Monday, 6/2/97 Supergrass play for the moment, with no need for
greener pastures MUSIC: Relaxed attitude makes them popular in UK,
have hopes for US
By Mike Prevatt Daily Bruin Staff Here in America, the kids
bum-rush the record stores and basketball arenas for such bands as
No Doubt, Bush and New Edition. Across the Atlantic, however, there
is a world of successful bands unknown to the vast majority of
adolescent and college music fans here in the States. Meet
Supergrass, the jovial and young-at-heart trio from England,
composed of bassist Mick Quinn, drummer Danny Goffey and singer/
guitarist/ sex symbol Gaz Coombes. Supergrass have set the British
charts on fire with their brand of carefree, unpretentious pop. The
band have just released a new album, "In it For the Money"
(Capitol), which follows their 1995 hit "I Should Coco." In support
of their new album, they have also embarked on a small yet sold-out
world tour that hits Los Angeles this Friday at the Troubadour. "We
just want to get a tour together at the moment," says Quinn, 27.
"The L.A. show is mainly a showcase gig. We’re quite looking
forward to playing the States again because it is fun for us."
Supergrass can afford to enjoy the intimacy of a small club when
touring America, where they are most popularly known for their
ode-to-youth anthem, "Alright," which made some appearances on MTV,
alternative radio and even the hit movie, "Clueless." Yet in their
homeland, Supergrass is as popular as the British pop bands Blur
and Pulp. But this was not always the case. "When we first came out
(to America)," Quinn says, "it reminded me of other gigs we had
played in England before we had any hype around us. What would
happen in the early gigs in England was we’d get this completely
mixed bag in the crowd … An old biker would come up to us and
say, ‘I really like your band, Mate,’ and be really into us." "In
England we’ve just had screaming kids. But when we come back to
America it’s like those early England crowds, and we get old
hippies and stuff, coming up to us, telling us they really like our
band. It’s a bit like homecoming, basically. We’ve done quite a bit
on the States. It has been fun. I mean, it’s been bad as well, I
won’t deny that. All touring can be hell at some point, but we’ve
had a good time. It’s been an experience for us," Quinn says.
Supergrass has hit the road to promote the new album, which is more
of a laid-back, emotional record than their debut smash. "We had a
bit of a change," Quinn says. "We tend now to play the faster songs
slightly slower. But we’re not gonna slow down and stop on the
third (album)." The band has a renowned, energetic stage
performance that reflects their spunky sound. Does this mean the
shows will be more of a relaxed affair? "Well, we don’t jump around
or anything; we just play incredibly heavy," says Quinn. "I think
that’s a bit important … we want to feel like we’re actually
connecting with the audience or putting (out) effort on stage. And
also we shake our pants a bit ‘cos it’s an odd situation on stage."
He immediately quips, "We’re all quite shy fellows!" Supergrass is
named after the police informers from Britain. Yet, there’s also a
tinge of drug reference. Vocalist Gaz Coombes wrote a song called
"Caught By the Fuzz," which described his arrest at 15 for
marijuana possession. "Yeah, it’s a bit about that … but it’s not
got a hell of a lot to do with that. It’s something that sounded
good to us … y’know, it looked good written down," says Quinn.
The band’s take-it-as-it-comes attitude has them unafraid of the
future and indifferent towards potential success. But how far does
this band really want to take it? "You’re tempted to do the old
rock ‘n roll thing and say ‘all the way,’" says Quinn, "but I don’t
know really. It’s something that’s probably less interesting to me
than just taking one day at a time and seeing what happens. We
basically just want to keep on making records and remain interested
in it." "It’s up to everyone else, really, how far we get. At the
moment, it’s not an incredibly enviable position to be the biggest
band in the world," continues Quinn, "’cos you can’t scratch your
ass without it being in the papers. But we do have high
aspirations." The question for many here in the States familiar
with Supergrass is where they will fit in amidst American music
culture. So far they’ve enjoyed a cult status here, like many
British pop bands do at the moment; it is the opposite of the
mayhem they’ve caused in the U.K. Quinn makes it clear that
recognition in the States is not an aim, but it isn’t a negative
consequence, either. "In terms of cash it’s wonderful! I’m sure our
record company would absolutely love us if we did (break America)
… but I don’t want to give any more emphasis on the USA …
because you should be giving an equal amount of time to everybody
around the world if you can. To me, personally, it’s another
audience. I mean, it would be nice, but it wouldn’t be the ultimate
goal of the band. And we’re in no hurry, anyway. We’re not going to
try and kill ourselves!" Supergrass found success earlier than most
bands who tend to tour the clubs just looking for some record
company executive to sign them. Coombes was a teenager at the time,
and their first single, "Caught By the Fuzz," was immediately a
hit. Yet Supergrass look to grow slowly rather than explode into
massive stardom much like that of their country-mates, Oasis.
Despite their youth, Supergrass has already done a lot of growing
up. "Me and Danny have got kids now," says Quinn. "My daughter’s
two and I’ve got a stepdaughter who’s six. I think it’s incredibly
cool, actually. We’d play them takes of the new album we were
making in the living room. They’re good music critics! I love the
fact that when I come back from a tour I have to vacuum the living
room floor. It’s an enormous sense of well being!" In the midst of
the 1994-5 Britpop phenomenon that placed alternative music in
England’s mainstream, Supergrass quickly emerged as a successful
outsider among the endless list of sugary, pop bands like the
Bluetones and Cast. "We never drew inspiration from (that), says
Quinn. "We felt we were always doing our own sort of thing. I
turned around one day and noticed that Britpop was dead. We just
sort of went on and played what we always played." They became so
popular, film director/ producer godhead Steven Spielberg offered
them their own television show, to be fashioned after the Monkees’
own show. Supergrass were flattered but felt uneasy about such
immediate ambitions. "I’d love to do it at one point," says Quinn,
"but I think it would be disastrous for our band at this state. The
bottom line is it’s incredibly flattering, but not just yet –
thanks Steve!" Supergrass clearly do not feel restricted or bound
by the music world. They are open to whatever comes their way,
whether it be TV shows or massive summer festivals. They even look
to working with different kinds of people in the future but are
just too shy to speak up. Perhaps even more clear is the notion
that for Supergrass, life goes on much like it always did. "(The
band) doesn’t limit us much," says Quinn. "The only problem is
seeing my old friends and stuff … we never have much to talk
about, actually. But I try to keep up with them as much as I can. I
do what I did before … which was not very much, really! Y’know
… go shopping. And pick up the kids." CONCERT: Supergrass plays
the Troubadour on Friday. For tickets, call your cooler,
well-connected friends and beg them to take you, because the show
has been sold out for weeks. Capitol Records Supergrass members (l-
r) Gaz Coombes, Mick Quinn, Danny Goffey, play a sold-out show at
the Troubadour on Friday.