Spy Catcher Interview
Interview with Stu Gilli-Ross of Spy Catcher
Words by Ian Dickinson / photo’s by Craig Burton
2009 was a year of disease and economic suffocation. It wasn’t all bad though as Spy Catcher emerged to breath life into the British music scene with their no nonsense, hard rocking, big drinking, pub sing-a-long songs. Spy Catcher are in many ways an underground super group. An amalgamation of artists from bands such as The Haunts, The Gallows and Cry For Silence. Their debut EP Rock Is Cursed was one of my favorite records of 2009 and I am sure that I am not the only person salivating like a fat kid in a mile long KFC queue for the bands first full length. Clink got the chance to ask Stu Gilli-Ross a bunch of questions to before the band hit the road on their Fuck Winter Tour.
How did Spy Catcher come together as a band & how did it feel to start a new project from scratch?
We are a group of friends who have known each other for years and had been in various bands together and we were in bands that played with each others bands. so when Steve and I had been talking for a while about jamming together, he played me some of the stuff he had been working on and it was awesome.
We decided one night in the pub to make it a full band and the line up we have today came together pretty naturally I think. It is exciting to start it as a new project from scratch as we get to watch it grow, the only pressure on us is from ourselves to write the best music we can but it is also nice to have people interested in it from the start because of the music we have made in our previous bands.
How did the name come about & were there some other options?
We had been through some terrible names before we landed on Spy Catcher. It basically came about by Steve and I hanging out and literally saying everything that came to our minds and seeing what we liked. Spy Catcher came about because we had always been fans of the band Spy vs Spy and thought that was such a cool name we decided to steal a bit of it.
Can you describe the music you play and what bands you feel inspire Spy Catcher the most?
It’s always hard to describe the music you play to other people. I think we all agree that it is honest, raw and melodic rock. We get compared to bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Kerbdog, Biffy Clyro and the first Killers record alot but we are inspired by bands like American Nightmare, Small Brown Bike and Samiam.
Are there any influences aside from music?
Of course, other bands music doesn’t really influence the music WE create as such. Our main influences are our every day normal lives, friendship, hardship and love.
Watford has something of an infamous scene. What was it like cutting your teeth in the area?
It was great. Luckily our previous bands, especially, Gallows and Cry For Silence, were able to play in the local and surrounding area quite often. The fact that there was alot of good local bands who were popular at the time and that touring bands would stop to play in Watford meant you had to be on top of your game.
Unfortunately, due to there not being any venues and violence at shows means that the scene in Watford has kind of died a death, with the older bands either disbanding or moving to london and younger bands not really having anyone to look up to. The quality of shows and local bands has suffered as a result. Spy Catcher has our first ever proper Watford show in a couple of weeks and we can’t wait.
What are the bands out there in the UK that have grabbed your attention recently?
Scholars, The Xcerts, TRC, Feed The Rhino and Sharks are all UK bands who are worthy of your attention. I think More than Life and Heart in Hand and The Social Club are all going to get very popular as well.
How does Spy Catcher differ from your previous bands musically and behind the music?
Spy Catcher is different musically as we have all previously played in aggressive hardcore, punk and metal bands, with varying degrees of success. Spy Catcher is a lot more methodical and melodic in its approach to telling our stories. Behind the music, it’s alot more relaxed too as everyone has a clearer idea of their roles within the band. Steve writes about 99% of the music and we all offer ideas to the arrangement of the songs if it is needed. Previously, I have been in bands where everyone wants to include ideas in the song writing and it can sometimes be more detrimental that way to the identity of a song.
To sum it up, I would say that Spy Catcher is 4 friends making music together, rather than 4 musicians making a record together and then trying to become friends.
Do you think that it is more accessible than your previous bands?
Not so much in the traditional sense, because the style we play in is not really what is fashionable in the scene right now. If we had been around in the late 90′s we would no doubt be huge and on revelation records! However, I guess you could say it is more radio friendly and be right to say so.
A great deal of bands have a tendency to sound American or generic but your music is unmistakably British. Is this intentional or just an organic product of simply being British?
We sound English because we ARE English.
Any desire to head over to the States with the band?
Of course, every band wants to play in America and do well there. We have been there in our other bands and had a great time, so why not? America generally tends to be enthusiastic about English music so we are really looking forward to getting out there. Some great American bands like The Gaslight Anthem and The Get Up kids have been supportive of what we are trying to do with Spy Catcher.
Can you explain your love hate relationship with Rock and why you believe it to be cursed?
As it says on the artwork to the Rock is Cursed E.P., being in a band can ruin your life. It makes it hard to hold down a steady relationship, it stops you from making any money ( most of the time ), it means you rarely see your home, your own bed, your friends..But travelling around in a shitty van and playing to 50 kids a night who are into the music makes it worth it. Writing a song everyone in the band is stoked on is the best feeling in the world. That’s why we do it. It’s a curse to love rock and roll this much.
You put the EP together the old fashion punk DIY way. How would this change if you were signed to a label?
Do you even feel the need to be signed to a label these days as you seem to be doing pretty well so far?
Signing to a label, whether it is a indie or a major, just makes it easier to be a band, rather than being a band, booking agent, record label and merch company! It makes it easier to spend your time writing songs rather than all the other things that come with being a touring band.
We released the EP ourselves and put it together because we know how to do it and we had to get our songs out there and heard. To give people something to take home away from our shows. As we spend more time writing songs, we spend less time being able to book shows, make merch etc, so we would sign to a label if the right offer came along to support what we do.
When is the first full length coming and what can we expect from it?
Hopefully the first album will be out sometime in 2010, we are demoing stuff now..You can expect a mixture of soulful party bangers and rocking dance thrashers.
Does your Dad like the music that Spy Catcher play?
Yep! Yours will too.
January 8th, 2010
Stu is the man, this is going to be the band of 2010