INTERVIEW WITH WHIRL

They love the scene that celebrates itself…that name alone, think about it : the scene that celebrates itself. For anyone who never had a Melody Maker or an NME in their hands, they mean the shoegazing scene. Back then despised by the serious musicians (they all wanted Nirvana) but twenty years later in times where the music seems to have no new direction, all the new promising bands are graving back into the 80’s or in Whirl’s case the shoegazing scene.
They’re from California and they have released their demo which promises a lot for their forthcoming EP, here’s our chat with Nick….

HELLO, CAN YOU PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC THEN?

Hey there, my name is Nick and I play guitar in a band called Whirl.
Our music is shoegaze/dreampop that draws from bands of the late 80's and early 90's such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush, Ride, etc, basically all the bands of "The scene that celebrates itself era".


I GUESS YOU DON’T MIND IF I TELL YOU THAT YOU’RE SOUNDING LIKE MY BLOODY VALENTINE……

Ha ha, Well we love My Bloody Valentine and they are definitely a huge influence on the band, but I wouldn't say we necessarily sound like them.


HOW DO YOU REACT IF PEOPLE SAY YOU’RE NOT ORIGINAL….
I MEAN I THINK IT’S UNFAIR, IF A BAND COPIES THE BEATLES THEN IT’S LIKE “OH HALLELUJAH, THE NEW BEATLES HAVE ARRIVED” BUT IF THEY COPY
MY BLOODY VALENTINE IT’S LIKE YOU MUST BE ASHAMED, NOT?

Well I think it really depends on how you classify "unoriginal", we obviously sound similar to the bands of the late 80's and early 90's but that's where our influences lay so that's expected. However if you compare us to a majority of the shoegaze bands that are emerging now alot of them are going toward an electronic based sound, so in a sense we are original because we aren't following the same path as the current bands.


SORRY FOR TELING BUT WITH TWO SONGS AS RELEASE, THAT’S NOT MUCH, NOT?
Well it's just a demo that we D.I.Y recorded to get our name out, we are currently writing and preparing to record for an EP.

HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE CALIFORNIAN SCENE IF THERE IS ONE?

I really couldn't tell you, there isn’t much of a shoegaze scene here in California.

DO YOU THINK A BAND LIKE YOURS CAN PROFIT FROM THE SUCCESS FROM BANDS LIKE BIG PINK OR A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS?

I'm not sure, those are both very good and respectable bands but we aren't aiming to profit from their success, we're just writing music we enjoy and hopefully other people will enjoy it as well.


I FOLLOW THE MUSICSCENE SINCE 25 YEARS IN A RATHER OBSESSIVE WAY AND EVEN IF I THINK THE US ALWAYS HAD THEIR TALENTS, I THINK IT’S STUNNING TO SEE THAT THE BEST STUFF COMING OUT IN 2010 IS AMERICAN STUFF, HOW COME?

Ha ha I guess the U.K had their era in the 80's-90's, 2010 is our turn.


MANY BANDS ARE PICKING UP AGAIN THE SHOEGAZESOUND, DO YOU THINK THAT’S A TREND OR A VAST INGREDIENT FOR THE FUTURE?

Well I believe music trends tend to repeat themselves every twenty years or so, so it's about time for shoegaze to have it's revival.


HOW STUPID IT MAY SOUND, WHAT ARE YOUR MOMENTS OF “FAME” YET AND WHAT ARE THE GOALS IN THE FUTURE?

Ha ha we haven't had any moments of fame so far, the closest thing to fame is people telling us they like the music and buying our tape.
As for the future, develop a decent fan base, tour, release an E.P and hopefully sign to a label.


LAST QUESTIONS ARE QUESTIONS I ALWAYS ASK, I CALL IT THE TRADITIONAL ORIGINAL SIN-QUESTIONS…
WHAT’S YOUR FAVE RECORD OF ALL TIME AND WHY?

Without a doubt, The Smiths Self Titled album.
It came to me at an important time in my life and helped me cope with everything I was going through at the time, not to mention everything about that album and band is 100% solid.


WITH WHO WOULDN’T YOU MIND BEING STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR FOR 8 HOURS AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO THEN?

Sara Kiersten Quin, and actions speak louder than words, ha ha.


DO YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING SPECIAL TO OUR READERS?

Thanks to anyone who listens to our music, buys our tape, and spreads word of us.
it means the world.