Interview with The Beat Prophets

"I was sitting in a hospital bed and I was in bad shape, and when I was better I went to New York for a while and found Bob Dylan and his music, and I came back, got a guitar and I knew what record I wanted to make.."

Picking up traditional folk songs from Washington Square Park buskers, tuning techniques from the elusive frontman of The La’s Lee Mavers, to navigating the folk music hot spot in New York's Greenwich Village baskethouses and travelling around the UK and France on tour with other Liverpool bands is a lot for a year and a half in the life of a musician.

With tutelage from many Liverpool musicians such as Lee Mavers of The La’s, Gary Murphy of The Bandits and The Bandwagon Nights, along with Digsy and Edgar Jones as well as other prominent Liverpool music musicians, Parkes honed his skills and shaping his songs, as well as being invited as an admin on the popular Liverpool Bands page, maintaining his cult blog 'Diaries Of A Rock 'n' Dole Star', and appearing in MOJO magazine and the NME as well as being invited to New York Sound City 2012.

In late 2012, with bad health behind him, Parkes began work on a number of ‘one take demos’ many left unfinished and unmixed yet well received, but later abandoned under the title of The Beat Prophets.

With his sound described as sounding like the classic Liverpool melody and swagger with a cross of Freewheelin' era Dylan and the somber sounds of fellow Cosmic Scouser Howard Eliott Payne, we decided to catch up with 21 year old Liverpool-born singer/songwriter Chris Parkes.

Hello Chris, thanks for taking the time!

No trouble, normally it’s me doing the interviewing!

Can you give us a brief introduction to yourself and your musical history?

Course! I’m 21, I was the former frontman with a band called The Carnations from about 2010-mid 2011, then joined a band called Types of Reality on bass for a few months, they split, then I took a time out with bad health and university, as well as working with bands on European tours, being a promoter, producer, blogger, did some stuff with The La's, as well as being a band manager and on top of that writing more songs. Only in the past few months I’ve really wanted to get recording and performing, I’ve been too busy to fully commit before.

When did you begin writing songs?

I started at about 16, though I was playing bass and I only knew about two chords on guitar, so they weren’t that good, then I started The Carnations and things picked up, I was listening to things that really opened my ears like The Jam and The Libertines. Though the bulk of the songs I’m playing and recording at the moment are of course newer ones, inspired by my latest interests. The songs I wrote when I was 16 weren’t that great! I think every line had the word ‘baby’ in it!

What was some of the first songs you learned?

I learned a bunch of Johnny Cash songs at first, not too many chord changes thankfully! I didn’t know many chords but gradually got learning more and more. I learnt some songs that suit my voice as well, as someone said my vocal is very Scouse sounding. Truth is, I can't sing to save my life. Barry Sutton once told me, at about 5am along with Ged Lynn in The Living Brain's old Kif rehearsal room on Duke Street, said along the lines of "it's okay as long as you mean it" which helped me over a few hurdles some of the songs are born from a dark place, others just passing moments of something good

The Carnations were rife with trouble in it’s short history, what’s your memories of the time?

Fractured. It was all very fast, lots of comings and goings. We were only 17 – 18, so alcohol and vices were all very new to us. There was a bad crowd around us as well, that's were the 'rock 'n' dole star term was first mentioned. If we had gotten together now, I would like to think it would have been something. 

With The Carnations we were always 1 step forward and 6 steps back. We used to call it the 'good old days' but looking back all I can think is 'were the good old days really that great?' - waking up at 4pm, someone missing a rehearsal, we were thoughtless and thought it'd all work out eventually, we were kidding ourselves and this went on for months. 

Why did The Carnations split?

There was a lot of reasons. Jay and Tom got off, or gave up as I recall, and sold their gear in Cash Converters apparently. Our so called manager was getting gigs we weren't ready for. My girlfriend at the time joined on backing vocals, we split up, to think of it I don't remember asking her to join the band, it just kind of happened! after that I kind of sat down, got some sleep, calmed down a bit and looked around and no one was left standing with me and the band was a shadow of what it's ideology was, so I called it a day and the guitar got put into the back of the wardrobe for a few years.

Do any Carnations songs still creep into your live set?

Haha! Well there’s one that I’ve been debating playing for some time now, it was a set favourite called 'Dream Away', I used to do it solo then the band would all come crashing in for a massive outro. I’ve re-worked a few chords for a few of my newer songs though. I used to play 'House On The Moon' in my early solo gigs and was only listening to the old Carnations demo's a few weeks ago, they were on YouTube, but I decided to take them down, I think they've been wiped for good now too.

