IPOD
RADIO
Rob Coombes of Supergrass
By Daniel Robert Epstein
Dec 18, 2005
I don’t think Supergrass fans ever thought the band would grow and mature. In fact I’m sure we were hoping they wouldn’t. But after ten years it’s hard for a band not to evolve. Their new album Road to Rouen may be their best yet. I got a chance to talk with band member Rob Coombes.
Check out the official site for Supergrass.
Daniel Robert Epstein: I read the press notes for this album and I know that bands don’t always read the notes. But according to them you guys are firmly shaking off your frivolous cheeky image.
Rob Coombes: I think it depends on who you talk to because we’re all individuals. I think Danny is trying his best to shake off his cheeky image because he seems to get himself into all sorts of trouble [laughs]. He hasn’t quite made it into the National Enquirer but he’s made it to most of the papers.
DRE:
[laughs] So he’s still a bit cheeky.
Rob:
Yeah, but as for me I’m just your typical archetypal English, anally retentive guy that doesn’t go out.
DRE:
Why don’t you go out?
Rob:
Well, the only places I have to go is gigs so I guess I do go out.
DRE:
That’s work, that doesn’t count.
Rob:
Somebody told me the other day that I’ve done 500 gigs in the last three years. But it’s better than working in an office.
DRE:
So Supergrass has been around for ten years now.
Rob:
Not quite for me.
DRE:
When did you join?
Rob:
It depends on what story you read. I started working with the band just after they’d done their first album and then I started playing live with them. Then I started writing little bits with them, but I didn’t actually kind of join and get my pictures taken for the CDs with them, until about three years ago. But I was quite happy with the situation; it was a bummer that I had to finally have my face in public. I had to stop all my criminal activities immediately.
DRE:
What kind of criminal activity were you engaging in? Anything good?
Rob:
Yeah it was fantastic actually. It’s still going on but I just went and toned it down. Criminal activity is good as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. [laughs] I realize that’s bullshit, but I do love reading about criminal activity. My hat goes off to people who make a living in their life by doing something that doesn’t hurt someone else.
DRE:
I read you guys recorded this album overseas.
Rob:
Yeah, we went to Normandy. The weather wasn’t very good, but I think that was the best thing because we couldn’t really leave because it rained all the time. So we just had to work. We didn’t have a studio and all that sort of stuff. But it was ok because sometimes the less choices you have, the quicker you work and the better it is. When the sky’s the limit you can end up working for days. Whereas I felt we got much more to the point.
DRE:
Was this new direction for the band in any way related to your mother passing?
Rob:
Yeah, I think it probably couldn’t fail to be any other way. You always write music, but you never think it’s directly how your life is. But there’s always got to be links to how you’re really feeling and what you’re producing when you’re hurting. So we didn’t sit down and make the conscious decision that we were going to write about our mums. But yeah, it happens, especially lyrically. In a lot of ways, this album is the most mature album that we’ve come up with. The lyrics really mean something and they really hang together. In the past Supergrass has been known to write really great songs and choruses. The difference is that this doesn’t just sound great, it means something too.
DRE:
Was there an actual zither and ukulele brought into the studio?
Rob:
Yeah, Mickey plays the zither.
DRE:
Well was the song written with a zither in mind or did you bring in the zither to see what would happen?
Rob:
Actually it was written with trumpets. But it totally didn’t work and I remember when it came back, there was a bit of disenchantment. I can’t remember whose idea it was to put the zither on it. But whoever’s idea it was, it was a stroke of genius because it really took it to a different level. With the horns alone it was kind of bland and the zither just gave it this very fresh feel.
DRE:
Roxy is a pretty long track for an album that totals at 38 minutes, how did that come about?
Rob:
The backbone of this album comes from Gaz’s demos and the last album may have come mostly from Danny’s demos. So Gaz is quite prolific and Roxy is a song that definitely has a lot of feeling about what was going on. It did seem to have a disproportionate amount of importance to the rest of the album but the thing that I really enjoy about playing Roxy live is seeing the people in the audience be really moved by the lyrics. The first time it happened it was weird because you don’t want to be taken too seriously. Then you realize it’s a great thing to play a piece and have it mean a lot of things to a lot of people. To sit on stage and play something that’s moves people is something I feel lucky to have done.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
I don’t think Supergrass fans ever thought the band would grow and mature. In fact I’m sure we were hoping they wouldn’t. But after ten years it’s hard for a band not to evolve. Their new album Road to Rouen may be their best yet. I got a chance to talk with band member Rob Coombes.
