had an intense aversion to the commercial crap that dribbled out of the radio. As I've stated before: "To me, rock n roll should be the sound of leather boots slapping against broken pavement. It should reflect the bold pulse and hot sweat that you find high on the inside of a woman's thigh". This is rock n roll.

But, the stuff I heard on the radio was the exact opposite. Sweet. With inane, idiotic lyrics that didn't even come close to reflecting life as I saw it unfolding around me.
baby , baby
yes, it's love
you are my turtledove
PISS--------------OFF!

My house was also filled with an entirely different kind of music. I played in a youth orchestra for 6 years. We played classical and semi-classical music. I played trumpet and clarinet. (I actually made it all the way to first, solo trumpet--the result of hard work not talent)


A: We hear a lot of the British invasion's influence on USA(by basically sending back their own music), changing the way new American bands would sound. Did you feel the invasion set the standards for how Canadian bands were supposed to sound too?


W: Yes, almost without exception, the playlists of local bands were composed of covers of the British bands. Not us. We did do some covers, I always enjoy covering songs that I really like.. but from the start, I insisted that at least half of our songs had to be original material. At the time, I was told by local musicians that this was stupid and self-defeating.

"I warned him that this band would be original, unlike anything he'd been in before"

A: You were called The Wee Beasties in the beginning. Can you tell me  how you got started?


W: I was attending the University of British Columbia. Puffed up with the bravado of a young university student I thought that I was writing poetry. Don't know why, but one day I had the thought that maybe I should combine the lyrics that I was writing with the music ideas that I had in my head. It was a bleak day in the library. No pretty women to pester so I somehow met Rob. He was playing guitar in a commercial R&B band. We talked and I told him of my plan to start a band and call it the Wee Beasties. (Anton Van Leeuwenhoek is credited with discovering- perfecting the first microscope. He called the creatures that he found with this new instrument: Wee Beasties)

Rob, said that he was interested in trying something new. I warned him that this band would be original, unlike anything he'd been in before, but he said that it would be fun to give it a try. This collaboration is a mistake. Let me be absolutely clear here. Rob and his brother Barry (R.I.P.) were VERY good musicians. Not good: very good. But not at all into the sounds that I wanted to do. I'm not placing any blame on anyone. Just saying that this was the wrong mix of people. A friend of mine(a musician) tried to warn me but I didn't pay attention. You were right Eduardo! Like many marriages in our situation, we soon break up over irreconcilable differences and I would recruit new musicians.


A: Why did you start playing in a band? Girls? Fame? Ideology?


W: Fame? Never. I think that fame in the entertainment industry is bullshit. To me it means that you settled for playing commercial bullshit; that you never attempted anything truly original and challenging. Besides, who needs it? 


A: How was the scene in Vancouver? Did local rock outfits like yourselves get support from the local radio stations?


W: You either played covers of the British bands or you played commercial R&B. Or you didn't play. Local musicians ridiculed us(well, me really) for my insistence on playing original "weirdo music". There was nowhere for us to play until the alternative San Francisco sound swept northward. Of course, we were never part of the "San Francisco hippie sound", but... suddenly people were willing to listen to stuff outside of the top 40 pablum. A few alternative clubs opened where we could play. And.. something else happened. Something important. FM radio was born with the mandate to play alternative music. Woooohoooo! We could now reach ears live and through the radio.


A: What kind of gigs did you get in the beginning?


W: As stated above, we were restricted to a few alternative clubs: The Afterthought, Retinal Circus. Other local bands played tv dance shows but we were never invited. Our manager was told that we could appear only if we played an acceptable cover song and if I promised to behave myself. I told them to "pump sand up their asses". I only mention this because I do get emails asking me why there are videos of other local bands but nothing of us.

 

A: Who was managing you back then?


W: Doug Hawthorne(R.I.P.), was the first manager of the band. He also had his own Transeuphoric Express light-show.


A: Was this light-show ever applied to Painted Ship gigs?


W: Yes, Doug would sometimes do a light-show at one of our gigs but not at all of them. The Transeuphoric Express was a separate entity and often illuminated other bands.


A: Coming from British Columbia you were closely located to Seattle and Tacoma, with their Northwest sound influenced by songs like "Louie Louie". Was The Painted Ship influenced by this movement in any way? Did you exchange ideas or come over and play at each others towns?


W: Our music was not influenced by my love for The Wailers and The Sonics but these bands did influence me in a profound way. They showed me that is was ok to do what you wanted. That there were people out there that were willing to listen to something other than top 40 crap. Yes, we played Seattle several times. Including some really fun gigs at the
University of Washington.

