the diaries of a rock 'n' dole star from the land of Liverpool.
Showing posts with label howie howard eliott payne music liverpool twitter singer songwriter zanzibar 60s oasis convert gig cosmic scouser songs stands blueseed magik clock edgar mavers zutons merseyside folk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label howie howard eliott payne music liverpool twitter singer songwriter zanzibar 60s oasis convert gig cosmic scouser songs stands blueseed magik clock edgar mavers zutons merseyside folk. Show all posts
When I interviewed Howie back in April, he mentioned these
gigs and I promised to try and make them all. Sadly, the Leeds gig on 25th
May gig coincided with my own band’s gig, so I sadly had to give it a miss. When
the London one was announced it was a must see, and despite a tight money
squeeze, we managed to make it down to the St. Pancras Old Church for a rather
different gig, intimate to say the least.
Even the best efforts of our London cab driver taking us to
the wrong venue and asking us out of towners for directions, we manage to find
the ‘venue’. There’s a gathering of people outside basking in the last of the
sunshine between acts.
The venue is essentially a small church, with bibles brushed
to one side and a make shift bar on the other, the room adorned with
candlelight and one or two spotlights on the altar acting as a make shift stage,
a single chair and microphone waiting.
The chairs for mass are still out, and we grab a seat in the
third row. Amongst the crowd are musical siblings Candie and Sean (Zutons) as
well as Jeff Wooton (Gorillaz, Beady Eye) and there’s a certain buzz in the
air.
Howie emerges from the ‘backstage area’ (probably after a
spot of confession?) and takes a seat, guitar in hand. There’s no quick
soundcheck or a hello to the crowd gathered and seated, and strums the
beautiful intro to ‘Dangling Threads’ from his 2009 solo album Bright Light
Ballads. Voice sounding fantastic in the acoustics of the small church, as was
the rapturous applause it was greeted with.
Howie launches right into a brand new demo that he’d posted
days earlier on his Soundcloud page, ‘Some Believer, Sweet Dreamer’ with a haunting
sounding vocal. The first of a batch of new songs he’d perform tonight.
The first Stands song of the night comes tumbling in, the
aggressive acoustic string hitting style of ‘It’s Only Everything’ and later on
in the set we get a mellow we’re treated to the delightful acoustic pickings of
‘Here She Comes Again’ all of the heavier songs off of All Years Leaving stripped
back of the 2nd guitar, bass and drums, laid bare, re-worked and
showcased in all of their beauty, with Howie’s expert guitar sound and his
accompanying older and wiser sounding voice from The Stands days.
Howie’s most well received demo of late has been ‘The
Brightest Star’, has the hairs on everyone’s necks and backs raised, and
becomes almost like a hymn as the audience hum along to the addictive melody
and guitar changes. I’m placing my bet it’ll be the next big hit for Payne.
For those who were beady eyed enough, will of seen Howie
wrote a vast amount of Ren Harvieu’s album, released last year, and tonight we’re
treated to the way they were intended to be played, the orchestra is missing,
it’s one man and a guitar, ‘Do Right By Me’ and ‘Forever In Blue’ – in which
Howie’s fellow Scouse mate has adopted as an Everton anthem.
But it’s the fragile ‘Hold Steady The Wire’ that steals the
night away, with a stand out lyric of ‘you
chase the rain from the skies, you are like lightning to me...’
In between songs, there’s chants for ‘I Need You’ and ‘All
Years Leaving’ in which Payne remarks he needs his harmonica and is without one
tonight, usual staples in his live set, though they are unmissed, and we’re treated
to the heartbreaking ‘You Said’ from The Stands’ 2nd album, Horse
Fabulous, die hard Stands fans such as myself delighted it got an airing.