Check out the official site for Supergrass.
Daniel Robert Epstein: I read the press notes for this album and I know that bands don’t always read the notes. But according to them you guys are firmly shaking off your frivolous cheeky image.
Rob Coombes: I think it depends on who you talk to because we’re all individuals. I think Danny is trying his best to shake off his cheeky image because he seems to get himself into all sorts of trouble [laughs]. He hasn’t quite made it into the National Enquirer but he’s made it to most of the papers.
DRE:
[laughs] So he’s still a bit cheeky.
Rob:
Yeah, but as for me I’m just your typical archetypal English, anally retentive guy that doesn’t go out.
DRE:
Why don’t you go out?
Rob:
Well, the only places I have to go is gigs so I guess I do go out.
DRE:
That’s work, that doesn’t count.
Rob:
Somebody told me the other day that I’ve done 500 gigs in the last three years. But it’s better than working in an office.
DRE:
So Supergrass has been around for ten years now.
Rob:
Not quite for me.
DRE:
When did you join?
Rob:
It depends on what story you read. I started working with the band just after they’d done their first album and then I started playing live with them. Then I started writing little bits with them, but I didn’t actually kind of join and get my pictures taken for the CDs with them, until about three years ago. But I was quite happy with the situation; it was a bummer that I had to finally have my face in public. I had to stop all my criminal activities immediately.
DRE:
What kind of criminal activity were you engaging in? Anything good?
Rob:
Yeah it was fantastic actually. It’s still going on but I just went and toned it down. Criminal activity is good as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. [laughs] I realize that’s bullshit, but I do love reading about criminal activity. My hat goes off to people who make a living in their life by doing something that doesn’t hurt someone else.
DRE:
I read you guys recorded this album overseas.
Rob:
Yeah, we went to Normandy. The weather wasn’t very good, but I think that was the best thing because we couldn’t really leave because it rained all the time. So we just had to work. We didn’t have a studio and all that sort of stuff. But it was ok because sometimes the less choices you have, the quicker you work and the better it is. When the sky’s the limit you can end up working for days. Whereas I felt we got much more to the point.
DRE:
Was this new direction for the band in any way related to your mother passing?
Rob:
Yeah, I think it probably couldn’t fail to be any other way. You always write music, but you never think it’s directly how your life is. But there’s always got to be links to how you’re really feeling and what you’re producing when you’re hurting. So we didn’t sit down and make the conscious decision that we were going to write about our mums. But yeah, it happens, especially lyrically. In a lot of ways, this album is the most mature album that we’ve come up with. The lyrics really mean something and they really hang together. In the past Supergrass has been known to write really great songs and choruses. The difference is that this doesn’t just sound great, it means something too.
DRE:
Was there an actual zither and ukulele brought into the studio?
Rob:
Yeah, Mickey plays the zither.
DRE:
Well was the song written with a zither in mind or did you bring in the zither to see what would happen?
Rob:
Actually it was written with trumpets. But it totally didn’t work and I remember when it came back, there was a bit of disenchantment. I can’t remember whose idea it was to put the zither on it. But whoever’s idea it was, it was a stroke of genius because it really took it to a different level. With the horns alone it was kind of bland and the zither just gave it this very fresh feel.
DRE:
Roxy is a pretty long track for an album that totals at 38 minutes, how did that come about?
Rob:
The backbone of this album comes from Gaz’s demos and the last album may have come mostly from Danny’s demos. So Gaz is quite prolific and Roxy is a song that definitely has a lot of feeling about what was going on. It did seem to have a disproportionate amount of importance to the rest of the album but the thing that I really enjoy about playing Roxy live is seeing the people in the audience be really moved by the lyrics. The first time it happened it was weird because you don’t want to be taken too seriously. Then you realize it’s a great thing to play a piece and have it mean a lot of things to a lot of people. To sit on stage and play something that’s moves people is something I feel lucky to have done.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
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