Would you ever consider a reunion? 

I don’t think we were popular enough! Plus, I’m not in touch with any of them and something would be bound to go wrong! maybe someday, we've still got some growing up to do I think. 

No one bothered learning the songs fully so, my guitar and vocal would be set in stone and they'd play round me. Those songs are long gone. I might go back and do it on my own. Set the record straight.

Would Types of Reality ever play together again?

That won't ever happen. They're all busy, it was an important learning curve, I don't regret it for a moment. I've been asking Shaun [rhythm guitar] to join my new venture for months, we used to be confused for non identical twins and he was like my brother for a time, so I wanted him in The Beat Prophets but he said he's packed it in. He was one of my friends who made me buy a bass, and we always said we'd join The La's one day, we were half right!

How would you describe your new direction?

Folk ballads really, though I’m writing a few more rockier tunes at the moment, though it could all change with a backing group.

You’re listed as the only member of The Beat Prophets; why not play under your own name?

I haven’t really thought of it to be honest. I don’t think my name looked all too good on a poster or on the artwork, it didn’t work and I prefer to play under a moniker. It was the same when I was playing as The Carnations a few years ago. The mentality is that members can come and go, whether I’d play on my own, with a second guitarist, a percussionist or a bass player. 

It’s idea is a forever rotating line up, keeps it new as well I suppose, for some reason it’s difficult to keep a constant line up when it comes to me and bands, there’s always someone working, busy or at uni, so it’s hard to keep everyone on the same page, especially when they are essentially my songs and I’d like them to be played a certain way most of the time.

Is The Beat Prophets not a solo project then?

Err, that’s a good question that. It is and it isn’t y’know? if that makes sense. If someone can bring something to the table then they’ll be credited correctly. I’ve got a lot of musician friends so they may weigh in on recordings and for live purposes, but for now the focus is recording.

Where did the project name come from?

I’ve got this demo called ‘The Art Of A Woman’ it’s not finished but it’s in one of the verses, it was one of the first of the batch of songs I wrote in mind for a release. I’ve been sitting on it for a while now, waiting for the right time to use it like. I guess it’s something for me to hide behind.

What was the first gig with the name?

Mid-March, it was an accident actually, I hadn’t played live in 4 years, and there was a shortage of performers at my friend Marc out of The Springtime Anchorage's gig he’d put on and I was there - a bit tipsy mind – he asked me to go on, so I borrowed his guitar and got up! It was awful I reckon but there was a fair bit of applause and a hand shake from the lads out of Loose Moose, cracking Bluegrass band, some of them were in Tramp Attack, perhaps they were as drunk as me!

When can we expect a release, any plans to record?

When I’m ready I guess, once the recording is done properly, the artwork, the printing etc, so it could be any time and touring commitments also intrude though! I'm off helping backstage again and then off on a UK tour as well. I wanted to record at The Coral Caves in Hoylake, but I’ve never gotten round to asking the lads and they’ve all been busy with their own records. 

There was a really complicated time when I was going to get a few big name friends out of The La’s and The Zutons to come and guest on a few tracks which would have been something, but then I realised the focus had shifted from the songs to ‘I wonder if so-and-so would stick a guitar solo on that’ so that idea quickly passed me by.

What do you have in mind for any future releases?

I just wanted to put out maybe three to four songs, there’s two songs which work well together, one called Changing Tide, I think it’s my strongest song at the moment and it means a lot to me, it's about a girl I wanted to see again, we did for a few months but we're not together any more, so the song has kind of come full circle and anyone I’ve played it too has always praised it, so I think it’s my best bet for a release. She was my Suze Rotolo I guess!

I don’t dig the whole studio thing though, I never have, if a song is good enough it’ll come through regardless, same as The La’s and The Kitchen Tape, the quality is average but the songs are perfect. Maybe a four or five track EP when I get the money together.

Any future live dates?

Confirmed two today actually, Liverpool International Music festival at Head Of Steam, formerly Mathew Street weekend on 25th August, with a warm up date on Allerton Road a week before. 

There's also some charity gigs to confirm next week.

Are there any bands you’ve been listening to of late?

A local band my mate was in a few months ago called Sensorites. I’ve just bought their single ‘Fool’, great track. Looking forward to my mates The Wicked Whispers and The Sundowners releases as well, and I’ve been listening to a lot of Howie Payne’s stuff who has had a big influence on me, and he’s on his way back as well, he was great to meet as well and I've learnt a lot from his live gigs as well. Also been listening to The Merrylees, check them out. Recently with Babyshambles coming back I've dug out The Libertines albums, what a band!

