The everything you ever wanted to know about The Church but were afraid to ask thread

[BonosSaint]

OK, they're funny. That gives them a plus in my book.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

I'd like to see a few U2 interviews like that!

No kidding. That's pretty funny.

Q. OK it also said that the band has survived plane crashes, overdoses, jails, riots, persecution and bad exchange rates
A. What a day!

Q. Seriously though, what happened to all the others..?
A. Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

Q. OK so you’ve made this new record. Why "Forget Yourself"?
A. Who? Me?

Q. What?
A. See, it works

Q. What’s it like doing an interview with yourself?
A. You should know

A few of my favorite bits. Smart-ass .

Also, regarding the other strange places...heh, how on earth did they wind up in some of those?

Angela

 

[indra]

OK, they're funny. That gives them a plus in my book.

A few of my favorite bits. Smart-ass .

Also, regarding the other strange places...heh, how on earth did they wind up in some of those?

Angela

They kind of have a reputation as humourless, dour people, but they can be really hilarious. Lots of twisted humour in these guys. SK loves puns and uses them often in his lyrics (although sometimes they are fairly obscure, so you're reading some book years after first hearing the song when it hits you what the reference is about). Apparently he's one heck of a mimic (heard him mimic Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes in Milwaukee -- pretty funny!). And he tells really bad, but funny jokes too. Mostly with an absolutely straight face, so at first you can't quite believe what you've just heard.


As for playing in so many strange places...well, they don't have a lot of clout in the biz, so they pretty much play the places that will give them the best split. Hey, I don't care where they play...if it's within reach I'll go and be a very happy camper.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

They kind of have a reputation as humourless, dour people, but they can be really hilarious. Lots of twisted humour in these guys. SK loves puns and uses them often in his lyrics (although sometimes they are fairly obscure, so you're reading some book years after first hearing the song when it hits you what the reference is about). Apparently he's one heck of a mimic (heard him mimic Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes in Milwaukee -- pretty funny!). And he tells really bad, but funny jokes too. Mostly with an absolutely straight face, so at first you can't quite believe what you've just heard.

LOL, yeah, just from this thread alone, I wouldn't believe the accusations of them being "humorless" and "dour". And that's interesting about the obscure puns, too.

And regarding the bad jokes...well, my dad's kinda the same way, so I'm used to that and would therefore probably find a lot of those jokes of his really funny, while some of the people I know would hear that same thing and be like: or ... Heh.

Originally posted by indra
As for playing in so many strange places...well, they don't have a lot of clout in the biz, so they pretty much play the places that will give them the best split.

Completely understandable. You gotta do what you gotta do, after all, whatever helps pay the bills and such. Besides, that kind of thing can really humble a person, and humility can be a big plus.

Originally posted by indra
Hey, I don't care where they play...if it's within reach I'll go and be a very happy camper.

Exactly .

Angela

 

[indra]

indra's list of recommended Church albums for newbies

1) Under The Milky Way: The Best of The Church or Best of The Church (Aust release) depending on where you are. They have 10 of the same songs, but the other seven or eight are different. If I had to pick one I'd go with the first -- I just like more of the songs on it. The Aussie version is a bit too heavy on Gold Afternoon Fix material, which wasn't really one of their best albums.

2) Starfish. Kind of a duh choice. It's their most popular album (and it has Under The Milky Way on it)...for a lot of people it's the only one they even know about. It's also a very good album. I really don't think there are any duds on here. A very good newbie choice that often remains a favourite.

3) Heyday. Cute stoned guys wearing paisley on the cover...what more do you need to buy this cd? Actually, even if the cover gives you the willies the songs are great. Myrrh, Already Yesterday, Tristesse, Columbus (which was written in Columbus, OH ), Happy Hunting Ground (an instrumental), Tantalised, and Disenchanted -- all great stuff. Hot damn!

4) After Everything Now This. Absolutely gorgeous 2002 album. A very mellow album -- it could very well be my very favorite of their's. Standout songs for me include Numbers, After Everything, Radiance, Night Friends (very trippy ) and Invisible, but I generally listen to it all the way through with no skipping.

5) Forget Yourself. More rocking than AENT (by quite a bit), but not quite a uniformly good (to me anyway). Of the 14 songs, I like eight exceptionally well, two more quite well, and the rest are not horrible, just not favorites (and one of those -- See Your Lights -- with MWP on vocals, is wonderful live, so it's not a stinker by any means). This album was done quite quickly -- they only spent 5-6 weeks in the studio -- and retains much of the rawness the band has live.

