Brix Start-Smith Interview originally from Pseud Mag issue 10, June/July 2006.
Questions by Martin Peters
What memories do you have of Banda Dratsing? Did you ever keep
recordings of any of the gigs you played?
It was the most exciting time….. it was like ‘musical puberty’ for me.
I don’t have any recordings of gigs, although I do have rehearsal recordings.
Do you feel that your guitar work is sometimes unfairly
overlooked by people who praise Scanlon for his unusual style?
How easy was it playing with him and Steve Hanley?
Actually, I don’t feel like that. Craig and I were so different in the way that we played that it was virtually impossible to compete with each other. I have the most utmost respect for Craig. He was there first and I always worked hard to embrace, enhance and counterbalance what he was doing musically. It was extremely easy to play with both. Steve was literally my anchor and they always treated me with the utmost respect and they were never threatened by my entrance into the band.
How did you use to write songs? Was it mostly by yourself or when improvising with the rest of the group? Which are you most proud of?
I mostly wrote songs by myself. I wrote them on both acoustic guitar and on bass. I would sit in the living room that I shared with Mark Smith, write the skeleton of the song, which was the musical melody, the song structure and sometimes a vocal melody. I would record it on a recording walkman, through the headphones. Then I would sing it for Mark and see if he liked it and felt that he had words to go with it, or it inspired him in any way. I would then take it to the band, play it and let them fill in the flesh and the blood, and do whatever they wanted. So the whole process was quite collaborative. I was always under the belief that 5 or 6 heads are better than one.
I’ve picked out the songs I’m most proud of. LA is my most favourite song that I ever wrote.
2 x 4
Cruisers Creek
Gut of the Quantifier
Feeling Numb
Hit The North
Hotel Bloedel
L A
Lay of the Land
Terry Waite Sez
US 80s-90s
Pat-Trip Dispenser
Which of the albums you played on bring back the best memories
for you?
Perverted by Language, This Nation’s Saving Grace, The Wonderful and
Frightening World Of The Fall.
Do you feel that when there was a chance of some more commercial success Mark deliberately steered the band away from it and if so were you frustrated by this?
I don’t know if he deliberately did it, but I do believe that he had a self-destruct mechanism, which basically filtered into every element of his life. And yes, I was frustrated by that, because I believed, and still believe, that the Fall is a very important band and has never received the credit and the respect that it deserved.
Do you feel now that you did the right thing in returning to the band? How do you feel you were treated by the other members of the band when you did so?
I never regret anything that I’ve done in my life, but I am more proud of the work we had done previously. Perhaps I really needed closure and that was part of the reason why I returned. The first time I left in a pique of fury and there were a million loose ends. When I returned, the situation was different and volatile and in a way, part of the magic had died. Perhaps it was the dynamic of Mark and I no longer being married and the fact that it was a different level of intimacy. The other members were always divine to work with and respectful towards me. They were happy that I came back. I think.
Are you happy with what you achieved with The Adult Net? Was the more poppy sound of the group a deliberate alternative sound to that of the Fall or were you doing stuff which you in fact preferred?
I am happy with what I achieved with the Adult Net. I have a really strong pop sensibility, which is better when it’s tempered with someone barbed like Mark. On its own it’s too sweet, even for my stomach, but it’s natural and that’s what I do. I’m sure the Adult Net was a backlash to the ‘ugliness’ of The Fall. I totally prefer the Fall and not the Adult Net, by the way. I am insanely self critical and nothing I do on my own is ever good enough. But on the whole, looking back, I*AM* happy with what I achieved.
Was there ever a chance of you joining Hole?
There was a big chance. I was literally one step away. And I thank god I
didn’t do it. The choice came up at exactly the same time to rejoin the Fall and
that’s the path I took. Because The Fall begat Hole. The Fall was the real deal.
Do you have any musical projects in mind now or would you say you have retired from the music scene?
I have just finished a new album called Brixism. I collaborated with Marty Wilson Piper, from the Church. It will be released ONLY on my website: http://www.start-london.com and sold in my shop in London. It will be out in the next couple of months.
Perhaps you could tell me something about the shop and your day-to-day role in it?
We actually have three shops (menswear, womenswear and accessories respectively). They are called Start and my new name is officially Brix Smith-Start.
My husband is called Philip Start. He is a businessman and started working in fashion in the 60’s. He is known in London as one of the gurus of menswear. Incidentally, his brother was the original drummer of the Kinks. And they all used to rehearse in his house as well as Rod Stewart’s (a little trivia for you).
Philip owned a supersuccessful chain of menswear stores called Woodhouse, which he sold three years ago. Philip and I met in 1995, in the lift at Harvey Nichols (a posh London department store). I was in town recording a Fall album. We fell in love, got married etc etc. We moved from Notting Hill to Shoreditch (groovy, arty industrial part of London) and soon realised there was nowhere to shop around here. So we started a boutique almost as a hobby. And we tried to make it a cool, edgy and wonderful personal shopping experience.
We both do all the buying for the shops. We work on the shop floor selling, and I do heaps of personal styling, including superfamous rockstars and iconic actresses (won’t name names). Another thing I do is the window displays, which is always psychedelic and controversial. I use the windows as theatre. Everything is stamped with our personality.