After a Richie Havens styled guitar intro, ‘Come Down Easy’
in all it’s swagger styled bluesy acoustic sounds is played, a song that really comes to life
when played live, before Payne departs for a slight moment and heads back to
the stage to tune up before a gentle rendition of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Femme
Fatale’, giving the song a whole new meaning and sound, before playing his final
song of the night, the album closer from his solo album, ‘Lay Down Your Tune
For Me’, a song that has yet to lose its charm, beauty and wonder since I first
heard it.
Howie explains mid-gig the reason for the absent harmonica,
and says he chucked them all away in a house cleaning frenzy - when last year
he decided he wasn’t going to play live shows any more. Luckily for us, he
changed his mind and hopefully it isn’t too long before he has a new band and a
new record out.
"We all met our girlfriends here like, Sean (Payne, Howie's brother) met Abi (Harding) here, I met my girlfriend here. All of the bands were formed here like..."
The scene was set at the Bold Street Coffee shop where I had interviewed Edgar Jones two years earlier, former Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones had just left as I was entering, and a version of 'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere' playing over the sound system as the sun cracked the Bold Street flags. I'm sat with Howie Payne, former frontman of The Stands, playing alongide Jet and Paul Weller and slots at Glastonbury, as well as forging himself a solo career under his full name of Howard Eliott Payne, supporting the likes of Oasis. In case anyone missed it, I did a part one some months ago, available here: 'A Little Payne Never Hurt Anyone': The Musical Guide to Howard Eliott Payne http://rockndolestar.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/a-little-payne-never-hurt-anyone.html Howie explains that the coffee shop was once called Coffee Union some years ago, and it was the centre of Liverpool music. "Everything happened here, literally this is where
everything happens, I met my girlfriend here, when it was the coffee
union, or the Onion as Edgar used to call it, it all started here like.."
And with that, we begin...
CP: Did you always want to be a musician? was
there a turning point? Was it always the guitar?
HP: I guess there was, when I was little I wanted
to be a long distance lorry driver, and I wanted to be a farmer. Down the line it's always been something independent like.
We had a guitar in our house when I was little, I was
about seven, I think me Dad or someone who worked with me Dad had a guitar that
he’d made himself and a little amplifier that he’d made himself and it was the weight
of a van and me and me mate used to tug it around when were about eight and saying we were gonna start a band. So he got me that but I never learned it and I totally
went off it and we were back and forth to America a lot like.
When I was 14, I started playing the drums on
pots and pans and that and we had a snare drum in our house, don’t know how we
came about it, I think we found it in a skip and someone had left or we’d found
some sticks and were playing on pots and pans and that’s around the same time
Sean started playing the drums, I think I put him onto the drums as I went onto
the guitar so I’d always have a drummer! And there was like a cheap guitar in a
shop window so like when I got my giro like I bought it like an impulse
purchase kind of thing.
I think of the melody and the drums first, I play the
guitar like a drum like.
CP: What was your first ever gig, any fond memories?
HP: The first one! that was with a band called the Magic Clock. I had been playing the guitar for about three months and came back from America and I knew about three chords and met a few lads who wanted to start band like.
When I came back I found that The Farm who were like #1 at the time in the charts, I found their rehearsal rooms and just went and knocked on the door like with ‘how do you get a gig?’ ‘cause I didn't know how bands were formed and stuff, I think they thought I was a bit cheeky like as I was young but I was a bit forward and that, I guess I was - but we got a gig at the Cosmos just down the road, I think it was supporting The Stairs if memory serves and we went and did that and The Farm came down and we ended up getting the support slot for their Spartacus tour, so like my third ever gig was playing places like The Warrington Parr Hall and The Royal Court and stuff and then with another band who were like the Southern Happy Mondays and Stone Roses, that was a mad tour, I was on that as a youngster. Google it!
CP: Do you have a proudest moment as a
musician?
HP: I’m proud of the first gig I did, but
with that first one there’s a bit of arrogance about you cause your young and it's a gig but glad I got up and did it and you think everyone should shut up and listen like haha!