6) El Momento Descuidado. A mostly acoustic reworking of nine songs along with five new songs, this is a really lovely album. I don't think Steve has ever sounded quite so good as he does on this one. If you don't like mellow, acoustic versions don't get this cd, but otherwise it's a very good album.

7) Priest = Aura. I don't think I know anyone who became a fan of The Church because of this album, yet I consider it one of their very best (if not the best). I would definately not get it first or second, but if you have several Church albums and like them, it could be a worthwhile choice. If you like radio friendly songs, this is not the album for you. But it is a wonderfully sweeping cinematic cd -- perfect for tripping (with or without chemical assistance ).

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

*Starts looking for a piece of paper and a pen to write down recommendations*

I'll keep an eye out for these, indra . Don't know how much of their stuff will be sold here in my town, but hey, that's what online and big city stores are for, right? .

Angela

 

[timothius]

Cheers Indra thanks for answering my question.

 

[indra]

That's an interesting point that you've mentioned Nick Launay. In the early/mid 80's, the bands you liked in Australia were of one of 2 types, the pub rock type ie Cold Chisel etc, or the more "atmospheric" type - Church, early INXS, Go Betweens and so on. Then if a band was really cool, it had to have a Richard Lowenstein video!

(any wonder Duran Duran spent a year in our country! )

The Church had issues with the "pub rock" crowds apparently -- or members of the crowd had issues with them. When they first came to the US they were asked if they were worried about thugs here. They said nah, we've done the Australian circuit, we've been beaten up by worse than what you have here (in the US). (hey, they're lovers, not fighters! )

Also, way back in the early 80's, probably during that year Duran Duran spent in Australia, The Church was supposed to open for them. Well, they did, but the Duran Duran crowds weren't enamoured with The Church, so it only lasted a few shows and then The Church dropped out.

 

[indra]

And the winner in the "Creepy Church fans" catagory is....

I was reading through some Church/Kilbey interviews and this answer nearly made me choke I laughed so hard. God, I would have loved to have seen his face! [Plus you get a bit of SK as horny toad too... ]

(it was a question about fans.... You probably already figured it out, given the title)

KILBEY: I'll tell you, I've been backstage many times, and there's a girl talking to me. I'm like, "Hey baby, wanna come back to the hotel?" and she's like, "Yeah!" Then I say, "Who is this guy over there looking at us?" The girl's going, "I don't know!" And I say, "Are you sure? He's really giving me dirty looks." Then suddenly the guy marches up and yells, "This is my fiancé!!!" and drags her off. People get like that!

There was a guy in Oklahoma who, Eskimo-style, came up to me and said, "Me and my wife really like you."
I said, "Thank you."
"We got married to your music."
"Thank you."
"That's my wife sitting over there."
"Hello, wife."
"It would be a big honor for us if you'd sleep with her tonight."
I was like, what?!?!

LAUNCH: So did you?

KILBEY: No!

 

[timothius]

The Australian pub-circuit was nutoriously brutal. From the slightly "out there" bands I know and love (early Split Enz for example) there are countless horror stories of their reception in those "venues". Ideally they were suited to a slightly more "theatrical" setting and with a slightly more intellectual crowd.

There is some hillarious banter I have on a boot of Neil talking about how The Angels "Am I Ever Going To See Your Face Again" successfully broke their hearts every night after every concert Crowded House played on the pub circut.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

That Angels song "Am I ever gonna see your face again" has a notorious story attached to it here in Oz. For the Angels, a real pub rock band, this was as close as they came to a love song.

This is what their fans thought of it when they played:

Doc Neeson sings: "Am I ever gonna see your face again"

Audience in time to the music sings: "No way, get fucked, fuck off!!!!!!!"



You can imagine what they did to "arty" bands!

 

[timothius]

That Angels song "Am I ever gonna see your face again" has a notorious story attached to it here in Oz. For the Angels, a real pub rock band, this was as close as they came to a love song.

This is what their fans thought of it when they played:

Doc Neeson sings: "Am I ever gonna see your face again"

Audience in time to the music sings: "No way, get fucked, fuck off!!!!!!!"



You can imagine what they did to "arty" bands!

Thats the story!!!... I must post the mp3 now It's hillarious, he is in Boston & you can hear 1 or 2 Aussies in the crowd singing along with him. I'm upping it now. It's such an awesome song too.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Thats the story!!!... I must post the mp3 now It's hillarious, he is in Boston & you can hear 1 or 2 Aussies in the crowd singing along with him. I'm upping it now. It's such an awesome song too.