I do get Fall fans coming into the store and that is fine. I’ve acquired distance and objectivity from my old life. Everything from the past goes into making the woman I’ve become today.
I use every artistic nook and cranny that I learned and put it into what I do now. So I feel creative and fulfilled in a parallel way. And on a scale of 1-10 of happiness, I’m a 9.
What sort of music do you listen to nowadays and have you kept
up with The Fall’s output?
At the moment I love Sigur Ros, Ladytron, Colder, Interpol. Obscure compilations like Colette no 7 and the Sound of Monsterism. I listen to music, digest it, pick it apart and move on. I just consume it. And when I like something, I play it 100 times in a row, until I know it inside and out.
Yes, I keep up with the output and I think they are going through a good patch. But of course I think my time with them was the best. Im sure others would beg to differ.
Are you in touch with any other ex-band members?
I’m not really in touch with them, but there was no animosities between us and it would be nice to see them again. Mark knows where I am, if he needs me. And my door is always open to any member of the band.
Brix Start-Smith, issue 16, June/July 2007.
Questions by Martin Peters
How difficult was it recording again after quite a long absence from the music business? Did it take a long time to make the record?
Actually the recording process was incredibly easy, its like riding a bike you just don’t forget, however it did take an immense amount of time to get this record done, the span I am horrified to tell you was about 10 years from writing to finished product, I could only record in fits and starts due to a variety of circumstances such as shattered personal life, lack of funds, mental strength, life’s general ups and downs… but mostly ups!
How did Marty Wilson come to be involved in the project? From the information on the download I have, all the songs were composed by him. Did you have any composing imput yourself or were you happy to go along with his songs?
First of all your information is hideously incorrect, all the music was composed by myself and Marty 50/50 and all the lyrics were written 100% by me. I don’t DO other peoples material unless it’s a specific cover. Please tell me where you got your info so I can correct it as my blood is now BOILING…Marty and I were put together as song writing partners by Jeff Jaquin a manager in LA in 1992.
[Interviewer’s note: my information about the authorship of the songs came directly from Windows Media Player on having downloaded the album…apologies have been sent to Brix!]
Which musicians play on the record and do you play any instruments on the tracks?
I play both lead guitar and rhythm guitar and bass guitar, Marty plays loads of guitars as you’d expect being a guitar mister and he sings too and Dare Mason the producer also pitched in on backing vocal keyboards and some guitars. We had two different session drummers and a session bass player from time to time but by and large Marty and I did everything.
What has led you to release the record in a download-only version? Any plans for a CD release?
Basically I couldn’t be bothered going the traditional route and this seemed the way forward and incredibly instant, ive never done it before so it’s a big learning process but I do think I am gonna release hard copies of the CD aswell, Do you think I should? I like to hold things in my hands… what about you baby!!
Orangina and Backwards appeared on an EP nine years ago. Was there any special reason for releasing them again?
Orangina and Backwards were not finished when they appeared on an EP, the problem with recording over such a long period of time, you are NEVER satisfied with the result, you always can do better, change it, completely change it. I much preferred it when we made records with The Fall in 14 days, so much more real so much less precious. I really cant help myself tinkering and wish quite often someone would handcuff my arms behind my back. ( This goes for shopping too!, Not to mention sex…)
Do you have any plans to play live?
I’d rather eat moth balls rolled in dung and deep fried. Course I am fielding offers at the moment.
What prospects are there for further albums in the future?
I think I need to prick it and see if it bleeds…
Do you see yourself still as a musician or do you think that your work in the fashion industry is now more important to you?
Actually I have been doing a lot of television presenting work and I find that this is an incredibly pleasant way to channel my music and song writing creativity into a parallel world, I consider fashion my day job, my hobby and my passion. For a long time I had to forget that I was a musician to move forward, I was the booby prize at any dinner party if you sat next to me. You get the age old question.. ‘and what do you do’ Housewife I would say, how the fuck do you explain The Fall! But lately The Fall has had a resurgence harnessing the collective conscience of the post modern universe. I am now stamped pedigree/iconic blah blah and its just another facet that makes me a more enriching individual. I use all my experiences good and bad to draw from whether it be in fashion, in music or in TV.
What sort of music do you listen to nowadays? Are you a gig-goer or do you mostly listen at home?
No gigs unless friends, the smell of venues are all too familiar. At the moment I love LCD Sound System, Clor, Fischerspooner and Sigur Ros.
We covered The Fall pretty thoroughly in our first interview, but I’d just like to ask you if you’ve heard the new album, Reformation Post TLC?
No I haven’t, I have heard it is very good and I am incredibly pleased they are on a roll. His new band sounds extremely interesting and the political dynamics within the band will be exciting to watch and see if they work. Long Live Mark Smith.
How do you go about writing lyrics?:
I vomit lyrics, I write them all in my head and fit them around the melody, they just come out its god’s gift to me!
Can you tell me how Gromit [her dog] is getting on? And am I mistaken or did I see you on some animal show on television recently?
Gromit’s grey, she’s 11 now!, we now have a new edition to our family Pixie, otherwise known as Mini me, and yes you did see us on the TV show, we did a series for Animal Planet called Top Dog which is currently on in the UK!