3VOOR12 2002-05-20 – Interview with Muse

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An radio interview with Christopher Wolstenholme before Pinkpop 2002, on an unknown 3VOOR12 show. This transcription has yet to be completed.

I: [German] - part five [French]. Chris from uh, Muse, Chris welcome to our, to our tiny studio. I'll just put your mic on so people can hear you...

Chris Wolstenholme: Hello.

I: ...at home. Um, people at home have sent a lot of questions for Muse, uh, um, we had uh, a few bands playing here and I think you got the most...

W: Right. [laughs]

I: ...questions by far an' an' an' uh, are going to be very popular in Holland.

W: Excellent.

I: Um, let's start out with uh, people have asked a lot of questions about um, the new album,...

W: Right.

I ...the new single Dead Star that it's, it's been doing the rounds already an' it's,...

W: Yeah.

I: ...it's going to be released in June.

W: Yeah, well the whole thing's sort of part of a, a DVD thing that we recorded in Paris last October, I think it was...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...an' it's, the, the main thing for us was the DVD an' the live album side of it was more sort of a, a sort of a soundtrack to it, you know, there's a sele... selection of live tracks that are on the DVD...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...an' then there's also a load of b-sides which we used to um, on, there's two discs on the DVD an' one of the discs is like a, a documentary that we did that's all beh... behind the scenes footage an', just us hanging on the road...

I: Mm.

W: ...an' a lot of the backdrop music to that was b-sides that, a lot of people would have heard in England but maybe not a lot of people in Europe, would've heard them, because in England you release singles, you do like four b-sides for every single,...

I: Yeah.

W: ...whereas over in Europe, you know, a lot of people don't get a chance to hear those songs,...

I: Mm hm, so it's...

W: ...so that'd be nice to Europe.

I: ...so it's not um, a, a, a new, new album in the way uh,...

W: No, no, it's all, it's all quite old stuff, I mean, well not old, I think a lot of the b... b-sides were done in the last sort of two years,... [01:39] I: Yeah.

W: ...so uh, but it's,...

I: But...

W: ...it's all sort of available in England, but...

I: ...but Dead Star and... and the other song on the new single are, are new songs.

W: Yeah, they're new, they were songs that we sort of, they sort of came together on the road, on the sort of last tour an' uh, we just sort of went in an' record... re-recorded them an' uh, well we recorded them in America originally...

I: Mm.

W: ...an' then we sort of came back to England an' when we finished touring we, we sort of finished them off in England.

I: With Origin of Symmetry uh, you had your second album an' you toured for the second time, was it, was it very different? You, you, you were, you did everything for the second time uh, the big festivals and stuff...

W: I think...

I: ...like that.

W: ...I dunno, I think it was better. I think um, I think on the first album, I think pretty much from when we started playing live we just sort of got better and better with each tour, I think at first it was quite, you know, we'd just stand there an' do nothing an',...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...quite, quite nervous an' even, even small stages an' I think, I think after we did the Chili Peppers tour, sort of watching the bad like that, playing in front of twenty thousand people and, watching how they were, how they act on stage an' the way they really enjoy it an' get into it. I think, I think we learnt a lot from that an',...

I: Mm hm.

W: We came back an' we sort of, changed ourselves on stage an', weren't, you know weren't so self conscious and so, embarrassed about ourselves you know.

I: So um, I'm just gonna ask if someone can close the door because uh, I think Kain's started playing...

W: [coughs]

I: ...on the, on the stage just around the corner here. Um, let's start with questions from uh, people at home.

W: [coughs]

I: Um, Millionaire was playing today, at the, at Pinkpop as well.

W: Right.

I: Uh, did you see them playing?

W: No, we, we only arrived about half an hour ago, but um, we played with them about two weeks ago I think, in uh, Portugal an' uh....

I: They did some support acts as well in,...

W: Yeah.

I: ...in England?

W: In England they played in Manchester an' in uh, London as well.

I: How did you hook, hook up with them?

W: Um, I think our [?] just gave us a, a copy of their album,...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...'cause we've always been really into like Belgian bands, you know bands like dEUS an' Evil Superstars an'...

I: Yeah.

W: ...you know, stuff like that. So they gave us a copy of the album an' we just all loved it. We thought, let's get them to support us as often as we possibly can, just so we could see them play, you know. [laughs]

I: [?] yes of course, your record company and Millionaire's...

W: Yeah.

I: ...record company. How these things uh, uh come together sometimes.

W: [laughs]

I: Um, uh let's see. We've got more questions, um, Helaine asks if uh, uh, you've ever had uh, a fight within a band at, at which point you thought; I'm no... I'm never gonna, continue this band, I'm gonna quit an,...

W: No.

I ...never want to see these guys again.

W: I don't think we've ever had a fight like that, I think um, I think 'cause we've known each other for so long, I think we were, sort of, fifteen when this band started, so I think we've sort of grown through a lot together, you know.

I: Mm hm.

W: I think between the ages of fifteen and eighteen twen'y you go through a lot of growing up an' a lot of changes in your life an' I think 'cause we've been through that together, it's almost like we're brothers, you know an' it's we couldn't split up if we wanted to, do you know what I mean.

I: If you, if you had to um, uh, define the characters in the band, is, is uh, is there someone who sleeps, always sleeps late, or uh, is very uh,...