Good one!

 

[timothius]

This track picks up just before the song... before that he is talking about the curfew and how a disco is moving in, in half an hour and how in Australia the pub circuit was all powerful. Then he says there was an Angels song called AIEGSYFA... it was played twice as loud... people danced twice as hard.

http://s36.ysi.com/d.aspx?id=3SX3T89OI3KC11VUSLT3JA7KNX

Sorry about the random banter at the end

 

[indra]

Takes forever to download for me, but it should be fun.

* edited to say

Got it! Thanks, it's great!

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

And the winner in the "Creepy Church fans" catagory is....

I was reading through some Church/Kilbey interviews and this answer nearly made me choke I laughed so hard. God, I would have loved to have seen his face! [Plus you get a bit of SK as horny toad too... ]

(it was a question about fans.... You probably already figured it out, given the title)

KILBEY: I'll tell you, I've been backstage many times, and there's a girl talking to me. I'm like, "Hey baby, wanna come back to the hotel?" and she's like, "Yeah!" Then I say, "Who is this guy over there looking at us?" The girl's going, "I don't know!" And I say, "Are you sure? He's really giving me dirty looks." Then suddenly the guy marches up and yells, "This is my fiancé!!!" and drags her off. People get like that!

...niiiiiicccce...

Geez, some people...*Shakes head*.

Originally posted by indra
There was a guy in Oklahoma who, Eskimo-style, came up to me and said, "Me and my wife really like you."
I said, "Thank you."
"We got married to your music."
"Thank you."
"That's my wife sitting over there."
"Hello, wife."
"It would be a big honor for us if you'd sleep with her tonight."
I was like, what?!?!

LAUNCH: So did you?

KILBEY: No!

LMAO! What the hell?

God, if I ever met any of my favorite artists, I can safely say that I'd never do anything like that (course, even if I wanted to, I'd never get past a mere "Hi..." to begin with, so... LOL).

And yes, there are certain crowds that just...don't respond well to certain bands. I remember reading stories about how U2, when they first started out, were a bit worried about that sort of thing, because they were an Irish band going into non-Irish parts of Europe, and...things were a bit testy at times with some of the people. It's a shame, and scary stuff, but you grin and bear it, right? Good thing nobody ever got seriously hurt here.

I'll check out that mp3, timothius. I've never heard of the Angels, let alone this song...sounds interesting.

Angela

 

[DeadMansParty]

I once got to go to dinner with Peter Koppes, my ex girlfriends roomate was great friends with him and when he came to visit, we all went our for indian food. He had 3 orders of bread pudding, hehe.

 

[indra]

I once got to go to dinner with Peter Koppes, my ex girlfriends roomate was great friends with him and when he came to visit, we all went our for indian food. He had 3 orders of bread pudding, hehe.

Cool. I could have guessed indian or thai food. When the band tours and they go out for dinner before the show they almost always hit indian or thai places. PK's supposed to be just the nicest guy of the bunch -- I don't ever hear "Peter was a jerk" stories from fans.

Three orders of bread pudding, eh? Guess he was hungry!

A woman I know who's a friend of PK's made chocolate chip cookies for the guys during their last US tour. She made a whole batch and had them backstage. All of them had one or two, except for SK who just couldn't stop eating them. She was amazed at how fast they went. He polished off every last one. He's got a major sweet tooth.

Oh, and the same woman who made the cookies also gave PK her grandmother's 100 year old mandolin. Apparently it's a very nice one, and Peter was so thrilled. For the rest of the tour he was telling everyone about it and piddling around with it. And he mentioned it in several interviews and used it quite a bit of the band's El Momento Descuidado cd as well. It's nice to know he is so thrilled with the gift.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Cool. I could have guessed indian or thai food. When the band tours and they go out for dinner before the show they almost always hit indian or thai places. PK's supposed to be just the nicest guy of the bunch -- I don't ever hear "Peter was a jerk" stories from fans.

That's good .

Originally posted by indra
Three orders of bread pudding, eh? Guess he was hungry!

A woman I know who's a friend of PK's made chocolate chip cookies for the guys during their last US tour. She made a whole batch and had them backstage. All of them had one or two, except for SK who just couldn't stop eating them. She was amazed at how fast they went. He polished off every last one. He's got a major sweet tooth.

LOL, well, hey, they didn't go to waste, so....

Some of my favorite artists have gotten food handed out to them, too. One time, one of my favorite artists brought out food from the backstage area and offered it to the fans during a show-kind of a payback for the fans always giving them food. Which I thought was pretty nice.

