Mark Burgess Interview

It was quite a thrill to hook up with Mark Burgess via e-mail for this interview. I have followed his career from the Chameleons to the Sun and the Moon and now to his solo projects. He currently has a single out in the UK titled "Sin", with a full album, "Paradyning", due out near the end of September. These have been released on the Dead Dead Good label in the United Kingdom. As of this writing there is no news of a domestic US release for any of these.

Hmmm: First of all, I want to thank you for participating in this interview.

Mark Burgess: My pleasure.

Hmmm: Second of all, I just found the "Sin" single at the local shop (Avalon records in Bellingham, WA). The store is run by Chameleons fans and I have never had to special order any new release, they always have them in stock.

Mark B: Please pass on my appreciation and regards

Hmmm: I posted a review of it to the list right after I heard it for the first time. I had mixed feelings about it at first, with the exception of "Hollin High", which really grabbed me on the first listen. However, the EP is really growing on me after repeated listenings. It has a sound which I haven't heard from you before and it took me by suprise. I hope it does well for you.

Mark B: Thanks. I'm excited by the new recordings for precisely those reasons. If I felt my records were getting samey then i'd probably go and do something else entirely.

Hmmm: Now on to the questions:

Mark B: Ah-ha!

Hmmm: What first prompted you to pick up the bass guitar?

Mark B: I wanted to play in a band immediately and decided that I could probably learn to play bass faster than anything else.

Hmmm: What was the first song you ever wrote? Do you remember any of the lyrics? (If so, could you enter a line or two of it?)

Mark B: Oh God!! Yes, it was called 'Leaving Town' and I think the chorus was something like:

'Hit the road and don't look back.
We're leaving town, never coming back.
Must admit it's not much fun,
but it's a damn sight better than Middleton.'

Hmmm: Does the process of songwriting come easy to you or is it a struggle?

Mark B: Well once the process is on the way it all comes quite easily but it's a struggle to actually start the process 'cause I'm so lazy....

Hmmm: I participated in an e-mail interview you did with Steve Gardner last year. I asked you about your favorite authors/novels. I live in a fairly small town and was unable to find most of them. I did find Jack London's "Star Rover" and couldn't put it down. Have you read anything in the past year that has had a similar effect on you?

Mark B: Well no, I haven't read a novel that I love that much since to be honest, these days I tend to go for books that are based around facts, especially books that deal with various conspiracy theories, political, social and the subject of UFO's. I'm providing research material for the writers and producers of a computer game that Time/Warner want to put out. I was particularly fascinated by 'Fury On Earth: A Biography Of Wilhelm Reich.' Wilhelm Reich was the inventor of the orgon accumulater.

Hmmm: How do you feel about contemporary America? I have lived here all my life, yet am disgusted by the lack of culture and history in our society. It seems like tabloid television and the O.J. Simpson trial are all this country is interested in these days.

Mark B: Phew!! That's a tricky one. I think there is a tremendous battle going on for possession of the human soul. Well, it's always been going on but it's currently intensifying; and I think North America is the front line of this battle. Whenever I visit the states I'm scared but at the same time I'm exhilerated. It feels like a veil is lifted, I see things much more clearly, feel things more clearly and I'm much more in touch with myself, less of a sleepwalker. It's much more apparent there just how powerful the media is and how much it shapes our thoughts and our culture, but this is a global condition these days anyway. I constantly note how americanised the rest of the world is becoming and how indigenous culture is being slowly eroded.

Hmmm: Christmas is coming up, which means a bunch of greatest hit packages will be hitting the shops soon. If you were asked to assemble a 10 track CD of anything you have ever done, which songs would be on it?

Mark B: Well, to be honest, the other two have been so busy releasing Chameleons retro releases over the last two years that I'm a bit sick of it all. there really isn't anything that hasn't or isn't previously available so I'd be inclined not to bother. The only releases that excite me are new ones. But if I was firmly pushed I'd probably say a pack of all the extended singles 'cause most of them were better than the album versions anyway.

Hmmm: In a post to the Chameleons internet list last April you said some of the retro releases would be permanantly deleted. Which ones irritate you in particular?

Mark B: All of them with the exception of 'Tripping Dogs' and 'Live in Toronto'.

Hmmm: It did seem like the rereleases got out of control. Having said that, I have all of them and don't feel in the least bit ripped off.

Mark B: Well that's a positive side to them then.

Hmmm: I do wish more of the proceeds could have gone to the four members of the band equally. The only rerelease that i consider to be questionable is 'Northern Songs', the only essential material being the four 'Tony Fletcher' songs.

Mark B: Well actually, the retro releases were the only records that the band actually got paid for. We never saw anything from the others.

Hmmm: Of the retro releases I consider the radio session tracks to be the most essential. I really like 'Sally', 'Bobby Moore's Wine', the Picadilly version of 'In Answer', and the two versions of 'View From A Hill' on the Radio 1 disc. I think the four or five discs that were released could have been compiled onto one really good disc.

Mark B: Yes, I agree.

Hmmm: I really enjoyed "Zima Junction". would you like to do an album using the same "stripped down" method in the future?

Mark B: Well that was never the original idea. That's why I noted that they were unfinished on the sleeve notes. In the end it was either release them as they were or shelve them and as I had ended up personally paying the recording costs the latter was never an option. Having said that I quite liked the fact that it sounded totally different than anything previously. But I like more of a band feel on the records. I like the ambiance of orchestrated arrangements or the power of full drums and back line.

Hmmm: Is there a chance that some of the songs from 'Zima Junction' will be performed at your upcoming shows?

Mark B: Yes, probably. by the time we tour in October we will have added one or two songs from 'Zima' to the set. Later this year we want to take maybe six songs from 'Zima' and finish them. Yves is particularly keen to have a crack at them as he wasn't involved in 'Zima Junction'. we'll add some new songs and will release it as 'Zima Revisited' which will serve as an interim release early next year while we get on with writing the second album.