W: Uh,

I: ...silent before concerts or...?

W: Uh, Dom's the one who sleeps late usually, Dom's generally like, the last person to, to come out of the building or come out of the bus an' everyone's usually waiting for him a lot.

I: Mm.

W: Um, Matt's, Matt doesn't get out of bed so well, I don't think any of us really get out of the bed in the morning so well, it's, we're all pretty lazy really. [laughs]

I: Do you still have uh, that, that you're, that you are very nerv... nervous before you have to go on stage, or...?

W: Um, yeah, sometimes, I think sometimes more than others. I think, I mean generally before the gig, we just sit down an' we're just sat in a room in silence for about five or ten minutes an' no one says anything to each other an' then you sort of go on stage an' as soon as you start playing, all the nerves an' all the, you know all the sort of, well just all your nerves just disappear really,...

I: Mm.

W: They just, they just finish an' then you, you just change as soon as you start playin', so....

I: And uh, at fest... playing festivals uh, like Pinkpop um, I don't know if you do [sic] any other festivals this weekend but um,...

W: Yeah, we did um, did Rock am Ring, Rock am, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park.

I: So two...

W: Yeah.

I: ...two already...

W: Yeah.

I: ...this weekend, so this uh, this is the final one. Are you, are you uh, constantly on tour at the moment or is it uh...?

W: Uh, just festivals really.

I: Mm hm.

W: I think um, we're not, we've sort of made a decision before the year not to do any sort of serious touring this year, purely because we haven't got a new album out. We wanted to, we didn't wanna come back and repeat ourselves doing a second tour for, for Origin of Symmetry, so we said we'd do like one major festival in each country,...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...an' then after the festivals season we're gonna go, hopefully go into the studio, do a new album an' then come back out on the road next year an' do a proper big tour everywhere.

I: Are there new songs uh, already?

W: Yeah, we, well we started uh, I think while we were actually, sort of mixing all the DVD stuff we sort of, set up a little separate studio, when we were mixing an' uh, just started recording, yeah I think we did about de... demos of about ten songs.

I: Uh huh.

W: So uh, I mean they're all sort of in early stages but, there... there's a lot of stuff there, it's just, a case of us sort of getting together an', we're trying to decide where we wanna do it an', I think we're thinking about maybe getting a big house an' just living there for a bit...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...an' uh, setting up some sort of studio in there an' just, working solidly an' spending a lot of time on it this time I think.

I: Was it uh, different than with uh, Origin of Symmetry, was that a fast album to make, or...?

W: Um, it's, I think they were both about the same, I think both albums were about, eight or nine weeks but,...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...they were both done in two separate parts, I mean with um, with Showbiz we sort of did the first half of it before we got signed an' then second half afterwards an' a similar sort of thing happened with Origin of Symmetry; we did one half with Dave Bottrill an' then six months later we went back in the studio an' did, you know, the other half with John Leckie an' I think this time we wanna do it all in one go, just use one producer, one studio,...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...an' maybe spend you know, three months on it or something like that.

I: The last album was pretty, bombastic, an' uh...

W: [laughs]

I: ...and... an' Death Star as well,...

W: [coughs]

I: ...which is, I think catches Muse at the moment in, in well, two, two and a half minutes or three minutes.

W: Right. [laughs]

I: Very short and very uh, energetic. Um, you've been playing live a lot an' an' with new so... playing, making new songs, are you, do you feel that um, that these songs are what live, what, what, what live playing and what Muse is about uh, at the moment?

W: What song, Dead Star?

I: Yeah, a song like that.

W: I think so, yeah. I think with, with songs like that, because they sort of came together while we were touring you know, it was right in the middle of a tour an' it was just, I think songs like that, they're just about you know, the three piece essence of the band, you know...

I: Yeah.

W: ...an' just the energy an' the rawness, but then there's also, I mean other tracks we've done like, I dunno, some of our... Unintended and Megalomania, which are completely the opposite,...

I: Mm hm.

W: ...but I mean that's all a studio thing, I think you know, a lot of the time, when you're recording stuff, it's difficult to know what it's gonna turn out like, until you actually get in the studio, 'cause, there's always so many paths you can go down with any song really, so....

I: So that's for um, for the rest of the year. Um, we've got Her... Herman who has a question um, he asks uh, during last week you opened with a song by Tom Waits, uh,...

W: Mm.

I: ...What's He Building?. Um, is, in how, in how far has he influ.. is he an influence an' was there a deeper meaning behind you...

W: Um,...

I: ...playing this song?

W: I think it was um, well Matt and uh, Matt and Dom saw him in New York about two years ago an' uh, I know that Matt really into, I think he's just one of these guys that, he's um, there's not many people that can get, you know, be going in the music business for that long an' get that old...

I: Mm.

W: ...an' still stay really cool, you know 'cause most people that have been around for like twen'y years are just sad an' old an', no one really cares about them, but he's still cool an' I think he's just, he just keeps up you know, he's, he's always doing new stuff, he's not, he's never stayed the same you know, he's always been really experimental an' open to lots of ideas, so yeah, he's, he's cool.

See also

• Recording of this interview on Muselive
• Recording of this interview on the 3VOOR12 website

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