There’s some like, going on infront of an
Oasis crowd with an acoustic guitar was a big ask like, but they took it well,
y’know they are into music like, and they are into tunes, and all I can do is put my
tune over, but it doesn't mean that they’ll stand there in silence – cause they
don’t! (laughs)
CP: Is there any part of your past body of work you still look back on and are still pleased with it so to speak?
HP: all of them like, it’s like, ‘I’m glad I got out of bed on that day’ there’s songs that you write that are connected in some ways, some on like a crest of waves and a swelling pool, some are just if’s and and’s...that makes no sense does it? haha!
CP: Do you have a specific sound in mind for a record before you start recording or play it as it comes?
HP: Both really, there’s an idea of how you want something to sound and as it goes on it’s like trying to remember a dream and trying to explain it to someone, and the more distorted it becomes, you start with a sound and it grows from there and then you get into the studio and the songs take over on it’s own, music’s like a living thing to me, you only own it while it’s inside you, and when you let it out and play it to people, you've got to let it go where it goes and that’s the purpose of it.
CP: Are you currently working with anyone? (producer
etc)
HP: I’m kind of mainly working on my own at
the moment, there’s some things that are gonna be amazing lined up though. I’ve
had a year of like working with Ren Harvieu and Jake Bugg and I did a year of
playing other people’s music, and so decided I wanted to start playing my own
like.
CP: Have you ever wanted to get a band back
together or do you prefer playing solo?
HP: Playing with a band always is better,
cause y’know there’s things you can’t do on your own and a song and stuff will
run away and you can bring it back and I’ve always liked that and there's only so much control you can have when playing.
I’ve always seen myself as a lead guitarist
in the band, I wasn’t out to be the frontman, same with Telefone and The Windmills years
ago, I always fancied myself as Jeff Beck, and ended up being the guy at the
front, I should have tried being the bass player and I’d have ended up as the lead
guitarist!
CP: You released your solo album, Bright
Light Ballads, on your own label, Move City Records, would you do it again for
future releases?
HP: I haven’t really thought about it,
probably though, with Bright Light Ballads, Move City Records was just a name
for facilitating releasing the album like. There were people saying that they
couldn’t play this or that track because it had a banjo on it as it was unheard
of!
If it had come out a year later it would have
had the recognition it deserved, don't get me wrong - people loved the record at the radio and stuff but they thought it was country and too American and maybe it is, but it was more
about “it’s got a banjo on it and a pedal steel guitar on it so we can’t play it”. Then
a few years down the line it’s all the range and with the digital world and
stuff and like I tried getting the record into HMV and they want money for that
and now it’s a completely different playing field this time around.
CP: have you ever considered putting a band
together consisting of siblings Sean and Candie?
HP: No, haha! Me and Candie do a lot of
work together, me and Sean do as well, seperately. I think with me being the eldest I’d
be the de facto in charge and they won’t have that without a fight like! I really
do want to do a record with Candie, and Sean would probably play on it like but
we’ve never thought of putting a band together and touring, I think we all have
different music tastes and we’re all into our own thing like, I’ve got a gig in
London soon, maybe Candie will get up like, maybe Sean too! Haha! but they've got their own things going on. (Sean Payne recently drummed on Miles Kane's new album)
CP: Are there any newer tracks you're
particularly excited about playing and releasing?
HP: All of them yeah, can’t wait to play them
with a band, with everyone bringing their own sensibilities to them. I will get
a band together for this record and there’s some songs I’m looking forward to
playing a lot of The Stands stuff I haven’t played in years like ‘The Way She
Does’ and ‘All Years Leaving’ with a full band as well as the stuff off of Bright
Light Ballads ‘cause I’ve only ever played them on my own and I’m looking
forward to a band getting on it.
CP: Is it true that The Stairs were going to
reform - and you and Sean we’re going to be 2/3rds of it?
HP: Nah that's true, I was never in The Stairs, neither
was Sean. Though he was in The Isrites. When The Stairs split they kind of
became The Isrites and then I think Russell (Pritchard, Zutons bassist) joined
and then that formed into The Big Kids.
