Room Thirteen caught up with The Scratch for a chat. Andy James was kind enough to answer some questions so we could delve deeper into The Scratch. Here's what he had to say:
R13: For those that don't know you yet, can you sum up The Scratch in one sentence?
Andy James: Five blokes addicted to music. Independent! Unrepentant!
R13: How did you all meet and how did The Scratch come to be?
AJ: John and Grim were mates from a previous band. I met John at a party and got chatting about music. The three of us decided to form a band. I then met the Baron at a wedding and he joined in on drums. Steve, who used to work with Andy, is the newest addition. He joined the band after standing in for the Baron on the video shoot for our track ‘Against the Grain’.
R13: What sort of music did you listen to when you were growing up?
AJ: All kinds from Be Bop Deluxe to T.Rex, from The Specials to The Damned, from New Wave through to Acid House, Grunge and Brit Pop… a whole lot of different bands…
R13: Have any of these artists influenced your sound or have you been inspired by other acts?
AJ: I think we sometimes get pigeon-holed in the late 70’s sound. Sure we were influenced by punk and new wave, but equally, by the Kinks, Bowie, Blur and Happy Mondays.
R13: 2009 saw you releasing your third album; have you been pleased with the response to the new album?
AJ: It’s funny. Unlike our previous two albums that have been generally really well received, it’s done the Marmite thing: either people have got it or not. The great reviews have been really great, though.
R13: Having the rave reviews from the live shows to your latest album, does this ever put pressure on you?
AJ: No, ‘cos at the end of the day, there’s absolutely no pretence with us. We aren’t wannabes. We are what we are: 5 hard working blokes with a sense of humour who love writing, recording and playing live. We’d like to think and hope that comes across.
R13: You're based in the London area, which can be a big place for emerging bands to make a name for themselves; do you feel that the London music scene is a supportive one?
AJ: Funnily enough this year, other than our successes on tour dates Unsigned Chart; we’ve kept the London dates to the minimum. Due to the huge saturation on the circuit, we’ve concentrated more on our home town of St. Albans and have played 4 hugely successful residency shows putting on our own bands at The Horn. These include tempting Goldblade and Clint Boon down from Manchester to play.
R13: How would you describe your live shows to someone who has not seen you before?
AJ: Explosive, beer stained, chaotic, funny, exciting, fun, and unpredictable.
R13: What makes a live show great? How much does an audience contribute?
AJ: The ingredients for a good show are simple: 50% band, 50% audience. It doesn’t matter how good the band is if there’s no-one there to see it which is why we work so hard to get people down to our nights.
R13: Are there any goals that you want to achieve musically? What would you like to bring to the music industry?
AJ: Obviously, it would be great to develop our label, to give up the day jobs and devote even more time to all our projects. We’d like to bring back The Factory, New Hormones, DIY spirit back, make things collectable again, vinyl, badges… be cult.
R13: Are you a fan of social networking sites and do you believe they are the best way for a new act like to break through?
AJ: We are and we believe they are a great way of doing so, but you still need contacts and 90% luck. It’s a marathon but very satisfying when you reach the stadium and hear the crowd cheering you home!
R13: As 2009 starts drawing to a close, what's been your highlight of the year so far?
AJ: Hard to pick one, but in a nutshell if you don’t mind, it’s hard to pick only one from… Our gigs with Goldblade and Clint in St. Albans, releasing the third album, our London Tour dates number ones, playing In the City in Manchester again! And the endorsement quote from Marco Pirroni (big hero!) topped the lot!
R13: What are your plans for future; anything on the cards for 2010?
AJ: Next up we are going to be re-releasing/remastering our little known first album DIY for the iTunes generation… we’re putting out a limited 100 7” vinyl of our debut single ‘I Relax to Spiral Scratch’ and adding a couple of new mixes. Plus we've already started work writing new stuff for the next album... so yeah…bring on 2010!
R13: Finally, is there anything you want to let the fans and the people soon to be fans know about The Scratch?
AJ: If you like good old fashioned Rock’n’Roll, delivered with an electronic twizzle, a swagger and more than a dash of humour… check us out!
The Scratch’s album ‘Whatever Happened to Friday Night?’ is out now and you can follow the band at www.thescratch.co.uk or www.myspace.com/thescratch.