Originally posted by indra
Oh, and the same woman who made the cookies also gave PK her grandmother's 100 year old mandolin. Apparently it's a very nice one, and Peter was so thrilled. For the rest of the tour he was telling everyone about it and piddling around with it. And he mentioned it in several interviews and used it quite a bit of the band's El Momento Descuidado cd as well. It's nice to know he is so thrilled with the gift.

Yeah, it is-that's pretty cool . Imagine seeing a gift you gave an artist you love being used on a CD picture. That'd be funky.

By the way, I liked a lot of the stuff you sent me on that CD. Some really good songs on there .

Angela

 

[indra]

LOL, well, hey, they didn't go to waste, so....

Well Steve's vegan so he's not supposed to be eating them in the first place. But when you get a case of the munchies what are you gonna do?

But over the past few years he is working to watch what he eats, get exercise, lay off the hard drugs -- just living a healthier lifestyle. His dad died of a heart attack when he was about the age SK is now, so that's a consideration. Plus he also has young children, so he wants to be around for them.

Yeah, it is-that's pretty cool . Imagine seeing a gift you gave an artist you love being used on a CD picture. That'd be funky.

One guy I talk to online sometimes loaned the band a couple of guitars a couple of years ago. They used one of them in a video they did (I think it was MWP using it) a,d PK used one during some of the gigs they did at the time. The guy who owned the guitars was thrilled!

By the way, I liked a lot of the stuff you sent me on that CD. Some really good songs on there .

Angela

Thanks! As soon as I mailed them off I started thinking how I shouldn't have included some songs and should have included others....
Just be glad you didn't get a six disc box set......

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Well Steve's vegan so he's not supposed to be eating them in the first place.

Oh, I see.

Originally posted by indra
But when you get a case of the munchies what are you gonna do?

Heh, yeah...when you gotta eat, you gotta eat.

Originally posted by indra
But over the past few years he is working to watch what he eats, get exercise, lay off the hard drugs -- just living a healthier lifestyle. His dad died of a heart attack when he was about the age SK is now, so that's a consideration. Plus he also has young children, so he wants to be around for them.

Makes sense. My dad's doing the same thing.

Sorry to hear that about his dad .

Originally posted by indra
One guy I talk to online sometimes loaned the band a couple of guitars a couple of years ago. They used one of them in a video they did (I think it was MWP using it) a,d PK used one during some of the gigs they did at the time. The guy who owned the guitars was thrilled!

I can imagine so. That's really neat ! I know I'd certainly be happy if one of my favorite artists used something I gave them. Good to see these guys appreciate the gifts they're given .

Originally posted by indra
Thanks! As soon as I mailed them off I started thinking how I shouldn't have included some songs and should have included others.... Just be glad you didn't get a six disc box set......

LOL, well, what you shared was good. I recall thinking the song "After Everything" was particularly pretty...I really liked that one. And "Cantilever" was pretty cool, too. I can only imagine how that one sounds live . Those were a couple that particularly stood out to me. But like I said, everything on there was interesting to hear. Some pretty good stuff there.

Angela

 

[indra]

LOL, well, what you shared was good. I recall thinking the song "After Everything" was particularly pretty...I really liked that one. And "Cantilever" was pretty cool, too. I can only imagine how that one sounds live . Those were a couple that particularly stood out to me. But like I said, everything on there was interesting to hear. Some pretty good stuff there.

Angela

Ha! Good thing I included Cantilever then, isn't it? That was one I was thinking I should have omitted.

I realised after sending it off that I had focused really heavily on newer work -- all but four songs were released in 200 or later, so it's not the best representation of their (or SK's solo and collaborative) overall work. But I wanted it to go a bit beyond the singles or radio cuts, and it does that.

The way they did Cantilever live last year was really interesting. It was the first encore and only SK comes out on the stage, gets one of MWP's guitars and starts playing. It's very minimalist and echo-y, as are the vocals, which are aslo pretty off kilter. This first part is very quiet and continues for a good three and a half minutes until the rest of the guys come out (MWP on bass) and then the songs kicks up.

As in the studio version the lines "I don't know what you want to do now. I only know know nothing you won't allow." is sung almost as a mantra throughout...it starts with just SK singing it, then MWP joins in, then PK joins, and then TP does also. Then SK goes off on an almost stream of consciousness-type rambling throught most of the rest of the song, often picking up bits of others songs as he goes. It's really trippy live.

Pretty amazing especially when you consider they maybe practiced it for a few days max before doing it live for the first time.