I think The Big Kids was just a
continuation of The Stairs, as were The Joneses, we played some Stairs and Isrites songs, y’know but that’s Edgar’s thing
and it’s the same with me and The Stands and Bright Light Ballads, it’s all one
continuation, just different sensibilities amongst players with the material under a different
moniker or with a different label on it, that’s how I see it...
CP: A few people wanted me to ask - have you still got the Gretsch Country Gent? (used in promo videos for 'I Need You' & 'Here She Comes Again')
HP: Yeah I still have it! it's been for sale for about six years haha! Jake Bugg came closest to buying it like! It's a great guitar and it's expensive and hasn't come out the case for two years but I'll probably use it when I go on tour with the band, I want to get a few Gibson's as well.
The question leads off into a story. "Y'know people have asked me if I'm ever going to get The Stands back together, and like it's hard 'cause there was that many people in The Stands, I just became the frontman of that 'cause that I needed to put a group together. Stevie (Pilgrim, Stands drummer) was only in the band for a year to the day, it was in his contract and he said he'd do it for a year and he did. He plays on Horse Fabulous because he'd left by then and we needed a session drummer so we just hired Stevie back to to play the parts, so he's on Horse Fabulous and he's off doing whatever he wants to be with whoever like (Pilgrim is currently Paul Weller's live drummer) I don't know what Luke (Thomson, Stands guitarist) is up to these day, I know Deano (Ravera, Stands bassist) is in a Jazz band called Marley Chingus which is what he wanted to do originally after his rock n' roll years and he did it for a year and a half, then there's Graeme (Robinson, 2nd Stands drummer) who everyone forgets about haha! then there's Paul Molloy and Martyn Campbell who could have been in The Stands, but he was playing bass with Richard Ashcroft at the time and to be honest he was the only one who ever really contributed to The Stands like, with 'why not try it this way?' to be honest, the closest I've come to a band making an album was Bright Light Ballads, 'cause Deano was coming up with his own basslines on the stand up bass and I'm not gonna tell a steel lap guitarist how to play it!"
With that concluded, I tell him that when I first set out interviewing people, my main three were Lee Mavers, Edgar Jones and Howie himself, and that now I'd done all three and I joke about now being able to retire at 21. "pick another three man!" We pack up and head down Bold Street as Howie is off to meet sister Candie and says to catch him at his next gigs and to keep in touch as I was off home with 'Horse Fabulous' in my ears.
A Little Payne Never Hurt Anyone...the musical guide to Howard Eliott Payne
by Christopher Parkes @rocknrollparksy
One of my favourite singer/songwriters, Howie Payne, mostly know for fronting Liverpool favourites The Stands as well as releasing his debut solo album 'Bright Light Ballads' under his full name of Howard Eliott Payne in 2009, but this was far from Payne's first ever band or musical release...
Payne first formed psychedelic rockers Magic Clock in 1992, before later fronting bands The Windmills(which featured would-be Cast drummer Keith O'Neill), Telefone and Blueseed.
The latter bands would appear on 'Unearthed Liverpool Cult Classics' compilations released by the Liverpool based Viper label, ran by former members of The La's.
a 'Telefone' poster at recently re-opened, The Lomax; Liverpool
Payne's next band, Blueseed, released a mini-album 'Special Care and Spare Change' in 1998 on Ultimate Records.
Again on The Viper label, Howie featured on 'The Great Liverpool Acoustic Experiment' alongside a number of other Liverpool acts, with 'In So Many Ways' described as "the sound of Laurel Canyon 1968 relocated to Sefton Park..."
The song would later be re-recorded and released as a Stands B-Side, though the version on the above mentioned compilation, is superior (in my opinion of course...) For a number of years, Howie and family re-located to New York, with Payne growing up in Queens, as well as the streets of Liverpool, and first began playing busking in Washington Square Park at the age of 15, before heading back to Liverpool. At the end of the decade, Payne joined Liverpool cult legend Edgar Summertyme, formerly of The Stairs, in The Big Kids on lead guitar with his brother Sean Payne on drums and Russell Pritchard on bass, who both went on to sucess in rockers The Zutons.
