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| Miles and Erica Nockalls - from The Wonder Stuff pledge page |
It's a move on from her first, Imminent Room.Erica explains: "The music is more progressive, more quirky, still maintaining melody and pop sensibilities. My first record came out on a record label, and I was very happy with how it went. But I'm not a fan of doing things twice. I wanted to self release to have complete control over my rights. It's not going to be on iTunes for now. It shan't be available on Amazon."
"Once you realise that every aspect of the music industry is seemingly totally sewn up, it's liberating to not have to ask for permission, validation or approval from anybody to make my own music. Why should I? Once you stop trying to please or impress people, then that's when the good stuff happens.
"I started writing EN2 on January 1st this year. I wanted to create a record and release it within the year. I get bored of my own ideas quickly. I wanted a more urgent sounding record. I also wanted to make as much of this album by myself, so it's a true representation of what I'm capable of. It's entirely self produced, though I called in a huge favour from guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite on five tracks. I also sought the opinion and assistance of a record producer/sound engineer friend, Simon Efemey. He works with Napalm Death and produces heavy metal bands. It's completely undiluted, which is what I wanted."What about distribution and sales?
"I'm pressing up 1000 CD copies of EN2 and for now, these will only be available to pre-order through my site. That's to generate income to pay for mastering, manufacturing and distribution. Once those copies are sold, I may consider the usual bullshit iTunes route. If a label shows any interest after that, then I'll consider my options. I'm doing it my way first. A basic version of crowd funding! It feels like right, and most importantly, it's fair to everyone involved.You said specifically it shan't be on Amazon.
"You just get ripped off left right and centre. Everyone takes their little percentage and before you know, you've just spent seven or eight months toiling over something for very little in the way of reward. And I'm not being greedy. I'm not being a bread-head about any of this - it's just music isn't free, it takes time, effort and energy, training and all the rest of it. I want to see something for it. If I do break even, the extra money can help fund my live band, which costs an absolute fortune. Everybody's band does.You present a very precise image. I think that reinforces the online loyalty you've generated: you have an unusually passionate following.
"We do have some very nice fans. Mainly Wonder Stuff fans! I don't think I've particularly got my own audience yet for the Erica Nockalls Band, but this may change.It's very nice that The Wonder Stuff audience has taken to you.
"It's incredibly nice. I'm overwhelmed that they've taken to me, and I really appreciate their support.When you're running your own band, do you have to be a bastard?
"Absolutely not. You have to be fair, you have to be kind and you have to give praise where praise is due. And surround yourself with musicians who are smart, intelligent, kind, fun and who like your music.That's an ideal. How do you achieve that?
"It's not easy. I'm on my second line up already, and the band haven't been playing live for much more than a year. It's hard keeping a relationship going with four other people. It's hard enough with one other person. If we had to spend a lot of time on the road together, it would be more difficult. It's not yet an issue. We're all getting on.
From the first Erica Nockalls album, Imminent RoomTell me about the extras: the bundles and packages. Your marketing strategy.
"So. The videos made for Imminent Room: there are nice things used in these that I have no further use for. Take Serpentine City: I have some ex-Soviet gas masks that we used in the video. If anybody wants them, they can buy them along with a record from my website. I'm going to have a nice menu: interesting, quirky prizes that you can buy.That's almost crowd funding.
Ok. Apart from the gas masks, your hats..."It's my own version of Pledge but I don't have to pay 15% to someone who's not doing anything. I don't think Pledge are ripping people off. I'm not saying Pledge is a bad thing, it's not for me. And to give percentages away before you've even sold your first copy just seems counter-productive.
This fetching hat could be yours.
"...necklaces, clothing, paintings, yes.
I have an album art exhibition coming up in October. It's a new gallery - Havill and Travis - that's opening in Harborne in Birmingham. The launch night is Friday 17th October - invites only - and it then runs for 10 days.
I'm going to paint a piece for every track on my new record . These oil paintings will come in album order as you walk around the art gallery; there'll be listening booths where you can listen to a piece of music, with a pair of headphones, and view a piece of art that's directly inspired by a track. It's not an easy thing to do.
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| Closing Of Day: a painting by Erica Nockalls, available in print form from her site |
Some of your online stuff is sweetly candid. You put personal stuff up: it's charming... but here, there's a slight aloofness - red carpets and such... is there a conflict there?
"And it's invitation only, with a limited amount of guest passes available from my website. So when you pre-order an EN2 copy of the physical record you can also get tickets to the exhibition."
"I don't think so. It's important for people to see you as approachable if you want them to buy the music. I don't have any issue there – I'm not that personal. You have to be careful of negativity. If you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.
"I do try to be engaging, and I enjoy watching people discuss their points of view. I share my personal interests publicly, mainly for my own amusement. I talk a lot about food, booze and art."Smartphones in the crowd: I really dislike audience videos. You have a technique for that...
"Yes. My band are quite heavy. Simon Efemy does our sound. He knows what I want. If it feels like you're being hoofed in the stomach by a raging horse, and your head feels like it's going to crack open cause it's so loud - then that's what I'm going for. It's quality loudness. I have it so incredibly loud that poor little camera phones can't deal with it."Ha! Melt those microphones! But there is volume and volume.
"Yes there is, it has to be quality and it has to cover all the different frequencies. My band doesn't sound like me playing the violin with backing. Everybody is as important as everybody else."
