Our third installment of our Haddowfest specials comes from one of my favourite bands of the past year or so. We had a chat with the members of Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward & Fisher about the musical form of Cullen Skink, Charlie Sheen and their long-awaited follow up EP.
As band names go, “Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward & Fisher” is not necessarily one that will stick in the minds of most. You may however hear a sort of Ronnie Barker-esque jibe of saying all the right names, not necessarily in the right order! What does traditionally stick in the mind of most music fans are heart-felt lyrics, well balanced harmonies and melodies full of emotive content that the average Joe can listen to and fully relate their whole lives to. Stevie Anderson, Gavin McGinty, Dave Webster, Robbie Ward and Billy Fisher are a quintet of musicians who provide exactly that.
Since bursting on the scene in the summer of 2011 following their debut appearance on the TBreak stage at T in the Park, AMWWF have went from strength to strength and have cemented their reputation as one of Scotland’s most revered live bands. Consistently selling out venues across the country with their brand of Americana Folk, their sell-out Hogmanay shows at The Gardyne Theatre have been regarded as a bench-mark for musicians of every level. While beating the likes of Chvrches and Rachel Sermanni to the hotly regarded “Scottish Variety Awards Best New Scottish Band/Solo Act” award earlier this year, there is no doubt that the quintet are one of Scotland’s hottest bands right now and are regarded as a must-see at this weekends Haddowfest.
The Buzz Stop. Hello! How on earth are you today?
AMWWF: Hi Buzz! We are really busy, but it’s all good stuff.
TBS. The members of the Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward, & Fisher were all part of well-respected Dundonian bands before you all got together. What was the catalyst for you guys getting together and starting to create music?
AMWWF: We won £1000 pounds in a local talent competition and decided to spend in a recording studio rather than on whisky and wine. We spent some of the £1000 on whisky and wine so as Charlie Sheen would say, we felt we were Bi-Winning.
TBS. AMWWF have been billed as a “supergroup” since you first burst onto the scene two years ago. Are you comfortable with that labelling or do you finally feel as though you have managed to shed the supergroup image, and are now recognised as a fully-fledged working band in your own right?
AMWWF: That was always meant to be a bit tongue in cheek, to be recognised in the Dundee music scene you don’t exactly have to be a superstar. The sense of humour where we come from is quite dry and it was actually a bit embarrassing when we saw it printed in national newspapers – it looked like we had created that self-proclaimed status for ourselves to satisfy our egos but it was not intended that way.
TBS. Your sound is not particularly Dundonian, or particularly Scottish for that matter, with Nashville Country influences combining them with, rock, blues with a Celtic texture. Was it always the intention to try something different from the start, given the styles of the bands you guys had originally come from?
AMWWF: Well, as a Super Group, the obvious choice was to sound like Grouper Soup, a sort of musical Cullen Skink if you like. We are all quite individual in what we listen to so our style sort of just went that way. I suppose if you put 4 boys who love Oasis together then the result is obvious – At times we are equally and oppositely described as ‘musically schizophrenic’.
TBS. With so many influences from across the members of the band, is it challenging for you all to write a coherent piece of music while retaining the individual members’ identities? Or is it more a case of you play something and everyone thinks “that works!”
AMWWF: It’s not exactly a problem to have a band full of songwriters but yes, it’s a kind of problem. As we have evolved though, and as we spend more time the rehearsal room writing things for our next album it’s begun to be more of a group process which is really satisfying. The influences are becoming a proper blend.
TBS. Your debut self-titled album was recorded over a period of three days in Perthshire, and recorded live. Was it important to you to capture the band “live”, almost capturing a moment in time? Do you think this offered any advantages in realising your sound on record?
AMWWF: To be honest we didn’t have any specific goal when we went into the studio, other than to have fun, make chilli, and record music. The result was actually so good it surprised us and made us think, ‘we should maybe be a proper band’. It was an amazing place to start as usually bands get together first, do some rehearsal, play some gigs and then make a record. We were the opposite.
TBS: You played Haddowfest last year and are back again making an appearance this year. What was it about last year’s festival that made you want to make a return?
AMWWF: We saw that the venue was going to be the Picture House, which is lovely, and the other people on the bill are all bands we really admire so it was a no brainer really. It was surprise last year when it was so busy at The Caves as we had only done a couple of Edinburgh shows.
TBS. What can we expect from AMWWF at Haddowfest?
AMWWF: We got some new songs which are looking forward to playing – when you’re in a band you always get most excited about playing new stuff – but don’t worry, there will be plenty material of the first album as well.
TBS. What’s next for the group? Is it a case of down tools or can we expect a follow up album any time soon?
AMWWF: We’re in the process of rehearsing, writing, recording and making videos almost every day at the moment. Becoming a full time band is a difficult jump for any young band, as you have to balance paying the bills with allowing your income to go towards paying for new creative ventures. We have a single release, Pigeon Song of the first album coming up, as well as a brand new 5 track EP with each of us singing a lead vocal. The goal at the moment is to make a belter of a follow up album, this time with more consideration and production values.
anderson, mcginty, webster, ward & fisher will be appearing on saturday 12th october at the hmv picturehouse as part of haddowfest 2013. tickets are available here.
Tickets and wristband exchange available at all of the venues on both days from 5:30 pm (Friday) and 12:30 pm (Saturday). Box office tickets from Picturehouse.
THE BUZZ STOP 