Micky Waters of The Answer talks Raise A Little Hell









On Thursday 19 February Rockgig had the pleasure of talking to Micky Waters, the bass player for The Answer about Raise A Little Hell their new cd out on Naplam Records on 9 March.

Rockgig: Hi Micky thanks for talking to me about your new cd Raise A Little Hell how are you doing?

Micky: Very excited we are just getting our bits and pieces together like our gear and the dust off the amps and getting ready to go back on tour again.

Rockgig: You worked with Will Maya again on the new cd what does he bring to The Answer?

Micky: He is a long time friend and has worked with us guys since out first ep Keep Believin and then quite a few tracks on Rise and Everyday Demons and B sides ever since. With this album we really just wanted to do our own thing and didn't want to be too influenced by too many big name producers or anything like that and wanted to do our own thing and do it as organically as possible. What Will brings is performances he is a real performance honcho and he is very good at vibing us boys up and basically letting us have a good time and letting us be ourselves.

Rockgig: You recorded in Spain at Will's Los Rosales studio up in the mountains. It sounds idyllic how was the recording process?

Micky: It was a laugh. We recorded one cd in Los Angeles which I can barely remember after drinking too much tequila. We did one in Texas that was hard graft this one was just fun. We were in this tiny little village stuck in the 1950's with a Boulon festival going for about a fortnight of the time we were there.You got up did your thing in the morning, have a cup of coffee then go out and Boulon is going on just around the corner from the studio.Then record all day and then all these crazy folk are partying till 3 o'clock in the morning so we thought join in for a little beverage. It was an experience I think that party atmosphere vibe added something to it, it was always exciting & an experience.

Rockgig: Did you write all the songs at home before going to Spain?

Micky: Yes and no. We have always liked to do a bit of writing on the spot. Some songs we have like Strange Kinda Nothing we pretty much had that one done. Not strictly the arrangement but we were ready to record it. We were a little blind as we went into the studio it was very old school with a very simple set up. We were very experimental, we were miking up with bass cabinets with kick drums to the side and very hands-on DIY stuff. There was a lot of experimenting going on in the studio. If we woke up with a wacky idea in the morning it was like lets try this and we would try it and we weren't too fussy about what we were going to do we just wanted to feel good about the whole process.

Rockgig: Do you write together or separately and then bring it together?

Micky: We all write individually and this band has always been like that since day one. Sometimes it is a strength sometimes a weakness but on this record I think we were all pretty comfortable with ourselves. We were all very happy about the direction that it was going from the day we got to the studio. We went out there with 22 ideas with a couple of finished songs but mostly verses and choruses. We said we trust in Paul to come up with a melody part there while Cormac was sitting upstairs writing lyrics. We were all writing lyrics at the same time and coming up with ideas and changing words here and there. Paul and I would be working on our parts as we go along. I think it was a proper rock n'roll experience as far as song writing goes it was very free.




Rockgig: I have read an interview with Cormac who said it was all about old school values this time with a state of mind like when recording your debut cd. Do you feel you achieved this?

Micky: I think that is the attitude in the camp right now it is a bit like that. We kind of don't really give a fuck anymore.  I think there were a few years where we thought we have to do it like this .I think Revival and New Horizon are a bit of an example where we were trying to write US hit singles or a more current record.They were very focussed clinically written records but with this one we are kind of in a stage in our early 30's now and are happy with ourselves as musicians. We are very humbled about what we do and we are just happy doing what we do. We have had that attitude with our music and I think that is what it is all about isn't it?

Rockgig: Agreed. How long did it take to write and record the new cd?

Micky: I would say about 2 and a half months. Some songs were written I Am What I Am I had the riff written from a soundcheck, Strange Kinda Nothing was one we had knocking about a little bit before. Some of the lyrics and some of riffs changed but it was a song that had been lingering around.The rest of it was probably bashed out in a couple of months.

Rockgig: Your Pledgemusic campaign has been well supported. Do you feel it is important to for the fans to see you at work and make it a bit more personal?

Micky: I do.The reason why we are doing it is in affiliation with our record company it is isn't like we are making a ton of cash out of it or anything. Our products are very expensive and it is cool to us to put out some really cool products. I don't know about yourself but I am a vinyl collector it is an expensive thing to do but very cool to make it.There a lot of people out there who are into that sort of thing and we know that from our previous records and tours. It is an excuse for us to put together some cool package stuff for fans to buy and you have to try to sell things a little differently these days and make it interesting what with the current market.

Rockgig: You have half answered my next question do you still live for the moment when the cd or vinyl drops into your hand for the first time? I do!!

Micky: Yes actually. We had a big press day on Monday and Tuesday and we got our cd and their was big smiles on our faces and we are very happy about ourselves as it is now a finished product.

Rockgig: I am looking forward to hearing the live New Horizon cd especially Nowhere Freeway and Concrete that I know was a favourite of yours will they played on the next tour? 

Micky: We will be playing a lot of new stuff on this new tour to be honest we kind of want to refresh, clear the decks a little. The new stuff lends itself to the live stage really really well and it is exciting to play like Last Days Of Summer and Aristocrat and Long Live The Renegades. I think Freeway and Concrete could be in the set but not every night you know.

Rockgig: Southampton please?

Micky: I will remember that (laughing)




Rockgig: Can you give us any idea of what the songs on the new cd are about with any specific stories?

Micky: Cormac's Long Live The Renegades is just about what we believe in. He sticks to that what he believes, he is very much that guy and he sticks to his guns and believes in it 100 %. He has a lot of integrity. Strange Kinda Nothing is about the loss of something and the journey to find it again and Raise A Little Hell is about the experiences out on the road with it being a little tongue in cheek about general life and being out on the road and learning something every day. Getting up there every night and showing people a good time putting smiles on their faces and letting their hair down and raising a little hell.

