Saturday, August 20, 2016

Andy MacFarlane on touring with The Cure

From Tenement TV:

HAVING established themselves as a staple part of Scotland’s thriving music scene with four well-received albums, The Twilight Sad are spending much of 2016 spreading their appeal around the globe. It’s not often you get to go on tour with your heroes after all; the Glasgow band were living the dreams of many when they were asked to join The Cure on the road earlier this year. With Robert Smith known to be a huge fan, even releasing a cover of their track ‘There’s a Girl in the Corner’, the trio have now completed a mammoth tour of the States which saw them play up and down the country, including world-famous venues like Madison Square Gardens and the Hollywood Bowl.

With the European leg set to kick off in October, the band now have some time on their hands and will make their live return on home soil with an appearance at Electric Fields festival next week. We caught up with Andy from the band to hear about his experience with The Cure and the upcoming festival.

“The tour was beyond amazing, very surreal. We’ve played some big gigs but never a full tour on that scale before.’ And with the European leg coming up, there’s still some massive shows ahead, ’We’re looking forward to all of it. Europe’s great to tour anyway, but getting to do it in these venues and see The Cure every night will be pretty amazing.”

Especially when they’ve been such a huge influence on the Sad: “I’ve always listened to some era of The Cure for as long as I can remember, so elements of their music will always overlap with ours in one way or another.”

Of course, with the post-punk legends having such a massive global appeal, the trio have found themselves in front of huge crowds every night, with many people hearing them for the first time. However, this hasn’t fazed them: “I actually look at every gig the same. To me, there’s no difference playing somewhere like King Tut’s, the Barrowlands, or an in-store in Mono to playing somewhere like Madison Square Garden or the Hollywood Bowl.

“It really doesn’t matter what the venue is or who the crowd are, you always need to appreciate that people have spent their money to get there, and if you overthink it, you can very quickly build up apprehensions and start to trip yourself up.”

Read the rest at Tenement TV.

And then go listen to Andy's reworking of 'Man is Not a Bird' by Haze.

6 comments:

  1. I thought this line was poignant... could not help but read it a few times:
    "... if you overthink it, you can very quickly build up apprehensions and start to trip yourself up.”
    I know Andy is referring to touring, but this quote could easily be applicable to other areas in life (i.e.,risk-taking, following one's dreams). It is great from a motivational standpoint.
    Kind of reminds me of a line from Maybe Someday:
    "Get too scared to jump if I wait too long..."

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    1. Piggy, I thought the same thing. Andy seems wise beyond his years.

      Btw, you're a brilliant writer. I always look forward to reading your thoughtful and beautifully penned posts. Please keep them coming!

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    2. @7bluestars - Oh my gosh, wow... you just made my day! Thanks so much...you are too kind. I actually was thinking I should probably tone down the comments just a little bit, sometimes they're a little excessive. By now I'm officially addicted to COF (after a lengthy absence)...so withdrawing at this point might be near impossible. By now I might be (as Phil Collins might say)..."In Too Deep." :)
      In any case, I was afraid some people might find me abrasive and/or annoying. Thanks for the reassurance.
      I agree with what you said about Andy; in fact, all three members of The Twilight Sad seem wise beyond their years. It's hard to believe they're only in their 20's(?). Such immense talent at a young age.

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