You’re best known for your connections with various members of The La’s, has it helped at all?

Errr, I wouldn’t say that was fair to be honest, it has and it hasn’t, it’s certainly gets me recognized but I don’t talk about it all that much any more, at the time you couldn't shut me up. I’ve written songs and been in bands before I liked The La’s and I’ll long continue after them. 

Though I’ll credit Lee with re-igniting my love of music and playing live and for opening my mind to a lot of things. These batch of songs at the moment I think merit to stand on their own, I’m not a Lee Mavers junior or anything, though I used his tuning for a bit when recording and playing live, but you have to be very strict when it comes to it.

I see Barry Sutton a lot, Lee on occasion and recently met Neil Mavers and Cammy, they've still got the chops!

These songs I'm gearing up for an EP or an album are more influenced by the likes of Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, Howie Payne and The Stands, The Dubliners and Bob Dylan – though there was the odd marching drum on a demo or two! I’ve recently heard a few new happenings with Lee, so keep your ears peeled. I'm happy he's got it together. He knows I'm on call if need be.

  

Where did you draw inspiration from for these songs?

It can come from anywhere. You can't force it most of the time. Love, life, art - anything like can all form a song. Some came from a dark place when I was in the hospital, I had lyrics like 'the needle is stealing my soul' and 'my scars are my stripes', but the light at the end of the tunnel always perseveres. 

The big inspiration spark all started when I had been hanging around Washington Square Park, and Greenwich Village in New York, I first heard Woody Guthrie in the Cafe Wha, the home of the American Folk scene pretty much. It's amazing. Buskers were playing The Beatles and Bob Dylan. On the other side of the world pretty much and they were singing 'Let It Be'. 

In the space of a few moments we had been offered weed, brown bagged wine and a game of chess. It was a special place. It had a vibe, a sense of it being like the centre of the Earth or something like that. 

I was even more made up when I heard Howie Payne first started busking in the same place at the age of 15 when he lived there. I came home and knew what kind of songs I wanted to write and perform.

Digsy of The Sums and 'Digsy's Dinner' Oasis fame gave me a Bob Dylan book in exchange for a La's rarities album and sent me on my way down the Dylan path, Dylan fascinated me from the off and his music changed everything and suddenly everything clicked into place. Not seen Digsy since but I owe him big time! hopefully he doesn't want his book back!

The Dylan book was talking about all these places we found while over there, what was left of The Gaslight, Bleecker Street and MacDougall Street. Places that Dylan, Dave Van Ronk and Ramblin' Jack Elliot, all those songs and places immortalised in songs. To be a 60's folk singer in the Village must have been something else. 

France was the same, wandering Paris after soundcheck, it was sublime. We met some proper characters along the way. I was looking to move there lately. Whenever I hit a rough spot, some time away helps for me to get my act together. I think me and Paris agree with each other, as New York did. 

Can you talk us through some of your songs?

My first new one's were 'Irish Wayfarer' it isn't a boat by the way, which some fella remarked when he saw my setlist. It's about a girl I know who went away to Ireland for a bit and I decided to write her a song for when she came back, she still hasn't heard it! she's the same girl in the song 'Mamie'. 

My favourite of my own are 'Changing Tide' and 'The Darling Stranger' about the same girl. I've got a song called 'La Belle Dame', a short French influenced ballad from when I was on tour in France and the day we got back I went to a 21st birthday party, and was kind of on a lack of sleep after a thirteen hour drive from Strasbourg and still had Parisian wine in my belly and sat down and wrote it as a birthday present. It's a great song to play in the house but not sure if it fits into my live set.

Another one that's a lot of fun to play is 'Dustbowl Blues', not the Woody Guthrie song by the way! I'm excited about some of my newer material, called 'A Season To Hold', 'A Song Of Hope', 'Leave Your Sorrow Behind' and 'New York City Blues', which I'm excited to perform as there's always been a strict setlist with me, so it'll make a nice change to have some setlist competition!

Like everyone I guess, I was nervous about performing live at first, but Barry Sutton once told me, at 5am along with Ged Lynn in The Living Brain's rehearsal room on Duke Street, along the lines of "it's okay as long as you mean it" which helped me over a few hurdles. I owe a fair few people for their help!

Finally - do you have a desert island disc?

At the moment it'd have to be Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde or The La's Callin' All.

Thanks for your responses from all at Muso:Mania!

Nice one! 

Contact:

Facebook: The Beat Prophets

Twitter: @rocknrollparksy

Blog: rockndolestar.blogspot.co.uk