Q and A with Nick Brandon: Muse (20041111 GoandDo article)
Q & A with Nick Brandon: Muse
Experience the Muse
Mixing all sorts of Brit-rock elements new and old, Muse is gradually winning over American fans seeking fine sounds from across the pond.
The England trio's new album Absolution, the band's fourth overall, led to its spot on the past summer's Curiosa Tour, and is a powerful reflection of the musical growth of schoolmates Matthew Bellamy (guitar, vocals), Matthew Wolstenhome (bass) and drummer Dominic Howard.
Muse returns to Detroit Friday, Nov. 12 for a headlining gig at Clutch Cargo's in Pontiac. Nick Brandon spoke with Wolstenhome about breaking into the states with Absolution.
NB: As you guys make your way into growing an audience here in America, a lot of people compare you to Radio. Your kind of bring your own original Brit-rock sound to the states — how would you describe the Muse sound?
CW:I think it's pretty varied. Some songs have got the straight ahead three-piece rock, and certain songs have got pretty strong classical influence as well. One thing we really try to do is embrace old music and combine that with strictly modern sounds.
NB: I can hear that in “Apocalypse Please,” it’s got that big piano backbeat. Is that along the lines of what you’re talking about?
CW: Yeah, definitely. I think one thing that's always been quite an ambition is to try and write a piano song and still make it sound heavy. I think we've tried it in the past, and it's always really tempting … you always end up trying to stick guitars on it just to make it sound heavy. I think with "Apocalypse Please" we kind of achieved that — the bass and drums are still pretty kicking. We tried it on the second album with a couple songs and it didn't necessarily work that well; I think with this album we pulled it off better.
NB: Within your genre, is it hard that people do so much comparing? You guys to Radio, Oasis was always compared to the Beatles, Blur with the Stones — why do people in the world of British music always make comparisons like that?
CW: I think it happens with any new band. When you're a new band starting out, you haven't got any previous material to compare what you're doing to. I think as a band's career goes on, people start comparing albums to their previous albums — but obviously when you first start out, there's no previous albums to compare it to so obviously the easy thing to do is compare it to another band. I don't think there's a band on the planet that hasn't been compared to someone at some point in their career. I think overtime in England and most of Europe, the whole Radiohead comparison is pretty much dead; I think a lot of that comes from when people see us live. We've always been a heavy rock band live. That's much more what the band is actually about, and I think the comparisons disappeared after that.
NB: I totally agree with you. The sound live is very heavy and raw, whereas on the record it seems like you're doing a lot more stuff. Do you want to be a powerful band live?
CW: Yeah, definitely. Whenever the three of us play together, the rock side of the band has always been pretty heavy, but I think the first album in particular, obviously the whole production side of things was toned down in a way. I think with this album Rich Costley played a massive part in the sound of it. He's one of the first producers we ever worked with that would listen to a particular riff and say 'We've got to make that riff really heavy,' whereas in the past producers have worked the other way around. Working with Rich was really good because I think he's the first guy that captured the essence of the live rock sound on tape.
NB: Let's talk more about the album. For a lot of American fans, it's their introduction to Muse yet it's your fourth record. How do you feel about crossing into this American scene and how has the response been so far?
CW: I think we've been pretty blown away to be honest. I think the most exciting thing is it's almost like starting a band again — that kind of excitement and unpredictability that you get when you make your first record is something most bands only get to experience once, and coming over here has given us a chance to experience that excitement for a second time. It's cool — the last couple years we've been playing pretty big venues in the U.K. and Europe, and I think there's definitely something about playing in clubs that we missed. The response has taken us totally by surprise. The thing that really shocked us was the amount of people that were aware of not only this album, but the stuff we've done before — even though the second album didn't get released in the U.S. The time frame for the venues going up in sizes has been pretty short compared to other countries.
NB: Is Absolution a proper introduction for those getting introduced to Muse? Is it the most reflective album you guys have done?
CW: I think so. It's the first album we've ever done that was made at the same time as well, I think it made it much more relevant to that particular period of time in our lives. The first two albums were recorded in bits and pieces. Ninety-five percent of all the songs on (Absolution) were written in that period and recorded all at the same time, which to me made it feel more like a whole album rather than just a bunch of songs on a CD.
NB: It does feel like a complete piece from top to bottom.
CW: I think that's something we thought we had to do on this album. Because the first two were kind of random the way they were put together.
NB: Is it true you've been together since you were 13?
CW: This band's been together when we were about 16, but we've known each other since we were 12 or 13 in school. This was around time bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins got big, and everyone wanted to be in a band — there were 5 or 6 bands at the school that got together at the same time, and we'd all do gigs together. Over a period of time, a lot of people lost interest in playing in bands, and we just realized we were the only three people left that took it semi-seriously.
NB: You guys have really grown as musicians and human beings together.
CW: Definitely. On a personal level, between the ages of 13 and 25, 26, you go through a lot of changes. We've all gone through that together which obviously has made us closer as people.
NB: You're going to be returning to Detroit for a headlining gig — you were here for the Curiosa tour. How was that experience, and how is it now being out on your own?
CW: The Cure tour was great. I think everyone had a lot more time to enjoy themselves because you didn't have to be on-stage for an hour and a half — all of the bands hung out and it was a really social tour. Also, when you're on that kind of tour, it's always a good opportunity to play for new people. I broke my wrist in Detroit.
NB: Did you really?
CW: That was the last gig on the Curiosa tour, and that night after the show I broke my wrist.
NB: You didn't break your wrist playing the bass, did you?
CW: No, playing football afterwards.
NB: So how are you looking forward to coming back now that you've got a healthy wrist?
CW: It should be good. We played Detroit back in May, and I remember it was a really, really good gig. Last time we played, I think the whole place went nuts.
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