Hmmm: What was the inspiration for "Happy New Life"? It seems to be one of the most "up" songs you have ever written?

Mark B: Well originally it was inspired by a climb up to Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh one New Year's Eve with a few friends. We sat and watched all the drunken shenanagens going on down in the town. The original title was 'Happy New Year', I adapted the idea later when my grandfather died.

Hmmm: The harmonica has been used on some of your recent recordings. Do you play it yourself, or is it a guest musician?

Mark B: No, if I played it it'd sound like a cat with it's tail caught in a steam press. All the harmonica parts on Zima and on Paradyning were played by Quantum John Burr, or Dr. John Burr PHD as he is now.

Hmmm: What is it like recording as Burgess/Altana in comparison to your previous groups?

Mark B: Well, it's more fun in every respect. There isn't a down side at all really. We work fast and hard. I feel it's a good combination of skills. I love the stuff we've done. I mean I know a lot of people love the stuff I did with you know who and The Sun and the Moon but from my point of view being involved with both of those projects was an absolute nightmare that quite literally almost drove me mad.

Hmmm: Are there plans to make a video for any of the singles from "Paradyning"?

Mark B: Well yes there is talk of us making a video promo for the second single 'Always Want...' but I have to say I'm not looking forward to the prospect because I absolutely detest the medium.

Hmmm: I agree. I have read that Mike Scott of the Waterboys hasn't made any videos because when he writes a song he wants the listener to come up with their own interpretation of the song. Once a video is made the listener will have images of the video in their mind, eliminating any need for imagination on the part of the listener. I always thought that if a video has to be made, why not use a live performance of the song?

Mark B: I absolutely feel the same way. The ideas for the video are based around the band just performing the song. We'll avoid concept videos for precisely those reasons.

Hmmm: Are the Burgess/Altana CD and singles going to be released in the US?

Mark B: Well the label would know more about that sort of thing than I do. I mean I would hope that at some point the records will be released domestically in the US. I suppose when things come together they'll tell us. The label manager is planning a trip to the states to talk to people about it and he has said that the reaction has been good but other than that i couldn't say.

Hmmm: Are there plans to tour the US in support of the new album? If so, do you think you will make it to the Seattle / Vancouver area?

Mark B: Well we'd need support from a US company before we could tour over there so I suppose until that happens the prospect of American dates is slight. Personallly I'd like to play everywhere.

Hmmm: Have you ever been in Seattle? If so, what did you think of it?

Mark B: I have been there but I don't remember too much about it really. I remember a couple of people befriended me and took me around a big market place and then later we got stoned down by the water front.

Hmmm: Where is your favorite place in the world?

Mark B: Castle Urquhart by the shores of Loch Ness in the highlands of Scotland.

Hmmm: I am planning a trip to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. If you have been there do you have any recommendations on places to visit, like pubs, record shops, cultural areas, etc.?

Mark B: I've never been to Ireland, although it's one place I'd really like to explore. Sally and I keep saying we'll go over one of these days.

Hmmm: Are there any new groups that you enjoy? What do you think of the now-fading "Seattle Scene"?

Mark B: Well not so much a new group but I really like The Verve although I heard yesterday that they've split up! Which is a drag. I think the Seattle thing was exciting. I liked the fact that they were turning a lot of the young beginners here onto guitars again which is good. I think it's good that girls have been brought into rock n' roll again, the Pattie Smith feel as opposed to the cute, giggly image that has always been hung on girl guitar weilders. Overall I think the Seattle bands had a good, fresh influence on the scene.

Hmmm: These are some silly questions that I ask in all interviews. Feel free to skip any of them.

Hmmm: What is your favorite cocktail? If it is more complicated to make than a Screwdriver, what is it's recipe?

Mark B: My favourite is a good Margarita, over ice, with bronze Tequila.

Hmmm: Where and when was your first show?

Mark B: What my first ever?? It was at Holkenbrooke Tennis Club in Bury (where i now live). Our drummer didn't turn up so the drummer from the other band volunteered and just improvised. Reg and Dave were in the audience and so was Dave Gedge and Pete Solowka, before they formed the Wedding Present. Gedgie said it was the most exciting gig he'd seen since The Clash. He taped the gig but wouldn't give me a copy.

Hmmm: Do you have any plans of world domination?

Mark B: Err, no I prefer to leave that to the women.

Hmmm: What is the king of all vegetables?

Mark B: Phil Collins.

Hmmm: Name a meal you can cook in 5 minutes.

Mark B: Baked beans on toast.

Hmmm: What are your favorite songs to perform live?

Mark B: You Opened My Mind (Then The Acid Kicked In) & Children Of The Revolution.

Hmmm: Tell me about any unusual occurances at any of your shows.

Mark B: We once turned up at a gig to find that a troupe of 14 year old Morris Dancers had been booked as the support act and we all had to share the same dressing room.

Hmmm: What is your favorite Frank Sinatra song?

Mark B: Sorry to be so predictable but it is... in fact.... New York, New York.

Hmmm: Does Bill Clinton have a chance at re-election in 1996?

Mark B: About as much chance as I have I should think.....

Hmmm: What was the last movie that made you cry?

Mark B: Schindler's List...no hang on...Judge Dredd (i cried with laughter)

Hmmm: What are your plans for the remainder of 1995?

Mark B: I don't really plan much further ahead than a few days but I'm told we'll be playing a tour here in October. I'll be working on the game for Time/Warner, trying to get the money together for a new motor bike and planning a move to North Wales.

Hmmm: Do you have any final words for the readers of Hmmm...?

Mark B: Stop that!!! It's disgusting!!!!!

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