Church trivia -- this isn't totally useless, as it lends some insight into their creative process:

When they go into the studio to work on songs they often switch instruments (I doubt they let SK near the drums though, he even sucks at programing a drum machine ) to keep it interesting and fresh for them. They generally just sit around and jam, and when something interests them they develop it more.

SK writes the lyrics to most of the songs (the ones he sings anyway), and he says he just listens to the music for a while (often stoned ) and then most often the morning he's supposed to record the vocal to a particular song he will write the lyrics down. He says this used to drive the Arista execs nuts. One of them (the execs) actually said "You mean you just make them up?" And he said "ummm...yeah."

 

[indra]

Admit it. You thought this thread had finally died, didn't ya?

No such luck.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Who, moi??????

 

[indra]

Who, moi??????

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Ha! Good thing I included Cantilever then, isn't it? That was one I was thinking I should have omitted.

Heh, well, I'm glad you didn't . It's a neat song.

Originally posted by indra
I realised after sending it off that I had focused really heavily on newer work -- all but four songs were released in 200 or later, so it's not the best representation of their (or SK's solo and collaborative) overall work. But I wanted it to go a bit beyond the singles or radio cuts, and it does that.

Totally understandable. I've heard some of the Church's 80s songs on the new wave music channel I listen to anyway, so hearing some later stuff was nice.

Originally posted by indra
The way they did Cantilever live last year was really interesting. It was the first encore and only SK comes out on the stage, gets one of MWP's guitars and starts playing. It's very minimalist and echo-y, as are the vocals, which are aslo pretty off kilter. This first part is very quiet and continues for a good three and a half minutes until the rest of the guys come out (MWP on bass) and then the songs kicks up.

As in the studio version the lines "I don't know what you want to do now. I only know know nothing you won't allow." is sung almost as a mantra throughout...it starts with just SK singing it, then MWP joins in, then PK joins, and then TP does also. Then SK goes off on an almost stream of consciousness-type rambling throught most of the rest of the song, often picking up bits of others songs as he goes. It's really trippy live.

Pretty amazing especially when you consider they maybe practiced it for a few days max before doing it live for the first time.

No kidding. That's pretty cool. Are there any good live versions of the song that you have around that I could hear?

Originally posted by indra
Church trivia -- this isn't totally useless, as it lends some insight into their creative process:

When they go into the studio to work on songs they often switch instruments (I doubt they let SK near the drums though, he even sucks at programing a drum machine ) to keep it interesting and fresh for them. They generally just sit around and jam, and when something interests them they develop it more.

That's a good idea. Anything to help inspiration along, after all, right?

Originally posted by indra
SK writes the lyrics to most of the songs (the ones he sings anyway), and he says he just listens to the music for a while (often stoned ) and then most often the morning he's supposed to record the vocal to a particular song he will write the lyrics down. He says this used to drive the Arista execs nuts. One of them (the execs) actually said "You mean you just make them up?" And he said "ummm...yeah."

LOL. Hey, it's his work, he'll be the one performing the songs, the execs should let him do it how he wants. But then again, I'm remembering the horror stories about record companies and executives shared in this thread thus far, so I guess their view on Steve's way of doing things shouldn't be all that surprising . Those people can be so goofy about that sort of thing.

And nah, I can't imagine this thread would die anytime soon, not so long as you're around .

Angela

 

[indra]

Are there any good live versions of the song that you have around that I could hear?

Angela

I'll dig up a decent boot for you.

And nah, I can't imagine this thread would die anytime soon, not so long as you're around .

Angela

Much to the chagrin of some here I'm sure. But I figure they aren't reading it anyway.

 

[BonosSaint]

Ordered the "Box of Birds" CD to hear their Neil cover. I'll let you know how I like it.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

I'll dig up a decent boot for you.

.

Originaly posted by indra
Much to the chagrin of some here I'm sure. But I figure they aren't reading it anyway.

Heh. Meh, hey, you go on and like what you want to like, if people have a problem with it....

Angela

 

[indra]

Ordered the "Box of Birds" CD to hear their Neil cover. I'll let you know how I like it.

Cool. Hope you like it. I know SK's a big Neil Young fan...and I'm pretty sure the rest are too. Actually, I'd kind of wonder about them if they weren't fans.

A little tidbit on Box of Birds :

The band had fans submit cover designs for this cd and then picked eight of them. All eight are printed up on the fold out booklet, so if you don't like one cover you can change it to another. It was a good way to get free artwork while building fan interest.