Rockgig: Do you have a personal favourite?

Micky: I do, Last Days Of Summer. It is just the groove that simple groove. We all work very hard to bring ideas to the table and James just had that groove on that song. It wrote itself no one questioned a part Cormac just walked up and sang and it just happened. It was that easy and that is a very rare thing to happen. It is magic to play on stage with that stoner thing going on with its cool groove.

Rockgig: I have lived with the album for the last couple days and I love it.The first half has quite a few different bluesy styles and then the second half for me just explodes. Whiplash and Gone Too Long being my favourites at the moment. Was that the idea with no dip in quality for the second half?

Micky: Two things because of the vinyl format as well we do think that way with an A B and C side and also we just hit a sweet spot & had a good thing going on that is why we kinda rushed this album because we were onto something and we wanted to capture that little bit of magic that was floating round towards the end of the summer. We were on course to record this album now judging by our previous releases. We said lets just do this we are ready well we are not ready but we are sort of ready.

Rockgig: As a band what would you say is your own stamp of originality?

Micky: I would say we have a good solid groove a bluesy stoner metal groove that is ours. 
We have Preachin' on one hand and Under The Sky on the other they are quite diverse. When people come to a show they can experience well there is nothing wrong with just foot to the floor but if it is the same all the way through.Our way has always been about different changes to the set like Comfort Zone, Freeway, Preachin' or a bit of heavy metal like Concrete.

Rockgig: New Horizon was out in September 2013 then a UK tour followed by Europe then back to the UK then festivals and now the new cd have you guys stopped in the last couple of years?

Micky: Thankfully not yet because stopping is the worst thing you can do I think. We did that after the AC/DC tour we did stop well we didn't but we took a year to write Revival and it was too long. I think rock n'roll needs to be fresh ideas captured whilst they are fresh and not over think things. Straight ahead rock which is what we are a straight ahead rock n'roll band that was the whole purpose of jumping straight back in the studio after that tour we did because then the ideas are capture fresh. That was the purpose of going straight back into the rehearsal studio because if you are honest when you have toured for 6 months that is the best time because you are tight and everybody is inspired by things that have happened out on the road you know we have some fuel.




Rockgig: You start a huge tour across the UK and Europe shortly how much are you looking forward to getting back on the road?

Micky: We can't wait with Belfast our hometown show first a big one and then right the way down to Southampton I think is the last gig.

Rockgig: That is where we are going.

Micky: I don't know about the venue as it is a new one.

Rockgig: It is in the centre of the town.

Micky: It will be a good one as the area is always good for us. We cannot wait to start playing the new material on the road and getting a reaction. We sampled a few at Planet Rockstock in South Wales before Christmas and to a lot of our fans they thought it was the best show they had seen from us guys in years and that was mostly new material so I am pretty excited just getting it out there really.

Rockgig: Any other parts of the world will you be visiting after the European leg?

Micky: There is talk of the States there always is but we have a pretty legitimate deal that we might go for. We are kind of just waiting to see if we want to take it or not as there are other things on the cards. Japan and Australia and the like. As you can imagine it is just about working the logistics because we have to come back to do quite a few European festivals and we are trying to work it out now. Watch this space on facebook twitter and the like.

Rockgig: What can we expect on the new tour ? Many from the new cd?

Micky: At least 7 I think keeping nice and fresh.

Rockgig: I see you are asking the fans to help pick the setlist for the new tour that is a bit different?

Micky: It is one of those things. We forget about songs like Why'd You Change Your Mind which is probably one of my favourite Answer songs but we haven't played it in such a long time. So we are like should we play it do you think they will remember it and know it. So we got up a poll and people started to talk about these things and it might inspire us to get rehearsing it again and get playing it.

Rockgig: Any thoughts on the fans picking the whole setlist like Metallica did?

Micky: Why not do it for one show it would be great.  Why not that's a great idea.

Rockgig: AC/DC are touring again soon has anyone been on the phone to see if they need a support band?

Micky: We are in touch with the band there is no doubt about that. We had a great run with them. We said ever since we finished that run it is time for us to do our own thing and not be the eternal support band but if they did ring and say would you do a couple of shows we would jump at it because it is so much fun watching that whole operation. It is an incredible machine AC/DC it's awesome there is nothing like it in the world.

Rockgig: When you toured with them what did you take from the experience and what values do you think you share with them?

Micky: I think for starters getting to perform every night in front of an awesome amount of people and getting to see your idols and here those amazingly famous songs it is something. And to see how the whole experience operates and also how critical they are about themselves. If someone had a bad night there was shouting and would get pretty feisty about it. It showed how passionate they still are with sold out gazillion shows with a gazillion amount of dollars they would still get like if a firework went of wrong in the production they would be shouting and yelling about it.to. To have that passion about what you do and to be that driven that is why they are who they are. We have always felt we were like that but those guys took it to another level.

Rockgig: Are you hoping to see them out on tour this year?

Micky: I would say so at some point definitely.

Rockgig: One last question for you any thoughts for your fans?

Micky: Go check out our new record Raise A Little Hell in our opinion our best thing since Rise with that Northern Irish punky rock attitude. We have that we don't really care about anything else in the world apart from the rock n'roll vibe going on so check it out and we will be in a town near you.

Rockgig: Thanks for taking the time to speak to Rockgig and all the best with the new cd and see you in Southampton.

Micky: No worries Mark see you in Southampton.





With thanks to Andy Turner from Napalm Records for his help in sorting out this interview.


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