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Laguitare.com
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Hello Crispin and Nomi, we are Aurélie and Christine;
we work for the French website laguitare.com. Thank you for
welcoming us in your dressing room! As you know, this interview
was not planned but after we saw your concert, we felt that
we really had to talk with you. First because, to us, you're
one of the revelations of this festival and second, because
of the audience's weird reception to your music.
So
first of all, we wanted to know where Queen Adreena is from
and since when the band exists.
Crispin
Gray : We're from London and Queen Adreena exists since
2000.
 LG
: and were you all the former musicians of the band to perform
tonight ?
Crispin
: no, we've had a few personal changes. We've had two drummers,
the second is the one we've got now, and we've had quite a
few bass players, but Nomi's obviously the most recent! She's
been playing with us since the beginning of this year. In
fact, Nomi' so far only played with us in France, because
we've only played in France this year. We're had 4 or 5 dates
recently, in March, we played in Tourcoing, Lyon… and
a couple of other places I can't remember the name of…!
LG
: What band were you playing with ?
Crispin
: we were headlining most of them ourselves, they were smaller
shows than this, you know…
Nomi Leonard : this one is big!
LG
: One thing that really surprised us was…. Some of the
people in the audience seemed to… hmmm…
Crispin : they did not like it!...
LG
: Yes ! We were really surprised by that reaction, because,
before even sharing about the concert, Aurélie and
I were really enthusiastic about your music and your show,
and when we returned among the audience, we realized that
some of the people really did not like it as we did…
So how did perceive the audience's reception and how did you
feel about that ?
Nomi
: I like that! I like that reaction! Because it is a reaction
from both sides, you know we kind of screamed at them as well
!
Crispin
: I think the Subways pulled out so they needed someone to
fill in…
LG
: Yes, and the audience wanted the Subways…
Crispin
: I don't know if that's what they wanted but… we didn't
know what to expect from this audience, but I think, and I
mean this the kindest possible way, no disrespect to anybody
else's playing, but I think they want something that's a bit
easier to get along with and not something that's in any way
confrontational. I'm not saying that we're particularly confrontational
or that we're being good at being confrontational but I think
they probably found us a bit too much, you know!
LG
: Yes, that's exactly the way we felt about that. As we already
told you, we liked the show very much
Crispin
: we're glad about that! At least somebody liked it!!!!
LG
: No, we were not the only ones! But you know, we were taking
picture before the front row with the other photographers
and as we were shooting the photos, we were really enjoying
the concert. And the big surprise was when we went back into
the middle of the audience and realized that some people were
whistling or yelling…. And it even took us some time
to understand and really make sure that it was because they
did not like it. It seemed so strange to us, that we decided
to ask them what they thought about the show.
Crispin
: yeah, so what did they say?
LG:
Well, we think some people just didn't get it… they said,
about your singer, that she screamed more than she sang, and
we thought that was absolutely wrong…
Nomi
: Yeah, she barely screams at all…
LG
: exactly, I mean, first of all, to give out such a voice,
you have to have so much energy inside you…
Crispin
: it's also odd to say that because, I mean, again, no disrespect
to anybody's playing, but the singer of the first band [i.e.
54 Nude Honeys], she didn't really sing, she just kind of
shouted throughout the whole show… so again, I mean no
disrespect to them, but that's what they do, and the audience
did not seem to have a problem with them at all…
LG
: yeah, but in a way, they were more "commercial",
you know, with their clothing and stuff….. Anyway ! Secondly,
in your show, we heard really beautiful melodies, a real musical
research and we perceived a very strong sensitiveness, that
the first band (for example, and as far as we're concerned!)
we think didn't have… and I think the audience did not
get it
Crispin
: no, they didn't! I don't think they did!!
LG
: yes, we were a bit disappointed in their reaction because
we thought: well, whenever something turns aside from the
commercial stuff, people have a hard time valuing music….
Crispin
: yeah, it was a bit of a challenge too…
LG
: yeah, and you know, maybe it's because this festival is
not really a "rock" festival, it mixes all kinds
of music, and you also have a lot of "Chanson française".
The second thing we wanted to know is : what are your influences.
Nomi
: Nirvana
Crispin : for me, if I have to say what made me get
out and start to play in the first place, it has to be simply
the sound of the electric guitar… particularly the distorted
electric guitar. That is my biggest influence!
LG
: you mean whatever the band or the sound ?
Crispin
: no, not necessarily but obviously I like the way some bands
sound rather than others. But without that sound, whether
it is Caius, Nirvana or the Sex Pistols… or whatever,
without the electric guitar, I would never have felt the need
to play myself. And there's also the power that the traditional
notes come out with on an electric guitar (that is if you
get them right!)… And this distortion, hrrrr, you know…
that kind of sound that's bloody powerful…
LG
: So precisely, how do you get the sound you're looking for?
Is there a precise sound that you're looking for and have
you reached it yet ?
Crispin
: No, I've never reached it and I think most guitarists would
probably say this… they'd probably say they're never
entirely satisfied… you always want it somehow to be
a little fatter, a little bigger, a little bit more something
than it is, but you know, that's part of it all… you
find a sound that you're happy with and then you get used
to it and… well, it's still not exactly it… you
always want to get more out of it…
LG
: So, maybe the sound you're searching for depends more on
the song or the album you're recording or playing? Will you
have a different sound from one album to another for instance
?
Crispin
: Yeah! It's more a question of how all the instruments come
across, you know, the guitar with the drums, the bass, the
vocals… you know you may think maybe Led Zeppelin's Communication
Breakdown sounds great, you may think "hey, that's a
great guitar sound", but if you extract that sound from
the rest, if you isolate it from the other instruments, you
may find that it's not that heavy, it was just an impression
that it gives, along with the other instruments, as a whole.
The guitar is only part of the picture…
 LG:
What guitar do you play on ?
Crispin
: I use a cheapo!… I like cheap guitars! The only trouble,
I have to say, with cheap guitars, is that it's not always
very strong and reliable, and I had a big problem with mine
tonight because it went out a bit, and it annoys me!
Nomi : that's because you fucked with it!!!
Crispin : yeah… I have to say, it's not really
the guitar's fault! Actually for a cheap guitar it stood up
pretty well, I've used it for the last 5 years or something
but tonight I really struggled to keep it in tune!
LG
: And Nomi, what do you play on ?
Nomi
: I actually forgot my guitar tonight, but I usually play
on a Rickenbacker
Crispin : they're quite rare…
Nomi : yes, I think they don't make them anymore…
LG
: When was it produced ?
Crispin
: the one she's got is pretty early… somewhere in the
sixties… now the ones that you see are rubbish…
LG
: Why did you choose that model in particular ?
Nomi
: It just sounds great; it gives a really big sound, which
is what I'm looking for in a bass.
LG
: And did you directly start to play the bass when you first
started ?
Nomi
: well, I started with both the guitar and the bass. The guy
who talked me into learning the guitar in the first place
said to me: "if you play the bass, you can be in my band!"
So I got a bass and I continued playing the guitar as well
and he ended up in my band, he was my bass player!!
LG:
Ok. Well, as you see, we didn't really have time to prepare
the questions and everything, but we felt like it would be
really interesting to chat with you so thank you very much
for your time.
Crispin
: It was our pleasure; it was really nice to talk to you.
Merci!
Nomi : Thank you!
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