NINE BLACK ALPS RISE AGAIN: THE INTERVIEW

• 26th Jul 2007

“The NME is a horrible little magazine!” Sam Forrest

Nine Black Alps' returned to London to play their most intimate gig in years on Wednesday night. The Old Blue Last pub in Shoreditch is a real spit and sawdust east end boozer where just 140 of Manchester's post-grunge rocker's followers were able to attend the tiny comeback celebrating the release of new single 'Burn Faster'.

Lead singer Sam Forrest spoke to Glasswerk along with bass man Martin Cohen – before the show – up in some tiny recess of the pub's attic; a stress pit of pizza orders, frantic set list decisions and interview demands. Cracking the cool and sultry Black Alps is a tough test and the name couldn’t place them any better – real mardy men, short and sharp. Here’s what we found out and what we didn’t.

Why did you choose the Old Blue Last pub tonight? It is such a small venue for a band of your stature. Do you prefer playing smaller gigs?

Sam Forrest: “These small gigs are so much more fun. Just 140 people and we’ve sold 100 tickets to our fans. It’s great to play close to our fans so we can just throw some rock shapes. You know we don’t want to turn into Status Quo. We like to mix it up and these gigs allow us to do it and stop us having to be the same thing at every gig.”

You have been playing acoustic in store shows recently, how did do they go down as your music is usually full on rock 'n' roll?

SF “The last one we just had 100 kids jumping up and down screaming so there wasn’t any point. We play completely different songs in the acoustic set and don’t try to adapt the electric songs to those sets. We love playing acoustic and unplugged but some of our fans just like going mad at our gigs so we give them what they want.”

Did you all meet in Manchester? Was the Manchester scene important to you when you were growing up and for the band as you started out?

SF – “Actually that’s not it at all. We are all from the north of England and Manchester was just the most convenient city to get it all started. We moved there but we got signed so quickly we never did the whole local scene and were out doing national tours. And growing up, no I was a metal fan.”

Well that told me. Not your usual run of the mill front man and band then. Like squeezing juice from a stone, I asked Sam who the band were listening to for pleasure and inspiration. The metal influence is there of course, the crashing guitars and wall of sound, but they can be more subtle than that.

SF – “Grandaddy, Neil Young, Sonic Youth.”

And that was that. Answer over. Do you see yourself as a big band? You have been out of the limelight for a while. Do you hope to play bigger shows on the back of the singles and album or are you just putting music out there that you love and seeing what the reaction is?

SF – “We have no idea what the reaction will be. We have done what we wanted on this record and hopefully people will love it. We’re on the second stage at Reading and Leeds Carling festivals on the Saturday afternoon and will be doing a full national tour around the release of the new album ‘Love/hate’ on October 15. We will do that and see where it goes.”

I hear you’re off to talk to the NME now. They’ll probably give you a harder time than us?

SF – “I can handle them no bother. They’ll probably just ask me (adopts dopey voice) ‘what’s your name?’! What a horrible little magazine.”

And with that he was gone wiping his floppy hair from his face and skulking away to test another interviewers nerve. You had to worry about the NME getting silent treatment on the end of the phone. We ploughed on with the quiet bassist who had struggled to get a word in edge as Sam took the lead.

Will the new album be much different from the last one or is it a progression? We listened to your songs available online and ‘Pocket Full Of Stars’ is a real quiet, dreamy song and a real departure from the first album teen punk, grunge party. Is that the direction of the new material?

Martin Cohen – “Well of course we hope we’ve improved. The public can judge that. It definitely goes to different places but also very different places. We are better as a band. There is more space and it is just as full on. ‘Pocket Full of Stars’ is definitely the quietest tune of the new material. It isn’t actually on the new album; it was recorded for ‘Surf’s Up’ an animated Sony film about penguins! On the first record we were afraid to put other instruments on but now on the second we have instruments everywhere, piano here symbols there.”

Was your record company telling you what they wanted you to do?

MC – “Not really. They were more insistent on the first record to be honest. I guess we were younger and just wanted to release a straight forward rock n roll record. I don’t know why.”

So with NME suitably and interview over we left Martin and David Jones the guitarist who had spent the whole interview slumped in his chair completely out of it.

Good luck tonight. Let's hope it goes off.

MC – “Well it will if he (pointing at smashed Jones) doesn’t have any part in it.”

With his jeans as ripped as they could be without falling off David offered a goodbye of sorts

MC – “Don’t flash your arse at them!”

The gig itself was a novelty. Two sets back to back first up an hour of acoustic followed by the electric blast hour. The acoustic set sailed past without anything standing out. The moshers were off as soon as classic oldies like ‘Unsatisfied’ and new single ‘Burn Faster’ struck up. The latter really stands up to the old material and is an anthem to jump to. And so eveybody did; proving they should stick to what they do best. Whether Nine Black Alps will ever reach the highest level depends on how ‘Love/Hate’ is lapped up and whether Sam Forrest and co can charm those that matter. The NME is not a monster to make angry but you get the feeling he doesn’t care. And that’s how all front men should be.