THE FLUFFY JACKETS

THE FLUFFY JACKETS Mainman Discusses Demo Recordings With Legendary WHITESNAKE/BLACK SABBATH Bassist Neil Murray

Lucem Fero has issued the first of two exclusive and in depth interviews with THE FLUFFY JACKETS mainman Helge Rognstad, conducted by Welsh interviewer Anthony Morgan during late August. The following is an excerpt:

Q: What were your intentions when you formed The Fluffy Jackets?
A: "Surely to have fun, to be honest with you. We wanted to just meet up, and do some jamming from time to time. It's quickly moved further than that, and that's because we've gotten quite popular around our local area within London. People wanted us to do a demo, so I said "Well, it'd be great to do some more proactive marketing on this type of material." On the record, we decided to do two covers as well. We have our own material which we think is very good. Rather than doing all original material on the demo though, we thought that we should find some material and put our own stamp on the songs which we thought were really strong. I think from that moment on, it became quite serious. Neil (Murray - ex-WHITESNAKE/BLACK SABBATH bassist) obviously decided to work with us as well, and that was really the thing that made it more serious for us also."

Q: So he (Neil Murray) has his own opinions?
A: "Oh yeah, and that's because I asked him for it as well. I definitely respect him as a musician, and I think he's one of the best bass guitarists ever. He's obviously worked with a lot of different producers, and he's seen different ways of doing things. He knows what works and what doesn't work, so I asked him to draw from that experience. In fact, it was actually Neil Murray who suggested we record live in the studio as opposed to recording just drums, and then bass, and then guitar. Neil came in, and said "Listen guys, you play tight already". He's a professional obviously, so he can pick things up very quickly and remember it. So, we decided to do that. I just wanted to go into the studio, and maybe play each song three or four times and have fun with it. This was chosen instead of doing seventy takes, making it very laborious, sweeping over every single note and making sure that the vocals were right and this and that was right. I'd rather have it sounding a bit lively and a bit off the cuff, and I think it ended up sounding like that. It's fresh and raw, rather than overproduced."

Q: Has Neil given you some advice on the business side of the music industry?
A: "Not really. We spent a lot of time chatting about music in general; things about sounds and the actual recording etc., but not music in the business sense. I guess Neil has had battles with the music industry in terms of making sure you get your money's worth, and all the legal aspects that go with it. I didn't ask him about it, but I think his view is that nobody is really in the music industry for the money. It's just for the fun of it, and then if something happens concerning the financial elements then it's a bonus. Yeah though, I think that's his view. He's a very humble person as well, and he doesn't brag about what he's been doing. He's just a really down to earth guy, and credit to him. He could go down the street and say “Bow to me, I'm the man” (laughs) because he has really done it. He's very humble in terms of what he's achieved, and I think he's a good example for us as well."

Q: So instead of jumping at the first contract offer, you're waiting for the right offer?
A: "Yeah. We're in discussions with two labels at the moment; there's one in Sweden, and one in Germany. Apart from thinking about whether a record company is the right or wrong label, there's so many things to consider such as practical ways of getting people together, timing and all the rest of it. That might have something to do with it as well, but I think the main thing for me is literally the music. Ideally I want to go into an analogue studio, and just make sure that we get a good producer - one who can use the knobs, and make sure that the studio records what direction we feel is the way we want to go. The rest I think is down to the publicity machine, but at this stage we haven't really gotten around to thinking about the other aspects. We are still working to get our first website sorted, and you saw that yourself. That's going to happen pretty soon once the other pieces fall into place."

To read the entire interview head to this location.