I'm a busking rookie, but I'm not new to music. I'm a songwriter; been in various bands, and it's something I've always fancied doing. I thought I'd try it and see. I'd always let fear get the better of me, always had those 'oh I need a licence', or 'I haven't got the right songs' or 'it's not the right weather'... all those excuses.Good for you. Me, I'd be terrified.
But it's very liberating. In early March I took my guitar into town to get it fixed. I was chatting... a guy just freed the whole thing up for me. He said you only need two or three songs, really. Because people just walk past. No one really stands round and listens for any longer than a couple of minutes.
You know what? He was right. And the weather was great: one of those freaky days in March when it was like summer. SoI decided to do it.Two songs? Which ones?
Oh, I can't remember what I played now. I didn't really care - it was just more about doing it. So I put the bag down and I played in Victoria Square. I didn't know then that there are designated areas. I just thought anyone can do it - just put your bag down and have a go. So I did.
Two songs in, someone gave me some money. And I thought - this is alright, it's not scary, no-one is attacking me, I'm actually feeling quite confident. So that was it. I carried on playing, me and my guitar around the city.
I quickly found all the other buskers had these little street cube amps. It's what you need if you to save your voice and your fingers.
One day, there was a guy from the council, called Mahendra (Chauhan) – he okays all the street events. So he came up...
“Have you got permission to busk here?”
I said, 'Well... I haven't asked anybody.'
Basically they auditioned me on the spot. I could carry on playing if they thought I was all right. And they did, and invited me in to have a talk about busking. He was keen to learn what was happening and how we could interact.
So there was a meeting. There's a new law being drafted.Aha. Not sure if I like he sound of that. What exactly is going to happen?
Don't know. As it stands busking isn't illegal. What they're trying to do, I suppose, is to control it in a way with statutory fines. They can't fine you now. They can move you on, for obstructing the highway or something like that, but busking is not a crime. So once they've got this new law they can just slap you with a fine, 80 pounds, 100 pounds or whatever. Obviously most people will be put off by that.
It is is fairly organised at the moment: there are designated spots. The idea is that once you've auditioned and been accepted, you ring up each morning, or in advance if you want, to book days in advance. The ideas is that they spread the best spots around accepted buskers. It doesn't really help because everybody wants the best spots, approved or not.So they would like to control it but it's not quite happening. Tell me about your fellow buskers? Ever pitched up at a favourite spot, when someone who's expecting to play rocks up and you're already there?
I hadn't really experienced anything like that. I don't know. I never got confronted in that way. There is a code, and it actually self-regulates. The unwritten busker's code is if someone's in a spot you don't go there or you set up in a place further down which isn't going to bleed into their sound.What has busking done for you? Has it changed and developed you?
Yes. Completely. As a performer it's given me a lot of confidence. It's OK to make mistakes; you don't have to be perfect. At a gig, people tend to come up and say something, even if it's a platitude. On the street they've got no obligation to say anything, so if they come over and say you know that was really great. So you can start to see what works and what doesn't.
The downside is you're vulnerable. I go to different places at different times, but you're always guaranteed to be a magnet for disturbed people. They come up to you because you're a public figure. There's no boundaries, they come right in your face.Is a slightly deranged person rotating around you bad for business?
What they want is a reaction, to engage with them. So I pretend it's not happening. I just carry on playing. And it works for me anyway: they walk off.The last person I talked to about busking before you was Erica Nockalls. Miles Hunt spotted her when she was busking in Stratford; that's how she joined the Wonder Stuff. But it made me think: she's a Birmingham Conservatoire graduate, and technically fabulous. And I was just wondering: are there any Conservatoire kiddies out there doing amazing stuff to eke out their grants?
There's a couple, not so much here. Stratford-Upon-Avon is the place for that. Particularly because in Stratford they really encourage string instruments without vocals. They don't like amplification; they want the violinist and the cellists and the quartets and all that. They don't want people like me who are a bit rough and ready.I haven't seen any buskers in the arcades in Brum. Shame really, cause they've got great acoustics for that kind of thing. Is that because it's private property?
A lot of the places that might be good busking areas are off limits. Places like Brindley Place, or parts of the market, the Arcadian... places like that. The city is talking about trying to expand that to get people in.What about your fellow buskers? Have you seen any with particular talent?
Some of the young buskers are really good. There's a guy called David Fisher; he's been doing it a number of years. He must have started when he was 18 or something. He's got an incredible repertoire - about 5 hours - he plays with a proper folk neck brace and belt with harmonicas and all that. There's a girl called Esther Turner who's an amazing vocalist. I'm not going to say what money she makes but she makes a lot. Which is good for her and she's sweet, really nice and she's an incredible vocalist. I think there's a lot of talent out there and I think it's a great way of making money out of music because it's direct.One of the few ways of making money out of music!
For me it's worthwhile. People make a living out of it; for me it's a part time thing but this summer it could very well be full time and maybe next summer too. It's definitely worth it for me for building confidence and repertoire; people do approach you for different things - can you play this gig, that gig? It's a way of networking; a good way of broadcasting yourself.Back on the street, Spence was generating a steady stream – nothing fancy, but not a pittance. People gave in very different ways. A very pretty girl stopped and watched for two songs, dropped some coins in the case and applauded before she went off. An ultracool kiddie floated by filming on his iPhone, didn't stop, didn't tip. Unlikely people fished for coins and dropped them in without breaking stride. Spence switched in and out of personal songs, out to Johnny Cash (tip generator) and One Direction (zip). Spence's thanks were smoothly done – on the beat, no interruption to the songs. Most people, of course, ignored him. But it looked like a reasonable morning's work.
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| Who the hell are are these guys? Read on... |
