Inglorious are a new band adding a modern twist to some classic influences. Dave Woodhall talks to bassist Colin Parkinson.
First of all I should ask how you are. It’s not been a healthy time for musicians lately.
“I’m fine, thanks. I’m a bit younger than the ones that have gone so no need to worry.”
It was good to see the affection Bowie was held in, but Lemmy’s passing also made more headlines than you might otherwise have thought.
“That’s the legend of Lemmy. Motherhead’s fans kept it going, some of them became stars themselves such as David Grohl and that ilk.They were always very much from the punk edge as well.”
I think that’s why they kept so much credibility; they weren’t just seen as old rockers. But back to you and I have to ask, with a name like Inglorious do you get mistaken for some kind of a Quentin Tarantino tribute?
“People do get confused, they think we’re called Inglorious Basterds. It’s easy to remember but it can cause confusion.”
Your album is coming out next month but you’ve only played a couple of gigs. That might seem strange for a new band.
“We’ve got some experience in the band, I’ve played with our drummer for about eighteen years and Nathan the singer has been with Uli John Roth and a lot of others. He’s got some good stories… I’m a bit susprised at this tour that’s coming up – I thought we’d be paying the sweaty clubs first but instead its decent sized venues and ticket sales are doing well.
“We’ve been really utilising the internet, using Nathan’s existing fanbase for example, and we’ve been getting across to social media to get feedback wich has worked. We recorded a couple of covers which we’ve put out to show that we can play and show what we were all about, and that helped.”
Can than be a doubled edged sword though? Won’t people rather listen to the originals?
“We played Planet Rockstock in December. There was a lot of that kind of older fan there and they loved it as much as the younger generation who are just getting into the rock thing and see it as new and fresh.”
The blues revival of the past couple of years has seen new artistes coming up with a modern take on the music rather than re-hashing old American artists. Do you have the same idea?
“There’s a heavy dose of the old styles in our songs, that sort of blues rock with the big choruses but we also have influences from all the genres there’s been since themn. I grew up with Motown and soul, my dad was a big fan of eighties funk which I listened to. I’m massively into Kings X, an American three piece who were at their peak in the late eighties and were well ahead of the game bringing in funk and soul and combining it with a Beatles-style chorus.”
You’re bound to be linked with that catch-all term Classic Rock. Is that a good thing?
“It’s an extremely broad genre, and not really specific. I don’t know if we’re classic rock, we just write the sonsg we write. We might study the production on classic albums and see how they got the sound they did, where the energy is coming from but it’s a matter of taking influences rather than directly lifting from songs.”
You’ve mentioned Deep Purple, and one of the covers you’ve released is their song Burn. Are you in danger of being regarded as Piurple cpoyiosts?
“There is a danger, but if you hear us live we’re completely different. We’re a modern band and while there are elements there we’re not exactly like that.”
So, how do you see the future panning out?
“First of all I’d like to put another album out. I’d like to do it like the old days when you had an album every year. I just want to write then get out on the road, have fun, meet the fans. That’s all I want to do.”
Inglorious play the Robin 2, Bilston, on Wednesday 24th February. For tickets call 01902-401211 or visit www.therobin.co.uk The album Ingloorious is releaded on 19th February. www.inglorious.com