Page 39 - Black Velvet Issue 88

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BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 39
time I go out and see people singing the songs to hear when they penny-pinch on the not-so- times, for everybody.”
and see the crowds building, like tonight we’re wealthy, and they can’t even rein in the bigger
in Birmingham and it’s the first time we’ve sold companies.” ames is very fortunate to get to do what
out in Birmingham. I’m really looking forward to This leads us back to ‘Living In A Moment’. Jhe loves. That said, he’s written a song
tonight now.” “With the stories that we’re talking about with called ‘Fingers Burned’, in which he sings that
Another nice moment for the band was gain- taxation and all the rest of it and always looking he’s ‘never happy till I get my fingers burned’.
ing a record deal with a label based in Germany for tomorrow and worrying for tomorrow, and He tells us “It’s more kind of not being satisfied
– although amazingly, it wasn’t after seeing the what’s going to come… if it’s hand to mouth, fi- with just day-to-day stuff. I have never been sat-
band live. James tells us, “We got a phone call nancially for you or whatever the story may be isfied with day-to-day stuff. If you asked me to
from Metalville, who are based in Cologne in for you, you’re always thinking about the next go to the shop and buy just a couple of pints of
Germany and they said they wanted to do a deal day and the next day, but actually not a lot of us milk or go for a newspaper it just doesn’t cut it
with us. They’d never seen the band. They’d just actually sit down and realise what we’ve got for me and I always want to live life on the edge
heard what numbers were coming to the gigs, here and now, and that was the meaning that I a bit and that’s what it’s about. So it’s not nec-
what numbers I’d essarily about
sold of the first me having my
album, which I fingers burned
did independently in any way at
in the UK, so I all, but it’s just
flew to Cologne about, I always
and they said the have an ap-
plan that they petite to live
wanted to give life on the
us, and we’d not edge a bit”.
really had much D e s p i t e
support in the UK not competing
from any label at in motorcycle
that point in time, racing any-
so yeah, we were more, James
really excited to is still hoping to
sign the deal and break the mo-
the album comes torcycle world
out in April in Eu- l a n d s p e e d
rope and America record – al-
through Met- though is still
alville. And I kept waiting for the
hold of the UK in- right time to at-
dependently”. tempt this. He
says that he’d
o i n g like to achieve
Gback to a world record
the album, James even though
tells us that Toby he can’t com-
comes up with a pete in racing.
lot of the political Black Velvet
lyrics. In ‘Cradle ends by asking
The Rage’, James what
James sings musical world
‘drain our energy record he’d like
in taxes’. James to win. He tells
says that he per- us, “Well,
sonally is ‘more we’ve just got
of the sitting on in the top 40,
the fence kind of mid-week, on
guy when it the album
comes to lyrics’. charts, which
He does only sing is a real mile-
lyrics that Toby stone for us.
comes up with if No. 37 in the
he agrees with charts. That
them. He says, was a real mo-
“Everybody feels ment for us. So
like it’s a bit of a we had a bit of
pain paying taxes a celebratory
and all the rest of drink the other
it, and being night for that.
against the gov- But it’s got to
ernment’s reign over everybody. But it is what it wanted to do a song about because I noticed be No. 1, hasn’t it?”
is and everybody’s got to pay their own way. It’s throughout my life, it was always the next thing, Would that be a world record though?
an amazing country to live in. I’ve travelled the the next thing, and I missed a lot of what was “It would for me,” he replies. “To have been
world and you realise that money does make currently happening under my nose.” a motorcycle world champion and have a No. 1
such a difference, especially with tax, to have Does he think more people need to live in single/album, whatever it would be, would be a
such a good quality of life in this country. But it the moment? real proud moment for me.”
seems a little unbalanced in a few areas, from “I think we just need a bit of a reality check Buy his album, go see him live, help get him
the rich to the poor, obviously sometimes, when and to sit down and just look around us and ap- to No. 1. He definitely deserves it.
you hear about these massive companies that preciate what we do have a little bit more, if Visit www.toselandmusic.com
have all the offshore accounts and all the rest of we’re fortunate to have a good lifestyle, which
it, and only pay a pittance of tax in this country most of us do have, even in hardships in this Words By Shari Black Velvet
and bank everywhere else. So it’s a little bit of country,” he replies. “We have a really, really Photos By Paul Harries
lyric about that. All the stories that we’ve heard good lifestyle compared to others around the Except Page 39 Photo By Shari Black Velvet
recently about a few companies. It is frustrating world. It’s nice to have that reality check some-
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