The Big Kids released one 7' "I'm Bored" and the B-side of "Too Much Baby" on Heavenly Records and received acclaim from Oasis and High Flying Birds songwriter Noel Gallagher. The Big Kids later appeared on another compilation by Viper, 21st Century Liverpool Underground alongside fellow Bandwagonites Tramp Attack.
The Big Kids would go on to have a storming residency at The Magnet in Liverpool. The new Millennium broke and Russell and Sean went on to join Liverpool rockers The Zutons, Edgar went on to release a number of solo records with his band The Joneses, while Howie then went on to form The Stands, later receiving public and critical acclaim and touring alongside Paul Weller, Jet and Oasis.
There was no fixed line up in the band originally and local musicians Martyn Campbell (Richard Ashcroft, Rain) Sean Payne (Zutons) Russel Pritchard (Zutons) and Robby Stevenson (Hokum Clones) all contributed to early shows.
At this point, Payne recruited local acoustic performer Steve Pilgrim to play drums and Luke Thomson on Guitar.
The trio, along with Martyn Campbell on Bass recorded a selection of demos at Parr St Studios in Liverpool. Payne reportedly financed the demos by roadying for The Zutons on their first UK tour.
In September 2002, ITV program This Is Music headed to Liverpool to film a number of bands who played at The Bandwagon night, headed up by The Bandits at The Zanzibar Club in the city.
On the night, The Stands were not on the bill until the rest of the bands appearing petitioned the producers of the show to add The Stands to the Program. The Stands were then added to the program and performed 'All Years Leaving', with no set line up, Russ Pritchard (Zutons) played the bass guitar.
It was at this show the line up was complete, and the band were invited to support The Coral on the autumn UK tour.
During the tour with The Coral, Payne received a phone call from Oasis man Noel Gallagher. Gallagher had received a copy of the Parr Street demos by Martyn Campbell at an Oasis concert and Gallagher invited The Stands to support them at their Liverpool Royal Court gig in December 2002.
After the show Oasis invited the band to play two nights at Birmingham's N.I.A arena. In the early months of 2003 ,The Stands toured with The Burn, Alfie, Stephen Fretwell as well as fellow Bandwagonites The Zutons and The Coral.
The Stands were also invited to play Glastonbury, V Festival, T in the park and two shows with Oasis at Dublin's Point Theater. The band was still without management or a record deal at this point.
Their debut album, 'All Years Leaving' was released in February 2004, and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 28 released by Echo label. The album produced three Top 40 singles in the UK Singles Chart, spawning singles and videos for 'Here She Comes Again', 'I Need You' and 'Outside Your Door'
The Stands made a number of high profile performances the Glastonbury, V and T festivals along with The Isle of White Festival and the Asagari Jam Festival in Japan.
In October 2004, The Stands relocated to Los Angeles, California to record their second album, 'Horse Fabulous' with record producer Tom Rothrock at Sunset Sound Studios.
'Horse Fabulous' was much more polished and a step in a different direction for the band. But did produce this wonderful track, 'You Said'
The Stands then returned to the UK and joined Oasis for their European tour. The band had been through a number of line-up changes by this point in their career. The Stands also appeared on an Acoustic Compilation, with an emotional rendition of Bob Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay', one of my favourite Dylan songs in Howie's voice. Magic. You can hear that here:
Above is a performance of 'I Need You' from the Japanese festival, and below, former Jam and Style Council frontman Paul Weller joins the band at Shepherds Bush Empire in London for a cover rendition of The Band's classic 'The Weight' both via Howie's YouTube channel.
The band's fifth single, "Do It Like You Like", entered the UK Top 30 in May 2005, and the band embarked on a second tour of the U.S. and toured the UK festival circuit through the summer Horse Fabulous was released on 25 July 2005 and spent one week in the UK Albums Chart.