A: How would a typical evening on a Painted Ship gig turn out? Did you have any special antics?


W: I would like to take this opportunity to offer a sincere apology to everyone who attended one of our gigs. There is no excuse for my behavior. I understand this. You might find that a session or two of counseling would be helpful. A little mental tune-up. Sorry. As time passes I hope that you'll find it in your hearts to forgive me.

"It did often feel like we were like: a painted ship upon a painted ocean"

A: Did the name The Painted Ship come from the poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”?
“Day after day, day after day
we stuck, nor breath nor motion
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean”.


W: Well done, Anders. Yes, the band name must have come from the poem. Thank you, Sam. As I've stated earlier, I was reading and writing a lot of poetry (still am for that matter). I didn't consciously pluck the name from the poem; it just came to me one day. When it did I immediately realized just how appropriate it would be. It was going to be a struggle. I knew that "the suits" who ran the music business would pressure us to regurgitate some kind of commercial crap because it would be easier to sell. The name was a prophetic choice. It did often feel like we were like: a painted ship upon a painted ocean.


A: Both Painted Ship singles were released in Canada on London Records. Did they know how to handle an unconventional band like The Painted Ship?


W: London had a Vancouver office. That's why we chose it. At the time I thought: "we're doing something original, different, they'll love us". Looking back I realize just how naive I was. To put it succinctly: they didn't "handle us". We were told that they didn't understand our music and they didn't think that it would be all that commercial so they weren't going to put any money into promoting us. They told us that they'd put the songs out and see what happened. Which is exactly what they did. No more; no less. Still, credit goes to the Canadian division of London Records. They did release our second single. London-Mercury refused to do so in the U.S.A. or Europe. They complained that the songs were:" far too weird and way too primitive". It was suggested that I take a rest from performing-touring. Rest and relax. And, seriously rethink the musical direction of the band.

"I had just finished my Tantra training and initiation when I wrote "And She Said Yes". Was this a coincidence? Or was this song an exuberant celebration of my new found understanding of the exciting possibilities within the male-female dynamic?" 

A: You've told me before that you are and was into meditation. Could you tell me more about that? Did meditating in any way help or influence you in songwriting?


W: I've always been an esoteric boy. It's just part of who I am. I studied Jungian psychology at university and I've been involved in several closed-door esoteric societies for years. Meditation is nothing weird or exotic. It's just a tool that people everywhere on the planet have used throughout time. You definitely don't have to pay big dollars to have someone special give you the secret word. Just google meditation and you'll find lots of free and useful information. Some folks like "The Relaxation Response" as an easy introduction to the subject. Just be cautious. There are many frauds and fools in the "spiritual business", and it's easy to get lost when you're walking unfamiliar paths.

It's hard to define exactly... but I'm certain that my esoteric training influences my writing. For example, I had just finished my Tantra training and initiation when I wrote "And She Said Yes". Was this a coincidence? Or was this song an exuberant celebration of my new found understanding of the exciting possibilities within the male-female dynamic? "Frustration" is a song that examines the necessary tug-of-war between individuation and enculturation. My study of Jungian archetypes
must have contributed something to this tune.

Certain types of esoteric studies are ingested and become part of one's psyche. In the same way as the foods we eat are incorporated and reflected in our bodies.
-------Put those potato chips down, Anders!


A: Did you have any particular favorites in poetry of those into esotericism, like for instance W.B. Yeats? Were you ever into/interested in the esoteric philosophy of organizations like the Golden Dawn?


W: William Butler Yeats... Yes, I read-studied his work. Especially, his attempts at a new understanding of Celtic spirituality. I'm also fond of the paintings and poetry of William Blake. I suppose I spend most of my time reading the works of the ancient Celtic bards and the Norse Eddas. This can be very rewarding for those who understand the deliberately disguised esoteric information.

I'm aware of the Golden Dawn(the infamous esoteric group --not the current political movement). I've known people who've walked that path but it has never resonated with me.

"They told me that I should be delighted. I wasn't delighted"

A: Can you tell me anything about the time when the first single Frustration/Little White Lies came out?


W: The nonsense that surrounded the release of our first single illustrates perfectly the serious problems that existed within the band. When I brought the basic ideas for Frustration and Little White Lies to the guys to work on I made it clear that Frustration would be the a-side. All agreed.

But, there is a problem. The other guys in the band do not like the song. Not one of them has anything good to say about it: "Too weird. Too strange. Not commercial enough". I find it more than a little amusing to read their recent comments on the song. Seems like they love it now. Oh, Yeah.