The band parted company with the Echo Label, The Stands embarked on a fourth UK tour in September 2005, finishing with their final concert at the Carling Academy in London. The band broke up in November 2005, with Payne noting artistic restraints within the band leading to the split. Payne broke the news to NME, the article still available here: http://www.nme.com/news/the-stands/21603
“It has been a
wonderful few years or so but over the last months my heart has been slowly
being drawn towards the idea of change and musical pastures new.... recent
times have been both creative and difficult in equal measure. I guess in order
to seek clarity I want to now take the time to take some time to get some fresh
air and move onto something new.”
Payne then added
that all the band thanks the fans for their “support” and “taking the time to
listen to our records”.
Below is a
performance from their last ever concert in London.
After a few years in different cities across the Atlantic, staying at a friends house in Los Angeles and hanging around the world famous Sunset Studios, and starting to listen to a lot of different bands and influences, such as Hank Williams, Fairport Convention, Tom Petty and Curtis Mayfield. Payne notes that it "bent his head a certain way and for a couple of days he stayed up pretty much non-stop and wrote around 5 or 6 songs that put me him in a new place.." And began 'thinking about producing a record quick...with the thought of doing the record really fast, raw, still get choice sounds but bypass the smoke and mirrors, no overdubs, push the button, everyone plays the song and the best version of each goes to make a record..'
Payne then released ten track folk-Americana inspired album 'Bright Light Ballads' under his full name, Howard Eliott Payne, and spawned the singles 'I Just Want To Spend Some Time With You' and 'Come Down Easy'
The album was produced by Ethan Johns, who had worked alongside Kings of Leon, Rufus Wainwright, Crowded House and Tom Jones. The album was released digitally through Payne’s own label "Move City Records" on 14th of April 2009, and entered the iTunes "Singer/Songwriter" Album Charts at #1 and the iTunes Albums Chart at #13.
The album was then given a physical CD release in the UK less than a month later on 5th of May 2009. On 21st September 2009, Move City Records then released the digital LP "Live at the Luminaire" a live album of Payne's sold-out solo performance at The Luminaire club in London.
The LP featured material from Payne's debut solo album as well as songs from The Stands' album "All Years Leaving". Above is 'I Need You' from The Stands album, and below is the duet for Radio Merseyside with his sister, Candie Payne, together on album track 'Seven Years' from Howie's solo album.
Howie and Candie also covered folk cornerstone 'Silver Dagger', most famous for the versions by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
The live album entered the iTunes UK "Singer/Songwriter" Charts at #10. Around this time Howie was recording sessions with popular radio presenter Dermot O'Leary for the BBC, including covers of Elvis Costello's "Alison" and The Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale", as well as an acoustic version of Stands single, "Do It Like You Like", all three are below:
Howie also toured with Oasis as a solo artist, playing to packed out arena's across Europe. Five songs written by Payne were recorded by upcoming Salford singer Ren Harvieu for her debut album 'Through the Night'
Below is Ren's performance live on Jools Holland performing one of Howie's tracks, 'Do Right By Me'....
Lately, Howie has been uploading demo's from his upcoming release, demo's such as 'The Brightest Star', 'Hold Steady The Wire' and 'Holding On' have been met with rave reviews, with the sound most definitely being a progression from The Stands and his solo album as well as writing and helping sister Candie with her new upcoming record. Howie made a rare live outing in November 2012, playing at Filthy McNasty's, a London haunt made famous by The Libertines years earlier. Me and a few friends made the trip down from Liverpool, there's a few snaps below:
As ever, I'll be eagerly awaiting his next release. Hopefully, whoever is reading this has more of an insight and has heard a few rarities and understand more now into this talented singer/songwriter. I met up with Howie in April 2013, the interview is here: http://rockndolestar.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/coming-down-easy-in-conversation-with.html