But back then things were very different. Without telling me the other guys in the band tell our manager to have London/Mercury put Little White Lies on the a-side of our first single. I know nothing about this until I'm driving in my car and I hear the dj announce: "a new song from a new band, The Painted Ship". And then he plays Little White Lies.

I'm pissed. This is a huge betrayal. That little voice spoke to me: "don't get mad;get even". Without telling the other guys I phoned the dj's and asked them to please stop playing Lies and play Frustration instead.

The dj's tried to talk me out of it because Lies was placing in some of the top 40 charts. They told me that I should be delighted. I wasn't delighted. Piss on the top 40 charts(have you noticed that I piss a lot? strong kidneys!). I was persistent with my demand and the dj's finally agreed to play Frustration instead of Lies. To the surprise of many, Frustration found supportive ears.

But the damage had been done. The first guitar player and drummer are replaced.

A: Do any tapes or acetates of unreleased PS material still exist?


W: Not to my knowledge. An albums worth of original songs was recorded for the London office of Polydor. The Who came to one of our gigs. We talked after the show and John Alec Entwistle gave me the name of an English producer that he thought would like to work with the stuff we were doing. The producer and I talked, and I sent him a rough tape with some of our songs. He liked what he heard and agreed to pay for an albums worth of tunes. We were getting ready to release an album out of England when the London producer got a directive from Polydor headquarters telling him that all North American acts must be handled out of a North American office.

The producer phoned me and we talked it over. He told me that if I came to England without the band that he'd set me up with some very good musicians and we would record. It was a fabulous offer but I couldn't just desert the other guys in the band so I declined. The producer was disappointed but he told me that he understood and that he'd send the master to the head office in Chicago. Somehow, somewhere the master disappears. Forever. The music is gone.

This was a horrible setback but we rallied with a plan. We'd record a live show. Sometimes magic is in the air. Who knows why? Maybe the stars are aligned. Maybe the women are especially playful. That show was one of those nights. It was lunacy at its finest. A full, all out assault on sanity. We took the audience to Pluto and back. And... we had it on tape!

The Fates can be cruel.
The girlfriend of one of the guys was moving the day after the gig. They borrowed the van and while they were busy moving stuff in and out of apartments some asshole stole her stereo system, her albums and ... our tape.
The Fates can be cruel.

John Entwistle(left), Keith Moon(at the drums), William Hay(with the hat). A cover of Satisfaction was played at the time of the picture. (Taken from the PS myspace page)

A: There is a picture of a Painted Ship button posted on the Painted Ship facebook page saying "The Painted Ship sails" which I find interesting. Having a button for the band was very common for 70's punk bands, but was it that common for bands not called The Monkees in the 60's? Also.. (coughs) do you still have some of these left?

W: We had buttons, buster! Some of the Vancouver and San Francisco bands had buttons. We had thousands made and gave them away at our shows. A few years ago I found a bag of about 20 of them in the attic of my parents house. They were in a suitcase along with some other stuff that I'd long forgotten. They all had the same defect; a scratch on one side. Perhaps that's why I'd kept them. Sorry, I gave them all away but, if I find more you will get one. 


A: When/why did The Painted Ship get dissolved?

W: I docked the Painted Ship in 1973. I'd just grown weary of the constant battle to do our music the way that we wanted it done. But, the wobbly Ship was docked not scuttled. She is still seaworthy. I have written more songs and I have received some very kind and generous offers from musicians who'd like to do some recording. 
We'll see. 
Perhaps the call of the Sirens will lure Captain Will back to the sea.

A: You recorded a song, "You've Been Laughing" with The Worst. Can you tell me more about this?

W: I met Greg Johnson(R.I.P.) the singer/writer for the Vancouver bands The Worst and The Fiends at a Plan 9 show. We got to know one another over the following months and he tells me that The Worst is planning to do some recordings. Greg wants to cover a Painted Ship song, but he wants one that he hasn't heard. I gave him a couple of choices and he liked You've Been Laughing the best. I sang some backup vocals with them and did a fun take on the song. If anyone's interested you can find it in a few places including SoundCloud. I liked The Worst. Good people and talented musicians. 

A: Thanks a lot for your insight and taking your time for this interview William. Any last words you would like to share? For instance to the kids influenced by 60's bands like The Painted Ship?

W: It's been my pleasure, Anders. Thank you for your interest and support. Advice for musicians drawn to playing garage-punk and psyche? Just this: be brutally honest with yourselves. Understand that you're doing this for the love of the sound. You will receive little, if any, help from those who run the music BUSINESS. I promise, it will be a humongous struggle. Last words? Garage-punk and psyche forever! hell, yeah.